Chapter 630: Victory in Numbers, Who’s Afraid of Who?
Jiang Chen didn’t treat these words as a compliment at all. He was well aware of the frightening killing intent that hid behind Cao Jin’s words. This was an opponent dangerous enough to threaten his life, and the most frightening enemy he’d met since reincarnating. If he could kill this opponent today, that’d mean he had enough power to travel to the Upper Eight Regions and search for his father Jiang Feng.
Jiang Chen had only spent a short amount of time with his father in this life, but he’d felt the same fatherly love from Jiang Feng as he did from the Celestial Emperor. Adding to that his memories and emotions from his past life, although Jiang Chen’s feelings towards Jiang Feng weren’t as deep as his for the Celestial Emperor, they weren’t too far off.
Jiang Chen looked at Cao Jin with narrowed eyes, inwardly at solemn attention. This Cao Jin was a top genius of the Sky Sect alright; his demeanor and bearing was vastly different from the top geniuses in the Myriad Domain. He looked arrogant and insufferably c.o.c.ky, but he never lost his reason. Even when he faced Jiang Chen, someone noticeably inferior to him, Cao Jin still gave his opponent the full weight of his attention. The focus with which he treated Jiang Chen left no openings to exploit. This was indeed the mindset of a lion using its full power to secure even a rabbit!
Jiang Chen was most on guard against an opponent who didn’t take anything for granted. If it’d been an opponent with eyes at the top of his head, who’d constantly dismissed Jiang Chen, then that would’ve created an opportunity for Jiang Chen. But an opponent who didn’t dismiss him at all left him with no choice other than to bring forth everything.
“Cao, tell me your name. I don’t kill nameless people.” Jiang Chen probed.
Cao Jin smiled remotely. “Spare me the crude provocation. My name is Cao Jin, one of the ten great disciples of the Ninesuns Sky Sect. I’ve already looted the Regal Pill Palace before coming here. What Palace Head Dan Chi, what Elder Yun Nie, every insect there was utterly pathetic. Jiang Chen, I hope you don’t disappoint me too.”
What?
Jiang Chen’s heart shook when he heard this and his eyes narrowed into a glare. However, he soon calmed down as the corner of his mouth twitched. He smiled faintly. “Cao Jin, don’t put on a front. If you had truly gone to loot the Regal Pill Palace, you would’ve known long ago that I handed over the sky and earth rank spirit herbs to the sect. What are you doing here then?”
Indeed, Cao Jin’s face froze over when he heard this. “You gave it all to the sect?”
Jiang Chen could tell from his reaction that he’d pulled one over Cao Jin. He smiled, “You fancy yourself clever, do you? Looks like you didn’t get anything from your visit to the Regal Pill Palace, if you really even went there.”
Jiang Chen was actually completely right. Cao Jin’s expression turned even uglier. His trip to the Regal Pill Palace had been a complete humiliation. However, he was quick to adapt, as he laughed coldly, “Jiang Chen, you’re going to die today no matter what you say and where the spirit herbs are.”
Jiang Chen laughed leisurely. “Is that so? Come kill me then.”
He activated the Cicada Wing and sped towards the center of the lake. When Cao Jin saw Jiang Chen do so, he knew that the latter wanted to use the terrain and the Miasma on the island. But what would he fear now that things had developed thus? He swallowed the pill that s.h.i.+ Zhen had prepared beforehand, fully primed all the defenses he had and sped towards the island. He was determined to kill Jiang Chen this time!
The two of them landed on the island, one after another.
“Not running away anymore?” Cao Jin also landed when he saw Jiang Chen come to a halt, slowing down a few hundred meters away from him.
“Why should I run away?” Jiang Chen smiled faintly.
“Hahaha…” Cao Jin couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Why do you need to run? Do you think you have a reason not to run?”
“Yes.” Jiang Chen nodded nonchalantly. “This is my territory, and whoever enters must die.”
If it wasn’t for him understanding Jiang Chen’s strength and having witnessed Jiang Chen’s methods, Cao Jin might’ve actually been scared. But since he had already grasped his opponent, he was thoroughly confident in himself. He’d been a bit dejected previously because Jiang Chen had attacked from the shadows while they had stood in the light. They"d been restricted at every step and Jiang Chen had thoroughly calculated their moves. Now that Jiang Chen was in the light, Cao Jin had nothing to fear, not with his strength. That formation disk of Jiang Chen’s was of no threat at all.
If there was anything Cao Jin was worried about now, it was the matter of exiting rather than Jiang Chen. He’d been able to come in because of the formation splitting technique that the three had executed together. Now that Wu Heng and s.h.i.+ Zheng had perished, this had become the biggest issue he needed to solve.
But after he took out Jiang Chen and plundered all his treasures, what was so bad about training here for a decade or so? The task at hand was still to kill Jiang Chen! He guessed that Jiang Chen had lured him here because the former was viewing the Miasma as a trump card. “Jiang Chen, if you think the Miasma here can affect me, then you’re simply too naive.”
