Chapter 569: Great Righteousness

Hiss!

Chen Yan once again gripped the red-hot Ember Memory Spear with one hand; the spear body was scorching, nearly burning through his palm, yet his expression did not change in the slightest.

Sixteen seconds later, a sharp pain transmitted into his soul finally forced Chen Yan to loosen his grip.

Countless secret scripts surged into Chen Yan's body, tempering everything.

It was not just Chen Yan's physical body; even his Qi and blood, and even his soul, seemed to have undergone an extremely terrifying divine weapon forging process in a short period of time.

Wisps of black smoke floated out from within Chen Yan's physical body; most of it was malice, and some of it were physical impurities Chen Yan had never noticed before.

It was hard to imagine that even though Chen Yan had reached such a stage, his body was still not flawless and pure.

Inside Chen Yan's body, the malice was slowly being driven out like disaster-water suppressing the fire of will.

The amount of Willpower that Chen Yan could circulate within his body increased, which in turn accelerated the speed at which Chen Yan drove out the malice.

The moment Chen Yan's hands fully reached into the Ancient Goat God Beast, a martial path capable of exterminating malice was added to this world from then on.

Will is the natural enemy of malice.

However, malice of an extremely high grade would also cause Chen Yan's will to be suppressed.

They generate and restrain each other; it is impossible for them to merge into one.

After a while, Chen Yan reached out his hand again, this time extending it directly into the burning Counter-Fire.

A hiss sounded.

Chen Yan only held on for five seconds, but that was already extremely good; if his will had not recovered quite a bit, Chen Yan might not have been able to hold on for even five seconds.

Glancing at his right hand, which was burned red like a soldering iron, Chen Yan took a deep breath, preparing to thrust his hand back into the flames.

The next moment.

The flames extinguished.

A single Counter-Fire Crystal had only allowed the Counter-Fire Furnace to burn for one minute.

Chen Yan's expression changed slightly as he took the slowly cooling Ember Memory Spear into his hand to observe it.

At this moment, the entire Ember Memory Spear had become brand new; waving it gently, a sharp humming sound resonated, and the killing intent was like an abyss.

The Spear Soul erupting from within the spear body was also much smoother.

The Ember Memory Spear could be seen as a spear-type True Meaning Stone that had absorbed Xia Weimin's Spear Soul.

Its greatest effect was the ability to erupt with Xia Weimin's Spear Soul.

The reason Chen Yan was able to defeat the Ancient Dream God Beast was mainly by relying on the Spear Soul within it, which caused the gap in strength between Chen Yan and the Ancient Dream God Beast to shrink significantly.

Chen Yan had previously carefully appraised the Ember Memory Spear's Spear Soul; it was roughly around the seventh grade.

Or even less.

Over a thousand years, the Spear Soul would also slowly dissipate.

But now, after being tempered by the Counter-Fire, the Xia Weimin Spear Soul hidden within the Ember Memory Spear had been stimulated to a great extent.

The Spear Soul flowing on the Ember Memory Spear was now genuine seventh grade.

The Heavenly God Armor was forged by the eighteen continents of Great Xia working together for Chen Yan.

But in the light pillar within the nineteenth continent, Ten Thousand Phases Island, there were no parts of the God Armor.

Ten Thousand Phases Island was, after all, different from the eighteen continents of Great Xia.

Chen Yan sat cross-legged, simultaneously stimulating his Willpower to repair his physical body while sensing the location of the God Armor.

He had a natural connection with the Heavenly God Armor.

Chen Yan could sense that the Heavenly God Armor had been brought back to the Counter-Fire Castle.

Chen Yan sensed the martial path veins and narrowed his eyes; Ji Chuxi had returned.

In another castle, inside a room.

Ji Chuxi, Chen Yitong, and Chi Xuanxun of Chi Continent were all sitting on chairs with gloomy expressions.

Beside them, there were also tens of thousands of floating, humanoid explosive formation disks.

However, this time there were two more Creation Realm experts from the Five Clans.

One middle-aged man who looked very slovenly was holding a bottle of wine, occasionally sipping it.

The other was another Creation Realm expert of the Yu Clan, whose entire body was encased in high-tech battle armor.

"He was indeed heavily injured; he actually used a diversion tactic right under our noses!"

Chen Yitong was incredibly remorseful; at the time, everyone was thinking about how to engage Chen Yan in battle and never considered that what came out was only a God Armor.

