Chapter 860: At close quarters, one man is a match for a nation

The outside world was turned upside down, but in this blessed land, the years remained peaceful and quiet.

However, following the utterance of those four heart-piercing words, "inviting a wolf into the house," a murderous atmosphere began to spread uncontrollably.

Luo Chen raised his eyelids and said in a deep voice, "Old Ancestor, you speak too gravely."

Old Ancestor Heize bared his teeth, his dilapidated body radiating a thick, dangerous aura.

"I cannot be mistaken!"

"Back then at Mount Cangwu, it was this golden flame; just now outside, it was also this golden flame; and now... how do you intend to defend yourself?"

Before Luo Chen could defend himself.

Old Ancestor Heize chuckled again, "I was wondering how the Demon Phoenix could instantly pinpoint Mount Yanfu and even shatter the array's hub with a single palm strike. So, it turns out there was an inside traitor like you echoing from within."

He looked around, his gaze falling upon those rows of array flags.

"With such attainments in arrays, how would the world know that Luo Chen, a Grandmaster of Alchemy, is also a brilliant Grandmaster of Arrays?"

Luo Chen spoke once more: "Old Ancestor Heize, you are overthinking it."

Old Ancestor Heize shook his head, "Is it that I am overthinking? If I had thought enough, I would not have watched Mount Cangwu fly away back then, nor would I have led you, this lackey of the Demon Phoenix, into the Mingyuan Sect."

Luo Chen sighed and slowly stood up.

Many things could not be explained, nor were they easy to explain.

What he had revealed to the outside world was the Withering-Prospering Divine Fire, but what he was displaying now was the Nirvana Sacred Fire.

With such deliberate concealment, who would be willing to believe he harbored no malicious intent?

Especially now that the sect was suffering a calamity and had incurred heavy losses.

Yet clearly, everything started because you, old man, took the initiative to provoke Mount Cangwu!

He could tell that Old Ancestor Heize had never regretted provoking Mount Cangwu; what he regretted was merely letting Mount Cangwu escape back then instead of keeping it there.

What he regretted was Luo Chen leading Fairy Qixia inside, not being defeated by her hand.

If they had the Nether Abyss Grand Array to rely on, utilizing the geographical advantages of Mount Yanfu, and gathering the power of three great experts and countless Mingyuan cultivators, who in this realm could forcibly break into the Mingyuan Sect?

Defeat often begins from within.

It was Luo Chen, this chess piece, who caused the center to collapse, leaving them in a passive position.

As Luo Chen stood up, a massive wave of magic power surged out.

His Nascent Soul domain also unfolded, drawing upon the fire-attribute spiritual energy within the Alchemy Saint's blessed land.

Thanks to Fairy Qixia, a portion of the Nirvana Sacred Fire had permeated inside earlier, causing the fire-attribute spiritual energy in this realm to be quite vigorous.

As it merged into Luo Chen's domain at this moment, a terrifying spiritual pressure rippled outward.

Old Ancestor Heize watched this scene, an expression of astonishment involuntarily appearing in his eyes.

"Only at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm, yet the magic power fluctuation is not inferior to any great cultivator of the late Nascent Soul stage. The intensity of this domain's spiritual pressure—even if Chongxuan and Hanyang were still alive, I fear they would not compare to you."

But the more astonished he was, the more intense the anger on his face became.

"Although I knew you had entanglements with Mount Cangwu, we still wanted to give you a chance, thinking that time would reveal your heart, and even hoping that if you performed well, we might help you achieve the Soul Transformation realm in the future."

"But you should not have, you absolutely should not have, committed that act of betraying your master!"

"With this posture now, do you still intend to strike at me?"

Luo Chen slowly raised his right hand, fingers together like a sword, and wisps of heaven and earth origin energy began to gather at his fingertips.

He calmly retorted, "Heize, what kind of performance would count as 'good'? What would satisfy you? As for this so-called betrayal of a master, was it my own willing desire to join this Mingyuan Sect? Finally, how would I, a mere junior, dare to strike at a Soul Transformation great expert? It is merely a quest for self-preservation."

"Hahaha!"

Old Ancestor Heize burst into laughter upon hearing these words.

