Jiang Chen naturally wouldn’t mindlessly b.u.t.t into the fight. As Veluriyam’s young lord, each of his steps had to be carefully planned. In fact, he’d been keeping an eye on the progress of the fight when chatting with Ye Rong and Dan Fei.
After careful observation, he noticed the fight was in a deadlock.
The horn-faced great emperor couldn’t find a window for retaliation under the combined a.s.sault of Emperor Peerless and Emperor Coiling Dragon. However, he seemed determined to hold fast and wouldn’t be defeated easily.
That was why Jiang Chen had to join in.
It might be too late once the two opponents realized they couldn’t win and decided to bolt. After all, when great emperors fought and no one held an overwhelming superiority in cultivation, an earth-shattering treasure was required to subdue the enemy and deny them all hope of escape.
Jiang Chen stood outside the battle zone. Hand seals followed in close succession as he set up a formation.
He’d obtained enough True Heavensfall Iron to manufacture all eighty-one flying swords required for the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation. After some practice, he’d attained the minor achievement stage of the formation.
Today, Jiang Chen planned to run it through its paces. Of course, his planning needed to be foolproof. He arranged another formation around the perimeter, an exceptional trap formation called the Great Dream of Spring and Autumn Formation.
He’d obtained the required materials for the formation in the Six Palace of Heritage’s Crimson Heavens Palace. There was no difficulty whatsoever in setting it up. Once successfully laid out, the Great Dream of Spring and Autumn Formation activated immediately.
With a smile, Jiang Chen suggested to Long Xiaoxuan, “Brother Long, fight side by side with me?”
Long Xiaoxuan’s cultivation had made giant strides, the speed of his progress even more heaven-defying than Jiang Chen’s. Seeing great emperor opponents, he was raring to go.
“Let’s go!”
The two of them transformed beams of light that flashed inside the battlefield.
Jiang Chen held his magnetic golden mountain aloft. Golden light gushed from the treasure as it crashed towards the horn-faced man. The mountain’s physical attacks combined with the restrictive effect of its magnetic field were` strong enough to impede a great emperor, even if it couldn’t overcome him outright.
The horn-faced man was already in a tight spot under the pincer a.s.sault from Emperor Peerless and Emperor Coiling Dragon, so he was startled by the golden mountain’s sudden appearance. He brandished his wolftooth mace, ready to slam it against the oncoming treasure.
But before he could act, he suddenly noticed something suspicious about that mountain, as if his mace wanted to fly there on its own volition. That treasure seemed to possess an enormous attractive force. It was trying to steal his weapon!
“d.a.m.n it!” His expression stiffened. He immediately flashed away and dodged out of the mountain’s area of attack. However, this movement exposed his back to Emperor Coiling Dragon.
Coiling Dragon shouted with a nasty grin, “My turn!”
He pointed with his spear and concentrated an indomitable, seemingly boundless murderous aura on the tip. The spear dived through the air as it pierced at the fellow’s back with unstoppable momentum.
If this strike landed, nothing could stop it from running through his opponent.
But the enemy was extraordinary. The horn-faced man blocked with his mace and shoved away Emperor Coiling Dragon’s weapon. Twisting his body, he changed direction and retreated elsewhere.
Emperor Peerless sneered. “Running away?”
He slapped his palms together. Two enormous spiritual hands pressed at the horn-faced cultivator with the weight of divine peaks from the heavens.
At the same time, Jiang Chen moved his lips and performed a hand seal. Sixteen flying swords soared out from behind his back. He hadn’t practiced this sword formation for long. But even so, he could control the sixteen swords at the same time. The Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation’s might was phenomenal even at the minor achievement stage.
The sixteen flying swords were sixteen ancient dragons roaming the dome of the sky, summoning dark clouds and lighting in their wake, eclipsing the sun and the moon, dyeing heaven and earth.
Performing another hand seal, Jiang Chen murmured, “Go!”
The flying swords melted into sixteen rays of light firing at the horn-faced man. Rather than successive single strikes, the fearsome part of the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation lay in its synchronized, simultaneous onslaught. The flying swords combined into a terrifying whole, like the countless stars of a galaxy.
The colossal formation power ripped through the void.
Even though Emperor Peerless and Emperor Coiling Dragon were Jiang Chen’s allies, they couldn’t help being stunned by this unexpected attack. They were veterans of many battles. Although they couldn’t decipher the secrets of this sword formation with one glance, they could tell how remarkable it was.
That offensive strength alone was indication enough.
The horn-faced great emperor grinned nastily, unconcerned by Jiang Chen’s arrival. “Kid, you came right on time!”
