Chapter 1321:
On the nameless island, Lan Chaofeng anxiously watched Elder Qin undergo his tribulation. At the same time, he did not let his guard down, keeping a constant lookout for intruders in the surroundings.
It was now a crucial moment. If someone came to cause trouble, all their efforts would be for naught.
Xiao Chen moved to the side, for now, checking the corpses of the ten Blood-Clad Soldiers, or more accurately, the pile of mush that was them.
The Blood-Clad Soldiers had been prepared to self-detonate, their bodies having already rotted from the inside and swelled up. Xiao Chen's stomp from the outside had reduced them to a pile of mush speckled with blood.
Xiao Chen felt very curious about these Blood-Clad Soldiers. However, he could not investigate their corpses; only some of the tattered clothes remained.
These clothes were drenched in blood, suffused with an evil aura.
Xiao Chen sent out a wave of energy, pulling the tattered clothes into the air. When he looked carefully, baleful cries sounded faintly in his ear.
As the strip of cloth floated in the air, it looked like a snake wriggling.
Xiao Chen flicked a finger and sent out a strand of Solar True Flame from his fingertip to burn the strip of cloth.
"Ah!"
Thousands of miserable shrieks layered over each other came from the cloth. Black smoke lingered—that was dense Death Qi, something commonly seen in the Demonic World.
Mild startlement flashed across Xiao Chen's face. It appeared that these Blood-Clad Soldiers had some relations with the Demonic World.
Several human-shaped clumps of energy twisting in agony could be seen indistinctly in the black Death Qi. As the Solar True Flame burned it, they slowly disappeared.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, the Death Qi struggled free from the bindings of the flame and launched itself ferociously at Xiao Chen.
"You are seeking death!"
Xiao Chen raised his hand and threw a palm strike to instantly scatter the Death Qi in all directions.
He withdrew his hand and frowned. "It is really resilient. These scarlet clothes do indeed have some kind of trick behind them."
After saying that, he flicked his fingers and sent out six strands of saber Qi, completely destroying the scattered Death Qi.
As Xiao Chen watched the vanishing Death Qi, he entered deep thought. Although Death Qi was somewhat strange, there were people on the Kunlun Continent who used it. The Ghost Race and Corpse Race cultivated Death Qi. However, the Death Qi they cultivated were mostly from the dead. They would not kill innocents.
Of course, some of the evil cultivators were not included in this group.
The scarlet clothes before Xiao Chen had to be the product of the slaughter of many innocents, hence such powerful resentment, so intense that the Solar True Flame could not completely destroy it.
Heaven-defying!
He shook his head as disgust flashed in his eyes. He wondered how many innocents had died for the sake of creating these scarlet clothes.
Actually, Xiao Chen did not know that the means to create these scarlet clothes were far crueler than he imagined. Ordinary resentment would not be so intense and resilient.
It required little children, infants, pregnant women, or mediums like that. Furthermore, it was not just simply killing them but torturing them to death.
"Whoosh!" Xiao Chen returned to Lan Chaofeng's side. High on the Emperor's Road, a ring of light resembling flowing water appeared around Elder Qin as he arduously reached the final step.
That was Elder Qin's last trump card, a peak-quality King Grade Secret Treasure that he found especially for clearing his tribulation. Furthermore, he asked Mo Chen to strengthen it.
Lan Chaofeng asked casually, "Did you figure out anything?"
Xiao Chen replied sullenly, "I could not make out much. I only feel that it is related to the methods of the Demonic World. However, many of the Demonic World's secret arts are passed down in the Kunlun Realm as well, so it is hard to say."
Lan Chaofeng sighed softly, "That is not too strange. Right now, many unremarkable factions of the Heavenly Starry Ocean have suddenly risen up by virtue of Demonic Treasures like these scarlet clothes. In such chaotic times, how could the Deep Abyss Demonic World's shadow be absent from this?"
"Whoosh!" Resplendent beams of light suddenly shone from behind.
The golden light appeared solid, dyeing the place golden. A golden afterglow appeared before Xiao Chen and Lan Chaofeng.
The two turned around and saw the source of the light. It was a golden warship bathed in divine light. Sagely songs surrounded the warship, praising the Deity Sovereigns endlessly.
"The Deity Race."
"They came from so far away. They probably came with hostile intentions!" A heavy murderous intent flashed as Lan Chaofeng narrowed his eyes.
"Whoosh!"
There was a sonic boom, and some figures descended—the Divine Daughter, Tian Youxi; the twelve Keepers who normally guarded the Divine Son and Divine Daughter; the White Tiger Holy Son, Xia Houjue; and the Black Tortoise Holy Son, Feng Wuji.
Aside from these, there was still one more person in the air. This person appeared to be a white-haired middle-aged man dressed in golden clothes. His body gave off light, and flashing golden halos shone behind him—a total of seven halos. This was a Deity Race's Seventh Heaven Martial Emperor.
Against such a formation, Xiao Chen and Lan Chaofeng did not dare to be careless. The two flew forward and blocked the other party from getting closer.
Xiao Chen looked over the people in front of him. He discovered that their auras were very stable and firm and also contained a sharp and harsh air.
The experiential training in the Astral Battlefield allowed the survivors to mature.
"Xiao Chen!" Xia Houjue said through gritted teeth with hatred in his eyes, his restraint starting to unravel.