Only, laughing until the end, he couldn't help but cough, the sound of his laughter getting stuck in his throat.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

His footsteps did not stop; he was still approaching Luo Chen step by step.

His eyes were fixed on Luo Chen's fingers, sensing the true meaning of the law.

"That fire is the Nirvana Sacred Fire, and this true meaning of the law is so similar to Fairy Qixia's Nirvana true meaning. You said you had received her guidance; you really weren't lying."

"Luo has always treated people with sincerity!"

"Even if my spiritual treasure is broken, my mind is injured, and I am being hunted by Fairy Qixia, and my state is poor, do you think you are my match?"

Luo Chen stared at the old man in black's broken body, which now looked like a tattered cloth bag, leaking magic power outward.

But at the same time, more heaven and earth origin energy was continuously gathering toward him.

Luo Chen understood that the opponent was allowing him to condense his divine ability because he himself was also recovering his strength.

To kill Luo Chen, perhaps only a single strike was needed.

But how could he sit and wait for death!

Golden light flashed in his eyes; before the Withering-Prospering Dao Finger could be unleashed, a blue-white flame erupted with Luo Chen as the center, turning into a wave of fire that swept toward the opponent.

Facing this move, Old Ancestor Heize did not dodge or evade; a black halo of light simply rose from his body.

The Withering-Prospering Divine Fire crashed into that black halo like waves hitting a sturdy reef—it could pass, but it could not break through.

Old Ancestor Heize pushed against the surging wave of fire, advancing step by step, getting closer and closer to Luo Chen.

"This trump card of yours might pose a certain threat to any Soul Transformation great expert, but you happened to run into me, who most counters the fire element."

Instantly, Luo Chen's complexion turned ugly.

On the surface, he was accumulating power for a divine ability, but in reality, his greatest killing move was the fifth-order Withering-Prospering Divine Fire.

But just as the opponent said, without an absolute gap in strength, the fire element is countered by the water element.

This is the most basic Dao of the Five Elements' mutual restraint.

At this moment, it was being displayed so vividly!

The old man's body stopped at a distance of one zhang from Luo Chen.

"It's over!"

"After you die, your son will go down to accompany you, and the entire Luo Tian Sect will also go down to accompany you."

"Everyone in the entire Eastern Wasteland who has any entanglement with you will not have it easy!"

"Tianyi..."

Old Ancestor Heize pushed out with his right fist, and upon reaching mid-air, he slowly opened it.

He whispered in a low murmur:

"Birth of Water!"

The next moment!

A black halo of light, originating from the same source as Old Ancestor Heize, emerged on Luo Chen's body.

Like a pool of spring water, it began to bubble and boil.

And Luo Chen's physical body also seemed to have been corroded, instantly beginning to melt.

Having done all this, Old Ancestor Heize couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed as if triggering the divine ability left on Luo Chen had also cost him a great deal of effort in his current state.

The heaven and earth origin energy that had gathered around began to slowly recede; he dared not let it linger, otherwise, in his current state, he would inevitably suffer a backlash and fall into the fate of being assimilated by heaven and earth.

"Everything is over."

When he said this, he was listless, and a thick sense of exhaustion appeared on his body.

What if he killed Luo Chen?

It was nothing more than venting his anger.

But the Mingyuan Sect had ultimately suffered a devastating blow.

Post-war reconstruction was inevitable, but whether it could return to its peak was another matter.

Moreover, with the Mingyuan Sect so weakened, it was hard to guarantee it wouldn't attract the covetous eyes of the Tianyuan Dao Sect.

He lowered his heavy head and looked at the ground.

"Fortunately, this blessed land exists; at least it left a root for the Mingyuan Sect."

At this very moment!

A figure ghosted out from the black halo of the melting snow, fingers pointed like a sword, and thrust forward.

At such close range, it was as if the entire world were the enemy!

Caught off guard, Old Ancestor Hei Ze subconsciously used his remaining magic power to inflate his dharma robe, causing it to swell high.

However!

The sharp, peerless sword tip pierced into his body without the slightest obstruction, as if stabbing through cloth.

Pfft!

His balloon-like body shriveled up.

Old Ancestor Hei Ze raised his head in disbelief, meeting Luo Chen's pair of crimson eyes and golden pupils.

"How did you break free from my divine ability's control?"

