Chapter 1781: A Fierce Struggle Against Chanlong
"Chanlong, this kid might be young, but he's a supreme prodigy. You can't kill him. Are you certain you want to keep fighting him?" The trapped soul asked master Chanlong. He was clearly rather hesitant.
Master Chanlong's expression remained the same. Not only did his killing intent not weaken, but it even became heavier instead. He said coldly, "Jian Chen ruined it all for me, so how can I let him go? So what if he's a supreme prodigy. Do it."
With that, the eight trigrams disc in master Chanlong's hand shone brightly. Countless lines of complicated and profound inscriptions flickered, creating a set of armor completely composed of flickering inscriptions on him. At the same time, his hand seals varied, creating formations after formations in space that shot towards Jian Chen.
"What a madman. Chanlong, you're mad. You're even willing to offend supreme prodigies. I can already see that you won't be able to live for another a hundred years. I can see your life being ended in the kid's hands in a few decades," the trapped soul said angrily. Although that was what he said, he did not choose to stand around. He swished his tail and directly charged for Jian Chen. He said in the meantime, "Kid, you clearly saw everything. The one who wants to do things to you is not me, but that old man called Chanlong. In the future, if you want to take revenge, directly take revenge against Chanlong. Don't blame me."
With that, the soul controlled the huge python. With a crack, he sent the python's tail towards Jian Chen mercilessly.
Jian Chen also moved. His gaze was cold as cold killing intent flickered in his eyes as well. Chaotic Force circulated within him, filling up every inch of his body. He did not dodge the python's attack. Instead, he directly charged towards master Chanlong.
Bang!
The python's huge tail slammed into Jian Chen's back, turning his back into a bloody mess. It revealed white bone.
However, as soon as the wound appeared, it rapidly closed up under Jian Chen's circulation of Chaotic Force. He healed up so quickly that the soul within the python sighed in amazement.
Jian Chen borrowed the force of the attack to charge towards master Chanlong even faster. He moved with lightning speed. He put his palms together as he controlled the power of the Laws of the Sword. A white sword Qi extended from his hands as it surged brightly. It stabbed towards master Chanlong's head as if it was unstoppable.
Master Chanlong was stern. Jian Chen simply moved too quickly. Not only had his huge python failed to stop him at all, but it had even allowed him to move even faster instead. He was unable to finish casting down his killing formation in that time at all. An incomplete killing formation was completely useless against Jian Chen with his power.
With no other choice, master Chanlong formed two seals with his hands and called out, "Explode!"
With a boom, the incomplete killing formation blew up loudly. Terrifying energy shockwaves wreaked havoc in the surroundings. The energy was so powerful that even peak Gods would be reduced to ashes if they were struck.
The shockwaves immediately injured Jian Chen. He rapidly circulated his Chaotic Force, and on the surface of his body, Chaotic Force seemed to be flowing through. He used his tough body to endure the shockwaves.
His clothes were reduced to dust, revealing his slender body. Soon afterwards, bloody marks appeared, and blood flowed out. However, in the next moment, all the wounds closed up at a visible rate.
"Linear Lightning Release!"
Jian Chen suddenly formed a hand seal amidst the violent energy. As the seal was completed, the blown back Jian Chen turned into a bolt of lightning. He seemed to have become an extremely large sword, shooting towards master Chanlong with unbelievable speed.
Bang!
Jian Chen used the Linear Lightning Release to stab master Chanlong with his own body. The armor from the inscriptions of master Chanlong's eight trigrams disc immediately dulled while the terrifying force launched him far away.
Although master Chanlong was a late Overgod, he mainly focused on formations. Open battles were his weakness. Now that he faced Jian Chen, he was unable to use his formations immediately, so he immediately fell into a disadvantaged position.
Killing intent flickered through Jian Chen's eyes. He pursued master Chanlong as the huge python attacked him from behind. The python lunged towards Jian Chen with its gaping mouth open.
With a single movement, Jian Chen left behind an afterimage and appeared before the python's heart in an instance. Forming a seal, he used the Daluo Sword and a golden sword Qi immediately appeared over his hand.
Jian Chen extended his right hand and directly grabbed the Daluo Sword, heavily stabbing down on where the python's heart would have been.
However, the golden sword Qi shattered when he stabbed it down. It failed to harm the python at all. The place that he struck was unimaginable tough.
"Kid, why are you targeting the place where my defences are the thickest?" The soul within the huge python said complacently.
On the other side, master Chanlong was already several dozen kilometers away. He had become a black speck. He hovered in the sky, and blood oozed from the corner of his lip. His hands had turned into a blur as he changed between his hand seals as quickly as he could. He began to cast down formations as he tossed out a formation banner.
Jian Chen knew that he would be at a complete disadvantaged once master Chanlong managed to finish casting down a formation. He glanced at the python coldly before no longer bothering with it anymore. He quickly charged towards master Chanlong instead. At the same time, strands of sword Qi shot out like bolts of light, tearing through the sky as streaks of light towards master Chanlong.
"You're not allowed to run. Chanlong wants me to keep you busy. Kid, just blame Chanlong." The huge python swung its tail and stopped Jian Chen.
Jian Chen's face sank. The huge python before him was extremely tough all over. It was quite difficult for him to harm it at all with his current strength.
Suddenly, two strands of Profound Sword Qi appeared above his head. The Profound Sword Qi were only the size of a finger but the sword intent they gave off even struck fear into the hearts of late Overgods.
"This again... Kid, don't shoot, don't shoot. Just don't shoot at me. Shoot it at Chanlong," the trapped soul immediately became terrified when it saw the Profound Sword Qi. It rapidly retreated, clearly extremely frightened of the Profound Sword Qi.
Chapter 1782: A Crisis of Life and Death
"Unless I shoot both strands of Profound Sword Qi, it'll be very difficult for me to deal heavy damage to the python with the toughness of its body. However, the trapped soul seems to fear my Profound Sword Qi very much," Jian Chen immediately thought of this when he saw the soul's reaction. Just like last time, he struggled to damage the python in an open battle, but the soul became extremely frightened as soon as the Profound Sword Qi appeared. Even though he knew that Jian Chen would struggle to injure him with just a single strand of Profound Sword Qi, he was still terrified.
"If you keep standing in my way, I'm not going to hold back," Jian Chen said coldly. His two strands of Profound Sword Qi were extremely valuable. If he could scare away the python, he would rather not use them.
"I'll move, I'll move..." The trapped soul controlled the python to move far away as it looked towards Jian Chen with fear. However, upon closer inspection, it was quite obvious that it did not fear Jian Chen. Instead, it feared the two strands of Profound Sword Qi above Jian Chen's head.
Jian Chen ignored the soul and charged towards master Chanlong who was casting down formations. His gaze was icy cold as he shot over as a streak of light. Killing intent surged from him, and he launched the two strands of Profound Sword Qi at the same time.
Swish! Swish!
The two strands of Profound Sword Qi whistled through the air gently as they shot towards master Chanlong with unbelievable speed.
Master Chanlong had understood the power of the Profound Sword Qi long ago, so he immediately used his eight trigrams to block it. At the same time, he completed the final line of inscriptions and bellowed out. The formation suddenly activated, surrounding a region of a hundred kilometers.
Boom!
At the same time, the Profound Sword Qi flew over with unbelievable speed, slamming into master Chanlong's eight trigrams disc.
