Chapter 142 - 140: A Helping Hand
The statement that Tian Hengbin was obliterated into dust by Chen Yuan’s supreme strike was not an exaggeration—he had truly been reduced to fine powder.
The explosive combination of this Triple Power was not as simple as mere addition.
The Blood Fiend amplified his Qi Blood, which was then ignited like kindling. As a result, the boost from this Triple Power was more than ten times that of any single power alone!
That was why the strike carried such devastating power. The violent, terrifying force had ripped Tian Hengbin into a bloody mist, leaving not even a single sizable piece of flesh behind.
The entire battlefield fell silent in an instant, as if time itself had stopped.
It was not unheard of for a Sea of Reincarnation Realm cultivator to slay a Condensing Truth Realm master. Many of the young prodigies on the Hidden Dragon Rankings had such an achievement to their name.
When Shangguan Yun had made his name on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, he too had slain a Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artist while at the Sea of Reincarnation Realm.
The problem was, their victories required them to use every trick up their sleeve. They had to rely on their deep foundations, powerful inherited Cultivation Techniques, and even external artifacts to succeed.
But Chen Yuan had reduced a Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artist to dust with a single strike, not even giving his opponent a chance to flee. That was simply too terrifying.
And who was this Gu Lichuan, who had blocked two Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage masters with just two sword strikes?
With that kind of strength, he was definitely qualified for the Hidden Dragon Rankings—and in the top forty, at that. Yet, Shangguan Yun and the others found Gu Lichuan completely unfamiliar.
While Shangguan Yun was still stunned, Zuo Feiyu roared, "Don’t stop! Keep fighting! They must have expended a huge amount of energy. If we retreat now, Tian Hengbin will have died in vain, and all our plans will be for nothing!"
As his voice fell, Zuo Feiyu immediately swallowed an Elixir to boost his True Qi. At the same time, he used a Secret Technique to ignite his Qi Blood and was the first to charge toward Chen Yuan.
Shangguan Yun had been intimidated by the power of Chen Yuan’s strike and was originally hesitant.
But seeing Zuo Feiyu make his move, he also gritted his teeth and charged at Chen Yuan.
With both of them attacking, Duan Mingzhen hesitated.
Among the three of them, his grudge against Chen Yuan was the smallest. He had simply been swept up into this fight.
Zuo Feiyu and Chen Yuan shared a life-and-death feud. Chen Yuan had also ruined many of the Nine Swords Alliance’s plans, so Zuo Feiyu wouldn’t rest until he was dead.
Shangguan Yun was acting for the sake of the Shangguan Family’s grand plan, wanting to eliminate Chen Yuan early to ensure the Zhenwu Hall could never recover.
’But what about me? I’m only attacking Chen Yuan because of a series of coincidences. Is it worth risking my life to go up there now?’
As he hesitated, Zuo Feiyu’s voice, carried by True Qi, reached him.
"Senior Brother Duan, you also took part in the battle at the Celestial Fragrance Building. You made a mortal enemy of this Chen Jiutian back then."
"Besides, you were the one who brought Tian Hengbin here. You can try to retreat now, but the grudge has already been forged. It won’t be so easily resolved."
"This Chen Jiutian is petty and vengeful. He slaughtered the Zhu Family until only Zhu Chengzong was left, and he still wants to hunt him down and finish the job."
"If he doesn’t die today, he will settle this score with you sooner or later."
"The Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion may be powerful, but you can’t just stay cooped up there for the rest of your life, can you?"
Duan Mingzhen’s expression was uncertain. After a moment’s thought, he too raised his Long Sword and charged into the fray.
Chen Yuan’s power had genuinely terrified him.
’But Zuo Feiyu has a point.’
’Since I’ve already made an enemy of such a terrifyingly strong young prodigy, I should get rid of him as soon as possible.’
’Otherwise, won’t I be in danger once he’s fully grown?’
