Chapter 681: Jiang Chen Successfully Schemes Against the Two
Jiang Chen sneered inwardly. Do these two bastards still
want to trick me even now?
“Fear not, senior brother Jun. Since this Lin Hai has dared
offend our Regal Pill Palace, I will finish him off first!” Jiang Chen
proclaimed, the hypocrisy clear only to him.
Lin Hai felt a rush of anxiety flood him after hearing those
words. Having fought an intense battle, the two of them were like arrows at the
end of their flight—they had scarcely any stamina left. They might have had a
way to salvage the situation if it’d been any other ordinary genius. But of all
people, it had to be the unfathomable genius that even Xiang Qin had bowed down
to. Lin Hai was possibly not even Jiang Chen’s match when in peak condition,
never mind his currently exhausted state. His expression changed almost
immediately, “Junior brother Jiang, our sects have always been united and
harmonious. Your fellow senior brother and I only fought a battle of pride, it
wasn’t one to the death.”
Jiang Chen deliberately assumed a solemn expression, “This palace
is no doubt an inheritance left behind by a powerful cultivator. Instead of
sharing it, I would rather claim it for the Regal Pill Palace in its entirety.”
Lin Hai responded hurriedly, “If junior brother Jiang Chen
so wishes, I will forfeit my share.”
“No. It will be detrimental to our business if you blab
after leaving this place!” Jiang Chen’s gestures seemed to speak of his
absolute resolve.
It was now Jun Mobai’s turn to be anxious off on the side.
If Lin Hai really was killed off, Jun Mobai’s guilty conscience would weigh
even more heavily. But even beyond that, if Jiang Chen later discovered Jun
Mobai’s identity, the latter would have neither the confidence nor the means to
deal with this top disciple. Additionally, if he were to simply watch and not
help, Lin Hai might reveal everything in his irritation and drag Jun Mobai down
with him.
Jun Mobai hurriedly spoke up as his thoughts came to a
close, “Junior brother Jiang, let’s not resort to murder yet. Lin Hai has
already expressed his sincere thoughts. After all, the Regal Pill Palace and
the Dark North Sect have always had friendly relations. If they discover that
we killed their number one genius, I fear that our relationship will hit rock
bottom. Then, our enemies would no longer be the Sacred Sword Palace alone…”
This train of thought was extremely reasonable under normal
circumstances. But it rang quite comically for Jiang Chen with the knowledge
that one of them was a disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, and the other from
the Eternal Celestial Capital. They still wanted to play tricks even under
these circumstances!
Jiang Chen pretended to be deep in thought, and then finally
concluded, “Since it's like this, I will treat senior brother’s wounds first.
Here, please ingest this healing pill.”
Jiang Chen casually tossed a pill towards Jun Mobai. Jun
Mobai was an undercover disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect and thus inherently
paranoid. He found himself in quite the predicament after receiving the pill.
Do I take it or not?
It was apparent from this that he had always held a sliver
of wariness against Jiang Chen. He was worried on one hand that Jiang Chen
might have already seen through their identities, but was also thinking about
the palace on the other. Even if Jiang Chen hadn’t seen through the two, he
might also seek to hoard the inheritance for himself and possibly consider
killing the two.
Jiang Chen noted Jun Mobai’s hesitation, “Senior brother
Jun, do you not trust me?”
Jun Mobai was suddenly at a loss for words. Did he not trust
Jiang Chen? How could he possibly answer in the affirmative? Who knew whether
Jiang Chen would turn hostile if he felt that Jun Mobai was suspicious of him?
So Jun Mobai was all smiles. “It's not that I don’t trust you, it's just that
I’ve already taken a healing pill. I’ll keep the one you’ve just given me for
later use. There is no need to waste such precious medicine.”
Jiang Chen’s face turned solemn, “It appears that you don’t
trust me after all.”
“Junior brother, you and I belong to the same sect. There’s
no need for suspicion. Would I possibly trust Lin Hai of the Dark North Sect
over you? We are of the same sect, and should support each other in the
Paramount Realm.”
Jiang Chen nodded, “In that case, keep the pill for later
use. Let me help you up.”
Jiang Chen walked up with his hand extended. Jun Mobai took
in a deep breath. He knew this was his only chance. Opportunity never knocks
twice! His surging murderous was carefully concealed as Jun Mobai prepared to
deliver the coup de grace as soon as the unguarded Jiang Chen walked over. Just
as Jiang Chen was about to reach out, he suddenly halted with a hint of spurious
amusement in his eyes. “Senior brother Jun, there’s just one more problem…”
“What is it?” Jun Mobai asked in surprise.
“It's like this. I encountered a few people in Mt. Rippling
Mirage; a true disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, a fatty and a pill king.”
“Mt. Rippling Mirage? Disciples of the Ninesuns Sky Sect?”
Jun Mobai was shaken, “Junior brother Jiang Chen. Why didn’t you mention this
before?”
Jiang Chen scratched his head. “I didn’t want the other
sects to ask me too many questions, so I omitted some of the details.”
“Could you have been mistaken? Mt. Rippling Mirage is
definitely inaccessible to normal people. Even a true disciple of the Ninesuns
Sky Sect might not be able to enter at will.”
Jiang Chen laughed. “Then perhaps I mistook them for someone
else. However, I did obtain an item from that person.”
“What is it?” Jun Mobai asked curiously.
Jiang Chen produced the Moonshatter Awl with a twist of his
hand. Jun Mobai’s heart spasmed painfully when he saw it. Although he was a
spy, he wasn’t unfamiliar with the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Moreover, back when Cao
Jin had caused a ruckus at the Regal Pill Palace, he’d used this Moonshatter
Awl to attack the sect’s great defensive formation. Jun Mobai had been within
the Regal Pill Palace at that time and was naturally able to recognize both the
item and its wielder. Seeing Cao Jin’s Moonshatter Awl in Jiang Chen’s hands,
Jun Mobai was momentarily stunned. However, he swiftly regained his composure
and exclaimed with feigned surprise, “Junior brother Jiang Chen, is the Cao Jin
you mentioned a blue-browed youth?
Jiang Chen nodded, “Senior brother Jun, how did you know?”
Jun Mobai felt his heart pounding as it filled with
boundless fear. He realized that the enormously powerful senior brother Cao Jin
might have been slain by Jiang Chen! “Junior brother Jiang Chen is truly
impressive! That blue-browed youth is indeed a genius of the Ninesuns Sky Sect.
He once came to the Regal Pill Palace to cause trouble and used this weapon
back then!”
Jiang Chen said with a face full of delight, “He was someone
from the Ninesuns Sky Sect after all! Hahaha, fantastic!”
Jun Mobai inquired further. “Then… then what happened to Cao
Jin?”
“I killed him. He had a lot of good stuff on him,” Jiang
Chen replied, his tone completely unperturbed.
Jun Mobai felt all his hair stand on end. It was at this
moment—
With no forewarning, a beam of golden light shot out from
Jiang Chen’s eyes and into Jun Mobai’s pupils. The latter felt his entire body
tremble momentarily as an intense pressure started to constrict his soul. His
blood, veins and even consciousness began to feel increasingly sluggish. What’s
going on?
Jun Mobai felt like he’d plunged into an icy cave. A
realization struck him—but by that time, the second beam of light had already
penetrated his eyes.
Wave after wave...
Waves of golden light penetrated his pupils as the
solidifying power of the Evil Golden Eye invaded his eyes.
“Jiang Chen… you!” Jun Mobai had realized by now that he’d
fallen prey to Jiang Chen’s plot. He’d actually been on his guard against Jiang
Chen, but had still failed to protect himself against this move despite all his
defensive measures.
Lin Hai nearby had quickly grasped the situation and
realized that their identities had been compromised the minute he saw Jun Mobai
fall to Jiang Chen’s plan. He was frightened out of his wits, as the need to
escape consumed his thoughts. However, how could he possibly outrun Jiang Chen
in his current state? He turned to flee, but as he ran, he discovered that the
yellow sands in front of him had been replaced by a boundless glacial realm
covered in brilliant, white snow.
“Jiang Chen, you played the pig to eat the tiger!” Lin Hai
clenched his teeth, knowing that he had also been schemed against. He had
entered Jiang Chen’s formation. He saw everything clearly now. Jiang Chen had
been deliberately stalling for time in talking to them. He’d been looking for a
way to take them both out at the same time.
On the other side, Jiang Chen was also well aware that if
he’d attacked them rashly, the two could escape by activating their escape
talismans or other secret methods, to say nothing of the potential lethal final
strikes that the spies from a first rank sect could use. Although he was
confident that he could handle one head on, he wasn’t able to kill two head on.
Thus he’d feigned civility and spoken of trivial things, giving his opponents
the illusion that there was still a chance to kill him. This way, his enemies
wouldn’t immediately think of fleeing. After all, judging from their attitudes,
both of them greatly coveted Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance.
He’d been manipulating the formation that would trap Lin Hai
as he’d played for time. He’d activated it to ensnare Lin Hai while he himself
delivered a killing blow to Jun Mobai. He’d also needed an opportunity to
deploy the Evil Golden Eye in that fatal blow. Under normal circumstances, Jun
Mobai would be shielded by his impenetrable mental defenses. That was why Jiang
Chen had mentioned Cao Jin, in order to cause some fluctuations in his
consciousness. That momentary weakness induced by fear was all he needed for
the Evil Golden Eye to invade.
Everything went just as Jiang Chen had planned. He’d grasped
the perfect moment to attack, and although Jun Mobai had reacted after the Evil
Golden Eye had penetrated his consciousness, it was far too late. That one
opening had opened the floodgates to a series of attacks. In his exhausted and
weakened state, there was no way for him to gather a defense. Countless strands
of metallic energy flowed steadily into him, and after a few breaths, he’d
transformed into a golden statue. Seeing Jun Mobai turn into metal, Jiang Chen
felt more confident about his Evil Golden Eye. Compared to when he’d first
started practicing the Evil Golden Eye, its power had grown exponentially.
Jiang Chen hopped into the formation after taking out Jun
Mobai. He hadn’t utilized the formation to kill, but rather to restrain Lin Hai
from fleeing with an escape talisman. All escape and evasion arts were rendered
ineffective inside the formation. And it was apparent that Lin Hai did not
possess any powerful formation splitting technique or weapon.
Hatred flashed within his eyes when Lin Hai saw Jiang Chen
step into the formation. “Jiang Chen, it’s impossible for you to be a Regal
Pill Palace disciple! There’s no need to hide it any longer! Tell me, which
first rank sect do you belong to? I remember that only the Ninesuns Sky Sect
and Eternal Celestial Capital were privy to information about the Featherflight
Emperor. Did another sect come to know about it? And had even concealed
themselves so well!” Lin Hai gnashed his teeth indignantly, his tone full of
resentment and an unwillingness to accept the situation.
Chapter 682: Emperor Featherflight’s Remains
Given the current situation, Lin Hai’s thoughts were
perfectly understandable. After all, it was impossible that a person monstrous
enough to kill a true disciple of Ninesuns Sky Sect, deceive him and Jun Mobai,
and even drive them to their deaths could possibly spring from the Myriad
Domain. There was no way Lin Hai would believe that a Myriad Domain genius
could perform such a feat.
Xiang Qin’s strength was exceptional in the Myriad Domain,
and he could be considered to be the strongest genius of the region. However,
Lin Hai was confident that both he and Jun Mobai could deal with this foremost
genius. As for an expert at Cao Jin’s level, that kind of existence was much
stronger than even him and Jun Mobai. Even Xiang Qin would suffer a completely
one-sided defeat if he were to encounter Cao Jin. However, this Jiang Chen was
actually strong enough to take out Cao Jin!
Could he be the top genius of a first rank sect? Was he an
emperor realm cultivator? Lin Hai’s mind was filled with doubt and fear. He
wanted to obtain the truth from Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen smiled calmly and stared at Lin Hai. “Senior
brother Lin Hai, I didn’t know that you were such a good actor.” His tone was
calm despite the rather messy situation.
“Jiang Chen, stop pretending already. Tell me that which
first rank sect you’re from!” Lin Hai said angrily.
“Whether or not I’m a spy is none of your concern. Emperor
Featherflight, huh? I’m curious. Just who is this Emperor Featherflight to be
so attractive as to warrant the attention of two first rank sects? Why have
your sects searched for him relentlessly for thousands of years, and gone so
far as to send out spies to infiltrate the Myriad Domain?”
Lin Hai frowned, “You don’t know?”
Jiang Chen smiled calmly, “I don’t. But I’ve managed to
guess a little here and there from your conversation. Well? Are you going to
spill the beans, or do I need to pry your mouth open for you?”
Lin Hai laughed loudly, “Spill the beans? I am an Eternal
Celestial Capital disciple, and I’d rather die than be shamed! If this idiot
Jun Mobai hadn’t fought me to such a state, do you really think I would be
scared of you?”
Jiang Chen smiled calmly, “Does that mean you’re going to
resist to the so-called bitter end?”
Lin Hai’s face darkened, “Hmph, you’ll have to cough up
something if you want to kill me.”
“Do I?” Jiang Chen didn’t waste his breath. He shook the
Soldier Rosary Beads once, and summoned forth a sky sage realm and three earth
sage realm golden armored warriors, surrounding Lin Hai completely.
