Chapter 459 - 428: Chen Che, Just an Extra?

Chapter 459: Chapter 428: Chen Che, Just an Extra?

BOOM—

A colossal roar echoed through the sky.

A deafening sonic boom, carrying a powerful shockwave, swept out in an instant. Watched by a crowd whose gazes were a mixture of astonishment, confusion, and doubt, Chen Che and Yu Zhen clashed and immediately separated. The Little Chick beneath Chen Che’s feet spread its massive wings, arresting their violent retreat against the powerful gale.

"Haha, Chen Che, you little brat! You knew all along, didn’t you?"

Yu Zhen stood firm in mid-air, batting away the fierce winds with a gentle swing of his Duster. He held the Jade Ruyi in one hand and laughed heartily. "To think you managed to hide your true strength all this time. If you’d actually managed to fool us, you might have really gotten away today."

"What’s going on?"

Fan Sulan frowned, her expression a mix of shock and suspicion.

The other Golden Core cultivators also looked baffled.

"Fellow Daoists, you were all asking me before what the second task arranged by Fellow Daoist Duobao was, weren’t you?" Yu Zhen flicked his Duster, a cold glint in his eyes as he stared straight at Chen Che. "It’s to kill this boy."

Everyone turned to look at Guang Hui. The latter nodded slightly and responded.

"Indeed. Fellow Daoist Duobao stated that the first task is to kill Xiao Chan."

"The second is to kill Chen Che. He also said that all of Valley Master Chen’s treasures are up for grabs. The only thing we must leave untouched is Jinyun Valley. Fellow Daoist Duobao has already claimed it."

The charade was over, their true intentions laid bare.

They had to make the claim on Jinyun Valley clear from the start, lest these Golden Core cultivators decide to plunder it after killing Chen Che.

"Haha, so that’s what this is about."

"I never expected it would turn out like this. I understand now."

"Fellow Daoist Duobao is killing two birds with one stone! No wonder he kept the second task a secret. Was he worried we’d leak the news? Haha! So cautious. And to think I was planning on building a better relationship with Valley Master Chen..."

Previously, the Golden Core cultivators had already been displeased at being forcibly summoned by Duobao. Having to wait for the long-absent Chen Che only fueled their resentment. A force of their size was more than enough to annihilate any single Golden Core cultivator.

Only now did they understand the crucial part of the plan.

The crowd’s gazes toward Chen Che shifted, their eyes turning predatory, like vultures sizing up their prey.

"I’ll take Chen Che’s flesh and vital essence," Fan Sulan declared, sizing him up. "He reached Core Formation at such a young age; his vital essence must be top-notch. It would be best if we can take him alive."

Guang Hui quickly staked his claim, his eyes sweeping over the Little Chick. "I’ll take the Great Peng Demon Beast he’s riding. The rest is yours."

"Agreed."

In moments, they had finished dividing the spoils.

In their eyes, with so many Golden Core cultivators present, Chen Che wouldn’t escape with his life even if he were the reincarnation of a Daluo Golden Immortal.

"You all deal with Chen Che. I will handle Xiao Chan."

Guang Hui dismounted from his Curly-haired Cyan Lion and stepped out onto the water. His Nine-Conferral Zen Staff tapped lightly on the surface, each touch sending out a ripple. "This one is the main event; Chen Che is just a bonus. Don’t forget our priorities."

Several Golden Core cultivators who had landed by the lake almost simultaneously moved toward Xiao Chan.

Obviously, in their eyes, this Evil Cultivator Rebel Disciple was a far greater threat than Chen Che.

Xiao Chan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His gaze was incredibly grim as he watched the Golden Core cultivators advance on him. The earlier attack from the Jade Ruyi had been too sudden, and he had sustained a minor injury.

As he rose to his feet, he glanced toward the sky.

Chen Che’s gaze shifted. ’His aura hasn’t diminished.’ He breathed a silent sigh of relief. The two exchanged a look without a word, each sizing up their respective opponents.

"Valley Master Chen, out on the lake, Xiao Chan is already doomed. As for you, the same is true," the one-armed Golden Core cultivator sneered. "The Primordial Sect has two great prodigies under its banner. One is Xiao Chan, and the other is you. What a pity that you both must meet your end here today."

As he spoke, Fan Sulan shifted her position, subtly blocking off Chen Che’s path to the south.

Yu Zhen brandished his Duster, sealing off the west to prevent any escape.

The other Golden Core cultivators likewise sealed off the remaining directions.

In a matter of moments, two battlefields had formed, one in the sky and one on the ground below.

And at the same time, they had locked down the entire area.

"Is that so?"

Chen Che’s gaze shifted, landing on the one-armed Golden Core cultivator.

’The one-armed Golden Core cultivator, Ke Zhengwen. A Loose Cultivator from the Mortal World. Don’t be fooled by the missing arm; he’s actually quite famous and has a notorious background. He came from the area around Mist Rain Tower and is a Tribulation Cultivator. Though he lost an arm in his youth for mistakenly robbing a Mist Rain Tower shipment, his talent is undeniable.’

’He managed to reach Foundation Establishment and then Core Formation with a crippled body, even wiping out several of Mist Rain Tower’s strongholds. However, unlike Xiao Chan, he doesn’t have a blood feud with the Tower. When he saw them gathering Golden Core cultivators to hunt him down, he just vanished for several decades. A real Overseas Dragon type.’

’Then again, what Golden Core cultivator isn’t a force to be reckoned with?’

Hearing Chen Che’s question, Ke Zhengwen let out a cold laugh.

