Chapter 204 - 202: Silencing

Chapter 204: Chapter 202: Silencing

When the Seven Kills Stele vanished from the Murong Family’s territory, its upper echelons had been utterly enraged.

The one thing the Murong Family lacked was a powerful offensive Divine Artifact. Had they possessed the Seven Kills Stele, they could have shored up this final weakness.

Although Murong Li had never seen the Seven Kills Stele with his own eyes, he had seen the altar in Lianshan City and the Ancient Clans’ descriptions of it.

He had previously felt that the Sacred Artifact within the Blood Killing Realm was somewhat familiar, but it wasn’t until this moment, seeing the Divine Artifact Incarnation of the Seven Kills Stele created by the Blood Slaughter Venerable, that it all clicked. He could now be certain that the Sacred Artifact of the Blood Killing Realm was, in fact, the Seven Kills Stele.

’But hadn’t the Seven Kills Stele appeared in Lianshan City? How could it have ended up in the Blood Killing Realm from five thousand years ago?’

As a scion of a great clan, Murong Li had a profound understanding of Divine Artifacts and Demon Soldiers. With a quick turn of thought, he surmised that the Seven Kills Stele in Lianshan City had probably not been the complete artifact, but only a part of it.

The Seven Kills Stele in this Blood Killing Realm was also just another piece.

’If a mere fragment of the Seven Kills Stele could create the Blood Killing Realm and a powerhouse on the level of the Blood Slaughter Venerable, just how powerful would the complete artifact be?’

At this thought, Murong Li felt an even sharper pang of regret.

’Such a powerful Divine Artifact Demon Soldier... and it had vanished right under the Murong Family’s nose!’

At that moment, as Murong Li stared at the pillar of killing intent, a thought suddenly struck him, and he snapped his gaze toward Chen Yuan.

He had always felt that the astonishing wave of killing intent when "Chen Jiutian" used the Blood Killing Heaven-Seizing Hand was familiar, yet also foreign.

Now, he abruptly realized why he had felt that way.

It was because when "Chen Jiutian" executed that move, the incredibly shocking wave of killing intent was practically identical to the Killing Intent Origin’s Power of Origin contained within the Seven Kills Stele!

He had never witnessed this power firsthand, which was why it felt foreign.

But he had seen the murals beneath the altar where the Ancient Clans described the power of the Seven Kills Stele, which was why it felt familiar.

’This "Chen Jiutian" actually has power from the same source as the Seven Kills Stele. Where did he get it?’

Furthermore, "Chen Jiutian’s" file on the Hidden Dragon Rankings said he was a Loose Cultivator, and he was already an Inspector for the Zhenwu Hall when he first made a name for himself in the Jianghu.

But Murong Li could detect a faint You Province accent when he spoke.

This was enough to prove that "Chen Jiutian" was not from Ning Province, and had probably started as a Martial Artist from You Province.

’He’s from You Province, he possesses the power of the Seven Kills Stele, and he’s a Loose Cultivator with no background or master who somehow managed to rise through the ranks of the Zhenwu Hall and make a name for himself on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. How could there be so many coincidences in the world?’

Suddenly, Murong Li had an audacious theory.

To be precise, it wasn’t a theory; he was at least eighty percent certain that this "Chen Jiutian" was the one who played the third party and profited from the conflict in Lianshan City, in You Province—the one who stole the Murong Family’s Seven Kills Stele!

Just then, Chen Yuan sensed Murong Li’s gaze and turned his head to meet it.

Seeing the look in Murong Li’s eyes, Chen Yuan knew the other man had likely figured something out.

Chen Yuan had never let his guard down around the Murong Family, let alone Murong Li—a man who, in the original story, had dealings with the Seven Kills Stele.

Chen Yuan gave Murong Li a chilling smile.

Murong Li seemed to understand the meaning behind that smile.

’You know too much.’

The next moment, the Qi and Blood in Chen Yuan’s body boiled and burned, transforming into a Heart-Burning Karmic Flame that surged toward Murong Li, blotting out the sky.

Murong Li’s expression changed. He retreated rapidly, but the Heart-Burning Karmic Flame still touched him, and his Qi, Blood, and True Qi began to burn away.

Seeing Chen Yuan charging at him with the Celestial Blade, Murong Li, with nowhere left to run, roared, "You’re from You Province—"

But the words had barely left his mouth when Chen Yuan formed a seal technique. Buddhist chanting suddenly descended. As he unleashed the Six Paths of Vajra Mantra of Master Padmasambhava, golden Buddha Light shook the void with a thunderous clap, forcing Murong Li’s remaining words back down his throat. The impact rattled his inner viscera, and he instantly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Murong Li had wanted to reveal Chen Yuan’s identity. With so many Martial Artists present, even if he didn’t escape Chen Yuan’s lethal attack, someone would spread the news.

Then the Murong Family would know what happened; they could avenge him and take back the Seven Kills Stele.

But why would Chen Yuan give him that chance?

Blood Fiend Saber Light condensed, boundless Blood Qi surged, and the Demon Flame burned to its absolute limit, even coalescing into a demonic silhouette that materialized behind Chen Yuan.

This strike pushed Chen Yuan’s own power to its absolute peak. As the saber fell, a Blood River and Demon Flame blotted out the sky, and its sheer power made Murong Li’s expression change drastically.

’I can’t block this!’

Murong Li immediately pulled a piece of cyan Ancient Jade from his robes and frantically poured his Qi and Blood into it.

Star Shifting!

A dazzling cyan light bloomed before Murong Li. The power of Star Shifting completely absorbed the force of Chen Yuan’s strike, and in the next instant, that terrifying power was redirected back at Chen Yuan!