Lin Hai paled greatly, “Jiang Chen, do you only know how to
play cheap tricks? I dare you to fight me one on one!”
“Fight you one on one? I’m afraid I would only dirty my
hands that way.” Jiang Chen wasn’t willing to waste any more time on him, and
commanded his golden armored warriors to launch a frenzied attack upon Lin Hai.
Lin Hai was already completely spent, and the strongest advantage of these
golden armored warriors was that they were completely unafraid of death.
Therefore, Lin Hai fell almost instantly to their rush, suffering quite a few
blows in the process.
Jiang Chen walked over to Lin Hai, and the first thing he
did as he looked at the barely breathing form was to confiscate the flag. This
flag was definitely a treasure, and Jiang Chen had thought it to be fairly
extraordinary from the start. It was extremely useful for both offense and
defense. It was also thanks to this flag that Lin Hai was able to turn things
around again and again when he’d fought Jun Mobai. Other than the flag, Jiang
Chen also took Lin Hai’s storage ring as well. He had done the same with Jun
Mobai’s storage ring.
It had taken him no small degree of effort to take out these
two cultivators, and Jiang Chen wasn’t willing to tarry any longer. However, he
didn’t dare neglect caution as he walked up to the lofty palace in the lake and
stared at it. After all, this brackish lake water was extremely corrosive. Even
Lin Hai and Jun Mobai had been extremely fearful of it.
Jiang Chen might have cultivated the golden body of the Nine
Transformations of Demons and Gods, but he still wasn’t willing to test the
corrosiveness of the lake water with his golden body. That was why he used Lin
Hai’s flag to protect himself. Jiang Chen knew that this abode was absolutely
not the same as the other buildings in the Paramount Realm. It was most likely
a spatial abode that was naturally portable. Normally, a residence like this could
only be made portable after refinement.
If he wished to refine this residence for himself, then he
must first find its core. Only then he would be able to truly control it. Had
it been any of the other experts from the Divine Abyss Continent, then they
might’ve been fooled by this palace’s appearance and thought it simply to be
another building in the Paramount Realm. However, Jiang Chen possessed the
knowledge and experience of his past life. He naturally wouldn’t be fooled just
by appearances.
Considering how little life force there was in the Paramount
Realm, no one would be senseless enough to build a palace in this place.
Moreover, this obviously wasn’t a suitable place to establish a sect either.
Lin Hai and Jun Mobai seemed to have used a certain secret art to lock onto the
signs of Emperor Featherflight’s consciousness.
Of course, a tracking method like this had its own
limitations. If they hadn’t entered the Paramount Realm or wandered close to
this area, it would’ve been impossible to pick up any traces. Otherwise, Lin
Hai and Jun Mobai wouldn’t have sounded like they had searched futilely for
Emperor Featherflight for thousands of years. Due to many concerns, they
couldn’t openly make a thorough search of the Myriad Domain. That was why they
had no choice but to infiltrate the sects to search for Emperor Featherflight’s
whereabouts.
This Emperor Featherflight must have escaped to such an
obscure place to avoid pursuit from the Ninesuns Sky Sect and Eternal Celestial
Capital. Therefore, there must be plenty of traps inside. If I act recklessly,
I may be attacked by them.
From Emperor Featherflight’s point of view, he had every
reason to lay all kinds of traps. After all, no one would like to see their
inheritance happily taken away by their enemies after being hunted for such a
long time. Jiang Chen was carefully on guard after entering the palace. The
palace wasn’t large, but it was a completely different world within.
“This place is truly grand. There is no way that a Titled
Great Emperor could’ve refined a spatial abode like this. If this place truly
is connected to Emperor Featherflight, then he certainly didn’t create this
place by himself.” Jiang Chen guessed that Emperor Featherflight might have
accidentally obtained an ancient inheritance. However, his discovery had also
alerted the Eternal Celestial Capital and Ninesuns Sky Sect, and he had been
viciously hunted down by the two sects as a result.
Jiang Chen unleashed his consciousness at full power as he
tread on the palace’s stone stairs, guarding against any possible mishaps. What
Jiang Chen didn’t expect was that the attacks and traps he’d expected to be
thrown at him didn’t happen. In fact, he didn’t trigger any kind of
restrictions at all no matter how carelessly he walked through the interior of
the palace.
“How odd!” This situation almost made Jiang Chen disbelieve
his senses. It was obvious that this palace abode contained some extremely
powerful restrictions. However, none of them showed any signs of activating at
all. Jiang Chen had been extremely experienced and knowledgeable in his past
life, and so could more or less deduce the flows of power and restrictions
inside the palace.
If these restrictions were in a state of high alert, then
surely the energy in and around them would be balancing on a hair trigger, with
barely suppressed activity. But the more he examined them, the more docile the
restrictions looked. Not a single one seemed even primed to trigger, let alone
be so sensitive to intruders.
“Could it be that Emperor Featherflight failed to refine
this abode at all after he obtained it? Is that why he didn’t set these
restrictions to automatically attack intruders?” Jiang Chen’s mind was filled
with questions.
It was possible that Emperor Featherflight had been killed
before he’d managed to refine the inheritance from the palace. Jiang Chen
passed through many corridors and finally arrived at the back hall of the
palace. Jiang Chen had just stepped foot over the entrance when he saw a corpse
sitting cross-legged inside.
From a distance, the body looked like he was in a meditative
state. The expression on his face looked as lifelike as ever. If it wasn’t for
the fact that this man exuded no ripples of vitality whatsoever, Jiang Chen
would have almost suspected that he was alive. His skin color and his
countenance truly looked lifelike.
This man was sitting cross-legged with a grave expression on
his face. It would seem that he didn’t even want death to mar his sense of
style and pride. His face contained none of the struggles that a person would
usually face on their deathbed.
“Is he Emperor Featherflight?” Jiang Chen looked behind the
person and noted the stunning sight of a pair of wings. It was truly an
incredible sight. This man truly was a Titled Great Emperor alright,
considering that his body hadn’t rotted away even after a thousand years. Jiang
Chen didn’t approach the body hastily. Instead, he stood far away and observed
the body carefully. It only took him a moment to discover that there were no
restrictions or traps around him at all.
Jiang Chen was now completely puzzled. If Emperor
Featherflight had truly been forced to escape to a place like this, there was
no way he would expose his body so openly and easily. It made even less sense
that he wouldn’t arrange a little something to deal with his enemies.
Could it be that Emperor Featherflight had lost all ability
to resist prior to his death?
It didn’t look that way either. If he could die looking this
calm and collected, then he shouldn’t have been that powerless.
Jiang Chen approached him slowly. Then, he saw that a few
words had been engraved on the floor before Emperor Featherflight.
A Notice For Those Who Come After:
“Mine name is Featherflight. I have travelled across the
Divine Abyss Continent unhindered for thousands of years. Against any
reasonable expectation, I was hunted down by the Ninesuns Sky Sect and Eternal
Celestial Capital and ultimately wandered to this place. I have already burned
out the wick of my life,, and have decided to use this place as my place of
rebirth. I shall cast away my power and essence of a lifetime in hopes of
entering the cycle of rebirth. To a person nearing his death, all gains and
losses in this world are but a transient thing.
“A goose leaves behind its voice after its flight, but a
man’s legacy after life is his name. I dominated the Divine Abyss Continent at
one point, and was a hero of those times. Therefore, I shall leave behind my
inheritance in hopes that my future heir will be able to spread the name of
Emperor Featherflight and avenge me.
“My heir must eliminate the Ninesuns Sky Sect and Eternal
Celestial Capital…”
Later on, Emperor Featherflight even detailed some of his
experiences while he was being hunted by the Ninesuns Sky Sect and Eternal
Celestial Capital, and some of the reasons he had chosen to escape to this
place. He also explained some of the processes and the reason why he had chosen
this lake bottom.
“I am a titled emperor, and I share no ties with the
Ninesuns Sky Sect and Eternal Celestial Capital. The reason they hunted me was
not because they wanted my martial dao inheritance, but because I obtained an
ancient inheritance from a certain ancient secret realm. This ancient
inheritance had been left behind by a great empyrean expert. However, not only
did it contain an empyrean decree, but also a secret order of the legendary
fate secret realm. The fate realm is said to be connected to the shores of the
heavenly law. It allows a cultivator to connect directly with the heavenly law
and ascend to the heavenly planes…”
For a time, Jiang Chen’s heart was filled with indescribable
emotions as he read Emperor Featherflight’s last message. He had guessed that
there would be something amazing like an empyrean decree amongst the goods, but
he’d never dreamed that Emperor Featherflight would possess a secret order that
would enable passage to the secret realm of heavenly laws too.
Jiang Chen might not have known the Divine Abyss Continent
very well, but he did know that every physical plane had secret realms that
were connected to the heavenly law.
Normally speaking, once an expert of a physical plane
obtained the acknowledgement of the heavenly law, they would ascend to the
heavenly plane through the normal channels of celestial orbit. Otherwise, if
they hadn’t obtained this confirmation, then they would have to utilize secret
realms to do so. Secret realms would give a cultivator the same chance to
obtain the acknowledgement of heavenly laws, and ascend directly to the
heavenly planes.
Chapter 683: Refining the Abode
Jiang Chen had conducted copious research into all sorts of
physical planes in his past life. Many of the geniuses he’d encountered had
actually ascended from these physical planes. As a result, he knew a great deal
about those planes. This fate secret realm was likely a secret realm of the
highest level on an ordinary plane like the Divine Abyss Continent. Something
like this normally wouldn’t appear this easily. Its discovery would undoubtedly
bring forth a world-shaking change to the ordinary plane it appeared in. After
all, a path to the heavenly law might not appear even once in ten thousand
years.
It was the first time that Jiang Chen had clearly seen the
words ‘heavenly planes’ ever since his reincarnation. Although the message only
mentioned the words without any sort of clarifying details, Jiang Chen still
felt excitement begin to brew in his chest.
Even though the universe was vast, with plenty of heavenly
planes, not to mention that the one connected to the Divine Abyss Continent
might not have necessarily been the one that his father had ruled in the past…
Jiang Chen still couldn’t help but feel much anticipation when he saw the words
‘heavenly planes’.
A fate secret realm, empyrean decree and heavenly planes…
These were all things far beyond the Myriad Domain.
“No wonder the Eternal Celestial Capital and Ninesuns Sky
Sect chased after him for a thousand years. No wonder they were willing to make
preparations for a thousand years in the Myriad Domain. Their goal was these
things.” Jiang Chen had guessed from the beginning that it might be something
like this. A first rank sect wouldn’t have been this persistent if it’d only
been Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance they’d coveted.
After all, first rank sects weren’t lacking in great
emperors. In fact, they all had quite a few great emperors. They had even more
emperor cultivators who had ascended to the emperor realm, but hadn’t yet
obtained a title. There was no way Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance would be
this attractive to a first rank sect. At the end of the message, Emperor
Featherflight emphasized again that his heir must eliminate the Ninesuns Sky
Sect and Eternal Celestial Capital.
It was evident from this inscription the depths of hatred
Emperor Featherflight bore towards the two sects. After all, the reason he’d
died from his injuries was entirely because of the relentless pursuit of these
two sects. Yet, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel the tiniest sense of odd.
He didn’t doubt that Emperor Featherflight hated these two
sects very much, but there was still something that didn’t sit right with these
words.
If these inscriptions had been directed at an ordinary heir,
then everything written here would be logical and perfectly understandable.
However, Emperor Featherflight shouldn’t have been entertaining the notion that
his heir would be an ordinary person. He should have been focusing on the high
likelihood that the Eternal Celestial Capital and Ninesuns Sky Sect would find
him. After all, in the situation in which he was being hunted down without
rest, they were the ones most likely to track him down. Wouldn’t all his
inscriptions be useless then?
Once those of the Ninesuns Sky Sect or Eternal Celestial
Capital barged in, who would give a damn about his carved words? His
inheritance would be robbed like taking candy from a baby! In fact, they might
even go as far as to humiliate Emperor Featherflight’s body. Jiang Chen stopped
when he thought up to this point. With Emperor Featherflight’s intelligence, it
was impossible that he wouldn’t notice such an enormous flaw in his plans.
The fact that Emperor Featherflight had been able to escape
the pursuit of two sects and enter the Paramount Realm proved that he was
definitely an intelligent and courageous expert. How could he possibly not
consider the notion that the first person to enter this place could be someone
from the Ninesuns Sky Sect or Eternal Celestial Capital? If that happened,
wouldn’t his last words become a joke?
“If I was Emperor Featherflight, I would never overlook such
an enormous flaw in my plans. I would absolutely come up with a way to trick
these two sects into a trap.” Jiang Chen put himself in the emperor realm
cultivator’s shoes. If it’d been him, he would never let his opponent have the
last laugh. That was why Jiang Chen hadn’t touched Emperor Featherflight’s
inheritance recklessly, even though they were right behind the cultivator.
“I mustn’t act recklessly. Emperor Featherflight must’ve
done this for a good reason. Perhaps he put his inheritance behind him to
seduce the people of these two sects to take them.” Jiang Chen could almost
imagine the entire palace exploding the second he touched those items
carelessly. Looking at how powerful the restrictions in this palace were, he
was sure that he wouldn’t be able to resist a full power blow from the
restrictions at his current level. In fact, even a Titled Great Emperor might
not be able to endure an empyrean cultivator defenses. This palace abode was
obviously the work of an empyrean cultivator. Emperor Featherflight had merely
owned it for a while.