Of course, he could just stay in the Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion. ’No matter how arrogant Chen Jiutian is, could he really storm the Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion to kill me, even if you gave him a hundred years?’
But Duan Mingzhen was only approaching thirty. He couldn’t bear the thought of spending his prime years in bitter cultivation at the Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion instead of roaming the Jianghu.
’So, since we’re already enemies, it’s best to go all out and kill him now.’
Tong Yuantai and Liao Cheng had the same thought.
’If a young prodigy this terrifying is allowed to mature, will there be any place left for us in the Jianghu in the future?’
’We must kill Chen Yuan today!’
Liao Cheng even waved his hand, ordering the ten Sea of Reincarnation Realm Martial Artists from the Golden Radiance Pavilion to attack Chen Yuan as well.
In an instant, more than ten people attacked together, their combined might even greater than before.
"Brother Gu, do you have any strength left?"
Gu Lichuan took a breath and chuckled. "No problem. I can still kill a few more."
"Fighting alongside you is always more exhilarating, Brother Chen. We always run into these grand spectacles."
"I missed the battle at the Celestial Fragrance Building, but I won’t miss this one."
Just now, Chen Yuan had consumed a great deal of energy condensing his Triple Power, and Gu Lichuan had also expended a lot by unleashing two forms of his Supreme Sword Intent at once.
However, both of them were now surging with an ever-growing battle lust.
Having gone all-out to take down one Condensing Truth expert, the pressure was much less than before, even if more people remained. Most of them were just small-fry who weren’t worth mentioning.
Forming a Seal Technique with his hands, Chen Yuan instantly pushed his own Qi Blood to its absolute limit.
Chen Yuan’s body was almost completely shrouded in crimson. The next moment, that extreme crimson Qi Blood was instantly ignited, erupting forward as a black-red inferno!
Heart-Burning Karmic Flame!
Faced with such an attack, Shangguan Yun and the others instinctively moved to defend themselves.
But they soon realized something was wrong.
This bizarre flame couldn’t be extinguished. It clung to their bodies, continuously burning away their True Qi and Qi Blood!
Shangguan Yun and the others were in a better position; with their deep and solid foundations, they could still resist.
But when the Sea of Reincarnation Realm Martial Artists from the Golden Radiance Pavilion were touched by the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame, their faces immediately turned pale. Their True Qi and Qi Blood couldn’t withstand the burning effect.
Seeing their Qi Blood about to be depleted, some of the Golden Radiance Pavilion Martial Artists gritted their teeth and hacked off their own arms. They had stumbled upon a solution by chance, but they had also crippled themselves in the process.
Shangguan Yun snorted coldly and fully activated his Beichen Ice Soul True Skill. An overwhelmingly cold aura radiated from his body, instantly covering him in a layer of frost.
Only with such immense power was he finally able to extinguish the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame.
Panting, Shangguan Yun shouted, "Don’t hold back! You have to use overwhelming power to extinguish this damned thing in one go! Otherwise, if you drag it out, it will drain you to death!"
Chen Yuan glanced at Shangguan Yun with a hint of surprise.
’That bastard might not have much character, but as expected of someone from the Shangguan Family, he has some insight.’
’Even though he’s never seen the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame before, he was able to figure out a solution in a short amount of time.’
But unfortunately for them, Chen Yuan wasn’t going to give them the chance.
While Tong Yuantai and Liao Cheng were entangled by the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame, Chen Yuan made a beeline for Tong Yuantai, while Gu Lichuan charged toward Liao Cheng.
These two Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage masters were the most troublesome. As long as they could be dealt with, the remaining Zuo Feiyu and his group were no cause for concern.
The Profound Celestial Finger Strength crashed down toward Tong Yuantai.
At that moment, Tong Yuantai was just beginning to prepare to extinguish the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame as Shangguan Yun had instructed.
