Chapter 111: Chapter 109: Illusory Indeterminacy
Little Skeleton currently wore the expression of a simple, adorable, and harmless creature, and even looked shy!
To the onlookers, this only made them grit their teeth at Little Skeleton, their hearts swelling with hatred.
’Shy? Shy my ass!’
It was so sinister and cunning, a merciless killer with movements honed to perfection, and yet it was still putting on an act.
And as for Jiang Jichen, the crowd finally understood. He had deliberately drawn their attention so that Little Skeleton could attack from the shadows. He was the mastermind behind it all, making him even more treacherous. No wonder he was Little Skeleton’s master.
What a pair—truly partners in crime, two villains of a kind.
However, the crowd also finally understood one thing: nothing good ever came from being involved with Jiang Jichen.
As for Little Skeleton, no one dared to ignore it now. No one would ever again assume it was weak, a mere decoration.
On its way here, it had killed more than a dozen masters of the Innate Fifth Realm. This had absolutely nothing to do with weakness.
’But neither Jiang Jichen nor Little Skeleton will escape. Jiang Jichen is one thing—Young Master Feng has already laid his claim. But that Little Skeleton... I must shatter its bones into a million pieces to quench the hatred in my heart!’
Seeing Jiang Jichen and Little Skeleton intercepted once again, the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Jiang Jichen stared viciously at the Old Emperor. "This was a matter concerning me alone. What does it have to do with anyone else? Since you insist on using them to threaten me, I will remember this grievance. Pray that I don’t one day return to slaughter my way back and wipe the Celestial Pearl Royal Family from existence!"
All along the way, when they found they couldn’t take him down, they resorted to threatening him with his friends, family, and the Jiang Family’s Five Mansions. It was as if they were incapable of capturing and killing him in a fair fight.
Although Jiang Jichen didn’t care whether certain members of the Jiang Family lived or died, how could he stand by and watch the innocent people of the Five Mansions and the rest of his family die because of him?
’Even if I come back in the future to kill all these people and avenge them, what good would that do?’
’The dead can’t be brought back to life!’
Hearing Jiang Jichen’s words and remembering the death of Prince Wuling, the Old Emperor’s resentment deepened. "Return to slaughter? Ridiculous! I could crush you with a turn of my hand right now. It’s just a pity your life is reserved for Young Master Feng. But since you killed my grandson, Prince Wuling, I will make your entire clan pay with their lives!"
Jiang Jichen took a long, hard look at the Old Emperor. "As an Emperor, you should be a champion for your people, yet you treat them as ants, as your enemies. What reason is there for a royal family like yours to exist? Do you really think there is no justice in this world?"
Hearing Jiang Jichen’s words, the Old Emperor’s face darkened. A mere boy dared to reprimand him. If not for his reservations about the Feng Family, he would have ruthlessly struck out and smashed Jiang Jichen to a pulp.
"Justice belongs to the strong. And what are you? Do you feel helpless and filled with indignant grief? Can you do nothing but watch as the clansmen you care for die? Are you completely powerless to change a single thing?"
The Old Emperor spoke with a lofty and incomparably cold demeanor.
Jiang Jichen’s expression remained placid, betraying no emotion. He looked at the Old Emperor and said, "Remember what you said today. And another thing—you won’t be able to touch my people!"
Not just the Old Emperor, but all the surrounding experts seemed to have heard the funniest joke, thinking Jiang Jichen had gone mad and was spouting nonsense.
Neither the Feng Family nor the Celestial Pearl Royal Family would spare his clan. The Jiang family was doomed to annihilation.
Yet here was Jiang Jichen, a man trapped in a hopeless situation, claiming the Feng Family and the Old Emperor couldn’t touch his people.
’So foolish, so naive!’
However, Jiang Jichen didn’t look at the crowd, his gaze instead turning towards the Cyan Moon Cultivation Field in the distance.
That was the territory of the Heavenly Sword Alliance. The ruckus here was earth-shattering, yet the Cyan Moon Cultivation Field remained perfectly serene!
