Chapter 309: Troublemaker
Ye Guan rode on his sword across the seemingly endless mountain range. He pushed his speed to the extreme, and his shuttling through the endless mountains would occasionally emit a wisp of sword energy that would split a mountain peak in half.
Three peak Divine Sovereign Realm cultivators chased closely behind him, wreaking havoc all the way. Their reckless movement destroyed the mountains on their path, kicking up a tower of dust and debris, which created a terrifying scene that shook the heavens and the earth.
Ye Guan couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.
He wasn't lying, but the three old men refused to believe him.
However, this also raised his suspicions. His aunt's reputation didn't seem as prominent as he thought. The True Universe and the Heaven Seizing Clan seemed unaware of her identity, and the cultivators here seemed ignorant of her as well, which was strange.
Ye Guan had no choice but to escape from the three old men.
He was too weak to confront them at the moment.
Divine Sovereign Realm cultivators were no match for him back in the Guanxuan Universe, but the Chaotic Star World had made him realize that not every Divine Sovereign was equal.
There was a difference in quality between the two Divine Sovereigns, and the Divine Sovereigns of both the Guanxuan Universe and the True Universe seemed unable to compare to the Divine Sovereigns of the Chaotic Star World.
With that in mind, Ye Guan didn't even dare to imagine just how horrifying the Great Sovereigns of the Chaotic Star World were.
Ye Guan pushed aside his thoughts and picked up the pace.
He moved extremely fast, and the three old men were starting to get left behind after an hour and a half of relentless chasing. Of course, Ye Guan knew that depleting his energy in this manner wasn't a solution because the three old men would never give up.
Ye Guan needed a plan, and he had to execute it as soon as possible.
The black-robed old man cast a piercing gaze at Ye Guan. He was shamed and angry at the thought that a young man had humiliated him. He was certain that if such news were to leak, he would become everyone's laughing stock.
His anger and shame were like firewood to the raging furnace of his heart.
An unknown amount of time passed until Ye Guan finally came to a halt.
The black-robed old man frowned, and he quickly came to a stop as well.
He didn't dare to show any disdain toward Ye Guan.
The two moves Ye Guan had shown him earlier had left him genuinely frightened.
Ye Guan turned around and swept his gaze across the old men before saying, "Elders, if I'm willing to hand over the Tribulation Avoiding Stone, will you let me go?"
The three old men were stunned. Did he just decide to surrender?
The black-robed old man looked wary as he asked, “What scheme is this?”
Ye Guan sounded serious as he said, “If we fight one-on-one, there's a chance of winning, but my chances of winning against three opponents at once are zero, especially if the opponents are powerful Divine Sovereigns.
"With that in mind, I chose to give up on the Tribulation Avoiding Stone and save my life. It's a precious stone, but can I even use it in the afterlife? I have to be alive if I want to enjoy it.”
The black-robed old man looked deeply into Ye Guan's eyes.
The young man wasn't stubborn, and he knew how the world operated. It was no wonder he had such a high cultivation base despite his age. However, the black-robed old man just couldn't abandon the thought that Ye Guan had a trick up his sleeve.
"You know we can just kill you to obtain the Tribulation Avoiding Stone, right?" the black-robed old man asked with a sneer.
Ye Guan did not bother arguing. He opened his palm, and the Tribulation Avoiding Stone appeared in his hand. He sent it flying with a wave of his sleeve, but it landed in the hands of the gray-haired old man rather than in the hands of the black-robed old man.
Ye Guan turned around and fled decisively. Ye Guan's actions had truly caught the three old men off guard. The gray-haired old man was especially stupified—no, he was shell-shocked. Why did the young man give the stone to him?
Just then, he sensed the gaze of the black-robed old man, and he hurriedly put away the Tribulation Avoiding Stone. He cast a wary gaze at the black-robed old man and asked, “Chen Quan, are you trying to do something here?”
Chen Quan insisted solemnly. “Gu You, it's mine!”
Gu You’s eyes narrowed. His profound energy swirled imperceptibly within him, and he made sure that he was ready to fight at any moment.
“It's yours? How come I don't see your name on it?" asked Gu You.
Chen Quan’s expression darkened.
Meanwhile, the gray-robed old man said, “Chen Quan, Gu You, I have no interest in the Tribulation Avoiding Stone. Chen Quan, you promised me three million spiritual cores in exchange for helping you kill that young man.
