MY WIFE IS A BEAUTIFUL CEO

Chapter 381 - Chapter 390

Chapter 381: Don't Disturb Him

The anti-theft stainless steel platings installed, were broken by the silhouettes by hand, rather ironically. The glass window, pierced by large-caliber firearms, was not unlike a piece of paper. It only took one hit by the silhouettes before completely shattering on the ground.

With heavy steps, the two silhouettes entered the living room. Yang Chen finally managed to look at their appearance clearly. They were men from the Middle East with curly hair and dressed in thawbs. They were each holding an American-made M1911 modded with large caliber rounds. Their eyes which lacked vitality looked most surprising. There were no emotions in their lifeless eyes. One could have mistaken them to be fake.

The two men looked at Sky Dragon who was having trouble in standing up. Expressionlessly, they raised their handguns as they planned to end the lives of Sky Dragon and Ye Zi.

Sky Dragon was not usually afraid of their slow movements. However, this time, he was more afraid than usual because he was protecting Ye Zi, received two bullets in his back, and had difficulty breathing.

Ye Zi had been in shock for awhile now. Seeing that the two wanted to open fire again, she jumped to protect Sky Dragon's back. She didn't dare to allow bullets to penetrate Sky Dragon's body once again.

Having witnessed the situation, it wasn't in Yang Chen's nature to stand aside without helping. In the blink of an eye, he rushed towards the two Muslims before grasping their arms which were holding the guns.

Bullets were fired, but missed Sky Dragon and hit the fridge and the floor lamp, causing sparks to flash.

The two Muslim men didn't make a sound. Instinctively, they used quick, agile movements as they attempted to hit Yang Chen's temple and lower abdomen!

Yang Chen frowned. The more he interacted with the two, the more he felt that they were very unusual...

They seemed like combat machines whose movements relied solely on their instincts!

However, Yang Chen didn't have time to analyze the strange phenomenon as their fists were nearing his body.

He suddenly exploded the internal energy of Endless Resolve Restoration Scripture, leaking True Qi from his body, forming a force field of air surrounding him. The powerful punches were an inch away from Yang Chen's body, but they couldn't get any closer to it.

Yang Chen exerted his strength using his arms, to throw the two Muslims out the window!

The two silhouettes were like kites with broken strings as they fell tens of meters down. Two sounds of collision could then be heard.

Yang Chen wasn't bothered to check if the two were still alive. Turning around, he said to Ye Zi, "If I'm not mistaken, they were from Sandstorm. The intelligence report from your general is wrong, or you guys were played by Sandstorm and Brahma. Now, quickly bring Sky Dragon to a safe place for treatment, and immediately contact your headquarters... That is, if you can make contact with them..."

Although Ye Zi was still wiping her tears, she knew how severe the situation was. According to the intelligence report, their enemies was supposed to arrive in three days. However, they suddenly appeared in Zhonghai today. If the others were similarly ambushed, Yang Chen wouldn't be there to save them!

Ye Zi held Sky Dragon up whose forehead was full of sweat before leaving, while Yang Chen held Mo Qianni's arm before following them downstairs.

"Wh—where are we going?" Mo Qianni finally regained awareness. Although she knew the situation was urgent, she couldn't help but ask.

"I'm sending you to a safe house for now," Yang Chen said.

Ye Zi helped Sky Dragon into the car, while Yang Chen pulled Mo Qianni into his BMW.

Boom! The sound of an explosion echoed!

Violent blazes and black smoke dispersed on the floor Mo Qianni's house was at!

Dusts, sawdusts and glass shards flew out from the apartment together with smoke.

The light coming from the blaze lit up everyone's faces. Screams and yells could be heard coming from the citizens living around while deafening fire alarms set off, causing a huge disturbance.

Frightened, Mo Qianni gazed upon her apartment. It's... destroyed?!

Yang Chen's face dulled. He didn't expect Sandstorm to be this cruel. They even made their preparations to destroy the scene after killing the people inside.

It wasn't an act to cover anything up, but a form of violent attack.

Having noticed that they've failed the assassination mission, the two Muslim men had fled. Their shadows were nowhere to be found. If it wasn't for Yang Chen's presence, Sky Dragon, Ye Zi, and the innocent Mo Qianni would've died horribly before turning into ash due to the explosion!

Realizing that Mo Qianni almost died here through no fault of her own, Yang Chen couldn't suppress the anger in his heart anymore!

Ye Zi had left a white ago with a car to send Sky Dragon for treatment. The bullets in him had to be removed, then a surgery had to be done, otherwise Sky Dragon would die due to excessive blood loss.

Yang Chen didn't have time to care about Sky Dragon's condition. Following the appearance of the two Muslims, he knew that they must have had back up. From this, he deduced that the other members of the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade were ambushed as well. As a result, he had to bring Mo Qianni to safety before contacting Lin Zhiguo to understand the whole situation.

Mo Qianni seemed to have understood the severity of the situation as well. She could feel the heavy aura exuding from Yang Chen's body, so she didn't dare to speak.

Yang Chen drove at extremely high speeds to get to where they were. After ten minutes, he came to a street full of bars shone upon by various colors of lights. He then brought Mo Qianni directly into Rose Bar.

At this moment, the Sea Eagles were not his safest bet anymore. Rose's base was the safest place for now.

It was the bar's peak hour. The customers spoke loudly while the servers shuttled back and forth.

"Brother Yang..." Chen Rong originally held a smile on her face. However, she noticed that Yang Chen didn't seem to be in a good mood. She then looked at the beautiful woman beside Yang Chen who was dressed up in a simple manner before frowning. She noticed that Yang Chen was in a hurry, and immediately using the phone on the counter to inform Rose of Yang Chen's arrival.

Pulling Mo Qianni's arm, Yang Chen walked to the pathway behind the bar before coming to Rose's room.

Rose was about to go to bed when she received Chen Rong's call. She couldn't be bothered about other things at the moment. Wearing a thin silk pyjamas, she ran to open the door, only to find Yang Chen who looked serious standing outside with a woman staring at her strangely, causing Rose to be filled with confusion.

"Rose, this is Qianni. I have something urgent to deal with. I trust that your place is currently the safest place to be. I'm entrusting you with her. Watch her for me." Without saying anything more, Yang Chen pushed Mo Qianni into Rose's room. Solemnly, he said, "You two shall remain here until I return tonight. The streets of Zonghai are filled with dangers tonight. I can't explain the specific reason now. In short, gather as many elites as you can for protection now. Do you understand?"

Rose knew that the matter wasn't simple. Yang Chen was aware Rose's identity as the top dog of Zhonghai, but still informed her to not go out. Apparently, ordinary people wouldn't know how terrifying the enemies were.

"Understood. Please be careful," Rose said to Yang Chen as she grabbed one of Mo Qianni's shivering hand.

Yang Chen nodded. Without saying anything more, he turned around and left.

Mo Qianni wanted to say something to Yang Chen before he left, but she felt that her hand was grasped forcefully by the lady beside named Rose, causing her to immediately shut her mouth up.

"Don't disturb him. He can't afford to lose his focus now," Rose said with a gentle smile. "I'll be sure to protect you."

Mo Qianni had a complicated feeling when she looked at the confident and heroic woman who looked particularly charming and elegant.

What is happening tonight?

 Chapter 382 - Naga

Fifteen minutes before Yang Chen and the others were ambushed, a tall woman dressed in black, tight-fitting clothing furrowed her brows outside the military district of the Cai clan in Zhonghai. She was none other than Cai Ning who was walking towards her house while stepping on the stone tiles with her leather boots, causing footsteps to be heard.

Behind Cai Ning stood a good-looking man dressed in a western suit who held a fawning smile as he spoke.

"Ning'er, I've talked it through with my dad already. He's coming for a meeting in Zhonghai next month to meet Uncle Cai. Soon, our marriage will definitely be set."

Cai Ning stopped moving. She turned her head around before staring at the guy in exasperation. "Yong Ye, how many times must I tell you. I don't like you like that? Why can't you understand?"

He was revealed to have been Yong Ye, the leader of Second Dragon Group. He wasn't affected by Cai Ning's words at all. He chuckled and said, "Ning'er, you've been learning under the Tang Sect since young. You haven't had the chance to interact with any similarly aged guys. Except for me, no one is worthy of your grace. We're nothing if not a perfect pair destined to be together. Even if you can't see my qualities as I am now, after we get married, you'll know just how caring of a husband I am."

Cai Ning looked at Yong Ye's confident look as he made the promise. She got so angry that she laughed. "A perfect pair? Who did you hear that nonsense from? I dare you to say it again, and your face will be well acquainted with my Pear Flower Needles."

Yong Ye paled, while his gaze on Cai Ning turned cold. He cursed in his heart, Damn it! Which old bastard taught her that technique?! After she becomes mine, I'll look for a chance to break her hands. I'll see how she can threaten me then! 

Although that was what Yong Ye thought, he didn't dare to express it on the outside. He continued acting innocent as he said, "Alright, alright. I'll stop talking about it. It won't be long until we're married anyway."

Cai Ning originally didn't hold any special opinions towards this guy with a mediocre fighting ability who managed to become the leader of Second Dragon Group by relying on connections. However, he had been clinging to her for the past two years which infuriated her.

To Yong Ye, ordinary women were straight-up worthless like dirt no matter how beautiful they were. No one was as attractive to him as the beauty from the Group of Eight.

He initially started admiring her, but soon shamelessly started to chase after her. Until today, Yong Ye treated obtaining Cai Ning as a form of revenge. The more he couldn't get his hands on something, the stronger his desire was to obtain it.

Following Cai Ning's repeated rejections, which caused Yong Ye's pride to suffer, he now held the idea of having nothing left to lose, which hadn't yet been noticed by Cai Ning.

The two came to the living hall of the Cai residence. The master of the clan, Cai Yuncheng, was seated inside having tea with Abbess Yun Miao and Daoist Yu Jizi. At the same time, the other members of Second Dragon Group were here waiting for their leader Yong Ye.

Seeing Yong Ye who followed Cai Ning inside, the latter who held a displeased expression, Cai Yuncheng couldn't help but sigh.

He felt incredibly guilty towards his elder daughter. Although Cai Yan grew up rather independently, she had always had her parents by her side. However, Cai Ning was sent away from home since she was ten to the Tang Sect. Since then, she hardly returned home, while Cai Yunchung and his wife couldn't visit the confidential Tang Sect which was tightly secured. 

Thus, after Cai Ning had finished learning and returned, Cai Yuncheng and his wife tried their best to give as much love as possible to Cai Ning. However, she practised lightness skill which allowed her to move without leaving traces behind. As a result, she grew up independent of help and stayed that way. She could handle everything herself and at the same time look after her younger sister and family.

[TL note: Lightness Skill (轻功 qīnggōng) – often left untranslated as "Qinggong". The ability to lighten the body and move with great agility & swiftness. At high proficiency, practitioners of this skill can run across water, leap to the top of trees, or even glide through the air.]

Thus, finding a good partner for Cai Ning seemed to be the most effort-worthy task.

Unfortunately, coming from a wealthy clan, although Yong Ye's parents appeared to be equal with the Cai clan on the outside, they were actually from a top clan in Beijing which the Cai clan couldn't afford to displease. Even when Cai Yuncheng was aware that Cai Ning detested Yong Ye, he had to constantly remind Cai Ning not to do anything that will threaten their clan. After all, the Cai clan may not be able to survive if Yong Ye's parents wanted to go against them.

Therefore, Cai Ning had been enduring Yong Ye's absurdity. She'd ignore him whenever she could.

