Chapter 329: Sudden Change

Among the young prodigies present, Feng Tiande was different from the others.

He was already thirty-eight this year, nearing forty, and had long since ceased to be considered a prodigy of the younger generation.

Furthermore, he had never made it onto the previous generation’s Hidden Dragon Rankings, and within the Divine Feather Sect, he was far from being the most outstanding disciple.

The most outstanding prodigy of this generation in the Divine Feather Sect was Lu Qingchen, ranked thirty-third on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. He had once attended the Furnace Opening Assembly with Chen Yuan.

However, after the assembly, Lu Qingchen provoked someone he shouldn’t have while training in the Martial World of the Central Plains. As a result, his cultivation was crippled, which was what allowed Feng Tiande to rise in his place.

There were no other outstanding figures among the Divine Feather Sect’s younger generation. Only Feng Tiande could be considered a late bloomer, and his combat power was relatively strong among Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists.

Therefore, the resources he possessed were only given to him by the Sect as the opening of the Heaven-Reaching Tower approached.

Coming from his kind of background, Feng Tiande had always understood one principle: he lacked talent, so he had to disregard everything else and seize every opportunity!

The current situation was an opportunity for him—and his only one.

Among the Martial Artists present, ‘forget competing with Chen Jiutian or Zhang Xuanzhong; I’m not even one hundred percent confident I could take down a young girl like Yue Ling’Er.’

Therefore, Feng Tiande had long since laid his plans. ‘I must strike first to gain the upper hand!’

‘There are several treasures in the wooden boxes those two eminent monks threw out. If I help them, grab an item, and flee, they certainly won’t try to stop me.’

‘Besides, I’m not greedy. Just one will be enough.’

‘Then I’ll escape into that array maze. There are still plenty of treasures left here. Chen Jiutian and Zhang Xuanzhong are hostile toward each other; they’ll never waste time chasing me for a single item. They’ll surely fight over the remaining treasures, which will give me time to get away.’

Feng Tiande had thought through every step of his plan. He was a man of decisive action, and he moved immediately.

Countless golden Divine Feathers bombarded the monster in the center. A golden light instantly exploded, and a sinister, evil aura immediately billowed out.

However, the scene that followed was not at all what Feng Tiande had imagined.

Just as he reached for the treasures on the ground, something unexpected happened!

The old monks to his left and right suddenly burst into laughter as the human skin on their bodies began to tear apart!

The old monk on the left trembled as the scales from the central creature squirmed back onto his body. A monster covered in blue-gray scales with a single horn on its head burrowed out of the human skin, its maw splitting wide to reveal a mouthful of razor-sharp fangs.

The flesh and blood to the right squirmed back onto the other old monk. His shriveled body instantly swelled, and the writhing gore completely shredded the human skin, revealing a humanoid monster encased in layers of flesh upon the dais.

Meanwhile, the creature in the center, which had appeared to be half scales and half flesh, finally revealed its true form.

It was actually an old monk with a dark, bruised complexion, a hooked nose, and deep-set eyes. His features were fierce, like a hungry tiger, yet a faint Buddha Light emanated from his body.

In an instant, Feng Tiande understood everything.

‘The old monk in the center isn’t a monster! He was using his own power to restrain the other two!’

‘My attack shattered the balance and allowed these two monsters to break free!’

It all happened in a flash. Feng Tiande didn’t even have time to turn; his hand was still outstretched toward the treasures on the ground.

At that moment, tendrils of flesh like writhing intestines swept out, coiling around Feng Tiande’s body.

Horrified, he tried to activate his Celestial Feather Treasure Fan’s Divine Artifact Incarnation, but he discovered in despair that the moment the flesh wrapped around him, his body’s Qi Blood was instantly sealed. He couldn’t even circulate his Inner Strength!

The next moment, the massive maw of the scale-covered monster lunged forward and, in a flash, tore his head clean off.

‘Serves him right!’

Everyone present cursed him inwardly.

There was nothing wrong with Feng Tiande wanting to strike first. Among those present, besides Chen Yuan’s group of three who were truly united, who wasn’t harboring their own schemes? Even without Chen Yuan there, the others would have thought of striking first as well.

His real problem was his stupidity!

He acted rashly without understanding the situation at all, causing things to spiral completely out of control.

The two monsters now rose to their feet and turned to face the crowd.

The blue-gray scaled monster exuded a deathly aura. It stood over twenty feet tall, its claws as sharp as sabers and the single horn on its head resembling a bone spike.

The other monster was even more bizarre. It had no hands or feet; its entire body was a humanoid shape formed by layers of coiling, intestine-like flesh.

“I haven’t tasted the flavor of flesh and blood for over ten thousand years. I’ve really missed it.”

The blue-gray scaled monster flicked out its long, thin tongue. The next moment, with a sonic boom, it appeared instantly before Chen Yuan!

‘So fast!’

A chill went down Chen Yuan’s spine.

The next moment, a brilliant and dazzling Buddha Light flared around Chen Yuan. He unleashed the Six Paths of Vajra Mantra of Master Padmasambhava, and a Brahma Sound boomed, blasting toward the monster.

