Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 369 - 363 Zhenyuanzi Launches a Strong Attack on the Flowing Sand River【Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets】_1
Zhenyuanzi glanced at his many disciples kneeling on the ground.
His expression was calm as he spoke, "Rise. There is no need for sadness or guilt. With your abilities, it’s normal that you couldn’t break it. I never expected much from you."
Upon hearing these words, everyone felt even more heartbroken and guilty. It turned out Zhenyuanzi had never held any hope for them; he had never thought they would be able to break into the cave dwelling. All along, they had only been embarrassing themselves.
Qing Feng and Mingyue felt an unbearable shame. "Master," they said, "we couldn’t break it, and thus we can’t avenge you. Sha Chen’s insult to you is truly an insult to us."
Zhenyuanzi replied indifferently, "Enough, all of you stand up. His ability to insult me comes from his own power. If any of you had even one percent of his strength, then I wouldn’t mind being humiliated further."
The disciples felt even more ashamed upon hearing this. Zhenyuanzi was looking down on them. At the same time, they knew it was normal for him to do so; after all, they indeed fell far short of Sha Chen.
Sha Chen, merely a demoted general, had suffered much adversity here, yet he had managed to rise from a True Immortal to his present state in just over two hundred years. The cave dwelling he established was beyond their ability to breach. He was so formidable that Zhenyuanzi had personally delivered ginseng fruit, along with his calling card and an invitation, and had even gotten angry over the matter. This clearly showed how much Zhenyuanzi valued Sha Chen. It also showed how formidable and unmatched Sha Chen was—truly impressive. It was normal for them to fall short.
Zhenyuanzi asked them to step back, then said, "Move aside. I will try to break it myself."
The immortals rose to their feet and retreated, each one fervently cheering for Zhenyuanzi.
The Barefoot Immortal, Qing Feng, and Mingyue were especially ecstatic, their eyes gleaming.
"Master is finally taking action himself; he will surely be able to break through the defenses of the Flowing Sand River!"
"As long as Master takes action personally, he will definitely be able to break through the Flowing Sand River. When that happens, we must make Sha Chen pay!"
"With Master involved, how could the Flowing Sand River possibly withstand him?"
All the immortals were full of confidence in Zhenyuanzi, showing him utmost respect and politeness, their eyes shining.
However, Zhenyuanzi himself was somewhat uneasy. Through his disciples’ attempts, he had witnessed the exceptional defense of the Flowing Sand River Cave. It truly seemed impregnable. Even if he were to act personally, he wasn’t very confident he could break through; he could only try. Even he himself felt the likelihood of success was low.
Furthermore, his main hope in having his disciples attempt first was for them to recognize the gap between themselves and Sha Chen, feel shame, and then be spurred to greater efforts. Secondly, he hoped to exert pressure on Sha Chen, making him aware that Zhenyuanzi’s disciples and former subordinates were everywhere. If Sha Chen were sensible, he would come out, admit his mistake, and still have a chance for redemption. If he wasn’t, and Zhenyuanzi had to act personally, there would be no turning back.
But unfortunately, his disciples seemed to have suffered a great blow. Whether they could turn their shame into courage was uncertain, but it was clear their morale would be quite low for some time. And since they had also failed to break into Sha Chen’s cave dwelling, he hadn’t gained any further insights from their attempts. In any case, it hadn’t been very helpful, nor did it hold much significance.
He had no choice but to act himself. However, he had his concerns: if he couldn’t break into Sha Chen’s dwelling, it would make Sha Chen feel he had nothing to fear. It would also make others laugh at him, causing them to look down on him, Zhenyuanzi. This was why he had hesitated while his disciples were making their attempts. But for the chance of achieving sainthood, he decided he might as well sacrifice some face. After all, if he didn’t make a move, Sha Chen wouldn’t let him in anyway. Sooner or later, it would come to this. Acting sooner was better, lest Sha Chen grow even more formidable, leaving him with no chance at all.
As Zhenyuanzi prepared to take action, Sha Chen’s face grew serious, and his body tensed in readiness.
The Spider Demons and Chang E also looked tense and grave, hiding behind Sha Chen under the Sky Covering Umbrella. But it was evident that even there, they still felt as if they couldn’t escape Zhenyuanzi’s prying eyes from outside.
Though Sha Chen appeared normal, he could manifest his Legal body at any moment he pleased and attempt to escape. Whether he could actually escape would depend on whether his fate was strong enough. After all, that was Zhenyuanzi—a Peak Quasi-Saint with tremendous power and boundless Mana. At that time, he could only flee separately from the Spider Demons and Chang E. He guessed Zhenyuanzi would only pursue him, which might give the others a chance to survive. Alone, his chances of escaping successfully would be higher.
Sha Chen was already prepared. If Zhenyuanzi really managed to enter, he would pack up everything he could take. Anything he couldn’t take, he would burn to ashes. He would definitely not leave anything for Zhenyuanzi, as these things concerned his secrets, which he would not allow Zhenyuanzi to discover.
However, this was all a worst-case scenario. Sha Chen still had some confidence in the Chaos Chicken Cover; after all, it was provided by the system, and even Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad had been blocked by it. Compared to Lord Lao Zi, Zhenyuanzi surely fell short. The only thing worrying him was the possibility that Zhenyuanzi possessed a Spatial Divine Skill. Whether he could shatter space and bypass the Chaos Chicken Cover to enter the cave dwelling was something Sha Chen didn’t know. Now, he could only watch and see if Zhenyuanzi could do it. If he couldn’t, Sha Chen could continue his cultivation in peace. If he could, Sha Chen would have to flee immediately.
