It may seem complex in the telling, but it all happened in the blink of an eye.

"Wei Dan!"

Hu Xuequn’s eyes were bloodshot, his chest seething with rage.

The two had been cultivation partners for a full century, ever since their days in the Mortal World.

When they first began their cultivation, resources were scarce.

To earn him cultivation resources, she had even stooped to consorting with other cultivators.

And a woman like that—as pure as a white lotus, serene and transcendent—had just died at the hands of Chen Che.

With a furious roar, Hu Xuequn flicked his sleeves and shot forward in a streak of Escape Light. At the same time, with a wave of his hand, a massive cyan palm dozens of yards wide materialized amidst a surging gale, crashing down like the Heaven-Overturning Seal.

BOOM!

As the massive boom echoed, Chen Che leaped into the air.

The ground where he had just stood caved in, revealing an intricately detailed Hand Seal. Watching the charging Hu Xuequn, he simply raised a hand and commanded:

"Go!"

SCREECH!

The Little Chick on his shoulder let out an eagle-like screech, flapping its wings and lunging at the man.

"Get lost!"

Hu Xuequn paid the sparrow-sized Demon Beast no mind, casually raising a hand as if to swat it out of the sky. But seeing this careless display, Tang Youliang’s eyes narrowed and he quickly shouted a warning:

"That’s a Foundation Establishment Great Demon!"

"What?"

Hu Xuequn froze, the warning barely registering.

The Little Chick swelled with the wind, instantly transforming into a creature thirty feet tall, its body blotting out the sky. Its claws plunged out of the shadows and slammed heavily into Hu Xuequn.

It was like a meteorite striking the earth.

The entire volcano seemed to shudder violently. Rock shattered, a massive crater appeared in the ground, and dust billowed everywhere.

Then, with a beat of its massive wings that kicked up a hurricane, the Little Chick snatched the vomiting Hu Xuequn and soared into the sky.

Seeing one of the six Tribulation Cultivators dead and another injured in the blink of an eye, Meng Changtu was both shocked and overjoyed.

’Just a little longer!’

Just moments ago, besieged by six Tribulation Cultivators, he had been on the verge of despair. But in an instant, the situation had eased. With the combat power Chen Che had just displayed, even if he couldn’t defeat the four remaining opponents, he could at least delay them, buying Meng Changtu time to break the array.

’As long as I can break the array, this deadly stalemate will be broken!’

At this thought, Meng Changtu’s spirits soared. His aura churned like a tidal wave, each surge more powerful than the last as he desperately battered the Grand Array. A series of deafening booms echoed as the Grand Array shook violently, its surface rippling like disturbed water.

"Tang Youliang, you’ve doomed us! Why did you bring him up the mountain?!"

"How was I supposed to know? He’s clearly only at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer! Who knew he was this powerful?"

"Stop arguing! We need to kill this kid first. If we delay any longer, Meng Changtu will break free..."

WHAM!

At that moment, Chen Che descended from the heavens.

As he moved, he flicked three Celestial Spirit Pills into his mouth. His earlier strike that had annihilated Wei Dan might have seemed effortless, but it had actually consumed nearly thirty percent of his True Essence. And the four who remained were far from weak.

That was why he was taking the pills mid-battle, just in case.

"You little bastard!"

Seeing Chen Che rushing toward him, Chi Jingwei’s pupils contracted, and he gripped the Soul-Calling Banner in both hands.

FWOOSH!

The banner caught the wind and unfurled into a great white flag. As it whipped and snapped, countless Yin Souls poured out of it in a frenzied torrent.

These Yin Souls were all cultivators who had died at his hands, their very souls nurtured within the banner. For a moment, it was as if the Ghost Gate had been thrown open, an army of Shadow Soldiers marching through.

"Get out of my way!"

Chen Che waved his hand.

A black light flashed as the Black Dragon Lock Chain shot out, like a grim reaper’s hook. It tore a path straight through the army of Shadow Soldiers, instantly shredding even the souls of several Foundation Establishment Cultivators that got in its way.

After annihilating the Han Family, he had given the Black Dragon Lock Chain to Zeng Buke to be reinforced. By adding a host of new materials, Zeng Buke had upgraded it to Tier Two High Grade.

"Not good!"

Chi Jingwei was horrified. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a Turtle Shell.

The moment the Turtle Shell appeared, it erupted in a flash of white light.

A Tier Two Middle Grade Magical Artifact:

The Turtle Shell Shield!

However, the shield blocked the Black Dragon Lock Chain for less than a second before it shattered on the spot.

Realizing the danger, he immediately threw out a Square Handkerchief.

The Square Handkerchief looked ordinary, as if woven from silk and easily torn. But upon appearing, it immediately transformed into a white celestial canopy. The chain slammed into the handkerchief and immediately became ensnared as if in a swamp, most of its forward momentum instantly nullified.

Then, with a muffled THUD, it struck its target.

"Pfft!"

Chi Jingwei felt as if a Fierce Beast had slammed into his chest, and his organs seemed to rupture as he coughed up a mist of blood. At the same time, his robes tore to shreds, revealing a suit of black Inner Armor underneath.

"What kind of Magical Artifact is that?"

Chi Jingwei’s eyes were filled with absolute shock.

’If it weren’t for my many protective magical artifacts,’ he thought, ’that last blow would have killed me.’

’So many defensive magical artifacts?’

Chen Che frowned, finding the situation rather troublesome.

’Of course,’ he thought. ’These Tribulation Cultivators have killed and plundered countless times. It’s no surprise they have so many protective magical artifacts.’

"What a magnificent chain! It belongs to me now!"

After the initial shock, Chi Jingwei’s eyes were glued to the Black Dragon Lock Chain, now tangled in his Square Handkerchief, his gaze burning with undisguised greed. He could sense this chain was no ordinary item; its might far surpassed other magical artifacts of the same tier!

"Kill!"

At that moment, the other three cultivators charged at him.

"Rise!"

Chen Che glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and made a quick gesture with his fingers.

The Pure Jun Sword floated into the air, its blade erupting with a dazzling light before multiplying—from one into a hundred, a hundred into a thousand, a thousand into ten thousand. The speed at which these Illusory Flying Swords materialized was several times faster than Wei Dan’s had been.

In a near instant, they had enveloped a radius of hundreds of yards.