Chapter 377 - 358: Return

Chapter 377: Chapter 358: Return

Chen Bufan immediately answered.

Only then did Zhang Chi learn that Yu Wan’s master and the former Celestial Corpse Sect Leader were both running out of Lifespan. Yet, like Master Jian, they had been sealed within Profound Ice God-Sealing Coffins.

This way, they might still have a chance to obtain a Tier Four Life Extension Pill in the future, while still being available as vital combat assets in a crisis.

Elder Celestial Star, on the other hand, had reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. The Ten Thousand Treasures Tower Master, however, hadn’t changed much.

Furthermore, Lu Daoyi of the Cangwu Sect had also reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and their former Sect Leader had ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm, earning a promotion to Supreme Elder.

"Junior Martial Uncle Zhang, we know you’ve become a Nascent Soul Cultivator and have a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, but our enemies are numerous and powerful. Their Cultivation is higher, and some of them have Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures as well."

"So it’s best if you don’t confront them head-on. Instead, you should join forces with Elder Xiao to fight them."

As he explained, Chen Bufan couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

After all, the fact that Zhang Chi had once nearly killed Yu Wan, robbed the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, and obtained the Celestial Corpse Coffin was now common knowledge.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the Cyan Cloud Sect, the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, and the Celestial Corpse Sect all held grudges against Zhang Chi.

Moreover, Celestial Star True Monarch harbored a deep hatred for Zhang Chi. This was because he had suffered a severe backlash while attempting to divine Zhang Chi’s fate years ago, an incident that left him gravely injured and cost him a precious treasure.

In Chen Bufan’s opinion, Zhang Chi, with only his sword, clearly couldn’t stand against the combined might of all these Nascent Soul Cultivators and major factions.

"That’s right. The situation is dire right now, so even if they still want to kill us, they have to maintain a united front on the surface. That gives us some breathing room," Chen Ling’Er chimed in.

"Heh, them?" Zhang Chi sneered. "It doesn’t matter how many of them there are, or whether their Cultivation has improved. They’re no match for me, not even all of them together."

"Besides, they’ve been targeting you all for so many years. Now that I’m back, it’s time to make them pay the price!"

Zhang Chi, however, just let out a cold laugh, utterly fearless and filled with disdain.

"This..."

The Chen Family Siblings were unconvinced, feeling that Zhang Chi was being overconfident.

However, they didn’t press the issue. For one, it would likely be pointless, and for another, it might just provoke him into doing the opposite out of defiance.

So they decided they would wait until they reached Golden Crow City and met the Profound Yin Sect Leader and the others, then let them try to persuade Zhang Chi.

They were about to ask Zhang Chi what he had experienced all these years and what it was like outside the Great Abyss.

But just then, they could already see Golden Crow City.

ROAR!

At the same time, they heard a series of roars and saw countless Demons and Demonized Beasts, led by True Demon Sect Cultivators, continuously assaulting Golden Crow City.

However, they didn’t panic in the slightest, as they had encountered similar situations many times before.

It was always difficult, but they had always managed to pull through. This time would likely be no different.

The Golden Crow City Defense Array was already active, and tens of thousands of Cultivators were fighting under its protection, striking down Demons and their ilk.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Even though they were still some distance away, the thunderous booms reached them, and waves of dazzling light and Spiritual Power fluctuations continuously radiated outward.

To relieve the pressure on the Grand Array, numerous Golden Core Cultivators were fighting the Demons and their kin outside the Array’s perimeter.

High in the sky, two Nascent Soul Powerhouses were locked in combat.

One of them, a majestic-looking, middle-aged man in a golden robe, was none other than Sect Leader Xiao of the Profound Yin Sect.

The other was a powerhouse from the True Demon Sect. Wreathed in black qi, he had a ferocious visage, and his arms had mutated into giant claws. His techniques were bizarre and cruel, and he constantly let out a maddening, unnatural laugh. He could no longer be considered a human Cultivator.

