Nine Astra Skies

Chapter 295: Great Army Retreats

Ye Chen hurriedly sent a message to the Golden Sun Condor and it flew aside post-haste.

“With just these arrows, you want to kill me?” Ye Chen sneered. He mobilized his Celestial Chi and slammed his right palm into the ground.

Black Turtle Guard!

A powerful Celestial Chi was released from the palm of Ye Chen’s right hand, subsequently forming a gigantic turtle outline that encased his entire body.

This turtle outline seemed almost alive and sentient. With its head held high, the turtle’s body shimmered with light.

Crash crash crash!

The arrows rained down on the gigantic turtle like a torrential downpour, yet they failed to penetrate this protective barrier around Ye Chen. The tips of the arrows were broken and scattered on the ground.

The Nanman Kingdom cavalry in the vicinity was stupefied. What was this gigantic turtle that even the Arrows of God could not penetrate?

On the mountain a distance away, Wei Guyan was truly cowered by this scene. From afar, he could see the gigantic turtle outline protecting Ye Chen. Not even the Chi Construct Barrier of a Heavenly Venerable One could withstand the attacks of these arrows!

“What’s the origin of this person? Why have I never heard of him before?” Wei Guyan was devastated. In his impression, there was only one Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant in the Xiwu Empire, which was Great Emperor Mingwu!

Previously, when Ye Zhantian and the others saw the barrage of arrows rain down, they were nervous on Ye Chen’s behalf. When they saw that Ye Chen’s martial art technique had managed to block the arrows completely, they were also astonished.

“Little Chen’s technique, I don’t know what it is but it is very powerful.” Ye Zhantian finally realized that Ye Chen had attained an incredible level!

“Congratulations, Ye Patriarch, your son is truly unassailable!” Xu Jian and the other family masters told him. They were truly impressed. Back then, the House of Ye was not a formidable powerhouse among the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun. At times, the House of Ye was even bullied. Unexpectedly, they had managed to produce a prodigy like Ye Chen and elevated the Ye Clan’s status to what it was today. All of them also wished that their respective clans could produce such an excellent prodigy but knew that the chances of such occurrences were extremely rare.

Ye Chen had conquered the great Nanman Kingdom army all by himself!

Ye Chen kept Black Turtle Guard up to repel the storm-like projectile of arrows. While he wielded Black Turtle Guard, he continued to transmute his Celestial Chi and managed to replenish about half the Celestial Chi that he had consumed earlier for the Flying Dagger. So, the moment Ye Chen retracted Black Turtle Guard, beams of Celestial Chi Flying Dagger flew out.

The Nanman Kingdom cavalry was quite resilient. Although so many people had died, they continued to fight under the commanding flag and did not retreat. Their attack resumed in waves.

“Quickly, reload the arrows!”

“Speedy reload!”

Ye Chen’s Astral Body had already pinpointed the cavalry archers. Beams of Flying Daggers flew from his hands.

At the back, the cavalry archers were nervously reloading their bows when beams of light flew past them. “Rip rip rip.” Holes appeared on their chests. They fell from their horses, causing the panicked horses to run amok. Beneath the horses, shrieks of pain resounded. Some of the archers were trampled into human mush.

After more than five hours, Ye Chen had slain more than fifty thousand Nanman Kingdom cavalry, but he did not look tired.

Dusk approached. The setting sun bathed the entire prairie in an eerie crimson.

The killing was still ongoing. Faced with an extraordinarily skilled combatant like Ye Chen, the Nanman Kingdom cavalry was harvested like wheat.

Wei Guyan was afraid. He was truly frightened.

The Nanman Kingdom cavalry on the battlefield was even more terrified. Not a single trace of their previous smugness was left!

Even a Heavenly Venerable One would show signs of fatigue after battling for such a long time, yet Ye Chen did not seem the least tired. It was as if he had an endless supply of Celestial Chi in his body. From the beginning until now, they had been battling for five hours. At this rate, Ye Chen could continue to fight for a few more days and nights!