Although Jiang Chen wanted very much to take these treasures
for himself, he suppressed the impulse in the end and decided to find the core
of the palace first. Emperor Featherflight must have refined the palace before.
The palace had then become masterless once more after Emperor Featherflight had
passed on. If Jiang Chen could find its core, he could refine it just like
Emperor Featherflight had and become its master. Once he had refined the
palace, it would be completely under his control. When that comes to be, all
the traps Emperor Featherflight had prepared would come to light.
“Mm, let’s do it this way. I cannot act as Emperor
Featherflight thought his intruders would, or I will definitely fall into his
trap.” Jiang Chen was very sober and very rational at the moment. He knew that
he must obey his logic rather than be led by the nose by Emperor Featherflight.
Although Emperor Featherflight’s last message had no obvious signs of guidance,
Jiang Chen had deduced that it might be all an act to seduce the Ninesuns Sky
Sect and Eternal Celestial Capital into a trap.
If he’d been someone from the two sects and didn’t know how
this type of portable residence worked, there was a high likelihood that he
might’ve rashly gone forward. If that really was a trap set up by Emperor
Featherflight, then the consequences would’ve been too awful to contemplate.
Jiang Chen made four full patrols of the interior, probing
every detail. If it’d been any other Divine Abyss Continent genius, they would
have no idea what to do at all. The youngsters of this world possessed limited
knowledge. They had no clear recognition of an empyrean cultivator’s work. Only
an expert would have an inkling of an idea as to what this palace was, and
thankfully Jiang Chen’s insight exceeded that of even an empyrean cultivator.
This was his greatest advantage.
Jiang Chen set his sights on three rather suspicious
locations about four hours later. Those particular locations looked rather
innocuous, and wasn’t particularly distinct from any other part of the palace.
From his point of view and analysis, he was sure that one of these three
locations was the palace’s core. Since he had observed many refinings in his
past, he was rather familiar with how artisans were inspired and their trail of
thought. There was no doubt that these those three places befitted an expert’s
mindset the most.
The first place Jiang Chen probed into with his
consciousness didn’t respond to him. But when he probed into the second spot,
he immediately confirmed that it was the right place.
“This is it!” He was overjoyed. Although he had never
experienced this feeling personally in the past, he’d heard countless people
describing it. He knew that he had discovered the palace’s core. As he
expected, he felt immediate feedback coming from the palace the moment he
filled it with his consciousness and attempted to refine it. Thanks to his past
life, he quickly understood how he should proceed. As Jiang Chen continued to
refine the core, the palace’s response grew incredibly intense. Reams of
information and data related to the palace poured into his mind. It was quite
the amazing experience.
“Haha, I knew that this was a portable abode. Mm, as I
thought, this residence’s creator is an empyrean expert. In fact, he’s a mid
rank empyrean expert… Unbelievable, this mid rank empyrean expert is actually a
Divine Abyss Continent expert from two hundred thousand years ago?! Tsk tsk,
the ancient age certainly has an illustrious history.” Jiang Chen was amazed as
he scanned through the information.
He also guessed that Emperor Featherflight had only managed
to refine a small portion of the palace. He hadn’t refined the abode
completely. Otherwise, he could have used the palace to fight against those two
sects. He could’ve even used the power of restrictions inside the palace to
destroy his pursuers. According to the information left behind, the castle
possessed tremendously powerful restrictions. No one beneath the empyrean realm
could be expected to survive once those were activated. Of course, it wasn’t
easy to activate the restrictions.
With the amount of resources remaining inside, it could
attack three times at most. Once all three times were exhausted, he would have
to find a new source of spirit power. Only then would he be able to reactivate the
restrictions. It was obvious that Emperor Featherflight hadn’t mastered this
knowledge when he’d refined the palace.
“The empyrean expert who created the palace was truly
amazing. If I hadn’t possessed the memories of my past life and known some heavenly
level refinement methods, I would have likely been met with the same fate as
Emperor Featherflight. I wouldn’t have known about everything the palace
contains.” Jiang Chen suddenly felt a great sense of contentment. He knew that
he had made it big this time. Setting aside the value of the palace itself, its
offensive and defensive powers alone were worth a first rank sect in the Divine
Abyss Continent.
“It’s unfortunate that Emperor Featherflight hadn’t spent
much time refining the palace. It had been too late when he discovered that it
possessed offensive capabilities.” Jiang Chen realized this immediately after
he’d finished. Emperor Featherflight had mastered the restrictions, but only in
the end. His inheritances had been linked perfectly with them.
For a moment or two, Jiang Chen felt fear curl its clammy
fingers around his heart, “It was indeed a trap. If I’d given in to temptation
and grabbed the treasure immediately back then, I would’ve ended up taking the
hit meant for the Ninesuns Sky Sect and the Eternal Celestial Capital.” It
would’ve been a terrible way to die. But now, he had made the palace his own.
Every scrap of information about the palace was filtering into his mind,
including Emperor Featherflight’s misery.
“My apologies, Emperor Featherflight. From this day onwards,
the palace shall fall under my surname Jiang. But don’t worry, the Ninesuns Sky
Sect and I have been enemies for a long time. I’ll avenge you. As for the
Eternal Celestial Capital, I wouldn’t mind taking them out in passing if
they’re stupid enough to provoke me…” For a time, Jiang Chen was feeling very
pleased with this whole encounter.
Taking the palace had benefited him greatly . Unfortunately,
the palace’s previous master had already used up one of the three restriction
attacks set by its creator. It only had two charges left now, Once the two
charges were used up, the restrictions would lose their effect. If he wished to
activate them once more, the amount of resources required to do so would be
absolutely shocking. Even Jiang Chen’s current wealth wouldn’t be enough to
fill one twentieth of the resources needed to activate one attack. It would be
literally trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water.
Chapter 684: Two Inheritances
Although there were only two charges left, they represented
two life-saving chances. As more information about the palace flooded through
his mind, Jiang Chen gained a better understanding of the residence and the one
who’d created it. The mid rank empyrean cultivator was called Guo Ran. But of
course, there was no information about the creator within the residence other
than his name. He’d obviously passed on within the palace, and had also left
behind his empyrean decree somewhere inside. Apart from his own decree, there
was a secret order that looked like a silver key. Its unremarkable design gave
no hint of the turmoil that had revolved around it.
“Is this secret order the way to the fate secret realm?”
Jiang Chen knew that secret orders used to enter secret realms came in various
forms. Some were keys, others talismans, and yet others proofs of identity. If
one barged in without a secret order, then the restrictions within the secret
realm would activate to attack the unauthorized intruder. If the secret realm
really was that amazing, then Jiang Chen decided that he would go adventure in
one no matter what. It could lead him directly to the shores of the heavenly
law. If he could communicate with it, then maybe he could head for the heavenly
planes.
“Whether or not the secret realm really exists, I must keep
the order safe. I can’t venture forth into the secret realm with my current
strength, but with this, I’ll be able to enter whenever its corresponding
secret realm appears.” In Jiang Chen’s eyes, the secret order was even more
valuable than the empyrean decree. Although the decree would turn Titled Great
Emperors into dogs fighting over a bone, it paled in comparison to a genuine
secret order.
It was still a mystery currently whether there were any
empyrean cultivators in the Divine Abyss Continent. At least, Jiang Chen hadn’t
come into contact with any yet even given his unique position in the Myriad
Domain It was similarly unknown whether there were any empyrean realm
cultivators in the first rank sects either. However, even if there were any in
the Upper Eight Regions, they would be as rare as phoenix feathers and dragon
scales. It was likely that not a single one had appeared in the last thousand
years. Many Titled Great Emperors had no hopes of gaining recognition from the
heavenly dao through their own cultivation, so refining the empyrean decree
left behind from others was the best way to ascend to the empyrean realm.
Therefore, a bloodbath would always occur whenever an empyrean decree appeared
as numerous Titled Great Emperors stirred to action. This was also why such
things had to remain hidden.
The secret order of the fate secret realm, an empyrean
order, and the palace abode. These were the three inheritances left behind by
the ancient empyrean realm cultivator Guo Ran. Any of them would be an ultimate
treasure in the Divine Abyss Continent.
“To think that the Ninesuns Sky Sect’s setup for a thousand
years ended up benefiting me in the end!” Jiang Chen had the urge to throw his
head back in laughter when he thought of this. He didn’t have the slightest
iota of kindness towards the Sky Sect, particularly after the multiple grudges
they’d formed. They’d long since formed a feud to the death. Therefore, not
only did Jiang Chen not feel embarrassed about taking their fruits of labor,
but he even had the sweet thrill of revenge.
The connection between the palace and Emperor Featherflight
was completely erased after Jiang Chen refined the core. This meant that all of
the cultivator’s defenses had been rendered useless. After Jiang Chen buried
Emperor Featherflight’s remains, he also picked up the cultivator’s inheritance
as well. It’d be a waste to just leave it there, anyhow. Although Emperor
Featherflight had been a rogue cultivator, he was no simple character to be
able to train to the level of Titled Great Emperor just based off his own
potential and luck.
There were many reasons behind Emperor Featherflight’s fame.
The first was his set of wings. Imbued with thunder and wind attributes, they’d
allowed him to soar high above the clouds with the speed of thunder and that
agility of the wind. His speed was considered top notch even amongst Titled
Great Emperors. If the two first rank sects hadn’t flung every kind of trap and
ambush in his path when pursuing him, they wouldn’t have been able to even
catch his heels when he fled. Then again, he wouldn’t have perished if it
hadn’t been for his injuries. After he’d been grievously injured, he’d called
upon his wings to carry him to safety, without thinking of the price that that
would exact. These wings were primarily why he’d been renowned throughout the
Divine Abyss Continent.
A method called the “Featherflight Tactics” were to be used
in conjunction with the wings. It enabled the cultivator to dash to and fro
like a gust of wind or crack of thunder, coming and going like a shadow. It was
almost impossible to guard against it. In addition, Emperor Featherflight had a
famous blade technique called the “Featherflight Blade” which had complemented
his Featherflight Tactics, While still carrying the momentum of wind and
thunder, the blade would drift through the air like a feather. An instant was
all it took for the blade to morph from heavy to light, quick to slow, creating
a bizarre style of swordplay that had secured its place as one of the most
impressive techniques in the Divine Abyss Continent.
Emperor Featherflight had yet another treasure called the
Featherflight Mirror. This treasure could greatly decrease the opponent’s speed
during battle if it could hit them with its light. No matter how fast they
were, it had an absolute effect. The Featherflight Emperor had crossed paths
with many other Titled Great Emperors back in his day, and the combination of
the Featherflight Mirror and Blade had enabled him to kill many opponents on
the same level. The Featherflight Mirror had been instrumental in helping him
break through the encirclement of multiple Titled Great Emperors when they’d
united to pursue him. It was because of all these treasures and methods
together that Emperor Featherflight had risen above the pack of countless
Titled Great Emperors.
Most ordinary Titled Great Emperors were no match for
Emperor Featherflight, even if they were born of rich and powerful sects.
Emperor Featherflight had possessed enormous luck indeed, as he’d accidentally
obtained the inheritance of an ancient empyrean realm cultivator. This was the
opportunity of a lifetime! But it’d because of this that he’d also attracted
fatal attention. At least ten Titled Great Emperors had been sent by the two
first rank sects to hunt him down. That battle had forced the Featherflight
Emperor to utilize every scrap of his ability to escape alive, albeit injured.
But he’d managed to throw them off his scent when he entered the Myriad Domain.
They’d speculated wildly, thinking that he’d made it through
the Myriad Domain and entered the desolate wilderness. That area wasn’t human
territory, so even first rank sects didn’t dare enter rashly. They’d also
considered the Paramount Realm, but felt that the minuscule amount of life
energy within the Myriad Domain wouldn’t be able to support a Titled Great
Emperor for so long. Add to the fact that it’d been the Myriad Empire’s era
back then, so it wasn’t exactly an easy proposition to bully the Myriad Domain
into compliance. Forcefully entering the Paramount Realm might have alarmed the
Myriad Empire and started a chain reaction. They might even be forced to expose
Emperor Featherflight’s secret. Therefore, whether it was the Ninesuns Sky Sect
or the Eternal Celestial Capital, both had been very quiet as they covertly
started searching, not daring to alarm the local authorities.
It wasn’t until a hundred years that the two sects finally
thought of planting their own people into the Myriad Domain and having their
young geniuses search the Paramount Realm. Their spies had actually made it in
during previous Grand Ceremonies, but had come up empty-handed. It wasn’t until
this particular ceremony when Lin Hai and Jun Mobai drew upon the experiences
of their predecessors and avoided the routes previously searched that they’d
finally found something.
But it all fell into Jiang Chen’s hands in the end. Emperor
Featherflight’s inheritances were an easy matter, but it took him half a day to
refine the wings. He barely managed to put his own stamp on them, and it’d
likely take roughly five years to thoroughly refine the wings. Of course, Jiang
Chen was in no hurry for results. It wasn’t realistic to think that one could
thoroughly refine the personal treasures of a Titled Great Emperor in just a
few minutes.