Just then, instead of advancing, Jiang Jichen retreated, bolting sideways toward the Cyan Moon Cultivation Field.
"Brat, you want to ask the Heavenly Sword Alliance for help? Ridiculous. My Feng Family has already spoken to the person in charge of the Heavenly Sword Alliance here. They will absolutely not interfere!"
The black-robed elder sneered and gave chase, with the crowd following close behind.
For Jiang Jichen to do this was no different from running into a dead end. The Heavenly Sword Alliance compound blocked the way, its great gates shut tight, leaving no path through.
But Jiang Jichen, with Little Skeleton in tow, rushed to the gates without a moment’s hesitation.
Seeing that Jiang Jichen was cornered with nowhere to run, the pursuers who had just caught up saw a perfect opportunity and unleashed their killing blows without hesitation.
BOOM! BOOM!...
Jiang Jichen was engulfed by a storm of attacks—Spirit Pattern Palms, Sword Light, Sword Shadows, Spirit Rings... Each was shockingly powerful and destructive.
The gates of the Heavenly Sword Alliance were blasted to smithereens. Jiang Jichen’s figure emerged from the dust and smoke. Little Skeleton was protected behind him and was not injured, but Jiang Jichen’s own injuries were now even more severe.
Just now, he had fully activated the Undying Power in his body, raised all his defenses, and also used the Third Form of Shadow Step, Illusory Indeterminacy!
Illusory and ephemeral, with steps that land unpredictably.
This "indeterminacy" meant there was no fixed pattern to the Step Technique. Instead, in the midst of mortal danger, it could seek fortune, avoid calamity, and tread a path to survival—a Vitality Step Technique.
If cultivated to a high enough Realm, one’s feet could arrive wherever one’s mind willed.
It was only by using Illusory Indeterminacy that Jiang Jichen managed to evade the crowd’s combined assault.
"How is that possible? He’s still alive after all that?"
Seeing Jiang Jichen still standing amidst the dust, the crowd was in disbelief.
Just then, the black-robed elder and the Old Emperor arrived for the kill. They shot past the crowd and instantly appeared ten meters from Jiang Jichen!
"My patience is limited. I’ll finish you now. Of course, I can only leave a wisp of your Divine Soul to present to the Young Master!"
The black-robed elder delayed no further and unleashed his true power.
The Old Emperor’s hands became a blur as he laid a Restriction upon the void, creating a Sealed Space.
The terrifying methods of a Minor Grandmaster were only now truly on display.
The black-robed elder’s hands moved like illusions. A monstrous pressure crashed down, making Jiang Jichen’s body tremble and drawing a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.
The pressure from the mere formation of the technique was this terrifying. If the attack was truly unleashed, Jiang Jichen stood no chance of stopping it.
At this very moment, Jiang Jichen shielded Little Skeleton behind him, his hand concealed within his sleeve, clutching a corner of the Azure Heaven Killing Array Map, ready to activate it at any time.
Then, the black-robed elder spoke softly, "Soul Fusion and Soul Capturing Technique!"
As his voice fell, a huge black shadow condensed into a giant black claw and grabbed toward Jiang Jichen.
Facing the giant black claw, Jiang Jichen felt as if his very soul was about to be torn from his body. As the claw drew nearer, the feeling intensified, and his soul grew increasingly unstable.
Behind him, Little Skeleton’s Gray Soul Fire flickered violently, looking as though it might be extinguished at any second.
’Huh? The Soul Claw is almost upon his forehead, yet Jiang Jichen’s soul hasn’t been dragged out? Against any other cultivator at the Innate Third Realm Perfect Realm, the Soul Claw could capture their soul from a hundred meters away. What’s happening? And that Little Skeleton is only at the Gray Soul Level, so why isn’t its Soul Fire extinguished yet? This Soul Claw is powerful enough to snuff out an Undead at the Great Perfection Red Soul Realm!’