"However, the young man has surrendered, and I'm willing to surrender my claim to the stone so long as you give me three million spiritual cores each. Of course, I'm going to leave as well," said the gray-robed old man.
Chen Quan and Gu You frowned, but the gray-robed old man remained calm.
Soon, Chen Quan opened his palm, and a storage ring flew toward the gray-robed old man. The ring contained exactly three million spiritual cores.
The gray-robed old man stared deeply at Gu You. Gu You didn't dare to reject the gray-robed old man's offer, as it would be dangerous if the gray-robed old man decided to interfere in their upcoming tournament.
Gu You and Chen Quan also realized it just then—there was indeed a reason the gray-robed old man had made such a bold request.
Gu You opened his palm, and a storage ring flew over to the gray-robed old man. The gray-robed old man didn't stand on courtesy as he accepted the storage ring. Afterward, he turned around and disappeared into the horizon.
Only Gu You and Chen Quan were left staring at each other with thick, killing intent swirling in their eyes.
Chen Quan suddenly said, “He was an extraordinary young man. I think there was a reason he had obediently handed over the Tribulation Avoiding Stone. I'm pretty sure that he's waiting for either of us to receive severe injuries. Once that happens, he'll step up and take the Tribulation Avoiding Stone for himself."
Gu You said calmly, “What do you think we should do, then?”
Chen Quan responded, “Gu You, you know how important that stone is to me. My son decided to go to the Shangqing Sect with someone, and they're currently trapped there. I need this stone to save them. I'm willing to pay you ten million spiritual cores in exchange for this stone."
Ten million spiritual cores… it was a huge sum in the Chaotic Star World.
However, Gu You shook his head and said, “Chen Quan, I'm sure you know the value of this stone. In addition to allowing you to avoid calamities and tribulations, it also allows you to access secret realms. If I were to sell it, the starting price would be at least hundreds of millions of spiritual cores.
"However, you're only offering me ten million spiritual cores. I can't feel your sincerity—"
Gu You's expression changed, and he stopped mid-sentence because Chen Quan was rushing toward him
Chen Quan's eyes were full of killing intent as he glared at Gu You. He knew that the young swordsman had a scheme in place when he willingly relinquished the Tribulation Avoiding Stone. No, it wasn't even a scheme at all because the young swordsman had tossed the Tribulation Avoiding Stone to Gu You.
In other words, if Chen Quan wanted the Tribulation Avoiding Stone, he had to take it for himself.
A fierce expression suffused Gu You's expression in the face of Chen Quan's offensive. It was impossible for him to voluntarily hand over the Tribulation Avoiding Stone. How could he willingly give up a treasure chest that he was about to take for himself?
Soon, the two engaged in a fierce battle. They were incredibly powerful, so every single move they exchanged caused cataclysmic destruction to their surroundings. In fact, the shockwaves of their moves alone had turned quite a few mountains into dust.
About an hour later, Gu You found himself being completely suppressed
Boom!
An hour later, a deafening explosion pervaded the air.
Gu You was blasted away, and Chen Quan chased after him with a punch.
Chen Quan's fist imprint rushed toward Gu You.
Boom!
The fist imprint struck Gu You, and he flew away as if he were a kite with its strings cut.
The moment he recovered his balance, he was shocked to discover that his fleshly body was no more. Gu You hurriedly said, “Chen Quan, the Tribulation Avoiding Stone is yours. You can take—”
Chen Quan abruptly appeared before him and punched his soul.
Boom!
Gu You’s soul burst into flames.
Gu You was no more!
Chen Quan opened his palm, and a storage ring appeared in his hand. The storage ring contained the Tribulation Avoiding Stone along with over five million spiritual cores.
Chen Quan’s eyes shone with intense killing intent. “I just have to kill you, and the Tribulation Avoiding Stone is mine!”
He put the storage ring away and looked around.
“Young swordsman, I know you're here! Come out!”
However, he received no response.
Chen Quan's divine sense burst out of him, and it enveloped everything a few kilometers away from him. He frowned slightly upon failing to sense even a single trace of Ye Guan.
Did he actually leave?
Chen Quan pondered for a moment and was about to leave when the spacetime in front of him was torn open, and a figure dashed out of it. The figure wasn't Ye Guan—it was the gray-robed earlier who had left earlier!
Chen Quan’s face fell, but he decisively sent a punch.
Kaboom!
