Chapter 505 - 474: The Time for a Cup of Tea is Up

Chapter 505: Chapter 474: The Time for a Cup of Tea is Up

DONG—

The Gourd hit the ground, and the world seemed to shatter.

The reversal happened in the blink of an eye. In that instant, a sudden silence fell both inside and outside the city.

Ding Haochuan, in particular, felt his scalp tingle with dread.

The glance Chen Che had shot his way just before annihilating Dou Shanhe made his heart tremble violently. He had a feeling that look meant he’d been marked—that even if he fled to the ends of the earth, he would be hunted down and killed.

He was right.

With that single glance, Chen Che had memorized not only their faces, but also the fluctuations of their Divine Sense and True Essence.

However, these small fries were beneath his notice. His primary target was Zuo Qinlong. Zuo Qinlong, for his part, had never imagined that in the mere blink of an eye he was repelled, the Great Protector would already be dead.

But he was, after all, a veteran Golden Core Cultivator who had reigned over Celestial Ghost Ridge for two centuries. Witnessing this, he remained composed and stomped his foot.

"Array, activate!"

CLANG!

The clang of weapons resounded. All around the city walls, countless tadpole-like Magic Patterns erupted with golden light. They surged toward the sky, stretching out and transforming into ten-foot-long swords.

They had no hilts, only blades. The edges were covered in dense, cloud-like patterns that glinted coldly, making them look more like sabers than swords.

"WHOOSH!"

With a point of his fingers, Zuo Qinlong sent the blades spinning.

"AHHH—"

Countless screams echoed through the air.

The Cultivators inside the city were indiscriminately caught in the attack.

"Brother!"

Lei Boyu shrieked in horror.

Lei Boyong, who had just pushed her to safety, exploded on the spot. His organs and blood splattered across the uneven ground, forming a grisly, fan-shaped stain.

"CLANG!"

Even Zhao Shifeng, who managed to block a single blade, felt his hands go numb from the force.

SCREE—

The Little Chick let out a startled cry, taking to the air with a flap of its wings to evade the pursuing blades.

CRASH...

In an instant, the entirety of Celestial Ghost City had become an Asura Killing Field.

HISS!

Ding Haochuan’s face contorted in terror as he rapidly retreated. The other Golden Core Cultivators were equally horrified.

Reason told them that leaving now was the best course of action. But greed whispered for them to stay, to wait for Chen Che’s demise so they could cross through Celestial Ghost City and plunder the lands beyond.

They might even be able to reap the rewards like the proverbial fisherman.

After all, whether it was Chen Che, Zuo Qinlong, or the now-deceased Dou Shanhe, all of them possessed incredible fortunes. Acquiring the wealth of just one would be enough to replicate their glory, perhaps even surpass it.

The blades’ primary targets weren’t the Cultivators in the city, but their brief appearance had already wiped out over seventy percent of them. Anyone below the Golden Core realm had no hope of resisting.

If a single blade was that terrifying, what about the entire Grand Array?

One had to understand:

The Profound Celestial Thousand Blades Sword Array—once activated, was it limited to just a thousand blades?

Once activated, the Array was virtually endless. No matter how high one’s Cultivation, they would eventually be worn down and killed. With Zuo Qinlong’s level of Cultivation, he could use this Array to repel a Golden Core Great Perfection Cultivator without issue!

Why else had Gongyang Shuo and Zhao Shifeng immediately retreated after a single strike upon sensing the Array at Jinyun Valley?

Why had the Star-Picking Sect, despite its current might, not launched an all-out assault on the Primordial Sect?

This was exactly why.

By activating the Profound Celestial Thousand Blades Sword Array, Zuo Qinlong was showing his resolve to not rest until Chen Che was dead. He had played his trump card, regardless of the consequences.

SWOOSH—

In the blink of an eye, thousands of blades were upon Chen Che. But in that same instant, he waved his hand, and a seemingly ordinary flame shot forward.

Celestial Derivation Five Elements Skill: Fire!

The flame looked ordinary, but Zuo Qinlong’s expression changed drastically. He felt as if that flame was the condensed essence of a volcano that had been rumbling for centuries; if it made contact, it would surely erupt.

Contact meant life and death would hang in the balance.

"Defend!"

Alarm bells screamed in Zuo Qinlong’s mind. He flipped his hand, sending several Talismans flying out.

"SPLASH!"

The sound of a vast ocean filled the air as surging waves formed a towering tsunami to meet the pillar of fire.

"BOOM!"

This vast sea, conjured by several Tier Three High Grade Jade Sea Tide Birth Talismans, was a versatile power that could attack or defend. It could have even been used to kill a Cultivator of the Same Tier! But in just half a breath, it was pierced through.

"Azure Dragon Emerging from the Sea!"

With his Talismans broken, Zuo Qinlong roared. He tossed his Black Dragon Spear into the air with both hands. With immense momentum and the sizzle of infused True Essence, it coiled upon itself, transforming into a ferocious Black Dragon.

This was the origin of his title, "Qinlong"—Dragon-Catcher.

Legend had it that Zuo Qinlong’s Black Dragon Spear had been refined from the spine of a Black Flood Dragon from the Black Tortoise Calm Sea. Through the Spiritual Infusion technique, the Flood Dragon’s Divine Soul was sealed within, making the weapon far more ferocious than others of the same tier.