The inscriptions on the eight trigrams disc flickered and dulled. The disc was pushed back and immediately slammed into master Chanlong's body, shattering the layer of protective inscriptions on him.
Master Chanlong paled, but before he had time to catch his breath, the second strand of Profound Sword Qi struck his eight trigrams disc heavily.
The inscriptions on the disc were all reduced to nothingness after taking on two consecutive Profound Sword Qi. The entire disc faded and lost all its color before slamming into master Chanlong again from the great force.
Spurt!
Master Chanlong vomited blood as he was blown away like a broken kite. He was powerful, but his body was nowhere near as tough at Jian Chen's. After the disc struck him twice, he became extremely injured. The second strike caused an especially great amount of damage. Not only had all his organs and bones been reduced to mush from the terrifying force, but blood oozed out from his pores, dyeing him red.
Master Chanlong directly fell out from the sky and struck the ground heavily. It created a deep pit as he lay in there while breathing heavily. He was now powerless, unable to even climb to his feet.
If it were not for his cultivation that protected his body, the eight trigram disc would have probably reduced him to a blood splat.
After all, he had not been struck by regular attacks but the God Tier sword technique, the Profound Sword Qi.
More importantly, it was a sword technique that had reached the apex of God Tier.
Even with Jian Chen's current strength, he was unable to display the full might of the Profound Sword Qi. However, it was more than enough to deal with Overgods, particularly when he used two strands at the same time.
Now, Jian Chen had entered the formation space. He had been taken to a fire-red world that was filled with terrifying heat; it was even enough to burn the air. There were endless chains of volcanoes and pools of magma below him. The volcanoes all spat out fire. It was not ordinary fire, but fire with the power of laws condensed from the Laws of Fire. The laws had reached the level of Overgods.
Even the pools of magma were filled with the power of the Laws of Fire. Even Gods would be burnt to a crisp if they fell into these pools.
Jian Chen became rather stern. Master Chanlong was not skilled in open battle, but he possessed great mastery over formations. He had even garnered the title of formation master. As a result, Jian Chen feared master Chanlong's formations very much, and he was unwilling to give him the time to cast any down at all.
Unfortunately, he still failed to stop master Chanlong, allowing him to cast one down successfully.
At this moment, the space around Jian Chen trembled gently. Space rippled slightly as the terrifying heat in the surroundings soared at an unbelievable rate. It was so hot that even Deities would be burnt to ashes in such an environment.
The endless chains of volcanoes beneath Jian Chen spat out huge pillars of fire towards the sky. From a distance, it seemed like the ascent of fire dragons, making for a grand and majestic sight. They also seemed like pillars that held up the heavens, supporting the world and creating a shocking sight.
Jian Chen's face changed drastically when he saw the pillars of fire appear. He consumed the last Soul Recovery Pill he possessed without any hesitation and charged towards the pillars of fire quickly.
At that moment, he sensed a threat. It was the greatest threat he had sensed ever since his arrival at the Saints' World. It had even exceeded what he felt in the hopeless situation he faced in Godking Duanmu's dwelling.
The appearance of the threat made Jian Chen go crazy. He roared out as he pushed himself to release all the potential in his body, attacking the pillars of fire with his full strength.
He could already tell that the pillars of fire that connected the earth and heavens were about to change into another formation, and the formation was enough to threaten his life.
"Master, destroy the pillars of fire immediately. Once the pillars of fire turn into a formation again, they'll even be able to kill weaker Godkings," the sword spirits' voices rang out in Jian Chen's head as they panicked.
Very clearly, Jian Chen truly faced a life-threatening danger this time. The sword spirits that rarely spoke after he had come to the Saints' World had been roused.
Master Chanlong lay on the ground as he stared at the formation he had cast down. He wanted to move his arms. However, as soon as he tried to do anything with them, a heart-wrenching pain appeared, and his forehead became covered with beads of sweat.
"The second form of the formation needs my personal guidance to be completed. Once it reaches the second form, Jian Chen is dead for sure," master Chanlong clenched his teeth as craziness filled his eyes as well. He endured the pain as he tried to move his arms.
The second form required the corresponding hand seals to activate, and hand seals required fingers.
However, right now, even all his bones had shattered, let alone his two hands. He was unable to move his body at all.
"Chanlong, you alright?" The trapped soul swished its tail as it arrived before master Chanlong slowly. It sighed gently as it looked at master Chanlong, and then it said seriously, "Chanlong, I thought you'd die to that kid in a hundred year's time, but it looks like it'll be today instead. You can't kill that kid unless you complete the second form."
"Cut the bullshit. Grab my healing pills. I need to heal my arms immediately and complete the second form," master Chanlong said weakly.
"Alright. Although I know it's very difficult for you to kill the kid today, but I still do hope you can kill him. I really don't like his two strands of sword Qi," the trapped soul said. Afterwards, it extended an illusionary arm to take out pills from master Chanlong's Space Ring and directly fed him the pills.
Chapter 1783: Breaking Out with Full Force
Master Chanlong's medicine was nowhere near as potent as the Ninerefined Lifegiving Pill from Tong Tian, but it was clearly of high quality. The pills immediately transformed into a powerful healing force as soon as it reached his stomach, expanding through his body. It began to heal master Chanlong's wounds.
However, master Chanlong directed all the medicinal effects to his arms. He wanted to recover his arms in the shortest amount of time possible and complete the second form of the formation so that he could kill Jian Chen.
"Hurry up. Hurry up. This is too slow," master Chanlong worried inside. He had witnessed Jian Chen's power, and Jian Chen's terrifying recovery rate had shocked him greatly. If he could not complete the second form of the formation that he had cast down after so much effort, he would not be able to kill Jian Chen.
"Quick, feed me all the pills," said master Chanlong; he did not find the healing speed to be fast enough.
...
Jian Chen attacked a pillar of fire that reached into the sky in the formation space with full force. Deafening booms constantly rang out. He used the Daluo Sword and the Taiyi Sword Technique time and time again. He even used his fists.
Jian Chen's attacks could be described as a storm-like barrage right now. It was extremely intense, and even mid Overgods would not be able to endure something like that.
However, when he barraged one of the fire-red pillars, he actually failed to destroy it.
Jian Chen calmed down and stopped. He became extremely stern. He glanced past the countless pillars that reached into the sky and growled, "Each pillar is connected to the formation space. They're all interconnected. Attacking a single pillar is equivalent to attacking all the pillars here, or even the formation space itself. My attacks have been completely dispersed. Unless my attacks surpass what the formation space can withstand, I won't be able to smash through this formation."
"This formation is extremely powerful. Even if I shoot out my two strands of Profound Sword Qi at the same time, I won't be able to destroy it forcefully. Looks like I can only go with a second option, and that's to waste away the energy of the formation as quickly as possible. Once it loses all its energy, the formation will crumble by itself."
Jian Chen sat down. As the effects of the Soul Recovery Pill expanded, the power of his soul recovered rapidly.
In just a few seconds, Jian Chen's eyes snapped open. A strand of Profound Sword Qi had appeared above his head, and without any hesitation, he shot it out directly towards the pillar before him.
Boom!
A deafening boom rang out in the formation space. The entire formation trembled gently after taking on the attack from the Profound Sword Qi, and it quickly flickered in color, dulling a lot.
"Daluo Sword!"
"Taiyi Sword Technique!"