BOOM—

Just then, a colossal bang erupted.

It was Guang Hui. He had made his move. At first, his steps were slow, one after another. Then, with a single stride that seemed to shrink the very ground beneath him, he crossed the distance in an instant and appeared before Xiao Chan, his Nine-Conferral Zen Staff crashing down.

The Zen Staff was but nine feet long, adorned with nine rings that jingled.

As it fell, Spiritual Light flared. Illusory afterimages coiled around the staff until it expanded to hundreds of feet in length and smashed down with incredible force. The strike seemed slow, yet it completely locked down the surrounding space, leaving Xiao Chan no room to evade.

Almost simultaneously, Ke Zhengwen also made his move.

Though his words had been filled with contempt, his actions showed no mercy. With a single motion of his arm, he drew his blade. A flash of light, like a bolt of lightning, streaked across the sky.

SWOOSH—

A fierce gale erupted in mid-air, its momentum indescribably ferocious.

In an instant, a cloud several miles behind Chen Che was sliced in two. Before the halves could even drift apart, they were shredded by the lingering force of the blade. The attack was swift and vicious; both its initiation and explosive power far surpassed that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator of the same tier.

However, the fact that the blade’s energy struck a cloud miles away meant it hadn’t even grazed Chen Che’s robes.

’Otherwise, that one strike would have been enough.’

"What?"

To everyone’s surprise, Chen Che hadn’t relied on his Spirit Pet to dodge. Instead, in a flash, he had used a bizarre Body Technique to evade the attack. His movements were as erratic and unpredictable as the wind, impossible to track.

"You think you can dodge?!"

Ke Zhengwen roared, a fierce glint in his eyes, his blade striking like a dragon.

With a twist of his single arm, he unleashed twenty-one rapid slashes, followed immediately by a straight thrust. The blade energy instantly swirled and converged, forming a hurricane hundreds of feet long that blotted out the sun. It enveloped Chen Che in an instant, locking down the area like a ferocious, rampaging dragon!

In the blink of an eye, it tore across the sky and arrived before Chen Che.

It was at this exact moment that Chen Che suddenly stood still. He reached back, gripped the Ruyi Wind and Thunder Sword, and drew it with his right hand.

SHING!

The blade sang a soft note.

The next instant, a deafening crack echoed through the sky.

WHOOSH—

The sword strike looked deceptively effortless, like a lone weed facing a monstrous flood, seemingly destined to be torn to shreds by the hurricane dragon in an instant. But when the sword fell, the result was the complete opposite.

All Ke Zhengwen saw was a flash of sword light like a silver crescent moon. It sliced through his hurricane as easily as a hot knife through butter, blasting toward him in the blink of an eye.

A terrifying chill shot down Ke Zhengwen’s spine, and he raised his blade to block without a second thought.

At the same time, he opened his mouth wide.

ROAR!

From the depths of his throat, a Treasure Bead resembling an eyeball emerged. Lightning coiled within it—clearly an exceptional Magical Treasure. In a flash, the back of his throat became a roiling sea of lightning.

A simultaneous offense and defense.

’As expected of a Golden Core cultivator who gave even Mist Rain Tower headaches. He was already planning a counterattack while defending.’

But he had overestimated himself and underestimated Chen Che.

The other Golden Core cultivators had planned to surround Chen Che while he was dodging and wait for an opening to strike. But at their Cultivation Realm, the slightest hesitation was fatal. By the time they thought to intervene, it was already too late.

PFFT!

With a sound like tearing silk, Chen Che appeared behind Ke Zhengwen, still holding the pose of his draw. Before the horrified eyes of the crowd, both the hurricane dragon and Ke Zhengwen himself were split cleanly in two, almost at the same time.

SLICE.

His body, split diagonally from his right neck to his left ribs, slid apart in a fountain of blood. The shock in Ke Zhengwen’s eyes hadn’t even had time to turn to terror.

Only then did Guang Hui’s Zen Staff finally descend, crashing down heavily upon the Soul-Calling Banner that Xiao Chan had raised to block.

BOOM—

It was as if countless explosives had been detonated at the bottom of the lake. Hundreds of towering waves erupted from the surface, filled with the mangled remains of countless fish and shrimp.

The tremendous explosion also jolted the stunned Yu Zhen and the others back to their senses.

"What?"

"His power... We completely misjudged him!"

"What kind of Sword Technique was that?"

Who could have imagined that Chen Che, whom they had dismissed as a mere bonus, could display such power? Everyone present realized in an instant that this harmless-looking Valley Master Chen was likely several times more dangerous than Xiao Chan.

"Don’t give him a chance to breathe!"

After a brief moment of shock, Yu Zhen’s gaze turned cold. With a flip of his left hand, his Jade Ruyi transformed into a bolt of lightning and came smashing down.

Fan Sulan formed a hand seal, and the longsword on her back shot out of its scabbard, unleashing a silver flash of sword light that fanned out like a peacock’s tail.

"Bring it on!"

Facing two Late-stage Golden Core masters attacking in unison, Chen Che showed no fear. Instead, he burst into laughter. He gripped the Ruyi Wind and Thunder Sword tightly, a divine light erupting in his eyes as his long hair whipped about like crazed pythons.

In that instant, he activated his Cultivation to its absolute limit.

His aura seemed to shatter some invisible shackle as it skyrocketed. For a hundred miles in every direction, the Spiritual Qi trembled and then churned into a boiling, furious sea. In a single moment, he broke through the Golden Core Fourth Layer and stepped into the Fifth Realm.