Chapter 321: A Little Bit of a Shock

Chapter 321 -319: A Little Bit of a Shock

Previously, Chen Yuan had no clue where to find the Demon Sect’s Sacred Artifact needed to forge the Mixed Element Divine Pill. His original plan had been to try his luck inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

The Heaven-Reaching Tower contained ruins from all three Daoist, Buddhist, and Demon lineages, so the chances of finding the Demon Sect’s Sacred Artifact were quite high.

However, after the battle before the Heaven-Reaching Tower, a new plan had formed in Chen Yuan’s mind.

Han Chang, the ‘Demon Child’ of the Original Demon Palace, possessed an Original Demon Pill within his body.

It was a supreme treasure refined by Han Guang, the ‘Demon Venerable’ and Palace Master of the Original Demon Palace, from the Essence of Ten Thousand Demons, and it contained Origin Demon Qi.

Thus, from birth, Han Chang possessed a Primordial Demon Body at the Minor Achievement stage, giving him an extremely strong affinity for Demonic Cultivation Techniques.

This Original Demon Pill perfectly met the requirements for forging the Mixed Element Divine Pill.

‘Once I run into Han Chang, I’ll find a chance to kill him and dig out his Original Demon Pill. Then I’ll have gathered the Three Sacred Artifacts of the Daoist, Buddhist, and Demon Lineages and can forge the Mixed Element Divine Pill!’

‘Inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, it’s not just the ruins of the Sect Clans that are valuable, but also the Martial Artists who enter.’

‘Most of those qualified to enter the Heaven-Reaching Tower are the young prodigies of major powers. Every one of them has countless treasures and resources. They’re basically walking Treasure Vaults.’

Back then, Ma Gushan, who had ambushed him, coveted the Celestial Soldier and the Seven Kills Stele Fragment in Chen Yuan’s possession.

And now, in Chen Yuan’s eyes, Han Chang was nothing more than a walking Original Demon Pill!

Seeing Chen Yuan’s expression, Wen Rou couldn’t help but purse her lips. ‘He must be scheming something again.’

Wen Rou had known since their time in Lianshan City that although Chen Yuan was young, he was shameless and ruthless, and his methods were exceedingly vicious.

After refining the Seven Kills Stele, Chen Yuan and Wen Rou explored the rest of the underground space.

This place was indeed the former core of the Blood Shadow Nether Kill Sect, where they had made offerings to the Seven Kills Stele and inscribed Killing Intent Runes upon the sect’s Martial Artists.

But because of this, there wasn’t much else of value. The most valuable things were likely the runes themselves.

Wen Rou, however, was quite interested in them and made rubbings of them.

Of course, she didn’t understand Arrays herself, but these Killing Intent Runes were ancient artifacts. Some Array Masters in the outside world would surely be very interested in such things.

After leaving the Blood Shadow Nether Kill Sect’s ruins, Chen Yuan and Wen Rou prepared to part ways for the time being.

Chen Yuan was determined to explore other ruins, but Wen Rou had had enough after this experience. She had no desire to try again; it was safer to wander around the outer areas.

The two agreed to contact each other with a Secret Technique if needed, then went their separate ways. Chen Yuan continued toward the upper levels, while Wen Rou remained on the current level to improve the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s topographical data of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

Chen Yuan had been heading upward for less than an hour when he heard the sounds of a fight to his left.

Chen Yuan hadn’t intended to meddle, but he felt one of the voices sounded familiar.

He paused for a moment before immediately heading left, where he saw Yue Ling’Er of the Mist Rain Alliance being pursued and suppressed by another Martial Artist.

Yue Ling’Er’s eyes lit up when she saw Chen Yuan. “Senior Brother Chen, save me!”

The man chasing Yue Ling’Er was Lu Jingyuan of the Celestial Water City’s Lu Family. He was over thirty years old and not a prodigy from the current Hidden Dragon Rankings. On the previous generation’s rankings, his highest position was nineteenth, and his Cultivation was now at the Half-Step Primordial Pill Realm.

