Nine Astra Skies

Somewhere on the sixth level of the Soul Pagoda, Ye Chen had used Daylight Thief to change his appearance to an ordinary youth. He had also put away his Purple Demon Armor and other treasures.

Ye Chen could leave after he took the Myriad Sword Array. Over these few days, he would continue waiting on the Soul Pagoda’s sixth level and learned more about these super factions. It was best to gain more information.

After Ye Chen had exited the Soul Pagoda, it would be difficult to encounter the members of these super factions. Even so, Ye Chen heard that many of these factions were planning to become active once more. No one knew what the future would bring.

Ye Chen stayed on the Soul Pagoda’s sixth floor for a few days. He heard that the seven major factions had conquered the Soul Pagoda’s seventh floor, wiping out all the Grand Supreme Stage Spirit Beasts there. Each of them had seized quite a few treasures. The group of Grand Supremes and Peerless Powers from the seven major factions had formed an additional group to enter the eighth level. However, in a day or two, that group backed out, looking worn and beaten up. A Peerless Power from the Temple of War even died on the Soul Pagoda’s eighth level.

The seven major factions had decided to withdraw from the Soul Pagoda.

Everyone was debating about what sort of Spirit Beast must have appeared on the Soul Pagoda’s eighth floor. Still, without any new information being revealed, they could only guess.

As factions withdrew their forces from the Soul Pagoda in turn, Ye Chen slipped out of the Soul Pagoda along with the other independent cultivators.

“Did you guys know, an unknown fighter has collected a full suit of Purple Demon Armor. This is the second set of Purple Demon Armor after the one worn by the Thunder Beasts’ Bi Lin. Currently, the Grand Supremes and Peerless Powers from various parties are looking for that guy, trying to seize his Purple Demon Armor and other treasures!”

“Have they found him?”

“After that guy left, he seemed to vanish into thin air. No one can find any trace of him!”

When Ye Chen heard this conversation between some independent cultivators, his lips curved slightly in a smirk. He headed toward where the Spirit Artifact Council was stationed.

Outside the Spirit Artifact Council, Ye Chen flashed the Spirit Artifact Council’s card. An apprentice quickly brought Ye Chen to Elder Zi Lin.

“Young man, you’re here to retrieve the Myriad Sword Array?” Elder Zi Lin looked Ye Chen up and down as he asked. Ye Chen had changed his appearance and energy. Zi Lin could not recognize him at all.

“Yes.” Ye Chen nodded.

Zi Lin led Ye Chen to a tent which was piled high with Tier Five spirit artifact long swords, all of which were branded with a Sword Array Runic Seal. There were ten thousand in total. Ye Chen frowned. With so many spirit artifacts flying swords, it would be difficult to carry them all!

The only method was to come up with a large pile of Heaven-Earth Pouches and fill each of them with dozens of swords. Then, he would pack up the hundreds of Heaven-Earth Pouches and take them with him.

After this troublesome process, Ye Chen handed three secret technique jade slips, along with some twilight gold ancient coins and nephrite pearls, to Elder Zi Lin. He carried the massive sack and left the camp of the Spirit Artifact Council.

After leaving the Spirit Artifact Council’s camp, Ye Chen promptly disappeared into the crowd, then rode the Golden Sun Condor and vanished into the mountain range.

The majestic mountains and creeks below streaked past Ye Chen’s eyes.

Ye Chen was rather despondent. Such a large sack was rather unwieldy to carry around.

It was a shame that the armguard’s space was stuffed with various items. It was difficult to put in much more.

These were no fewer than ten thousand flying swords!

Ye Chen looked down and focused on the Skyfire Armguard, which was covered in rivulets of firelight.

Ye Chen suddenly recalled that ever since he channeled Fire-type energy into the Skyfire Armguard that one time, he had not continued to do so. Back then, it was because his body could not endure the heat of the Skyfire Armguard. However, Ye Chen’s present Celestial Chi cultivation base had reached top Mystique Venerable Rank and the strength of his physical body had greatly increased too.

With this in mind, Ye Chen activated the Blazing Fire Technique, turning all of his Celestial Chi into Fire-type, then slowly channeling this Fire-type Celestial Chi into the Skyfire Armguard.

When it sensed the fresh surge of Fire-type Celestial Chi, the artifact spirit within the Skyfire Armguard was highly delighted. It frantically absorbed the scorching flames without stopping.

Soon, the Skyfire Armguard’s artifact spirit had taken in a volume of Celestial Chi equivalent to numerous Mystique Rank fighters. The secret pattern over the Skyfire Armguard glowed even more blindingly.

Bursts of sizzling energy came out of the Skyfire Armguard. Ye Chen could feel that this temperature was slowly approaching his present limits.

As Ye Chen channeled a large volume of Fire-type Celestial Chi, something began to change within the Skyfire Armguard as well. The furnace in the Skyfire Armguard grew in size, gleaming red all over like a red-hot soldering iron. Wisps of heat spread out and Ye Chen felt that the Skyfire Armguard was brimming with a mysterious power.

As more time passed, he perceived that the space within the Skyfire Armguard was slowly expanding in all directions.

This astounding transformation stunned Ye Chen to the core. This Skyfire Armguard was a treasure on par with the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron. It was just that, with Ye Chen’s current Celestial Chi, he was unable to fully unleash the strongest functions of the Skyfire Armguard!

Ye Chen threw a punch and a searing wave gushed out. A causal punch like this was already on par with a full-force strike from any Mystique Rank expert. As long as Ye Chen filled the Skyfire Armguard up with Fire-type Celestial Chi, throwing ten punches like this in succession would not be a problem.

