Chapter 283 - 281: Going Too Far
Du Yuanqi was incredibly powerful, even among those in the Primordial Pill Realm. Taking on several Martial Artists of the same level was no problem for him.
He could also see that the current situation was amiss, but he didn’t know how to break the stalemate.
When Chen Yuan spoke up, Du Yuanqi immediately followed his instructions without hesitation.
He had always been clear-headed. The time they seized the *Valley Spirit Scripture*, it was thanks to Chen Yuan’s planning that they had succeeded.
This time, the seizure of the Sun-piercing Sword had been orchestrated by Chen Yuan from the very beginning. Now that things had changed, even though Du Yuanqi was stronger than Chen Yuan, he was willing to follow his commands.
The Sun-piercing Alliance didn’t actually have many Primordial Pill Realm Grandmasters—only eight in total.
Among them, three had chosen to follow Yuwen Shan, one was guarding the Central Hall, and the remaining four were here.
Du Yuanqi immediately provided cover for Chen Yuan, confronting the four Grandmasters. His attacks were fierce and savage, single-handedly suppressing all four of them.
Chen Yuan, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to race toward the outskirts of the Sun-piercing Alliance’s territory, where Yuwen Shan and his followers had gathered.
Yuwen Shan was already over one hundred and ninety years old.
Although Divine Platform Realm Martial Artists generally had lifespans of over two hundred years, most of them didn’t live that long.
The reason was simple: Martial Artists who reached such a realm had inevitably endured countless battles in the Jianghu. Few could retire and die a peaceful death.
Even if one could retire in their later years and avoid the conflicts of the Jianghu, the toll from years of fighting would erupt when their Qi and Blood began to fail, cutting their lifespan short.
Therefore, eighty percent of Divine Platform Realm Martial Artists struggled to live past two hundred. Someone like Yuwen Shan was already considered long-lived.
However, at his age, his Qi and Blood had long since begun to decline. As such, he held no ambition within the Sun-piercing Alliance and was content to support whoever became the Alliance Leader.
He just never expected Guan Tianming to act so perversely, causing such a huge mess. And to top it all off, the Ming Sect had to get involved.
With no other choice, Yuwen Shan could only opt to split the Sun-piercing Alliance. After all, it was the only way for them to have a glimmer of hope for survival.
At this moment, Chen Yuan sped over to Yuwen Shan and the others, who were gathering the Sun-piercing Alliance disciples. He said in a low voice, "Chen Yuan of the Ming Sect, here to see Vice Alliance Leader Yuwen Shan."
"The nerve! You actually dare to show your face here!?"
Yuwen Shan pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. Following behind him were Elder Qi and Yuan Dong, who had previously been in charge of guarding the prison.
His hair and beard were completely white, and his features were gaunt, giving him a somewhat ethereal, immortal-like air. But right now, his face was contorted with fury.
Chen Yuan shook his head. "I didn’t want to come either, but there’s been a change in Guan Tianming’s power. I don’t know what kind of Evil Technique he’s cultivated, but several of my Ming Sect’s Hall Masters can’t take him down. So, I would like to ask Vice Alliance Leader Yu to step in and help us hold back Pang Xing’an, allowing my Ming Sect to focus everything on dealing with Guan Tianming."
Yuwen Shan was so angry he laughed.
"Your Ming Sect used its power to seize our Sun-piercing Alliance’s Divine Soldier and created chaos that has split our alliance."
"And now you have the gall to ask me to help you deal with one of our own Sun-piercing Alliance members?"
"Even if your Ming Sect’s power reaches the heavens, this is going too far!"
"Do you really think I won’t kill you!?"
Yuwen Shan roared, and the surrounding Power of Heaven and Earth seemed to condense in an instant. The might of a Divine Platform Realm Grandmaster was on full display.
Chen Yuan, however, showed no signs of panic. He simply cupped his hands. "It would be easy for Vice Alliance Leader Yu to kill me, but killing me would only throw the current situation into greater chaos."
