Chapter 171 : Ye Jingchen’s True Final Move
Chapter 171: Ye Jingchen’s True Final Move
“Old Yao,” or rather, True Lord Luohong’s final sentence, was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, completely crushing the last trace of luck and reason in Ye Jingchen’s heart.
“No… impossible… How could you have… That’s mine! My fortuitous opportunity! It was the Ancestor and the Heavenly Dao who chose me!!” He roared, his voice twisted and distorted from extreme resistance.
He could not accept that the greatest secret he regarded as his lifeline and relied upon as his trump card would sound so… commonplace in the other party’s mouth? They might even possess something far superior to his?
He suddenly lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes locking onto True Lord Luohong. In that gaze were madness, venomous hatred, and a despair on the verge of collapse.
“Luohong! Don’t think you can trick me! I am the chosen one! The one destined to ascend to the peak! You… you stepping stones will all pay the price…”
Originally, Ye Jingchen still harbored a sliver of fantasy—perhaps he could negotiate with the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect, pay some price in exchange for imprisonment or some lesser punishment. After all, the cost of using that final trump card was far too heavy; he had never wanted to use it.
But now, all retreat paths had been sealed, and all his pride trampled. He no longer sought compromise, no longer hoped for survival.
What remained in his heart was boundless hatred! Hatred for those before him who had destroyed everything he had.
He decided that even if he had to pay a nearly unbearable price, he would drag the entire Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect into the abyss!
“Luohong! Don’t think you’ve won!”
When he spoke those words, Ye Jingchen’s expression instead took on an eerie calm.
He rapidly chanted obscure incantations, and the key-shaped magical artifact he had long concealed suddenly appeared in midair, emitting an ominous, ghostly glow.
True Person Mingzhu and the Sect Master sensed something amiss and were about to intervene, but were stopped by a single glance from True Lord Luohong.
“Star Lord of Fate… open the gate!!”
With Ye Jingchen’s resolute roar, the key shattered on impact! Dozens of fragments did not scatter but instead precisely assembled in the air into the vague outline of a door of moderate size.
Immediately after, the “door” emitted a grating sound that set teeth on edge and slowly opened into a dark spatial rift, as though connecting to some unknown void!
“Star Lord! I am willing to offer all the Destiny Luck of this lifetime, my lifelong cultivation, and half of my Divine Soul as sacrifice. I beg you to act and take…” He paused, clearly realizing that wiping everyone out at once was nearly impossible. He changed his words, his voice filled with bone-deep resentment. “Take away the one who hurt me most, and the one who caused my exposure! And sacrifice their Destiny Luck to you!”
The moment his words fell, from within the dark space inside the door, an enormous hand suddenly extended!
The hand was colossal. Its surface bore a rotten, tattered texture, as if eroded by endless ages. Yet the instant it appeared, it radiated an extremely dangerous and exalted aura, a terrifying pressure as tangible as substance that enveloped the entire scene.
Even beings like True Person Mingzhu and the Sect Master felt their minds tense instantly, not daring to act rashly!
A vengeful delight surfaced on Ye Jingchen’s face. He anticipated that the massive hand would crush down upon True Lord Luohong and Saintess Yaxi.
Yet unexpectedly, the giant hand went straight for True Person Mingzhu!
True Lord Luohong’s brows furrowed slightly, and he was about to intercept when the giant hand snapped its fingers in midair in a bizarre motion.
An invisible barrier formed instantly, trapping True Lord Luohong, Sect Master Zhuge, and Saintess Yaxi firmly within it!
The barrier was incredibly resilient. Even with the power of a True Lord, it could not be broken immediately!
The three could only watch helplessly as the terrifying giant hand easily seized True Person Mingzhu and, along with the wildly laughing Ye Jingchen below, dragged them both into the dark space within the door as though picking up two ants!
“Hahaha… agh—!” Ye Jingchen’s frenzied and despairing laughter abruptly cut off at the final moment his figure vanished into the darkness, leaving only a heart-palpitating echo.
The spatial gate began to rapidly contract, on the verge of closing completely.
Sect Master Zhuge and Saintess Yaxi’s expressions changed drastically. The course of events had completely exceeded expectations.
However, within the barrier, True Lord Luohong showed no panic or frustration. At the very instant the spatial gate was about to vanish, he formed a sword with his fingers and lightly pointed at the void.
An incomparably profound force arrived later yet struck first, forcibly halting the closing of the space!
A low roar filled with anger seemed to echo from within the gate.
The giant hand extended again, intending to smash apart the audacious force that dared obstruct it.
But the moment only a single knuckle emerged, another force—deeper and more ancient—surged forth from nowhere like an invisible bulwark. Not only did it firmly block the hand, it forcefully pushed it back into the gate!
