Nine Astra Skies

"A Fifth Level mystical beast almost exposed me." Ye Chen smiled faintly. This Earth Varmint was quite sensitive to danger. It would be beneficial to keep it.

Xi Yang closed his eyes again and continued to cultivate.

Ordinarily, if Ye Chen had encountered a mid-Earthly Venerable Rank combatant, he would take his time to play with him. However, now was not the time. If he did not finish this as soon as possible, other people would come soon. At that time, it would be difficult for Ye Chen to extract himself. Furthermore, it would be troublesome if Xi Yang had ran away.

Ye Chen slowly lurked at a distance of about a hundred meters from Xi Yang, divine light shining in his eyes. Behind him, the gold-armored soldier had materialized and lunged toward Xi Yang with a sword in his hand.

Sensing something, Xi Yang suddenly opened his eyes in shock. He saw a burning gold-armored soldier charging toward him.

An evil spirit? Was it a ghost?

Seeing the scarlet eyes of the gold-armored soldier, Xi Yang was shocked and immediately jumped up.

"Heavenly Stalwart Crush!" Xi Yang did not dare to shout here as not to disturb Master Apothecary Xuanyi. He held his palm toward the gold-armored soldier.

The palm blew up and the surrounding trees and grass rustled with the gusty wind.

The Heavenly Stalwart Crush was the secret technique of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect and one of the few Tier Six martial arts techniques. It allowed the user to utilize strength several times their own. Along with Xi Yang's strength of an Earthly Venerable Rank combatant, this palm was extremely powerful. He was not sure about the strength of the gold-armored soldier, so he did not dare to hold back.

"Take this!" The golden light in Ye Chen's eyes shot out and the gold-armored soldier in the air wielded his longsword in a downward sweep. The gold-armored soldier was like a descending god, sending out a kind of might from the ancient vicissitudes of life. That attack also contained boundless power.

A strong pressure descended from above and Xi Yang felt his body sink as if something was firmly shackling him to the ground.

Xi Yang paled in horror. The gold-armored soldier had pressured him like a large mountain, making him unable to move!

'What's this thing? How is it so powerful?' Xi Yang cried out in fear in his heart. The Celestial Chi in his body poured out into his Heavenly Stalwart Crush and met the gold-armored soldier's sword.

Boom!

A loud noise rang out like the sky was falling. A huge pit of five to six meters long was blown on the ground.

In the deep pit, Xi Yang's clothes were torn to shreds. His Tier One inner armor was split and his body was covered in fine wounds. Fresh blood dripped to the ground.

Xi Yang's organs were severely damaged and there was barely any Celestial Chi left in his body.

Since Xi Yang's advancement to Earthly Venerable Rank, he had never received such a heavy injury. What frightened him the most was that he did not know what that gold-armored soldier was!

Was Xi Yang going to die like this?

Xi Yang looked up in fear. The shadow of the gold-armored soldier still hung in the air. The woods were empty and the leaves chattered as the wind howled.

What was going on? Was Xi Yang dreaming? However, the pain from his body was incredibly real.

Run!

Without second thought, Xi Yang quickly took a medicinal pill and got up before running toward the lake.

After Ye Chen's gold-armored soldier had attacked, his Astral Body also shook slightly and he quickly put away the gold-armored soldier. After all, Ye Chen's Astral Body had just slightly solidified, so he still had to get used to such a fierce battle!

Ye Chen was very excited by the gold-armored soldier's earlier attack. It was the first time he had truly seen the power of his Astral Body!

Sweeping his Astral Body toward the Xuan Pavilion, he had sensed three figures arriving hurriedly. It was the three Earthly Venerable Rank combatants by Master Apothecary Xuanyi's side!

Ye Chen had to finish this battle as soon as possible. He got up and chased after Xi Yang.

Xi Yang ran like he was mad and his heart dropped to his stomach as he felt someone inching closer to him. Was he going to die today? Xi Yang was seriously injured. He had no dignity left being an Earthly Venerable Rank combatant.

The distance between Xi Yang and Ye Chen was closing with only about five meters left. Ye Chen's right hand flicked and the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger materialized. With a thought, the Flying Dagger shot toward Xi Yang with a whoosh.

Xi Yang felt a terrifying aura behind him, penetrating his body and jolting his heart. As he looked back, he was shocked to see a white light shoot toward him. He hurriedly waved his sleeve and threw several caltrops at the white light. He raised his head in horror and saw Ye Chen's face. "It's you!"

In the Sunken Jade Tower, Xi Yang had seen Ye Chen's face when the treasure had been stolen. Xi Yang remembered Ye Chen's face in his mind and he had believed that if he met Ye Chen again, he would have to kill Ye Chen and take back the armguard. He had never thought that he would be plotted against Ye Chen here now!

Back then, Ye Chen was only a Tenth Level combatant!

Ye Chen shorted coldly. Back at the Sunken Jade Tower, if he had not been as smart, he would have been killed by the Thousand Year Ptomaine. They had finally met, so how would he allow Xi Yang to escape like this?

Before Xi Yang could make any other moves, he saw the few caltrops collide with the white light. Clang clang clang! The caltrops broke but the white light continued to shoot toward him.