He’d been worried about losing ground just moments ago. This young man was his silver lining. Wasn’t this kid these other fellows’ young lord? If the horned man could capture this brat, couldn’t he then force the others to submit?
No one could deny this horn-faced fellow’s ferociousness and the boldness of his vision. But when he noticed sixteen sword lights shooting his way, he finally realized things weren’t as he’d imagined.
The flying swords completed at least a million strikes in the blink of an eye. Moreover, every strike was evenly charged with the same fierce energy. These flying swords’ attack speed and density far surpa.s.sed his expectations. How could a young emperor realm control such a fearsome sword formation?
The horned man turned pale. It finally dawned on him he’d underestimated this young man. Panic took a hold of him.
He threw caution to the wind and frantically swung his mace around. At the same time, he grabbed a talisman and empowered himself with it, forming a mighty protective barrier.
This defensive talisman was extraordinary. It could withstand ferocious barrages from cultivators of the same level, as if encasing the user in thick armor.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
He swung his mace in wild, chaotic patterns, generating savage gusts of wind that cus.h.i.+oned a sizeable part of the flying swords’ offensive. However, the remaining momentum penetrated through the mace’s protective perimeter and smashed against the protective layer around him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sky shook under the harsh and intense vibrations born from the impact.
The flying swords seemed to know circus tricks as they spun continuously around him and battered him relentlessly.
“This is bad!” The horned man silently swore. No matter how strong his defense, he couldn’t endure the frequency and intensity of this barrage.
“Old Ma, I can’t hold on anymore. Head for the hills!” He sent the code for retreat, requesting his companion to come to his rescue.
Stiff-face was already already aware of his companion’s grim situation. However, he couldn’t spare any attention for a rescue, not when Emperor Vastsea was nipping at his heels.
At this time, Emperor Peerless and Emperor Coiling Dragon also charged into the fray. Acting in concert, the two great emperors once again cut off the horn-faced man’s retreat.
The horned man snorted. “Do you think you can stop me if I want to leave?”
He activated a talisman. A veil of light enveloped him and moved him to the outskirts of battle.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “Let’s see you leave then!”
The Great Dream of Spring and Autumn Formation suddenly whirred into action and melted the light around the man, dragging out his sorry figure from the void.
“You treacherous kid, you’re playing tricks with a formation!” the battered man shouted in anger.
Jiang Chen paid no heed to this nonsense and launched his sword formation a second time. “Die!”
The fearsome Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation sprang to back to life and initiated another round of onslaught. Emperor Peerless and Emperor Coiling Dragon struck at the same time, raining finis.h.i.+ng moves on him.
To kill a great emperor was beyond difficult. However, if several great emperors acted in concert and if they managed to trap their enemy, then the prospects became much more favorable.
Jiang Chen’s mysterious sword formation was enough to drag the horned great emperor to his wit’s end. Throwing Emperor Peerless and Emperor Coiling Dragon into the mix, any of the three could beat him black and blue, even if they didn’t kill him outright.
His miserable shrieks filled the air. He couldn’t break out, he couldn’t win in a straight fight, and a beating awaited him at every turn.
“Old Ma, help me!” His impa.s.se now scared the living daylights out of him. Sensing his enemies’ cold killing intent, he finally understood their determination to see him dead!
Stiff-face was also distressed by his companion’s precarious position. He wanted to fly to his ally’s rescue, but he couldn’t disengage from Emperor Vastsea. He could only threaten Jiang Chen verbally.
“Jiang Chen, don’t bring trouble down on yourself. You know we come from Pillfire City. If you kill great emperors of Pillfire, it will be a declaration of war! That’s not a price you can afford!”
Jiang Chen’s smile was icy. “Pillfire City? It’s not our first time running into each other, is it? I would have buried Pillzenith in Veluriyam if he hadn’t scampered so fast, to say nothing of you two. There’s nothing for you two to do today but die!”
Why would Jiang Chen show mercy? Emperor Pillzenith was involved in Emperor Peafowl’s disappearance. Pillfire and Veluriyam were water and oil.
Threaten him with war? What a joke.
War was coming to Pillfire whether they liked it or not. Jiang Chen would take up arms against them sooner or later!
Any leniency was out of the question. He wrested every last ounce of power from the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation and created a magnificent meteor shower. Like a rain of falling stars streaking down the sky, the swords surrounded the horned man and drowned him in a deluge of strikes.
Emperor Peerless and Emperor Coiling Dragon also bombarded the fellow with every move at their disposal.
“Ah!” Miserable yells sounded continuously. The layer of talismans around the man suddenly broke beneath the force of Jiang Chen’s flying swords.
A moment later, countless sword beams crisscrossed each other, radiating with a glaring brilliance. And then, the horn-faced cultivator was dusted to ashes with on trace of him left!