When he took stock of the time, he noted that roughly seven
days days had passed since he’d entered the realm. Jiang Chen decided to leave
the Paramount Realm early. He was still anxious to know what was going on in
the outside world despite being in the Paramount Realm. He had a premonition
that something would happen during this ceremony. He couldn’t quite put his
finger on what, but knew that it wouldn’t be pleasant. Hence, he didn’t want to
waste time after receiving the inheritances.
Once the palace was refined, he could shrink it down to the
size of a mustard and put it away. Jiang Chen followed the instructions left
behind by the previous owner and turned the palace into a pinprick of light
that floated into Jiang Chen’s consciousness.
When he walked out of the palace, Jiang Chen kicked Lin Hai
and Jun Mobai’s remains into the brackish lake waters. With the corrosive
ability of the lake water, the two would quickly dissolve into nothing before
long. The Ninesuns Sky Sect and Eternal Celestial Capital would glean nothing
even if they tracked the disciples down here. They would never find out that
Emperor Featherflight had passed here a thousand years ago.
Jiang Chen walked outside once he’d put everything in order.
The transcendent region was enormous. He would’ve very likely gotten lost had
it not been for the guidance of the jade token. He wanted to find a
transportation point and crush the token to transport himself out of the
Paramount Realm. He didn’t want to spend a second more than he had to in a
place with almost no life energy.
Hmm?
As he was making his way out, he froze. It almost sounded
like someone was calling his name. He had to be hearing things. The
transcendent region had almost an oppressive silence, with not a hint of sound.
And yet, that call was only becoming clearer and clearer.
“Jiang Chen you cowardly bastard! Do you not care about the
life of your little lover? Do you still hide now that that wench Ling Bi'er is
in my hands? If you don’t appear within twenty four hours, I’ll be the first to
enjoy her, and then everyone here will take their turn one after another…”
Jiang Chen had heard it clearly this time, it was Wang Han!
Why is it Wang Han? How did this kid get into the Paramount Realm?
Chapter 685: Encounter on a Narrow Path
If I remember correctly, this brat should’ve scrammed back
to the Sacred Sword Palace already. Suddenly, Jiang Chen realized, “Great
changes must be taking place in the outside world as we expected. Otherwise,
the Myriad Domain sects wouldn’t have let the Sacred Sword Palace enter the
Paramount Realm.”
He felt somewhat anxious when his thoughts travelled up to
this point. Killing intent also surged at the same time. Regardless of the
nature of this upheaval, Jiang Chen was almost certain that the Sacred Sword
Palace was colluding with external forces. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been
able to overcome either the Regal Pill Palace and the Dark North Sect with
their power alone, let alone the Great Cathedral. It was even less possible for
them to act so brazenly in the transcendent region of the Paramount Realm.
“Haha, Jiang Chen, this Ling Bi'er is quite a tantalizing
wench. Which youth in the Myriad Domain doesn’t lust after her? How much of a
commotion would it be if I disrobe her? Tell me, how many lush green hats would
be have to wear if the goddess of the Myriad Domain is so promiscuous that any
man can be her husband?” Wang Han’s tone was filled with extreme resentment. It
was obvious that he was filled with hatred for Jiang Chen and wanted to take it
all out on Ling Bi'er.
Jiang Chen was immensely incensed. If Wang Jianyu hadn’t
suddenly intervened during their last battle, he would already have killed Wang
Han in the arena. As expected, a snake not beaten to death would swing back for
a bite.
“Wang Han you little bastard, it looks like you’ve steeled
your heart to go against me!” Jiang Chen’s heart grew flinty as killing intent
surged and roared against Wang Han. This move from the Sacred Sword Palace
disciple had crossed over Jiang Chen’s bottom line. The kind of opponents Jiang
Chen hated most in his life were those who tried to threaten him by taking the
people by his side as hostage. As his senior sister, Ling Bi’er was one of the
people he had the closest relationship with in the Regal Pill Palace. Although
they didn’t share the kind of relationship stated by Wang Han, Jiang Chen knew
that this senior sister treated him very well. In his heart, Jiang Chen
regarded Ling Bi'er as someone he had to protect.
Regardless of whether or not Ling Bi'er had truly fallen
into Wang Han’s hands, the words he’d just spoken were enough to cause Jiang
Chen come to a resolute decision—Wang Han had to die! Although he was supremely
furious, Jiang Chen did not lose his rationality. Wang Han surely had some sort
of support since he’d dared jeer with such unbridled wanton. It was very
possible that his backer wasn’t as simple as a mere Wang Jianyu. Jiang Chen
believed that Wang Han wouldn’t have been able to enter the Paramount Realm if
Wang Jianyu alone was his greatest backer. A stronger patron must have
appeared, a force that even the Grand Cathedral’s Xiang Wentian couldn’t
resist.
“Can it be that... the Ninesuns Sky Sect had finally
discarded all pretenses of cordiality?” Jiang Chen’s heart was full of questions.
Considering Emperor Featherflight’s matter, it was unlikely that the Ninesun
Sky Sect would erupt in open hostility like this and launch an open invasion.
If the Sky Sect were to openly launch an invasion, it would no doubt invite the
attention of the other first rank sects. That was completely incompatible with
their plans.
“If not the Ninesuns Sky Sect, then… the Eternal Celestial
Capital?” Jiang Chen shook his head at the thought of this. The Ninesuns Sky
Sect and Eternal Celestial Capital were in similar situations. They would have
to scheme in secret if they wanted to become involved. They would never invade
blatantly.
Wang Han’s voice and wanton snickering came through
constantly. His words were filled with unbearable obscenities, thoroughly displaying
his wretched personality. Suddenly, Ling Bi'er’s cold and clear voice cut
through the air. “Wang Han, your loud cries only serve to prove your guilty
conscience. To think that the vaunted first genius of the Sacred Sword Palace
would be so miserably base. What a thorough disgrace! Even if you’ve found
yourself an emperor realm backer, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a
failure. Even if you recognize the Great Scarlet Emperor as your godfather, you
will always be a failure in front of Jiang Chen.”
Jiang Chen’s expression turned solemn after hearing Ling
Bi’er’s voice. It is indeed senior sister Ling Bi'er! Fires of fury surged in
his heart along with boundless killing intent intent.
“Wang Han, Wang Han!” Jiang Chen repeated the name under his
breath as a murderous chill flashed through his eyes. The bastard had
thoroughly enraged Jiang Chen!
He was able calm himself down after some effort without
losing his rationality. He knew that Ling Bi'er’s words were actually intended
as a warning. The Great Scarlet Mid Region, emperor realm cultivators...
Jiang Chen was shaken; he never thought that the invaders
would be from the Great Scarlet Mid Region. Could it be that history from six
hundred years ago was about to repeat itself? The situation had become
increasingly complex with the invasion of the Great Scarlet Mid Region.
“Great Scarlet Mid Region… Great Scarlet Mid Region,” As the
fires of wrath leapt and crackled, his mind calmed down instead. He was now
aware of the enemy and the direction he should be taking. Not only was the
Great Scarlet Mid Region neighbor to the Myriad Domain, but there was also deep
animosity between the two. An open invasion did not come as a surprise.
But, with what kind of pretense were they raising their
banner this time? During the invasion six hundred years ago, the Great Scarlet
Mid Region claimed to be avenging the Myriad Empire violation of a Great
Scarlet sacred girl. Despite being a lousy excuse, it had served as a
justification. What would be their excuse this time? However, another question
popped up in his mind, “If the Great Scarlet Mid Region has truly invaded, it’s
not surprising that the Sacred Sword Palace would shamelessly defect. However,
how could Wang Han possess enough prestige to have an emperor level expert from
the Great Scarlet Mid Region accompany him while in kicking up this ruckus?
Could it be that they’ve come specifically for me?” Jiang Chen didn’t believe
Wang Han possessed such charisma.
It was more than likely that the emperor level expert from
the Great Scarlet Mid Region had come for him. Wang Han must have tagged along
as the cannon fodder leading the charge. Jiang Chen was at solemn attention
after thinking it over. Even though he didn’t know why Great Scarlet wanted
find him specifically, he guessed that it probably had something to do with the
sky ranked herbs he had obtained from the ancient herb garden. It could even be
related to the Longevity Pill.
Being the Great Scarlet Mid Region, they would have surely
obtained this information. It would be easy to lock onto him. As for him being
in the Paramount Realm, it was most likely that those from the Sacred Sword
Palace had leaked the information. Jiang Chen had sensed by this time that Wang
Han’s party was gradually approaching his location. They were separated by five
kilometers at most.
Receiving absolutely no response after a stream of excessive
provocation, Wang Han glared ferociously at Ling Bi'er. “Cheap woman, don't
think that your little tricks will be able to escape everyone’s notice. You
want to notify Jiang Chen and help him escape, didn’t you? Tsk tsk, what deep
affection. Unfortunately, that bastard has been scared out of his wits and has
already forgotten about chivalry. He’s hiding in a corner somewhere with his tail
between his legs, let alone caring about your wellbeing!”
Ling Bi'er sniffed disdainfully, “It's beneath me to talk to
such a shameless person.”
Wang Han was infuriated. “You little bitch! Trying to act
chaste even now huh?? Just wait 24 hours and see how I’ll train and humiliate
you. You’ll want to die from wanting me so much then! Haha, I can’t wait to see
that happen!”
Although she shivered with fright within, Ling Bi'er’s
demeanor was just as apathetic. She glanced at Qin Mo indifferently. “Senior,
when I agreed to follow you, I stated that my condition wasn't to be
humiliated. If the senior does not keep his word—and since this junior cannot outfight
you—I can only detonate my spirit then.”
Qin Mo laughed blandly. “Lass, are you trying to threaten
me? Remember that if we do not catch Jiang Chen, I won’t let you die peacefully
either, much less Wang Han!”
The old man had been searching the transcendent region for
so long, yet Jiang Chen was nowhere to be found. He was filled with frustration
at continuously turning up empty-handed. Although he had suppressed his
life-force and was able to reduce the drain on his vitality to that of a sage realm
expert, he was becoming increasingly upset about the endless expenditure. After
all, his losses would be great if he couldn't capture Jiang Chen. He would have
obtained a couple of sky and a great deal of earth ranked spirit herbs if he
had chosen to chase after the Regal Pill Palace.
He had come to hunt Jiang Chen because of potential profits.
Moreover, Jiang Chen was the person that the Great Scarlet Emperor had
specifically wanted. He would’ve lost this gamble if he didn’t end up catching
Jiang Chen. This undoubtedly caused him to feel rather dejected.
He had held back from pressuring Ling Bi'er along the way
because he was confident that he would be able to thoroughly suppress this
first level sage realm junior with his third level emperor realm strength. As
such, he felt it wasn't worth breaking his promise. Those pledges would no
longer be important once he captured Jiang Chen. With Sect Head Qin Mo’s
violent nature, how would he then let things be and treat Ling Bi’er nicely?
Ling Bi’er’s expression froze slightly after hearing those
words. But the resolution in her heart remained absolutely unshaken. She was
actually roughly seventy percent certain that she could escape from Sect Head
Qin Mo’s grasp using Senior Shao Yin’s escape talismans. But she didn’t want to
accept this kind of outcome. She wanted to escape together with Jiang Chen
after she found him. And thus, she was fine taking the risk and waiting for
Jiang Chen to appear. She would wait until the closing of the Paramount Realm
regardless of the cost.
“Master, this base wench has alerted Jiang Chen. Why don’t
we seal her mouth first?” Wang Han was quite upset and wanted to add fuel to
the fire.
Sect Head Qin Mo waved his hand. “No need. Let her cry out,
the louder the better. From your description, this Jiang Chen appears to be a
person who values friendship and loyalty. He will not flee if he hears her.”
Wang Han felt somewhat awkward after hearing this. Even his
master was praising Jiang Chen’s loyalty. Comparatively, he himself had
immediately defected after seeing the experts of the Great Scarlet Mid Region.
The difference between them was too great. Ling Bi'er’s admonition that he
would always be a failure before Jiang Chen stung deep. He also knew it was
true, although he didn’t want to admit to it. This was why he’d turned to anger
in the depths of his embarrassment.
Wang Han’s mouth moved as if he wanted to say something.
However, Sect Head Qin Mo’s expression suddenly changed, the corners of his
mouth shifting into a bizarre smile.
“Wang Han, Wang Jianyu, keep an eye on this lass and make
your way west.” No sooner had his orders been issued did Sect Head Qin Mo
transform into a golden tempest, sweeping towards the distance.
Wang Jianyu cackled evilly as he moved forward to seize Ling
Bi'er. Her expression changed abruptly as she crushed the talisman in her hand.
With an evasive flash, she vanished into thin air.
Chapter 686: The Stalwart Lin Bi’er
Damn it! When he saw what had transpired, Wang Jianyu
immediately chased after the fading light. Wang Han’s face also drained of all
color. He would’ve started cursing if Wang Jianyu wasn't his grandfather.
“After her!” Wang Han instructed with a wave of his hand.
Those from the Sacred Sword Palace were all ashen-faced and didn’t dare to
express the slightest dissent. They were all elders of the Sacred Sword Palace
and by no means inferior to Wang Han, but Wang Han’s position now was even
higher than Wang Jianyu’s, after becoming Sect Head Qin Mo’s disciple. Who
would dare disobey him? Everyone left in pursuit of Ling Bi’er.
