Chapter 359: Chapter 357: Heart Demon Shattered, Breaking into the Union Palace
"No..."
Ghost Mother Lishan suddenly let out a piercing shriek.
The Bone Throne beneath her abruptly erupted with a dazzling light as waves of immense pressure burst forth from her body.
Pillars of Demon Flame soared into the sky, burning furiously like a great inferno.
BOOM—
The Bone Throne beneath Ghost Mother Lishan trembled violently, as if to display her rage and biting killing intent.
"Mo’Er... My Mo’Er..."
Her eyes turned crimson, and her stooped figure straightened, making her look like a peerless, invincible Ghost King. "Jiang Chen, you little bastard! How dare you kill my Mo’Er! I will tear you to pieces to appease my son’s spirit in heaven..."
Ghost Mother Lishan was the Hall Master of the Nine Sins Hall.
Her cultivation had reached the Peak of the Eighth Stage of the Union Palace Realm. Among the top powerhouses of the Ten Great Dynasties and various Sects, she was widely recognized as the most difficult one to deal with!
"Grandfather, Ghost Mother Lishan is about to attack Jiang Chen! You have to save him!" Bai Ling said, looking anxiously at Bai Yetao beside her.
Bai Yetao’s expression was uncertain.
He had some connection to Jiang Chen’s father, Jiang Taixu, so he couldn’t just stand by and watch Ghost Mother Lishan kill Jiang Chen.
What’s more...
Jiang Chen had brought back Bai Changsheng’s Hall Master’s Order, a tremendous favor to the entire Tenth Hall and the Bai Clan.
For both personal and logical reasons, he couldn’t let Jiang Chen come to any harm.
"Ghost Mother Lishan, you are a respected senior master. To attack a junior like this is beneath you, isn’t it?" Bai Yetao immediately flew out, positioning himself in midair and watching Ghost Mother Lishan with a solemn expression.
His cultivation was only at the Sixth Stage of the Union Palace Realm, a full two stages lower than Ghost Mother Lishan’s.
If a fight really broke out, he would have no chance of winning.
Ghost Mother Lishan glanced at Bai Yetao and snorted coldly. "Bai Yetao, you dare to stand in my way?"
"I wouldn’t dare!"
Bai Yetao shook his head, then said, "However, Jiang Chen is a prodigy of our Saint Martial Sword Sect. He is also a disciple of my Tenth Hall. As the Supreme Elder of the Tenth Hall, I cannot just watch as a disciple under my charge is persecuted."
Bai Yetao was trying to use the name of the Saint Martial Sword Sect to make Ghost Mother Lishan hesitate.
However, he had barely finished speaking, before Ghost Mother Lishan could even reply,
Tu Shanhe, who was seated at the highest point of the Celestial Martial Hall, spoke with a detached air. "Bai Yetao, are you the Sect Master of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, or am I?"
Tu Shanhe’s tone was icy, devoid of any emotion.
His cold eyes stared intently at Bai Yetao.
Bai Yetao’s face darkened. Ordinarily, he would never confront Tu Shanhe directly, but today was different. He now knew that Tu Shanhe was the one who had murdered Bai Changsheng.
’The grudge for murdering my master is irreconcilable!’
Bai Yetao snorted coldly and said in a heavy voice, "Of course you are the Sect Master. But since you occupy that position, you should be considering the safety and interests of everyone in the Sect. Jiang Chen is a disciple of our Saint Martial Sword Sect. Not only do you refuse to protect him, but you even want to see him killed at this critical moment. What kind of Sect Master are you?"
BOOM—
As soon as he said this, the temperature on all of Martial Saint Mountain seemed to plummet.
Everyone stared at Bai Yetao, dumbfounded.
Tu Shanhe narrowed his eyes, the cold glint within them growing stronger...
Xiao Tianqi, the Sect Master of the Celestial Sword Sect, also sneered. "Is Elder Bai planning to usurp the throne? Hahaha, Tu Shanhe, you’re not doing a very good job as Sect Master if a mere Elder dares to defy you!"
Eager to stir up trouble, the Purple Star Beast Emperor of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect roared with laughter. "Tu Shanhe, if an Elder under me dared to defy me like that, I definitely wouldn’t be able to hold back!"
"Maybe he can take it, who knows!"
"That’s true. The Saint Martial Sword Sect has always produced cowards..."
"Hahaha..."
Mu Feiyang, the Purple Star Beast Emperor, and Xiao Tianqi chatted freely, goading Tu Shanhe and making his expression grow increasingly ugly.
Tu Shanhe snorted coldly and slammed his hands on the armrests.
SWOOSH...
His body suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Bai Yetao.
"Mountain River Seal!"
Tu Shanhe roared, his palm thrumming with power as he struck. The attack descended like a peerless mountain peak falling from the sky.
The terrifying pressure made the world seem to lose its color.
Bai Yetao’s expression changed drastically.
Tu Shanhe’s strength was even greater than Ghost Mother Lishan’s, and Bai Yetao didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless when facing him. Looking up abruptly, Bai Yetao unleashed a torrent of True Essence and threw a punch to block the attack. "White Tiger Carries the Corpse!"
