Chapter 223 : You Were Useless
Chapter 223: You Were Useless
"Phoenix Cry Sword" flashed, and the golden sword light cut down a figure painted like an ink-wash, killing him.
This was purely the power of a peerless divine weapon.
If Chen Ming had not borrowed the golden-flame power within the sword, it would have been extremely difficult for him to kill this guard. Even a Second Grade cultivator without Gangyuan and sword intent was not that easy to deal with.
[You had slain an LV80 manor guard and gained 90,000 experience points.]
"Sure enough, one could gain experience points."
He felt a joy in his heart. It seemed that the small enemies in this Secret Realm were similar to the beasts from the previous Fire-Element Secret Realm.
Although the experience gained was only one tenth of a true Second Grade expert’s, something was better than nothing.
If they had been true Second Grade experts, they would not have been so easy to kill.
Chen Ming relied on the body technique of "Phoenix Dances Through Nine Heavens" and in the blink of an eye had slain all five of the "small monsters," gaining forty-five experience points.
……
"Huh?"
On the other side, Luo Zhouwu saw another disciple who had been gravely wounded just moments before suddenly fully recover and display astonishing power, killing those five manor guards, and he was greatly surprised.
This kid had hidden himself very deeply!
"That is… a peerless divine weapon? Such terrifying Fire-Element power, so supremely yang and forceful — what on earth is that divine weapon?"
He could clearly see that the boy had used the power of a peerless divine weapon, otherwise a Third Grade cultivator could not have slain guards whose strength approached Second Grade.
But after pondering for a while, he could not recall the origin of that peerless divine weapon in the boy’s hand.
Under Luo Zhouwu’s "Heaven’s Heart" perception, it felt as if this person had not cultivated the "Nine Nether Grand Art," but the techniques used to wield that peerless divine weapon seemed to originate from the "Nine Nether Grand Art," which made him even more puzzled.
"Strange, very strange."
To have made a peerless divine weapon perform at this level, this person’s cultivation in the "Nine Nether Grand Art" should have been profound. Yet this person’s method of cultivation was grand and upright — a pure Fire-attribute technique.
These thoughts flashed rapidly through Luo Zhouwu’s mind, but he soon tossed them aside. The battle among the three from the Nine Nether Sect had already reached a fever pitch; he had no time to pay attention to this person.
"Die for me!"
Qian Jiu, failing to break through and growing impatient, suddenly roared. The power of the blue-steel sword in his hand swelled again and actually suppressed Zhou You and Fang Yong’s sword domains.
"Not enough, make the power stronger!"
He urged desperately, demanding greater strength from the "Zhi Chi Demonic Sword" in his hand.
Instantly, his power reached a peak as if touching another level, and he laughed wildly, "Ha ha ha, is this the power of the Divine Repository Realm? You two old men, taste my sword!"
One slash fell, and Zhou You and Fang Yong’s surrounding sword domains instantly collapsed.
No escape.
No avoidance.
Both of their faces changed wildly. With a thunderous crash, Zhou You was blasted away, and the ink-black long sword in his hand snapped into two.
His fated item was broken; he suffered a grievous injury and vomited blood without stopping.
Fang Yong fared worse. He had only time to turn to the side; half a shoulder and an arm were cut clean off, blood spurting endlessly.
With a single sword, two First Grade cultivators were grievously wounded.
"Now!"
This was the moment Luo Zhouwu had been waiting for, and he struck decisively!
With body and sword united, he became a streak of light and cut toward Qian Jiu.
The timing of this strike could not have been more precise. Had he been a moment later, Zhou You and Fang Yong would have died, and the next target of that demonic sword would have been him.
Had he been a moment earlier, he would have had to take the blow himself.
Chen Ming watched from below and cursed inwardly, what a sly bastard! However, this person’s sword technique differed somewhat from the sword art Su Zhi Ning used.
……
Qian Jiu seemed to sense the danger, but the two earlier slashes had consumed a great deal. He roared and the blue-steel sword in his hand flashed.
At that moment, the white-hot sword light arrived.
Originally the sword light had aimed for Qian Jiu’s head; at the last instant it veered slightly and struck his right arm. One whole arm, along with the demonic sword, flew off.
"Sss—"
At the same time, Luo Zhouwu also revealed his figure; half his body was drenched in blood, and one of his arms had likewise been cut off.
Earlier the demonic sword had protected its master; before the sword light reached him, it had severed his right arm that held the sword.
This battle was extremely brutal — all four had been defeated and wounded.
Chen Ming’s scalp tingled as he watched. Three powerful First Grade cultivators were badly hurt or crippled; either an arm was severed, or a fated item had been broken, dealing a severe blow to their foundations.
As for Qian Jiu, who had lost the demonic sword, he had instantly reverted to his true state — he had fainted and fallen to the ground, on the verge of death, his breath weak to the extreme.
Clearly, using strength far beyond one’s own would not be without any cost.
Now, the only one remaining unscathed was Chen Ming himself.