A majestic palace suddenly appeared in the desert after five
kilometers. It towered over the yellow sands and measured over hundreds of
acres in area. In the lead, Sect Head Qin Mo halted his pursuit about a
thousand meters away and stared at the awe-inspiring palace. His expression was
filled with momentary surprise. He hadn’t expected that such a magnificent
palace would exist within the transcendent region of the Paramount Realm.
What’s the purpose of constructing such a palace in a realm devoid of life
force? He was even more astonished to see the silhouette of a person standing
before the palace. The figure appeared young, but possessed a significant
presence. “Jiang Chen?” Sect Head Qin Mo cried out with surprise.
Jiang Chen only returned a cold gaze, “And who might you be?
If I remember correctly, there is no one of your caliber within the Myriad
Domain.”
Sect Head Qin Mo laughed loudly. “Good, good, good… I hadn’t
expected that someone so courageous could be found amongst the younger
generation of the Myriad Domain. I wonder, are you blind or is it ignorant
confidence?”
Wang Jianyu’s and his party arrived one after another as
they were talking. The former’s eyes were full of terror. “Sir, the... the
girl...”
Sect Head Qin Mo’s expression turned frosty. “Where is she?”
“Honored master, that crafty wench actually possessed an
escape talisman. She crushed it instantly and escaped in a flash of light.”
Wang Han’s tone was both exasperated and irate.
Sect Head Qin Mo glared furiously at Wang Jianyu, “Useless
trash!”
Wang Jianyu could only lower his head without a word, he
didn’t dare retort at all. He felt rather aggrieved. You were the one who
wanted to pretend you’re all that and not put restrictions on her! How would
she have the opportunity to slip away otherwise?
However, Sect Head Qin Mo then grinned, “Let it be. The girl
is no longer significant since the star of the show has already appeared.”
Wang Han’s eyebrows twitched after seeing Jiang Chen
standing before the palace. He was first astonished, but then ecstatical.
“Jiang Chen, you animal! It seems that you do like to play the protector of
maidens.”
Jiang Chen’s expression was indifferent. “Wang Han, I would
tuck my tail behind me and behave myself if I were you. It seems that I’ve
overestimated your moral principles. I didn't expect that you would immediately
defect, and recognize the thief as your father. However, this relationship is
quite messed up. Since Wang Jianyu is your grandfather and now you have
recognized the Great Scarlet Emperor as your godfather, wouldn’t that make Wang
Jianyu the emperor’s father?”
Wang Jianyu’s expression changed drastically after hearing
these words. He was filled with terror. How could he not know that Jiang Chen
was trying to trip him up? Jiang Chen wanted to roast him on an open fire!
Although the bit about Wang Han recognizing the Great Scarlet emperor as his
godfather was nonsense, it was an undeniable fact that he had taken Sect Head
Qin Mo as his master. Since he was Wang Han’s grandfather, he was indeed Sect
Head Qin Mo’s senior. Wang Jianyu immediately began to sweat.
Sect Head Qin Mo was apathetic and unmoved by these words.
He stared at Jiang Chen with cold eyes before cackling cruelly, “Brat, you have
quite the glib tongue.”
No sooner had he spoken than the corners of his mouth
abruptly lifted into an odd smile. Suddenly—seven zither strings shot out with
a lift of his hand and rushed toward the sky, akin to the convergence of seven
stars. The skyrocketing strings churned up light with boundless radiance as
they intersected in the air, forming a fine, inescapable net which locked down
the area.
“Get down here!” Sect Head Qin Mo shouted and pressed down
with a single hand. Suddenly, a beam of light in sky crashed into the net of
interwoven zither strings.
Sizzle… Sizzle… Ear piercing sounds rang out as the light
was deterred by the zither string net. A figure fell out from within the
light—Ling Bi’er.
Sect Head Qin Mo laughed loudly as he transformed one of his
hands into an enormous palm of spirit energy and caught Ling Bi’er as she fell.
Things developed swiftly within the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint
stone. It was only a breath’s time from the moment Sect Head Qin Mo took action
until Ling Bi’er was recaptured. Even an expert such as Wang Jianyu hadn’t
realized who Sect Head Qin Mo was targeting. They only realized what had
happened when Ling Bi’er was caught in midair. They were completely taken aback
by astonishment and they couldn't help but admire the strength and abilities of
the emperor realm expert.
The distant Jiang Chen had taken precautions the moment Sect
Head Qin Mo made his move, but immediately realized afterwards that the target
wasn't him. Ling Bi’er’s light had already been trapped by the time he reacted.
He’d originally been delighted after hearing Wang Jianyu’s words, thinking that
Ling B’er had already escaped. Unexpectedly, Ling Bi’er had turned back only to
be captured once again.
“Haha, this lass is so blindly devoted. You have obviously
escaped and yet you come back to die. Could it be that you want to go on the
run with this brat like a pair of mandarin ducks?” Hints of glee could be
discerned from Sect Head Qin Mo’s laugh. He was overly proud of his
extraordinary strength.
He’d been slightly worried that Jiang Chen also possessed a
similarly powerful escape talisman. Qin Mo might have been able to hunt Jiang
Chen down in the outside world if he’d utilized such a powerful escape talisman
to flee, but with the weak life energy within the Paramount Realm, he wasn't
fully confident about chasing after Jiang Chen. Now that Ling Bi’er had
returned, he had gained another trump card. Jiang Chen wouldn’t run away now
even if he had the means. This girl returned for you after a escaping successfully.
Would you have the heart to abandon your lover and flee?
“Jiang Chen, even this old man can’t help but praise the
girl’s affection and loyalty. You have quite the charisma to be able to gain
this exquisite young lady’s unwavering devotion. She came back for you
regardless of her own safety. Tell me, should this old man fulfill your wishes
and let the two of you die together?” Sect Head Qin Mo laughed calmly, his
fearless gaze fixed on Jiang Chen.
Ling Bi’er had originally wanted to return secretly and
escape together with Jiang Chen. Alas, she had carelessly fallen back into Sect
Head Qin Mo’s hands. Anxiety burning in her heart, Ling Bi’er cried out,
“Junior brother, forget about me and leave quickly! The Great Scarlet Mid
Region has launched a full scale invasion and the fate of the Myriad Domain is
unknown. Leave quickly and preserve your own life so that you can avenge
everyone later on!” Ling Bi’er gave no thought for her survival and even felt
somewhat guilty. She felt that her good intentions had dragged Jiang Chen down.
At this moment, she only wanted Jiang Chen to leave quickly. It would lessen
her guilt if Jiang Chen wasn’t implicated by her mistake.
Wang Han was actually afraid that Jiang Chen would indeed
abandon Ling Bi’er and flee. He laughed coldly, “Jiang Chen, didn’t you have
quite the glib tongue just now? Why not throw your weight around a bit more?
This tramp is so devoted to you. Do you have the heart to abandon her?” Despite
being rather nervous, he was still composed. Ideas flashed through his mind and
he devised a plan in an instant.
“Wang Han, the likes of you who recognizes a thief as your
father is not worthy of speaking to me.” Jiang Chen’s gaze shifted to Sect Head
Qin Mo, “What position do you hold within the Great Scarlet Mid Region?”
Sect Head Qin Mo laughed loudly, “Brat, are you trying to
get information out of me? In that case, I’ll play along with you—this old man
is the sect head of the Zither Sect.”
“Zither Sect…” Jiang Chen nodded apathetically. “Noted. Now,
tell me what you want.”
Jiang Chen couldn't use force with Ling Bi’er in the enemy’s
hands. Sect Head Qin Mo gazed calmly at Jiang Chen, also thinking of what to say.
On the contrary, it was Wang Han who spoke. “First, present all the sky, earth
ranked herbs and the recipe to the Longevity Pill to my master!”
The corners of Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched into a cold
sneer, obviously disdainful of Wang Han. He raised his brows and addressed Sect
Head Qin Mo, “Is the Zither Sect master so lacking in successors that he
requires this kind of petty person to speak for him?”
Sect Head Qin Mo smiled indifferently, “Kid, there is no
need to sow dissension between us. That type of move is useless against this
old man. Wang Han’s words are my words—hand over the items.”
The old man was full of schemes and adept at maintaining a
poker face. Wang Han was delighted after hearing these words.
It was Jiang Chen’s turn to be contemplative. The old man
was impenetrable to persuasion and seemed difficult to deal with. This was
Jiang Chen’s first time confronting an emperor realm cultivator. However, he
wasn't flustered and spoke with a tranquil smile, “Do you wish to bully me due
to my young age? Or do you think I’m an idiot? You chased me all the way into
the Paramount Realm in order to get your hands on the spirit herbs and pill
recipe, disregarding all costs. If I handed them over to you just like that,
wouldn’t I be throwing my life away?”
Sect Head Qin Mo cackled, “Then you wish to see this old man
personally ‘handle’ this delicate and beautiful senior sister of yours?”
Jiang Chen’s expression turned frosty. “I have nothing to
lose since things have developed thus. You are an emperor realm expert and we
have no means of fighting against you. If you harm my senior sister, then I’ll
just destroy all the spirit herbs and go down fighting. Since my senior sister
has chosen loyalty over survival, I will respond in kind. However, if you want
to take the herbs from me easily, dream on!”
Jiang Chen’s intention was clear; he would go down in flames
with everyone if things came to that. No matter how tyrannical you are, the
most you will get out of this is our deaths. Don’t even dream about leaving
with all the herbs intact!
Sect Head Qin Mo started. This was what he feared the most.
If Jiang Chen wasn't cooperative and decided to destroy all the herbs, it would
be meaningless even if he killed the disciple a hundred times over. Qin Mo’s
main reason for entering the Paramount Realm was to claim the earth and sky
ranked spirit herbs, along with the recipe for the Longevity Pill. There would
be no point to killing the two Regal Pill Palace juniors if all of those things
were destroyed. As for humiliating Ling Bi’er, it would only serve to vent the
resentment of people like Wang Han. There was no significance in this act for
him.
Chapter 687: The Terrifying Power of Restriction
Sect Head Qin Mo’s expression sank, “What do you want to do,
Jiang Chen?”
Jiang Chen didn’t respond and took out a stalk of sky rank
spirit herb with a cold laugh instead. Then, he replied in a remote, disinterested
tone, “This is the first stalk of a sky rank spirit herb. If my senior sister
isn’t by my side safe and sound by the time I count to five, I’ll destroy it.”
Qin Mo frowned, “What nonsense are you spewing in broad
daylight, kid? Shall I let your senior sister just walk over only for the two
of you to escape via a talisman?”
Wang Ha nodded in agreement, “Honored master, this kid is
fond of devious plans and traps. Don’t fall for his schemes!”
Jiang Chen didn’t bother wasting any more words. He smirked
oddly, rubbed his hands together and reduced the spirit herb to dust. Then, he
immediately took out another one. “I’ll count to five again…” His tone was cold
and cruel.
Sect Head Qin Mo trembled, even his organs started spasming.
Jiang Chen had destroyed a sky rank spirit herb just like this! That was
slicing flesh off Qin Mo’s body! Even Wang Han hadn’t thought that Jiang Chen
would be so resolute. The expressions on all their faces were quite ugly to
behold. Each new word of Jiang Chen counting down was akin to a sharp arrow.
Each spoken number stabbed deep into the sect head’s heart, making the muscles
on his face tic and spasm. “Hold!” Qin Mo flung out a hand.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, “You want to talk? Return my
senior sister. Remember, no tricks. If I find that any restrictions or some
such have been placed on her, you won’t be able to get any of the sky rank
spirit herbs either.”
Said restrictions were precisely what Qin Mo had in mind,
and he felt the strength leave his limbs when Jiang Chen voiced the warning. He
gritted his teeth and threw Ling Bi'er over with a “Have her!” He then had his
zither strings sweep through the air to form an inescapable net, one enclosing
all of the air within. This was done to prevent Jiang Chen and others from
escaping via talismans. Once the net was complete and the area sealed off, even
a powerful talisman wouldn’t be able to break through it. Sect Head Qin Mo was
very confident that with his strength at the third level emperor realm, he’d be
able to capture Jiang Chen, even if with some momentary delays.
When Jiang Chen saw Ling Bi'er fly towards him, he
immediately made a hand seal and materialized the Minor Artifice Formation.
“Senior sister, this way!”
This formation was something he had projected from the
formation disk, so there’d been no need for many preparations to be made
beforehand. Jiang Chen pulled Ling Bi'er directly into the residence.
“Junior brother, I’ve dragged you down with me.” Ling Bi'er
felt that she had inadvertently ruined things with her good intentions. “I made
you destroy a sky spirit herb... I’ll make it up to you in the future!”
“Heh, don’t dwell on this, senior sister. It was all a trick.”
Jiang Chen flashed a smirk that was just a tiny bit sly. “Come on in with me,
senior sister. That old bastard is strong, the formation won’t keep him out for
long.”
A Minor Artifice Formation was a formation that combined the
real and the illusory and it had a psychological battle at its heart. Jiang
Chen held no illusions that it could actually confine his opponent. That
wouldn’t be realistic at all. All that he asked of it was to delay things a bit
so he could prepare his next step. After all, Jiang Chen had been able to find
the foundation of this formation back when he’d been sky origin realm. The
opponent he was facing now was an emperor realm expert with a level of
consciousness that was in no way inferior to his at that moment in the past.
