Chapter 322: Are You Even Worthy?

Chapter 322 -320: Are You Even Worthy?

The most valuable things inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower were not just the ruins, but also the people.

Although Gu Lichuan was a Loose Cultivator, he was blessed with great fortune and possessed five Celestial Soldier Longswords, making him an even more attractive target than Chen Yuan.

The disciple from Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion whom Gu Lichuan had killed, Duan Mingzhen, hadn’t even made it onto the Hidden Dragon Rankings. He was just an ordinary disciple.

If Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion had wanted revenge for him, they would have acted long ago. Fang Zhibai was only saying this to have a justifiable pretext; what he truly wanted were the five Celestial Soldier Longswords in Gu Lichuan’s hands.

As Chen Yuan sped along, he checked Lu Jingyuan’s Qiankun Bag.

But unexpectedly, Lu Jingyuan’s Qiankun Bag was pathetically empty, incomparable to those of Shangguan Moyuan and Su Changhe.

Most importantly, there was no Divine Artifact Incarnation in his Qiankun Bag.

Previously, when Lu Jingyuan hadn’t used a Divine Artifact Incarnation, Chen Yuan had assumed the man simply didn’t have time.

But now it seemed Lu Jingyuan didn’t have a Divine Artifact Incarnation at all.

‘How strange. Lu Jingyuan was, after all, a young prodigy of the Lu Family from Celestial Water City. How could he enter the Heaven-Reaching Tower without even a single Divine Artifact Incarnation on him?’

Yue Ling’Er explained from the side, “It’s normal for him not to have one. The Divine Artifact Incarnations of the Lu Family’s Dragon-Slaying Sword are extremely difficult to refine. They require Flood Dragon Bone as a material.

“But Exotic Beasts like Flood Dragons went extinct long ago. The Dragon-Slaying Sword Divine Artifact Incarnations that the Lu Family of Celestial Water City refined in the past were all made from Flood Dragon Bone they acquired from various places in the Jianghu. In recent years, however, they haven’t been able to acquire even a single piece, so the Divine Artifact Incarnations have become increasingly scarce.”

“Within the Lu Family, only one or two young people from each generation are qualified to possess a Divine Artifact Incarnation, and once it’s used, they don’t get another.”

“Lu Jingyuan used his Divine Artifact Incarnation when he was younger, competing against the prodigies of the previous Hidden Dragon Rankings, so naturally, he doesn’t have one now.”

Chen Yuan shook his head, cursing inwardly, ‘What a waste.’

Even after using a Divine Artifact Incarnation, his highest rank on the previous Hidden Dragon Rankings was only nineteenth, which just showed his true level of skill.

It didn’t matter that he was a waste, but he had squandered a Divine Artifact Incarnation. It was a true pity.

“By the way, why didn’t Lu Jingyuan go after Brother Gu with the others? Why was he so intent on hunting you down?”

Yue Ling’Er pouted. “Of course it’s because I’m from the Mist Rain Alliance.

“Both my Mist Rain Alliance and the Lu Family are factions from Lan Province. During the Mist Rain Alliance’s rise, we had plenty of conflicts with the Lu Family of Celestial Water City.”

“In the outside world, with my master around, the Lu Family’s disciples naturally wouldn’t dare to do anything to me.”

“But here in the Heaven-Reaching Tower, he had an opportunity, so of course he wanted to kill me.”

The Mist Rain Alliance’s position was somewhat similar to the Sun-piercing Alliance’s. Both could be said to have clawed their way up by taking power and resources from the Noble Families. The two factions were like fire and water in Lan Province.

That was why Lu Jingyuan had little interest in joining the siege on Gu Lichuan and instead focused all his efforts on hunting down Yue Ling’Er.

Yue Ling’Er led the way quickly, bypassing many floating land fragments. In a remote corner filled with levitating rubble, a building that looked like a cross between a temple and a pagoda came into view.

