Chapter 327: Joining Hands

Back outside, when facing Chen Yuan, Shen Wugui had already felt immense pressure.

Now that he was facing Chen Yuan alone, he finally understood what true pressure felt like.

Within a few moves, Chen Yuan had suppressed Shen Wugui so thoroughly that he couldn’t even lift his head.

Chen Yuan’s foundation of power was incredibly profound. Moreover, he cultivated Daoist, Buddhist, and Demon techniques, allowing him to crush any opponent with the most devastating methods.

Shen Wugui had no choice but to try and fight his way out. He frantically burned his Qi Blood, and a Nine Nether Demon Shadow materialized behind him.

Nine Nether Demonic Qi surged from the Demon Sword in his hand. He slashed down, its Demonic Power flaring as it collided with two of Chen Yuan’s Nine-Character Secret Mantra techniques.

But as the saying goes, while the demon rises a foot, the Buddha rises ten. Under the Three Worlds Subduing Wisdom King’s Divine Fury Flame, the Nine Nether Demon Shadow was instantly crushed. An endless Buddha Light then engulfed Shen Wugui.

Shen Wugui coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face a mask of horror as he looked at Chen Yuan.

‘There’s no way to fight him head-on!’

The next moment, Shen Wugui formed a Seal Technique. The immense Blood Qi and Demonic Qi around him intertwined, and his body split into countless demonic shadows that surged wildly toward Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan unleashed a slash of Blood Sea Listening Tide, and the demonic shadows before him were all effortlessly torn apart.

But the remaining shadows didn’t dissipate. Instead, they charged madly for the hall’s exit.

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

‘The Demon Techniques of the Nine Nether Sect are strange and unpredictable. They’re quite good at escaping, it seems.’

This Secret Technique of Shen Wugui’s was rather similar to Qu Yuanfeng’s, except his Demonic Qi was mixed with Blood Qi, making it even harder to distinguish the real body. At the same time, the cost was also much greater.

However, a Secret Technique like this was nothing but an illusion to Chen Yuan, who possessed the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill!

“I let you escape from the Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower last time. Do you really think you can get away again?”

The world shifted within Chen Yuan’s eyes. Stars twinkled, and a brilliant divine light erupted forth.

In an instant, Chen Yuan locked onto Shen Wugui’s true position, and the Mulan Continuous Jail-Piercing Arrow shot out!

Hearing the mention of the Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower, Shen Wugui was stunned for a moment, but he didn’t slow down.

Back in the Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower, he had joined forces with the Shangguan Family to oppose Chen Yuan of the Ming Sect. In the end, they were defeated by that guy Huangfu Yi and had to flee in a panic without gaining anything, which had frustrated him immensely at the time.

‘But that was a long time ago. Why would this Chen Jiutian bring it up?’

The next moment, Shen Wugui suddenly realized something was wrong.

‘The person I faced back then wasn’t this Chen Jiutian, but Chen Yuan of the Ming Sect!’

Before Shen Wugui’s shock could fully register, a tremendous force shattered his protective Nine Nether Demonic Qi and blasted a huge, bloody hole through his shoulder blade!

Shen Wugui grunted and fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing Chen Yuan closing in from behind, Shen Wugui couldn’t worry about anything else. He immediately pulled a small, purplish-black Jade Sword from his Qiankun Bag.

‘If I don’t use the Nine Nether Demon Sword’s Divine Artifact Incarnation now, I won’t get another chance!’

But before Shen Wugui could activate the Divine Artifact Incarnation, Chen Yuan suddenly formed a Seal Technique. The next instant, a dazzling golden Buddha Light bloomed, and the Dorje Guanyin Hand Seal of Wishing appeared. Ten thousand lotus flowers blossomed in a flash as a deafening Brahma Sound echoed between heaven and earth.

The Doroduma Barrier-Breaking Curse!

In that instant, Shen Wugui was enveloped by the dazzling Buddha Light. As the Brahma Sound entered his ears, breaking barriers and absolving karma, he, a prodigy of the Demon Dao, found his mind completely overwhelmed by the Buddha Light. He even felt a bizarre urge to commit suicide to atone for his past killings!

A sharp pain shot through Shen Wugui’s mouth. He had actually bitten off his own tongue to break free from the strange power of the Brahma Sound.

But just as his vision cleared, his sight was filled by a blackish-red Nether Blood Fiend.

A slash of Blood Sea Listening Tide descended. Shen Wugui’s head hit the floor. The Divine Artifact Incarnation of the Nine Nether Demon Sword was still clutched in his hand, but he never got the chance to use it.

Chen Yuan picked up Shen Wugui’s Qiankun Bag and the Divine Artifact Incarnation of the Nine Nether Demon Sword, examining them with interest.

Among the many Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers, the Nine Nether Demon Sword was mid-tier in terms of power—not particularly strong, but not weak either.

‘In terms of power, it’s a bit weaker than the Sun-piercing Sword, but definitely stronger than Star Shifting.’

Still, no matter how weak a Divine Artifact Incarnation was, it was an incredible trump card.

‘Since entering this Heaven-Reaching Tower, if I can just collect a few more Divine Artifact Incarnations, it will have been worth it.’

Of course, if the other young prodigies inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower knew what Chen Yuan was thinking, they would surely band together and attack him.

‘We all came here to find opportunities and Secret Treasures, but you, Chen Jiutian, are treating us like mobs to farm for loot! Are you even human?’

Chen Yuan rummaged through Shen Wugui’s Qiankun Bag again. The haul wasn’t that great.

Aside from some everyday Elixirs, there were also a few unique Array Plates and Secret Treasures from the Nine Nether Sect, but Chen Yuan didn’t have much use for them.