"Sky-severing Strike!"
Jian Chen immediately used his various sword techniques after shooting the Profound Sword Qi. Chaotic Force revolved around his fist as he hurtled it towards the pillar time and time again.
After consuming a large number of pills, master Chanlong finally recovered some mobility with his arms. Without any hesitation, he immediately gritted his teeth and raised his arms slowly while enduring the pain. He began to form the necessary hand seals.
As his hands still had not completely recovered, he formed hand seals extremely slowly. Each new seal would cause him tremendous pain, and his face would pale while his forehead became covered with sweat.
As master Chanlong went from one hand seal to the next, all the pillars of fire in the formation space exploded with light. The countless pillars slowly began to move.
The formation was changing!
"No, master, use the twin swords. You can't let the pillars of fire change into another formation. Once the formation within the formation is complete, even weaker Godkings can be slain," the sword spirits' voices rang out in Jian Chen's head.
"Master Chanlong really is worthy of being a formation master. His formations can actually threaten Godkings while he's just a late Overgod," thought Jian Chen. Although he had fallen out with master Chanlong already, he still had to admire master Chanlong's mastery over formations.
Suddenly, azure and violet light rose up from Jian Chen's body. In a time of life or death, Jian Chen could no longer worry about the consequences of having the twin swords exposed. He directly drew them.
He wielded the Qing Suo sword in his left hand, while he held the Zi Ying sword in his right. Huge beams of light emitted from the tips of the swords. As he swung them around, the beams of light sliced at the fire-red pillars with devastating might.
Although the twin swords were of the same grade as the Flying Snow sword, the Flying Snow sword was nowhere near them in terms of power because the twin swords possessed sword spirits.
After so many years of recovery, Zi Ying and Qing Suo had made some progress even though they were still nowhere near their peak condition. They had been recovering countless times faster than on the Tian Yuan Continent after coming to the Saints' World.
As a result, the two swords now possessed some power from the sword spirits.
A burning presence suddenly appeared on the Zi Ying sword as terrifying power was being charged up.
The Qing Suo sword emitted a chilling presence. It was frigid, enough to freeze off entire regions. It was also extremely terrifying.
The sword spirits were using their power source, which was the Supreme Yang Force and Supreme Yin Force.
Supreme yang and supreme yin arose from chaos, so they were also known as Supreme Yin Force and Supreme Yang Force. They were so powerful that they ranked towards the top among the three thousand ways, no weaker than the power of the Way of the Sword, the Laws of Destruction, or the Way of Slaughter.
In fact, it was even slightly stronger than the laws that were known to possess the greatest offence.
If supreme yin and supreme yang were united, they would directly create Chaotic Force! That was the most terrifying power in the world!
However, Zi Ying and Qing Suo had not fully recovered yet, so their Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang Force did not possess the power it did when they were at their prime.
Outside, master Chanlong moved between hand seals painfully and arduously. Excitement had appeared in his eyes. He was about to complete the second form.
"Just one last seal!" Master Chanlong smiled victoriously. He had finally relaxed his nervous heart at that moment as well.
Rumble!
At this moment, a deafening sound rang through the surroundings. Violet and azure sword Qi surged into the sky, dyeing the entire region violet and azure. However, the light vanished in just a split second as if everything before was just an illusion.
The formation cast down by master Chanlong high up in the sky had been ripped open. Jian Chen emerged from it in a rather horrible shape. His gaze was cold and filled with heavy killing intent.
Chapter 1784: Chanlong's Flight
Master Chanlong's face became extremely ugly as he looked at Jian Chen who had broken out. He knew he had lost his chance to kill Jian Chen. Moreover, in his current condition, he had even lost the basic ability to move, let alone battle.
"Let's go. Quick, there's a teleportation formation disc in my Space Ring. Let's leave here quick," master Chanlong said to the trapped soul. His voice was filled with regret.
He was so close! He was so close to killing Jian Chen!
"Chanlong, you've finally realised it. You might not be able to live for another a hundred years, but living for a few years longer is always better than dying here," the trapped soul said seriously to master Chanlong. His stern voice made it seem like he was not making fun of or joking with Chanlong.
It was also at this moment that a bright, white light surrounded master Chanlong and the trapped soul. They immediately vanished; the teleportation disc had transported them away.
Boom!
Just after they were sent away, a golden sword Qi struck the deep pit where master Chanlong lay in earlier. Dust and sand were immediately kicked into the air with a boom.
In the distance, Jian Chen hovered in the sky. Even though he was rather pale and was in a rather horrible shape, his cold eyes shone brightly. His presence was prominent as sword intent surged towards the sky.
"I actually let him escape..." Jian Chen gazed in the direction where master Chanlong had vanished from. His killing intent did not decrease and became even heavier than before instead.
Master Chanlong had forced him to use the twin swords. Although he put the swords away immediately when the formation was destroyed, he did not know whether master Chanlong could see what was happening within the formation.
"It's fine if he hasn't seen it, but if he has, I can't keep master Chanlong around. I have to kill him no matter where he flees off to," thought Jian Chen.
In reality, his relationship with master Chanlong had deteriorated so much that even if master Chanlong did not see the twin swords, Jian Chen might not have planned on sparing him anyway.
Jian Chen sucked in a deep breath and slowly dispersed his presence, making him seem normal again. He gazed into the distance at the provincial city that a formation still enveloped and did not make his way over immediately. Instead, he flew further away.
Before long, Jian Chen found a hidden place within a mountain range and began to heal himself. He planned to recover his strength.
Naturally, the wounds from the battle healed very quickly thanks to the superior regeneration of the Chaotic Body. However, his drained power of the soul did not recover as quickly as his body. Now that he had used up all the Soul Recovery Pills as well, the power of his soul would recover extremely slowly.
"Master, the twin swords are extremely heavily damaged. They can't be used any longer. You need to find materials of higher grades to refine them again," said Zi Ying.
"Once I get out of here, I'll go collect the materials," said Jian Chen. Due to the limitations of their materials, the quality of the current swords was just too low. They were unable to withstand the powers of the sword spirits.
The sword spirits had used Supreme Yang Force and Supreme Yin Force when Jian Chen smashed through the formation, so the swords became heavily damaged. They were covered in cracks and could fall apart at any time.
...
As Jian Chen recovered, several dozen Gods hovered in the sky within the provincial city. Not only were there the ancestors of the powerful clans in the city, but there were also people from other provinces and other divine kingdoms.
Even though they had been trapped by the formation, they had completely forgotten about it at that moment. They all hovered in the formation as they looked in the same direction.
To no surprise, they were looking at where Jian Chen and master Chanlong had fought.
The formation had restricted the senses of their souls, so they were unable to expand them. However, they could clearly sense the powerful and terrifying shockwaves of energy from there.
The shockwaves were so powerful that even from a million kilometers away, they all leapt in fright.
"There are two Overgods fighting. Looking at the disturbance, they should be mid Overgods..."
"Looks like the two Overgods are going at each other's throats in this battle of life and death. I just don't understand why they had to cast down such a powerful trapping formation to keep us all inside the provincial city..."
"This trapping formation was cast down silently, right before all our noses. Looks like the Overgod who cast it down had been scheming about it long ago. I'm guessing that he probably wanted to use the formation to trap his opponent after they entered the city and kill them after that..."