In the meantime, Ling Bi’er’s heart raced as Jiang Chen
pulled on her hand. A bit of sweat formed in the palm of her hand, but she
still couldn’t help but say, “Junior brother, this palace is very odd.. Are we
really going to go inside? I have a sophisticated escape talisman here that can
help us get away.”
Jiang Chen shook his head, “It won’t be of any use. That old
man’s sealed off the entire area. Although the talisman is strong, we won’t be
able to leave without a strong ability to break through the seal.”
An escape glyph was a kind of space talisman that enabled
one to quickly escape without leaving a trace behind. But, the glyph itself
didn’t contain the power to break through seals making it useless when the area
was blocked off, unless one paired it with a strong art to break through the
space. Jiang Chen did have the ability to break through seals and owned
powerful weapons, such as the Moonshatter Awl he’d taken from Cao Jin, however,
he wouldn’t take a risk without being one hundred percent certain, not to
mention that he didn’t plan on leaving at all.
Whether it was this Zither sect head of the Great Scarlet
Mid Region or the remnants of the Sacred Sword Palace, both had thoroughly
trampled over his bottom line. Killing intent had filled his heart, and he was
going to stay in order to do away with all of them in one go. Seeing how
resolved Jiang Chen was, Ling Bi’er had no more doubts, albeit there was still
a myriad of questions in her heart. She had an absolute trust in Jiang Chen
now. She wouldn’t fear even a Titled Great Emperor while together with her
junior brother, much less a third level emperor realm cultivator.
Thus, the two quickly passed through the palace as Jiang
Chen swiftly led Ling Bi'er to the core of the abode. Only there would they
find absolute safety.
“Junior brother, have you been here before?” Ling Bi'er
couldn’t help but ask when she saw how familiar Jiang Chen was with the area.
He nodded and looked coldly in the direction of the outside.
“Senior sister, what’s the situation outside?” His tone was quite serious.
“I don’t know much, but I’ve heard that many experts have
come from the Great Scarlet Mid Region this time. The Zither sect is but one of
many that arrived. From their words, it seems that our Regal Pill Palace was
warned early and broke through the encirclement. The other sects have been
surrounded and things are looking dire for them.” Even someone as calm as Ling
Bi'er couldn’t help but feel a bit of panic when she spoke of the Myriad
Domain’s current predicament. The current Great Scarlet’s invasion was on a large
scale and looked like a complete repeat of the utter annihilation from six
hundred years ago. The Myriad Domain had been much stronger then, yet had still
found itself hard pressed to escape a disaster. Now... this time… Ling Bi'er
didn’t dare to think of the future.
Jiang Chen was silent for a moment, “Palace Head Dan Chi
actually anticipated that great changes would come to the Myriad Domain. He had
plans of disbanding the Regal Pill Palace and keeping a low profile. I hope he
made it out this time. But, I’m worried that the Palace Head might find himself
fleeing right back into the hands of the Great Scarlet Mid Region’s forces, if
all of them had been sent out to take down the various sects.”
Ling Bi'er could easily see the same future unfolding and
nodded with anxiety, “I wonder how the Regal Pill Palace is at the moment?”
“Let’s make it through this situation first before thinking
of that. Senior sister, remember not to leave this area.” Jiang Chen’s brows
twitched as he was saying that. Then, his eyes suddenly blazed with light that
beamed in the direction of the palace’s outskirts. He had already sensed that
an emperor realm cultivator had caught up to them.
“Jiang Chen, you little kid, I’ve rather underestimated
you.” Sect Head Qin Mo’s sinister cackling danced in the air as he arrived in
the palace. The Sacred Sword Palace members trickled in behind him, all of them
staring viciously at Jiang Chen.
“Honored master, be careful of this brat’s tricks!” Wang Han
spoke up fawningly.
Sect Head Qin Mo waved his hand while looking around and
smiling slightly, “To think that such a residence would exist in the
transcendent region. Jiang Chen, looks like you were quite lucky. There must be
some startling inheritance in this palace.”
The old man’s tone was casual, but he was quite on the alert
as he roved around the surroundings with his consciousness.
Jiang Chen flicked a teasing, mocking glance at the old man,
“What, this catches your eye as well?”
Sect Head Qin Mo laughed heartily, “Kid, you talk tough even
at this time. I rather admire your courage.”
Wang Jianyu and Wang Han both started smirking in a sinister
fashion. It was apparent that everyone considered Jiang Chen and Ling Bi'er to
be but fish in a barrel. They might have been able flee with the help of escape
talismans in the outside world, but the palace was completely sealed off and
their wings would be clipped as long as the exit was blocked.
Jiang Chen didn’t grace them with a response, but turned to
ask Ling Bi’er, “Senior sister, is this all of them?”
Ling Bi'er started but still counted the number of people
present, “Yes. This is all of them. We’re not missing anyone.”
Jiang Chen nodded, smiling leisurely, “As long as they’re
all in here...”
Sect Head Qin Mo felt very uncomfortable seeing this relaxed
smile. He felt that something was a bit off, but he couldn’t really put his
finger on what was wrong. So instead he turned to his men and said, “Wang
Jianyu, you go first. I want him alive!”
He was an exceedingly cautious person. Since the Sacred
Sword Palace wanted to defect and come under his banner, this was precisely the
place to make use of them. Wang Jianyu sneered, he couldn’t ask for anything
more. He brandished his sword with the words, “Jiang Chen, let me send you on
your way!”
Jiang Chen chuckled easily, “Send me on my way? Why don’t
you look in the mirror first and check if you’re fit to do that? As for me,
I’ve long since made arrangements for you all. The road to the underworld is
long, and I won’t be seeing you on!”
He didn’t waste any more words after this as he sent a
mental command, triggering the restrictions of the palace with his
consciousness. The palace responded. It immediately went off like a volcano,
countless numbers of restrictions exploding with the force capable of
destroying the heavens and earth.
“What?! We need to get out!” Sect Head Qin Mo instantly
sensed that things were awry and panicked. But it was too late. The unbound,
unending force of the restrictions roiled forth with enough momentum to sweep
away any and all obstacles. Wang Jianyu and the rest of the Sacred Sword Palace
were unceremoniously pounded into dust whenever the rampaging power touched
them. It turned on Qin Mo last.
The sect head felt unspeakable bitterness as he called upon
his zither, trying to set up some defenses in front of him. However, the strong
restrictions would continuously batter down any defenses he conjured, ripping
all of them apart like paper.
Crack!!
The final defenses were destroyed as the tremendous power
crashed onto the sect head.
Bang bang bang!
He had the protection of inner armor to call on as well, but
was still heavily injured as soon as his defenses were broken. Qin Mo was truly
scared witless now. “Jiang Chen… Jiang Chen… we can talk things through. I
surrender, I have intelligence…”
However, a new dominating surge ripped apart his inner armor
as soon as he finished speaking and pummeled him to nothing. The soul that
departed the obliterated body didn’t even have time to flee before it too was
turned to dust by another wave of power. That fierce, overweening third level
emperor realm cultivator had been reduced to nothing in an instant.
The last enemy alive was Wang Han, a bit luckier than the
others by virtue of hiding behind Sect Head Qin Mo. He had still been caught in
the wake of the attacks, his injuries weren’t fatal, however. At this moment
Jiang Chen made a hand seal and deactivated the restrictions. The entire palace
returned to its previous, tranquil appearance, as if the hellish assault from
just now hadn’t happened at all. There was no one by Wang Han’s side. There
wasn’t even a complete corpse on the ground. His face was ashen as he started
to contemplate the sudden feeling that although the world was vast, there was
no place in it for him at all. He wanted to turn and run, but recalling just
how frightening the restrictions had been just now, he didn’t dare move.
Chapter 688: Devastating Battle Situation
All of the nightmares that Wang Han had ever experienced in
his life combined wouldn’t have measured to the fear that he’d just felt. A
third level emperor realm cultivator, the backer that he’d just managed to
toady up to, had not even been able to put up a sliver of resistance against
that terrifying strength. That was a third level emperor realm cultivator!
Wang Han’s very organs were shivering in fear, and it almost
seemed like his pores were following suit. Terror and despair chased out every
whit of feeling from his body. Never mind Wang Han, even Ling Bi’er thought
that she’d gone delusional right then. She didn’t recover from her shock until
after the restriction attack had vanished.
“Junior brother, what… what was that?” She stammered in
incredulous, low tones.
“That old man liked to pretend he was all that. So I simply
gave him a taste of what it felt like to have thunder and lightning strike
him.” Jiang Chen smiled faintly and shot a solemn glance at Wang Han.
Wang Han’s will was so far gone that he couldn’t even keep
himself upright at a casual glare from Jiang Chen. His knees weakened and gave
way without warning, sending him tumbling to the ground. His mind had
completely collapsed into gibberish. All of his urbane confidence, that
overweening arrogance and sky high pride were reduced to dust, utterly
destroyed.
“Who else can save you now, Wang Han?” Jiang Chen’s tone was
ice over steel.
Wang Han’s face went ashen at those words, but seemed to get
a surge of energy from some mad trench of his soul. He lifted his head to glare
right back at Jiang Chen as he roared. His voice held more than a tinge of
madness as he screamed, “And what are you proud of, Jiang Chen!? You’re strong,
but are you stronger than the Great Scarlet Mid Region? Did you think only the
Zither Sect had invaded the Myriad Domain!? Wrong!! The entire Great Scarlet
Mid Region, all of the 20 some fourth rank sects have invaded us. The Myriad
Domain is done for! Just what did I bide my time and endure humiliation for if
not to save the legacy of the Myriad Domain?!”
It seemed that even in the worst possible situation, Wang
Han still believed that he could worm his way out with an excuse. But Jiang
Chen was no naïve youngling. “What a noble excuse you’ve managed to come up
with this time, hmm? You lead the enemy into the Paramount Realm to hunt down
Myriad Domain disciples. This became ‘biding your time’ for the greater cause?”
Wang Han laughed maniacally, “Legitimacy is the prize of the
winner, much like the villain is always the loser. Jiang Chen, I have nothing
more to say since you beat me. Kill me if you’re going to, but why toy with
me?”
Jiang Chen’s expression darkened. “Wang Han, it’s no longer
possible for you to evade death anymore. But tell me, what’s going on in the
outside world?”
“Outside world? Hahaha, outside world? The various Myriad
Domain sects are probably all dead by now! Yes, your Regal Pill Palace was smart
and broke through the blockade before it was fully set up, but where else can
they run to? Almost 20 fourth rank sects had invaded, and each one of them
stronger than the Great Cathedral. What can the Myriad Domain bring to fight
against them? Old man Dan Chi might have gotten out, but there was no way that
he could actually find a way to live! The other emperor realm cultivators would
have already gone to chase him. Hahaha, Jiang Chen! My Sacred Sword Palace has
fallen, do you think your Regal Pill Palace can avoid the same fate? Dream on!”
Wang Han had completed his mental transition to a mad dog. He knew full well
that he was going to die, so he didn’t use the chance to beg for mercy, instead
furiously venting his emotions to anyone who could hear.
As he capered around frantically, he suddenly felt a chill
by his throat. When he touched his throat, he noticed a sharp arrow had pierced
through his neck. Light from a blade flashed the next second as his head shot
up into the sky. Jiang Chen gestured, and the corpse ground itself to dust in
midair.
“Senior sister, we shouldn’t stay here for long. We need to
get out,” Jiang Chen no longer hesitated as he spoke to Ling Bi’er.
Having just experienced the wildest rollercoaster of events
thus far in her life, Ling Bi'er found it hard to catch up for a second. She
found herself nodding by sheer instinct, and followed Jiang Chen out. When she
set foot outside, she turned to take one last look at the palace, only to
discover that it had vanished without a trace. “Junior brother… where did the
palace go?” She was quite baffled.
Jiang Chen smiled and said, “I put it away.”
“You put it away? Was… was that palace a portable space?”
Ling Bi’er was shocked. Portable spaces were just like space rings. Naturally, Ling
Bi’er wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept. But where would one find a space ring
with such capacity? Also, how could a space ring possibly hold an entire abode
inside, and one with such powerful attack restrictions no less? The palace had
obviously been a residence, the kind that one could carry around anywhere.
“Senior sister, the matters relating to this palace are
extremely sensitive. We will run into many troubles if it’s exposed.” Jiang
Chen knew just how vital this matter was, but he didn’t tell Ling Bi’er the
details because he didn’t want her to become involved.
Ling Bi’er hastily responded, “Ah? Then I won’t ask or bring
it up to anyone in the future.”
“Mm. I’ll tell you about it when the time is right.” The duo
no longer spoke, as they both concentrated on leaving the transcendent region
as quickly as they could. Along the way, they saw many corpses, the numerous
slain Myriad Domain disciples.
“This is all Wang Jianyu’s work!” Ling Bi’er frowned
slightly.
Jiang Chen didn’t have time to grow irate at the sight,
“We’re almost at a transportation point. Let’s get out of here as soon as
possible.”
