Chapter 162 - 160: Interception
To conserve his stamina, Chen Yuan had previously held back and not used his full strength to deal with the puppets.
Although he had obtained a good number of Primordial Stones, it was definitely not as many as the Shangguan Family had.
Now that Primordial Stones were being delivered right to his doorstep, Chen Yuan naturally wouldn’t refuse.
However, the Martial Artists asking for help were clearly unwilling to part with the Primordial Stones in their possession.
"Master Chen, if you also intend to rob us of our Primordial Stones, how are you any different from the Shangguan Family and the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion?
The Great Brightness Sect has now re-emerged in the Jianghu. If you help us, Master Chen, we will surely spread the good name of the Great Brightness Sect throughout the Jianghu in the future.
If you also act so tyrannically, I’m afraid it will still damage the Great Brightness Sect’s reputation in the Jianghu."
The man in the lead was a Loose Cultivator and obviously had no idea what kind of reputation the Great Brightness Sect had five hundred years ago. He was actually trying to use reputation to blackmail Chen Yuan.
From his perspective, the Great Brightness Sect had been suppressed and hunted in the shadows before. ’Now that they were preparing to re-emerge in the Jianghu, how could they possibly not care about their reputation?’
’As the first Martial Artist from the Great Brightness Sect to make it onto the Hidden Dragon Rankings since its re-emergence, Chen Yuan surely couldn’t tarnish his own Sect’s name, right?’
"How absurd!"
Chen Yuan sneered. ’These people truly have no idea what kind of existence the Great Brightness Sect is.’
’Reputation? They haven’t cared about that since the day the Great Brightness Sect was founded.’
"The difference between me and them is that the Shangguan Family and the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion want your Primordial Stones *and* your lives. I only want your Primordial Stones."
The Martial Artist shouted angrily, "You disciples from the Major Sects are all cut from the same cloth! For your tyrannical actions today, you will surely face retribution in the future!"
"You don’t dare curse the Shangguan Family and the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion when they want to take your lives, yet you dare to bark like a dog before me.
Well, I’ve changed my mind. Now I want your life and the Primordial Stones in your hands!"
As his voice fell, a dazzling fiery light erupted from the Black Flame Sword in Chen Yuan’s hand. Its scorching, supreme aura instantly sealed off all escape routes around the Martial Artist before him.
This Martial Artist was only at the Condensing Truth Realm Early Stage, and his combat strength was even less than that of Qiu Guanyun, who had died by Chen Yuan’s hand earlier.
The ferocious and domineering Celestial Fire Sword Qi tore through his True Qi. No matter how he resisted, it was futile. Chen Yuan’s strike ripped his body apart, slicing him in two.
The expressions of the other Martial Artists present all changed.
The Shangguan Family and the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion were domineering, but Chen Yuan was no saint either.
And Chen Yuan truly fought to kill; he would slay his opponent without fail, even if they begged for mercy and offered to hand over their Primordial Stones.
The Forgotten Heaven Pavilion might not care about its reputation, but it didn’t like being cursed by others.
If they killed everyone here, no one on the outside would know what happened. People would just assume they died in the secret realm because they weren’t strong enough.
This was how the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion always operated, always considering how to maximize their own interests.
Seeing that Jie Yushan and his allies intended to slaughter them all, someone immediately asked, "We are willing to hand over our Primordial Stones! Master Chen, are you truly willing to see justice done for us?"
Chen Yuan stood directly at the exit to the third floor and said flatly, "I am a man of my word. Hand over your Primordial Stones and leave. No one will kill you."
Although treasures could be found in the middle three floors, the Shangguan Family and the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion had joined forces to clear the area. Treasures were good, but their lives were more important.
Someone immediately handed the Primordial Stones they had acquired to Chen Yuan and fled through the exit behind him.
This one person’s action triggered a chain reaction.
A crowd of Martial Artists all fled toward Chen Yuan, handing over their Primordial Stones to escape the Ninefold Tower.