"What a vicious person. Does he plan on wiping out our city like that? If two Overgods begin fighting in our city, the defensive formation of our city definitely won't be able to withstand it. How many people will be able to survive the shockwaves?"
The Gods all discussed. Many of them were rather pale as they felt lucky. Fortunately, the two terrifying Overgods did not begin fighting within the city, or the outcome would have been unthinkable.
At the same time, everyone became riddled with hatred towards the Overgod that had cast down the formation. Of course, they did not dare to voice their hatred.
"Hmm? The battle in the distance has stopped. Has the battle between the two Overgods ended?" At this moment, a God said.
"It's a pity that we don't know the outcome and who won..."
"It must be the person who cast down the formation. When the formation was activated, I heard someone say 'You really have come to the provincial city. Where do you think you're going? You're staying right here!' Just that's enough to decide the victor."
"I hope that Overgod who trapped us here can come back and remove this formation, or we'll be stuck here for a very long time..."
Many of the Gods sighed inside. They were filled with helplessness. The person who had trapped them was an Overgod. No matter how displeased they were, they had to put up with it. They did not dare to vent their anger.
However, the Gods in the city waited for quite some time, but no Overgod came to remove the formation. As a result, no one could enter or leave the city.
At this moment, a white-bearded old man in white robes suddenly appeared in the sky above the provincial city.
Chapter 1785: The Grand Imperial Protector
The old man seemed extremely ordinary. He did not stand out at all and was just like any other person. He stood there as he gazed emotionlessly at the sealed city below him. At that moment, his gaze sharpened.
"Hmph. Chanlong sure is bold to seal up a provincial city of our Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. Do you really think that our divine kingdom is your garden, where you can do whatever you want?" With that, the old man extended his hand and gently pressed down towards the tremendous formation.
Space seemed to sink with the gesture, and the formation that enveloped the entire provincial city seemed as fragile as glass, directly cracking and collapsing. It was unable to withstand a casual movement from the old man.
"It's the Grand Imperial Protector!"
"Greetings to the Grand Imperial Protector!"
...
The people from the clans in the city all discovered the old man, and they became excited. Without any hesitation, they immediately bowed towards the old man deeply. Admiration covered their faces.
The Grand Imperial Protector possessed an extremely great status within the divine kingdom. It could even be described as supreme.
This was because the Grand Imperial Protector was a Godking. Aside from the divine king, only the Grand Imperial Protector was a Godking in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian.
The white-bearded old man clasped his hands downwards. He did not mind the Gods' politeness. He said coldly, "Chanlong has actually publically sealed up the provincial city of one of our thirty-six provinces. He's provoking our divine kingdom with such actions. From today onwards, our divine kingdom forbids his entry. If he comes, I'll personally kill him."
"What! It was actually master Chanlong who sealed up our provincial city..."
The Gods all became surprised when they heard that it was Chanlong. Master Chanlong was a famed formation master. He possessed extremely great mastery over formations, and his personal cultivation had reached late Overgod, making him famed in the surrounding divine kingdoms.
With a single movement, the white-bearded old man disappeared silently. When he reappeared, he had arrived at the location where Jian Chen and master Chanlong had fought against each other.
Their battle had left the place completely distorted. The ground had sunk and was rippled with cracks, and the chaotic origin energy in the surroundings still had not settled down.
"There's residual Laws of the Sword here. In this region, apart from Ling Hougong who has reached Overgod with his Laws of the Sword, there's only that Jian Chen who suddenly appeared," the white-bearded old man hovered in the sky as he observed the surroundings.
"Looks like it was Jian Chen who fought Chanlong. From the residual presences and some traces, there should have been three people taking part in the battle. The third person must have been Chanlong's trapped soul."
The old man suddenly closed his eyes. Using his cultivation at Godking, he carefully sensed the traces and marks left here.
When he opened his eyes, he looked in a certain direction, and to no surprise, that was the direction where Jian Chen had travelled off to.
"There are strands of Jian Chen's presence here. Looks like he left in that direction. There's a large amount of blood in the deep pit. The presence of the blood matches Chanlong's presence extremely well, except it is a little chaotic at the same time. It's caused by a teleportation formation disc and master Chanlong's presence ends there as well. Looks like in the battle between the two, Chanlong was defeated!"
The white-bearded old man could not help but gasp when he reached this point in his analysis despite his great mental fortitude. He found it to be rather unbelievable.
This was because according to the information he possessed, only Jian Chen's comprehension of the Laws of the Sword had reached the level of Overgods, while his personal cultivation was pitifully weak. Although he possessed a powerful trump card, as long as late Overgods were careful, it would not be able to threaten them.
However, in the battle against master Chanlong, Chanlong had actually suffered defeat even with the assistance of the soul. He found this rather difficult to believe.
"Looks like Jian Chen is not simple. I have to discuss this with Pingtian immediately," murmured the old man before suddenly vanishing.
Of course, he did not truly vanish. Instead, he just flew too quickly, exceeding the speed that the naked eye could capture; this was why it seemed like he had suddenly vanished.
In the blink of an eye, it had already been three days since Jian Chen's battle against master Chanlong.
Jian Chen had finally recovered the power of his soul after those three days.
"I've benefited from this battle. My Way of the Sword has increased some more. I can feel that I've reached the peak of minor achievement. I'm only a step away from partial achievement," Jian Chen murmured. He changed his appearance again after making a full recovery, entering the provincial city while keeping a low profile as Yang Yutian.
Jian Chen became even more cautious after master Chanlong ambushed him within the provincial city last time.
"The divine king really is a bold man. He's actually ordering the arrest of master Chanlong in the entire divine kingdom..."
"Only a Godking like the divine king has the power to order the arrest of a late Overgod..."
"Find master Chanlong. There's no need to fight him at all. Just pass on the message as quickly as possible. I've heard that once master Chanlong is found, the Grand Imperial Protector will personally come to kill him..."
"Master Chanlong is powerful, but he won't be able to fight back at all before the Grand Imperial Protector. Master Chanlong is in trouble now. However, as long as he doesn't enter our divine kingdom again, he should be fine..."
...
An intense discussion drew Jian Chen over as soon as he approached the entrance of the city. He discovered that the divine king of the kingdom had actually ordered the arrest of master Chanlong personally.
"This order for arrest is more like a deterrence; it aims to deter foreign Overgods from acting up."
"The appearance of Godking Duanmu's dwelling has drawn over many Overgods in the surrounding divine kingdoms. As there are simply too many of them, even the divine king is unable to stop them all. He can only let the matter develop naturally."
"Now that the matter of the dwelling has come to an end, the divine king has begun to show his true might. He's using master Chanlong's matters to deter the other foreign Overgods. They can come to our divine kingdom, but they're not allowed to make trouble, or the Grand Imperial Protector will kill them personally."
Jian Chen understood the intentions of the divine king very soon, and he smiled indifferently. What he feared the most right now was multiple Overgods hunting him down, but now with the divine king's interference, the foreign Overgods would definitely be fearful. They would no longer be as bold.
After all, the other Overgods were not like master Chanlong. Their hatred for Jian Chen was not as deep. Even if they really did want to move against Jian Chen, they had to properly consider if they could kill Jian Chen before the Godking of the divine kingdom could arrive.
"That's good news for me," Jian Chen thought to himself with crossed arms before directly entering the city. He thought some more, "It's time for me to settle down here. From now onwards, I am in charge of the Dong'an province!"
