Chapter 413 - 389: The Number One Person Below Divinity Transformation

Chapter 413: Chapter 389: The Number One Person Below Divinity Transformation

KLANG!

Zhang Chi raised his hand and pointed. A colossal, blindingly silver Sword Light erupted into existence, weaving through the air like a rampaging Flood Dragon. It instantly shattered the giant skulls before tearing the enemy’s Grand Array to shreds.

The Sword Light then circled with fluid grace, annihilating all the Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators and Tier Four Peak Great Demons outside. The outcome was never in doubt.

Before this Sword Light, the protective measures of the Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators and Tier Four Great Demons were like paper—utterly fragile.

The reason for this was simple: the Sword Light was none other than the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure Flying Sword from the Cangwu Sect.

Zhang Chi’s current Cultivation was more than enough to properly wield this Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, allowing him to unleash even more of its Mighty Power than before. But his enemies were all stunned and defenseless, making it effortless for him to cut them down.

The single strike shattered numerous Protective Magical Treasures. The Nascent Souls of the Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators and the Demon Pills of the beasts were not spared; their Divine Souls were severely wounded, instantly turning them into spoils of war.

This was only because Zhang Chi had held back. Otherwise, the single sword strike would have utterly annihilated them, turning their Nascent Souls, Demon Pills, and even their Storage Bags to dust.

"No!"

"Why is this happening!"

As they were being slaughtered, the Cultivators and Demon Beasts finally regained consciousness. They could only project waves of indignation and terror with their Divine Thoughts, filled with utter shock and regret.

Clearly, none of them had imagined, even at the moment of their deaths, that this ambush—a guaranteed victory—would end in such an unexpected disaster.

SWOOSH!

The Sword Light finally dissipated, and the Spirit Treasure Flying Sword landed in the hand of Corpse Puppet No. 1.

With a sweep of its hand, Corpse Puppet No. 1 collected all the spoils: Storage Bags, Demon Pills, Nascent Souls, a few Magical Treasures, and any Demon Beast Materials that hadn’t been destroyed.

Then, Corpse Puppet No. 1 retrieved the Black Small Bell and the Spirit Sword before transforming into a black streak of Escape Light and speeding away from the scene.

"Th-this, what’s going on?"

"Who is that Cultivator? He killed all the Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators and Beast Alliance Great Demons with a single sword strike? Could he be a Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch?"

"No, he’s likely just at Nascent Soul Peak. But that Sword Light just now was probably from a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure. His Swordsmanship and Cultivation must be incredibly profound to unleash so much of its Mighty Power. And since his enemies were already stunned, he was able to kill them all in a single blow."

"True. But even so, he’s definitely the strongest person below the rank of Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch!"

Qin Yushan and the other Cultivators were utterly dumbfounded, only managing to cry out in amazement after a long moment.

As it turned out, because they had been shielded by two layers of Arrays, the effect of the Black Bell had been greatly diminished for them. They were stunned, but for a much shorter time than the Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators and Beast Alliance Demon Beasts.

As a result, they woke up earlier, just in time to witness the Sword Light slaughtering the forces of the Heaven-defying Alliance and Beast Alliance.

It was a shock unlike anything they had ever experienced.

They were still stunned when Zhang Chi unleashed his Flying Sword to break the array, so they hadn’t seen that part at all.

The part they did see, however, led them to believe that Corpse Puppet No. 1 was the one who had slain all the enemies and Demon Beasts.

Of course, this was exactly the result that Zhang Chi wanted them to see.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives!"

Then, watching Corpse Puppet No. 1 disappear into the distance, they hurriedly shouted their thanks and gave a deep bow, regardless of whether the figure could see or hear them.

In their profound shock, and with the Corpse Puppet leaving so quickly, none of them realized it wasn’t a human Cultivator.

"That’s wonderful! We’ve been saved!"

"I know. I wonder what that senior’s origins are. But since he helped us, he must be an ally, not an enemy!"

"Indeed. We’re incredibly lucky."

"I thought our Combat Power was top-tier among our peers. Now I truly understand the saying, ’There’s always a heaven beyond the heavens, and an expert beyond the experts.’ Compared to that senior, we’re absolutely nothing!"

"It’s a shame. That senior clearly doesn’t want to reveal his identity, since he left so abruptly. Otherwise, we would have to find a way to repay him properly."

"Let’s go. We can discuss this more on the way back. We’ll report this to the Divine Palace. The three Palace Masters will surely have a way to find our benefactor and thank him on our behalf."

"Right!"

After that, the Cultivators discussed the matter as they quickly gathered themselves, boarded the Floating Airship once more, and headed for Bixue Green Oasis.

This time, however, no one was in the mood for drinking and celebrating. They pushed the Flying Boat to its maximum speed, their conversation now centered on the mysterious Cultivator and the ambush.

Qin Yushan and the other two Nascent Soul Peak Cultivators immediately used a Secret Technique to send messages to the other squads and to Red Sand Oasis. However, they received no immediate reply, leaving them to wonder what had transpired.

Qin Yushan’s group didn’t dare rush to offer support.

After all, the situation was unclear. Acting rashly could mean walking right into a trap. Besides, if something had truly gone wrong, they wouldn’t arrive in time to help. Even if they did, they couldn’t change the grand outcome. It was better to return and secure their own base.

Fortunately, the journey back was uneventful, and they soon returned safely to Bixue Green Oasis.

Zhang Chi kept a low profile throughout the journey, so no one noticed anything unusual about him. They certainly didn’t know that he had never been unconscious and had, in fact, been the one to kill all the enemies and Demon Beasts.

