Chapter 425: A Stalemate Between Origin Realms
“Everyone strike with all your might, kill him!”
Sunchaser charged out in front, his broadsword raised high and gleaming with the radiance of the blazing sun as he thrust forward with his greatest stroke.
“Blazing Molten Sun, Slash!”
The broadsword slashed down as the crimson light exploded almost a hectare wide, cleaving straight down to the center of the formation.
Concentric rings of force formed around the strike as it generated an enormous heat wave. The force ringlets fell from the skies Iike an immortal’s overturned pill cauldron, churning the air with pure incandescent flames.
The force truly was an enormous wave of wildfire.
The formation made by the Goldwing Swordbirds could absolutely defend against the attack, but the tremendous heat wave would bake their feathers. This suffocating heat wave seemed as if it would burn everything under the sky.
Jiang Chen was immensely taken aback to see this as well.
“Who would’ve thought that Sunchaser would have such tyrannical strength!”
Jiang Chen didn’t have enough attention to spare for killing the senior executives of the Purple Sun Sect at the moment. He focused on manipulating more than a dozen ice lotus vines to emanate curtains of icy power, fully sealing off the momentum of the heat wave.
Having just absorbed the power in Master Shuiyue’s ice rune, the ice lotuses were also in peak condition.
Layers of icy walls kept sealing off the air around the formation.
“Hmph, pitiful little tricks! Break!”
Sunchaser’s sword thrust was undeterred as he continued to send forth more heat waves.
Crack crack crack crack!
The walls of ice that the lotuses had created all crumbled.
It was a good thing that the ice lotus possessed strong innate defensive power. When a dozen ice lotuses were lined up together, they seemed to possess countless tentacles that transformed into a brilliant manifestation of frosty hues in the sky, roiling toward the void and continuously cutting away at the heat wave.
This heat wave was strong, but it wasn’t enough to instantly destroy the ice lotuses.
Jiang Chen was well aware that the strength behind this heat wave was greater than his. If its full force was allowed to crash into the formation, countless Goldwing Swordbirds would be injured or killed, even if the formation held up.
Jiang Chen didn’t want such a thing to happen, so he summoned the Lotus, using this method to assault the heat wave and disperse some of its force. As long as the strength behind the heat wave was decimated, the strength it would have to ram the formation with would be greatly decreased.
Sunchaser hadn’t seemed to anticipate that Jiang Chen would prove this thorny. He snorted coldly and slashed left and right with his broadsword, continuously hacking away at the ice lotus vines.
The strongest aspect about the Lotus lay within its regeneration abilities. As long as the Flaming Heart of Ice remained, the Lotus would be invincible.
After Sunchaser had chopped twenty or thirty vines apart, the stumps then promptly regrew new vine tendrils.
Sunchaser was quickly swallowed beneath a sea of vines before long.
Although the vines were of no threat to him, they greatly decreased the momentum of his attacks.
This gave the Swordbird formation time to nurture a second barrage of attacks.
The several hundred strong Goldwing Swordbirds used the formation as a framework and used their innumerable sharp claws to form a whirlwind, sending it whirling towards Sunchaser.
Sunchaser was greatly infuriated. He’d never thought that he’d be caught by Jiang Chen!
He threw his head back in a howl and waved his broadsword madly, leaping into the air and transforming into a streak of red light as he broke free of the ice lotus vines’ fetters.
“Break!”
Sunchaser followed through, using his charge to power his strike against the whirlwind as he cleaved down towards the whirlwind.
Wham!
The attack formed by the formation was instantly destroyed.
Sunchaser’s gaze narrowed and locked onto Jiang Chen. He grew even more resolute in the depths of his fury. To round up bandits, one needed to capture their leader first. Approaching Jiang Chen and executing him was the only right course of action. Why bother with these feathered animals and monstrous vines?
Everything would be as intangible as the floating clouds as long as Jiang Chen was dead.
Jiang Chen was slightly surprised to see Sunchaser break free of the ice lotus vines with uncommon speed and no thought for his well-being.
Jiang Chen’s hand plucked the air, and took out the miniature form of the magnetic golden mountain.
Sunchaser was so domineering that even the Lotus wasn’t enough to stop him. If he sent out the Goldbiter Rats, he’d only be sending them to their deaths. It would make no difference at all.
He had to make use of his last trump card now.
Although Jiang Chen didn’t have confidence in being able to fully deploy the golden magnetic mountain, if he tried his best and ignored the injuries that would undoubtedly rack his body, he felt he’d be confident in killing this old thief as long as he could restrain him for even the span of a breath.
However, he only had a fifty-fifty chance of successfully activating the golden magnetic mountain.
“Come on then.” Jiang Chen’s heart was serene, but fully resolved.
Since he had chosen to fight, he also had the determination to battle to death.
At that moment, a turquoise silhouette appeared in the air. The figure pushed out with his hands and formed a turquoise ball of air that roiled through the air, halting Sunchaser’s unparalleled attack.
“Old monster Sunchaser, that’s quite enough!”
This turquoise figure was forefather Thousandleaf’s timely arrival.
When he saw Thousandleaf arrive, Jiang Chen flipped over his hand and put the magnetic golden mountain away again. Jiang Chen and forefather Thousandleaf both failed to notice that Huang’er, behind Jiang Chen, had also taken a timely step back.
No one noticed that, but Gouyu did.
In that moment of life and death, Gouyu had also rushed over with all her strength and was prepared to die with Jiang Chen.