Chapter 1786: The Sen Family
Jian Chen spent some divine crystals to rent an individual courtyard from a better inn, taking it as a temporary residence.
Jian Chen sat in the sky above the individual courtyard. He was wearing his luxurious white robes. His long, black hair had not been tied up, draping down his back and reaching his waist.
Before Jian Chen was all the elders of the Mo clan, the Ando clan, and their two ancestors. All of them sat like Jian Chen, except they did not sit in the air. Instead, they all sat on the ground.
However, everyone's gazes towards Jian Chen were no longer as casual as before. Their gazes were all filled with reverence.
Even though Jian Chen did not treat the people of the Mo clan any differently after revealing his strength at Overgod, the elders, the patriarch, and even the ancestor had grown distant from Jian Chen unknowingly.
After all, in their opinion, Jian Chen was in a completely different realm from them. The huge disparity in strength had decided that their statuses would change silently, so the people of the Mo clan were unable to behave as casually when they faced Jian Chen.
"I'm out finally. Finally. It has been suffocating. Jian Chen, you shut me in for so long that I had even thought that you forgot about me," said Mo Yan. She studied the independent courtyard with much interest as joy filled her face.
The only person who remained the same as before was Mo Yan, who still had not grown accustomed to the world where power was everything. She still treated Jian Chen the same as she did back when she saved him.
"Jian Chen, is this really the provincial city of the Dong'an province? This is the first time I've come here. I really do want to go out and see how it is." Mo Yan raised her head and stared at the sky. Her gaze was filled with eagerness.
Jian Chen chuckled when he heard that, "The provincial city will probably be rather chaotic right now. Miss Mo Yan will be able to go anywhere you wish in a few days' time."
The way Jian Chen treated Mo Yan made the patriarch of the Mo clan feel proud. Although he could tell with a single glance that Jian Chen did not like her as a woman, he understood that Jian Chen had instead begun to treat his daughter as a younger sister, which left him overjoyed.
As long as he possessed this relationship between Mo Yan and Jian Chen, the status of the Mo clan would definitely rise.
Jian Chen looked at the people from the two clans and said after some thought, "I've gathered you all here today because I have some matters that require your help. I want to create a clan in the provincial city, but the founding of a clan naturally requires quite a lot of land. As a result, I hope you can help me have a look if there's any good land to be bought."
"Although I have no reason to fear anyone with my current strength, I am unwilling to forcefully take the land of others unreasonably. After all, this is not the Dark Cloud Mountains. The mine there never belonged to the province in the first place."
Although the territories of the Lu family, the, Mo clan, and the Ando clan were open for occupation, Jian Chen did not want to choose such places because the resources there were just far too lacking compared to the provincial city.
The eyes of the people from the two clans immediately lit up when they heard that Jian Chen wanted to found a clan in the provincial city. Mo Ling and Ando Fu both guaranteed that they would find a suitable piece of land in the shortest amount of time possible.
Afterwards, everyone dispersed across the city, devoting themselves to Jian Chen's request.
In just half a day, Ando Fu returned. He beamed and said, "According to some reliable information I've found, there just happens to be a few powerful clans in the Dong'an province who have lost some Gods in Godking Duanmu's dwelling. With their remaining strength, they have no right to remain in the provincial city anymore, so many of them plan on moving out."
"If they really do move out of the provincial city, their current territory will be divided between the remaining clans. We can buy the land from them since they haven't moved out yet."
With that, Ando Fu took out a map. He continued, "I've already marked down the clans that are moving out. I've found quite a good place among them. Sir, please look."
Ando Fu tried his best to show himself off to Jian Chen. He knew that once Jian Chen founded a clan, he would need a large number of people to make up for the majority of the clan's force. His Ando clan just happened to have many such people.
Once the Ando clan assisted Jian Chen in founding his clan, the people from the Ando clan would become founding contributors. Their service would be so great that their status would naturally be extraordinary.
Jian Chen stared at the map for a while before he firmly said, "Let's go to the Sen family!"
"The Sen family?" Ando Fu was slightly startled. The Sen family was a medium sized clan in the provincial city, and they possessed an extremely large territory. However, they were a little too remote.
Even though Ando Fu had no idea why Jian Chen planned on founding his clan in such a remote place, Ando Fu did not dare to say anything extra. He just followed behind Jian Chen.
All the guards and servants in the large manor of the Sen family moved about constantly. All of them busied themselves with packing up everything as they prepared for the move.
However, one of the grand halls in the Sen family was filled with people right now. The old man at the very front was a God and below him sat over ten Deities and a few direct descendants of the clan who had not reached Godhood but still possessed quite some status.
It was just that all of them were dispirited and dejected now.
The Sen family originally possessed four Gods, making them a second-rate clan even among the powerful clans in the provincial city. However, with the appearance of Godking Duanmu's dwelling, the Sen family had lost three Gods in a single stroke, making their clan fall from grace.
"Everyone, where do you think our new territory should be once we leave the city?" said the God that sat at the very front. He was the only ancestor of the Sen family now.
Everyone remained silent. The environment for cultivation outside was nowhere near as great as inside the city. They really did find it rather hard to adapt now that they had to leave the provincial city.
"I can give you a chance to remain within the Dong'an province," at this moment, an energetic voice rang out from outside. With a flash of red, a red figure appeared within the discussion hall.
Chapter 1787: The Tian Yuan Clan (One)
The appearance of the red figure immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.
The last God of the Sen family, who sat at the very front, looked towards the red figure as well. He did not become excited. Instead, his face sank. He said coldly, "Huo Luzhi, I think I already know why you're here. Your Huo family wants our Sen family to pay the price of yielding to your Huo family to remain within the city."
The ancestor of the Sen family's voice was filled with scorn for the Huo family. The Huo family was powerful, making them one of the three most powerful clans in the provincial city. They possessed a late God, so the Sen family was unable to match up to them at all. However, as a clan that also possessed a God, the Sen family naturally had their pride and dignity. They would never yield to the Huo family just to remain within the provincial city.
The God from the Huo family, Huo Luzhi, completely ignored the ancestor of the Sen family's cold attitude. He shook his head with a gentle smile and said, "Senior Sen Jie, you're thinking too much. Your Sen family is one of the powerful clans of the provincial city after all, so how can our Huo family make you yield to us?"
"Then tell me, what did you have in mind?" said the ancestor of the Sen family. He was still cold.
Huo Luzhi stood in the hall with his hands behind his back. He smiled faintly and said, "it is very simple. Our Huo family hopes to form an alliance with the Sen family."
"An alliance," sneered Sen Jian. "It's probably just an alliance on the surface and no different from yielding in reality. Huo Luzhi, you should return. Even if our Sen family moves out of the provincial city, we'll never yield to your Huo family."
A look of pity covered Huo Luzhi's face. He said, "Our Huo family has good intentions. We sincerely wished to assist your Sen family, but we never thought that senior Sen Jian would take it like this. We are helpless about your current situation now as well if that's the case."
After a moment of silence, Huo Luzhi continued, "Senior Sen Jian, your clan must be planning on moving out of the provincial city. When that happens, your territory in the city will belong to no one. In the end, it'll be split between the other clans. Your Sen family won't benefit at all. I do have a suggestion that will allow you to benefit, and that's to sell your land to our Huo family. What do you think, senior Sen Jie?"
