Chapter 57: Chapter 53: Making a Move
Boom!
The vigorous True Qi surged like a blood-red flame streaking across the sky, and in a matter of breaths, it flew from the skies above Qingyun Sect's inner mountain to the outer mountain skies.
"Flying and Earth Escaping! A Spirit Sea Realm powerhouse!"
"The elder has come! The elder has personally come to this outer mountain; from heaven to earth, no one can save Ye Chen now!"
In the sect's gate square, thousands of disciples had also noticed the blood-red light speeding through the sky, each lifting their heads to watch.
The disciples of Heavenly Net Sect were especially elated, their own Elder Zhou Yuntian, a mid-stage Spirit Sea Realm powerhouse, had arrived in person. Surrounded by them, Ye Chen had even less chance of escaping.
With the elder personally intervening to avenge the death of his son, they would surely receive rewards for their contribution.
In their eyes, Ye Chen's life meant nothing at all.
"That's him, young master, he's the one who abducted the mistress!"
Tao'er, the little girl standing beside Ye Chen, looked with both fear and anger at the blood-red light coming swiftly from the sky.
While everyone's attention was captured by the swiftly approaching blood-red light, as Ye Chen's eyes sparkled towards it, a fierce wind howled in the sky and the light, burning like blood-red flames, was now above the square of the sect's gate.
The streak of light flew over the square and didn't stop, instead, it charged towards Ye Chen in the crowd. A rumbling voice boomed, "Ye Chen, you killed my child; today, I will cripple you first, then have you slashed by a thousand cuts!"
Just as the voice resounded, a mighty gust surged from within the light, flinging those around Ye Chen hundreds of feet away, and at the same time, an enormous hand that spanned dozens of feet formed instantly, smacking straight towards Ye Chen!
Seeing the giant hand descending from the sky, all the disciples blown away turned pale with fright.
"Is he intending to kill Ye Chen with a single blow?"
All those knocked down to the ground didn't bother to get up; their eyes were fixed on where the giant hand was descending.
In that spot, there stood only Ye Chen!
With his divine consciousness enveloping his surroundings, Ye Chen's surging True Qi erupted from within him at the exact moment the blood-red light burst forth. His True Qi encircled the little girl Tao'er, whisking her a hundred feet away, to keep her from harm by Zhou Yuntian.
Then, facing the gigantic hand alone, Ye Chen clenched his palm, and a yellow talisman paper appeared in his hand, before he shot it outwards.
The talisman, catching fire without any wind, shot towards the sky with a shrill and terrifying whistle emanating from it, instantly resounding across the entire sect's gate square.
Just as the enormous hand in the blood-red light was about to land on Ye Chen's head, a blood-red spear over thirty meters long formed amidst a backwash of surging True Qi and clashed explosively with the giant hand.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Instantly, the blood-red spear and the True Qi carried by the giant hand collided, setting off a thunderous explosion over the square!
In the midst of the True Qi explosion, a terrifying wind swept through, visibly dispersing energy waves in all directions, even shattering the huge green stones of the square to pieces.
The disciples earlier swept aside felt the terrifying energy wave approaching and their faces changed as they retreated hastily, fleeing the explosion's radius.
Afterward, they turned their gaze back to the epicenter of the True Qi explosion.
When they saw Ye Chen, who had faced the gigantic hand's assault unscathed, standing upright, every onlooker around the square's perimeter opened their mouths in disbelief.
"He blocked it?"
"He blocked an attack from a Spirit Sea Realm expert?"
"Looking at the clash of True Qi, Ye Chen didn't seem at a disadvantage at all! He can match a Spirit Sea Realm powerhouse?!"
These retreated disciples stared at the center of the devastated area, spanning dozens of meters across the square, and at the young man standing at the heart of it, exclaiming in disbelief.
In the sky, Zhou Yuntian's attack reached the level of the Spirit Sea Realm, which did not surprise them, but the outcome of their previous clash clearly showed that Ye Chen was not at a disadvantage, demonstrating the same level of combat power as a Spirit Sea Realm expert.