The two figures were forced to retreat from each other.
When Chen Quan recovered his balance, he glared at the gray-robed old man and asked, “Fang Mu, are you the oriole all this while?”
Fang Mu sneered and said, "Tribulation Avoiding Stones are precious divine objects; how can I not be tempted? I'm sure you can only exert seventy percent of your maximum power due to the injuries you sustained while fighting Gu You.
If you were uninjured, I wouldn't have dared to come out. However, you're injured, so you no longer have any chances of winning against me. Still, I'm willing to let you go as long as you obediently hand over the Tribulation Avoiding Stones to me!"
Chen Quan glared at Fang Mu and chuckled as if the latter's words were absurd.
“You can try!” he challenged.
Fang Mu squinted. He didn't bother wasting any more time talking. His figure trembled, and he disappeared.
The spacetime in front of Chen Quan was abruptly torn open, and a terrifying force rushed over toward him. Chen Quan's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He rushed forward and threw a punch toward Fang Mu.
Boom!
The spacetime around the two trembled before collapsing at once. However, the two had yet to have their fill as they immediately rushed toward each other the moment they recovered their balance in mid-air.
Soon, a cacophony of noises filled the air, and the two fought nonstop for an entire day and night. It had been quite a while since they started fighting, but neither of the two looked like they were about to lose soon.
More hours passed just like that, and Fang Mu decided to stop attacking. Chen Quan's vitality seemed endless, and he couldn't find a way to defeat Chen Quan. In the end, he couldn't do anything other than glare at Chen Guan.
The cogs in Fang Mu's mind turned, and he eventually made a decision. He transformed into a ray of light that disappeared into the horizon. Ultimately, Fang Mu had chosen to escape, and it made sense.
He had already made six million spiritual cores, so he didn't have to risk his life any further than this.
Chen Quan breathed a sigh of relief.
However, his expression changed once more.
He whipped around and sent a punch toward the oncoming attack.
Crack!
A crisp noise reverberated as the oncoming sword light shattered upon making contact with Chen Quan's fist.
However, Ye Guan clearly wasn't done just yet as a dazzling ray of sword light fleeted across the air and made a beeline for Chen Quan. The ray of sword light looked particularly dazzling than earlier.
Beheading Heavens Sword Art!
Boom!
The ground beneath Chen Quan's feet cracked open even before Ye Guan's attack could land. Soon, the immensely powerful sword light prickled Chen Quan's face, and it struck him in the proverbial blink of an eye, blasting him away.
Unfortunately, Ye Guan wasn't satisfied just yet.
Sword Dao Attack—every sword was a Dao!
Crackle!
Chen Quan's fleshly body disintegrated along with the spacetime around him.
Chen Quan was strong enough to withstand Ye Guan's sword moves, but it was only true if he were at his peak. Unfortunately, his two opponents had weakened him drastically to the extent that he was no longer Ye Guan's match.
Chen Quan's soul had just emerged from his fleshly body, but a sword immediately pierced it, pinning it to the ground.
Chen Quan looked up and found Ye Guan walking over toward him. Incredibly, he wasn't angry. He was all smiles as he said, "I knew you were around here! I knew it. I hate to admit this, but young man… you are truly extraordinary..."
Ye Guan was confused, and he asked, "Why did you not give up on the Tribulation Avoiding Stone? You knew I was here, right?"
Chen Quan was quiet.
Ye Guan was about to speak when Chen Quan grinned and said, “Young man. There's a certain mountain range a few thousand kilometers away, and there's a secret realm hidden in that mountain range. It's called the Shangqing Secret Realm.
"It houses the powerful Shangqing Sect that has existed for billions of years. The Shangqing Secret Realm is filled with quite a few calamities and tribulations, so it's incredibly dangerous, but you will be able to avoid those tribulations and calamities with the help of this Tribulation Avoiding Stone."
Chen Quan opened his palm, and a storage ring flew over to Ye Guan.
Ye Guan looked down at the storage ring and found twenty million spiritual cores inside of it.
Ye Guan stored the storage ring and turned around to leave.
Chen Quan stared at Ye Guan's departing figure and muttered, “Young man, you have to go there… Damn it, you troublemaker… Your father can no longer protect you, so you have to… you have to live cautiously if you somehow manage to survive this ordeal!"
Chen Quan's voice had yet to finish echoing through the air, but his soul had already disintegrated.
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