Nine Astra Skies

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Over the past two to three days, Ye Chen had successively killed more than a hundred Daemon King Rank Spirit Beasts. Therefore, he hauled a handsome loot. Just the secret technique jade slips alone, he had six pieces. In addition, he also collected seventy-six twilight gold coins and thirty-two nephrite pearls. Besides that, Ye Chen also found another two components of the Purple Demon Armor. Unfortunately, one of them was another pair of Purple Demon Armor leg greaves. Ye Chen already had five components of the Purple Demon Armor. He just needed another two more components to complete the entire set.

Ye Chen combed through many areas on the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda, except for the central strip. He dared not enter that area. His current abilities were not yet adequate to face the Grand Supreme Stage Spirit Beasts, so venturing into the central strip would be quite dangerous. Although Ye Chen had the Heavenly Astral Master Seal as a backup, if he were to run into a Grand Supreme Stage Spirit Beast, he might be killed before he could wield the Heavenly Astral Master Seal.

'I guess I'll just continue to look for other Purple Demon Armor components in the outer ring,' Ye Chen thought to himself.

"Youngling Ye Chen, near the entrance of the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda, thirty-over Grand Supreme Stage powerhouses just entered. A few of them are at Transcendent Stage, so you'd better not use the Heavenly Astra Master Seal again," Master Lion said.

"I understand. I'm already prepared to leave the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda and retreat!" Ye Chen nodded. He had already collected a fruitful bounty from the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. Once the Grand Supreme Stage powerhouses entered this floor, he would not stand a chance to take anything. Thus, he might as well retreat now.

Master Lion was relieved that Ye Chen was self-aware enough to realize that. With a curt nod, he said, "Youngling Ye Chen, you're right. Now is the best time to leave. Those people are already preparing to clear out everything on the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. They certainly wouldn't allow anyone else to touch what they find. It's despicable for a martial art cultivator to be overly greedy."

Ye Chen flew toward the exit of the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. He was still disguised as an ordinary middle-aged man.

"The Tribunal Council, Thunder Beast Clan, Temple of War, Spirit Artifact Council, City of the Apothecary King, Black Fire Leopard Clan, and Snowshadow Clan are preparing to clear out the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. Unrelated personnel, please leave at once!" A booming voice reverberated across every corner of the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. This voice was full of authority. Everyone who heard the voice felt their hearts tremble.

It was a combination of seven factions!

It appeared that these people were ready to launch a massive war.

"I thought that the Tribunal Council and the Thunder Beast Clans are at odds with one another, why are they working together now?" Ye Chen creased his forehead.

"There are no eternal friends or foe, only eternal self-interest," Master Lion replied. "Out of these seven factions, none of them can monopolize the benefits of the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda by themselves. So, they can only work together. All their previous grudges would've to be set aside for now."

Ye Chen nodded. Among these factions, other than a deep-seated grudge such as that between the Leo King's Palace and the Wolven Kingdom, they would not fight with each other indefinitely. A drawn-out enmity would only result in losses on both sides. Now that there was a common interest, they were willing to work together. The weaker factions, on the other hand, were bullied and had no choice but to withdraw silently. Those were the rules of this world. Only the strong had the opportunity to be heard.

The combatants from various factions who were inside the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda quickly retreated in the direction of the exit.

Seemingly sensing the impending onslaught of human, Celestial and mystical beast powerhouses, howls of beasts began to resound from every corner of the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. These sounds were like peals of thunder and at least a dozen many. All these were Grand Supreme Stage Spirit Beasts!

A vicious standoff was about to start.

Ye Chen flew swiftly. In the distant sky, "swish, swish, swish," he saw a few shadows fly by. Flares of divine rays descended. "Pang, pang, pang," the Daemon King Rank Spirit Beasts which were scattered around the Soul Pagoda were blown up into pieces by these divine rays.

Even the Daemon King Rank Spirit Beasts were completely defenseless against this power. This was an utter massacre!

In the distant horizon, Grand Supreme and Peerless Power powerhouses consisting of humans, Celestial and mystical beasts had begun to challenge the supreme Spirit Beasts. Ye Chen saw a woman dressed in a fiery-red outfit and surrounded by flashes of lightning. With a "swoosh," she flew into the distance.

Bi Lin had appeared. Ye Chen did not know what the battle on the other side looked like, but regardless, it was not a battle he could afford to participate in.

Ye Chen followed the departing crowd. The Soul Pagoda's seventh floor exit could now be seen.

The three Wolf Kings of the Wolven Kingdom hovered around the exit of the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda, scanning the crowd with their Psyche. Most probably, they were looking for Ye Chen and the others. Their Psyche landed on Ye Chen and assessed him.

However, at the moment, Ye Chen appeared like a middle-aged man. Even his energy and other characteristics were completely different. He calmly exited the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda under the Psyche examination of the three Wolf Kings.

Inside the Heavenly Astra Seal subspace, many days had passed. Tong Tian the Leo King and the others were almost completely recuperated. Nonetheless, they were still in no condition to fight against the Wolven Kingdom.

Near the entrance of the sixth floor of the Soul Pagoda, there were a lot of tents, just like a marketplace. Many people were trading all sorts of items. Of course, it was not very safe to trade in this place. From time to time, there were killings over treasures.