Seeing Chen Yuan intercepting the Primordial Stones like this, Jie Yushan suddenly strode forward and said coldly, "Chen Yuan, I had no quarrel with you. We were minding our own business. Furthermore, this Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower was opened by my Forgotten Heaven Pavilion and the Shangguan Family together. I can ignore you wanting to trial and explore within it, but now you’re meddling in others’ affairs. Are you trying to make an enemy of me?"
"It’s not that I want to be your enemy. It’s that you’ve taken things too far."
Chen Yuan sneered. "You can control the heavens and the earth, but can you control who they’re willing to give their Primordial Stones to?"
’These people from the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion have all cultivated to the point of madness.’
The Forgotten Love Celestial Book was a Supreme Divine Skill. As long as one cultivated it to the Eighth Realm Divine Platform, the Power of Heaven and Earth they could control would far exceed that of Martial Artists at the same level.
However, the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion’s understanding of the Forgotten Love Celestial Book was extremely radical.
The Forgotten Love Celestial Book originated from the Daoist Sects. Its core was Supreme Forgetting Emotions, which allowed one to draw closer to heaven and earth and achieve the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man.
But Supreme Forgetting Emotions wasn’t about being heartless; it was about being undisturbed by the mortal world, maintaining a state of mind that was tranquil and effortless.
The people of the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion, however, cultivated Forgetting Emotions and Severing Nature. They acted in extremes, calculating personal gain down to the finest detail. This led to their infamous reputation and a lack of foresight, as they only focused on immediate benefits while ignoring the bigger picture.
This was also why, despite possessing a Supreme Technique, the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion only ranked in the middle tier on the Jianghu Wind and Cloud Rankings.
’Just like now, Jie Yushan is insisting on completely wiping out these Martial Artists, which is nothing but a waste of his own strength.’
’The real treasures are still below. If he wastes his energy like this and then can’t pass the trials of the middle three floors, it’ll be a joke.’
A cold glint appeared in Jie Yushan’s eyes. Without another word, his figure moved, and the Ice and Fire Power circulating around his body coalesced into a Fist Seal that smashed down toward Chen Yuan.
Departing Fire Mystic Ice Seal!
The Forgotten Love Celestial Book contained the great Dao of heaven and earth. The Cultivation Technique itself had no Attribute, but it could be converted into any Attribute.
Although Jie Yushan’s methods were extreme, his attacks were magnificent and grand.
When facing ordinary Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists, Chen Yuan didn’t even need to ignite the Starfire Power in his Reincarnation Sea.
But Jie Yushan was at the Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage. Furthermore, he was from the Forgotten Heaven Pavilion and a Condensing Truth Realm expert who had once ranked in the top twenty of the Hidden Dragon Rankings. His strength could not be underestimated.
The Black Flame Sword left its sheath. The Starfire within his Dantian ignited, and in an instant, a prairie fire’s momentum erupted.
As the Celestial Fire blazed, Chen Yuan thrust his sword. A thin but extremely powerful layer of condensed Blood Qi coated the blade, concealed by the Celestial Fire.
The Blood Refining Divine Sword and the Burning Earth Sword Technique were unleashed simultaneously, colliding with the Departing Fire Mystic Ice Seal in mid-air. Ice and Fire Power intertwined, instantly erupting into an intensely powerful storm of True Qi.
Jie Yushan suddenly felt an extreme Giant Power wash over him, and his expression changed slightly.
’Such a strong foundation of power!’
’This person is only at the Condensing Truth Realm Early Stage, but his power foundation is even stronger than mine.’
’Are all the people from the Great Brightness Sect this terrifying?’
’How could Chen Yuan have such a foundation of power when he only just broke through to the Condensing Truth Realm?’
Just then, seeing that Jie Yushan had made his move, Shangguan Yun and Shen Wugui were also about to attack.
But Huangfu Yi, who had been keeping a low profile and remaining silent, moved to block their path.
Shangguan Yun frowned slightly. "Huangfu Yi, your Huangfu Family has no connection to the Great Brightness Sect. Do you really want to get involved in this mess?"
Huangfu Yi shook his head and stammered, "After... after you defeat Chen Yuan, your next step will be to kick me out too."
Without his mask on, Huangfu Yi’s personality was somewhat timid.
But he was only timid, not an idiot.