Just then, among the Golden Core Cultivators, a Female Cultivator who looked like a young girl but had a stunning figure was battling several Tier Three Demons, aided by a Flying Spirit Beast at her side.

This Female Cultivator was none other than Lan Xuan. Her appearance hadn’t changed much over the years, but her eyes now held a touch of world-weariness and sorrow.

Not far from Lan Xuan were several more of Zhang Chi’s acquaintances: Xiao Yunhong, Qin Susu, Zhong Yu, Shangguan Hui, and Li Ruohai.

Xiao Yunhong, Qin Susu, and Zhong Yu hadn’t changed much either, but their Cultivation was now incomparably stronger than before.

Shangguan Hui and Li Ruohai, on the other hand, had visibly aged. The former was now a handsome middle-aged woman, while the latter, though still tall and strong, had flecks of gray in his hair.

SKREEE!

Suddenly, the Flying Spirit Beast beside Lan Xuan seemed to sense something. It let out an excited cry, abandoned its fight, and flew off into the distance, ignoring the Demons that tried to block its path.

"What are you doing? Get back here! Don’t go over there, it’s dangerous!"

Lan Xuan froze for a second when she saw this, then frantically called out to it.

But while the Spirit Beast was usually obedient, this time it completely ignored her.

"Oh no!"

Qin Susu and the others noticed what was happening, and their faces paled.

They didn’t know what had gotten into the Spirit Beast, but it was clearly flying to its death.

Unfortunately, they were powerless to help. For one, the Spirit Beast was too fast, and for another, they were surrounded by too many Demons.

Seeing this, the Demons grew excited, roaring as they lunged forward to tear the Spirit Beast to shreds.

ROAR!

But at that exact moment, a colossal roar echoed from high in the sky, and an immense pressure instantly descended upon the entire battlefield.

Immediately, the Demons below were suppressed, crying out in terror and trying to flee.

But the sky suddenly darkened, and a massive creature descended, beating its wings.

FWOOSH!

The behemoth opened its maw and unleashed a great torrent of black Demon Fire, instantly incinerating the Demons below.

Not even the Tier Three creatures or the Golden Core Realm Cultivators from the True Demon Sect were spared.

Yet the nearby Great Abyss Cultivators were completely unharmed, as was Lan Xuan’s Flying Spirit Beast.

The Spirit Beast immediately flew up to the behemoth, letting out joyous cries as it circled and danced around it.

The massive creature did the same, making no move to harm the smaller Flying Spirit Beast and instead responding in kind.

Only then did Lan Xuan and the other Cultivators realize that the behemoth was also a Flying Spirit Beast, and that the two creatures bore a striking resemblance to each other.

But to their astonishment, this behemoth was a Tier Four creature!

WHOOSH!

Then, the behemoth’s body shrank dramatically. It flew before Qin Susu, circling and crying out happily as if fawning over her.

The few Demons that had been fighting Qin Susu were instantly torn to shreds with a single swipe of the Tier Four Spirit Beast’s claws.

"What’s going on?"

"Where did a Tier Four Spirit Beast come from?"

The Cultivators all breathed a sigh of relief, but they were even more astonished.

’Could it be him? Is he back?’

Qin Susu, Lan Xuan, and the others, however, immediately guessed the truth and looked excitedly into the distance.

Clearly, they had all guessed that this Tier Four Spirit Beast must be the one that had left with Zhang Chi all those years ago.

BOOM!

The very next instant, the battlefield suddenly became unbearably hot.

Then, all the Demons, Demonized Beasts, and True Demon Sect Cultivators began to scream in agony as they spontaneously combusted without any warning. The entire area was instantly transformed into a sea of fire.

Then, the assembled Cultivators saw three figures—two men and a woman—strolling out of the inferno as if walking on air.

The Cultivators were familiar with two of the three: they were none other than Chen Bufan and Chen Ling’Er.