As Ye Chen peered at it, the streaming lights over the Skyfire Armguard gave him a feeling that it was age-old and weathered.

In truth, the artifact spirit of the Skyfire Armguard was very strong. Nonetheless, over tens of thousands of years, its store of Fire-type Celestial Chi was continuously dispersed, so it became increasingly ordinary. As long as someone channeled enough Fire-type Celestial Chi into it, it would become extremely formidable.

Slowly, the space within the Skyfire Armguard kept on expanding until it was a few kilometres wide, just like a tiny world. Ye Chen was taken aback.

Ye Chen found it difficult to imagine to what extent this Skyfire Armguard could develop.

Ye Chen’s current Celestial Chi cultivation base was only at beginner Mystique Venerable Rank. If he continued progressing and reached Godly Venerable Rank or higher, could the Skyfire Armguard evolve into a world of its own?

Ye Chen’s right hand gently stroked the Skyfire Armguard’s surface fondly. Not even his full set of Purple Demon Armor could compare to the value of this Skyfire Armguard. Perhaps only the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron was comparable.

After the space in the Skyfire Armguard had enlarged, Ye Chen was overjoyed. In the future, it would be easier to store things. He transferred all of the Tier Five spirit artifact longswords, which were engraved with the Sword Array Runic Seal, from the Heaven-Earth Pouches to the armguard’s space. He heaped them up in a corner, and they were as high as a hill.

After Ye Chen returned to the Ye Clan’s valley, he would set up the Myriad Sword Array over the peaks surrounding the valley. The ten thousand Tier Five spirit artifact swords would comprise the Myriad Sword Array. Once it was activated, not even Boundless Stage fighters could easily force their way through, to say nothing of Daemon Kings!

Ye Chen had wanted to prepare a few more Myriad Sword Arrays but later realized that his twilight gold ancient coins and nephrite pearls were insufficient. He only had four secret technique jade slips left as well. Thus, he could only assemble one set. If he had enough secret technique jade slips, twilight gold ancient coins, and nephrite pearls, he could obtain many useful items through the Spirit Artifact Council. However, he had too few items which could be used for such exchanges.

After flying over the vast mountain ranges for a few hours, Ye Chen was already a long way from the Soul Pagoda. Bi Lin’s Psyche could not possibly trace him now, so Ye Chen unleashed his Astral Body along his path to prevent himself from getting lost.

Ye Chen’s Astral Body swept across the villages nestled among the mountain ridges. An energy from their depths suddenly caught Ye Chen’s attention. After trading blows with Daemon King combatants so many times, Ye Chen could detect at once that this was a mystical beast Daemon King’s energy!

Mystical beast Daemon King – Ye Chen’s heart pounded. He wondered, was this mystical beast Daemon King tamed by some other Celestial Beast Daemon King?

Ye Chen did not know what the attainment level of the mystical beast Daemon King was. Its energy seemed rather robust. It must be mid-Daemon King Rank at least.

With a full suit of Purple Demon Armor and a divine weapon like the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron, Ye Chen would be unruffled and fearless, no matter how strong of a Daemon King he encountered.

“Roar!”

From the depths of the woods there came a beastly roar. This sound reverberated through the air and the entire mountain trembled.

Ye Chen’s Astral Body tracked down the voice. Soon, a large bear appeared within Ye Chen’s field of vision. This massive bear was grayish-brown all over and five to six meters tall. Its huge, thick paws were like metal pillars.

Around the bear, mystical beasts including tigers and panthers were crouching. These were Mystique Adept Rank and they shuddered with fear before the large bear.

“I’m furious now. You bunch of garbage, you can’t even defeat a pig!” The large bear snarled in anger.

“Boss Giant Bear, that pig is a Daemon King. We’re only at Mystique Adept Rank. How can we be a match for it…”

“That pig is trash! It only knows how to nuzzle women’s buttocks. It’s fast at slipping away, just like a mudskipper. I can’t catch up to it, otherwise, I would’ve smacked it to death!” The Giant Bear was infuriated. His solid paw smacked stubbornly against his head. If that paw had hit a rock, the rock would be crushed to dust, yet the Giant Bear did not even seem to feel it.

When Ye Chen heard the words “nuzzle women’s buttocks”, an image appeared in his mind – a thoroughly pink, plump pig dripping with jewelry. Could it be the Daemon King Zhu Gonggong?

When the Mystique Adept Rank mystical beasts sensed the force from the Giant Bear’s blow, they shrank back their heads.

“Boss Giant Bear, since that pig is hiding in a cave, why don’t we just corner it in that cave?”

“That cave is filled with various mechanisms. In the past, I steeled my nerves and barged my way in a few times. Each time, I ended up nearly being turned into mincemeat. For some reason, that pig knows how to evade these mechanisms and can go in and out unscathed!” The Giant Bear became indignant as he spoke of this.

Giant Bear? Pig? Cave?

It appeared that the Daemon King Zhu Gonggong had some conflict with this bear but was no match for him. As for the cave filled with mechanisms, who knew what it held?

This bear did not seem to be tamed by any other Celestial Beast Daemon Kings!

Ye Chen felt a burst of glee and rubbed his palms when he realized this. No matter what, he must capture a Daemon King Rank subordinate today. Otherwise, constantly putting up a fight by himself would be too arduous!

Ye Chen huffed softly and circulated his Celestial Chi. His Astral Body covered the sky and descended, encircling the Giant Bear.

Presently, the Giant Bear which was pacing around suddenly felt the pressure of an incomparably overwhelming Psyche. His expression shifted involuntarily.

“It’s a Celestial Beast Daemon King!”