ROAR—
A massive White Tiger Martial Soul materialized behind him.
The White Tiger Martial Soul bellowed and merged with the peerless fist shadow, lunging toward Tu Shanhe like a mighty and aggressive Divine Beast White Tiger, ready to bite down.
BANG!
The massive white tiger fist shadow opened its bloody maw and clamped down hard on the peerless fist light.
But the power of the fist light was simply too terrifying!
With a deafening BOOM, the massive White Tiger was blown apart by the punch.
The great seal, like a mountain and river, continued onward with undiminished force, slamming viciously into Bai Yetao.
"WAH..."
The robes on Bai Yetao’s body suddenly exploded, and he sprayed a mouthful of blood as his body shot backward like a kite with a snapped string.
Even after Jiang Chen caught him, the terrifying force of the impact carried them both back several hundred meters before it dissipated.
A suit of Celestial-Tier Low-Level Battle Armor on Bai Yetao’s chest had been shattered, and the wound beneath was grievous. If his cultivation hadn’t reached the Sixth Stage of the Union Palace Realm, such an injury would have been fatal.
Even so...
Bai Yetao was hanging on by a thread.
"Elder Bai, hang in there!" Jiang Chen said anxiously.
He quickly took out some pills for Bai Yetao to consume.
’This is Bai Ling’s grandfather, and he’s also someone who knows the whereabouts of my father, Jiang Taixu. I absolutely cannot let him die!’
Besides...
Just now, Bai Yetao had stepped forward to confront Tu Shanhe for his sake.
With Jiang Chen continuously feeding him Spirit Medicine, Bai Yetao’s injuries finally stabilized somewhat.
He stared at Jiang Chen, his eyes filled with helplessness and shame. "Young man, this old man is useless. I couldn’t protect you."
"Elder Bai, you’re being too serious. At a time like this, only you and the brothers of the Tenth Hall were willing to stand up for a disciple," Jiang Chen said quickly.
Bai Yetao gave a bitter smile. "The Tenth Hall? Ever since my master disappeared, the Tenth Hall has been in decline, a shadow of its former glory. Because of that, this old man could only watch as Tu Shanhe helped outsiders bully you..." His face was full of self-reproach and sorrow.
Jiang Chen clenched his fists, his face a mask of fury.
’For his own selfish gain, Tu Shanhe murdered Bai Changsheng, causing the Tenth Hall to decline.’
’Now...’
’Not only does he want to hunt me down and kill me, but he won’t even spare Bai Changsheng’s junior.’
’How detestable!’
Bai Yetao said, "I heard from Ling’Er that you have a seal left on you by my master, right? After today, this old bag of bones probably doesn’t have much time left in this world. I’ll break that Heart Demon Shackles Words seal for you. Young man, come here..."
Jiang Chen paused, stunned, then moved closer.
Bai Yetao bit his finger, gathered a speck of blood-red light on the tip, and touched it to the center of Jiang Chen’s brow.
"Heart Demon Shackles Words—Break!"
Bai Yetao murmured in a low growl.
BZZZT—
A wave of warm energy spread through Jiang Chen’s entire body. Within his soul, it felt as if a shackle had shattered with a CLICK.
At the same time...
Jiang Chen felt the invisible barrier that had stopped him from taking another step forward—the one that had prevented him from peering into the Union Palace Realm after painstakingly cultivating to the Tier Three Advanced Sword Intent Level in the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm—suddenly crumble. It was like a river bursting its dam, surging forth in an endless, torrential flood.
RUMBLE!
True Essence surged madly within Jiang Chen’s body. In his mind, images of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind appeared...
’So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is... No wonder I couldn’t break through to the Union Palace Realm in the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm, even after using so many resources. Bai Changsheng’s Heart Demon Shackles Words were invisibly affecting my comprehension of the True Essence of Martial Arts. Now that my Heart Demon Shackles are broken, all my previous accumulation has found an outlet, bursting forth all at once!’
Jiang Chen could clearly feel that the hazy veil between Sword Intent and Mystical Technique had finally been lifted at this very moment!
Jiang Chen’s head snapped up. His sharp eyes swept over the Union Palace Realm powerhouses, each of whom wanted to grind his bones to dust. A slight, cold smile curved his lips. "Every single one of you wants to see me dead? Good. Very good. In that case, I’ll crush you all today and sweep everything away!"
"Arrogant!"
"Brat, who do you think you are?"
"Any one of us ten powerhouses could crush you with a single finger!"
"A little brat who hasn’t even reached the Union Palace Realm, where do you get the nerve to challenge us?"
Facing the taunts and sneers from the Union Palace Realm powerhouses,
Jiang Chen was completely unafraid. He smiled faintly and said, "The mere Union Palace Realm? I, Jiang Chen, can enter it whenever I wish. Open your eyes and watch closely. Today is the day I, Jiang Chen, step into the Union Palace Realm and wipe out all you demons!"
BOOM...
An incomparably terrifying wave of energy erupted from Jiang Chen’s body, soaring into the heavens.