"Go!"

Zuo Qinlong pointed with his fingers, and after a series of complex Seal Techniques, a crackling sound erupted from within the Black Dragon. It seemed to come alive, letting out a roar that shook the heavens.

"Go!"

Zuo Qinlong pushed forward with both hands.

The Black Dragon swung its massive tail and shot forward like a meteor, slamming into the flame an instant later. With a tremendous bang, the flame exploded, scattering in all directions like a firework.

However, the Black Dragon was also shattered, revealing its true form.

PFFT!

A tearing sound rang out as the Long Spear pierced through a True Essence Shield, ran through Chen Che’s chest, and exited his back. It pinned him to the ground with a sharp ’DING’.

"Something’s wrong!"

Seeing this, Zuo Qinlong cried out in alarm and rapidly retreated.

"WHOOSH!"

The scattered flames didn’t dissipate. Instead, they flowed together again in mid-air and surged toward him.

"BANG!"

With a loud bang, his True Essence Shield shattered.

Horrified, he raised his hand vertically. The Flood Dragon Scale Armor on his body materialized, forming a Giant Flood Dragon that coiled around him to desperately block the flames. With every flicker of the fire, the Black Giant Flood Dragon shrank.

In the blink of an eye, it was nearly transparent. The flames had already reached his body, searing him until his very bones felt like they were cracking.

But the smile on Zuo Qinlong’s face only widened.

"Valley Master Chen, you thought you could kill me before the Profound Celestial Thousand Blades Sword Array closed in. And now?"

Everyone looked on in shock. They saw thousands of blades spinning as they converged on him, forming a blooming lotus of razor-sharp petals. And Chen Che was the sole prisoner trapped within.

"Die!"

Zuo Qinlong snarled, thrusting out his right hand and clenching it into a fist.

The blades spun, creating a deafening shriek of grinding metal. Everyone could imagine that within that storm of steel, it didn’t matter if you were a Valley Master or a City Lord—you would be torn to shreds!

It had come to this. Both of them were fighting to take the other down with them!

"Haha! The heavens are on my side!"

Ding Haochuan’s eyes gleamed with manic joy.

For him, them both dying was the best possible outcome.

"Ah..."

Lei Boyu was still reeling from the grief of her brother’s death and the massacre of over seventy percent of Celestial Ghost City’s Cultivators. Seeing this, her sorrow turned to indignation. She had been hoping Chen Che would kill Zuo Qinlong and avenge her brother.

"Quick, run!"

"Even Valley Master Chen can’t stop that traitor..."

The faces of the few surviving Cultivators turned ashen.

’Once Valley Master Chen is dead, who can possibly stand against the City Lord? Given how ruthlessly he wiped out Celestial Ghost City, how many of us will be left alive?’

CLANG!

Just as the crowd was lost in their mix of joy, despair, and terror...

...a sword’s cry that shook the very heavens rang out.

Everyone looked on, aghast. From within the lotus of blades, countless blazing suns rose up to meet the spinning steel. The sound of the collisions was so fast it blurred into a single, continuous roar. Amidst the impacts, Flying Swords and array blades shattered alike.

But the Flying Swords, too, seemed endless.

Before Zuo Qinlong’s stunned eyes, Chen Che, wreathed in an endless storm of sun-like Flying Swords, burst out of the vortex of blades. His momentum didn’t slow as he charged directly at Zuo Qinlong.

"No!"

Zuo Qinlong’s face twisted in a horrific grimace as his bloodcurdling scream echoed across Celestial Ghost City.

He frantically waved his hands, trying to command the Grand Array to block Chen Che’s assault. But this was a Sword Pill, empowered by his Fierce Eyes and driven by a Divine Sense at the Golden Core Great Perfection level. Countless rays of sunlight instantly pierced through Zuo Qinlong’s body.

PFFT!

The sound of tearing flesh filled the air.

Flesh and blood splattered as his body was torn apart, staining the ground crimson.

Celestial Ghost City had no Array Spirit, and the Profound Celestial Thousand Blades Sword Array was tied to Zuo Qinlong. As everyone watched, the spinning blades in mid-air froze. Then, they dissolved into motes of light and vanished into thin air.

TINK TINK TINK...

The swords fell, embedding themselves in the ground.

All movement ceased.

Once again, a dead silence descended upon Celestial Ghost City.

Then, Chen Che looked up, his gaze shifting.

"Fall back!"

In that instant, the color drained from Ding Haochuan’s face.

BOOM— 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Without a moment’s hesitation, he threw his bracelet. His eyes bulged, veins popping on his forehead as he clearly resorted to a life-saving technique. Simultaneously, he wrapped the other Golden Core Cultivators beside him in his True Essence and shoved them toward Chen Che.

He himself, however, didn’t charge Chen Che. Instead, he transformed into a streak of bloody Escape Light and fled frantically into the distance.

’After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, whoever is still in my sight, dies!’ That time wasn’t up yet.

The other Golden Core Cultivators, terrified beyond belief, also tried to retreat.

But...

...a sword light flashed. Before they could even react, their bodies trembled and froze in place. Then, they fell apart into several pieces.

And with that...

...the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed!

...