Two hundred thousand strong cavalry be d*mned. Even if they had five hundred thousand men, it might not be enough to kill Ye Chen!

Wei Guyan began to toy with the thought of retreat. If they continued fighting like this, the entire elite Nanman Kingdom cavalry would die in Ye Chen’s hands!

Meanwhile, under the incessant attacks of the Nanman Kingdom cavalry, Ye Chen was getting more spirited. He displayed one martial art technique after another and his control over the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger became more proficient. He had gained a new understanding of martial arts and began to study Usurper of the Welkin technique.

In Palms Puncturing the Cosmos, Usurper of the Welkin only had a brief description – use chi for defense and use chi for killing for an unstoppable force!

In the beginning, Ye Chen did not understand but as he continued to practice Crimson Clouds Searing Skies, Fury of Shattering Earth, Kunlun Slandering the Mountains, Heavenly King Rupturing the Sun, Rage Against the Horizon as well as study the essence of these five martial arts techniques, he finally understood their Secret. A magnificent aura rose into the air.

In this world, the thing that nourished every living thing was Celestial Chi.

Celestial Chi gave birth to natural phenomena such as ice, wind, thunder, and lightning. Celestial Chi could be absorbed by cultivators to become stronger. Celestial Chi could change forms indefinitely and could be manipulated to injure an opponent.

If a cultivator understood the essence of Celestial Chi, their cultivation would improve tremendously and achieve an attainable level that was beyond ordinary people.

For every single martial art technique to harm an opponent, Celestial Chi was a necessary component.

After reaching a certain attainment level, martial arts techniques became secondary. The determining factor was the ability to wield Celestial Chi at the tip of your fingers.

This meant that Usurper of the Welkin was not a real technique. As long as any of the first five martial arts techniques had been mastered to a certain level, each of them could be combined with the essence of Usurper of the Welkin. In other words, every technique culminated in Usurper of the Welkin. Previously, when Ye Chen was cultivating Crimson Clouds Searing Skies and the other martial arts techniques, he thought that these were merely ordinary Tier Six or Seven martial arts techniques. Now that he had gained enlightenment over Usurper of the Welkin, he finally understood that the inventor of the six martial arts techniques in Palms Puncturing the Cosmos was an extraordinary individual. The person must have combined the first five martial arts techniques with Usurper of the Welkin and transformed imperfection into perfection, bringing this set of martial arts techniques to a never-before-seen level.

Usurper of the Welkin was the transmutation of the Celestial Chi in the body and manipulating it outside the body to harm an opponent!

Ye Chen took a step forward and wielded Crimson Clouds Searing Skies. As Crimson Clouds Searing Skies was manifested, a gust of Celestial Chi shot out from his body. “Bang bang bang.” Hundreds of Nanman Kingdom horsemen screamed as they flew into the air and landed in a chaotic muddle.

With the addition of Usurper of the Welkin, the force of his Crimson Clouds Searing Skies was magnified five or six times. Its power was well at the maximum limit of Heavenly Venerable Rank.

Upon achieving enlightenment of Usurper of the Welkin, Ye Chen was elated. He wielded Kunlun Slandering the Mountains, Heavenly King Rupturing the Sun, and so on. Then, he combined each of them with Usurper of the Welkin. Under Ye Chen’s domineering Celestial Chi, countless Nanman Kingdom horsemen were sent flying together with their horses. Their cries of terror were incessant.

In the distance, Wei Guyan was dumbfounded. Ye Chen’s abilities seemed to be magnified several fold and he was killing more insanely than before. This person was a freak of nature. After fighting for such a long time, not only did he not seem to be tired but he even got stronger.

Ye Chen seemed to be using the Nanman Kingdom cavalry as target practice!

How could they continue to fight like this?