A gleam of light flashed through Sen Jie's eyes when he heard that. He said, "I wonder what price your Huo family is willing to pay for the land?" Sen Jie naturally understood what Huo Luzhi was talking about. Once their clan left the city, the land would indeed end up in the hands of other clans. The Huo family wanted to buy up the land beforehand to avoid the pointless competition between the other clans.
Although the Huo family was powerful within the Dong'an province, their power was nowhere near enough to reign supreme.
"Fifty thousand mid grade divine crystals," said Huo Luzhi.
Sen Jie wavered slightly when he heard Huo Luzhi's price. Although it was a rather low price for all the land, it was still extra income for the Sen family.
If they sold the land, their clan would be able to receive five million low grade divine crystals. If they did not sell the land, they would not be able to keep it anyway.
"I want this plot of land as well. I can pay ten thousand high grade divine crystals."
At this moment, another voice rang out from outside. A young man walked in steadily from outside; he was wearing luxurious, white robes. Behind the young man was a ruddy, sage-like old man who followed him silently.
As expected, the young man was Jian Chen.
Huo Luzhi's face immediately became rather ugly when he heard Jian Chen's offer of ten thousand high grade divine crystals for the land. As for Sen Jie, he beamed instead.
Ten thousand high grade divine crystals were equivalent to a million mid grade divine crystals. If the Sen family could make a million mid grade divine crystals when they moved out, it would be a considerable sum.
Huo Luzhi turned around and stared at Jian Chen coldly. His face was very ugly, and he growled, "I am Huo Luzhi of the Huo family from the provincial city. May I ask which clan you come from?"
"I've come to the provincial city to buy land exactly because I plan on founding a clan. I believe before long, you will learn what my clan is," Jian Chen said calmly.
"This piece of land has caught our Huo family's eyes. Do you plan on fighting over the land with our Huo family?" Huo Luzhi growled.
Jian Chen smiled faintly, "What a coincidence. This land has caught my eye as well. Since we are both become interested in this land, we'll have to fight it out. The land will belong to whoever who wins. I'm offering ten thousand high grade divine crystals right now, so I was wondering if you were willing to offer up a higher price."
Huo Luzhi ignored Jian Chen. He looked at Sen Jie and took out the Space Ring he had already prepared. He said, "Senior of the Sen family, there are fifty thousand mid grade divine crystals in here. If you have no problems, we can complete the deal."
"He has already offered ten thousand high grade divine crystals. If your Huo family wants our land, you'll naturally have to offer a higher price," the ancestor of the Sen family smiled faintly. He did not fear the Huo family.
Huo Luzhi could also tell that he was unable to scare the ancestor of the Sen family with the strength of the Huo family. His face sank, and he stared coldly at Jian Chen. He sneered, "I'll let you possess this land for a few days, but I must warn you out of good intentions that it won't be very peaceful in the city in the next period of time. I hope you can gain a stable footing in the city successfully." Throwing that out there, Huo Luzhi left with a wave of his sleeve.
Jian Chen completely ignored Huo Luzhi's threat. He tossed a Space Ring to Sen Jie and said, "There are ten thousand high grade divine crystals in there; please have a look. If you have no objections, we can complete this transaction, and from now on, the land would belong to me."
Sen Jie checked the Space Ring, and a smear of joy immediately appeared on his face before settling the agreement with Jian Chen.
From that point onwards, the land formally belonged to Jian Chen.
As Jian Chen bought the Sen family's land, the other powerful clans in the provincial city began to move as well. A few of the relatively more powerful clans sent their ancestors to visit the clans that were about to move away in an attempt to buy the land through divine crystals so that they could expand their own clan's businesses within the city.
Basically, all the land in the city had been split up among the clans. Every single clan in the provincial city managed various shops, inns, and other businesses. With the superior cultivation environment and the flow of people, they could naturally attract many cultivators to stay. As long as people stayed in the provincial city, the clans would have a constant income.
As a result, territory in the provincial city formed a direct connection with the wealth of the powerful clans, so they naturally placed much focus on the land of each clan that they could obtain.
Chapter 1788: The Tian Yuan Clan (Two)
After Jian Chen successfully purchased the land of the Sen clan, the other people of the Mo clan and the Ando clan all returned. At this moment, all of them had gathered within the discussion hall of the Sen family. However, there were no more people from the Sen family there anymore.
All the people of the Sen family had moved out as quickly as possible.
"From today onwards, the Tian Yuan clan has been formally founded. Mo Ling, Ando Fu, I was wondering if you were willing to join my Tian Yuan clan?" Jian Chen asked in a dignified manner as he sat at the very front. He really did possess the bearing of a patriarch right now.
Mo Ling and Ando Fu had already made up their minds about joining Jian Chen's clan long ago. The two of them both announced that they would be joining the Tian Yuan clan without any hesitation. All the elders from their clans would join as well.
It was also at that moment that Jian Chen formally founded the Tian Yuan clan. The first group of members was composed of the people from the Tian Yuan Continent, the Mo clan, and the Ando clan.
"Patriarch, all clans that move into one of the thirty-six provincial cities in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian require the permission of the divine kingdom's officials. The first condition to move into a provincial city is to possess three Gods. We've already fulfilled that. We just need to seek the royal capital's permission," said Mo Ling. He explained the various rules of the divine kingdom to Jian Chen in detail.
"Every century or millennia, you must pay thirty percent of your income to the royal capital..."
"However, all clans that have the right to move into the provincial city but do not have territory can receive a personal command from the royal capital after gaining permission so that the other clans in the provincial city must hand up territory that can be purchased..."
"If a clan in the provincial city has less than three Gods, they must move out. If they don't, the other clans must destroy them. The people responsible for this area in the royal capital might even come personally..."
...
Jian Chen immediately frowned when he heard about all the rules the divine king had set down. The divine kingdom really had many rules, making it very difficult for him to adapt.
"What if you've reached Overgod?" Jian Chen asked.
"Overgods possess extremely great status within the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. If you've reached Overgod, you only need to pay ten percent, and the provincial city where the Overgod resides can be directly handed over so that the Overgod can rule over it. The royal capital will not interfere. Even if there are new clans that want to move into the provincial city, they don't have to ask the royal capital for permission anymore. They'll only have to ask the Overgod..." Ando Fu said fervently. Overgods basically ruled supreme in an entire province. They were insurmountable existences.
Jian Chen gently knocked the arm of the chair he sat on with his knuckles. After some thought, he said, "If that's the case, we don't have to ask for permission from the royal capital. Mo Ling, Ando Fu, go summon your scattered clansmen. Now that our Tian Yuan clan has just been founded, we're in desperate need of people. Spend the next few days to properly decorate the clan. Once it's all completed, send invitations to all the powerful clans in the city. We're going to hold our founding ceremony formally."
"What! We don't have to ask for permission?" Mo Ling and Ando Fu were stunned, but excitement soon filled their faces.
On the next day, the plaque that represented the Tian Yuan clan was hung high up above the main entrance. However, the Tian Yuan clan had just been founded, so no one knew about them. There was barely anyone who knew about them at all in the entire city.
A few of the clans in the city, along with the Huo family that Jian Chen had competed with for the territory, naturally learnt about the founding of the Tian Yuan clan. However, now that quite a few clans were moving out of the provincial city, the territories were being divided up once again within the city, so the clans in the city all busied themselves with taking over the empty land. For this period of time, no one paid too much attention to the new Tian Yuan clan, including the Huo family.