But the Spell had absolutely no effect on the monster; the Power of Buddha Light was completely neutralized by it.

Chen Yuan retreated, swinging his Blood Sea Listening Tide Slash, which surged with Nether Blood Fiend power. With a deafening CLANG, a single slap from the creature sent him flying.

Stumbling back more than ten steps, a grave expression settled on Chen Yuan’s face.

‘This thing is incredibly powerful! Its physical body is as tough as a Celestial Soldier!’

His Blood Sea Listening Tide slash had only left a faint white mark on its blue-gray scales.

The monster glanced at the white mark on its arm, its voice hoarse and slightly astonished. “Killing Intent Origin? An ant from the Bottom Realm can actually master a Power of Origin?”

But then the monster sneered, “So what if you possess a Power of Origin? You’re nothing but an ant from the Bottom of the Yama Realm. Even with such power, you still don’t understand the true meaning of the world. You deserve to be a flesh-and-blood sacrifice!”

With a piercing whistle of wind, the monster charged again. Wielding nothing but its simple, physical might, which felt as heavy as a mountain, it sent Chen Yuan flying once more.

Gu Lichuan formed a seal technique, and his twin swords flew from their sheaths. The two longswords, one of ice and one of fire, slashed at the monster with overwhelming Sword Qi, but even these Celestial Soldier Longswords could only leave white marks on its hide.

The blue-gray scaled monster’s method of attack was actually quite simple; it relied entirely on direct, physical force.

But its scales were as tough as a Celestial Soldier, and its strength was astonishing. Even after being trapped for ten thousand years, it could still unleash immense power.

The flesh-wrapped monster was even more sinister. The power in its gory tendrils could dissolve True Qi and Qi Blood. If so much as a strand touched someone, a huge portion of their True Qi and Qi Blood would be instantly plundered.

Zhang Xuanzhong, Fang Zhibai, and Ying Yuanzhen joined forces, but they were being beaten back steadily by the flesh monster. To be precise, they didn’t even dare to get close and could only flee in disarray.

“Let’s get out of here first!”

Chen Yuan roared, telling Gu Lichuan and Yue Ling’Er to pull back.

The monster was too strong to be fought head-on. Their only option was to retreat into the maze and see if they could use the terrain to their advantage.

But in the next instant, the intestine-like flesh of the second monster began to melt and spread. Like vines, the tendrils burrowed into the ground, only to burst forth from the doorway, sealing it completely.

Escape was now impossible. Their way out was completely sealed.

‘Still,’ Chen Yuan thought, ‘I have three Divine Artifact Incarnations left. I can still put up a fight.’

‘But Zhang Xuanzhong’s group hasn’t used their Divine Artifact Incarnations yet. I’ll let them make the first move and see what happens.’

At this point, Gu Lichuan had started burning his Qi Blood, sending three swords slashing at the monster. But with a single swipe, the creature slapped all three longswords away.

This gave Chen Yuan a moment’s respite. A divine light bloomed in his eyes, as if the stars themselves were in circulation within his pupils.

Chen Yuan pushed his Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill to its absolute limit, trying to see through to the scaled monster’s weakness.

However, when he used the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill, all he saw was a formless, black energy. He couldn’t get any read on its power; worse, a portion of Chen Yuan’s Spiritual Power was devoured by the blackness. A single glance sent a sharp, stabbing pain through his mind.

With a muffled groan, Chen Yuan immediately deactivated his Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill.

The scaled monster, however, suddenly turned its gaze on Chen Yuan, a trace of astonishment flashing in its eyes.

“What is this power? It can actually peer into the core of my strength?”

The next moment, however, the scaled monster’s maw split open, stretching all the way to its ears.

“Interesting. You ant from the Bottom Realm are truly fascinating. Not only do you possess a Power of Origin, but you have this other ability as well. It seems eating you will be quite rewarding.”

With a furious roar, the scaled monster instantly reappeared before Chen Yuan, its palm crashing down.

Chen Yuan unleashed the Blood Killing Heaven-Seizing Hand with his left hand and formed the Gouli Blood Flame Divine Seal with his right. An immense Nether Blood Fiend Power gathered, but it still couldn’t harm the scaled monster, and he was blasted away again.

Meanwhile, in Zhang Xuanzhong’s group, Ying Yuanzhen was somewhat weaker. He had been touched by the flesh monster, and with his True Qi and Qi Blood both rapidly depleting, he was already on the verge of collapse. ⅇ

The Heaven-Encompassing Chaos Bell Divine Artifact Incarnation appeared in his hand; he was clearly preparing to use it to save his life.

Just then, the Abbot of Militan Temple, who had been sitting on the lotus platform with his Vitality at its lowest point, suddenly looked up. A piercing, blazing Buddha Light erupted from his body.

His very body began to burn. A golden Buddha Light emerged, transforming into the image of a Buddha riding a ferocious tiger.

The figure of the Buddha was indistinct, but the tiger it rode was perfectly clear. The beast was snow-white with golden stripes, its pupils radiating a golden Buddha Light.

Following the sound of a tiger’s roar, everyone’s vision was filled with the dazzling Buddha Light.