Nine Astra Skies

As Ye Chen was close to the surface, he took a deep breath. Fury of Shattering Earth!

Ye Chen consolidated his Celestial Chi and delivered a mighty blow.

Just as Xi Li, Xi Yang, Xi Feng, and the other men watched as the poison spread across the water, a violent stream of water column was fired at them. Their expressions changed in a split second.

It was not just any water column but one that contained traces of the Thousand Year Ptomaine!

"Get away!"

Xi Li, Xi Yang, and Xi Feng swirled their hands in a vortex-like manner, channeling Pure Yang Chi Construct to protect themselves from harm while evading the oncoming water column.

The three Earthly Venerable Ones managed to dodge the attack. However, the same could not be said for the rest of the members of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect. A group of Tenth Level combatants was blasted away by the water from the pool. White smoke billowed from their clothes. They were groaning in pain.

Ye Chen got out of the pool in an area where the water was clean. He was shocked at the extent of pain the Stalwarts of Heavenly Stars Sect members were in. The Thousand Year Ptomaine was truly lethal. Had he got out one step late and allowed the poison to contaminate most of the water surface, he would not be able to imagine the state that he would be in.

Such underhanded people the members of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect were.

"That kid's got the item!"

"Don't let him escape!"

Xi Li, Xi Yang, and Xi Feng held their ground literally as they watched Ye Chen emerge from the pool. The men shouted at him and charged toward Ye Chen to attack him.

"You thief, how dare you to hurt the disciples of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect? You're dead meat!" Xi Yang's Pure Yang Chi Construct swept across the scene. The Chi Construct Barrier in Earthly Venerable Ones had transformed into Pure Yang Chi Construct, which was something that required more consolidation than a regular Chi Construct. A Pure Yang Strike was hurled at Ye Chen's direction.

One Earthly Venerable One was enough to give Ye Chen a difficult time, what more with three of them?

Only death awaited him if he chose to fight the Earthly Venerable Ones head-on. The gap in power between a Tenth Level and an Earthly Venerable One was too great!

"If you want me to stay, make me!" Ye Chen scoffed and slammed his fist on the pool, spraying water at Xi Yang and his men.

Xi Yang and the rest quickly stopped in their tracks when they saw water being sprayed at them. The Thousand Year Ptomaine was capable of corroding any form of surface and Chi Construct that even Earthly Venerable Ones like them had to be careful.

While they stopped for a moment, Ye Chen borrowed the impact of his strike to leap ten meters into the air.

"Take this, you old Stalwart farts!" Ye Chen smiled cheekily and tossed up a couple of Explode Seeds at Xi Yang and the rest!

"What a child's play!" Xi Yang scoffed and smacked the seeds out of the way with his hand. Boom. The seeds exploded at the surface of the pool.

The blast from the seeds was only on par with Ninth Level combatant but its explosive effects on the water were still somewhat a sight to behold. The resulting shockwave caused another violent water column to be fired at Xi Yang and the rest.

Another one of the brat's tricks! The three men did not dare take any chances. They quickly deflected the incoming water as it flew toward them as it was a question of life and death.

Xi Li and Xi Feng's powers were a little lacking and thus the water had splashed onto them. The two groaned in pain but quickly popped an antidote. Even an Earthly Venerable One's Pure Yang Chi Construct could not protect them from the poison completely.

They would have never guessed that the act of administering poison into the waters would backfire at them. Ye Chen had used the poisonous water against them multiple times.

While the three men were recovering from the attack attempts, a couple of piercing, earthy bird calls came from above. A Raven Hawk and Vermillion Spirit Condor lifted Ye Chen to the air. The boy had one hand on the Raven Hawk's legs and the other on the Vermillion Spirit Condor.

"So long elders of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect, till we meet again!" Ye Chen's laughter echoed in the air.

Xi Li furiously leaped into the air and took out an object from his robes. His right hand trembled slightly as the item transformed into a terrifying specter and lashed at Ye Chen. "You little brat, let's see how you fare against the might of the Fire Thunder Shuttle!"

A sound appeared in the winds. Ye Chen's Astral Body had detected a metal shut coated in electricity and a ring of fire. He did not expect Xi Li to conceal such a weapon in him. While his left hand grabbed hold of the Vermillion Spirit Condor, Ye Chen willed the Hell Rupture Sword to appear on his right hand using his mind. He swathed at the Fire Thunder Shuttle.

Ping. The shuttle was slashed in half by the sword. It exploded into shards mid-air. Ye Chen's right hand felt so numb that he could barely hold the sword in his hand. The Fire Thunder Shuttle contained a large number of Celestial Chi. Ye Chen's chest suddenly felt uncomfortable. He might have taken a heavy-hitting.

Even at such a distance, the shuttle still possessed such destruction. The powers of an Earthly Venerable One was truly terrifying.

The Raven Hawk and Vermillion Spirit Condor lifted Ye Chen into the dark skies. The higher they went, the further they were.

Xi Li's heart died a little when he saw Ye Chen split his Fire Thunder Shuttle in half. It was a rare spirit artifact that was worth at least eight to nine millions of Chi-amassing Pills. He might be an elder of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect but it was still a relatively rare possession to him. That sword that Ye Chen held in his hand - the one that split the shuttle in half should be a Tier Three or higher spirit artifact! Even the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect only possessed five Tier Three spirit artifacts!

Xi Ling cussed.

Xi Yang was red with rage. He did not expect the boy to escape under his watchful eyes and certainly not the destruction of the Fire Thunder Shuttle. "Quick, check where he's gone to!"

Xi Li closed his eyes to search for Ye Chen. He did not notice the changes that took place while the battle was ongoing but he noticed something amiss. He opened his eyes and said, "The Stalwart Tracker has been dispelled!"

Xi Yang and Xi Feng were stunned. "How? The kid's only Tenth Level at best. Besides, only Heavenly Venerable Ones, Heavenly Mystique Adept, and Celestial Beasts were capable of breaking the spell."

"It's dispelled, I'm sure of it!" Xi Li was frustrated. "The boy must've learned how to shapeshift into a Celestial Beast and eavesdrop on our earlier conversations through his Astral Body."

"If a Tenth Level Celestial Beast was eavesdropping on us, we would've sensed it. Things aren't adding up!" Xi Yang found the incident strange but he could not do a thing. He could only administer the antidote to the Thousand Year Ptomaine to his men and get some of them to pursue Ye Chen in the direction that he had left.

There was barely any light source to be found in the Sunken Jade Tower. With Ye Chen lifted into the skies by the two birds, they could barely even see him and only pursue aimlessly.

The Raven Hawk and Vermillion Spirit Condor flew so fast that they were ten miles away in the blink of an eye. Those members of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect would never catch up.

Hauls from the Sunken Jade Tower were greater than Ye Chen had expected. "Now was the time to head home!' Ye Chen thought to himself. He would return to the tower should the opportunity presented itself next time.

Only, Ye Chen could not tell the direction following the skirmish earlier on and he could not backtrack using his Astral Body in fear that he would run into the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect members once more. He had no choice but to search for an exit slowly. The Raven Hawk and Vermillion Spirit Condor seemed to know the floor plan of the Sunken Jade Tower's second level better than him.