Upon arriving at Bixue Green Oasis, they finally began to receive replies to their messages.

Only then did they learn the full scope of the disaster. As they had feared, many other locations had been hit by joint sneak attacks from the Heaven-defying Alliance and the Beast Alliance. The losses were catastrophic, with several thousand Nascent Soul Cultivators dead, including dozens at Nascent Soul Peak.

The number of wounded Cultivators of all tiers was simply countless.

The only silver lining was that the enemy’s forces, despite being combined, were not infinite. The attack had focused solely on the Desert Divine Palace’s vanguard units, leaving places like Red Sand Oasis untouched.

Furthermore, the Desert Divine Palace’s Cultivators were no pushovers and had inflicted significant casualties on the attackers. But the ambush had been carefully planned against an unsuspecting target, so the enemy still held a massive advantage.

Moreover, oases that had just been captured or were in the process of being captured, like Cyan Banana Oasis, had fallen back into the hands of the Beast Alliance. With Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators now helping to defend them, and the Desert Divine Palace having suffered such a blow to its Vitality, another advance was impossible for the foreseeable future.

Finally, their comrades were all astonished and envious when they heard about Qin Yushan’s encounter. However, no one, not even the command at Red Sand Oasis, had any clue about the mysterious expert’s identity.

The latest orders from Red Sand Oasis instructed Qin Yushan’s group to hold their position, defend Bixue Green Oasis, and await further instructions from the Desert Divine Palace headquarters.

At the same time, Zhang Chi also received messages from Qin Susu and Lan Xuan.

Both of them were very worried about him. He immediately replied, giving them a brief overview of the situation, which finally put their minds at ease.

He did not, however, mention that he was the one who had slain the powerful enemies from the Heaven-defying Alliance and the Beast Alliance.

After all, the fewer people who knew, the better. If the Heaven-defying Alliance and the Beast Alliance learned the truth, they would undoubtedly seek revenge with a vengeance.

Even Qin Susu and Lan Xuan could be dragged into it.

Zhang Chi also contacted Xiao Yunhong’s group and discovered that their squad hadn’t participated in this operation. They had been assigned a different mission and had thus dodged a bullet.

Zhang Chi breathed a small sigh of relief.

When they heard what Zhang Chi had been through, Xiao Yunhong and the others broke out in a cold sweat for him.

Of course, Xiao Yunhong, the Chen Bufan siblings, Qin Susu, and Lan Xuan all suspected the truth: the mysterious Cultivator who had single-handedly turned the tide was none other than Zhang Chi and his Corpse Puppet No. 1.

The Spirit Treasure Flying Sword was also Zhang Chi’s, and it came from the Great Abyss Cangwu Sect.

After all, with the exception of Xiao Yunhong and Lan Xuan, the others had all seen Zhang Chi use his Spirit Sword before and knew he had a powerful Corpse Puppet assistant.

But even though they suspected, they didn’t press him for details, all of them pretending to be oblivious.

Still, the thought that Zhang Chi could so easily slaughter that many Nascent Soul Peak cultivators and Tier Four Peak Demon Beasts left them all secretly astonished.

’Black Bell, Spirit Sword, a mysterious Cultivator? Could this be the same Zhang Chi our Hundred Flowers Palace placed a bounty on all those years ago? It’s only been a little over three hundred years, and he’s already grown this powerful?’

Aside from Xiao Yunhong and his friends, the Hundred Flowers Palace Saintess and several other Cultivators from her sect immediately made the same connection, and they were horrified.

That very day, the Hundred Flowers Palace Saintess sent a message back to her Sect, demanding that the Hundred Flowers Palace immediately withdraw the bounty on Zhang Chi.

The upper echelons of the Hundred Flowers Palace agreed at once.

They even issued a public notice, clarifying that the entire affair years ago had been a misunderstanding.

That’s right. Upon finding a clue related to Zhang Chi, not only did they not attempt to hunt him down, but they decisively dropped the bounty.

In fact, if they had known his exact whereabouts, they would have shown up at his door with gifts to offer a formal apology.

The reason was simple: Zhang Chi’s Combat Power was so immense that he was now an existence the Hundred Flowers Palace could not afford to offend. The most sensible choice was to turn an enemy into a friend before he came looking for trouble.

At that moment, Zhang Chi was still unaware of the Hundred Flowers Palace’s decision. By the time he returned to his South Bay Cave Mansion, Corpse Puppet No. 1 had already returned discreetly, handing over the Spirit Sword and the rest of the spoils.

Filled with anticipation, Zhang Chi began to sort through his winnings.

First were the Nascent Souls and Demon Pills.

These items were priceless. Whether used for his own Cultivation, for Alchemy and Artifact Refining, for feeding his Spirit Beasts and Corpse Puppets, or for selling, they were all incredibly rare treasures.

Next, Zhang Chi extracted the Divine Souls one by one and performed a Soul Search on each.

Through this, Zhang Chi quickly acquired a great deal of Cultivation Knowledge and intelligence regarding the Beast Alliance and the Heaven-defying Alliance.

Once the Soul Searches were complete, Zhang Chi didn’t let the Divine Souls go to waste. He tossed all of them into his Beast Soul Banner.

The Demon Souls were designated as Main Souls to be nurtured, while the Cultivators’ Divine Souls were simply fed to them as nourishment.

Another part of the haul consisted of various Demon Beast Materials and the Magical Treasures from the Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators. They were equally precious, and so numerous and varied that they formed a small, dazzling mountain when piled together.

Of course, this pile also included the vast quantities of materials Zhang Chi had harvested from the Demon Beasts he had slain at Cyan Banana Oasis...