But Chen Yuan had once used Star Shifting to redirect the power of the Seven Kills Stele himself. How could he not know its properties?

After unleashing that peak-power strike, Chen Yuan didn’t pause for a second.

A resplendent Karma Fire Red Lotus bloomed on the Celestial Blade. He slashed down, the magnificent beauty of the attack concealing an endless killing intent.

Chen Yuan knew his own limits. With the Red Lotus Sin-Slaying Saber, the two forces collided, instantly erupting in a terrifying shockwave. However, they reached a delicate balance and canceled each other out.

Immediately after, Chen Yuan drew a bow and nocked an arrow. Immense power gathered in his hands, and as he released the ’bowstring,’ a deafening thunderclap exploded!

Murong Li had let out a sigh of relief after using Star Shifting, believing its power would surely injure "Chen Jiutian" and hoist him by his own petard.

But he never imagined that Chen Yuan could unleash two supremely powerful killing moves in succession.

The thunderclap had not yet faded when the Mulan Continuous Jail-Piercing Arrow shot out, flew straight through the power storm from the two clashing saber strikes, and tore a massive, bloody hole through Murong Li’s torso!

Murong Li’s body crashed to the ground. Lu Wenhao and Xing Yi of the Vajra Prajna Temple froze for a moment, then immediately turned and fled!

The other Martial Artists did the same, their courage completely shattered by Chen Yuan.

Although Murong Li’s own cultivation level wasn’t exceptionally high, he was still from the direct lineage of the Murong Family of Longcheng and had the Star Shifting Divine Artifact Incarnation as his trump card.

Yet Chen Yuan had managed to kill Murong Li while countering the power of Star Shifting. His strength was simply terrifying.

Most importantly, Chen Yuan was absolutely ruthless.

Among the top powers on the Jianghu Wind and Cloud Rankings, unless there was a blood feud between them, people would not normally fight to the death.

But Chen Yuan was different. Whether it was killing Zhang Zhilan outside the Heaven Returning Pavilion or blasting Murong Li to death with an arrow here, his actions proved he was utterly ruthless and decisive.

If you made an enemy of him, your life was on the line, regardless of whether you came from a Major Sect or had a powerful backer.

They wanted the treasure, true, but only if they could stay alive to enjoy it.

Chen Yuan didn’t pursue the others as they fled. He had expended a great deal of energy himself.

Murong Li himself was nothing special, but forcing him to use Star Shifting had required a full-power attack.

Otherwise, Murong Li was no fool; if he had sensed that Chen Yuan’s attack lacked sufficient power, he would never have used Star Shifting.

Therefore, Chen Yuan had to strike with his full power three times.

The first was to draw out Star Shifting, the second was to cancel out the redirected power, and the third was to kill Murong Li with extreme speed to prevent him from blabbing about his origins.

Unleashing three full-power attacks in a row was an immense drain on Chen Yuan.

He swallowed a handful of Elixirs and quickly began to digest them, recovering his Inner Strength and True Qi.

Gu Lichuan and Qin Suguang sheathed their long swords and walked over.

"I used to think these Jianghu Major Sects all cared about their status. Maybe not virtuous and respected, but I thought they’d at least keep up appearances. But look at them now. For a bit of profit, they’re all twisting right and wrong, completely shameless, like starving dogs fighting over scraps."

Gu Lichuan’s face was filled with disdain, his illusions about the martial artists from the major sects completely shattered.

Low-level Martial Artists fought and killed for personal gain.

These so-called paragons from the Major Sects were actually no different; there wasn’t a good one in the bunch.

"The whole world hustles and bustles, all for the sake of profit."

"Everyone is the same when there’s gain to be had. They only managed to keep up appearances before because the stakes weren’t high enough. When a prize is tempting enough, most people can’t help but stoop to any level."

Chen Yuan, having recovered some of his strength, picked up the Blood Slaughter Venerable’s long saber and the Divine Artifact Incarnation of the Seven Kills Stele.

The Divine Artifact Incarnation of the Seven Kills Stele was made of some unknown material. It seemed metallic, but wasn’t; it seemed like stone, but wasn’t. It was incredibly heavy.

However, the material was certainly extraordinary; an ordinary substance could not have withstood the Killing Intent Origin’s Power of Origin from the Seven Kills Stele.

There was still a considerable amount of the Killing Intent Origin’s Power of Origin sealed within it, but it was merely a consumable item. After being used, it would require another blood sacrifice to channel the power of the Seven Kills Stele Fragment back into it.

In terms of combat power, this item was useless to Chen Yuan. As long as he was fused with the Seven Kills Stele, drawing upon the Killing Intent Origin was something he could do with a mere thought.

However, when he later went to merge with the Seven Kills Stele Fragment in the Blood Killing Realm, he could use it to offset some of the impact from the Blood Fiend Killing Intent.

In truth, using Star Shifting to offset the Blood Fiend’s impact would have been the best method.

But Murong Li was a Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage Martial Artist, after all. While it was easy for Chen Yuan to kill him in a direct confrontation, capturing him alive to seize Star Shifting was unrealistic.

Chen Yuan also took the long saber in hand. The blade was covered in blood-red patterns that resembled ocean waves, and the hilt was crafted from solid black jade with specks of crimson that looked like blood vessels.

The moment he grasped the long saber, Chen Yuan sensed an extremely cold, grim killing intent emanating from it.

As Chen Yuan infused it with his True Qi, a piercing, bloody light of killing intent instantly appeared on the blade’s edge. The saber hummed and trembled, and in that moment, the blood-killing power within it swelled like a rising tide in a vast ocean—immense and overwhelming.

At the same time, four words appeared on the hilt: Blood Sea Listening Tide.