Abbess Yun Miao was aware of Yong Ye's intention. She snorted coldly before saying straightforwardly, "Yong Ye, perfecting your martial arts would be time better well spent than chasing this girl."

Yong Ye was pissed but didn't dare to express his anger. He knew that this old nun whose sword was much faster than her mouth was the one from the Group of Eight whom he couldn't afford to provoke the most. In addition to her seniority, all he could do was smile and nod. 

"Daoist Yu Jizi, General had me ask about Yang Lie's injury," Cai Ning asked.

Yu Jizi stroked his moustache as he answered, "Lie'er has recovered substantially. However, he still needs another two or three days before he can wake up, since he was severely damaged. He would most likely have to sit out of this battle."

Cai Ning noded. She wanted to inform her dad that she would be going to her room to rest when she suddenly noticed an approaching abnormal aura.

"Who's there?!"

It was almost at the exact moment when Abbess Yun Miao and Daoist Yu Jizi stood up as well. The bodies of the two flashed before standing in front of the living hall, facing the main entrance.

The Cai residence was brightly lit, which made the entire place look like it was daylight.

Suddenly, the sound of echoed from outside the house. Upon hearing the vague melody, everyone felt that a germinating plant drilled their ears as they tried to attack their brains!

"This is bad! Everyone, circulate Qi to protect yourselves!" Yu Jizi shouted.

It was easier said than done. Since the members of Second Dragon Group didn't have high levels of internal energy, while the ordinary soldiers of the Cai clan including Cai Yuncheng himself, only knew simple methods of cultivation, none of them truly understood the profound internal energy!

Cai Ning frowned. The first thing she did was hold her father's vest with one of her arms. Whilst she resisted the sound waves, managing to keep Cai Yuncheng conscious. 

Before the enemies even entered the house, the tens of soldiers dropped to the ground, holding their heads in agony. The members of Second Dragon Group all paled as well. The group leader Yong Ye who previously looked energetic currently appeared to be suffering.

Only Abbess Yun Miao, Yu Jizi and Cai Ning managed to focus their attention on their surroundings as they made preparations to receive a blow from the enemy.

"Hiss..."

When the sound of the flute slowly weakened, a serpent with a body the size of an adult thigh moved inside from the door!

"A Cobra?!"

Yu Jizi was the first one to identify the origin of the serpent.

"More accurately, it's the Divine Snake Naga."

A man's voice speaking Mandarin, with a heavy Indian accent, came from the outside. Shortly after, a man whose hair was braided, dressed in a black robe entered the house.

Behind the man followed a burly man with blonde hair whose chest was exposed in the air. He had bronze skin and held no expression on his face, similar to the vajras of ancient myths.

The last man who entered held a small, silver flute. He had dark, golden, long hair, a pointy nose and sharp eyes similar to those of a hawk.

Yu Jizi and Abbess Yun Miao looked at each other as they felt a sense of premonition. The appearance of the three in addition to their accent and techniques were all akin to the legendary Indian organization 'Brahma'!

The people from the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade were all in the process of getting into position. Many of them were still rushing to Zhonghai from other cities.

Their enemies took this opportunity to attack while the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade were getting their preparations done. It was obviously planned beforehand, allowing them to ambush the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade!

"The dumb shit Lin Zhiguo. He sent us the wrong intelligence report!" Abbess Yun Miao couldn't help but scold her own husband.

However, the current situation didn't give time for them to come up with a plan.

The man with black braids appeared to be the leader of the three. He said to the blonde-haired, hawk-nosed man, "Garuda, let them sleep like the other soldiers."

The man called Garuda seemed to have taken a short rest. He quietly nodded before once again blowing his flute...

In spite of being played, there was no sound coming from the flute.

However, the white eyes of the Divine Snake Naga suddenly turned scarlet!

"Hiss!"

Naga suddenly bounced up from the floor like black lightning. Opening its mouth, it shot out a green, poisonous fog before rushing towards Abbess Yun Miao and Yu Jizi!

 Chapter 383 - Mahakala and Nebula

The moment the Divine Snake Naga spat out the toxins, they instantly realized the reason those three broke into the Cai residence in broad daylight. Yet, none of them was stopped. That gigantic snake's speed coupled with the toxic mist rendered the normal soldiers nothing more than cannon fodder!

Abbess Yun Miao had her sword in hand before anyone noticed. The rainbow-colored sword danced with the wind as True Qi radiated from her body. She raised her sword which emanated bright light as the Divine Snake Naga approached.

That toxic mist was deflected by the sword light, which the latter dissipated completely. It wasn't able to pose much of a threat.

"Daoist, I'll deal with this beast! Focus on that flute blower!"

Yu Jizi had long intended to do just that. Given his impressive lightness skill, he appeared before the flute blower, Garuda in a flash. He circulated the True Qi he learned from the Kunlun Kaiyuan Mantra and sent a palm straight for Garuda's head!

[TL note: Lightness Skill (轻功 qīnggōng) – often left untranslated as "Qinggong". The ability to lighten the body and move with great agility & swiftness. At high proficiency, practitioners of this skill can run across water, leap to the top of trees, or even glide through the air.]

But before the attack struck, Garuda retreated with great speed. Soon after that, a huge, bulky man blocked Yu Jizi's way!

"Hurrk!"

The huge man got struck by Yu Jizi's Kaiyuan-internal-energy-infused palm and groaned, but he didn't move a single inch!

Yu Jizi was shocked. His palm had contained enough internal force to shatter boulders that weighed tons, yet a man was able to receive the impact and still stand strong!

"The internal energy of China truly is impressive. You should be proud that you were able to make my brother, Balarama, groan with your strike," commented the black-haired male who was watching the show.

Yu Jizi had no time to act carelessly. He took two steps back. Seeing that Balarama was more or less fine and looking at him mockingly, he felt a great rage swell within him.

"Don't think that I've run out of moves to deal with you just because you could block my palm!"

Yu Jizi observed Abbess Yun Miao's fight with the great snake. Sword Qi blasted all around and she didn't seem to be at a disadvantage at all. Relieved, he drew his soft sword from his waist.

"Azurestone!"

The sword light circulated like the light of a grand moon. All of a sudden, a yinyang bagua diagram manifested itself in the midst of the light.

"Let's see if you can take my Kunlun Bagua Dragonform Sword!"

The black-haired man furrowed his brow as if he was troubled by Yu Jizi's attack. However, he didn't intend to join hands with Balarama and instead looked in the direction of the main hall.

Cai Ning, having sent Cai Yun to safety, rushed out. She knew that her might was far inferior to Abbess Yun Miao's and Yu Jizi's, especially given the fact that Yu Jizi was someone who had entered the Xiantian realm. They were in completely different leagues. However, she had no other choice but to fight the enemies! After all, they were in her home!

Second Dragon Group's members more or less suffered some damage from the flute attack. As a result they have become quite groggy. Coupled with their fear of the Divine Snake Naga, they chose to retreat and report the current situation to Lin Zhiguo so that they could formulate a more comprehensive plan to deal with their enemies.

Yong Ye advised Cai Ning to escape, but naturally, it came up fruitless. However, she still grit her teeth in the end and opted for a strategic retreat with her group members.

"Woman, you are not worthy to be my match," mocked the black-haired man the moment he felt Cai Ning's hostile gaze.

"You won't know until we fight." Cai Ning looked completely unperturbed. In her hand were countless silver needles as fine as the hair of cows. In the other was Willowleaf Blades.

A trace of shock flashed past the black-haired man's eyes. "Are these the hidden weapons of China? I haven't seen them before. Alright. Perhaps you can surprise me somewhat after all," the man said casually, "I'm Mahakala. What of you, Woman?"

"Flower Rain."

The moment Cai Ning finished, her Willowleaf Blades were coursing towards Mahakala's four limbs and torso as well as his throat like rabid locusts!

Mahakala didn't move in the slightest. However, his black pupils turned greyish-white all of a sudden.

Following that, all the Willowleaf Blades Cai Ning flung towards him flew back towards her as if under a spell! Their speed didn't decrease the slightest bit!

Cai Ning felt a chill run down her spine. What she saw happen before her, was completely out of her range of practice. Even though she had witnessed some supernatural abilities before, she had never seen or heard of an ability that could so easily be utilized!

Were the mysterious Brahma of India really that impressive?!

Cai Ning's lightness skill was still rather impressive since she was part of the impressive Tang Sect. She managed to evade the throwing knives she flung out.

"Flower Rain, be wary against the enemy's psychic powers," cried Abbess Yun Miao, who was still engaged with the Divine Snake Naga, "The enemy has mastered the techniques of ancient yoga! Their psychic powers are not to be underestimated. That kind of supernatural ability is out of this world! Normal methods will not do!"

Psychic power?!

Cai Ning shuddered. She had seen an expert who trained in psychic power when she was younger. The psychic power could be manifested as telekinetic ability and it could be used to bend a metal rod! Back then, she didn't feel that there was much use in training in that kind of ability. But now that she had seen it in action, she knew how powerful telekinetic power manifested from strong psychic abilities could be!

"Woman, prepare yourself," Mahakala said with a chuckle, "It's my turn to launch my 'hidden weapon'."

When he finished, the countless stones, leaves and grass on the ground in his near vicinity seemed no longer be bound by gravity and floated into the air!

"I don't have hidden weapons like yours. But I can utilize anything that lays before me."

When he finished, the various pieces of scrap on the ground, became instruments of murder. Piercing through the air audibly, they all headed for Cai Ning!

Cai Ning leaped a couple of times to evade the fragment-made projectiles. At the same time, she flung out the thin silver needles in a difficult-to-recognize trajectory, aiming them at Mahakala's weak points from different directions!

"It's useless," laughed Mahakala lightly. The moment those needles were an inch away from him, all of them stopped in mid air and levitated there!

"I'll give them back to you."

Cai Ning found it hard to believe that her skill was so easily countered. If any hidden weapon could be blocked just like that, then even if she used the ultimate move of the Sky-encompassing Flower Rain, it would be merely child's play for Mahakala!

At the same time, Abbess Yun Miao noticed that the situation was turning more dangerous. She no longer dared to hold any of her abilities back. With a burst of domineering Sword Qi, she fended off Divine Snake Naga and used the blade in her hands to trace a complicated circular sector in the air!

"Nebula Sword Technique!"

Abbess Yun Miao bellowed loudly as she ascended into the air and burst through the roof. In mid air, she spiraled downwards with great speed!

Following that, the sword in her hand emanated dazzling colors; red, orange, yellow, green, purplish-red. From afar, it really looked like a cluster of nebulae!

Garuda instructed Divine Snake Naga to try to bite and hold Abbess Yun Miao. However, though the tail of the snake was incredibly powerful, it wasn't able to leap too high up in the air and all it could do was watch as Abbess Yun Miao gathered her Sword Qi fully.

Shushan's techniques were among the best when it came to its pure destructive power. Abbess Yun Miao intended to fight with her life on the line. Naturally, she wouldn't be holding back at all. She had mustered all the destructive power she could!

"Daoist, Cai Ning! Get out of the way, quick!" Yun Miao cried.

Yu Jizi and Cai Ning saw what was going on and quickly got out of the way. 

The glorious nebula suddenly exploded into a bright flash. A spherical cloud of rainbow-colored gas let out a deep hiss!

Psssssshhhhh!

Various colors illuminated the bright Sword Qi, bringing forth a sight akin to that of a meteor shower. It was like a stormy baptism on Garuda, Mahakala, and Balarama as well as Divine Snake Naga before them!