Lu Jingyuan’s expression changed abruptly at the sight of Chen Yuan.

He clearly remembered Chen Yuan’s fearsome display of power when he fought five opponents at once outside. Even though he himself had already touched the threshold of the Primordial Pill Realm, he wouldn’t dare to face such might head-on.

Without a second thought, Lu Jingyuan turned and fled.

“Weren’t you enjoying the chase just now? Why the sudden urge to leave?”

Chen Yuan sneered, his figure blurring as he shot straight toward Lu Jingyuan.

“Chen Jiutian! Don’t you go too far!”

Lu Jingyuan shouted as he retreated, “I’m already backing off, what more do you want? Are you really going to fight me to the death over this woman from the Mist Rain Alliance? Besides, I didn’t even hurt her!”

Chen Yuan shook his head. “What is it with you Martial Artists from the great Noble Families? Why are you all so self-righteous?

“You attack whenever you please, and when you find you’re outmatched, you think you can just retreat unscathed?

“You want to fight me to the death? Who do you think you are, Ji Man of Celestial Bright City? You’re just a loser who couldn’t even break into the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings in his prime!”

Lu Jingyuan’s face instantly flushed crimson, and he was overcome with rage.

‘In his prime, he was ranked nineteenth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings! A rank like that would make him a prodigy of the Jianghu anywhere he went.’

‘Besides, this was the rule of the Jianghu: leave a path for retreat, so that you may meet again on good terms.

‘If you couldn’t win, you retreated for the time being, and your opponent wouldn’t hunt you down to the last. That was how things were supposed to work.

‘After all, once a deadly fight began, no matter who died, their backer Sect would form a great enmity.

‘Someone like Chen Jiutian, who fought to the death the moment he made a move, was a true anomaly!’

But Chen Yuan couldn’t be bothered to waste words on Lu Jingyuan. He drew his bow, and in an instant, a Mulan Continuous Jail-Piercing Arrow shot out, wrapped in overwhelming power!

When he called Lu Jingyuan a loser, it wasn’t out of sheer arrogance, but a statement of fact.

Perhaps it had something to do with the impending Age of Great Contention, but the prodigies on this generation’s Hidden Dragon Rankings were universally acknowledged as tyrannical. If the top ten from the previous generation were placed in the current one, they might not even make the top twenty.

Zhang Zhilan of the Shenxiao Sect, whom Chen Yuan had previously slain, was ranked thirteenth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings when he aged out. Lu Jingyuan was even weaker than Zhang Zhilan. If that didn’t make him a loser, what did?

Sensing the immense power contained within Chen Yuan’s arrow, Lu Jingyuan’s expression changed drastically.

He let out a furious roar as his Long Sword erupted with boundless Sword Qi. Surging True Qi billowed out, layer after layer, creating a truly extraordinary display of power.

The Lu Family of Celestial Water City’s *Sea-Overturning and Dragon-Slaying Scripture* was famous in the Jianghu for its majestic and overwhelming power.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the Celestial Water City’s Lu Family had become petty and timid in their actions, long having lost the grandeur of their ancestors.

The Mulan Continuous Jail-Piercing Arrow pierced through, shattering layer after layer of Sword Qi and instantly blasting Lu Jingyuan away.

After merging with the third Seven Kills Stele Fragment, Chen Yuan’s power had surged once again. Forget a Half-Step Primordial Pill Realm expert like Lu Jingyuan; with his current foundation of power, Chen Yuan could clash head-on even with a true Primordial Pill Realm master.

Lu Jingyuan stared at Chen Yuan in horror. His sword hand trembled slightly, the webbing between his thumb and forefinger torn open and bleeding freely.

Before he could react, a torrent of Blood Fiend Saber Light descended upon him.

Lu Jingyuan formed a Seal Technique with his hands, his Qi Blood burning wildly. A boundless True Essence Power erupted like a colossal wave. He slashed down with his sword, and an endless sword light, like an overturning sea, unleashed the absolute peak of his power.

But in the face of Chen Yuan’s ferocious, surging Blood Fiend, this great wave of sword light was torn to shreds.

