Nine Astra Skies

Ye Chen was gravely injured. He forced himself to remain standing, heaving loudly. His meridian channels had ruptured. If he were not clenching his jaw and holding on due to facing a powerful opponent, he would have fainted long ago.

The current Ye Chen was like an injured wild wolf. His vision was blurry but his eyes still had a cold glint. His enmity with Fu Yu today would have to be settled one day!

No one knew where Tantai Ling's voice was coming from. It seemed near and far at the same time, calm and cool. "Since that's the case, Mr. Fu may leave now, right?"

"Your Excellency, I came to the North Sea for this Celestial Martial Chi. This Celestial Martial Chi has been captured by me." When Fu Yu heard Tantai Ling's words, he immediately recognized that Tantai Ling wanted to devour this Celestial Martial Chi!

"I have not the slightest interest in this Celestial Martial Chi but I want to ask you, Mr. Fu, did you really capture this Celestial Martial Chi?" Tantai Ling snorted icily, full of contempt toward someone like Fu Yu.

"I admit that this Celestial Martial Chi was injured before I captured it, but it was truly I who first captured it!" Fu Yu proclaimed with righteous conviction.

Tantai Ling's voice sounded scornful now. "Are those in power at the Tribunal Council all trash like you? You've clearly robbed this from someone, yet you say you've captured it. How shameless!"

Although Tantai Ling was the North Sea Ruler, how could Fu Yu just give up on the Celestial Martial Chi he was on the verge of obtaining? The tone of his voice turned steely. "I respect you as the North Sea Ruler and won't quibble with you. Nonetheless, you're not allowed to slander my Tribunal Council. No one has any right to comment on the doings of my Tribunal Council. I must take this Celestial Martial Chi with me. If this offends you in any manner, then forgive me!"

"A puny sub-council leader from the Tribunal Council dares to act so wantonly in my North Sea. It's clear how despotic the Tribunal Council is in its daily dealings. Even if the three Abbots or a few Grand Supreme Elders of the Tribunal Council came over, I wouldn't be afraid, much less a puny sub-council leader like you!"

Fu Yu was a sub-council leader of the Tribunal Council. Although he knew how powerful Tantai Ling was, he hypothesized that Tantai Ling might be far away in the depths of the ocean, transmitting her voice here. If he seized the Celestial Martial Chi by force and quickly left the North Sea, Tantai Ling might not be able to catch up. When he reached land, Tantai Ling would no longer have the final say.

"Regarding today's matter, if I've offended you in any way, I'll have to make amends some other day. Even so, I must have this Celestial Martial Chi!" Fu Yu huffed softly and his right hand reached toward the Celestial Martial Chi. If he obtained this Celestial Martial Chi, it was comparable to decades of cultivation. How could he just let it go so easily!

"Impudence!" Tantai Ling was truly enraged now.

'Just wait until I refine this Celestial Martial Chi and flee immediately. Even if you're the North Sea Ruler, you're so far away. You might not be able to keep me here!' Fu Yu lunged toward the giant turtle. Celestial Chi flared from his palm like silk threads, filled with a boundless pulling force. He was going to seize that Celestial Martial Chi in his hand.

The energy of this Godly Venerable Rank fighter burst forth without reservation at that moment.

The giant turtle transformed from Celestial Martial Chi was trapped by Fu Yu's Celestial Chi. It struggled constantly trying to escape, but was ultimately unable to move. It was dragged quickly toward Fu Yu and was about to be seized by his hand.

Suddenly, Fu Yu's body was frozen in mid-air as if he was locked in place by some chi flow, unable to budge.

"What's going on?" Fu Yu was pale with fright. Ever since he had reached Godly Venerable Attainment Level, he had never been caught in such a state. Even at such a distance, he was locked in place by Tantai Ling's chi flow! This power was too formidable. Even with Godly Venerable Rank strength, he had no way of breaking free. Had Tantai Ling's power reached such an astounding attainment level? Among the Tribunal Council, there would not be more than three individuals who could defeat Tantai Ling.

After going through the battle in the Exclusion Zone, Tantai Ling had another breakthrough in her attainment level. At her stage, each flash of insight at her attainment level would cause her strength to shoot up by more than a few times.

Fu Yu was pale with shock. He did not know what Tantai Ling was going to do next. He kept on mobilizing his Celestial Chi, trying to escape.

Currently, hundreds of kilometers away, there was a stream of rainbow-colored light that spun incessantly, shooting toward this place at an extreme speed.

That stream of light was Tantai Ling's trident, which released a light that was even more dazzling than the sun. Where the trident passed by, the sea instantly split into two sides, forming two walls of water that were hundreds of meters tall. It was as if an ancient giant had cleaved the surface of the ocean into two.

The trident sped up as it flew with endless, incomparably pure Water-type Celestial Chi enveloping it.

This Water-type Celestial Chi turned into liquid, each drop like a matchless sharp steel knife.

Even though these were water droplets, when their speed had reached a pinnacle, they could pierce through steel!

What formidable murderous aura! Fu Yu had sensed something coming and turned his head with difficulty. As he looked toward the distant horizon, he saw a flash of light arriving in an instant.