Jian Chen founded the clan in the provincial city only to provide a quiet environment for everyone from the Tian Yuan Continent to cultivate. He had no desire for anymore territory, so he did not try to take over any more land after buying the Sen family's territory.
Moreover, with his current strength, he basically reigned supreme in the provincial city. According to the rules of the divine kingdom, the city was already his territory. No matter how much land the other clans occupied, he could make them spit it all up with just a single word.
This was because the royal capital would not interfere if a clan with an Overgod wanted to take the entire city as their territory.
Mo Ling and Ando Fu used a special method to gather all their scattered clansmen. In just a few days, all the people from the two clans arrived in the city in small groups, gathering at the Tian Yuan clan.
At the same time, the Tian Yuan clan sent out a notice in the city for the recruitment of guards.
A clan could not be founded with just them. They needed a large number of guards and servants to deal with regular affairs. They needed to recruit these people from elsewhere.
Of course, Jian Chen let Mo Ling and Ando Fu handle these matters. Although he had founded the clan, he was unwilling to waste his time and energy on these miscellaneous matters. He became a completely irresponsible patriarch.
As Mo Ling, Ando Fu, and so on poured their hearts out to decorate the Tian Yuan clan, Jian Chen arrived in the back courtyards that had been labelled as forbidden grounds. He saw that Shangguan Mu'er, Xiao Jin, Xiao Ling, the white tiger, Houston, Rui Jin, Hong Lian, Hei Yu, Nubis, the Seven-colored Heaven-devouring Beast, and the few people from the World of Forsaken Saints had all appeared outside.
Jian Chen stood before them and smiled warmly. He took out a bottle from his Space Ring, and as he opened it, a dense fragrance immediately emerged.
"It smells so good. Big brother, what is it?" Xiao Ling bounded before Jian Chen. She stared at the bottle in Jian Chen's hand with her large, bright eyes, and she could not help but gulp. She had begun to drool.
The fist-sized Seven-colored Heaven-devouring Beast fluttered over as well. It also stared at the jade bottle with its small eyes. It was filled with eagerness.
Seeing how greedy Xiao Ling had become, Jian Chen could not help but knock her head. His gaze was filled with uncontainable love as he said to everyone, "This is liquid lime. It's extremely valuable. Just a single drop of it is enough to modify the constitutions of those below Godhood, allowing them to cultivate with ease. It can also temporarily raise your ability to comprehend, making comprehending the laws of the world even easier. While you still haven't reached Godhood, the liquid lime will be the most effective so ingest a drop quickly."
Afterwards, Jian Chen gave a droplet of liquid lime to everyone. Just like that, he lost most of it. In the end, only five drops of liquid lime remained in the bottle.
Chapter 1789: Entering Seclusion Collectively
Everyone marveled at the droplet of liquid lime floating before them. Although this was the first time they had seen liquid lime, they all understood the value of it extremely well. It had probably far exceeded Jian Chen's description. However, just how long had it been since Jian Chen came to the Saints' World? Not only had he founded a clan in the provincial city of the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian during this time, but he had even obtained such precious liquid lime. As a result, everyone felt admiration from the bottom of their hearts for Jian Chen.
The Origin realm cultivators from the World of Forsaken Saints experienced the most mixed emotions among all of them. They had even been Jian Chen's enemies in the lower world. Xiong Zhong, in particular, had even engaged in a battle of life or death with Jian Chen.
Yet now, they had come to the Saints' World with the Spiritking and Jian Chen. During the time they spent in the Bright Moon Divine Hall, Jian Chen had treated them as equals with the people from the Tian Yuan Continent. Every time he came to deliver divine crystals, he would give the people from the World of Forsaken Saints a portion. Right now, Jian Chen had actually gifted them a drop of such valuable liquid lime as well so that they could reach Godhood easily. The Origin realm cultivators from the foreign world were all filled with gratitude.
Everyone ingested their drop of liquid lime with excited and mixed emotions before immediately entering seclusion.
Jian Chen did not leave the region that he had labelled as forbidden grounds. He sat down where he was when everyone entered seclusion to watch over them.
He also understood that as the territory of the provincial city was being divided up again, there would definitely be a few clans with a certain amount of power who would go all out for some empty plots of land. He could even sense the shockwaves from battles between Gods from time to time. As everyone broke through to Godhood, they could not be disturbed at all, so Jian Chen personally remained here to watch over them and prevent any accidents.
After all, among the people who broke through, there were many people that Jian Chen regarded highly. There were even some that he regarded to be more important than his own life, so he could not allow any accidents to happen to them at all.
Boom!
A deafening boom rang out in the distance, and it basically shook up a portion of the city. Gods had begun fighting in the provincial city again. Layers of defensive formations appeared faintly in the air, nullifying as much as ninety percent of the shockwaves. However, the remaining energy still wreaked havoc in the surroundings as a great gale of wind.
This was not the only disturbance. There were disruptions from fighting in other parts of the city as well.
The flames of battle seemed to have contaminated the current city, making it very unpeaceful. Many powerful clans took part, and even the clans that were ranked towards the bottom worked together, and they also took part in the fight for territory.
Only the Wayner clan and the newly-founded Tian Yuan clan that many people did not know about stayed out of the fight.
The Wayner clan had completely lost the right to fight for territory. They had lost two mid Gods, so the clan only had two early Gods present. If it were not for the other God who had been out travelling, they would have probably lost the right to remain in the city long ago.
It was busy in the Tian Yuan clan. Everyone busied themselves with arranging the decor, fixing buildings, planning structures, casting down protective formations, and so on. These tasks could not be completed in a short amount of time.
The disruptions in the city lasted for three days before finally settling down. The empty land had been divided, and it was also at this time that the clans in the city finally looked towards the Tian Yuan clan. At the same time, they sent a large number of scouts to check on the reality of the matter. They even infiltrated the clan through the public recruitment the clan was holding.
"Ancestor, I've already investigated the current situation. The Tian Yuan clan is formed from the Mo clan and the Ando clan, but they don't seem to be the actual people in charge," a middle-aged man stood in a discussion hall within the Huo family as he reported all the information he had obtained.
Up ahead sat a God of the Huo family, while all the Deity elders stood to the two sides below.
"Have you found out the origins of the founder of the Tian Yuan clan?" the ancestor asked.
"Ancestor, the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan is extremely mysterious. I haven't obtained any information on him, and I haven't even seen him before. However, there's a forbidden zone in the Tian Yuan clan. Their elders are personally stationed there, and we can't enter that place.
The ancestor of the Huo family pondered and said, "Looks like the mysterious patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan is in the forbidden grounds."
"Hmph, it doesn't matter where he is. Are we, the great Huo family, supposed to be afraid of a clan that has only just been founded? And the territory of the Sen family should have belonged to us already, but we never expected the Tian Yuan clan to take it instead. We have to redeem our dignity," at this moment, Huo Luzhi walked in from outside with a sunken face.
"Luzhi, what do you plan on doing?" The seated ancestor said. Huo Luzhi was also an ancestor of the Huo family, so they possessed relatively similar statuses.
"If I've guessed correctly, the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan must be that kid. Hmph, I'd like to see just how long his Tian Yuan clan can last in the provincial city after acting so arrogantly before me. Huo Ge, don't interfere with this matter. Leave it to me," Huo Luzhi said to the seated old man.