BOOM.
Zhenyuanzi made his move, and as he did, the earth and heavens trembled.
A seemingly light palm strike was unleashed, its force powerful enough to destroy the heavens and the earth, landing directly upon the Black Tortoise Cave.
The entire domain of the Flowing Sand River, within a thousand-mile radius, shook under the power of that single palm strike.
Mountains within a hundred-mile radius shattered, turning into ruins and rubble.
Numerous Mountain Gods and Earth Gods flew into the sky in terror. They watched their temples crumble to dust under Zhenyuanzi’s palm, their eyes filled with a deathly horror. But they dared not voice their anger, fear being their dominant emotion. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
At the same time, they also looked toward the Flowing Sand River, wanting to see if Zhenyuanzi’s attack had inflicted enough damage.
What they found was that the Flowing Sand River Cave remained as stable as ever. Under that cataclysmic palm strike, it was astonishingly unharmed.
HISS.
Inconceivable.
So terrifying.
The Barefoot Immortal was stunned. Qing Feng and Mingyue were stunned. The Mountain Gods and Earth Gods were stunned. All the immortals were stunned.
They couldn’t fathom, nor dared imagine, that even with Zhenyuanzi personally acting, he still couldn’t defeat Sha Chen or breach the Flowing Sand River Cave.
That palm strike was enough to make them stare death in the face. It was powerful enough to shatter their souls and deny them any chance of reincarnation. Yet, it couldn’t even make the Flowing Sand River Cave tremble in the slightest.
So terrifying.
Inconceivable.
Just how terrifying was the Flowing Sand River Cave? The Black Tortoise Cave had never been like this before.
It wasn’t just them; Zhenyuanzi himself was taken aback, his expression turning grave and his heart growing heavy. He had thought he had already sufficiently estimated the strength of Sha Chen’s Flowing Sand River Cave, but now he realized he had still underestimated it. Ordinarily, that palm strike could have easily slain a Quasi-Saint. A Daluo Golden Immortal caught in its path would have been instantly reduced to ashes. But when it landed on the Flowing Sand River Cave, it failed to even make the cave dwelling tremble. This made him question reality; it was truly beyond belief. He knew just how strong that palm of his was. It was absurdly powerful. Yet, it was useless.
Zhenyuanzi’s palm strike having no effect was beyond everyone’s expectations.
Chang E and the Spider Demons were also dumbfounded. Then, immense joy washed over them, and they erupted into ecstatic cheers.
Because if Zhenyuanzi couldn’t break into the cave dwelling, they were safe.
One by one, they ran out from under the Sky Covering Umbrella, surrounding Sha Chen and cheering excitedly.
Seventh Mother cried with excitement, "Big Brother, this is wonderful! Zhenyuanzi isn’t so impressive after all!"
San Niang also wept, "Yes, Zhenyuanzi can’t get in! We’re safe! Big Brother, your place is so secure! *Sob*, can we just stay here and never go out?"
Er Niang said, "Big Brother certainly won’t let us go out now. But if Zhenyuanzi leaves, we’ll still have to. Otherwise, we’ll just deplete your resources by staying idle and become a burden to you, Big Brother."
Sha Chen patted Er Niang’s head and said, "Er Mei is so understanding. But rest assured, I’ve taught you the Heavenly Splitting Palm, Qingyun Zong, the 72 Polymorphic Transformations, and the Eight-Nine Profound Art. You’ve also grasped some of the Three Pure Ones Taoism. With all that, among those of the same cultivation realm in this world, there are probably few who can match you now."
The Spider Demons were all delighted, nodding their heads in agreement.
What Sha Chen said was true. They had already broken through to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. With the Dao Techniques and Divine Powers they mastered, there were indeed few at the Early Stage of Daluo Golden Immortal in all the Three Realms who could match them.
After all, any single one of the Divine Powers and Dao Techniques they had mastered was enough to cause a bloodbath in the Three Realms if revealed. Yet, they had mastered them all.
If someone stronger than them appeared, they could also use Qingyun Zong to escape; given their level of mastery, not even a Pinnacle Daluo Golden Immortal could catch them.
This meant that as long as they didn’t encounter a Quasi-Saint, they were quite safe.
But Quasi-Saints in the entire Three Realms were exceedingly rare, few enough to count on one’s fingers. How could they possibly waste their time chasing after them?
It wasn’t that he underestimated the Spider Demons; this was simply the truth. Initially, when dealing with him, Sha Chen, neither the Jade Emperor nor Buddhism had sent experts of a much higher realm to deal with him directly. That was because they felt, why use a butcher’s cleaver to kill a chicken? It was under this arrogant oversight that Sha Chen had gradually grown stronger. He hoped the Spider Demons could do the same, growing strong and resilient.
Chang E might not know the Heavenly Splitting Palm, but she knew many other Divine Powers and spells, and also possessed very powerful Dao Techniques.
Moreover, as a Divine Official and the mistress of Guanghan Palace, with her status and connections throughout the world, probably no one besides demons and monsters would dare to trouble her.
Unless... it was someone from within the Heavenly Court itself.
But that was a distant concern; Sha Chen wasn’t too worried about it for now.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Zhenyuanzi struck again and again, each palm landing on the cave dwelling struck Sha Chen’s heart like a blow, making him tremble.
But Zhenyuanzi’s efforts were all in vain, completely ineffective.
A Peak Quasi-Saint, relying on brute force and Divine Powers, clearly couldn’t budge the Chaos Chicken Cover!