Just as Chen Ming was thinking this, applause suddenly sounded.
He stiffened and demanded, "Who is there?"
A pleasant voice came from within the manor, "What a splendid drama!"
The voice was familiar.
Not only him — Zhou Yilan leaning against the wall also turned pale and cried out, "Husband?"
A person who originally should not have appeared here.
A tall figure shot out and landed beside the demonic sword.
He wore a purple robe and looked particularly dignified, hands folded behind his back, eyes like lightning. At this moment he looked very different from usual.
He looked at Zhou Yilan with a smile and a gentle voice, "Wife, thank you for presenting this overwhelming merit to your husband. It was not in vain that your husband spent more than a decade loving you."
For some reason, Chen Ming felt a chill when he heard those words.
"You—"
Zhou Yilan looked at the husband before her and suddenly found him so strange. In the past, if she were injured, he would have been the first to rush over and carry her up…
But now her husband wore a tender smile while his eyes were utterly cold — so cold that it chilled her through, and her heart fell into an abyss, "You… you knew all along, didn’t you?"
Ruan Caihong smiled and said, "Of course, you fool. Otherwise, why would I have married you? I originally thought that, as the Holy Daughter of the Nine Nether Sect, you could assist me in achieving great accomplishments. Who would have thought you were useless, so obsessed with love affairs that you abandoned your cultivation? Where did you leave me?"
Toward the end his tone contained bitter disappointment, "If you had focused on cultivation, advanced early into the Divine Repository Realm, and aided me, we could have been the envy of all as a divine couple. But since you refused to improve yourself, your husband had to resort to this plan. With this overwhelming merit, I believed he could exchange it with the Six Doors Authority for a quota to enter the Divine Repository Realm!"
Chen Ming was dumbfounded when he heard this.
So it turned out Ruan Caihong only sought to live off her. Who knew he had licked so well that Zhou Yilan, the Holy Daughter of the Nine Nether Sect, had been intoxicated by his tenderness and neglected cultivation, dragging him down. So he had cooked up this scheme…
Damn!
He watched Zhou Yilan, struck as if by lightning and ashen-faced, with some sympathy, and thought that love was indeed a deadly trap for cultivators.
She had started with tremendous luck: three loyal senior brothers around her, each possessing extraordinary treasures and making rapid progress. If she had concentrated on cultivation, she might have advanced to the Divine Repository Realm long ago and avoided this fate.
He resolved to use her as a warning: never slow one’s cultivation for a woman.
Stepping back a thousand paces, if after marriage she had not slacked and had sufficient strength, would her three senior brothers have betrayed her? Would Ruan Caihong dare such a scheme? The plain truth was that in this world, strength was everything.
"Ha ha ha…" On the other side, Zhou You, sprawled on the ground, laughed wildly, "Junior sister, I told you from the start this man was not to be trusted. You finally see his true face now, don’t you?"
Swoosh!
Ruan Caihong flicked his hand. The long sword unsheathed and turned into a blue light that impaled Zhou You’s chest, pinning him to the ground.
Zhou You, grievously injured, cursed loudly, "Ruan Caihong, you despicable scoundrel! Have the courage to let me go — I will fight you three hundred rounds… ah—"
The sword that had been stuck in him rose and drove into his mouth, fixing his head to the ground and silencing him.
Despite such injuries, Zhou You had not immediately died and continued to struggle.
"Senior brother—"
Zhou Yilan watched this scene and nearly fainted.
Ruan Caihong suddenly turned to Chen Ming, "Brother Gu, did you enjoy today’s drama?"
Chen Ming was greatly startled. Ruan Caihong had recognized him?
He then thought that Ruan Caihong must have detected something when he acted earlier.
There was no need to continue disguising, so he spoke, "Brother Ruan, you truly have cunning and means. My disguise could not fool you. But I have one thing I do not understand; might you help to clarify it for me?"
Ruan Caihong’s mood seemed extremely pleasant and he was in no hurry to act, "Speak."
Chen Ming asked, "How did Brother Ruan enter here?"
"That’s simple. Because I am the master of this Secret Realm, I could enter as I pleased. Also, this Secret Realm has two entrances. Senior Luo is aware of this."
"I see," Chen Ming said. "May I ask how you intend to deal with me?"
Ruan Caihong chuckled, "You ask directly. I still have many things I want to say to you; why go straight to the point?"
Chen Ming could understand his mood. Having been with Zhou Yilan for more than a decade, he had acted for years, always wearing a mask, with countless words in his heart but nowhere to pour them out. Now that great success was imminent, he wanted someone with whom to share the joy.
However, Chen Ming had no mood to listen to his boasting.
He said earnestly, "So you don’t intend to spare me?"
Ruan Caihong’s smile faded and he grew cold, "When you touched my wife with that dirty hand just now, I wanted to kill you."
"……"
Chen Ming’s eye twitched as he looked at him as though he were insane, "I only tried to save Sister-in-law; she was injured, didn’t you see?"
"Then you must die!"