Wei Guyan decided to retreat. He stared at the innumerable evacuees far away and thought in silence. He did not expect such a skilled combatant to emerge from the Xiwu Empire. This news must be reported to the Grandruler at once. Perhaps, the Xiwu Empire should not be taken lightly!

After Ye Chen had performed all the martial arts techniques, he was slightly out of breath. When he combined the substance of Usurper of the Welkin with the first five martial arts techniques, they became much more powerful but they also consumed more Celestial Chi. Therefore, Ye Chen’s Celestial Chi had diminished greatly.

Triggering the Flying Dagger, the Celestial Chi in Ye Chen’s dantian began to recover.

Just as Ye Chen was busy killing the Nanman Kingdom cavalry, he heard a shrill whistle. Subsequently, the Nanman Kingdom cavalry retreated as fast as a receding tide. They gathered in a distance and fled immediately.

Ye Chen halted his steps and stared into the mountains in the distance.

Wei Guyan saw that it was impossible to kill Ye Chen, so he had ordered a retreat. He knew that prolonging this battle would be in vain and only increase the number of casualties. Casting his gaze afar, the entire prairie was littered with dead bodies. At least fifty thousand elite soldiers were now dead bodies!

In the center of the dead bodies stood Ye Chen. A chill filled Wei Guyan’s heart. Who was this man? According to his subordinates, this was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man. If a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man already possessed such formidable abilities, what would happen in ten or twenty years? With such a skilled combatant in place, the Nanman Kingdom would never be able to conquer the Xiwu Empire!

Ye Chen stood and watched the Nanman Kingdom cavalry retreat. He did not pursue them. Killing another few horsemen was insignificant to him. Step by step, he trampled over the dead bodies on the ground and walked toward Ye Zhantian and the others. There was not even a single drop of blood on his body. Ye Chen’s body was covered with Chi Construct Barrier, so the blood would not stain his body.

As he walked, Ye Chen threw a sideways glance at the high cliff in the distance.

“Thump thump.” Wei Guyan felt his heart lurch twice. A sense of foreboding rose from the bottom of his heart. It was as if he was being stared down by a wild beast like a tiger or a leopard. He looked into the distance and saw that Ye Chen was walking toward him.

It turned out that Ye Chen had already discovered him much earlier but merely could not be bothered to attack!

Based on the abilities of a Heavenly Venerable One, it would have been a piece of cake for Ye Chen to evade the cavalry and head directly for him!

Nevertheless, Ye Chen did not attack him. What was the reason?

Could it be that, in Ye Chen’s eyes, Wei Guyan was not worth his time?

Wei Guyan realized that cold sweat was dripping from his brows. He had to leave this place as soon as possible!

At this very moment, a messenger hawk flew down.

“Commander, a letter from the Grand Marshal,” a lieutenant commander walked over to him and said.

“What does the letter say?”

“The Grand Marshal said every cavalry is to retreat to southern Yan County now and to await further orders from the Grandruler.”

Wei Guyan relaxed upon hearing the message. If not for this order, he would have been severely punished for bringing the troops back without completing his mission.

“What’s the reason?”

“According to the letter, the Nanman Kingdom combatants attacked the Xiwu Empire’s Capital City. The original plan was to execute Great Emperor Mingwu but something unexpected happened. The details aren’t stated,” The lieutenant commander reported.

Wei Guyan was shocked when he heard the report from the lieutenant commander. He was able to infer some news. If the combatants had successfully carried out their mission and killed Great Emperor Mingwu, the Grand Marshal would not have told them to withdraw but instead, ride on their victory! He also knew that the Grandruler had deliberately sent two beginner Mystique Venerable Rank combatants and five Heavenly Venerable Rank combatants to Capital City just to make sure that nothing would go wrong. According to that logic, Great Emperor Mingwu should be dead by now. Why did the situation change? Could it be that Great Emperor Mingwu had managed to recruit some combatants to help out?

“Order the troops to march toward Yan County at once without any delay along the way!” Wei Guyan ordered immediately.

“Yes,” The lieutenant general responded.