A Divine Halberd stretched over and blocked Xia Houjue, who was about to go berserk. Tian Youxi said calmly, "Calm down. Don't forget what the Deity Sovereign said. Right now, his Luck is flourishing. The Heavenly Dao is watching over him. This is not the time to kill him."
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and said, "Brother Xia's sharpness has not decreased at all and is still as rash as ever. However, the Three Holy Scions normally move about together. Why do I not see the Holy Daughter Nuan Muyun?"
Xiao Chen still had a good impression of this Holy Daughter. Back when he first arrived in the Kunlun Realm, he obtained some benefits from her.
Furthermore, in Xiao Chen's opinion, Nuan Muyun was easier to get along with compared to the other Holy Scions. If she was here, there was a chance for negotiation.
"She died!" Xia Houjue said as he looked icily at Xiao Chen. "She died in the Astral Battlefield. Because of you! This debt shall be collected from you!"
Xiao Chen was somewhat surprised. Although he knew that half the outstanding talents who had gone to the Astral Battlefield had died, he did not expect that a Holy Scion would fall. Furthermore, it was a Holy Scion that he had interacted with before.
Xiao Chen felt somewhat disappointed and rueful.
However, no matter how this was accounted, this should not be blamed on him. Xiao Chen replied indifferently, "Xia Houjue, in my life, I have never feared revenge from enemies. If you want to kill me, please find another reason. If you want revenge, go look for the Demon that killed her."
Xia Houjue snarled, "You bastard! How does it have nothing to do with you? If not for you putting so much pressure on us during the King conferral ceremony, would we have needed to go to the Astral Battlefield? Would Nuan Muyun have been worried about us and accompanied us there? Tell me, how is this not related to you?"
This claim stunned Xiao Chen when he heard it, at a loss as to how to reply.
"Don't worry. I already personally killed that Demon. The next one will be you, the cause of all this."
Xia Houjue continued looking icily at Xiao Chen. Then, he squinted at Elder Qin, who was arduously walking on the Emperor's Road. He said with a cold smile, "He is really putting in a lot of effort. You really wish for him to advance to Martial Emperor, right? I'll tell you this now: it is impossible!
"Today, I'll make you watch as he burns on the Emperor's Road. I will plant a Heart Demon in you. I want to cut off the Luck of your Dragon's Gate!"
Xiao Chen felt furious. He shouted coldly, "You dare?! Even if it is as you said, that Nuan Muyun's death is my responsibility, feel free to come at me, Xiao Chen. You can forget about hurting the innocent. Don't cross my bottom line!"
Tian Youxi said indifferently, "I'm afraid we will be touching it this time. Attack!"
At Tian Youxi's casual words, that Seventh Heaven Sovereign Martial Emperor's figure flashed, charging at Lan Chaofeng.
The twelve Keepers spread out to surround Xiao Chen and delay him.
Tian Youxi led Xia Houjue and Feng Wuji into the sky, heading for that Emperor's Road.
All this happened in an instant. The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign had accurately calculated the Dragon's Gate's strength. For the sake of suppressing Xiao Chen's side, he had even sent a Sovereign Martial Emperor.
However, just at this moment, something strange happened. An intense explosion resounded in the sky.
Tian Youxi and her companions looked back and saw their warship blasted into a cloud of golden dust, turning into a magnificent light spectacle spreading into the surroundings.
A sonic boom roared as an arrow quickly flew over. This arrow carried enough might to destroy the world, tearing a black line in space in its wake and eliminating all life in its way.
Everything in that black tear was crushed into nothing by the arrow's power.
Retreat!
Horror flashed in the eyes of the Deity Race Sovereign Martial Emperor, whom the arrow locked on to, as he quickly moved back. The expressions of Tian Youxi and the others changed markedly as they frantically moved back, their footsteps hurried and flustered.
Although Tian Youxi and the rest had already done their best to distance themselves, the shock waves still struck them. Their perfect formation immediately fell into shambles. The shock waves generated by the arrow's explosion blasted them all topsy-turvy.
When the group landed, they were unsteady and had to stagger back another one hundred meters. Blood leaked out of the corners of their lips, and all of them paled slightly.
Just the shock waves were sufficient to put the group of outstanding talents, who had undergone experiential training in the Astral Battlefield, in such a sorry state.
The results would be easy to imagine if the arrow struck them directly.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Many more sonic booms resounded relentlessly in the air. Hundreds—thousands—of arrows flew over. Although they were not as mighty as the first arrow, they were much faster and covered a larger area.
A single archer forced these outstanding talents to retreat incessantly, step by step, in such a miserable fashion.
The Deity Race Seventh Heaven Martial Emperor in the air frowned. Then, he locked his gaze on the person wielding the bow, wanting to charge over in a flash.
The Deity Race Martial Emperor was very clear that this person was an outstanding archer. With sufficient distance, this archer could completely suppress everyone below. Right now, the more problematic thing was that this archer held the initiative and dictated the rhythm.
Only by getting close and disrupting this archer's rhythm could the Deity Race Martial Emperor's group regain the initiative.
"Your opponent is me."
Lan Chaofeng moved unpredictably. He suddenly appeared at the left of this Deity Race Martial Emperor and ruthlessly stabbed his dagger while smiling faintly.
The dagger was fast and accurate. When it suddenly stabbed over, it startled that Deity Race Sovereign Martial Emperor, making him break out in a cold sweat.
They fought an intense battle in the air, giving the Deity Race Sovereign Martial Emperor no time to deal with that archer.