The Demonic Brilliant Two Elders had remained stuck at their current cultivation for a hundred years already. Having used up all their potential, they could only rely on external objects to raise their strength.
At first, the Demonic Brilliant Two Elders had thought that killing Xiao Chen would be an easy matter. Who would have imagined that not only would Xiao Chen kill Mister Qin right under their noses, but he would even s.n.a.t.c.h away the Primal Essence Nature Pill?
This fiasco resulted in the Demonic Brilliant Two Elders offending the Medicine G.o.d Valley and losing the Primal Essence Nature Pill—a twofold problem. Their hatred for Xiao Chen was easy to imagine.
“The Primal Essence Nature Pill? Sorry, I already consumed it,” Xiao Chen said as he smiled faintly, entirely unapologetic.
The middle-aged man goggled as he exclaimed in shock, “What?! You actually consumed it? How can it be? It is a King Grade Medicinal Pill. Given your cultivation, how could you have consumed it?”
“Whether I did consume it or not, you will know after you receive a palm strike from me!”
Electric light flashed, and purple rings of light appeared behind Xiao Chen, complete and silent. The vast and surging Law Energy remained hidden.
Only in the instant when Xiao Chen approached the middle-aged man did all the energy burst out. Thunderous booms echoed in the surroundings, spreading into the distance.
This outburst churned the fiery clouds in the sky continuously, threatening to scatter them at any moment.
“Superior Grade Martial Sage! It looks like this fellow really consumed the Primal Essence Nature Pill. However, if that is all you have, challenging us like this is too naive.”
“Army Killing Fist, Thousand Soldier Burst!”
The middle-aged old man smiled coldly. The scarlet military token above his head spewed out elite soldiers by the hundreds. An army of a thousand roared ferociously.
Although the middle-aged man spoke dismissively of Xiao Chen, when he punched, he did not dare to underestimate Xiao Chen, using the most tyrannical killing move of the Army Killing Fist.
As palm and fist collided, cracks bloomed on the ground beneath the two. Xiao Chen took a hundred steps back. With every step he took, thunder roared in the sky.
“You dare to be so arrogant with this small amount of ability?”
The hemp-robed old man in the air brandished his flaming fan, sending out one hundred flame tornadoes. They gave off overwhelming might, looking like they would swallow Xiao Chen up in an instant.
“I don’t seem to recall saying that I’d use my full power.”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and unleashed the might of his will of thunder. In that instant, the somewhat dim, purple, lightning-attributed rings of light behind him became dazzling and eye-catching.
The rings of light overlapped one another. With a thought, lightning flood dragons roared as they emerged from the rings of light—a brilliant parade that continued until a hundred lightning flood dragons appeared.
“Flood dragons to dragons!” Xiao Chen shouted. The Law Energy in his body drained quickly as the purple Lightning Talisman in his sea of consciousness spun.
The hundred lightning flood dragons swelled up, and scales appeared on their bodies. Horns grew on their heads as Dragon Might flooded out. Roaring, the hundred lightning dragons clashed wildly with the hundred flame tornadoes.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The two horrifying forces contended violently in the air. Shock waves rushed into the surroundings; electricity and fire rampaged everywhere.
For the Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique, Xiao Chen had long since turned the lightning pythons into flood dragons. Now that his will and cultivation had improved tremendously, turning the flood dragons into dragons was child’s play.
Amid the chaotic light, Xiao Chen relied on his strong physical body to charge in and arrive beside the hemp-robed old man.
Using his body as a saber, Xiao Chen applied the Flawless saber Dao and chopped. He was like a large saber chopping down. Sparks flew in all directions, and the sound of a saber striking metal resounded everywhere.
The hemp-robed old man could not react in time. He had not expected Xiao Chen to move so fast. Hence, he somewhat hastily condensed a flame s.h.i.+eld in front of him.
With a ‘bang,’ the flame s.h.i.+eld readily broke before Xiao Chen. Then, he hacked down heavily on the hemp-robed old man like he was a saber.
The hemp-robed old man was poor at close combat. Xiao Chen seized this weak point. Before the middle-aged man arrived, he executed Flawless Four Seasons, using the Spring Saber, Summer Saber, and Autumn Saber one after another.
When the perfected Winter Saber was about to land, the rumbling sounds of a thousand-soldier-strong army came from behind. Regretting having to let this opportunity to cripple the hemp-robed old man pa.s.s, Xiao Chen turned around to face the middle-aged man.
Immortal Art Magic Skill, Starry Heaven Storm!
The middle-aged man had stored up power before attacking. His move was very ferocious. The scarlet military token sent out all the elite soldiers. Disinclined to drag things out, Xiao Chen directly used his Magic Skill.
A black Starry Heaven Storm swept across, eliminating the army. Then, Xiao Chen smiled coldly and executed Flawless Azure Dragon, Subduing Dragon Profound Slash.
This move was Xiao Chen’s version of Dragon Subduing Slash. After he a.s.similated it and made it his own, the might of the profound Martial Technique that he created surpa.s.sed that of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique.
It was no weaker than Di Wuque’s Heaven Illuminating Divine Sovereign, World Eliminating Imprint. Eighteen Azure Dragons appeared. Azure saber lights that could flip the rivers and seas moved in every direction, attacking continuously.
On the first chop, blood leaked out between the middle-aged man’s lips. He retreated three steps, and cracks appeared in the scarlet military token. s.p.a.ce rippled like water, trembling without end.