But the one leading them was a complete stranger to the vast majority of the Cultivators present.

This Cultivator appeared young, tall, and imposing in his black robes. His eyes shone with a piercing light, and his aura was as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea. It was Zhang Chi.

"Zhang... Chi, is it really you?"

"You’re finally back, and you’ve reached the Nascent Soul Realm! This is wonderful! I knew you could do it!"

Qin Susu and the others recognized Zhang Chi at a glance. They were overjoyed, so much so that they wondered if they were dreaming.

Without a second thought, they all flew over to him. Qin Susu and Lan Xuan, unable to hold back their tears of joy, threw themselves into Zhang Chi’s arms.

"So he’s the legendary Zhang Chi?"

Seeing this, the other Cultivators finally realized who had arrived and gasped in astonishment.

They had all heard the legends about Zhang Chi, but they had never paid them much mind.

After all, those events had taken place more than three hundred years ago.

Many Cultivators even assumed Zhang Chi was dead.

And while Zhang Chi’s achievements back then were astonishing, it was hard to truly grasp them without witnessing them firsthand. Many even considered the stories to be exaggerations.

But now, seeing him annihilate all the Demons without even lifting a finger, they finally understood just how powerful Zhang Chi was.

And that was to say nothing of the Tier Four Spirit Beast that clearly belonged to him as well.

"That’s right, I’m back. Everyone, it’s been a long time."

Zhang Chi wrapped his arms around Qin Susu’s and Lan Xuan’s waists, spoke a few comforting words, and then smiled and nodded at Zhong Yu and the others.

"Not good!"

Meanwhile, the two Nascent Soul Cultivators fighting in the sky had also noticed the situation below.

The Profound Yin Sect Leader was overjoyed, but the Nascent Soul Cultivator from the True Demon Sect was horrified. In an instant, he transformed into a streak of black light and fled into the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

In truth, this True Demon Sect Nascent Soul wasn’t afraid of Zhang Chi himself.

In his eyes, even if Zhang Chi was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, he could only be in the Nascent Soul Early Stage at most.

But Zhang Chi had a Tier Four Spirit Beast and the Profound Yin Sect Leader on his side—a combination that clearly outmatched him.

Of course, the True Demon Sect Cultivator couldn’t see through Zhang Chi’s Cultivation, so his guess about the Nascent Soul Early Stage was merely a personal, and seemingly reasonable, assumption.

After all, reaching the Nascent Soul Realm was incredibly difficult. For Zhang Chi to have left alone, succeeded, and returned was already a miracle in itself, let alone breaking through again after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.

’That brat actually came back. His luck is truly heaven-defying,’ he thought. ’But this is a great opportunity. I’ll report this news right away and call some experts to come and hunt him down.’

’That way, the Spirit Sword he took from the Cangwu Sect all those years ago will be ours. What’s more, since he was able to return, he must know the way out. Our True Demon Sect must control that passage!’

Having fled a thousand li away, the Nascent Soul Cultivator from the True Demon Sect finally breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately began to scheme, growing more and more excited the more he thought about it.

SWISH!

But just then, a Magical Treasure Flying Sword wreathed in black flames came shooting toward him.

SLICE!

With a flash of Sword Light, the True Demon Sect Nascent Soul Cultivator was decapitated.

The potent Sword Qi took the opportunity to invade his body, tearing both his head and torso to shreds.

Thus, even with his many bizarre techniques, he had no chance to use a single one.

In fact, he had plenty of Protective Measures, and both his physical body and Magical Power were extremely formidable. But in the face of that Sword Light, it was as if those defenses didn’t exist at all.

’No! How can this be? What’s happening? Who ambushed me? How can they be so strong?!’

The True Demon Sect Cultivator never would have dreamed of this. His surviving Nascent Soul hastily ejected from its ruined body and, its face a mask of terror, attempted a Flying Escape into the distance.