And the real Chen Yan was hiding in the original room.

And she, if she had just thought a little more at the time, might have perceived Chen Yan's conspiracy and could have changed the future of the world!

Chen Yitong gritted her teeth, occasionally making a 'creak' sound.

Ji Chuxi, Chi Xuanxun of Chi Continent, and the other newly arrived Yu Clan Creation Realm expert also sighed incessantly.

"Missed it, then missed it.

Who told you all to be so stupid?"

Suddenly, the slovenly middle-aged man who had been drinking wine spoke up.

"Lu Cunyang, others may fear you, but I certainly don't!" Chen Yitong glared fiercely at Lu Cunyang and snapped.

The middle-aged man named Lu Cunyang gave a faint smile and ignored the furious Chen Yitong entirely.

He then immediately asked the other Yu Clan Creation Realm expert who had been called by Ji Chuxi along with him:

"Yu Ren, have your electronic detectors all been dispersed?"

The Yu Clan member wearing the high-tech battle armor nodded:

"1.3 million electronic detectors have been thoroughly dispersed across the land within a radius of a thousand miles, centered on the Counter-Fire Castle.

Except for those unknown places in this world that were not entered, no trace of Chen Yan's aura has been found."

Lu Cunyang's expression changed slightly, and he immediately looked at Chen Yitong:

"Are you certain that Chen Yan is already severely injured?"

Just as Chen Yitong was about to sneer, Lu Cunyang suddenly struck out with a palm, knocking the Heavenly God Armor, which was being controlled by an array disk beside the group, out of the room and leaving it in the corridor.

"It is inevitable that Chen Yan might have some connection to the God Armor; everyone, listen carefully to what I say next."

Lu Cunyang's originally slovenly appearance vanished instantly; he suddenly scanned the group like a hungry wolf and barked:

"Since Chen Yan is severely injured, he must still be within this castle!"

As soon as his voice fell, everyone's expression changed instantly.

"He cannot have gone far; he even abandoned his own God Armor—the injuries he sustained must make it impossible for him to even flee!"

As Lu Cunyang's voice faded, Ji Chuxi's pupils constricted:

"He has such great audacity!"

"His audacity is the greatest in the Great Xia!" Lu Cunyang barked:

"Even Lu Xunyang's audacity cannot compare to his, but he is not stupid; he is standing in the blind spot of our thinking!"

Lu Cunyang extended a finger and tapped on the table:

"Great Xia's Chen Yan is within one of these three castles; he is severely injured, perhaps even Ji Chuxi could defeat him as he is now!"

Lu Cunyang straightened his body: "I am now formulating the battle plan."

Everyone's expression turned solemn, waiting for Lu Cunyang to speak.

"Step one, Chi Xuanxun, you are a Venerable of Arrays; I need you to continuously cast sealing array disks on that God Armor during this time.

When the struggle of the Five Clans began, the God Armor was still being nurtured in the Great Xia, but Chen Yan is wearing it now, which means the God Armor can be summoned by Chen Yan!

We cannot let Chen Yan obtain the God Armor again."

"Understood!" the Creation Realm expert from Chi Province named Chi Xuanxun said with a solemn expression.

The most troublesome thing was that God Armor.

It was actually impossible to place it into a Source Space.

In the entire world, only Chen Yan alone could control the God Armor.

The God Armor created for him by the Great Xia Continent's Ming made everyone extremely wary.

"Step two, Chen Yitong and I have the greatest strength; we will go to find Chen Yan and confirm which castle he is actually in."

Chen Yitong nodded.

"Step three.

Yu Ren, you can control the explosive array disks that Yu Shi Huan has transformed into; I need you to deploy these tens of thousands of explosive array disks.

Once we confirm Chen Yan's location, deploy them in a surrounding kill formation; do not leave Chen Yan a single chance to survive!"

The Yu Clan Creation Realm expert wearing battle armor emitted an electronic voice:

"Understood."

"Step four, Ji Chuxi, you continue to look for nearby Five Clans Creation Realm experts.

If we fail, you are the key!"

"I..." Ji Chuxi's expression changed slightly:

"I might..."

"There is no 'might'!" Lu Cunyang said indifferently:

"Your strength is too poor; it is insufficient to change the situation."

After he finished speaking, he poured himself a mouthful of wine and revealed a smile:

"The layout of the Five Clans over the past thousand years cannot be destroyed because of Lu Xunyang, nor because of Chen Yan.