The Sword Qi acted like a razor-sharp blade that dealt judgement on them. However, it was more penetrative and destructive than any normal blade and also had explosive qualities. It was really troublesome to deal with.

Divine Snake Naga's outer skin was incredibly tough. Even though it was hurt to the point it quivered about abit, it was still able to withstand the attack. However, Garuda didn't have skin as thick as Naga's. The moment the Sword Qi struck him, he was flayed all over and was no longer able to blow his flute any longer!

Balarama, on the other hand, used some kind of unknown technique. All he did was push against the Sword Qi with both his hands. Despite the immense density of the Sword Qi, he wasn't pushed back a single step.

However, the cracks and wounds that manifested on his arms bled red. It could be seen that he didn't fare too well from the strike.

Even the calm and aloof Mahakala seemed to take it seriously. He couldn't care about the safety of the two beside him. Instead, the light from his greyish-white eyes widened in scope gradually. All the Sword Qi surrounding him seemed to be suspended by an invisible force in mid air.

When Abbess Yun Miao landed on the ground, Garuda had already turned bloody from head to toe and was no longer able to fight. Divine Snake Naga, seemingly concerned about its master's safety, rushed back to Garudas side before turning to Abbess Yun Miao and hissing nonstop.

Balarama groaned as the three stone tiles beneath him broke. Both his eyes were stained red as he rushed towards Abbess Yun Miao.

The abbess had used most of her True Qi to execute the destructive Nebula Sword Technique, so how could she continue to fight back?

Yu Jizi was well aware of that fact. He blocked the attack heading towards Abbess Yun Miao and switched to using the Jade Dragon Big Dipper Sword Technique and began fighting Balarama, who suffered quite a bit of damage! 

After enduring the great destructive power of Nebula Sword Technique, Balarama's strength wasn't like it was before. His fists and legs were clashed against Yu Jizi's abundant Xiantian True Qi that was infused in his sword, causing him to be gradually forced back.

"Retreat!"

Seeing that the situation didn't play out well, Mahakala intercepted Yu Jizi and the light in his greyish-white eyes shuddered. Yu Jizi's uppercut wasn't able to cut in!

"You and your little pesky tricks!"

Yu Jizi had not yet exhausted all of his power. Since Mahakala dared to face him, he didn't shirk back and revved up his Kunlun power to the max instead. The Xiantian True Qi gushed out like a torrent of waves and formed into a whirling flow that broke through Mahakala's psychic force field!

"Urk!"

Mahakala frantically took three steps back and barely avoided Yu Jizi's killing-intent-infused strike!

But before he was able to regain his balance, more than ten throwing stars came for the back of his head!

"Darn it!"

Mahakala knew that Cai Ning had suddenly launched her hidden weapons and was forced to divert part of his psychic power to change the trajectory of the throwing stars, before he whooshed to Balarama's side.

"Let's go!"

Mahakala knew that he wouldn't be able to take down Yu Jizi and the rest and made the decision to escape with Balarama, who could still fight.

Balarama followed Mahakala's words and didn't linger. He leaped over the walls with Mahakala and escaped.

Before Cai Ning decided to give chase, Yu Jizi stopped her. "Don't. The enemy is shrouded in darkness while we are in the light. Being ambushed will bring us endless misfortune!" 

"But..."

"Just look. Abbess Yun Miao has used up too much of her True Qi and requires some time to rest and recover. Additionally, now that we've gotten attacked, there's no doubt that some others are ambushed too. We have to contact the general immediately. Don't forget the reason for their arrival!" explained Yu Jizi as he pointed at the abbess, who was seated on the ground and regulating her condition.

"Daoist, you mean that..."

"That's right," Yu Jizi said with a solemn look, "Their main force must be heading for the aircraft carrier site. We have to notify the general and head there immediately!"

Cai Ning calmed down and took out the phone used by the internal division of Yellow Flame Iron Brigade. She dialed Lin Zhiguo's number to ask about the situation of the carrier.

The phone was picked up after a few moments, causing Cai Ning to breathe a sigh of relief.

"General, you're fine. That's great."

The other end of the phone was silent. Suddenly, a deep male voice hissed, "Are you someone from Yellow Flame Iron Brigade?"

"Who are you? Why do you have our general's phone? Where is the general?"

"Your general is fine. He's right beside me. However, it isn't convenient for him to speak to you right now," the man said in a plain tone without the slightest emotion, "As for me, they call me Mahabrahma."

 Chapter 384 - Sisters

Midnight was approaching and approaching fast. In the deep night of winter, even a city in the south like Zhonghai wasn't spared from the terrifyingly cold temperature of the night.

Rose was not a fan of the smells produced by a heater. Given that she also practised martial arts regularly, her physical capabilities were far better than that of an average person, so she didn't switch the heater in her house on.

That caused Mo Qianni, someone who was used to the conditions of a heated office, to suffer quite a bit. Though she didn't feel much initially, she began to shiver as time passed by.

However, Mo Qianni could see that Rose was only clad in a thin silk pajamas. Her two luscious legs were exposed before her just like that, so she felt a little shy to have to ask to turn on the heater. She felt as if that would make her pride suffer a hit. She wanted to prove that she was no brat spoiled by luxury.

Less than ten minutes after Yang Chen left, Rose had been on her phone the whole time, seemingly giving someone instructions. She had Mo Qianni wait for a moment and she was free to help herself to whatever beverage she wanted.

By the time Rose was finished with her last phone call, she sat opposite Mo Qianni with a smile. Pouting her luscious lips, she stretched her hand towards Mo Qianni and introduced herself. "I'm Rose."

"Mo Qianni."

This was the second time the two women shook hands, though it was the first time they introduced themselves to each other.

After a simple handshake, they hadn't a clue what to say. However, the silence felt rather awkward and they felt like they should say something to break the ice.

"You..."

"You..."

Their speeches clashed.

Rose couldn't stifle her laughter. Mo Qianni also joined in the laugh and the atmosphere felt far less stiff than before.

"I'll let you speak first," Rose said, "You're my guest after all."

Mo Qianni pointed at the heater and said, "Can you switch that on? I feel a little cold."

Surprised, Rose said, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I saw that you were dressed so lightly," Mo Qianni said. She left out the latter part of her sentence 'so I was too embarrassed to speak up'.

Rose suddenly smirked and said, "Do you know what I wanted to ask you?"

"What?"

"I was going to ask whether you felt cold," Rose said with a wink.

Astonished, Mo Qianni said with a pout, "If you knew, you should've said so earlier."

"I was lying," Rose snapped.

Feeling toyed with, Mo Qianni was quite dissatisfied. Creasing her brows, she seemed as if she was about to say something. But given that they were not on familiar terms and she was at her house as a guest, she found herself keeping it in for courtesy sake.

Rose got up and switched the heater on. Seeing Mo Qianni's pouty face, she couldn't help but laugh. "I was just messing with you. You were looking so gloomy just now. If Yang Chen comes back and sees you so upset, he'll think that I haven't taken care of you well."

As if she realized something, Mo Qianni asked, "Ro—Rose... Did you have someone come over to protect us just now?"

Rose nodded. "I called as many over as I could. Since Yang Chen mentioned that it'd be rather dangerous in Zhonghai tonight, being more careful than careless couldn't hurt."

"Do you run a security firm? Why did he say that I'll be safe here?" That was what Mo Qianni was most curious about. The woman before didn't seem that much different from herself. She also didn't look like the kind to know self defence.

"A security firm?"

Upon hearing what Mo Qianni said, Rose laughed so hard that she bent over. She then said gleefully, "Actually, I am part of a triad. I am a triad boss."

Rose felt that since Mo Qianni was someone Yang Chen brought over, there was no need for her to hide anything.

But no one would've expected that Mo Qianni would wear an expression of disbelief after hearing what Rose had said. She rolled her eyes and said, "It's fine if you don't tell me the truth. There's no need lie as such to mess with me. I'm no three-year-old child, you know. Also, what kind of triad boss would look like you do?"

Rose had her eyes widened with confusion. Why did she not believe me when I told her the truth?

"What do you mean by my looks?"

"If a triad boss really looked anything like you, how would you frighten anyone? At the very least, triad bosses have to look scary to intimidate people. And the way you speak must sound eerie and give people the chills. You look like you're a year or two younger than me. It'd be more appropriate to call you a rookie girl in the triad," explained Mo Qianni.

Rose stroked her face and said with dissatisfaction, "How do you know that I'm younger than you? I could've been born earlier than you, you know? You don't look much older than me anyway."

Mo Qianni had been in the business scene for longer than Rose and had a keener sense in that regard. From Rose's mannerisms, Mo Qianni could identify many things Rose herself wasn't aware of.

In response, Mo Qianni asked for Rose's date of birth.

Rose, refusing to believe her, spoke the truth.

It turned out that Mo Qianni was older than her by a year.

Rose felt a little crestfallen. She thought that she was the one who was supposed to take care of Mo Qianni. Yet, the status of elder sister had been passed to her!

Mo Qianni felt, for the first time in her life, that her older age was a good thing. Now, she felt like she had more confidence before Rose. "Little Rose. That's what I'll call you from now on."

Rose looked at the gleeful Mo Qianni and snapped, "Being born earlier doesn't mean anything. Let's arm wrestle. The winner gets to be the elder sister."

As she said that, Rose rolled her sleeve up and revealed her fair, slender arm and looked at Mo Qianni determinedly.

Mo Qianni had her mouth wide open. She didn't know how she ought to respond to that. "Little Rose, girls don't arm wrestle and compete with strength. That's something men do."

Rose also realized how ridiculous she was acting. It wasn't her nature to utter those words and act like that at all. Even though she was only in her twenties, she had mingled among the triads for quite some time, her experiences contributed toward who she was. So, she didn't usually look her age. Perhaps they had subconsciously competed with each other because they both knew who the other was.

Additionally, both of them were women. Apart from Chen Rong, whom she taught as her younger sister, Rose didn't have many friends, so she was much less on her guard when she interacted with others.

Just as she was thinking about her rebuttal to Mo Qianni, a knocking sound could be heard on the door.

Rose mused an answer before the door opened up.

Standing outside was Little Zhao, clad in a black leather jacket. In his jeans was an automatic pistol. The man cracked a smile and said to Rose, "Boss, we have arrived and stationed guards around the bar. Please rest well, Boss."

"Noted. Help yourselves to some good wine when the night has passed," Rose said casually.

"Alright," Xiao Zhao said curtly before he left and went to arrange for the patrols.

Rose turned back and was going to draw Mo Qianni a bath and get some rest, only to see her eyes wide with fear and shock.

"Elder Sister Mo, what's wrong?" Rose had decided to surrender, so she addressed Mo Qianni respectfully. After all, she didn't have an elder sister.

Mo Qianni shook her head frantically. "Ar—are you really a triad boss?"

Rose pouted. "I told you, it's true, but you refused to believe me. I'm one of the top bosses in the whole of Zhonghai."

Mo Qianni smiled bitterly. She thought that these kind of people had only existed in the movies. Yet, there she was, standing before her. Rose truly looked too different from the female triad boss she had in mind.

"Rose, it's okay if you don't call me Elder Sister," said Mo Qianni.

"Oh?" Rose didn't understand what was going on.

Mo Qianni bit her lower lip and said, "I won't mess with you from now on. Call me Qianni. I'll call you Rose"

Having realized what was going on, Rose pressed on teasing. "How could I? You're my senior, so you deserve to be called Elder Sister."