The Nine Nether Sect had plenty of tricks, but most of them were petty and couldn’t be used in a serious confrontation.

Although the Demon-Subduing Pestle Shen Wugui had obtained was a Celestial Soldier, Chen Yuan had no use for it either. He could trade it for other resources and treasures after leaving the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Chen Yuan took out the Prayer Wheel and gently spun it.

A murmuring Brahma Sound drifted out. Chen Yuan’s spirits were instantly lifted, and he entered a state of ethereal tranquility as his Spiritual Power rapidly recovered.

He had only used the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill for a moment, and now with the aid of the Prayer Wheel, it took just a quarter of an hour for his Spiritual Power to return to its peak.

Just as he stepped out of the great hall, Chen Yuan heard the ring of a sword.

Chen Yuan paused. If he wasn’t mistaken, that sound came from Gu Lichuan’s Mountain and Sea Sword Scripture.

Sensing the sound growing fainter, Chen Yuan immediately changed direction and headed toward the source of the sword’s ring.

After passing through several corridors, he found Gu Lichuan fighting Fang Zhibai, just as he’d expected, while Yue Ling’Er was engaged with Feng Tiande.

Gu Lichuan had no problem suppressing Fang Zhibai, but Yue Ling’Er was struggling to hold on against Feng Tiande.

In this two-on-two fight, the outcome depended entirely on whether Yue Ling’Er would fall first or Fang Zhibai would.

When they saw Chen Yuan arrive, Gu Lichuan and Yue Ling’Er’s spirits soared, while Fang Zhibai and Feng Tiande’s faces filled with despair.

‘This Chen Jiutian’s combat power is astounding. Now that he’s here, our defeat is certain.’

Just as the two were about to flee, Zhang Xuanzhong’s figure appeared around a corner in the corridor.

Zhang Xuanzhong had clearly heard the sounds of battle and come to investigate. Seeing the scene, he frowned, seeming to hesitate for a moment on whether or not to intervene.

But seeing Chen Yuan already charging forward, Zhang Xuanzhong quickly shouted, “Wait! If we keep fighting, we’ll all be trapped and die here! I have a way out!”

Hearing this, Gu Lichuan, Fang Zhibai, and the others immediately broke apart, glaring at each other with hostility.

Chen Yuan also held back, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “You know how to get out?”

“In a hall I entered earlier, someone left behind Half an Array Map. It depicts the spatial shifts within this Militan Temple.

I’m proficient in Arrays myself, so Half an Array Map is enough for me to deduce the key points of this place. However, it will require immense power to break a few of the Array nodes.

If you and I continue fighting to the death here, none of us will ever get out. We’ll all be trapped in this Array until we die.”

Zhang Xuanzhong said gravely, “This is a complete ruin left behind by an Ancient Major Sect. The Array within is astonishingly powerful. Forget about us Condensing Truth Realm cultivators—even if several Primordial Pill Realm Grandmasters came, they’d be trapped here unable to escape!”

Gu Lichuan and Yue Ling’Er both looked to Chen Yuan, clearly waiting for his decision.

Chen Yuan didn’t really trust Zhang Xuanzhong.

However, from the looks of it, Zhang Xuanzhong had been forced into a corner and had no choice but to team up with them.

Besides, Chen Yuan currently had three Divine Artifact Incarnations. With such a solid foundation of confidence, he wasn’t afraid even if the other party tried to pull any tricks.

“Alright, then. In that case, we’ll be counting on your methods, Daoist Zhang,” Chen Yuan said with a smile.

Seeing Chen Yuan agree to cooperate, Zhang Xuanzhong breathed a sigh of relief. ℓ.

‘This Chen Jiutian has such an arrogant and untamed personality. I was really afraid he’d get carried away by his temper and insist on fighting me to the death right here.’

‘Forget about whether I could win or not; without his help, it would be difficult to break the Array nodes with just Fang Zhibai and the others.’

“Follow me.”

Zhang Xuanzhong led Chen Yuan and the others through the corridors, pausing from time to time to make deductions.

No one who could rank in the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings was truly mediocre. The fact that Zhang Xuanzhong could cultivate Arrays while also practicing the Martial Dao showed how vigorous he was.

Zhang Xuanzhong led Chen Yuan’s group to a dead end and said in a low voice, “This is it. This is one of the Array’s nodes and also its most fragile point. A full-force assault here will weaken the Array, eventually leading to its complete collapse.”

Chen Yuan nodded. The two groups stood apart and simultaneously attacked the wall.

Just as Chen Yuan had experienced before, attacking the wall would trigger a backlash from the Array.

However, the biggest difference here was that the backlash from this Array node was very weak, completely within a controllable range. ℴ𝒗ⅇ𝑙.

An extreme killing intent surged from the Blood Sea Listening Tide in Chen Yuan’s hand as the Nether Blood Fiend relentlessly bombarded the wall.

Lightning flashed from the Long Sword in Zhang Xuanzhong’s hand, its radiance illuminating the entire corridor.

Gu Lichuan and the others also attacked the wall one after another, and the Array’s backlash gradually diminished.

Half a quarter-hour later, with a loud RUMBLE, the dead-end wall collapsed completely.

In truth, with the combined power of everyone present, they could have shattered the Array on the wall even faster.

However, both Chen Yuan and Zhang Xuanzhong were wary of each other and didn’t use their full strength, each holding back about thirty percent of their power.

Seeing that his deductions were indeed correct, a smile touched the corner of Zhang Xuanzhong’s mouth. “Well? My deductions were on point, weren’t they?”

“Daoist Zhang’s methods are superb. Let’s continue.”

Chen Yuan also smiled. For a moment, the atmosphere between the two sides became incredibly harmonious.