We all have relatives and friends; when we deal with Chen Yan, I hope you can think of them.

It is indeed dishonorable for a group of us old monsters who are hundreds of years old to bully an eighteen-year-old child, but...

He is Chen Yan!"

As he spoke, Lu Cunyang suddenly gritted his teeth, the muscles on his cheeks bulging slightly, as if he were gathering all his strength:

"For our Five Clans!"

Inside the room, everyone spoke in unison:

"For our Five Clans!"

Veins bulged on Ji Chuxi's forehead, and sweat slid down his temples; at this moment, he had long since shed his usual hypocrisy and bowed deeply to Lu Cunyang and the others:

"For our Five Clans!"

…………

Chen Yan observed the martial arts pathways and sensed the Heavenly God Armor; his expression was like a pool of tranquil water, without a single ripple.

What Chen Yan needed most now was to expel all the malice within his body.

Only with the Counter-Fire Crystal could Chen Yan be considered to have the strength to fight those people.

Chen Yan also knew some intelligence regarding these people.

The strongest was Lu Cunyang, sixty-third on the Creation Realm Ranking.

Chen Yitong, seventy-seventh on the Creation Realm Ranking.

Chi Xuanxun of Chi Province was much weaker, outside the top two hundred.

As for those two from the Yu Clan, Chen Yan did not know.

The Yu Clan was the most mysterious clan.

Among them, one had already divided their body into tens of thousands of explosive array disks, and the other also possessed many high-tech methods.

Chen Yan walked out of the room.

Outside the room, the Fortress Master with a kind face was sitting quietly on a chair, waiting for Chen Yan with a smile on his face.

"Respected guest, how... is the taste of the Counter-Fire Crystal?" The Fortress Master revealed a very ambiguous smile.

"Quite good." Chen Yan nodded:

"I am already impatient to obtain more Counter-Fire Crystals."

Chen Yan revealed a smile.

"Then please, guest, continue to reside in our Counter-Fire Fortress; the more friendship you display, the more Counter-Fire Crystals you will obtain."

The Fortress Master said with a beaming smile.

Chen Yan revealed a smile:

"Fortress Master, you are truly too generous; let me think if I have any spare human martial artist corpses."

As Chen Yan's voice fell, the Fortress Master stood up instantly, revealing an extremely excited expression, but the next moment he suddenly became coy and slowly sat back down:

"Guest, rest assured, we are a group of ancient divine beasts that have turned to good; we do not eat people."

Chen Yan's expression turned cold:

"You are so friendly, yet that group of fellows outside the gate are not even as good as ancient divine beasts.

If there is an opportunity, I will personally kill them and provide them to you."

As Chen Yan spoke, the Fortress Master's eyes flickered, and he suddenly frowned, almost writing the words 'Just you?' on his face.

"I am skilled at making poisons." Chen Yan said, taking out the Heart-Devouring Ghost Grass.

This was a poisonous flower Chen Yan had obtained from within Myriad Forms Island.

"So that is how it is." The Fortress Master looked at Chen Yan with a beaming smile:

"Honored guest, do you really intend to kill those humans?"

"Naturally." Chen Yan nodded:

"But I am currently severely injured, and making the poison to harm them takes time."

Chen Yan revealed a bitter smile:

"The malice within my body has been blurring my consciousness, making it... difficult for me to distinguish the types of poisons."

The Fortress Master revealed a meaningful smile, but said nothing.

"Can you prepare a room for me in this fortress?" Chen Yan spoke:

"I need to rest."

As Chen Yan spoke, he took out two seventh-rank Malice Crystals.

These were also obtained by Chen Yan from that questioning game on Myriad Forms Island.

Chen Yan had never used them.

Linking this to the incident where the Fortress Master directly ate the maid, Chen Yan could roughly see.

These ancient divine beasts had lived in this world for a long time and were just a group of poor wretches restricted by the rules of the Purple Firmament World-Fixing Mirror.

They were extremely hungry, yet they needed to follow the rules.

And the rules of this fortress.

Were that the longer a martial artist stayed in the fortress, the rules imposed upon the ancient divine beasts would gradually disappear.

Until after the fourth hour, they would attack Chen Yan.

Seeing the Malice Crystals, the Fortress Master's expression trembled slightly:

"No, I cannot take the honored guest's things!"

He said it extremely firmly, yet he was also extremely covetous.

Chen Yan observed the Fortress Master's emotions.