Jie Yushan, Shangguan Yun, and Shen Wugui had already joined forces, making them the strongest group present.
The other Independent Martial Artists had already been kicked out, and now they were confronting Chen Yuan.
’If I don’t help Chen Yuan now and just watch him get surrounded, I’ll be the next one to be kicked out.’
Jie Yushan, however, did not continue his attack. After one exchange, he had a rough understanding of Chen Yuan’s strength. He paused for a moment, then said directly, "Let’s go to the next floor. We’ll let him have these Primordial Stones."
Shangguan Yun and Shen Wugui were both stunned.
’You were the one who wanted to fight, and now you’re backing down after one move?’
But Jie Yushan was the strongest. If he wouldn’t fight, Shangguan Yun couldn’t continue either.
Chen Yuan, however, understood Jie Yushan’s thinking. It was nothing more than weighing the pros and cons.
’If he felt confident he could beat me, he definitely would have tried to kick me out immediately.’
’But after one exchange, Jie Yushan wasn’t confident, so naturally, there was no need to continue fighting. It was better to save his strength for the trials.’
As for losing face, that was something Jie Yushan never considered.
With Jie Yushan and his group retreating, the other Independent Martial Artists let out a long sigh of relief. At least their lives were safe.
They didn’t dare to contend with Jie Yushan any longer and hurriedly handed their Primordial Stones to Chen Yuan to escape the Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower.
Huangfu Yi wasn’t wearing his Divine Mask at the moment. He just gave Chen Yuan a reserved nod as a greeting.
Although Chen Yuan had intercepted a portion of the Primordial Stones, Shangguan Yun still had a considerable amount.
After stepping onto the next floor, twelve Bronze Halls appeared before them.
These halls varied in size. The larger the hall, the harder the trial within. The first five were recommended for Primordial Pill Realm Grandmasters.
Shangguan Jue and Xu Wenzhou were both Primordial Pill Grandmasters from major powers, and with no other Primordial Pill Realm Martial Artists to compete with, they naturally chose the first and second halls.
Jie Yushan also had enough Primordial Stones to activate a Primordial Pill Realm hall. He hesitated for a moment before choosing the fifth hall.
Seeing Chen Yuan standing aside and not competing with him, Jie Yushan directly activated the hall and stepped inside.
Shangguan Yun had even more Primordial Stones than Jie Yushan. After a moment of thought, he said to the Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists of the Shangguan Family beside him, "We’ll take the fourth one!"
"Young Master, you mustn’t take such a risk!"
Shangguan Yun said in a low voice, "We have enough Primordial Stones to open a Primordial Pill Realm hall. The treasures inside are on a completely different level than what’s in the Condensing Truth Realm halls.
Wouldn’t it be a waste to split up and enter the Condensing Truth Realm halls? If we enter together, I’m confident we can pass the Primordial Pill Realm trial."
There were five Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists with Shangguan Yun. They were all from Side Branches of the Shangguan Family and belonged to Shangguan Yun’s faction.
Since Shangguan Yun, a son of the Direct Lineage, had spoken, they had no choice but to agree.
In the Shangguan Family, the Side Branches were vassals to the Direct Lineage. Each branch of the Direct Lineage had many vassal Side Branches under it, and they held the power of life and death over them—absolute control.
Therefore, they would now have to risk their lives to ensure Shangguan Yun’s safety. If anything happened to him, they would have no way to answer to the family.
Seeing Shangguan Yun head to the fourth hall, Chen Yuan made a mental note of its appearance.
’Only in the middle three floors will everyone be completely separated. This is the most suitable place to get rid of them.’
After committing it to memory, Chen Yuan took his Primordial Stones and stepped into the third hall.
He had accumulated a good number of Primordial Stones, enough to activate this third hall.
Huangfu Yi and Shen Wugui were both taken aback.
’Chen Yuan is actually that bold? He’s going to challenge the third Primordial Pill Realm hall?’
They didn’t have as many people as the Shangguan Family, nor did they possess the audacity of Chen Yuan and Jie Yushan. It was better to be cautious, so they chose to open two of the Condensing Truth Realm halls further back.