Chapter 483: Sinking into Desires? Or Breaking through Them?
The two stopped speaking and took out the jade pendants around their necks. The jade pendants enabled them to remain in the Ancient Desolate Tower. Naturally, if they destroyed their pendants, they would be sent out.
“Crack…!”
The two of them shattered their jade pendants simultaneously. Then, they turned into dim lights and were ejected from the Ancient Desolate Tower.
At the feet of the Tianwu Emperor’s statue, s.h.i.+ Hailong saw Zuo Mo and Ding Fengchou give up, and the light in his eyes became brighter. “Only Chu Chaoyun and Xiao Chen are left. Soon, we will know who that person is.”
An old man at the side said, “It has been many years since someone cleared the fourth floor. Now, we even have two people challenging the fifth floor. This is already a very good achievement.”
Li Xiuzhu, who had been silent all the while, smiled. “The fifth floor is the gate of desire. If they do not come out within an hour, they will be stuck in there forever.”
Li Xiuzhu’s heart turned cold. He had not expected that the brat whom he looked down on would be able to get this far.
First, Xiao Chen had obtained a hundred consecutive victories. Then, he had obtained one of the twenty spots. Now, he pa.s.sed the fourth floor and entered the fifth floor. If Xiao Chen continued to climb further, Li Xiuzhu would feel extremely embarra.s.sed when he thought of the times he made things difficult for him.
Brat, sink into your desires, Li Xiuzhu cursed continuously in his heart.
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In the s.p.a.ce of Desires:
The rain that poured down over the main peak of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect had lasted for three days and nights already.
Whenever night fell, the glowing rain of Spiritual Energy was an impressive sight to behold in the Ten Thousand Saber Sect. It could be seen even from the foot of the mountain.
However, the disciples of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect were already used to this sight. Every time they destroyed a sizable sect, such a phenomenon would occur.
They knew that their sect master was using an ancient formation to cultivate. Furthermore, they knew that after he finished his cultivation, he would prepare for war again.
Now, the Ten Thousand Saber Sect was unrivaled in the Great Qin Nation; no one could obstruct them. Even the Royal Court’s Imperial Dragon Legion had to flee at the sight of them.
Everyone knew that Xiao Chen would advance to Martial Emperor sooner or later. Like the Thunder Emperor of the past, he would become one of the true peak experts of the world.
The number of small powers that came to the Ten Thousand Saber Sect to declare their support was significant.
“I wonder who the Sect Master will target this time, after he finishes his cultivation? Within the Great Qin Nation, only the Heavenly Saber Pavilion and the Royal Court are left.”
“I feel that it would be the Heavenly Saber Pavilion. After all, the Royal Court still has Princess Ying Yue. She is strong enough to be a challenge to our Sect Master; she would be hard to deal with.”
“However, I heard that the Sect Master was once part of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion? How could he possibly take action against them? After all, he probably still has feelings for them.”
“So what if the Sect Master still has feelings for them? After attaining Martial Sage, the amount of resources required for cultivation reaches an astronomical amount. If he does not plunder the great sects, how could he guarantee a fast pace of cultivation?”
At the foot of the mountain, the Ten Thousand Saber Sect’s core disciples on patrol were idly chatting about Xiao Chen’s next target.
“Gather!”
Just then, the bell of the great hall at the middle of the mountain rang twelve times.
The patrolling disciples immediately revealed excited expressions. They stopped chatting and headed for the hall.
---
Several thousands of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect’s core disciples gathered at the entrance of the great hall. Lan Chou stood on a tall platform, feeling very proud as he looked down at the grounds.
“Rest for one night and rise early tomorrow. At the break of dawn, we will set out for the Imperial Capital.”
The well-trained core disciples said nothing more. They immediately dispersed and made their preparations.
---
Within the Spirit Gathering Formation, the Spiritual Energy of the fifty thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones ran out. A clump of spiritual flame appeared below Xiao Chen and spread throughout the huge formation.
“Xiu!”
The spiritual flames burned away everything. Xiao Chen stood in midair after all this was done, his eyes twinkling with a bright light.
“Indeed, the Superior Grade Spirit Stones have a better effect. However, this Rank 9 Spirit Gathering Formation exhausted too many Superior Grade Spirit Stones. It seems I have no choice but to go to the Royal Court,” Xiao Chen said resolutely as he looked towards the Imperial Capital.
---
Early the next morning, a hundred wars.h.i.+ps flew before the Ten Thousand Saber Sect. The banner of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect fluttered proudly on the bows of the wars.h.i.+ps.
Xiao Chen stood at the summit of the mountain, watching all this with a grave and stern expression. He had no feelings for his underlings in the sect at all.
They were merely p.a.w.ns for gathering resources. In Xiao Chen’s eyes, authority in the world was only something mundane, something that held a cultivator back, a form of desire. This was an emotion that he had to expunge from himself.
“Xiu!”
With a thought, a scarlet light flashed on Xiao Chen’s forehead, and the scarlet throne appeared in midair. He sat on the throne and held his Lunar Shadow Saber with his right hand.
Boundless scarlet clouds bore the throne. With a quick flash, Xiao Chen arrived before his troops. He raised his left hand and then flew forward without a word.
When Lan Chou on the flags.h.i.+p saw Xiao Chen’s gesture, he quickly shouted, “Depart!”
Xiao Chen sat on the scarlet throne and led the elites of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect. He rested his chin on his right hand as he put aside his Lunar Shadow Saber with his left.
Xiao Chen somewhat lazily closed his eyes, not letting any aura leak out.
However, Xiao Chen’s posture on the throne gave the impression of a supreme ruler looking down on the world.