It was an emotion of extreme excitement, yet also extreme suppression.

The other party clearly wanted these two Malice Crystals, but absolutely could not obtain them directly from Chen Yan.

This seemed to be another rule: one cannot accept bribes.

Chen Yan put the Malice Crystals back into his Origin Space:

"Then can you prepare a room for me?"

Chen Yan observed the Fortress Master; a trace of irrepressible excitement and killing intent surfaced in the Fortress Master's heart, and he shook his head at Chen Yan:

"No."

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes.

Lying.

The Fortress Master could prepare a room for him, but the Fortress Master did not want to.

Chen Yan understood.

Chen Yan could not offer a bribe; once the Fortress Master accepted it, it would be defaulted by the Purple Firmament World-Fixing Mirror as the Fortress Master attacking him.

But the Fortress Master was also extremely eager for these two Malice Crystals.

Therefore, he refused the request to provide Chen Yan with a room.

The Fortress Master's meaning at this moment was clearly:

'You figure it out; I just want the Malice Crystals, but you cannot give them to me; anyway, you figure it out, I want the Malice Crystals.'

A trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Chen Yan's mouth.

Being able to observe others' emotions was Chen Yan's greatest advantage now.

Two slapping sounds.

Two Malice Crystals fell onto the floor, and Chen Yan looked at the Fortress Master:

"Fortress Master, my two Malice Crystals have gone missing; did you see them?"

The Fortress Master's expression changed slightly; he stared at Chen Yan, judging at this moment whether Chen Yan's consciousness had truly been corrupted by malice.

But the next moment, when he saw the Malice Crystal on the floor, he smiled:

"I didn't see it, honored guest. Would you like me to have someone help you look for it?"

"No need," Chen Yan said.

"Could you help me find a room first? I need to rest."

"Certainly," the Fortress Master replied with a hurried smile.

"Of course, my bedroom. It has a soft, fragrant bed and various works of art painted by yours truly."

The Fortress Master bowed respectfully.

This was a very wealthy and generous guest.

Soon, Chen Yan walked into a seemingly ordinary, old bedroom, inside which drifted the stench of fermented urine, and on the walls hung some paintings that could not be called paintings at all.

"I have many more Malice Crystals," Chen Yan said, glancing at the Fortress Master standing at the door.

"Can you perceive the malice on my body?"

The Fortress Master shuddered and stretched out his head.

He truly stretched it out.

His body remained at the doorway, but his neck kept elongating, his head reaching Chen Yan's side to sniff carefully.

At first, the Fortress Master did not smell too closely, but slowly, the Fortress Master's eyes widened.

That pure and terrifying malice made his heart tremble.

"I was wounded by malice precisely because I was collecting that one Malice Crystal."

Chen Yan sighed.

The Fortress Master's eyes rounded in shock:

"That... that Malice Crystal..."

"It is inside my Origin Space," Chen Yan said with a smile.

The Fortress Master's face was filled with shock; the desire in his eyes reached its peak in an instant, but the next moment he slowly retracted his head and bowed slightly to Chen Yan:

"You are truly the greatest guest I have ever met."

Immediately, the Fortress Master left directly.

Chen Yan closed his eyes and began to heal his wounds.

Within his body, the Immortal Will was like a newly born flame; one spark gave rise to all things.

Rolling waves of malice drifted out from Chen Yan's body.

A few minutes later.

Downstairs.

"I am sorry, this is the Fortress Master's private castle; you cannot enter, honored guest."

The butler, wearing a suit and a top hat, blocked Lu Cunyang, who was about to enter the Fortress Master's castle.

"Is that so?" Lu Cunyang appeared indifferent; he took a swig of wine and turned to walk back.

Not far away, Chen Yitong, who had just finished searching another castle, frowned and sent a voice transmission to Lu Cunyang:

"Chen Yan might not be here at all."

Lu Cunyang's expression was silent.

Not far away, the Yu Clan Creation Realm expert who was still setting up explosive formation disks in the surroundings also stopped their movements.

The butler revealed a gentle smile.

It was also at this moment that Lu Cunyang suddenly turned around and spoke:

"That's not right. Why was my companion able to enter this castle? His name is Chen Yan."

The butler smiled:

"That is because..."

The next instant!

Boom, boom, boom!

A series of explosions instantly rang out.

Lu Cunyang, Chen Yitong, and the others instantly surged forward, turning into streaks of light as they charged into the castle.