"I'm not as tough as you are, so that's fine..."

"Strength is a unit of measure reserved for the male species. We can't do that as girls, can we?"

Frustrated, Qianni barked, "If you continue to do this, I'll tell on you when Yang Chen gets back and have him smack your buttocks."

Rose's face flushed with a beautiful shade of red. "Elder Sister Mo... Does Hubby... Oh, I mean, Yang Chen... smack your rear?"

"You call him Hubby?!" Mo Qianni mused, "Of course not. He will definitely smack yours. Yours looks bigger after all."

It was then when Rose realized that she was clothed in nothing but a thin pajamas as she paced around Mo Qianni just now, much to her embarrassment. Even though they were both women, it was the first time she dressed so lightly in front of anyone, save Yang Chen.

She thought, Well, she's not a stranger by any means. Chatting with her turned out to be quite interesting. It feels as though we've known each other for years. Given our relationship with Yang Chen, we may meet more often in the future... The dirty thoughts in Rose's mind that she had suppressed in the past began to surface.

"Elder Sister Mo, I have some extra pajamas. Why don't you... change into them?"

"Why?"

"Hubby won't be coming back tonight. I'll be sleeping with you"

When Mo Qianni realized something was wrong with Rose's gaze, it was already too late. Rose leaped forward and hugged Mo Qianni's slender waist before she buried her face straight into Mo Qianni's bosom!

Mo Qianni's squeal resounded throughout the room before the two women burst out in laughter and screams.

Naturally, Yang Chen didn't know about the shenanigans that went on in Rose's room. Not long after he left the bar and got into his car, he planned to call Lin Zhiguo's to ask about the current situation.

But before he could make the call, Cai Ning rang him up.

Feeling a bad premonition, Yang Chen picked up the call. All the caller said was 'the general has been captured'.

Yang Chen rubbed his forehead. It seemed that things were worse off than he originally thought. However, he didn't panic and had Cai Ning try her best to contact the members of the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade. He drove to the aircraft carrier site. The Sea Eagles had provided him with that location.

The highway was clear. Yang Chen sped as quickly as he could, with questions piling up in his mind. After so many interactions, Yang Chen realized that the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade's might was much weaker in comparison to many other groups overseas. Even though they didn't lack experts, a small team like this was not enough to protect a large nation such as this.

Currently, even the general Lin Zhiguo was abducted by Brahma. While he wasn't sure what Brahma planned to do, Yellow Flame Iron Brigade's weakness was apparent.

Yang Chen began to contemplate, Is it possible that Yellow Flame Iron Brigade still has some kind of trump card? With Lin Zhiguo captured and the rest of them being a disorganized mess, is there really anything else that they could do?

Even though he had helped them out a number of times before, that was because he wished for the internal state of the nation to be more stable. But as it seemed now, they were just a bunch of headless chickens flapping and aimlessly walking around with no clear progression path.

As Yang Chen continued his train of thought, he drove through the unlit highway, a mysterious object appeared all of a sudden and charged straight at his car!

Yang Chen's vision wasn't affected at all. He realized with shock that it was an oil carrier truck that switched off its lights intentionally. It was headed straight for his car at breakneck speed!

 Chapter 385 - Undying Warrior

Seeing that the truck was headed for him and had no intentions of stopping, Yang Chen felt his blood turn cold. It was a suicidal attack!

If they collided, the oil truck would no doubt explode! It seemed that the driver of the incoming truck was hell-bent on sending him off to the afterlife, and he was prepared to die as well!

Even though he didn't fear an explosion of that magnitude, Yang Chen didn't think that there was a need for him to ram into that truck. After all, he had spent quite some time with his M3 and felt rather attached to it. Not only that, it was a loan from his wife!

It was no longer possible for him to turn back. Yang Chen pressed the accelerator flat without hesitation!

Vroooom!

The BMW was like a frenzied lion. Its engine hummed loudly as the car broke the 249 km/h mark, tracing a white, straight line across the highway, charging forward as fast as lightning!

Half a second before the point of impact, Yang Chen spun the steering wheel and pulled on the handbrake with all the might he had.

Kreeeeeeeeek!

The ear-piercing sound of tires screeching across the tar road rang out. It was loud enough to pop the eardrums of the average person.

The BMW drifted in a dangerous arc and had just missed collision with the truck. As the heat from the immense friction of braking was too strong, the tires glowed dark red like molten steel. The car stopped by the side of the road with a thick blanket of smoke trailing behind it.

As the oil truck failed to hit the car, it no longer continued to drive in that direction. After an emergency brake, the truck stopped right in the middle of the highway.

It was already the middle of the night by then. Even though there were occasional cars passing through, nobody dared to get off the car to check out what was going on. After all, that situation was far too abnormal. All the cars that drove past them sped up to get away from the incident.

Yang Chen didn't switch off his engine and got off the car straight away. Two figures stepped out of the oil truck into the illumination of the car's headlights and headed for Yang Chen.

Yang Chen quickly recognized the two men. They were the Sandstorm mercenaries that attempted to kill Sky Dragon and Ye Zi at Mo Qianni's house.

The two white hats on the men's heads were gone. Their white clothes were covered in dirt. The only thing that remained the same was the stench that emanated from the both of them.

Yang Chen was shocked. I threw those two off from a building tens of meters high, yet they're completely unharmed?!

Even though he knew that the Sandstorm mercenaries had achieved power that could rival his subordinates in Sea Eagles, their physical abilities were at least as powerful, if not more powerful, than those of Sea Eagles.

Needless to say, those two Sandstorm mercenaries had been following Yang Chen along the way and attempted to kill him. They sprung forward in unison and headed for Yang Chen from both his sides!

The two of them didn't use any firearms. It was as if they knew they would be ineffective. So, they were armed with stainless steel spiked knuckles. The moonlight glinted off the steel spikes as they headed Yang Chen's way like droplets of rain!

Yang Chen realized that his aura didn't seem to have much of an effect in intimidating them; they seemed rather unperturbed, actually. They were able to ignore the most basic fear, the fear of death!

That was definitely not something normal training could achieve. Those mercenaries must've undergone some kind of special enhancement procedure!

Countless questions filled Yang Chen's mind, but that didn't slow his movements or his reaction speed. Faced with the assault of his two assailants, he didn't use many flashy moves. Instead, he cultivated his True Qi and manifested a swirling Qi condensation on each of his hands before he engaged in battle!

The two warriors' attacks missed completely. Yang Chen's hands shot straight at their heads!

Whap! Whap!

Two low thuds could be heard as Yang Chen's palms crashed against the foreheads of the two with a force that even large boulders could not withstand. Yet, the expected sight of their heads blowing up didn't follow.

While a mist of blood burst out from their heads, they continued to swing their fists towards Yang Chen with bloodshot eyes!

Taken aback, Yang Chen thought, Their bodies have actually been strengthened the point where my attack had minimal effect! Even though I didn't use my full force, even those from Blue Storm's special forces would have had their heads caved in from that slap!

What kind of monster have the Sandstorm created?!

"Roaaaar!"

The two Sandstorm warriors said nothing. They merely roared and sent their powerful fists Yang Chen's way!

Yang Chen didn't avoid them. Even though those punches were far more powerful than an average punch, those steel spikes on the knuckles only pierced through his clothes.

After taking in their attacks, Yang Chen grasped both of them at their throats.

Snap! Snap!

Two crisp sounds rang out. With but a slight exertion of force, Yang Chen crushed the throats of the two into smithereens!

No matter how strong the average person was, the moment their throats were snapped, they would no longer be able to breathe much less move around. However, those two Sandstorm warriors only groaned in agony as they pummeled on!

Yang Chen furrowed his brow. Are they zombies?! Why does it seem to me like they're undead creatures from western mythology?! Don't they need to breathe?!

If all Sandstorm warriors were monsters like those, it would make sense for the Middle East to have been taken control by them in a mere two years. After all, training such an elite mercenary force wasn't something that could be achieved in two short years.

However, no matter how strong their physical bodies were, they were still no match for Yang Chen's god-level body. They were far from capable of withstanding Yang Chen's Xiantian Full Cycle True Qi!

The two Sandstorm warriors' heads were smashed into the ground. The damage on their heads and necks were painful to look at; indistinguishable red and white matter spilt out of them.

This time around, they seemed to be unable to continue with their attack. It seemed that their brains were their weakest points. After they were completely crushed by Yang Chen, they softened and slumped to the ground.

However, that didn't make Yang Chen feel the least bit relaxed. Even though he could fend off their attacks and crush their brains completely, the other members from the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade would definitely be horribly overwhelmed if they encountered those creatures who attacked without fear of death, they weren't even close to his power level!

Yang Chen quickly returned to his car and drove towards the aircraft carrier site. At the same time, he dialed Molin's number.

By the time Molin picked up, Yang Chen could hear the sounds of slaughter from the other end of the phone. Even Molin himself sounded like he was breathing heavily as if he was greatly enraged.

"Your Majesty Pluto! Darn it! Someone ambushed our base! These fellows seem like they're from Sandstorm!" Molin roared.

Yang Chen knew that the situation was horrible for it to be able to cause Molin to shout without caring about his tone and lose sense of his position.

"I'm on my way there now," Yang Chen said curtly.

"Don't!" Molin cried, "Since they're from Sandstorm and don't outnumber us, we want to use our own fists to defend the dignity of the Sea Eagles!"

"Are you sure you can do it?" Yang Chen asked solemnly.

"Please have faith in us," Molin replied in a deep voice.

Yang Chen didn't press the question and hung up before he advanced towards the aircraft carrier site.

However, the doubts in Yang Chen's mind only grew deeper. The men from Brahma and Sandstorm actually knew so much about the Sea Eagles whom he had stationed at Zhonghai. It was obvious that they knew Lin Zhiguo would have asked for his help. But wasn't this matter only supposed to be between me and Lin Zhiguo?! Does anyone else know about it?! Were we sold out by someone from the inside?!

Yang Chen felt the more he thought about it, the more complicated the matter got. All he could be certain about now was that there was no way he could ask any of the Sea Eagles to go to the aircraft site. He had only himself to rely on.

Through the Sea Eagles, Lin Zhiguo had given him a set of coordinates that pointed to the area nearby an abandoned port in Zhonghai. That was a rural place which people usually didn't give second thoughts about.

Every time the tide rose, huge waves would sweep over the port. According to Lin Zhiguo, the government abandoned the port because quite a number of people were swept away by the tides. At the same time, they had decided to start building the aircraft carrier site in secret.

He traveled along the rocky, curling path and arrived at the grass-covered port. The abandoned concrete structures echoed their prosperous forms back in the day. However, the workshops nearby seemed to have been completely destroyed.

Yang Chen got off his car. Three people showed up in the darkness before him. Yang Chen focused his eyes and spotted Cai Ning, who just gave him a call not long ago, as well as Yu Jizi and Abbess Yun Miao.

Yang Chen smiled bitterly and said, "Are the three of you the only ones here?"

"Unfortunately so," Cai Ning said with a worried gaze, "We weren't able to contact the others. Had it not been for Daoist and Abbess's protection, I doubt I would've been able to make it here either."

Yang Chen only just realized the pale look on Abbess Yun Miao's face. It was apparent that she had used too much of her True Qi and wasn't able to recover fully yet.

"Where is the site roughly located at?" Yang Chen asked.

Cai Ning pointed at a cliff nearby. There was an outline of a structure, barely visible, approximately tens of meters in height. Whether that was a cover that was intentionally made to hide the structure, wasn't known to Yang Chen.