"My Ming Sect came for the Sun-piercing Sword, but the sword has already gone berserk. Your Sun-piercing Alliance can no longer suppress it."
"It’s better for it to fall into the hands of my Ming Sect than into the hands of a hostile force like the Murong Family."
"Besides, I’m not the one splitting your Sun-piercing Alliance. Guan Tianming, your Alliance Leader, is the one splitting it."
"If Guan Tianming hadn’t acted so perversely and stubbornly, could I have split such a massive alliance all by myself?"
"Elder Qi, Yuan Dong, and you, Vice Alliance Leader Yu... if Guan Tianming hadn’t gone too far, if he wasn’t digging up the very foundation of the Sun-piercing Alliance, why would you all be here now?"
"All of you, take a look. There is definitely something wrong with Guan Tianming now. The Cultivation Technique he practices, his power—does it bear even the slightest resemblance to the Sun-Piercing Heart Scripture passed down in your Sun-piercing Alliance?"
"As the Alliance Leader, he disregards the interests of the alliance for his own selfish gain. From your perspective, doesn’t he deserve to die?"
"Furthermore, the fact that you have all split from the Sun-piercing Alliance is already established. If my Ming Sect loses today, we can just give up on the Sun-piercing Sword. It’s no great loss."
"But what about you? How could Guan Tianming possibly spare you, the ’sinners’ who split the Sun-piercing Alliance?"
"Therefore, you will inevitably be his next targets for elimination."
"If you act now, you won’t be helping me. You’ll be helping yourselves!"
Chen Yuan’s words were delivered with extreme calm, yet they analyzed the stakes with crystal clarity.
But it was precisely for this reason that Yuwen Shan trembled with rage.
In this situation, he really had no choice but to help them deal with Guan Tianming. If Guan Tianming won, he and his people would be doomed.
But to be forced to act like this... Yuwen Shan felt utterly aggrieved.
In the end, he had no other option. He let out a heavy, cold snort, directing all his might at Chen Yuan, making his ears ring. Then, Yuwen Shan leaped into the air and shot toward the battlefield.
Chen Yuan rubbed his ears and smiled.
’This old man Yuwen Shan is so old. Why is he still acting like a child, so driven by his emotions?’
’But it doesn’t matter. As long as he takes action, it’s fine.’
Over on the battlefield, with Yuwen Shan stepping in to block Pang Xing’an, Mr. Bei and the other two could now focus all their efforts on Guan Tianming, greatly reducing the pressure on them.
However, the three of them also found it strange. How on earth did Chen Yuan manage to persuade Yuwen Shan?
Judging by the dark look on his face, he didn’t seem willing to fight.
But when he actually attacked, he didn’t hold back in the slightest. It was truly bizarre.
Seeing that the situation with Mr. Bei had stabilized, Chen Yuan turned to Elder Qi and asked, "Elder Qi, where is the Sun-piercing Sword now?"
Elder Qi gave Chen Yuan a complicated look and said, "It’s beneath the Central Hall. There’s an Array there temporarily sealing the Sun-piercing Sword."
"And that hall is Guan Tianming’s residence. But someone should be guarding it right now."
Chen Yuan nodded, then headed straight for the Central Hall of Sun-piercing Valley.
He wanted to see the current state of the Sun-piercing Sword, and he also wanted to see what exactly Guan Tianming had obtained to allow his strength to grow so rapidly.
A long, narrow passage led to Guan Tianming’s Central Hall. At this moment, two Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists from the Sun-piercing Alliance were clearing out some of the Independent Martial Artists from the underground prison.
After these Independent Martial Artists escaped from the underground prison, some fled immediately.
Others chose to seek revenge, planning to kill a few members of the Sun-piercing Alliance before leaving.
But there was also a third group, driven by greed, who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to loot some treasures.