Ye Chen, a mere youngster in the True Qi Realm, had actually managed to unleash an attack equivalent to that of the Spirit Sea Realm. How could this not astonish the disciples of the various sects?
"Spirit Talisman?"
"Ye Chen, it was indeed you who killed my Hai'er! And you took the life-saving Spirit Talisman I gave him!"
In the sky above, the blood-colored fleeing light dissipated, revealing a figure clad in a blood robe and resembling a desiccated corpse. It was none other than Zhou Yuntian, the elder of the Heavenly Net Sect!
At this moment, around Zhou Yuntian, a mighty and terrifying True Qi churned and swirled. Merely the surging aura he emitted surpassed all the True Qi in the bodies of the disciples present in the True Qi Realm, not to mention the even more massive True Qi turned into Spiritual Liquid in his Spirit Sea.
A Spirit Sea Realm powerhouse!
This was the terrifying individual who had surpassed the True Qi Realm and reached the Spirit Sea Realm!
The mere presence of his True Qi aura caused countless True Qi Realm disciples to quake in fear, their bravery chilled to the core!
Once Zhou Yuntian appeared, his bloodshot eyes turned towards the fading giant spear shadow that had shattered the towering palm, with cold light swirling in his gaze.
He immediately recognized that the paper talisman Ye Chen had used to fend off his towering palm strike was one of the three life-saving Spirit Talismans he had once given to Zhou Hai, a talisman paper with the attack power of the Spirit Sea Realm!
"So, it's that life-saving paper talisman. What of it?"
"Zhou Hai died by my hand. Naturally, I can take and use his belongings as I please."
Standing in the square before the mountain gate, Ye Chen fearlessly looked at Zhou Yuntian and spoke out loud.
Indeed, what he had used was exactly one of the Spirit Talisman papers he had taken from Zhou Hai. There were three in total, with Zhou Hai having used one, and Ye Chen had acquired the remaining two.
Now, he had used one of those two paper talismans to block Zhou Yuntian's first strike!
"Ye Chen, you have succeeded in infuriating me!"
Hearing Ye Chen's admission of killing Zhou Hai and announcing intent to freely use Zhou Hai's belongings, Zhou Yuntian flew into a towering rage.
"My last palm strike didn't even exert one-tenth of my strength. Do you think, with a Spirit Talisman I made, you can block me?"
Zhou Yuntian stared at Ye Chen, with murderous intent surging in his heart.
He didn't want Ye Chen to die too easily, yet Ye Chen's words had provoked him so much he wished to kill him with a single palm strike!
"Zhou Yuntian, you have succeeded in angering me as well!"
Ye Chen looked up at Zhou Yuntian in the sky, with killing intent surging in his eyes equally.
"I have never seen such a shameless person in the Spirit Sea Realm, someone who doesn't even spare ordinary mortals. You truly disgrace the title of the Spirit Sea!"
"Don't you want to kill me? I'm standing right here. If you can kill me, then that's your skill! Don't drag my parents into this! Let's settle our grudges between the two of us!"
"Come on, don't talk about using one-tenth of your strength—use all your strength, by all means!"
Ye Chen looked at Zhou Yuntian, utterly unafraid.
"Hum!"
Ye Chen and Zhou Yuntian, one on the ground and one in the sky, their eyes met and murderous intent filled the air between them simultaneously!
Such a scene, happening between an individual in the True Qi Realm and a mid-stage Spirit Sea Realm expert, was truly unprecedented!
Not only did it leave the onlooking Qingyun Sect disciples immensely shocked, but even the disciples of the Heavenly Net Sect couldn't help but admire Ye Chen's courage.
Many of them were even at a higher stage in the True Qi Realm than Ye Chen, but none had the courage to speak to a Spirit Sea Realm individual like that.
Ye Chen was truly audacious to the extreme!