"You'll reach a nearby elevator after crossing over that side. The site's entrance is at the bottom of the cliff."

"Let's go."

Without another word, Yang Chen led the three of them towards the cliff.

On the way, Abbess Yun Miao said thankfully, "I thank you for being able to come. This time, I'm afraid that we'd lose to the enemy without your help."

"Don't thank me. They almost killed my woman, so they deserve to die." Yang Chen could still remember how it felt when the Sea Eagles got ambushed. Based on that alone, if he didn't do anything about it, it would seem that he was too cold-blooded.

Cai Ning creased and asked, "Ruoxi was attacked?"

Yang Chen shook his head. "It was someone else."

An odd look flashed through Cai Ning's eyes, though she didn't ask anything else.

Seeing how ill Abbess Yun Miao seemed, Yang Chen asked, "Do you know who it was that ambushed you?"

Yu Jizi said, "I think they're called Mahaka-something, Garuda and something-Rama. Those three."

Yang Chen gave it some thought and said, "They should be Mahakala and Balarama. According to the legends of old, those two are protective Indian deities and two great avatars of Vishnu. Mahakala is slightly stronger and Balarama is the younger brother. As for Garuda, that's the divine bird mount of Mahakala."

"What? Avatar? Does this mean that they are able to fuse to become one entity?" Upon hearing about the three that caused them to flee with their tails between their legs, and how they were basically one being and one beast, Abbess Yun Miao felt completely unnerved.

Yang Chen shook his head. "I'm not really sure. That's just according to the Indian myths. Brahma is far too mysterious and there are too many versions of the ancient Indian myth that I couldn't have possibly known of all of them. I only got to hear about a few of them."

"Regardless, even if they maintained their stance, we have to find a way to stop them as soon as possible. Hopefully, the defenses on site haven't been breached yet so the general remains safe," Yu Jizi said solemnly.

Abbess Yun Miao's face darkened. She might have been worried about the carrier or her husband, whose to say which was true.

 Chapter 386 - Ganges River

Cliffs which were kilometers in height wasn't a common sight for the ordinary folk. Before, there would be people standing guard above the cliff. Whenever someone who was permitted to access that place arrived, a mechanism would be activated to hoist that person up. However, there was no one guarding the supposedly guarded place.

Fortunately, Yang Chen and the others were quite proficient in their lightness skill. They were able to scale a cliff like that by using the protruding rocks as footholds to jump off.

The top of the cliff was rather leveled. However, one wouldn't notice without intense scrutiny, an elevator-like mechanism at a corner of the cliff.

Naturally, nobody would wreck that. After all, even if the place was invaded, the enemies would have need for it as an escape route too. There would be no reason for them to cut it off. Not many could rely on the strength of their own bodies to descend from a cliff.

After the four of them entered the elevator mechanism, Cai Ning searched around for a button and pushed it. The elevator began to descend gradually.

Thirty seconds later, the elevator arrived at a secretive, depressed area at the cliff. However, there was a steel platform from inside the depressed area serving as an exit from the elevator.

It was obvious that the place was meticulously designed. The surrounding rocks made it difficult for one to see the elevator from the outside. Every nook and cranny of this place was meticulously designed.

Along the metal platform, they saw an alloy electrical door; it was left open!

"They've managed to get in, I knew it," sighed Abbess Yun Miao.

"That isn't the worst part. It would be if they've already left after destroying everything," Yu Jizi said.

A question suddenly occurred to Yang Chen. "Have you guys come here before?"

The three of them shook their heads. Cai Ning explained, "Had it not been for this current mission, none of us would have known about this secretive aircraft carrier site."

Yang Chen gave it some thought and nodded. "Then, let's go in."

Upon entering, they discovered that the walkway itself spanned at least a hundred meters long tunneling deep into the heart of the mountain. The light in the surroundings only brightened the deeper it was. It was obvious that the lighting of the facility was rather complete. 

When they emerged from the door on the other side, they were greeted by a large expansive space!

It was hundreds of meters in height and approximately a kilometer in width. All of it was reinforced with strengthened metals ladenned with mud and clay.

Various types of electronic devices littered the whole area. At the center was a wide river-like structure that should be the docking bay of the aircraft carrier.

What was odd was that for an aircraft carrier, it lacked any form of aircrafts!

"Has the carrier been moved away mid-construction?" Cai Ning muttered, noticing that something fishy was going on.

It would still not seem out of place if there had been traces of battle and destruction there. The place's current state made the others wonder.

"Let's go further in to check it out. Someone was definitely here," Yu Jizi said.

The four of them walked for quite a bit. Within the space that seemed as wide as an underground world, it didn't look nor smell bloody and ruined as it might have been should a battle have occured. Instead, the place was completely clean. There was also nobody there at all. It was as if all the workers had taken a day off.

"Wait a second," Yang Chen said as he stopped and looked at an elevated platform beside him.

The three of them followed his gaze and saw a familiar person clad in an army uniform tied up in a chair. That person seemed to be unconscious.

"General?!" Cai Ning cried. That was Lin Zhiguo, the one alleged to have been captured by the so-called Mahabrahma.

In an instant, more than ten oddly dressed figures appeared into existence on the previously empty tall platform. They regarded the four newcomers with a calm look.

The leader was a pink-skinned man. Given how wrinkled his face looked, he was probably quite old. He wore a gold-embroidered top hat and a long white robe. In one of his hands were a bunch of agate prayer beads and in the other was a normal-looking black bottle.

"For you to be able to arrive here... I believe you must've defeated my subordinates. How surprising and praiseworthy," the man said without a single change in expression.

Yang Chen checked out that person's clothes and asked with a furrowed brow, "Are you Mahabrahma?"

Mahabrahma looked rather surprised. "You must be the newly appointed Pluto. I didn't think you'd be so young. I have long been looking forward to our meeting."

"Enough banter. If you want to fight, let's get on with it." Seeing Lin Zhiguo tied up there unconscious, Abbess Yun Miao fumed with rage. Even though she hated him thoroughly, he was still the man she had wedded before. Though she had brought her granddaughter to live in seclusion in the mountains, she had never mentioned cutting off all relations with Lin Zhiguo. They even got into quite heated fights whenever they met. Abbess Yun Miao's feelings for the man still hadn't been completely extinguished.

"Humph, big talk coming from a bunch of cowards," a black-ponytailed man who stood beside Mahabrahma said in a cold, raspy voice. It was none other than Mahakala.

Abbess Yun Miao pointed her sword at Mahakala. "Even though I let you escape before, let's see about now!"

"Abbess, don't be reckless! We are outnumbered," Yu Jizi advised in a hurry.

"So what?! We'll fight when we have to!" the Abbess cried. She leaped forward and sent a wave of Sword Qi towards the other group of people.

However, the impressive Shushan Sword Qi that was easily able to cut through metal and break through jade didn't cause them to panic in the least.

Mahabrahma placed the agate prayer beads into the bottle. When he took them back out, the droplets of water that covered the beads flew towards the Sword Qi!

Kreeeeaaaaahhhh!

Loud and sharp cries of ghosts rang out. Those water droplets formed into countless greyish skeletal forms of wronged spirits. They widened their mouths and bit down on the Sword Qi!

Following the collision was a period of silence. However, those skeletons didn't seem to be affected much. They cruised straight towards Abbess Yun Miao!

They had shown a display of their demonic art. Abbess Yun Miao mainly trained in the way of the sword, so she'd never seen anything like that before. Given that she was a woman, she feared ghostly creatures to no end! She was flabbergasted almost immediately!

 

"Duck, Abbess!"

Yu Jizi dashed before Abbess Yun Miao and covered her back with one hand. With the other, he swiftly traced a big dipper sign before him, causing blood crimson True Qi to begin flowing in the air.

"Kunlun Talisman Technique, spiritual scattering!"

Various talismans manifested and attached themselves to the skulls of the skeletons. The crimson talismans emanated a bright gold light and caused the skeletons to dissipate before they were able to cry out in pain.

Kunlun Sect specialized in martial arts, talisman spells and pill making. Their exorcism techniques as well as their evil dissipation techniques were the perfect counter for ghoulish creatures like those.

Yang Chen didn't think that Yu Jizi possessed that kind of ability, causing his impression of the old daoist to grow much better. He said, "My guess was right. The water contained within Mahabrahma's bottle is water from Ganges river. Legend says that Brahma created life through the use of water from that river. Ganges is a holy river in India and it was worshipped by them long before any of us came to be. For some reason, countless amounts of people would kill themselves by drowning in the river. As time went on, the aura of death built up in Ganges's water. Daoist, Abbess, you must be careful."

"Your Majesty Pluto really is well-informed." Mahabrahma wasn't mad at all to see his move countered. He asked with a look of interest, "China is indeed a place with lots of talented people in hiding. The holy water from Ganges was condensed with great amounts of negative energy. I didn't think that they would be neutralized that easily."

"Heh, that's only child's play. The way this daoist sees it, you're not the king! You're a demon!" cried Yu Jizi with anger. He drew the Millennium Wooden Peach Sword from his back. That spirit-repelling wooden sword was more effective against ghostly powers like he ones displayed before him.

"King of the Sky, let me see what this daoist is capable of." an eye-catching man said with a feminine voice as he stood out.

That man looked extremely handsome and had really fair skin. He had messy blue hair and a hairstyle befitting the ancient Indian monks. A silver ribbon was tied on his head and his crescent-shaped earrings shone brightly. He wore a string of terrifying skulls around his neck, each one looking like it would open its mouth and swallow a person whole.

The man's upper body wasn't clad. All he had on was a tiger-pelt which was covering his abdomen. What was even more shocking was the hissing cobra wrapped around his waist! 

Yu Jizi didn't care who it was that stepped forward. The talisman diagrams on Millennium Wooden Peach Sword crept along its body as Yu Jizi pierced it straight toward the odd-looking man.

"Humph," the man snorted coldly. He opened his bluish lips and puffed air out strongly!

Whoooooosh!

The loud sound of blowing wind emanated from the man's mouth. From it came a whirlwind, covered in bluish-purple lightning, spurted out from the man's mouth!

"Demon!" Yu Jizi exclaimed. However, his body was suddenly assailed by the wild current, forcing him to be pushed back!

Yang Chen and Cai Ning's expressions fell immediately. Cai Ning had absolutely no clue what she was up against. Having a rough guess about their identities, Yang Chen cried out, "Daoist, that one of the three high gods of Indian myth, Shiva, Lord of Destruction. He can control storms and lightning!."

"Hahahaha, do you think that's all I can do?" Shiva made a sharp cry before he leapt toward Yu Jizi.

Yu Jizi's Kunlun technique was already being circulated to its peak. Yet, he was cautious with his attacks. He whipped out Jade Dragon Bagua Sword and rapidly attacked Shiva's onslaughts.

The cobra around Shiva's waist suddenly shot out in a blur. It opened its bloody mouth and spat out a gorgeous purple-colored flame!

"Taste my World-ending Arcane Fire!"

"How dare you stand there and call yourself the god of destruction when all you do, is resort to simple tricks like these?!" Yu Jizi cried with rage. He infused his Xiantian True Qi into his sword and slashed the purple flame, causing it to dissipate. At the same time, a streak of sword light headed for Shiva's neck!

Shiva didn't sidestep it and only curved his body backwards like a bridge. He managed to avoid the attack at an unimaginable angle.

"Indian Yoga?" Yang Chen could recognize that technique.

However, Yu Jizi's battle with Shiva hadn't ended just yet. The people on the platform no longer sat idly and watched. Five more of them jumped down and glared at Yang Chen and the other two. 