How could this happen?

Xi Yang saw that the white light was a Flying Dagger!

Quick!

Xi Yang's body, which was covered with Pure Yang Construct, instantly tore open.

Xi Yang had no means of escape and he cried out when the Flying Dagger pierced a hole through his right shoulder, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Not only did the Flying Dagger leave a bloody hole in his body but it also destroyed all the meridians in his right chest.

What a terrifying Flying Dagger!

Xi Yang stumbled and fell to the ground, looking at Ye Chen fearfully.

"I'm an Elder from the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect. If you kill me, you'll retrieve retribution from my sect!" Xi Yang cried furiously and kept retreating. Ye Chen stood in front of him like a demon and Xi Yang felt the shadow of death hanging over him. 'No, I don't want to die!'

"If I'm worried about the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect's retribution, I wouldn't have come to kill you!" Ye Chen laughed coldly. He did not think that a mid-Earthly Venerable Rank combatant would be so vulnerable. It seemed that Ye Chen had underestimated his Astral Body and the offensive power of his Flying Dagger. Ye Chen could feel the residue trace of Celestial Chi from the Flying Dagger that remained in Xi Yang's body.

"Don't kill me. I'll pay you whatever you want but spare my life!" Xi Yang's eyes were filled with fear and cried shrilly as he scrambled backward.

"Little Tanuki, let's go." Ye Chen glanced at Little Tanuki and said, "Master's guards are coming."

Little Tanuki leaped and took Xi Yang's Heaven-Earth Pouch before jumping back onto Ye Chen's shoulder. Then, Ye Chen took a few steps and disappeared into the forest.

Seeing Ye Chen leave, Xi Yang collapsed to the ground. He had thought that he was a dead man but he had never thought that Ye Chen would unexpectedly let him go. All the strength in his body seemed to drain.

Xi Yang's organs and the meridians in his right chest were seriously injured. Even if a large number of psychics were used to heal him, he would not be able to cultivate for half a year. His eyes were full of malice. Xi Yang had escaped with his life today but he would cut Ye Chen into ten thousand pieces to relieve his heart's hatred.

Just then, a low shout rang in the distance.

"Explode!"

With a "boom", a rumbling sound suddenly rang from Xi Yang's body. With eyes full of unwillingness, Xi Yang's focus gradually faded until he fell to the ground.

Xi Yang, an Earthly Venerable Rank combatant and an Elder of the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect, died silently as he lay on the ground with the whistling wind.

After a moment, three figures rushed up and landed in front of the deep pit.

"What happened here?" The three's expressions changed.

An old man dressed in a purple robe jumped into the pit and saw the pool of blood on the bottom of the pit. He said lowly, "A battle occurred here earlier. Someone was gravely injured." Then, he looked at the pieces of rubble around them. Many of the deeply buried stones in the soil had been crushed to dust. He could not help but feel horrified. What terrifying power!

"A large pit like this should be caused by a weapon such as a longsword. Only someone with the strength of a Heavenly Venerable One would be able to extend the power of the sword to five to six meters!" another person said in shock.

"Old Five, Old Six, come over here. There's a corpse!" the third person's voice called from a distance and the two immediately rushed over.

Soon, they saw Xi Yang's body lying on the ground.

"Who's this person? How did he die here?" the Earthly Venerable One called Old Five frowned and asked.

"I remember this person. His name is Xi Yang. He's a mid-Earthly Venerable Rank Elder from the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect!" Old Six's words made the other two persons' hearts tremble.

"What's someone from the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect doing here? Who killed him?"

"We came immediately after hearing the sounds of a battle from here but it only took a moment for the culprit to kill this mid-Earthly Venerable Rank combatant. It was the work of a Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant, so either the Sect Leaders of the Three Major Sects or perhaps it was Mingwu?" old Five asked doubtfully.

"Watch out. That combatant might not have left yet." Old Six crouched down and checked the condition of Xi Yang's corpse with Celestial Chi and his expression fell. "His insides are completely shattered as if something exploded in his body but his body looks intact on the surface. There's only a wound here that seemed to be caused by a concealed weapon. The person who killed Xi Yang isn't someone to be trifled with! It doesn't seem to be the Sect Leaders of the Three Major Sects nor Mingwu but that person is no inferior in strength to them. Could it be that there's a fifth Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant in the Xiwu Empire?"

"What does this person want? Xi Yang was killed here. The Stalwarts of the Heavenly Sect wouldn't let this matter go. This trouble might end up implicating Master Apothecary Xuanyi!" Old Five was silent for a moment.

"It could be because of the medicinal pill that Master Apothecary Xuanyi is refining. They're like dogs biting other dogs."

"Let's return first and report this incident to Master Apothecary Xuanyi!" Old Six blew a large pit on the ground with a palm and buried Xi Yang's body in it. Then, he dealt with the traces of the battle around them before rushing back.

This mysterious Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant might still be on the island, so they had to be careful. If the seven Earthly Venerable Rank combatants worked together, they might be able to stand a chance but if they were attacked individually, then they would be in trouble.