Although all the powerful clans had learnt of Jian Chen's identity when he took over the divine crystal mine, not all the Gods had gathered there. Basically, only the strongest Gods of each family had gathered in the discussion hall back then. As a result, although Huo Luzhi had heard that an Overgod had taken over the divine crystal mine, he had no idea who this Overgod was, nor had he seen an image of him.
"Luzhi, since the Tian Yuan clan is bold enough to fight against us for territory, they must have some confidence. You must not act recklessly. Let's look into the matter some more..." Huo Ge said.
Inside the Tian Yuan clan, Mo Ling and Ando Fu were currently engaged in an intense conversation over how the formations in the clan were supposed to be arranged.
"Mo Ling, that doesn't seem to be a great idea. The provincial city itself already possesses a large scale energy-gathering formation. As a result, the origin energy in the city is several times denser than outside. If we also cast down an energy-gathering formation near our Tian Yuan clan, wouldn't we be stealing quite a large portion of the origin energy in the city?" Ando Fu frowned. He felt that it was not a good idea.
Chapter 1790: Disturbances in the Provincial City
Mo Ling chuckled aloud and rubbed his bald head, "The entire provincial city basically belongs to the patriarch now. How would there be any problems if the patriarch created an energy-gathering formation within his own territory? Moreover, with the support of the patriarch, our Tian Yuan clan is a clan with an Overgod at the very least. If we act the same as the other clans, how will we be able to show them our status?"
"Fair enough. Let's do that then. Since the patriarch has already delegated the general affairs to the two of us, we should do our best and complete it to the best of our ability and not disappoint the patriarch," said Ando Fu. Afterwards, he and Mo Ling immediately went off to arrange the matter.
At the same time, the Huo family began to move. Several of their Deities left the clan with groups of guards, scattering into several dozen groups across the city. They all surrounded a few inns and shops before smashing the plaques and signs forcefully, turning them to dust. Afterwards, they replaced them with plaques and signs they had prepared beforehand.
The new signs all possessed the symbol of the Huo family. All the shops and inns that possessed this sign belonged to the Huo family. The guards and elders from the Huo family only touched the signs that possessed the unique symbol of the Tian Yuan clan.
These businesses originally belonged to the Sen family, but ever since the Sen family sold their land to the Tian Yuan clan, the businesses naturally ended up with the Tian Yuan clan.
"All these people belong to the Huo family, and all the signs they're destroying seem to belong to the newly-founded Tian Yuan clan..."
"The Huo family clearly wants to take over the businesses of the Tian Yuan clan forcefully. What a pitiful clan. They've only just been founded, and before they can run their businesses, the Huo family has forcefully taken over them..."
"The strong prey on the weak. Who can you blame for the Tian Yuan clan for being so weak? What can the Tian Yuan clan do even if the Huo family wants to abuse them..."
"The Tian Yuan clan offended one of the three most powerful clans as soon as they moved into the provincial city. It'll be a gloomy future for them in the provincial city..."
"I had even planned to become a guard for the Tian Yuan clan. Looks like it's better to remain distant from that clan now..."
...
The matter of the Huo family taking over the Tian Yuan clan's businesses spread through the city very quickly. In just a short time, everyone learnt about it, and it became the topic of conversation.
However, the Huo family was not the only clan that forcefully took over the Tian Yuan clan's businesses. As one of the three most powerful clans as well, the Dong family began to move, taking over the remaining businesses of the Tian Yuan clan.
Working together, the Huo family and the Dong family took over all the businesses of the Tian Yuan clan. Soon, the Tian Yuan clan was only left with their manor.
The movements of the Huo family and the Dong family against the Tian Yuan clan had raised quite a large discussion in the provincial city. However, without any doubt, everyone took pity in the Tian Yuan clan for what they had gone through.
The Tian Yuan clan's response was as expected. They did nothing as if they had no idea that others had completely taken over all their businesses.
There was an extremely large courtyard within the provincial city, and a stone tower that was several hundred meters tall stood in its depths. At this moment, two old men sat on the top floor. From the presences they gave off, they were both Gods.
The two of them were the ancestors of the Nanyun clan, Nanyun Tong and Nanyun Haobai.
"Uncle Tong, why do I feel like you've become more and more cowardly lately? You're even so cautious about a small clan that has only been founded recently. Look at the Huo family and the Dong family. After taking over all the businesses of the Tian Yuan clan, the Tian Yuan clan hasn't given a rat's ass about it at all. They dare not to. If you had listened to me, our Nanyun clan would have been able to claim at least twenty percent of the Tian Yuan clan's land. It'll provide our clan with quite a large income. Even if the royal capital orders us to hand the land over in the future, the Tian Yuan clan will still have to pay a huge sum to buy it back," Nanyun Haobai was perplexed.
Nanyun Tong shook his head gently. He stared in the direction of the Tian Yuan clan and said gently, "Hao Bai, the Tian Yuan clan is not as simple as they seem on the surface. If you pay close attention, it'll be pretty obvious that although the people below Godhood are unsettled and are panicking after the two clans have taken over all their businesses, all their Deity elders and their two early Gods remain extremely composed."
"Perhaps they were already expecting this," said Nanyun Haobai.
Nanyun Tong shook his head again. His eyes deepened, and he said, "If I've guessed correctly, the provincial city is about to change."
"It's going to change?" Nanyun Tong was confused.
Huo Luzhi hovered high in the air above the Huo family as he gazed coldly in the direction of the Tian Yuan clan. He sneered, "Tian Yuan clan, this is what happens when you offend our Huo family. I'd like to see how you gain a stable footing in the provincial city from today onwards."
Huo Luzhi's voice was scornful towards the Tian Yuan clan.
At this moment, a huge formation suddenly appeared in the direction of the Tian Yuan clan. With the appearance of the formation, all the origin energy in the provincial city immediately became chaotic. Soon afterwards, the origin energy gathered towards the Tian Yuan clan rapidly.
The sudden occurrence immediately attracted everyone's attention. As they looked towards where the origin energy gathered, they all became stunned as disbelief flooded their faces.
Huo Luzhi's disdainful expression froze at that moment. He became slightly stunned as well as he gazed in the direction of the Tian Yuan clan dazedly. Gradually, disbelief filled his face as well.
"The Tian Yuan clan has actually set up a large-scale energy-gathering formation, drawing over around forty percent of the origin energy in the city. What is the Tian Yuan clan doing? How can they be so reckless?" Huo Luzhi murmured. The Tian Yuan clan's actions had stunned him.
Such a large energy-gathering formation had basically taken away forty percent of the city's origin energy. Even the three most powerful clans in the city would not dare to do something like that, as it would directly get in the interests of the other clans in the city. The final outcome would be that they would become enemies of the entire city. All the powerful clans and experts who had settled down in the city would gang up against them.
At the same time, a huge uproar rose in the streets of the city.
"Is the Tian Yuan clan stupid? How can they do such a dumb thing? How will all the powerful clans in the city just stand by when they want to take so much origin energy for themselves..."
"The Tian Yuan clan could not even resist the abuse from the Huo family and the Dong family. Now they've done it. They've offended all the clans in the city in a single stroke..."
...
As everyone discussed in the streets, powerful presences immediately appeared in various places across the city. Many Gods from the clans of the city flew towards the Tian Yuan clan with hostility.