The brothers Mahakala and Balarama faced Abbess Yun Miao and each revealed cruel smiles.

Mahakala said, "I didn't use my full power before as it wasn't the right time to do so. However, now, I shall bestow onto you my full power while you accept your death."

Abbess Yun Miao snickered. "Try it if you can." Even though she had expended quite a bit of her True Qi, she didn't fear the situation before her at all.

At the same time, a seductive woman with tanned skin appeared beside Cai Ning. Charm oozed out of her being.

That woman was barefoot and wore a long silver bracelet. A simple glance from her was enough to send waves of irresistible charm. That kind of beauty was not normal, yet it was hard to point out exactly what part of it felt wrong.

"Hohohohoho..." the woman laughed as she looked at the earnest-looking Cai Ning, "I heard that the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade has eight guardians. Brahma also has eight guardians, and I am one of them: Asura. Girlie, humor me with your might."

In Indian myth, the devas represented the gods of the sky, whereas the suras symbolized the demons, each having eight guardians.

Among the suras, the males were ugly to the extreme while the females were extremely beautiful. The devas had great food but no women, however, the suras had beautiful women and no good food. That was why the gods and demons fought to no end.

The woman before Cai Ning looked exceptionally beautiful, so it wasn't odd for her to call herself a female sura.

However, to Cai Ning, no matter how beautiful she was, she was still her enemy, one that she couldn't grasp completely. The enemy's moves looked incredibly odd, causing her to feel quite nervous.

Yang Chen looked at the other three. Seeing that they were still not in any grave danger, he focused on the two standing before him.

 Chapter 387 - Ice and Fire Intertwining

The two expressionless, puppet-like members from Brahma, looked completely different from the others.

One of them had a red face and was clad in a red and gold robe. Vedic mantras were embroidered on the robes. In one hand was a short, golden sword on which a symbol of flame was engraved.

The other person wore dark blue pants and was topless. His raven-black hair clung loosely to his waists. He wasn't armed. Instead, he held a small ancient silver bell in one hand and a thin, silver snake coiled on his other hand. There was a fine line stretching from the head to the tail of the snake.

Yang Chen gave them an inquisitive look. With a laugh, he said, "If I'm not mistaken, you must be the Fire God Agni and the Water God Varuna respectively. Whoa... You may look intimidating, but let's see if you can match your looks to your might."

"We dare not claim to be gods before Pluto," Agni said expressionlessly. At the same time, golden flames enveloped his golden short sword.

"Ah, and I thought you were being polite. Is that all it took to anger you?" Yang Chen said jokingly.

The flame on Agni's sword cast a shade of red on his bronze-colored face. He looked as if he was a deity who was born out of flames. "Today, it is my desire to learn a thing or two from clashing with you, Pluto. That was the reason we've come to China, so please don't disappoint me."

"For my sake?" Yang Chen looked at the empty aircraft carrier site and his heart sunk with the realization. Could the aircraft carrier base be nothing but a red herring?!

"We want the God's Stone!" exclaimed Varuna as the silver snake on his arm snapped upwards. What was odd was that the silver snake's tongue was actually light blue!

The silver snake continued to spin quickly in the air. Frost began to congeal around its body. At the same time, the silver snake was frantically devouring the frost in the surrounding area!

In an instant, the silver snake that used to be as thick as a finger had expanded into a gigantic cobra as thick as a man's thigh after ingesting the frost in the air!

The gigantic cobra bared its fangs, sending a white mist of bone-chilling cold wind toward them.

Yang Chen said with a thoughtful look, "Why do you seek the stone as well? Is the stone really that valuable to you?"

Actually, Yang Chen already had a hunch that this was completely different from what he first expected.

The people from Brahma dared to target him with no reserve. That only showed that they had indeed come for God's Stone. That was why they were willing to antagonize him without hesitation.

The question was: why would they use the aircraft carrier as an excuse? Was it solely to lead him there? Or was there another reason for it?

Regardless, the current situation didn't provide Yang Chen the luxury of contemplating the situation. Agni and Varuna's intertwining attack of ice and fire was about to reach him!

Whoosh!

When the searing, flame-covered short sword was a few meters before Yang Chen, it was swung downwards all of a sudden!

A blade of light carrying intense heat came slashing down at Yang Chen!

The silver bell in Varuna's hand rung clearly. Its crisp ringing sounded like a tune to summon the spirits. When the gigantic frost serpent heard the seemingly unrhythmic tune, it leapt into the sky and swung its ice-crystal-covered tail towards Yang Chen!

Seeing as the blade of flame and the snake's tail were about to strike him, Yang Chen chose not to evade their attack. All he did was take one step forward. He conjured a field surrounding him with his Xiantian True Qi that managed to disperse the blade of flame as well as mitigate all the force of the gigantic cobra's strike!

Agni and Varuna weren't surprised to see their attacks ending up futile.

Agni was fast, swift, and agile. After swinging out the two blades of flame, he appeared right in front of Yang Chen and raised his sword, preparing to strike again with his flaming, golden sword!

Varuna, on the other hand, dashed behind Yang Chen and rang the silver bell in his hand at a quicker pace. The gigantic frost cobra tried to coil itself around Yang Chen with its huge body.

However, Yang Chen's field wasn't something that could be broken easily. When Agni's sword crashed into Yang Chen, it was bounced towards the ground and wasn't able to touch him one bit.

That golden flame fell onto the stainless steel platform and a loud hiss ensued. The terrifying heat actually liquefied the metal it fell on!

Agni's gaze turned dark. He was well aware of the heat his short sword could generate. However, that man's odd protective field rendered his attacks useless!

Seeing that Agni's high-temperature slashes were futile, Varuna instantly instructed the frost cobra to start constricting Yang Chen in an attempt to break his field with pure force. At the same time, it was releasing a mist that was a few degree Celsius below zero!

Shards of frost scattered around in the air. The gigantic cobra seemed to be turning into a crystalized snake as it glowed blue with the cold.

Agni saw that Yang Chen's field wasn't broken despite the cold. The short sword in his hand burned brighter than ever as he leaped into the sky and sent a streak of crimson-red flame into the frost flow created by the gigantic cobra!

Ice and fire clashed around Yang Chen, grating against one another nonstop, creating various explosive bursts of air!

Yang Chen revealed a slight smile. "It seems that you may possess some skill. However, you're far too naive to think that you'll be able to obtain God's Stone just like that!"

The moment he said those words, Yang Chen was no longer interested in watching their 'performance'. He decided it was time to deal with them. Knowing Brahma's intentions for obtaining God's Stone in such peculiar manners was secondary.

Yang Chen stretched one hand into the midst of the ice and fire and grabbed onto the weak point of the cobra near its heart and gripped it tight!

Bam!

A clear sound rang out as Yang Chen's True Qi smashed through the cobra's head unabated!

The frost in the area began to dissipate. The moment the gigantic snake died, Varuna spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped back a few steps with his face completely pale!

Agni, sensing that things were turning south, quickly fled the scene.

However, Yang Chen didn't intend to let him escape. In a flash, he flew right above Agni's head!

Agni would've never imagined that he could be so terrifyingly fast. With a swift but firm kick, Yang Chen shattered Agni's head! It exploded in mid air like a watermelon being smashed to pieces!

Mahabrahma, who was standing on the platform up high, wore a grim expression. He had finally realized that he did not possess the capabilities to deal with Yang Chen. While Agni and Varuna could only be considered subpar subordinates of Shiva, they were still far stronger than the most elite special forces in the international sphere. Yet, they were unable to take even a single of Yang Chen's strikes!

At the same time, Mahakala and Abbess Yun Miao's battle was already nearing its climax. Though she had expended most of her True Qi, Mahakala was still unable to take her down.

Cai Ning and the female sura's battle was incredibly chaotic. Flower Rain made use of her agile lightness skill and swift hidden weapon techniques while Asura responded in kind with her crescent-shaped scimitar at a similarly fast speed.

The strongest among them, Yu Jizi, on the other hand was beating back Shiva gradually at the sea port. The various demonic techniques used by Shiva were completely useless before Yu Jizi's Kunlun Talisman Techniques. His Xiantian True Qi contributed to the countless number of cuts across Shiva's body, causing the latter to be bleed profusely.

Yang Chen calmed down and looked at the high platform. With a laugh, he said, "Mahabrahma, I see that your subordinates aren't faring too well."

"Humph." Mahabrahma smirked. "Pluto, the general of the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade is still in my hands. If you force my hand, I'll personally ensure his ascension to heaven. Also, did you not take note of the absence of those from Sandstorm?"

Yang Chen was shocked with realization. There wasn't a single person from Sandstorm present at the carrier. It was the thing he feared most. Even if those from Sandstorm were pursuing the scattered members of the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade, they would return to regroup after they had completed their mission, unless they were completely wiped out. But that didn't make any sense.

There was another point which Yang Chen found to be odd. He only saw Lin Zhiguo alone while Gray Robe was nowhere to be found.

Don't tell me that the old man that is only second to Abbess Yun Miao was also killed by those of Brahma and Sandstorm?

"If you know what's good for you, hand us the God's Stone. We can promise you that we won't bother you about the loss of Agni and Varuna and release Lin Zhiguo as well. Otherwise, you will have to face the consequences of your actions," Mahabrahma said with a sinister look.

"Don't! You can't give them the God's Stone!" cried Cai Ning, who was still in combat with Asura after hearing about Mahabrahma's desire for Yang Chen's God's Stone.

Yang Chen was stunned. He didn't think that Cai Ning would say something like that. The one taken hostage was none other than their general. It would seem that the sacrifice of their general was a small price to pay for god's Stone not to end up in the ends of their enemies.

Looking at Yu Jizi and Abbess Yun Miao's expressions, Yang Chen could confirm that they were willing to give up Lin Zhiguo than having Yang Chen hand over the God's Stone.

That was especially the case with Abbess Yun Miao. Even with her eyes bloodshot at knowing the fact that her husband, Lin Zhiguo, was most likely going to die, she still grit her teeth and followed through with her decision.

"It seems that you don't have enough chips to gamble with," Yang Chen said with a sigh. He began to consider whether he should slaughter the rest of them before doing anything else. If he was quick enough, he might have enough time to save Lin Zhiguo. However, given the distance between them and the Brahma members standing before them, that chance was slim.

Suddenly, Mahabrahma squinted as Mahakala whispered something to him. He cracked a bright smile as if victory was already in his hands.

 Chapter 388 - Agni and Varuna

"Perhaps, Your Majesty Pluto might want to turn his attention to this," Mahabrahma said while asking Balarama to retrieve a hidden projector. It was a device commonly found at the site, but no one knew what the Sandstorm members were going to show them.

Yang Chen had a bad feeling about it. After around ten seconds, Balarama switched on the signal-receiving device, and projected a screen onto the silver-white, metal wall behind them.

It only took one look for Yang Chen to turn serious.

On the screen showed a villa. It was none other than the one belonging to Ruoxi in Dragon Garden.

Since it was already late at night, the lights in the villa were all switched off, while there were two Sandstorm soldiers dressed in blood stained Muslim clothing, standing on the lawn. They were both standing on top of two white men's corpses!

Yang Chen recognized the dead bodies. They were members of the Sea Eagles sent to protect Lin Ruoxi and the others!

Their intention was obvious. Sandstorm had found out the location of his house, and was aware of who was inside. Since they murdered the people responsible for the safety of the house and its occupants, killing the four women in the house was an easy job.

