Chapter 230 : Fourth-Tier Beast King
Chapter 230: Fourth-Tier Beast King
Chen Beiwu’s expression was grave as he continued to employ his half-baked Supreme Treasure Karmic Scripture of Cause and Effect to divine fortune and calamity.
Since Senior Sister Feng had already sent out the signal to retreat, there was no need for him to search for the team’s regrouping point. Instead, he should heighten his vigilance and prepare to withdraw at any time.
‘What a pity, I still cannot calculate the source of that looming crisis.’ Chen Beiwu opened his eyes, steering his flying boat southwest.
Although the great calamity that placed Senior Sister Feng in mortal danger did not necessarily mean it could threaten him, Chen Beiwu chose to err on the side of caution. He decided to begin preparing the prelude for the Gate of Ten Directions, so that when danger descended, he could flee instantly.
‘Something’s wrong!’
Halfway through his journey, Chen Beiwu’s heart gave a jolt as his gaze locked upon a desolate wasteland in the distance.
“What is that?”
His brows knitted tightly. Before his eyes appeared two bizarre, indescribable worlds, one above and one below.
In the sky above the wasteland was a massive spatial rift a thousand feet wide, shaped like a spider’s web.
Within the rift pervaded an ineffable Daoist rhythm of heaven and earth. Merely glancing at it caused Chen Beiwu’s heart to grow restless and disordered.
Below, the ground stretched for miles upon miles, scarred into a ferocious, cratered basin.
Closing his eyes and extending his spiritual sense, Chen Beiwu seemed to witness a primal Demon Ape extending an ancient palm. With but a gentle press, it flattened a towering mountain into dust, leaving behind a basin thousands of feet deep.
Such power was far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could imagine—perhaps even a Golden Core True Person could not achieve it.
‘Impossible… wasn’t the Tianyan True Realm supposed to forbid the entry of Nascent Soul True Monarchs?’
Chen Beiwu’s breath caught. He hurriedly activated the light of the Guarding-the-One Mirror to dispel the terror in his heart.
After all, while the spatial barriers of the Tianyan True Realm were not as stable as those of the Southern Wastes, they were still far beyond what a mere Golden Core cultivator could forcibly break.
——
At that same moment, in a mountain range—
Feng Yao’s face was filled with terror as she propelled her escape light madly toward the five-colored vortex she had discovered earlier.
Dead!
They were all dead!
Even when three Mirror Moon Rankings true disciples joined forces with three Foundation Establishment peak cultivators, they had been utterly unable to withstand the Mask-Wearing Demon Ape—not even a single move.
The disparity was too great.
Merely from the sound of its chains rattling, Junior Brother Gong and Junior Sister Mu’s bodies had burst apart and perished, unable to mount any meaningful resistance.
The Mask-Wearing Demon Ape stomped once, instantly appearing behind Feng Yao, then slowly turned its head.
“Crack.”
As the Demon Ape turned, Feng Yao’s body froze, her head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees to face behind her, terror etched upon her features.
‘Move!’
“Move, damn it! Move!”
No matter how much Feng Yao urged the mana within her dantian’s sea of qi, her body refused to respond.
Seeing her expression, the Demon Ape seemed to lose interest. It raised its right palm and casually patted its own head.
“Bang!”
In the next moment, Feng Yao’s head exploded into a mist of blood.
The Demon Ape, with eyes cold and indifferent, watched the scene. Its figure then slowly faded away, searching for its next toy.
——
At the outskirts of the Tianyan True Realm—
Gu Jianfeng opened his eyes, gripped the trembling sword hilt at his side, lifted his gaze toward the heavens, and extended his spiritual sense.
His sword intent warned him—great calamity was at hand!
Sword cultivators who devoted themselves utterly to the Way of the Sword could perceive dangers hidden from ordinary cultivators through their sword intent.
“Stay on guard,” Gu Jianfeng said solemnly.
In the outskirts of the Tianyan True Realm, existences capable of threatening his life were few indeed.
At that moment, the only thing Gu Jianfeng could think of was the reminder his master had given him before setting out—of that mysterious cultivator from Mirror Moon Sect.
Seeing Senior Brother Gu’s warlike vigilance, the five Profound Sword Pavilion cultivators present—four men and one woman—each gripped their sword hilts, spiritual senses probing their surroundings carefully.