Just then, Chen Yuan felt a stir from within his Qiankun Bag.

He took out the Human Skin Evil Book, and a line of text immediately appeared on it.

“Master! This temple before us is the Militan Temple, a Major Sect of the Ancient Esoteric Sect! There’s definitely good stuff inside!

“Master, you’ve cultivated two forms of the supreme Esoteric Sect spell, the Nine-Character Secret Mantra. The Militan Temple was a Major Sect of the Esoteric Sect, so there are absolutely other Spells inside!”

Chen Yuan nodded and put the Human Skin Evil Book away.

‘This thing is finally showing some sense,’ he thought. ‘It knows to remind me of things proactively.’

When they arrived before the Militan Temple, they saw a Vajra Statue standing on a high platform in front of it. The statue held a Demon-Subduing Pestle and radiated a dazzling Buddha Light that trapped Gu Lichuan within.

Gu Lichuan was sitting cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by his five swords. Turbulent Sword Qi erupted from him as he forcefully resisted the Power of Buddha Light.

Around Gu Lichuan, ten Martial Artists were also continuously attacking, draining his strength.

They were in no hurry, planning to wear Gu Lichuan’s stamina down completely before striking a final, fatal blow.

“Gu Lichuan, stop resisting. Surrender now, lay down your weapons, and cripple your Dantian. If you do, I can spare your life, and the grudge between you and my Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion will be settled for good.

“As for whether you can walk out of this Heaven-Reaching Tower, that will depend on your own fortune.”

A young Swordsman in white robes, holding a green Long Sword, spoke leisurely as he sent out slashes of Sword Qi.

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

Gu Lichuan sneered, “If you want the Treasure Swords in my hand, just say so. Who are you trying to fool with all this sanctimonious, hypocritical bullshit?

“Before I set foot in the Central Plains, I actually held your Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion in high regard. After all, it’s a great Sword Dao Major Sect of our time.”

“But looking at you now, you’re nothing but a pack of scheming, shameless dogs!”

Fang Zhibai didn’t get angry. He just figured Gu Lichuan was getting in his last words before death.

With so many Martial Artists present, if he didn’t find some high-sounding excuse, wouldn’t it make his Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion look like they were domineering robbers, seizing things by force?

“Since you’re determined to be stubborn to the bitter end, I’ll grant you your death wish!”

A cold glint flashed in Fang Zhibai’s eyes. A vast and mighty sword gleam surged from his Long Sword, shattering much of the Sword Qi in front of Gu Lichuan and instantly increasing the pressure on him.

But just then, the piercing shriek of a sonic boom suddenly echoed through the air.

Thinking someone was launching a sneak attack, Fang Zhibai’s figure instantly retreated.

But at that moment, a majestic force slammed into the Vajra Statue on the high platform of the Militan Temple, instantly blasting it to smithereens!

The moment the Vajra Statue shattered, a gap appeared in the Array.

Gu Lichuan’s expression lit up with joy. “Brother Chen! Talk about a timely rain! You came at the perfect moment!”

Chen Yuan stroked his chin and shook his head. “I’m not ‘timely rain.’ That’s not a compliment. You’d be better off thanking Yue Ling’er for running so fast.”

Gu Lichuan scratched his head, not understanding why “timely rain” wasn’t a compliment.

He didn’t ask further, just turned to Fang Zhibai with a cold smirk. “Brother Chen, leave this bastard to me!”

Gu Lichuan wasn’t exactly good-tempered. Just moments ago, they had been suppressing him and draining his energy, clearly intending to wear him down until he died. Now, it was his turn to strike back!

Fang Zhibai’s expression changed slightly. Chen Yuan had single-handedly fought five prodigies from the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings. The pressure from such a reputation was immense.

Moreover, Lu Jingyuan had gone to hunt down Yue Ling’Er, but now Yue Ling’Er had returned with Chen Yuan, and Lu Jingyuan was nowhere to be seen. He had likely met a grim fate.