Although Hui Lin was a rather capable fighter, she was still weak when compared to Abbess Yun Miao. Holding off one undying warrior from Sandstorm would already pose a challenge to her, while confronting two of them was straight-up suicide!

To make matters worse, everyone from the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade and the other soldiers from the Sea Eagles were all either in combat or killed. None of them would be able to any spare members to save Lin Ruoxi and the others inside the villa.

Yang Chen finally knew what Mahabrahma's trump card was. He teamed up with Sandstorm to threaten Yang Chen with the lives of his family, in an attempt to extract God's Stone from him.

Although Yamata Sect did something similar, the situation he was faced with was completely different.

Earlier that time, he had the opportunity to kill the three jinnins, so they were left at a disadvantage.

This time, unless he was able to teleport back to the villa, he had to hand over God's Stone. However, it was possible that Lin Ruoxi and the others would be brought away as hostages. After all, he had no say in the negotiation!

The women at home would all die if he refused to hand over God's Stone. If he did, however, decide to do so, it was very likely that they'd end up as hostages regardless!

Although this move wasn't that incredible and unpredictable, it was incredibly difficult to execute.

Firstly, it was evident that someone must've found out everything about Yang Chen in detail. Secondly, they had to have enough manpower to drag the people from the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade in addition to getting the coordinates of his team of Sea Eagles. More horrifyingly, these people were new to Zhonghai but managed to know the specific location of each member from the Dragon Group and the Group of Eight. It was as clear as day to Yang Chen that there was a spy within them!

Yang Chen felt greatly oppressed as he was deeply intertwined in a major scheme.

At the same time, having noticed that they had the upper hand, Siva and Asura returned to the platform, to stand beside Mahabrahma, as they ceased their fights.

The only losses on Brahma's side were the deaths of Agni and Varuna. The remaining core members were left unharmed.

"Your Majesty Pluto, I hope you're aware that we've prepared countless measures to confront you, having travelled thousands of miles to Zhonghai. We've also predicted the possibility of you fighting with us with all your might due to your unwillingness to give up God's Stone.

"However, God's Stone is a non-living thing after all, and holds little to no benefits to you. Why don't you give it to us? If you do, we'll let your wife go," Mahabrahma said with a cold smile.

Yang Chen took a deep breath. Smiling, he asked, "Only my wife? What about the others?"

Mahabrahma answered with a smile, "We'll temporarily 'protect' your mother. After we believe that it's safe to return her to your hands, we'll send her back to China."

Yang Chen suddenly realized something. There certainly is a traitor!

Other than the few people who were close to Yang Chen, nobody knew that there was someone other than himself and Lin Ruoxi, living in the villa. Before the two Sandstorm mercenaries even entered the villa, Brahma had already known that there were other people living there. Someone must've leaked it to them.

Furthermore, he had only brought Guo Xuehua home a few days prior, but Brahma knew that she was his mother and took her as a hostage. It was obviously a plan put together beforehand!

Just who provided them with the information, which allowed them to gain control of the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade and the Sea Eagles? Yang Chen couldn't properly think it through at the moment. He had to deal with the situation at hand. If he didn't relinquish his possession of God's Stone, there would only be one way that this matter would end up in—to fight at all costs.

However, whenever he thought about Lin Ruoxi or Guo Xuehua being killed by the Sandstorm mercenaries, Yang Chen's heart would ache immensely. Although he was filled with blazes of anger, he was also at a loss, which made him feel immensely anguished.

"Yang Chen, don't listen to them. Even after you give them God's Stone, they'd still bring Ruoxi and the others away. Then, you really will be left with nothing!" Abbess Yun Miao said, in an attempt to stop Yang Chen from giving in, as soon as she noticed his reluctance. She advised, "God's Stone is incredibly important. If you give it to these monsters and they develop a new kind of god, not only will China be in a trouble, the entire world would suffer from their hands!

"Yeah, Mr Yang, General is Abbess's husband, but she was willing to sacrifice her husband for the greater good. You have to think on behalf of the world and all the innocent people in it," Yu Jizi said nervously. He had heard legends about the power of God's Stone. It was said that Yang Chen had managed to slaughter a god using God's Stone, which had some form of credibility to its ability.

Cai Ning, on the other hand, stared at Yang Chen with contradiction. Deep down in her heart, she hoped that Yang Chen would choose to save Lin Ruoxi, Hui Lin, and the others. Being a woman, she found it overly cruel if a man were to give up his woman for the stone. However, she was also aware of the consequences as a result of handing over God's Stone to Brahma!

Yang Chen was quick to make his decision. He lowered his head in silence before raising it up again. "I'll tell you where it is. Can you order your men to retrieve it?"

"Yang Chen!!!"

"Mr Yang!"

Yu Jizi and Abbess Yun Miao were astonished, while Cai Ning was torn about how she felt. The gaze she fixed on Yang Chen gradually became a blur.

Mahabrahma laughed, while Siva, Mahakala, and the others revealed arrogant looks of victory as they gazed upon Yang Chen and the others with disdain.

Mahabrahma signalled Mahakala, the latter of whom said, "Your Majesty Pluto has made a wise decision. Tell me where it is, and I shall order my men to search for it through a secret technique."

Yang Chen ignored the shocking looks showed by Yu Jizi and the rest. Calmly, he said, "God's Stone is at an underground garage in the villa. Ask them to first enter the garage, head north..."

As Yang Chen spoke, Mahakala placed a finger in between his brows, as if he was using some kind of psychic powers to remotely communicate with the two Sandstorm soldiers.

One of them held a camera while the other was responsible for the search.

The place Yang Chen led them to was a hidden corner in the wall, which he had hid the black box in, upon moving into the villa. The black box was revealed after the loose brick was taken out.

When the three jinnins threatened Yang Chen using Lin Ruoxi and Wang Ma as hostages, Yang Chen took out a fake God's Stone from the same black box before.

When Mahakala directed the two soldiers, it was obvious that Mahabrahma and the others were suppressing their elation, as their dream was quickly coming true.

Abbess Yun Miao and Yu Jizi, however, held a bitter expressions. Unable to stop Yang Chen, all they could do was watch helplessly as Yang Chen revealed its location.

Slowly but carefully, the soldiers opened the box.

On the screen, the black box was revealed to be empty. There was no trace of any object placed within it.

Mahabrahma's face turned dark. Disappointed, he said with a deep voice, "Your Majesty Pluto, your joke is not well received... Don't think for a second that we will hesitate to kill your family."

Yang Chen snorted in contempt. "Are you guys idiots?"

"What?!" Balarama exclaimed. "Did you just insult us?!"

Yang Chen laughed. "You guys are idiots, aren't you? Has anyone of you seen God's Stone in the flesh before? Do you actually know what it looks like?"

"What do you mean..." Mahabrahma spoke as he slowly came to a realization.

Yang Chen pouted and said, "The black box itself is God's Stone!"

 Chapter 389 - Orinos

Upon hearing what Yang Chen had said, everyone present was stunned. None of them ever considered that the object of countless people's desires... was an average-looking black box!

"It seems as if you guys don't believe me. Ask the two soldiers to try using any way possible to destroy it. Even if you attempted to scratch the surface of the box with diamond, there would still be no damage on it," Yang Chen said with a smile as he shook his head.

It was clear that Yang chen was the only person in the world privy to this knowledge. When he returned to the country, he put the box-shaped God's Stone in the bathroom of his small, rented apartment.

After moving in to Ruoxi's villa, he then hid the stone in the underground garage.

Yang Chen had considered tossing it into the Mariana Trench, a place where no one was able to reach, given the current technology. However, he was afraid that as time passes by, it'd be obtained by a country who developed the technology to retrieve it, if he put God's Stone in a place he wasn't able to control. Thus, he had placed it at the last place people would have suspected it to be in—his own house.

It was safe to assume that most people wouldn't have expected such an important item to be kept in such a lame way, which was inside the wall. The most dangerous place was ironically the safest place as well.

Moreover, since no one has seen it, no one would doubt the legitimacy of the crystal inside the box to be God's Stone, so he placed a man-made crystal inside as a decoy. Even when it was found, the crystal inside would most likely be treated as God's Stone itself instead of the box.

Naturally, Mahabrahma had no reason to believe him completely. As a result, he ordered Mahakala to inform the two soldiers to attempt to destroy the black box.

On the screen, one of the soldiers threw the black box forcefully on the ground. After using one of his feet to ensure it was firmly etched into the ground, he took out his American-made nighthawk dagger before exerting all his strength into striking the box!

Clink!

Following the deafening sound produced by the dagger striking the box, the nighthawk dagger broke into two pieces!

Everyone present was finally convinced. The dagger was one which could scratch the surface of a diamond, but it it broke with one strike to the black box.

"It is God's Stone indeed," Mahabrahma said as joy surfaced on his face.

Abbess Yun Miao and the others sighed. Their hope in stopping Brahma was destroyed. They had thought that Yang Chen would fool them with a knockoff, like what he did to Yamata Sect. Apparently, he had given them the real deal.

"Yang Chen, you might have caused the lives of millions in one act. Tell me, are you able to see the consequences through?" Yu Jizi asked with a smile.

Yang Chen smiled faintly. "If I continued to keep it, there's no telling how many more will come for it. I may be referred to as a god but I am no god, not a real one anyway. There's no way for me to protect it forever and provide safety to my family at the same time. So, giving the stone away was the only way that I could free myself from this burden."

"Even if that's the case, you shouldn't have passed it to people who are only going to use it for evil," Cai Ning said softly as she looked at Yang Chen strangely.

Yang Chen shrugged his shoulders. "It's not up to me to decide whether they're good or evil. I'm not a well-respected hero that protects his country and its people, I'm just a simple man with a family."

A strange light flashed in Mahabrahma's eyes. "Your Majesty Pluto, I admire your words. It's certainly better to let go of such a burden. However, just in case anything else happens, I've decided to take one more measure..."

Mahabrahma said to Mahakala, "Ask the two to enter the villa and tie up those women."

A smile appeared on the corners of Yang Chen's lips. He had anticipated this. Even if he handed in the God's Stone, they'd still kidnap Lin Ruoxi and the others.

At the end of the day, obtaining God's Stone was one problem while the bigger problem was keeping Yang Chen from murdering them. Taking Lin Ruoxi and the others as hostages was the only plan they could come up with to leave China safely.

In the past, Yang Chen had lived alone. So he never had to worry about others close to him being hostages. Today, Lin Ruoxi, Guo Xuehua, Wang Ma, Rose, Mo Qianni, and his other women were his weaknesses. Of course, he wouldn't hate these 'weaknesses' as a result.

Yang Chen had considered letting someone he could trust ensure their safety. However, ignoring whether their safeties could truly be ensured, such a move would have a drastic impact on the lives of these women in the country. Moreover, the senior management of China would certainly get nervous, as the ability of facing an unknown power was overly frightening to them, not to mention Zhonghai would become a low-key focus of the world.

Instead of doing so, he was better off moving these people whom he cared for overseas to live with him.

However, all of his women were independent people. Setting aside how he was going to make them interact with each other with peace for now, why would they agree on being protected and fed like domestic canaries? It was no different from chronic suicide to them.

Thus, although Yang Chen repeatedly risked being threatened, all he could do was try to balance between freedom and safety.

Unexpectedly, he was faced with a more brutal threat this time round. Most importantly, the protective umbrella provided by the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade was completely ineffective.

However, Yang Chen didn't plan on allowing Mahakala to instruct the two soldiers to take Lin Ruoxi and the other women away.