“Senior Brother Gu, did you discover something?”
As the formation-breaking disciple of Profound Sword Pavilion turned his head, he discovered that behind them, at some unknown moment, had appeared a black-furred Demon Ape wearing a mask, chains coiling about its body.
Staring into its scarlet giant eyes, Ji Sinian’s body trembled. The Dao Foundation within his dantian’s sea of qi collapsed. His life force dissipated entirely as he fell lifeless to the ground.
“Junior Brother Ji!”
“Senior Brother Ji!”
To Gu Jianfeng and the others, Ji Sinian had suddenly shuddered, lost all vital energy, and collapsed—without them even glimpsing an enemy.
“Come out and face me!”
Gu Jianfeng’s eyes turned icy. His Taibai Flying Sword leapt from its sheath. With his four fellow disciples, he stepped upon the Heavenly Gang, their swords pointing toward the Big Dipper.
In an instant, golden, wood, water, fire, and earth sword qi wove into a net, forming a dazzling barrier that enveloped the five Foundation Establishment cultivators, swelling Gu Jianfeng’s aura.
“Five Elements Cycle—Sword Cuts Through Evil!”
His sword intent surged skyward as he drew upon the power of the Five Elements Sword Formation, slashing toward the Mask-Wearing Demon Ape that had suddenly manifested to the right.
“Clang!”
The Demon Ape stretched out its chain-wrapped right hand and casually pinched the Taibai Flying Sword—imbued with five-element sword qi—between two fingers.
‘Impossible!’ Gu Jianfeng’s pupils shrank.
The Taibai Flying Sword was a third-tier lower-grade metal treasure bestowed by his master, peerlessly sharp. When paired with the sect’s Five Elements Sword Formation, five swords striking together could unleash the might of a Golden Core cultivator.
Even a Golden Core True Person of his sect would not dare disregard such a sword strike. Yet this Mask-Wearing Demon Ape had blocked it effortlessly with just two fingers.
‘This is bad—it’s a third-tier late-stage beast with power rivaling a Golden Core True Person!’ Gu Jianfeng’s heart sank under the pressure.
Gripping the sword qi, the Demon Ape cocked its head, studied the sword energy with disinterest, then clenched its hand. In an instant, it extinguished the formation’s power.
“Run!”
Without hesitation, Gu Jianfeng pulled from his storage pouch a palm-sized pure-white Sword Talisman.
This talisman had been bestowed by his master for protection. By channeling his spiritual sense into it, it would unleash transcendent sword intent—equal to a strike from a peak Golden Core cultivator.
A Golden Core True Person who had stepped into the third realm of swordsmanship was ranked among the foremost beneath Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
Gu Jianfeng believed that even a late-stage third-tier beast would be gravely wounded by his master’s sword intent, unable to pursue him.
“Master, strike down this beast!” Gu Jianfeng willed, and the Sword Talisman shattered.
The world fell abruptly silent.
A sword light of ultimate purity awoke from the broken talisman. Its aura shook the heavens, freezing all spiritual energy within a thousand miles.
“Cut!” Gu Jianfeng’s fingers pointed like a sword, slashing fiercely toward the Demon Ape.
The sword light ascended, tearing through space itself.
Wherever it passed, all things were severed!
Before the stunned and joyful eyes of his fellow disciples, the sword light pierced through the Demon Ape’s neck, severing its head.
Yet the very next moment, the fallen masked head flew back onto the headless body. Its cold, cruel gaze still fixed upon Gu Jianfeng.
At that same instant, the four disciples behind Gu Jianfeng collapsed, their heads severed as if in mimicry, life extinguished.
“Undying beast power, indestructible flesh…”
“To think the Tianyan True Realm harbored a fourth-tier Beast King, rivaling Nascent Soul True Monarchs!”
Realizing this, Gu Jianfeng felt his body grow ice-cold.
Ignoring his disbelief, the Mask-Wearing Demon Ape extended a finger and tapped its forehead. A bloody hole appeared in Gu Jianfeng’s brow. His body slumped lifelessly.
After finishing, the Demon Ape cast its gaze southwest—toward Chen Beiwu’s location, and the core inheritance region of the Tianyan True Realm.