Luo Chen did not answer him; his eyes held only a look of madness.

A sword tip was emerging from his fingertips, frantically destroying Old Ancestor Hei Ze's body, deeply piercing the barrier of his Purple Mansion, and stabbing into his weak Primordial Spirit.

"It's a death-substitute puppet!"

Old Ancestor Hei Ze's thoughts flashed, and he instantly understood Luo Chen's method. There was no time to think; he could only let out an angry roar.

"Get lost!"

Magic power surged, directly blasting Luo Chen's body away.

He turned into a tumbling gourd, rolling continuously across the ground and smashing into countless rocks.

Yet, as Luo Chen was forced back, the stinging pain coming from within his Primordial Spirit did not diminish in the slightest; instead, it became even more agonizing.

Old Ancestor Hei Ze lowered his head and saw a blood sword stuck in his own chest.

He reached out with trembling hands, wanting to pull the blood sword out.

However, it was already too late!

A bloodthirsty, mad will was violently rushing out from within it, rolling toward the Primordial Spirit in his Purple Mansion, and swallowing it in one gulp.

It was the Yuantu Sword Spirit!

When a cultivator refines Qi and spirit to the Soul Transformation realm, the Nascent Soul has already fused with the soul to achieve a powerful Primordial Spirit.

In that state, even if the physical body is lost, as long as the Primordial Spirit survives, the Dao remains undamaged.

But once the Primordial Spirit is destroyed, everything is over.

And this was not the first time the Yuantu Sword had slaughtered a Soul Transformation expert.

It was just that the last time, the one who died under its blade was Old Ancestor Blood Sea of the Yuanmo Sect.

This time, it had simply become Old Ancestor Hei Ze of the Mingyuan Sect.

At this moment, the Yuantu Sword Spirit, having gorged itself on blood and Primordial Spirit, emitted a sharp sword hum, as if rejoicing, or perhaps burping after a full meal.

As for Old Ancestor Hei Ze, his eyes were wide open, standing on the spot like a wooden statue.

"Old Ancestor!!!"

A shrill, piercing cry suddenly rang out.

Ye Ruoli, who was protected within the circle of fire, had previously been suppressed by Luo Chen's domain and unable to speak.

Only after this brief yet perilous battle ended could she finally make a sound.

She could not believe, nor did she want to believe, that the sect Old Ancestor she revered had died right before her eyes, his aura completely dissipated.

In the distance.

A tall figure struggled to walk out from the pile of rubble.

In Ye Ruoli's terrified gaze, he stepped closer to Old Ancestor Hei Ze step by step.

"Hall Master Dan Sheng, don't!"

"The Old Ancestor cannot die!"

Luo Chen stopped his steps, blood streaks at the corners of his mouth, his aura in complete disarray.

"If he doesn't die, I die."

Hearing this, the young woman's body staggered, almost touching the circle of fire beside her; fortunately, Luo Lingxi grabbed her hand.

"Sister Ruoli, Father had no choice."

Luo Lingxi said this, his mind echoing with the words Old Ancestor Hei Ze had said before wanting to kill Luo Chen.

Everyone related to Luo Chen had to die!

Father did nothing wrong!

Ye Ruoli's face was pale, her lips unable to stop trembling: "But, but..."

There were no such "buts."

Luo Chen walked to Old Ancestor Hei Ze's side and reached out to pull out the sword.

As early as the battle in the Badao Domain, he had realized the bloodthirsty nature of the Yuantu Sword Spirit.

Later, during the great battle in the Yaowang Domain, he used his own source blood as the price to undo the third seal of the Yuantu Sword, completely releasing the sword spirit.

It was just that when facing Qing Shuang, who arrived later, the Yuantu Sword Spirit had no use.

Qing Shuang's use of space divine abilities was too marvelous; it was not something the Yuantu Sword could capture a chance to kill.

But this time!

It was an excellent, unprecedented opportunity!

A severely injured Soul Transformation expert, an attack distance of mere inches.

To thrust this sword, he had successively used the Withering-Prospering Divine Fire, the death-substitute puppet, and even the divine ability Withering-Prospering Dao Finger as a feint, only then achieving this unexpected result.

And now...

Luo Chen gripped the hilt and pulled it out bit by bit.