Seeing the Profound Celestial Finger Strength descending, Tong Yuantai gritted his teeth. His Qi Blood burned fiercely as one hand transformed into an eagle’s claw to crush the Finger Strength, while he condensed Blood Qi in the other, finally extinguishing the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame.
At the same time, his face turned pale. Burning his Qi Blood with all his might just now had severely depleted it.
Chen Yuan himself had a deep and solid foundation and had also practiced the Blood Spirit Scripture.
For him, burning Qi Blood was like child’s play, and he could quickly recover afterward using the power of the Blood Spirit Scripture.
But for most Martial Artists, especially a Loose Cultivator like Tong Yuantai who lacked a powerful lineage and a deep foundation, burning their Qi Blood inflicted immense damage on their bodies each time.
Therefore, they would never choose to burn their Qi Blood unless it was a life-or-death situation.
Who would have thought that he would be forced to burn his Qi Blood just to repay a favor to Zuo Tianyuan? Tong Yuantai was already beginning to feel a pang of regret.
But Chen Yuan wouldn’t give him a chance to regret it. A Blood Demon Devouring the Sun strike came slashing down. Demonic Qi and Evil Qi intertwined as a majestic power instantly engulfed Tong Yuantai.
Tong Yuantai’s Celestial Eagle Claw excelled at close combat, but facing Chen Yuan’s assault, he couldn’t find any opportunity to close the distance, which left him feeling incredibly frustrated.
On the other side, Liao Cheng was also locked in a bitter struggle.
He specialized in Lightweight Skills, but Gu Lichuan’s Mountain and Sea Sword Scripture was majestic and grand, with almost no weaknesses.
No matter how he leaped about in a flash of golden light, he remained entangled by Gu Lichuan.
By now, Zuo Feiyu and the other two had finally broken free from the interference of the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame.
But the Sea of Reincarnation Realm Martial Artists from the Golden Radiance Pavilion didn’t have the trio’s deep foundations. They were either burned to death by the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame, their Qi Blood exhausted, or had become cripples after severing their own arms.
With a single move from Chen Yuan, the ten Sea of Reincarnation Realm Martial Artists from the Golden Radiance Pavilion had been completely disabled.
Glancing at the situation, Zuo Feiyu said in a low voice, "Kill Chen Jiutian first!"
Gu Lichuan was strong, but his methods weren’t as varied as Chen Yuan’s.
As long as they killed Chen Yuan, the remaining Gu Lichuan would be easy to deal with.
Just as Chen Yuan was about to counterattack the three oncoming attackers, he saw three figures suddenly appear, blocking Zuo Feiyu’s group.
These three were none other than Cui Xuanye, Lu Chuanshan, and Qin Suguang.
Chen Yuan was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected these three to intervene.
Although they had gotten along well before, they were only ordinary friends who shared a common enemy.
But this time, Chen Yuan was planning to go big, turning the tables to counter-kill Zuo Feiyu. The process was bound to be dangerous.
Moreover, Cui Xuanye was from the Cui Family and Lu Chuanshan was from the Jianghai Alliance. Both hailed from Major Sects. He didn’t know if they would be willing to make a mortal enemy of the Shangguan Family, as the implications were significant.
So, from the very beginning, Chen Yuan hadn’t counted on the three of them, nor had he planned to seek them out. He had only brought along Gu Lichuan, with whom he had once wiped out a sect.
Who would have thought that while he hadn’t gone looking for them, they had come on their own initiative.
Cui Xuanye, holding an Eight Trigrams Compass, turned back and smiled at Chen Yuan. "Brother Chen, you stole the show at the Celestial Fragrance Building. Not calling us this time is a bit unfair, don’t you think?"
"It’s not too late for you all to join. My thanks for this!"
Chen Yuan laughed heartily. With his back now secure, he charged at Tong Yuantai with his full power.
Meanwhile, the faces of Shangguan Yun and his men turned as dark as thunderclouds.