So even though his side had more people, he still had no confidence if a fierce battle were to break out.

Although there were ten people on his side, they were from different factions and were not united. Most of them were Loose Cultivators or from minor powers.

If a fight broke out and they suffered some losses, his people would probably scatter in an instant.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Zhibai said in a low voice, “Chen Jiutian, you are powerful, but you only have three people on your side. If we really fight, I’m afraid both our sides will suffer heavy losses.”

“With such a massive ruin before us, why don’t we set aside our grudges for now and explore it together? What do you think?”

Chen Yuan looked at Fang Zhibai with a smirk. “A moment ago, weren’t you clamoring for Brother Gu to cripple his own Dantian to settle your grudge? What happened? You can set it aside now?”

“This is the Heaven-Reaching Tower, after all. All grudges and disputes must naturally make way for opportunities and treasures.”

As he spoke, Fang Zhibai turned to the furious and murderous-looking Gu Lichuan and said coolly, “Gu Lichuan, Chen Jiutian is your friend. You should know how many powerful enemies he’s made.”

“If you attack recklessly, you’ll affect his chances of exploring ruins and finding opportunities in this Heaven-Reaching Tower.”

“He has offended so many prodigies from Major Sects. If he can’t gain enough benefits and opportunities here, what will he do if he’s besieged by everyone in the later stages? He won’t even have any trump cards to play.”

Gu Lichuan glared at Fang Zhibai, but then he reined in his power slightly and looked at Chen Yuan.

“Brother Chen, we should focus on the bigger picture. I’ll find another chance to kill this guy later!”

Although he hated Fang Zhibai to the bone, he knew there was some truth to what he said.

Inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, grudges were not important. What mattered was obtaining enough opportunities and benefits.

Furthermore, the higher levels of the tower were smaller, meaning Chen Yuan was bound to run into Han Chang and the others eventually.

If he hadn’t accumulated enough advantages by then and was besieged again, he would be in a truly desperate situation.

Therefore, it was safer to focus on exploring the ruins now and find some treasures and trump cards to keep on hand.

Chen Yuan let out a cold laugh. “Brother Gu, don’t listen to his nonsense. Both sides suffer heavy losses? As if they’re worthy!

“Besides, you were the one who discovered these ruins, Brother Gu. With their meager strength, they want to explore it with us? They’re dreaming!

“Wouldn’t it be better to just kill them all and take these ruins for ourselves?

“Settle today’s grudges today. Why wait for the future? Attack!”

As Chen Yuan’s voice fell, he charged straight toward Fang Zhibai’s group.

Hearing this, Gu Lichuan’s spirits soared, and he immediately charged at Fang Zhibai.

Fang Zhibai’s face changed drastically. He never expected this Chen Jiutian to be so utterly unreasonable, completely disregarding the bigger picture and attacking the moment he said he would.

But before he could say another word, Gu Lichuan was already upon him, forcing him to swallow the rest of his words.

Among the Martial Artists who had followed Fang Zhibai in attacking Gu Lichuan, only three were truly powerful.

One was Ying Yuanzhen, a disciple of the Heaven-Encompassing Daoist Sect, ranked nineteenth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

Another was Feng Tiande, a disciple of the Divine Feather Sect. He was already thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old but hadn’t even made it onto the previous Hidden Dragon Rankings.

The last one was an acquaintance of Chen Yuan’s: Shen Wugui of the Nine Nether Sect, now ranked twenty-first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

Back in the Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower, Shen Wugui had been defeated by Huangfu Yi and had fled in disgrace. Looking at him now, he seemed quite a bit stronger than before.

These three were from Major Sects. The other six were from minor powers and Loose Cultivators.

Chen Yuan couldn’t be bothered with these people and left them for Yue Ling’Er to handle.

Although she didn’t have much practical combat experience, her foundational strength was not lacking.