However, Ling Bi’er was the one to provide a voice of
reason, “Don’t be in a hurry, junior brother. If we go through the
transportation formation now and appear outside, we may be surrounded and
immediately captured. In my opinion, it would be best if we returned the way we
came. We still have two days anyway, so as long as we travel at full speed,
we’ll still be able to get out of the Paramount Realm before it closes.”
Thinking it over, Jiang Chen saw the sense in her words.
Two days later, the duo arrived at the edge of the Paramount
Realm. However, they didn’t encounter a single living person along the way. It
was obvious that everyone had either been slaughtered by Wang Jianyu and his
group, or had left. These geniuses had had no idea what was going on outside,
so they had probably been completely defenseless when they teleported away.
Their fates were likely rather bleak once they emerged outside.
“Junior brother, if we are surrounded after we got out, we
must activate our escape glyphs immediately. We absolutely mustn’t stay to
fight,” Ling Bi’er suggested.
Jiang Chen nodded. How could he possibly choose to fight in
such a situation? It was obvious that this wasn’t something that could be
solved by individual strength alone. Jiang Chen wasn’t afraid to fight, but it
didn’t mean that he would throw himself into a pointless fight either.
After passing through the entrance, the duo calmed the
ripples of their consciousness and slowly moved outside. Jiang Chen borrowed
power from the Bewitching Lotus of Fire and Ice to slip through the earth and
snuck his way back to the perimeter.
The battle at the perimeter had been tragic and desperate.
Corpses were scattered everywhere on the battlefield. Many of those corpses
were those of the Myriad Domain cultivators, but some were also clearly from
the Great Scarlet Mid Region. It seemed that the battle had reached a
conclusion already. A group of Great Scarlet cultivators were sweeping through
the battlefield for survivors, while another group interrogated the group of
young geniuses who had been captured exiting the Paramount Realm.
Jiang Chen inspected the battlefield for a moment. He
discovered that even Honored Master Tian Ming of the Dark North Sect was among
the pile of corpses. The Walkabout Sect had also seemed to have suffered
tremendous losses. It seemed very, very few of their party were still alive.
The Great Cathedral had also suffered many casualties. However, the surprising
part was the lack of Great Cathedral senior executives among the dead.
Naturally, since the Regal Pill Palace had broken through the encirclement
first, they didn’t have a presence on this particular battlefield.
“Feck it all to hell, I can’t believe these ants of the
Myriad Domain possess such strength! They cost us quite some men!”
“I know right? Those from the Great Cathedral could even
employ the power of totems to fight. Even Sect Head Xing and Fu couldn’t stop
them. How unexpected.”
“You know what else is strange? The Bamboo Sect still hasn’t
returned from their chase. I wonder how they’re doing against Regal Pill
Palace? Don’t tell me they’ve slipped up too?”
Jiang Chen sussed out the situation as he listened in on the
discussions happening above him. The senior executives of the Great Cathedral
had actually managed to break free and escape with the power of totems. The
Regal Pill Palace had made their getaway first, and the results of their
rearguard battle hadn’t reached this place yet. No matter how pragmatic Jiang
Chen tried to be, it would seem that Regal Pill Palace still had a bit of hope
left.
Now that Jiang Chen had gained an understanding what was
going on, he had a rough idea on what to do next.
On one side of the battlefield, Sect Head Fu of the Golden
Glyph Sect and Sect Head Xing of the Qitian Sect were interrogating the
geniuses who had emerged from the Paramount Realm. Among them stood Xiang Qin,
Yue Baize and Shen Qinghong. The captives numbered roughly thirty, all geniuses
of various Myriad Domain sects. However, they had all become captives of the
Great Scarlet Mid Region. It wasn’t that Great Scarlet had decided to show them
mercy. The two sects were simply trying to lay their hands on any information
about the Paramount Realm. However, they didn’t find anything useful no matter
how much they questioned them. It was obvious that those who had exited hadn’t
run into Sect Head Qin Mo and the rest of his group. If that had happened, they
would no longer be part of the world of the living.
“Just kill me already. It doesn’t matter what you ask, my
answer will always be the same. I don’t know anything!” Xiang Qin’s unyielding
voice rang out, “The heavenly law sees all, you filthy bandits. One day, your
Great Scarlet Mid Region will pay the price!”
Smack!
A whip lashed Xiang Qin cruelly as a fierce voice berated
him, “You little ant! What right do you have to talk about the heavenly law?
Even if there is such a day, the Myriad Domain won’t live to see it!” The whip
landed repeatedly on Xiang Qin’s body.
Xiang Qin was stubborn as an ox despite the pain. Not only
did he not cry out in pain, but he even started laughing aloud.
Sect Head Xing suddenly raised a hand and stopped the person
whipping Xiang Qin. He cast an indifferent glance across the group of captives
and asked, “Last chance. Who amongst you has seen Jiang Chen?”
At first, neither Sect Head Xing nor Sect Head Fu had known
that Jiang Chen was inside the Paramount Realm. However, the more they thought
about it, the more they felt that something wasn’t quite right. They both
thought that Sect Head Qin Mo’s actions were far too out of the ordinary. It
was only after they’d ruthlessly interrogated and tortured a captive that they
accidentally found out that Jiang Chen was amongst the list of Regal Pill
Palace disciples who’d entered the Paramount Realm. It was thanks to this
captive that they’d also discovered that Jiang Chen had escaped from Mt.
Rippling Mirage.
The two sect heads couldn’t help but curse out Qin Mo
loudly. They both thought that he had been absolutely despicable. It was
obvious that the man had gone inside to take all the spoils for himself! If the
Paramount Realm wasn’t about to shut down very soon, they too would have gone
inside and fought for their own share. They’d fought tooth and nail to
annihilate the two great fourth rank sects that were the Walkabout Sect and
Dark North Sect, but they’d gotten very few rewards for their efforts.
The Dark North Sect had been said to possess sky rank spirit
herbs, but they weren’t able to find anything at all from the leaders of the
Dark North Sect. In fact, there weren’t even that many earth rank spirit herbs.
That was when the duo finally realized that they had been tricked by Qin Mo.
Chapter 689: Jiang Chen to the Rescue
However, none of the geniuses who’d emerged from the
Paramount Realm had seen Jiang Chen inside. How would they possibly give any
useful intelligence?
“This is your last chance, but it seems that none of you
treasure it!” Qitian Sect Head Xing’s tone suddenly turned frosty as his
killing intent surged.
Jiang Chen and Ling Bi'er looked at each other beneath the
ground, a feeling of helplessness rising in both of them. Their strength wasn’t
enough for the two of them to attempt a rescue. Jiang Chen hardened his heart and
began making plans to leave. He was well aware that brashly attempting rescue
would not only end up in failure, but might also condemn the both of them to
death. Yet precisely at that moment, a voice transmitted through the air to his
ears, “Sir Jiang, I’ll lure the two emperor realm cultivators away, you save
everyone.”
Jiang Chen was first startled and then delighted, “It’s Miss
Huang’er!” Some bizarre confidence rose in his heart when he heard Huang’er’s
voice. He sent a message to Ling Bi’er, “Senior sister, listen to my commands.
We’re going to save them.”
Ling Bi’er’s heart trembled slightly. Save them? Save the
group with two emperor realm cultivators standing guard? Just as she hesitated,
the heads of both emperor realm cultivators snapped to one side, roaring,
“Who’s there?!”
The two enormous presences swept towards the northeast as
soon as their voices sounded. Jiang Chen whispered harshly, “Let’s go, senior
sister!”
The two suddenly charged out from the deep crevice within
the earth as he called upon the Lotus. Jiang Chen activated the formation disk
and summoned the Ancient Slaughter Formation of Seven, covering the entire area
with it. He was the absolute lord of the formation’s domain once it was
activated.
“Junior brother Jiang Chen?”
“Brother Jiang Chen!”
Surprised cries kept resounding, but Jiang Chen didn’t
bother with them, “Everyone, this is an emergency. I can’t undo the
restrictions on your bodies, so I can only take all of you with me. Don’t
resist with your consciousness, otherwise we’ll have no end of troubles.”
He didn’t wait for them to respond as he pressed down and
took them all into the palace in a flash of light. At the same time, he turned
to Ling Bi’er, “Senior sister, activate the escape glyph!”
The escape glyphs that Ling Bi'er had received from senior
Shao Yin were incredibly powerful, ones that surpassed the level of the Myriad
Domain. When she heard Jiang Chen’s order, she crushed one of them without
hesitation as Jiang Chen retracted the formation disk at the same time, causing
the formation to vanish. When light flashed again, Jiang Chen and Ling Bi'er
had vanished from where they’d stood.
The entire process took place in the blink of an eye, with
the sage realm cultivators in charge of standing guard over the captives unable
to react in time. They only saw a world of glittering white snow abruptly
appear in front of them, and disappear just as they were doubting their senses.
But along with the snowy world, the Myriad Domain geniuses disappeared as well.
“Someone’s rescued the captives!”
“Damn it, it was a diversion!”
“After them! Hurry!”
“After them!”
The scene was soon engulfed in chaos as those cleaning up
the battlefield also rushed over. They too were shocked beyond words when they
saw how chaotic things had become. However, no one knew which direction to go
off in since the flash of light had vanished. Someone roared out, “Split up!”
and all the sects split into different groups to start chasing in different
directions.
As they did this, they all realized that if their opponent
had dared flee in a flash of light, they must’ve fled for quite a distance.
They would be searching for a needle in a haystack trying to chase them down
like this. Unless they had an unimaginably powerful methods of searching using
their consciousness, it would be an utter daydream to even hope to catch up to
their opponent.
The groups all returned after a short while, each of them
hanging their heads. It was obvious that everyone had come back empty-handed.
“Damn it, they got away.”
“That was a strong glyph. They made it out at least a
hundred miles. There’s no way to track them down.”
“Sigh, let’s wait for the sect heads to return before making
a decision.”
They were all dejected and very frustrated by what had
happened. The operation to suppress the Myriad Domain this time was not the
success they had envisioned. Apart from the Regal Pill Palace sneaking away
ahead of time, a large portion of the Great Cathedral’s skilled fighters had
made it out alive. Now that the young geniuses of the Myriad Domain had been
rescued, this was just repeated slaps to their face, over and over again. The
four sects who’d participated in this operation was likely going to become the
laughingstock of the Great Scarlet Mid Region.
Sect Head Xing and Fu returned with dark expressions after
half an hour. The two had given chase for a long distance, but had come back
empty handed. Those in charge of guarding the captives hardly dared breathe
when they saw the sect heads return with dark expressions.
“What’s going on? Where’s everyone?” Sect Head Xing asked
darkly.
An oppressive silence answered him. Sect Head Fu flicked an
eyebrow as well, “What’s going on? Are you all dumb?”
An elder stammered out at this point, “There… there was
suddenly a world of ice here just now. Then the group of captives disappeared
into thin air.”
The two sect heads had their expressions freeze over when
they heard this. They looked at each other, now understanding what had
happened. How could they not realize now that they’d fallen victim to someone’s
distraction tactics? The opponent had obviously wanted to lure them away so
that others could rescue the geniuses. What was pitiable was that the emperor
realm cultivators had fallen for the bait, hook, line and sinker. A single move
was all it had taken. They’d underestimated their enemy, plain and simple.
The two were extremely depressed but had no place to vent
their rage. It wasn’t their subordinates’ fault. If it hadn’t been for the two
sect heads being taken in by the diversion and leaving, nothing would’ve
happened here. It was a mistake born of overconfidence.
Sect Head Xing began complaining as the two grew anxious,
“Sect Head Leng’s taken the Bamboo Sect to chase down the Regal Pill Palace,
but has still sent no word after so many days. Sect Head Qin Mo is even more
ridiculous. He headed into the Paramount Realm, but still hasn’t returned even
when it’s about to close. What, is he going to take up residence in there?”
It was obvious that the unfavorable situation was stressing
Sect Head Xing out to the point where he was taking his anger out on his
missing allies. Sect Head Fu also nodded, “Sect Head Leng and Qin Mo both had
ulterior motives. They wouldn’t be in their current straits otherwise.”
The battle was basically over at this point, and their
evaluation was nowhere close to positive. Therefore, the two were looking for
scapegoats. After all, when it came down to things, the Bamboo and Zither Sects
did indeed hold greater responsibility. If it wasn’t for the two prioritizing
their goals and leaving the group, this situation may never have developed the
way it did.
Another person came running in with an urgent report as they
chatted, “Sect Heads, another group of people have emerged from the Paramount
Realm. We captured them all, but the realm’s already sealed off.”
Sect Head Xing hurriedly asked, “Any news of Jiang Chen?”
The person shook his head and added on, “Sect Head Qin Mo
and those from the Sacred Sword Palace haven’t come out either.”
Sect Head Xing’s expression changed rapidly, even Qin Mo
didn’t make it out? He looked solemnly at Sect Head Fu. For the first time, a
hint of fear rose in their hearts. The Paramount Realm had closed, but Sect
Head Qin Mo hadn’t exited yet! This wasn’t a good sign. It was very possible
that he’d perished inside. Both of their hearts trembled. If Sect Head Qin Mo
had perished, then their operation this time would be an utter failure.
On the other hand, if this was the case, then they could
shove all responsibility onto the Zither Sect. Another scout came back with a
report just as they were speaking, “Sect Heads, things are really bad! The
Bamboo Sect’s group was discovered about eight hundred miles out. They’re…
they’re all dead!”