She hadn’t thought that a light would flash beside her, and Miss Huang’er would float lightly nearby the young master like a breath of wind.
Gouyu hadn’t even seen how she’d done it.
In that moment, Gouyu even suspected that she’d seen incorrectly, because an immense presence had flickered in and out of existence from Miss Huang’er’s caped silhouette, an incomparably strong demeanor.
The presence had suddenly retracted into itself when forefather Thousandleaf had revealed himself, as if that moment of change had only been a misconception. Gouyu was extremely baffled and wondered if she had in fact seen things correctly.
Was the gentle and tender Miss Huang’er in fact concealing enormous strength?
“No, no, I must’ve seen incorrectly.” Gouyu tried to convince herself. Miss Huang’er only seemed as old as the young master. She looked genteel and fragile. No matter from what angle one appraised her from, she didn’t seem like she would possess incredible martial techniques.
Sunchaser’s attacks were halted by Thousandleaf. The former’s red brow arched, “Thousandleaf, you dare come throw your weight around in my territory?”
Thousandleaf gave off an unworldly feeling as he laughed lightly and stroked his sideburns. He said faintly. “Jiang Chen is one of my Precious Tree Sect’s members, and as the forefather of the sect, I naturally have the need to protect him. Sunchaser, why don’t we just let the events of today be bygones?”
“Let the events of today be bygones?” Sunchaser’s face contorted into an enraged grimace. “Jiang Chen butchered the royal family of my Shangyang Kingdom and killed the senior executives of my Purple Sun Sect, and you ask to just let this be? Thousandleaf, are you going senile in your old age? What right do you think you have to dictate that I leave this be?”
Thousandleaf furrowed his brow lightly, “Sunchaser, the sixteen kingdom alliance is in dire straits, and you spoke with such a strong sense of self righteousness that day during the selection. Now that some changes have occurred in the selection, you’ve completely torn up the contract and been at odds with the disciples of my sect numerous times already. You say that Jiang Chen killed the royals of the Shangyang Kingdom and destroyed your sect’s senior executives, that is true. However, who started this grudge first?”
“The Shangyang Kingdom invaded the Eastern Kingdom, annihilated the Jiang clan and seized the Hall of Healing. These things happened as well, yes?”
Thousandleaf knew that Sunchaser wasn’t one to talk reason, but he still couldn’t help but want to talk rationally with the other.
“The Jiang family? Hall of the Healing? Are those ant-like existences on par with the senior executives of my sect?” Sunchaser was incensed. “Thousandleaf, shut your damned trap. If you’ve hardened your heart to protect this scum Jiang Chen, then I don’t mind teaching you a lesson as well!”
As good as Thousandleaf’s breeding may be, he was also enraged by these words. “Teach me a lesson? Sunchaser, I know of your arrogance, but your cockiness has reached new heights, hasn’t it?”
“Hahaha, so what if I am? What can you do about it? You’ve always been a defeated opponent in terms of personal strength, and the fighting capabilities of your Precious Tree Sect are less than half of my Purple Sun Sect in terms of sect strength! Why can’t I be arrogant!”
He lifted his broadsword and locked onto Jiang Chen from afar.
“Scum, even the gods descending upon the earth today won’t save you!”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “I finally understand why the Purple Sun Sect has always been one to run their mouths. They’ve inherited it all from you. Long Juxue, Shuiyue, and those two bullshit elders all said the same things to me and now they’re all dead, yet here I stand.”
Since they’d erupted in open hostilities, Jiang Chen naturally wouldn’t have any words of kindness for Sunchaser.
Since you’re burning so fiercely, then why I don’t add a bit of fuel so that you go up in even greater flames.
Indeed, these words added fuel to the flames and made Sunchaser incredibly, explosively angry.
“Die, scum!”
Thousandleaf grasped with both hands and a wooden staff-like weapon appeared in his hands. “Sunchaser, you and I are both of the origin realm, must we risk our lives in a fight?”
Sunchaser was livid in his rage. “Risk our lives? Thousandleaf, do you think you’re able to make me lay my life down on the line in a battle? I don’t mind sending you on your way if you truly wish to engage in a futile effort like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!”
Sunchaser was domineering because he had the strength to. He’d always been the undisputed first amongst the four forefathers in the sixteen kingdom alliance.
Therefore, he’d always had a strong sense of superiority when he faced the other three, and he was the most overbearing in terms of style and personality.
Thousandleaf also privately admitted that he would be the loser if he fought Sunchaser. Although there was but a hairline difference between the two of them, this was a crucial distinction in a match of life and death between experts.
However, he had no reason to back down now that things had progressed to this point.
He smiled faintly, a sense of openness in his smile. “Sunchaser, there is no shirking my responsibilities as the forefather of the Precious Tree Sect. I will protect my disciples. You may triumph over me, but it will be difficult to ensure that you can emerge unscathed. Once you are heavily injured, then your Purple Sun Sect will not be without its share of worries either!”
“Threatening me?” Sunchaser started laughing in an ugly fashion. “Thousandleaf, don’t think so highly of yourself. Why don’t you weigh up how much you’re worth first!”
Thousandleaf’s expression changed slightly.
A hearty laugh sounded from the air at this moment. “If Daoist Thousandleaf isn’t enough, what about with me as well?”
This laugh was vigorous and in high spirits, swiftly flying in from the distance.
The feel of this person’s presence meant that another origin realm cultivator had arrived!