Second chop…third chop…fourth chop…a total of eighteen chops. In the end, the middle-aged man did not even leave a corpse, only a clump of blood mist in the air.
When the hemp-robed old man saw this, he was horrified. He quickly put away his flaming fan, scattering the killing move that he was preparing to unleash, and turned to run.
“If you are thinking of leaving now, it is too late. Cycle Banner!”
Xiao Chen extended his hand, and the Cycle Banner carrying boundless starlight shot out. The banner unfurled, and the seven Astral Pearls emerged. Starlight descended and encased the hemp-robed old man.
Within the starlight, the hemp-robed old man felt the air turn viscous; he found it hard to move.
Xiao Chen leaped in, and starlight encased him as well. However, instead of slowing down, he moved even faster. In the blink of an eye, he caught up with the hemp-robed old man, blocking him from the front.
“Back then, when you two Demonic Brilliant Two Elders tried to kill me, you definitely did not think that this day would come, right? I kept this Winter Saber for you. Die!”
Snowflakes drifted and gathered into a crystalline flower. The roots of the flower landed on the hemp-robed old man’s forehead.
Strong energy pierced the hemp-robed old man’s forehead, and the ice flower slowly melted.
By the time it had melted completely, the hemp-robed old man had turned into an ice sculpture. Then, countless strands of saber Qi shot out from the hemp-robed old man’s body, bursting it and leaving him to die without a corpse.
Xiao Chen stretched out his hand and caught the hemp-robed old man’s spatial ring. Then, he collected his Cycle Banner and slowly descended from the sky.
On the ground, Ye Chen was currently wiping down his saber, cleaning off the blood on it. Four headless corpses still bleeding lay beside him. Clearly, they just died.
After sheathing his saber, Ye Chen smiled and said, “I had the easier fight. Aside from Meng Bai, the rest of the Black Mountain Four Bandits did not live up to their reputation. They are all trash. How about we consider this battle a draw?”
“That’s not a problem. Sooner or later, I will go to the Heavenly Starry Ocean. When I get my saber back, I will settle the question of who is stronger with you.”
When Xiao Chen landed on the ground, he tossed the spatial rings over to Lord Jiu, who just popped out.
After fiddling around with the spatial rings for a while, Lord Jiu smiled and said, “This group collected a significant number of Peak Spirit Veins. There are eight of them. Adding what we have already makes forty-eight. That is almost half of the hundred.”
Ye Chen smiled and said, “That is a pretty good harvest. However, I don’t want the Peak Spirit Veins. I don’t lack that.”
Even if Ye Chen did not lack Peak Spirit Veins, there was still value to them. Since he said this, he clearly meant to leave them for Xiao Chen.
Lord Jiu likewise said, “I don’t want them, either. This Lord Jiu’s talent is not very good. Even if you give me a Holy Spirit Vein, it would be a waste.”
Xiao Chen thanked the two and unfurled the Freedom Wings. He said, “Let’s go. That mysterious great grandmaster-level Martial Sage must have subdued the remaining Peak Spirit Veins. We already have a pretty good harvest. There is no need to clash with him after this.”
Indeed, even if Xiao Chen and Ye Chen worked together to deal with a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage, the odds would be stacked against them. If they could avoid him, that would be for the best.
Lord Jiu and Ye Chen agreed. They both felt that this was already a good time to stop and leave the Heavenly Ruin Wasteland.
The scene before them changed continuously. Soon, the fifty kilometers of Dark Demonic Flame—the entrance and exit to the Heavenly Ruin Wasteland—appeared before Xiao Chen’s eyes. The scene fixed, and Xiao Chen took a step forward.
“Haha! Little friends, after helping this old man collect so many Peak Spirit Veins, why the rush to leave?!”
Just as Xiao Chen’s foot was about to touch the ground, bright golden light and a large Buddha suddenly appeared in front of him. Zhuang Zhenghe held his palms together as he blocked Xiao Chen with a smile. Then he casually sent out a palm strike.
The folded s.p.a.ce spread slightly. Xiao Chen and his companions had already moved over a hundred kilometers. However, this palm strike forced them back.
“Great grandmaster-level Martial Sage!”
Blood leaked out the mouths of the three. Their hearts all sank at the same time as they looked at Zhuang Zhenghe with grave expressions. Haloed in light, Zhuang Zhenghe looked very dignified as he slowly walked over.
Lord Jiu recognized this person. His voice trembled somewhat as he said, “Zhuang Zhenghe! The tenth rank of the Primal Chaos Domain’s Evil Cultivator Ranking. Due to a fortuitous encounter in his early days, he cultivated a Buddhist Palm Technique. He is nicknamed the b.l.o.o.d.y Monk.”
The Evil Cultivator Ranking of the Primal Chaos Domain was very different from the one of the Tianwu Domain. The former compiled all the loose cultivators of the entire world. The latter included only the loose cultivators of the Tianwu Domain.
The top ten of the Tianwu Domain’s Evil Cultivator Ranking would not make it to the top hundred of the Primal Chaos Domain’s—a huge difference indeed.
For Zhuang Zhenghe to rank tenth in the Primal Chaos Domain’s Evil Cultivator Ranking, his strength went without saying. Those in the top ten would definitely live up to their reputation. Otherwise, they would have perished long ago.