"Leo King, is it safe to trade items with the Spirit Artifact Council?" Ye Chen's Astral Body entered the Heavenly Astra Seal to communicate with Tong Tian the Leo King.

"The Spirit Artifact Council has a good reputation. Trading with them is safe," Tong Tian the Leo King replied. He had been inside the Heavenly Astra Seal for the last few days, so he did not know what was happening outside. He did not know what Ye Chen wanted to exchange with the Spirit Artifact Council.

In the distance was the Spirit Artifact Council's campsite. Outside, there was a large group of people trading various items with the Spirit Artifact Council. Most of them were exchanging Tianyuan ancient coins for spirit artifacts that belonged to the Spirit Artifact Council.

Ye Chen strode toward the main entrance of the Spirit Artifact Council. A disciple from the Spirit Artifact Council wearing a long shirt stopped Ye Chen and asked politely, "Friend, if you'd like to trade items with the Spirit Artifact Council, please look for our disciples. We can surely give you a satisfactory price. This part houses the camp of our Spirit Artifact Council leaders, so we cannot allow outsiders to enter, please understand."

"I want to look for the person-in-charge of the Spirit Artifact Council and exchange a few items." Ye Chen waved his right hand. The two unusable secret technique jade slips as well as a few pieces of twilight gold and nephrite pearls appeared in his palm.

"Secret technique jade slip, twilight gold?" The Spirit Artifact Council disciple sucked in a cold breath. These were very rare items in this marketplace. Even Daemon King Rank combatants would only have one or two items. Since Ye Chen had so many, he must be someone extraordinary. The disciple looked at Ye Chen. The latter had the appearance of a mediocre middle-aged man and looked nothing out of the ordinary. This disciple was quite well-learned and recognized most of the famous combatants, but he did not know who Ye Chen was. Politely, he said, "Please wait here, I'll get an elder from the Spirit Artifact Council."

That disciple hurriedly entered the tent. A while later, an old man dressed in gray robes rushed out with the disciple on his heels.

"Your Excellency wishes to trade with the Spirit Artifact Council?" The old man's eyes landed on Ye Chen. Although he could not gauge Ye Chen's cultivation level, he was experienced enough to spot Ye Chen's casual confidence. Ye Chen definitely came from an extraordinary background.

An ordinary joe would not dare to speak to a powerful faction like the Spirit Artifact Council so lightly.

"Yes." Ye Chen nodded.

"My name is Zi Lin, I'm the elder in charge of trade for the Spirit Artifact Council. Please come with me, Your Excellency," the elder named Zi Lin spoke and ushered Ye Chen into the Spirit Artifact Council's tent. As for the disciple, he remained in position and watched Ye Chen depart with Elder Zi Lin.

Inside one of the tents of the Spirit Artifact Council, this place had been soundproofed. People who were outside could not hear what was going on inside the tent. The reason Elder Zi Lin behaved especially courteously toward Ye Chen was because he already heard from the disciple that Ye Chen had several secret technique jade slips, twilight gold, and nephrite pearls.

"What would Your Excellency like to trade with the Spirit Artifact Council?" Elder Zi Lin handed Ye Chen a cup of tea and sat down.

"I'll make a list. If the Spirit Artifact Council can help me find these items, I'm willing to exchange with secret technique jade slips, twilight gold, nephrite pearls, and a few other items," Ye Chen said.

"Very well." Elder Zi Lin immediately handed a pen and ink to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen wrote down his list and passed it back to Elder Zi Lin. When Elder Zi Lin saw the items on the list, his face changed. He gave a pained smile. "The items that Your Excellency seeks are truly rare. The Purple Demon Armor components are being snatched by each of the major factions. Even a Tier Eight, much less Tier Nine, Purple Demon Armor component is worth an entire city. Moreover, Your Excellency seeks to find the helmet and solleret components, those are even rarer."

"Is that so?" Ye Chen deliberated in silence. Specifying them to search for two Purple Demon Armor components was indeed quite challenging. He thought for a moment and said, "I have a pair of Tier Nine Purple Demon Armor leg greaves, to be exchanged for two Tier Eight Purple Demon Armor components, the helmet and sollerets. Can Elder Zi Lin help me find them?

When Ye Chen finished speaking, he took out the Purple Demon Armor leg greaves. According to the Leo King, the Spirit Artifact Council was very professional, so Ye Chen was not worried that they would divulge this matter.

Elder Zi Lin's gaze landed on the Tier Nine Purple Demon Armor leg greaves. His expression was filled with astonishment. He knew that the Purple Demon Armor was incredibly precious. Such an item would draw jealousy from every faction.

A Tier Nine Purple Demon Armor was far more valuable than multiple Tier Eight Purple Demon Armor. Even if Ye Chen had wanted to exchange three Tier Eight Purple Demon Armor, there would be no problem! If the Spirit Artifact Council helped Ye Chen with this trade, they would profit a lot from the transaction!

Elder Zi Lin decided on the spot. "The Spirit Artifact Council is willing to accept this trade, but Your Excellency will need to wait for a while. I'll have to contact the various factions and see who is willing to exchange with Your Excellency."

"No problem." Ye Chen nodded.