Being gazed upon strangely by everyone present, Yang Chen said in the direction of the closed alloy doors on his left, "Hey, the one standing behind the door, enjoyed the show so far?"

Yu Jizi, Yun Miao, and the people from Brahma turned their heads to see who it was.

"I thought you were just a defective product. I didn't think you could notice me."

The closed doors were pushed open from the middle. A tall and strong figure walked out from behind, revealing himself.

He was a handsome young man from the Middle East dressed in a loose, translucent white linen shirt, with a pair of light blue jeans. His left cheek was tattooed with a bronze spear, making his appearance more sinister. The young man had a fair skin relative to other Middle Easterns. Especially through his blue eyes, one could easily tell that he was of a mixed race.

His black, curly hair scattered behind his back. A sparse moustache could be seen on his face. He wore a silver earring and a platinum ring with a ruby at its core. He looked like a lazy man much like Yang Chen usually was.

"Orinos, why are you here?" Mahabrahma felt confused upon seeing this young man. "Have you been leading the movement of Sandstorm all this time? Why didn't you tell us beforehand?"

As soon as he spoke, Yu Jizi, Yun Miao, and Cai Ning were dumbstruck. Is this young man the leader of the most brutal mercenary group in the Middle East?! Which means he's the rumored person who miraculously created Sandstorm within a mere two years! Why did he suddenly appear?!

The young man called Orinos seemed to have completely missed what Mahabrahma had said. The lazy attitude on his face soon vanished, which was replaced by greed and excitement. Staring at Yang Chen, he said, "It's been more than 500 years. I didn't expect something and someone worthy of my intervention to appear only after 3 years of my awakening. Please don't disappoint me."

"I knew it had to be you. It'd only make sense if you're the one behind this. I was wondering why the zombie-like, undying warriors appeared. So it's because you've awakened. Except for you, the madman who craves for battles and wars, no one else would conduct the 'God Creation Experiment' banned by the gods, forming a batch of half-dead warriors to help you battle around the world." Yang Chen sighed before smiling bitterly. He continued, "I heard from the previous Pluto that you were forced to have been reborn early as a result of fighting the woman for God's Stone. So what do you want now? Did you come to bleed again?"

Killing aura surged on Orinos' face. This level of killing aura was much stronger than Yang Chen had seen in the past. Even the one exuded by the dead Noriko Okawa couldn't rival such a level.

It was as if the young man exuded an aura akin to an ancient army of the undead—the drums were as loud as thunder, while the war cries of the horses sounded like a tsunami, causing people to tremble in fear!

The surging, irresistible aura sent chills up the spines of the elites from Brahma standing on the platform including Mahabrahma himself, in addition to Yu Jizi, Yun Miao, and Cai Ning. As if a sandstorm was brewing in their hearts, they felt pale and weak when standing around this young man!

The people from Brahma found it hard to resist the aura coming from the young man's body, and revealed fear on their faces. Being the ones who hired Sandstorm this time, they apparently weren't aware of the arrival of their leader at Zhonghai. This was the only thing that they had not planned for.

To make the matter worse, they noticed that this 'store' didn't appear to be friendly towards them as the customers!

Yang Chen, however, fearlessly stood by as the young man's anger climbed to its peak. Pleased, he said, "Although I'm not the Pluto you used to know, he told me that the thing you hated most, was being provoked. Also, even when you know you're being provoked, you would still solve every single problem in combat.

"Alright then. According to Treaty of the Gods, I need a god to challenge me into a duel for me to 'unseal'.

"Ares, allow me to defeat you like Athena has before."

"You wish!"

Ares burst into laughter. "Do you really think that I would hold off any attacks just because you avoided provoking me?! The old bastard had long been bored of his life. Did he think this could be dealt with by looking for a little guy? You don't deserve to be a god. You're nothing but a knock-off. Stop embarrassing yourself in front of me. Not only do I want God's Stone today, I want to take your life as well... Prepare to be reborn or end your own life..."

The conversation between Yang Chen and Ares shocked everyone once again.

Ares? Did Yang Chen just call this young man 'Ares'? Was this young man 'Ares'?!

The people present all had extensive knowledge. Even if they didn't know what the Treaty of Gods was, they understood the meaning of the name 'Ares'. He was one of the Twelve Olympians—the God of War!

 Chapter 390 - Unseal

Almost everyone couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. But then again, they had no reason not to trust Yang Chen. Moreover, the horrifying aura released by Orinos alone wasn't something they could withstand.

In the enormous space of the aircraft carrier site, an immense amount of pressure materialized in thin air all because of one enraged man. Everyone felt their organs compress; there was even a force strong enough to push them away!

Yang Chen, was the epicentre of the pressure. Although Ares's aura wasn't strong enough to actually cause physical damage, it was more than enough to signify his intent for battle.

"Damn it! Isn't he called Orinos?! Why is he the God of War now?! I wasn't made known of this before!" Balarama yelled.

"He has already taken so much money from us. Why is he pressuring us as well?!" Asura shouted on top of her lungs.

Red light flashed on the agate prayer beads held by Mahabrahma. It served as a small field to shield his men from the pressure, allowing them to relax slightly. "No matter what the reason is, it seems to be much more complicated than what we think it is. Sandstorm might've accepted our employment to get a chance of snatching God's Stone for themselves. I believe we've just been used!"

His speculation made his team feel sick in their stomachs. They were so close to seeing the God's Stone in person. However, they were used as a tool by someone else to help them obtain God's Stone! They were even treated as cannon fodder!

Absentmindedly, Cai Ning's gazed lingered upon the two young men opposing each other as she recalled the data regarding the God of War Ares. Softly, she said to Yu Jizi and Abbess Yun Miao, "According to the legends, after Queen Hera touched a flower in Orinos Garden, the God of War Ares was born... That must be the reason why he was called 'Orinos' earlier."

"This... Why did it have to turn out like this?" Yu Jizi asked bitterly. He used to think that, although his might wasn't the best of the best in China, there should be very little people who could oppose him. However, upon his descent from the mountains, not only was he surprised by Yang Chen's ability, he also failed to truly defeat Brahma, not to mention the god that suddenly appeared, whose aura he couldn't even withstand.

This was when Ares asked with a smile, "The new Pluto, do you only know how to play passive and endure my aura? Where's your aura?"

Yang Chen turned his head back to look at Cai Ning and the others. "Leave, go as far as possible from this place and don't look back. Don't do anything reckless. I have everything in control."

The three knew that Yang Chen wasn't kidding around like he usually did. His face was much too serious. Since they could barely resist the aura emitted from Ares's body, Yang Chen who was similarly a god on the same level, could naturally exude something similar.

"This is where we shall leave as well!"

Following Mahabrahma's shout, he ran towards the main entrance of the site. Mahakala, Siva, and the other elites of Brahma trailed not far behind in an attempt to escape from the impending battle.

Lin Zhiguo, who was unconscious on a chair at the upper platform, were the last things on their minds as they fled.

They were well aware of the difference between their powers and those of the gods. Although they could threaten Pluto by taking his family hostage, there was nothing they could do to control the God of War who had randomly appeared out of nowhere!

"I have waited years on end to unseal my powers. What makes you think I will let you run away?"

The sound of Yang Chen's cold voice echoed in front of Mahabrahma.

Mahabrahma who was in the middle of his escape, raised his head up, only to find Yang Chen who appeared in front of him!

Putting aside his horrifying speed, Yang Chen's average-looking face together with his mediocre physique was acting like a tall mountain as he pressed onto their heads!

Just like Ares, Yang Chen had unleashed his deathly aura!

"Pluto! If you dare to hurt us, I'll order the two Sandstorm mercenaries to murder your family! I planted my consciousness in their bodies, I—"

Mahakala wanted to threaten Yang Chen yet again in an attempt to secure his life. However, before he could finish his sentence, he had completely disappeared into thin air!

Given no chance to resist, the seemingly invincible Mahakala had been wiped from the face of existence, leaving no traces behind!

"It's... it's space fragmentation!" Mahabrahma shouted in astonishment.

The other elites from Brahma were dumbstruck as well. They had no clue how Mahakala had disappeared just like that. Even a magician would not have performed it so flawlessly!

"Oh? You are aware of this ability?" Cold light flashed in Yang Chen's eyes. "I wouldn't have unleashed my powers to kill you all, if you had left obediently after taking God's Stone away. After all, the mad desire of the people who seek God's Stone would have been taken from me by you, which frankly, just saves me time and energy. However, instead of taking it and leaving, you chose to threaten me with my family. That was the final nail in your coffin."

Ares didn't plan to intervene as he watched Yang Chen confront the people of Brahma. Loudly, he said, "Pluto, stop narrating. Get rid of them quickly; I'm starting to get extremely restless."

Mahabrahma's face reddened. Knowing that his life was at stake, he yelled, "Everyone don't panic. Help me kill this guy, regardless if he's a god or not!"

The people from Brahma immediately understood what he meant. Together, they threw all their weapons to Mahabrahma!

Mahabrahma tossed the agate prayer beads he had been holding into the air. It started blazing with a fiercy, red flame before attracting all the weapons and fused them together!

Not long after, the blaze suddenly exploded, and from it a huge monster emerged from the light!

Snakes filled the monster's head as if they were its hair. It had eight limbs and four heads, with each one of its hand holding a unique weapon, the same weapons used by the members of Brahma earlier. A greenish-purple devil's flame surged as it surrounded the monster. It was also riding on a beast which looked like a snow lion.

Yang Chen sighed, "You've finally used it. I've heard of the secret technique which was used to summon the protective mother goddess Durga. I thought you were just going to run away. Instead you decided to use it. I'll allow you to die in the most satisfying way possible."

Mahabrahma appeared to be exhausted after using the skill. He snorted and said, "Humph. Goddess Durga would have no problems killing someone like you!"

According to the ancient Indian myths, Bull Demon King, the dominator amongst devils, was so strong that he managed to chase Indra and the other deities out of their heavenly palace. After that, Brahma, Siva and other gods cooperated to summon Goddess Durga with blazes of hatred. In addition to the magical weapons given by the various gods, Goddess Durga managed to defeat Bull Demon King with ease.

So, Goddess Durga was considered to be the strongest being in ancient India!

Yang Chen looked at the brilliant light surrounding Goddess Durga as she swung her trident and crescent-shaped blade at him. He stood there with no intention of dodging her attack.

Just when everyone thought that Yang Chen was slashed, they suddenly noticed that Goddess Durga appeared behind Yang Chen!

Boom! Boom!

Two deafening thuds resounded as a result of the ground being slashed apart. The force cut through the steel plates, breaking the granite ground beneath it. The attack completely missed Yang Chen!

The strike which was supposed to land on Yang Chen's skull missed his body completely!

"Space folding?!"

Mahabrahma paled as he realized the hopelessness in his situation.

Yang Chen wasn't in a mood to continue messing with them. "Alright, piss off just like your great brother Mahakala."

As soon as Yang Chen finished speaking, without giving the members of Brahma a chance to speak, the space around Yang Chen started changing!

Crack! Crack!

Multiple cracking sounds echoed throughout the carrier. All of Brahma's elites including Mahabrahma had their bodies split into two!

Their upper bodies separated from their lower bodies and fell onto the ground, with their faces still in shock. Shortly after, their lower body fell as well, causing a stream of blood to flow like a river!

"Sp—space... dis—ruption..." Mahabrahma stammered before losing consciousness, with his eyes open.

Following Brahma's deaths, Goddess Durga vanished as well while the weapons she was holding fell.