This was the Central Hall of the Sun-piercing Alliance, and they believed there must be good things inside. They never expected to run into two tough customers and were slaughtered to the last man.
Now, seeing Chen Yuan rushing toward them, one of the Sun-piercing Alliance disciples snorted coldly. "Another arrogant fool. Kill him!"
One of them, a Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artist in his thirties, immediately drew his sword and charged at Chen Yuan.
The Sun-piercing Alliance’s Cultivation Technique, the Sun-Piercing Heart Scripture, was extremely explosive. The Long Sword in his hand instantly erupted with an intensely fierce Sword Qi, as dazzling as the rising sun.
The blazing Li Yan Blood Fiend on Chen Yuan’s Black Flame Sword, fused with Celestial Fire Power, erupted with a BOOM. That supremely domineering force instantly extinguished the Sword Qi. With a single strike, he sent the Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artist flying.
The Li Yan Blood Fiend entered his body, caving in his chest with a huge indentation. It was clear he wouldn’t survive.
The other Martial Artist, who had yet to make a move, was younger, only in his twenties.
He had assumed his senior brother would make short work of the intruder, but he never imagined it would be his senior brother who was taken down with ease!
Suddenly, he froze, then cried out in alarm, "You’re the fifteenth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, Chen Yuan, the successor of the Ming Sect’s Celestial Fire Hall!"
Although Chen Yuan was wearing his signature Nether King Mask, the young Martial Artist hadn’t recognized him at first.
Right now, only the higher-ups of the Sun-piercing Alliance knew that the Ming Sect was involved. The other disciples were still in the dark about what was happening.
This was something Pang Xing’an had deliberately concealed, fearing that the Ming Sect’s reputation would cause a panic.
So, he had subconsciously assumed Chen Yuan was just another one of the Independent Martial Artists they had captured. He paid him no mind, never expecting to have messed with the wrong person.
Chen Yuan couldn’t be bothered to waste words on him. With a wave of his hand, a boundless aura of Celestial Fire Sword Qi instantly materialized around him, its staggering Sword Intent soaring into the sky!
As Chen Yuan aimed his Sword Pointing at his opponent, the vast and mighty Celestial Fire Sword Qi instantly blasted toward him with immense power.
Heaven-Burning Destruction Sword Qi!
The young Sun-piercing Alliance Martial Artist roared, beginning to burn his Qi and Blood. The light from his sword shone brilliantly as he frantically defended against the bombardment of the Heaven-Burning Destruction Sword Qi.
Chen Yuan let out a soft "Huh," surprised that this young Martial Artist’s strength was actually quite remarkable.
Taking a single step, Chen Yuan instantly appeared before him. He formed a Seal Technique with his hands, and boundless clouds of fire condensed, forming a massive hand seal over a hundred feet wide that came crashing down!
Heaven-Burning Hand Seal!
The young Sun-piercing Alliance Martial Artist was trying to withstand the impact of the Heaven-Burning Destruction Sword Qi while also fending off the Heaven-Burning Hand Seal. He was immediately blasted back, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Chen Yuan struck with three consecutive Heaven-Burning Hand Seals, directly shattering the man’s heart meridian and killing him instantly.
Gently shaking his head, Chen Yuan stepped over the body and walked straight toward the end of the passage.
’This young Martial Artist from the Sun-piercing Alliance wasn’t weak. It’s a shame he chose the wrong side.’
What Chen Yuan didn’t know was that this talented young disciple he had just killed so swiftly was actually the most outstanding prodigy of the Sun-piercing Alliance’s younger generation: Tan Wenbin, ranked thirty-sixth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
But for the current Chen Yuan, anyone on the Hidden Dragon Rankings outside the top ten wasn’t worth his attention. That was why he had assumed the man was just an ordinary disciple of the Sun-piercing Alliance.
A proud prodigy from the Hidden Dragon Rankings had just died an unceremonious death.