What item was this? It was so fast!

Fu Yu was filled with regret. He simply did not expect that Tantai Ling was this powerful. If he had known, he would not have gone against Tantai Ling even if that meant giving up the Celestial Martial Chi!

Fu Yu did not think that Tantai Ling could throw the trident from so far away and still hit her aim here. What kind of strength was this?

The streak of light was about to hit him. Fu Yu's entire body exploded with Celestial Chi and he dug out a long pole from his Heaven-Earth Pouch. It was the Teal Cloud Staff, a treasure passed down in the Teal Cloud sub-council up until today, a Tier Eight spirit artifact!

Typically, a Tier Eight spirit artifact was a supreme treasure and its artifact spirit was also powerful to an impressive extent. However, at the moment, the artifact spirit within the Teal Cloud Stagg started to tremble in fear.

Fu Yu focused his gaze and finally saw the essence of that seven-colored light. It was a trident.

The legendary Sea God's Trident!

When he saw the Sea God's Trident was about to pierce through him, Fu Yu grasped the Teal Cloud Staff with both hands to block the strike.

Bang!

The Sea God's Trident smashed into the Teal Cloud Staff in Fu Yu's hands. There was an odd "creaking" sound, following which was a sharp "snap". The Teal Cloud Staff in Fu Yu's hands was shattered into pieces. The Tier Eight Spirit Artifact Rank Teal Cloud Staff was shattered in one strike of the trident. The Sea God's Trident, with a bloody "thup", sank into Fu Yu's shoulder.

Fu Yu could feel an irrepressible force cutting through half of his body. He howled in anguish and spat out a long stream of blood. He could not think of anything else and yelled in utter terror, "Sea Ruler, spare me!" Ultimately, he was still a Godly Venerable Rank expert. Even after sustaining such injuries, the Celestial Chi in his body still surpassed that of an ordinary Mystique Venerable Rank fighter. He sprang up and, in a few leaps, had fled into the distance.

The trident hovered in the air but did not chase after Fu Yu. It was currently gleaming with a dazzling light.

Tantai Ling's voice rang out softly, "In just a month your cultivation has improved again."

Ye Chen staggered up and forced a stiff smile. "I have to thank you for today. If it weren't for you, I might've died at Fu Yu's hands." He did not know where Tantai Ling was right now. She must be rather far away from here.

Tantai Ling was silent for a moment before she said casually, "If you hadn't released that power, I wouldn't have noticed where you were. This power mustn't have been your own. With your current body, you can't withstand that power at all. In the future, it's best not to use it or it'll only cause you more harm."

"I'll take note of that." Ye Chen nodded. Earlier, he could distinctly feel as if he was about to explode. Master Lion's power was too immense and he could not take it at all. He did not expect that Tantai Ling, despite appearing as cold as frost, would show concern. He was taken aback.

"This Celestial Martial Chi isn't of much use to me but it should be of great help to you. Don't disappoint me at our five-year appointment."

"I owe you another favor." Ye Chen held on with all his might. Whether it was at the Exclusion Zone's underground or this encounter with Fu Yu now, if Tantai Ling had not acted, who knew how the outcome would be? Perhaps Ye Chen would no longer be in this world. He did not know how to repay this debt of gratitude.

"I don't need anyone to owe me favors. I nurture you simply to nurture an opponent for me," Tantai Ling's voice turned icy as she spoke indifferently. The giant turtle floating in the air dared not move after Tantai Ling had shown up. It flew from the air and landed before Ye Chen.

With a "whoosh", the trident turned into a streak of light and vanished into the ocean's horizon.

"Ye Chen, my boy, absorb this Celestial Martial Chi quickly. I'm tired and will sleep for half a month. After this, it's up to you." The Purple-fire Astra Lion's voice rang out, revealing his exhaustion. This was no surprise. His strength had been constantly suppressed by the Heavenly Astra Seal and he had to endure the incessant suppression of the seal. This time, after channeling his power to Ye Chen's body, he had to contend against the Heavenly Astra Seal's seal with his remaining strength. Naturally, he was drained.

Ye Chen looked forward, observing the giant turtle sprawled there quietly. He forced his battered, tired body to stagger forward, then pressed his right palm against the turtle's shell. The Nine Astra within Ye Chen's body instantly circulated rapidly. The giant turtle turned into wisps of Celestial Chi that entered through Ye Chen's right palm.

The giant turtle became smaller and finally vanished completely into Ye Chen's body. Ye Chen could sense a turtle-shaped object suspended in the vessels of his right palm but he could not discern any changes on the surface of his right hand.

Had Ye Chen now absorbed this Celestial Martial Chi? However, he did not know the purpose of this Celestial Martial Chi at all! He looked into the distance, seeing that the Soul Pearl had moved Little Wingsy's body to the island. It was shining a black glow upon Little Wingsy as if healing him. Little Wingsy twitched slightly. He had probably just fainted and was not dead.

Only then did Ye Chen heave a sigh of relief and sat down cross-legged. He activated his Celestial Chi and started to heal his internal injuries.