The sword spirit within emitted a mad thought, as if wanting to kill everything.

Endless blood light, as the sword body was pulled out, scattered in all directions like ribbons, carving gullies of varying depths into the ground.

Luo Chen's expression was ruthless: "Since you have already acknowledged me as your master, do you still wish to backfire?"

As he said this, the Withering-Prospering Divine Fire directly wrapped around the Yuantu Sword.

It was as if he would refine this sword if there was any disagreement.

Under the threat of the Withering-Prospering Divine Fire, the Yuantu Sword Spirit hummed unwillingly a few times, and finally chose to submit.

The stone in Luo Chen's heart finally landed.

This was the drawback of placing the Yuantu Sword in an arm acupoint for nourishment.

Its connection to his mind was not tight enough, and its autonomous consciousness was too strong.

Unlike the Withering-Prospering Fire Spirit, which, even after achieving the fifth rank, was willing to be controlled by Luo Chen, with the only condition being that it required too much magic power.

After pulling out the Yuantu Sword, Luo Chen placed it in front of him, looking at the bright sword body, a look of satisfaction appearing in his eyes.

This God-Slaying Blood Sword, once famous on Cold Light Island, was now becoming increasingly peerless in power.

Once it digested Old Ancestor Hei Ze's Primordial Spirit, it might be able to take the final step, shed the shackles of a pseudo-spirit treasure, and achieve the true spirit treasure grade.

At that time, he, Luo Chen, would also possess a killing weapon belonging solely to himself!

"Go and recover well!"

A flash of blood light, and the Yuantu Sword disappeared.

And Old Ancestor Hei Ze's shell also crashed to the ground, splashing up a little dust.

Not far away, sobbing sounds came.

Ye Ruoli cried uncontrollably: "Why... why..."

She didn't understand why everything had changed.

Overnight, the prosperous sect was swallowed by the flames of war.

The revered Old Ancestor had died at the hands of Hall Master Dan Sheng.

For her, who had grown up in the Mingyuan Sect and been protected by the elders of the clan, all of this impact was too great.

Luo Chen looked over, meeting Ye Ruoli's eyes.

A trace of venomous resentment flashed by.

Luo Chen seemed not to notice, lowering his head to look at Old Ancestor Hei Ze's corpse.

Why?

Perhaps it was just because the other party didn't respect him enough?

For the high-and-mighty experts of the Mingyuan Sect, all cultivators in the entire Eastern Wasteland could be taken and demanded at will, ordered around.

Was it he who invited the wolf into the house?

No!

It was just that they provoked the Demon Phoenix.

He, a mere Nascent Soul True Person, was nothing more than a pawn that could be placed at will in front of a Soul Transformation expert.

"True Persons are not true, experts are not capable; if one wishes for carefree longevity, one must become an immortal."

Muttering, Luo Chen released a wisp of Nirvana Holy Fire, burning Old Ancestor Hei Ze's corpse to ashes.

In this way, even if the experts of the Mingyuan Sect asked, he could well say it was killed by Sovereign Qixia.

In fact, Old Ancestor Hei Ze's fate today was indeed thanks to Sovereign Qixia.

Luo Chen's sword was merely the last straw that broke the camel's back.

After doing all this, Luo Chen waved his hand behind him.

Thump!

Luo Lingxi looked blankly at the woman in front of him, who had fallen beside him; in his hands, he seemed to still be able to feel that remaining gentleness.

He looked at the deceased Ye Ruoli, then blankly turned his head to look at the tall man with his back turned.

"Father, why?"

"This question, you shouldn't ask."

Luo Chen did not turn around to look at his son, just shook his left shoulder, and a small dragon flew out, circling in front of him.

"Protect Lingxi, I'll be back soon."

"Yes, Master!" Black King answered with rare cleanliness and decisiveness, his eyes filled with fear.

Luo Chen reached out to summon the token on the ground, stimulated it with magic power, and his whole person was wrapped in clouds and smoke, disappearing from the Dan Sheng Blessed Land.

In the vast Dan Sheng Blessed Land, it was silent at this moment.

Only the black dragon crawled and coiled, only the golden circle of fire burned slowly.

The youth sat paralyzed within, guarding the woman's gradually cooling body. (End of chapter)