“What!?”
Sect Head Xing and Fu was shaken all over again as their
fear started to grow. “Are you sure!? What about Sect Head Leng…”
“We’ve already brought the sect head’s body back,” The scout
responded dismally.
Bamboo Sect Head Leng had set off in proud spirits, but had
returned as a cold corpse. Looking at his body, it didn’t even seem like he’d
been through a hard battle, with no exterior wounds. However, his expression
had been twisted into an extreme grimace, as if he’d weathered unspeakable
terror before he’d died, freezing this expression on his face even in death.
Sect Head Xing observed the body for a while his neck began
to prickle. The confirmed death of a sect head had finally caused wariness to
spark in his eyes. “Sect Head Fu, it looks like we really did underestimate the
Myriad Domain. There’s such a strong cultivator in this region! There are no
wounds on Sect Head Leng’s body, but his consciousness has completely
collapsed. This is an exceedingly sophisticated attack!”
With the collapse of the consciousness, there was no longer
any will controlling the body, so bodily functions could naturally no longer
continue.
Sect Head Fu remained silent for a long while as he looked
at Sect Head Xing. Both nodded at the same time, “Our operations are at an end,
we can go back to the Great Scarlet Mid Region and report to the emperor.”
Both of them had made up their mind. Retreat.
……
At a spot roughly four hundred miles to the southeast of the
Myriad Domain, Jiang Chen retracted the light around him and released the young
geniuses of the various sects. “Everyone, it’s safe for now here. You should
take advantage of this moment to refine the restrictions placed on you.”
It was a good thing that the restrictions on the geniuses
hadn’t been too strong. They simply restricted movement. It was only a matter
of time before they managed to free themselves. Xiang Qin in particular was
covered in wounds. Jiang Chen gave him a few additional healing pills.
“Junior brother Jiang Chen, what’s going on?” Shen Qinghong
had been one of the first to free himself.
Jiang Chen roughly went over what he knew, stunning all of
the geniuses in the telling. They were both relieved that they’d evaded
disaster when they heard how the Sacred Sword Palace had betrayed the Myriad
Domain and brought enemies into the Paramount Realm to hunt down geniuses, but
also extremely infuriated at the same time.
“Everyone, the distance is far and the mountains are high. I
hope we meet again in the future. I suspect that you won’t be able to return to
your sects just yet, as that would only be entering the lion’s den. You are all
geniuses of your sect, and I trust that I don’t need to remind you what needs
to be done. This is not a place to linger, so let us part ways here.” Jiang
Chen had already gone above and beyond the call of duty and morality by
rescuing everyone.
Xiang Qin was quite forthright as he raised his hands in a
cupped fist salute and spoke seriously, “I will repay your favor of saving my
life one day! May we meet in the future!”
Those of the Great Cathedral exchanged glances and
immediately left together.
Chapter 690: The Shattered Sect
People from the various sects expressed their gratitude
toward Jiang Chen and began to take their leave after the Great Cathedral group
departed. They all knew that it was more dangerous to travel as a large group
under present circumstances. They recognized that a calamity had befallen the
Myriad Domain and they were on the brink of extermination. Fortunately, all
these young geniuses possessed unyielding resolution. Even beset by
astonishment and fear, they could maintain their composure. One by one, they
made their decisions and tendered their farewells until finally, only the three
from the Regal Pill Palace were left.
“Junior brother Jiang Chen, what do we do from here on out?”
Shen Qinghong had officially accepted his position and now looked to Jiang Chen
for orders.
“What plans do you have?”
Shen Qinghong contemplated for a moment. “They said that the
Regal Pill Palace broke through the siege. I’m guessing that the palace head
must’ve returned to the sect. I wish to go back and take a look, whatever the
case may be.”
Ling Bi’er also nodded, “I also want to go back and see how
things are.”
Jiang Chen didn’t object since all of them seemed to have
the same idea. He definitely had to go back, especially since all of his
followers were still at the Regal Pill Palace. After seeing no sign of protest
from Jiang Chen, Shen Qinghong hesitantly enquired, “Then shall we leave right
away?”
Jiang Chen motioned wordlessly with his hands, indicating
that they should wait a while longer. Huang’er had drawn the two emperor realm
experts away and would surely return to rendezvous with them. As expected,
Huang’er’s voice soon transmitted through the air, “Sir Jiang, please go on
ahead. Huang’er will follow shortly.”
Apparently, she didn’t want to expose herself yet. Jiang
Chen gave it some thought and didn’t oppose her wish. He waved his hand, “Let’s
go.”
It was as if the entire Myriad Domain had fallen into an
endless inferno. There were signs of savage battle no matter where they went.
Close to 20 fourth ranked sects from the Great Scarlet Mid Region had rushed in
at the same time, bringing an extinction level event onto the Myriad Domain.
The trio tread carefully, avoiding certain battlefields
along the way. Ling Bi’er’s countenance seemed to have iced over while the
corners of Shen Qinghong’s lips spasmed repeatedly, mumbling unknown curses.
The journey was not without its obstacles. The three finally arrived at the
Regal Pill Palace after taking several detours.
However, only a vast field of ruins greeted the three
homecoming disciples. They were completely frozen as they gazed upon the
post-battle remnants of the sect from the shadows. The smoke and dust hadn't
completely settled over the ruins yet. The great protection formation to the
entrance of the sect had been shattered and the entrance to Rosy Valley
completely blasted apart. It was absolute devastation—residences lay collapsed
in every direction while corpses of Regal Pill Palace disciples littered the
area—no signs of life could be detected.
Ling Bi’er was immensely alarmed and rushed toward her
residence to find only rubble with no signs of life. When Jiang Chen arrived
outside his own residence, he was surprised to see that even his upgraded Nine
Gates Incineration Formation had been destroyed! Jiang Chen felt as if he had
plunged into an icy cavern—all his hairs stood on end. The worst case scenario
had indeed happened.
He scanned the residence thoroughly with his consciousness,
his heart pounding wildly. He was extremely nervous, afraid that he would see
the battered corpses of his followers. Fortunately, he didn’t find any corpses.
There were some signs of fighting within the residence, but not to the point of
intense battle. He made some deductions after scanning the place for some time
with his consciousness.
“The battle here wasn’t intense. It must’ve been a supreme
expert who’d charged in after breaking the formation. They seem to have
abducted Gouyu and the others. Otherwise, the battlefield would be very
disordered.” Jiang Chen’s anxiety receded slightly when he didn't find their
corpses.
“I’m very sorry, Sir Jiang. Huang’er should’ve stayed back
to protect this place.” Huang’er had appeared next to Jiang Chen at some
unknown time, her words apologetic and remorseful.
Jiang Chen’s eyes were red as he shook his head. “This is
not your fault. It’s mine… I overestimated the power of this formation.”
He was filled with remorse despite knowing that this was
because the enemy was too powerful. But it was ultimately due to his own lack
of power. If only he was stronger, the formation he put in place would have
been more durable. Perhaps it could have even held out until he’d come back. It
was too late. Anything was too late.
He punched the ground fiercely with deep emotion. He
suddenly remembered something and shot swiftly towards the direction of the
wood spirit spring. The sight of swordbird corpses littering the ground greeted
his eyes as he arrived at the entrance to the cave, reigniting the flames of
Jiang Chen's fury. All the swordbirds had been slaughtered. They had died in a
ghastly fashion with their insides blown apart in a mess of blood and gore.
Jiang Chen’s chest wanted to explode after witnessing this carnage. His body
began twitching continuously as his eyes grew red. He found the wood spirit
spring empty on further observation. It seemed that even that had been looted
by someone.
Long Xiaoxuan could no longer keep his calm at this point,
to say nothing of Jiang Chen. He charged out from Jiang Chen’s body with a fast
whoosh! He circled the wood spirit spring thrice while roaring furiously. Jiang
Chen also flung his head back and howled at the skies, unable to contain his
wrath. His eyes were so widened in his rage that they seemed on the verge of
splitting apart.
“Great Scarlet Mid Region, Great Scarlet Mid Region!” Jiang
Chen muttered whilst grinding his teeth. Jiang Chen had formed enmity with many
factions and gained several enemies who would fight him to the death since he
set foot into the unknown world, but he had never been infuriated to such a
degree, not even once. It’d been at most a personal grievance previously,
whether with Long Juxue or Wang Han. But the Great Scarlet Mid Region had
completely crossed over his bottom line this time, drawing out two lifetimes
worth of wrath.
“Sir Jiang, it seems that sister Gouyu and the rest have
been captured. We still have a chance as long as they’re alive.” Huang’er
patted Jiang Chen’s shoulders in soft consolation. Huang’er was astonished to
see Long Xiaoxuan emerge in his true form, but she had no time to give this
further thought in this moment. She felt similarly distressed after seeing
Jiang Chen’s suffering, wishing she was the one who was captured instead. She
couldn't help but feel a hint of a cruel murderous intent after witnessing this
spectacle, despite her calm and tranquil nature. Not to mention, Gouyu and the
others were like family to her after living here for a few years—they'd formed
deep ties of friendship. Huang’er’s expression suddenly changed, “Sir Jiang, it
seems we've fallen into a trap!”
Jiang Chen had been alerted at almost the same time. He
produced several escape talismans with a grasp of his hands.
“Haha, who would’ve thought that watching a stump for a hare
to to dash against it really does work!” An unpleasant voice like a broken gong
tore through the air. Following that, several voices of the same repulsive quality
echoed in differing volumes as well.
Countless clouds suddenly materialized around Jiang Chen’s
residence, forming a grand and exquisite phantasmal palace. Jiang Chen
activated his consciousness upon seeing this, but his heart immediately sank.
The illusory palace had actually sealed off the area in the blink of an eye,
effectively isolating the residence from the outside world. The space occupied
by Jiang Chen and Huang’er shrank as layers of clouds pressed down on them.
Woosh woosh woosh… figures dropped down successively like dumplings.
One, two, three...
There were a dozen in total and five leaders that were all
emperor realm experts. A bald and burly man among them was at fourth level
emperor realm. Jiang Chen was truly overwhelmed, no wonder that the Nine Gates
Incineration Formation hadn’t held out! There was an expert amongst them who
was at mid emperor realm.
The Nine Gates Incineration Formation could only hold out
against experts of initial emperor realm, despite having been upgraded by Jiang
Chen. It was also possible to break the formation if several such experts
attacked in unison. It would be even easier to break the formation if an expert
at the mid emperor realm was added to the equation.
A subordinate standing beside the bald man produced a jade
token projecting Jiang Chen’s image, “Lord Gong, this brat is probably Jiang
Chen.”
The bald man burst into laughter, “Who would’ve thought that
the decision I made on a whim would land me such profit?”
Boundless might converged on Jiang Chen as the bald man
suddenly fixed his gaze him. “You’re called Jiang Chen?”
Formidable emperor realm power surged out and tamped down on
Jiang Chen's head like a mountain. Even Jiang Chen’s breathing became
distressed. Flames of fury roared in Jiang Chen’s chest as he unleashed his own
aura to resist the suppressive force.
“Did you kill everyone here?” Jiang Chen’s tone was
incomparably cold.
The man rubbed his bald head suddenly laughed. “Interesting,
interesting… A mere sage realm brat is actually able to repel my emperor realm
aura?”
“Did you or did you not kill these people?” Jiang Chen
ignored the bald and burly man’s attempt to act cool and solemnly repeated his
question.
“Haha, why would I use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken?
There are naturally people who killed them for me. Why? Judging from your tone,
it seems that you’re seeking revenge? Haha, interesting, interesting.” The bald
man’s tone was filled with ridicule, amused by the struggles of his prey. He
had thought this snivelling brat would be shivering in fear and begging for
mercy under the circumstances. But this brat seemed to be growing increasingly
bold. This surprised and excited him at the same time. After all, a compliant
victim was rather boring.
“Did. You. Kill these people?” Jiang Chen’s eyes were
completely red as thick killing intent shot out from his Evil Golden Eye.
The bald and burly man couldn't help but laugh disdainfully
after seeing Jiang Chen’s state. “Brat, I didn't kill those people. But it
makes no difference if you want to blame me. Remember, I am one of the holy
kings of the Eternal Celestial Capital, Gong Wuji!" His entourage burst
into laughter after hearing these words.
“And we are the Thunder Note Hall and Great Roc Sect of the
Great Scarlet Mid Region. Brat, I’ll have you know that we exterminated the
Regal Pill Palace and killed all the people here. How does a brat on the verge
of death intend to deal with us?”
“Haha... Speaking of which, your Regal Pill Palace is rather
fortunate. I heard the Great Cathedral and Dark North Sect were completely
wiped out. But because we had some matters to ask, we sent back a batch of
prisoners from here. They’ll at least live for a while longer. You, however,
won’t be that fortunate…”
The bald and burly man suddenly waved his hand to stop the
Thunder Note Hall and Great Roc Sect. He spoke with a slight smile, “Jiang
Chen, I believe you also understand that the world of martial dao has always
been one where the strong reign mighty. I feel that you have great aptitude and
as such, I am willing to give you a chance. As long as you cooperate and put
yourself under my control, perhaps you can survive.” The man’s words depicted
his delight in being able to control the fate of others.