All the cultivators that ran into them yielded without hesitation. Furthermore, they did so quietly, without causing any disturbance. They were afraid of startling Xiao Chen and triggering disaster for themselves.
“Chi Chi!”
The scarlet mark on Xiao Chen’s forehead flashed continuously. He opened his eyes and the expression on his fair and demonically charming face changed slightly.
Ten thousand meters ahead, there waited many golden wars.h.i.+ps—the Great Qin Nation’s Imperial Dragon Legion.
On the Imperial Dragon Legion’s flags.h.i.+p, an old man wearing golden Battle Armor looked at Xiao Chen with a grave expression. His eyes were filled with anxiety.
The Qi and blood of that old man surged as he released a strong aura that everyone within ten thousand meters could feel clearly.
Xiao Chen sat upright on the throne and muttered, “Nangong Lie? What is the use of a half-step Martial Sage?!”
“Xiu!”
The throne doubled its speed and advanced quickly. In a few blinks, Xiao Chen arrived before the Imperial Dragon Legion, riding on scarlet clouds.
“Xiao Chen is here!”
When the Imperial Dragon Legion saw the scarlet clouds in the air, the people on the wars.h.i.+ps were startled. Everyone looked very nervous.
“Xiao Chen, do you really desire to destroy the Great Qin Nation?” Nangong Lie shouted as he glared at Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen said expressionlessly, “I do not wish to. I just need resources. All I seek is the peak of cultivation.”
Nangong Lie argued, “That is just an excuse. How is this different from destroying the Great Qin Nation?”
Xiao Chen said calmly, “Destroying the nation is just the means, not the end. I have had only one motive from the very start!”
“How stubborn! Don’t think that you will be able to defeat the entire Great Qin Nation by yourself!”
Nangong Lie shouted a warcry and his figure flashed. He sent out a palm strike, and a blazing palm wind sped towards Xiao Chen.
Strong winds howled. With the power of one palm strike, even the air surged. A boundless flame soared towards Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen shook his head. “It has been so many years already and you are still stuck in the half-step Martial Sage realm. You are not strong enough!”
“Bang!”
Xiao Chen shook his finger at Nangong Lie. A huge azure finger appeared and struck Nangong Lie’s chest.
Nangong Lie vomited mouthfuls of blood as he was knocked back. He somersaulted and his figure flashed. A blazing saber appeared in his hand. Then, the flames of his saber gathered into a resplendent saber light.
“Boom!”
Nangong Lie hacked down ferociously. The s.p.a.ce above Xiao Chen’s head appeared to split in half, leaving a pitch-black spatial tear.
Xiao Chen simply sat in his scarlet throne; he could not be bothered to even draw his Lunar Shadow Saber. He stretched out a finger and easily blocked this saber strike.
Nangong Lie refused to give up. A two-hundred-meter-long saber light appeared on his saber. His figure flashed and several sabers manifested in all directions around Xiao Chen, surrounding him.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Xiao Chen stretched out a finger and moved it around, blocking all the saber lights one meter away from him.
The saber lights exploded out in sparks. However, they were useless before Xiao Chen’s Quintessence s.h.i.+eld.
Xiao Chen watched as Nangong Lie labored without any results to show. Even so, he still persevered. Xiao Chen said, “Your talent is pretty good. You became famous at a young age. However, do you know why your progress is so slow, why you are still stuck at half-step Martial Sage after so many years? It is because you lack resources. If you can use ten million Medial Grade Spirit Stones in one go, you will be able to break through your bottleneck immediately.
“Unfortunately, you do not have the courage to do that. So, you can scram now!”
Xiao Chen’s gaze turned cold. He brandished his right hand in a claw and an azure dragon claw appeared instantly. A loud dragon roar resounded.
The dragon claw swiped forward and the natural laws changed. Even though Nangong Lie was a thousand meters away, he appeared right before Xiao Chen.
“Scram!”
Xiao Chen swung his right hand ferociously and the dragon claw mirrored the motion. Nangong Lie’s internal organs were injured and he fell towards the ground like a broken kite.
“Fire the cannons! He just used the natural laws and won’t be able to use them again for a while!” the falling Nangong Lie shouted with all his might.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
The cannon ports of the Imperial Dragon Legion’s wars.h.i.+ps all opened. The strengthened Ancient Demonic Energy Cannons immediately fired, sending thousands of energy sh.e.l.ls at Xiao Chen.
They formed a beautiful and resplendent scene in the sky. When the cannonade from thousands of Ancient Demonic Energy Cannons struck the body simultaneously, even a Martial Sage that could use the natural laws would not find it easy to deal with.
Xiao Chen looked coldly at the falling Nangong Lie. A murderous intent stirred in his heart. His original thought of letting this person live now faded away completely.
An azure finger appeared at lightning speed and struck Nangong Lie’s forehead, piercing a hole in it.
After doing all this, Xiao Chen circulated his Quintessence to block the Ancient Demonic Energy Cannons’ attacks.
“Bang!”
Thousand of energy sh.e.l.ls that could shatter mountains crashed into Xiao Chen’s Quintessence s.h.i.+eld, which lasted for only half a second before it shattered explosively.
“Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!”
The energy sh.e.l.ls struck Xiao Chen continuously. Xiao Chen s.h.i.+fted his internal organs around, and his expression did not change much.
His expression merely turned colder. When the barrage of energy sh.e.l.ls ended, Xiao Chen wiped away a trickle of blood from his mouth. Then, he looked indifferently at the Imperial Dragon Legion before him and said coldly, “Scram!”
All Xiao Chen wanted was the resources of the Royal Court. He had no hatred for this group of people before him. If Nangong Lie had not plotted against him at the very end, he would not have killed him.