The Blood Fiend Saber Light also contained a strand of Netherworld Death Qi, which tyrannically eroded and disintegrated Lu Jingyuan’s Qi Blood and Vitality.

“The core of the Lu Family of Celestial Water City’s *Sea-Overturning and Dragon-Slaying Scripture* lies in the momentum to tread waves and overturn seas, and the sharpness to slay dragons. Yet all you’ve cultivated is a seemingly vast pool of True Essence, without a hint of dragon-slaying intent. Such a Cultivation Technique is truly wasted on you!”

The light from Chen Yuan’s saber flared, and a Karma Fire Red Lotus bloomed.

But thanks to the enhancement from the Nether Blood Fiend, the Karma Fire Red Lotus that bloomed from the Red Lotus Sin-Slaying Saber this time contained a domineering aura of death.

Lu Jingyuan could no longer withstand Chen Yuan’s strike. His Long Sword was shattered, and his entire body was torn in two by the blow!

Behind them, Yue Ling’Er witnessed this scene and was utterly stunned.

She hadn’t actually experienced many real Martial Dao battles. Thanks to her Innate Spiritual Body, her cultivation journey had been smooth sailing, but she lacked real combat experience.

Chen Yuan’s clean, efficient, and even ferocious fighting style was something Song Yanluo had never taught her. It was truly an eye-opener.

Moreover, Lu Jingyuan was a prodigy from the previous generation’s Hidden Dragon Rankings. He had more than ten years of additional cultivation experience, and his power foundation was profound. Just moments ago, he had been completely suppressing Yue Ling’Er.

Who would have thought that in Chen Yuan’s hands, he couldn’t even last a few moves before being cut in two? As a fellow Condensing Truth Realm cultivator, Yue Ling’Er could never have imagined such a massive gap could exist between Martial Artists of the same realm.

At that moment, Yue Ling’Er snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, “Senior Brother Chen! Quick, come with me to save Senior Brother Gu! He’s being besieged!”

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan immediately snatched Lu Jingyuan’s Qiankun Bag and said in a low voice, “Tell me on the way!”

As she led the way, Yue Ling’Er explained the situation to Chen Yuan.

After entering the Heaven-Reaching Tower, Yue Ling’Er had actually spent most of her time just wandering around.

While others came to the Heaven-Reaching Tower to fight for opportunities, Yue Ling’Er was truly just here to watch the excitement and gain some experience.

Song Yanluo had told her beforehand to prioritize broadening her horizons and put safety first. She was not to explore any ruins with unknown dangers unless she was absolutely certain.

But her luck was good while wandering, and she actually discovered an extremely remote but remarkably well-preserved sect ruin.

However, to be safe, Yue Ling’Er didn’t enter to explore. She just memorized the location and prepared to find some help.

She had just gone out to look when she ran into Gu Lichuan, so she roped him into exploring the sect ruin with her.

Who would have thought the sect ruin was too intact? The entrance was guarded by an Array, and in a moment of carelessness, Gu Lichuan and Yue Ling’Er became trapped within it.

Furthermore, the Array’s power was immense. The commotion Gu Lichuan and Yue Ling’Er caused while trying to break it was too great, attracting many Martial Artists from other factions.

Although Gu Lichuan was the strongest among them, he was a Loose Cultivator, so he became the target of a joint attack.

The leader of this group was Fang Zhibai, the number one expert of the Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion’s younger generation, ranked seventeenth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

Gu Lichuan already had a grudge with the Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion, as he had killed some of their members.

Moreover, Fang Zhibai coveted the five Celestial Soldier Longswords on Gu Lichuan’s person, so he took advantage of the situation, hitting Gu Lichuan while he was down by besieging him in the Array.

In a direct confrontation, Gu Lichuan wouldn’t have feared them, even fighting one against many. Besides, if he couldn’t win, he could still run.

But now, trapped by the Array, he couldn’t even escape. He could only manage to tear open a small gap to send Yue Ling’Er out to find reinforcements, which was how she had run into Chen Yuan.