Cao Jin had scanned himself just now and noticed that the pill s.h.i.+ Zhen had concocted was very effective. His defenses were also fully active, so it too was actively rejecting the invasion of the Miasma to a certain extent. He had identified the Miasma because he wanted to impact Jiang Chen’s morale. Indeed, Jiang Chen’s expression changed drastically when he casually mentioned it.
“Cao… you, you can handle even the Miasma?”
Cao snorted coldly when he saw how Jiang Chen’s expression had changed and stared at his opponent in a sinister fas.h.i.+on. “This is your last chance, hand over the spirit herbs and the Longevity Pill recipe. I can promise that I’ll let you live if you do so. I even won’t make trouble for your Regal Pill Palace.”
A hint of hesitation appeared in Jiang Chen’s eyes. His face had drained of all color. “Why should I believe you?”
Cao Jin took a step closer, bellowing, “Do you have any other choice?” He flared his aura as he spoke, the presence of a peak sage realm roiling outwards and crus.h.i.+ng down on Jiang Chen.
A complicated gaze appeared in Jiang Chen’s eyes. A hint of a cruel smile appeared on Cao Jin’s lips as he suddenly snapped his fingers.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoos.h.!.+
Six streaks of golden light flashed through the air, taking up positions around Jiang Chen. Once the light dimmed, six silver talismans floated in the air. The runes on each of them broke apart, rea.s.sembling to become six sparkling, golden wolves. Each of them had long flowing fur, and the dimmed golden radiance seemed to become a s.h.i.+eld, giving onlookers a feeling of extreme ferocity and savagery.
Awrooo! Awrooo!
The six enormous wolves threw their heads back and howled to the skies, rattling Jiang Chen’s ear drums and piercing deep into his soul. It was as if the howls had the power to rip one’s very soul apart.
“Jiang Chen, you’re too naive!” Cao Jin laughed heartily. “You killed two of my peers right in front of me! Do you think I’d still let you live?!”
“Then… all that was just to distract me just now?” Jiang Chen frowned.
Cao Jin smiled. “What else do you think? How would I know if you’d played any other tricks if I didn’t distract you? But even if you have any tricks left, you won’t be able to use them anymore. You, a mere first level sage realm, have no future but becoming a chewtoy after being surrounded by my six golden wolverines!”
Cao Jin had been distracting Jiang Chen earlier because he’d wanted to set Jiang Chen at ease, and also because he was also using his consciousness to probe the surrounding terrain, just in case Jiang Chen was up to anything. After he was done with the sweep, Cao Jin made the first move in trapping Jiang Chen with the six wolves. Everything was in his grasp now, and he didn’t need to act anymore.
Jiang Chen suddenly smiled. “What a coincidence.”
“What coincidence?” Cao Jin’s tone was cold.
“Well, you said you were distracting me just now, but the same went for me. It looks like we really don’t trust each other.” Jiang Chen’s tone was casual as the hint of a leisurely smile flashed through his eyes. “You want to win by numbers? Bring it on!”
He made a hand seal and summoned the Millionditch Stone Nest. Several hundred thousand Goldbiter Rats surged out furiously, instantly filling every square inch of empty s.p.a.ce with hair-raising momentum. There were rats even beneath Cao Jin’s feet.
The six wolverines were individually at earth saint rank, a cultivation level even higher than the Rat King! But as strong as they were, they were only six, whereas there were hundreds of thousands of Goldbiter Rats. In addition, the element that the rats were least afraid of were spirit creatures of the metal attribute.
The Goldbiter Rats’ reputation of being able to destroy anything wasn’t an empty boast. Even divine level experts could only retreat when they ran into a pack of ravaging Goldbiter Rats. If they set their sights on something, there would nothing left of them except cracked bones. The Goldbiter Kingrats in particular were a race that could devour even the heavens!
Cao Jin had been delighting in his cleverness just now, exulting in the feeling of a plot well sprung. Who would’ve thought that Jiang Chen’s trembling voice and crestfallen expression were just playing along with Cao Jin! This meant that Jiang Chen knew from the beginning that Cao Jin had a way to take care of the Miasma. Just as he was probing out Jiang Chen, so had Jiang Chen been doing the same to him.
The six wolverines scurried around in all directions, sending countless Goldbiter Rats flying through the air from the wind formed by the motion of the claws, filling the air with blood and fur sc.r.a.ps. However, when the Goldbiter Rats grew enraged, they were the sort to go berserk. The six wolverines had thoroughly enraged the Goldbiter Rats, particularly since Jiang Chen had promised them that they could have all of the flesh and blood of the wolverines. The six creatures weren’t illusions made from glyphs, but spirit creatures with real flesh and blood. It was just that they’d been sealed by the runes as Cao Jin’s contracted creatures.
These earth sage realm spirit creatures were nothing more than a feast for the Goldbiter Rats, so the latter became even wilder after receiving Jiang Chen’s promise. No matter how the wolverines dashed to and fro, there were countless Goldbiter Rats who fearlessly leaped up to entangle them. Having evolved a few times, there were many saint realm rats amongst them, so they wouldn’t necessarily die with a single blow from the wolverines’ sharp claws.
The battle had become ever crazier.