At the same time, the key that had already shattered into dozens of fragments seemed to reverse in time, reassembling into its complete form. It flickered with a gentle glow and lightly fell into True Lord Luohong’s palm.
Simultaneously, a gray, plain-looking puppet silently appeared at True Lord Luohong’s side.
When Sect Master Zhuge saw this puppet, he was first stunned, then his face filled with excitement and reverence. He hurriedly bowed.
“Ancestor Ink Puppet! You… you personally intervened?!”
Saintess Yaxi at the side was dumbfounded. Though she was the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect and had witnessed many grand scenes, she had never imagined being personally entangled in a clash of this level!
Ancestor Ink Puppet! One of the three Deification Ancestors of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect, a true existence standing at the apex of this realm! This display… was far too overwhelming!
The small gray puppet turned toward Sect Master Zhuge and Yaxi, emitting a calm voice that was neither male nor female, yet carried a peculiar soothing power.
“My apologies, Jingde, and little friend Yaxi. It was this old one who asked Luohong to keep it temporarily confidential.”
“But Ancestor, this… why was that?” Sect Master Zhuge’s brows were tightly knit with confusion.
True Lord Luohong stepped forward slowly, first nodding slightly toward Yaxi. Then, with a sweep of his sleeve, an invisible soundproof barrier enveloped the three high-ranking figures of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect.
Yaxi understood immediately and obediently withdrew to the side to wait. She naturally knew that what followed was not for her ears.
Within the barrier, True Lord Luohong spoke first.
“These past days, through those four Puppet Constructs used to probe and contend with him, I had already sensed that key’s connection to the Ancient Heavenly Court. The tricky part was that this object had already become tied to Ye Jingchen’s Divine Soul. Only through his personal activation could it be opened.”
“So…” Enlightenment flashed in Sect Master Zhuge’s eyes. “Just now, your step-by-step pressure and blade-like words were all to provoke him into activating this key himself?”
“Of course.” True Lord Luohong gently brushed the now-silent key in his palm. “Jingde, you understand the sect’s current situation. The few Heavenly Court Fragments under our control are ultimately only remnants. And behind this key… there may very well lie a fortuitous opportunity beyond imagination.”
He paused slightly, a trace of heat entering his tone. “The sect’s two great long-cherished wishes over the years—to reclaim the authority of divine office investiture of the Heavenly Court and to connect the cycle of reincarnation of the Nether River—have never changed. Only by inducing Ye Jingchen to personally open this key could the Ancestor and I seize this fortune and truly bring it into the sect’s grasp.”
Sect Master Zhuge fell silent.
He now understood that both he and True Person Mingzhu had been potential costs within this scheme. But if it truly meant obtaining the authority of the Heavenly Court, the sacrifice of two Golden Core cultivators would be utterly insignificant.
At that moment, a trace of regret even rose in his heart—if the giant hand had taken his own withered body instead of Mingzhu, who had the potential to reach the Nascent Soul Stage and was a pillar of the sect, how much better that would have been.
Ancestor Ink Puppet’s plain puppet form turned slightly toward him. The calm voice seemed to see through all his thoughts.
“There is no need to worry excessively for that child Mingzhu. We have long deduced her fate. Before Nascent Soul, she still had one tribulation. If she merely avoided it, her Dao path would ultimately halt here. Only by facing the calamity head-on is there a thread of opportunity to break through. This upheaval… is precisely her gate of fortune.”
“This disciple understands.” Sect Master Zhuge bowed solemnly. “This disciple will handle the appeasement at Moon-Washing Peak. After this battle, Ancestor and True Lord must have expended greatly. Please enter quiet cultivation at once to recover.”
When the soundproof barrier dispersed, Saintess Yaxi, who had been standing quietly aside the whole time, stepped forward timidly. Her slender fingers lightly twisted her sleeve as she raised her face and asked softly,
“Um… this junior has one question she does not understand… Just now, Ye Jingchen used himself as sacrifice and bound two people with his curse. If True Person Mingzhu was ‘the one who hurt him most,’ then the other ‘one who caused his exposure’… if not this junior, who else could it be?”
At these words, Sect Master Zhuge and True Lord Luohong both stiffened, their gazes instinctively turning toward the direction of the Martial Arena.
…
Just moments before Ye Jingchen, in utter despair, opened the spatial gate—the Martial Arena.
Today’s first match was Nan Yuchen’s crucial Eight-to-Four showdown.
At the commentary seat, Long Tao sat upright, carefully choosing each word as he analyzed the battle situation, afraid that his inexplicable “Jinxed Mouth” trait might once again bring some unexpected “surprise” to Nan Yuchen in the arena.
He had already made up his mind—today he would only discuss tactics, not outcomes, and absolutely would not make any predictions.
He refused to believe that anything could still go wrong.