Chapter 278: Chapter 276: Celestial Fate’s First Pit

The Celestial Fate Ancient Realm.

This was also a Void Realm.

However...

The Celestial Fate Ancient Realm was far larger and of a higher level than any Void Realm controlled by the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

The entire Celestial Fate Ancient Realm was equivalent in size to ten Saint Martial Dynasties, divided into eighteen great states scattered like stars across the Vast Sea. Between each state lay the boundless, endless Vast Sea, where Void Storms raged year-round. Not even experts at the Union Palace Realm could cross the Void Storms between two states.

In the Sixteenth State, the sun was bright and a gentle breeze was blowing.

Suddenly, a ripple, like a wave on water, appeared in the stable space of the Sixteenth State, continuously spreading outward.

SWOOSH—

A figure shot out from the ripples in space.

He was incredibly fast, plummeting toward the ground like a meteor. Just as it seemed he was about to have an intimate meeting with the earth, his palm suddenly shot out ten beams of light toward the ground. The palm strikes were like thunderbolts, repeatedly blasting the ground with a series of rumbling explosions, and he finally managed to stabilize his body.

"Damn it, there was a spatial storm in the passage? I almost crashed into the ground..." Jiang Chen breathed a sigh of relief, his heart still pounding with fear.

Just then...

Several more spatial fluctuations appeared in the air.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH—

One after another, several figures came smashing down from the sky. These people didn’t have Jiang Chen’s quick reflexes.

THUD THUD THUD!

A series of dull thuds rang out as a row of figures planted themselves headfirst in the ground right in front of Jiang Chen. Each one had their head buried in the dirt, their legs pointing upward and twitching slightly.

Jiang Chen: "..."

"Pah... My luck is just the worst."

"Motherfucker, I knew I shouldn’t have rushed in so fast. Have any of you seen Jiang Chen?"

"Don’t let that kid get away!"

The men hastily pulled their heads out of the ground and shook the dirt off.

These were Inner Sect Disciples of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, all of them experts who had chased Jiang Chen and rushed into the Space Gate together.

Just then, a mocking voice sounded beside them. "Are you looking for me?"

The men’s expressions changed in unison as they turned toward the sound.

Jiang Chen stood with his arms crossed, a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile on his face, his indifferent gaze falling upon them.

"Jiang Chen?"

"Hahaha, to find something after a long, fruitless search! The Marquis title and the Saint-tier Profound Weapon are ours!"

These seven were all experts from the Celestial Alliance.

They were the seven who had been chasing Jiang Chen the fastest.

Vicious smiles spread across their faces as they surrounded Jiang Chen, as if to prevent him from escaping.

His calm gaze swept over the seven men. Jiang Chen rubbed his nose and chuckled. "Five at the Heavenly Destiny Realm Fourth Stage, and two at the Heavenly Destiny Realm Fifth Stage. Do you really think the seven of you are enough to do anything to me?"

"We admit you’re strong. The seven of us might not be able to capture you, but our methods are enough to keep you occupied. In a little while, the elders of my Celestial Alliance will arrive, and that will be the day you die!" one of the Heavenly Destiny Realm Fifth Stage experts said, his expression cold.

"In that case, doesn’t that mean I have to get rid of you seven before they arrive?" A cold glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

The Heavenly Destiny Realm Fifth Stage expert sneered, "Get rid of the seven of us? Hahaha, we admit we’re not your match, but killing us won’t be that easy!"

"Form the array!"

The seven moved in unison.

Within the Inner Sect of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, the disciples of the Ten Halls competed with one another, so conflicts and battles were inevitable.

Therefore, the disciples of each hall had their own set of battle array techniques.

These seven were quite coordinated, forming a Big Dipper Battle Array that seemed to echo the Big Dipper in the Celestial Vault above.

The Heavenly Destiny Realm Fifth Stage expert stood at the heart of the Battle Array, the power of all seven converging on him. He sneered, "We have formed the Big Dipper Battle Array. No matter who you attack, the power of all seven of us can be focused on that single person. Jiang Chen, you have no hope of breaking our Battle Array!"

"The Big Dipper Array? Not a bad Battle Array. It’s just a shame you chose to provoke me!" A cold light flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

Suddenly, his body split into two, then continued to divide until a total of ten figures of Jiang Chen appeared out of thin air.

"H-how are there so many Jiang Chens?"

"This is the Shadow Body Technique at the Great Perfection Realm! He actually cultivated this Body Technique to the Great Perfection Realm?"

"Which one is his real body?"

The ten "Jiang Chens" sneered in unison and spoke with one voice, "All ten of us are real!"

The moment the words were spoken, the ten "Jiang Chens" charged out, splitting into ten directions to completely surround the seven men.

And then...

Ten sharp flashes of sword light shot through the air.

SHINK SHINK SHINK!

Ten sword lights flashed past. The seven men had no time to defend themselves. After the torrent of sword light pulsed and vanished, Jiang Chen’s figure merged back into one. He stood before the seven men, who all had dazed expressions. The life slowly drained from their pupils, and a line of blood appeared on each of their necks.

"S-so fast... the sword..."

The once-invincibly confident Heavenly Destiny Realm Fifth Stage expert uttered in horror, and then his head fell to the ground.

One strike, seven kills!

"Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique, devour them for me!" Jiang Chen barked, activating the supreme Secret Technique passed down from the God-slaying Sword.

HUMMM—

The golden vortex inside his body began to spin violently, transforming into a ruthless, invisible Devouring Power. The Martial Souls and Essence Blood from the seven men’s bodies all flew out. They transformed into the purest form of energy and were devoured by Jiang Chen, a bloody light pulsing around his body. The golden vortex within him spun a full three times before it had purified and consumed all the energy.

"Hah!"

Jiang Chen let out a long breath as the bloody light in his eyes gradually subsided. ’It seems the Evil Qi generated by directly devouring another’s Martial Soul and Essence Blood with the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique can easily affect my will. I’ll have to be more careful when using the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique in the future, lest I become influenced by negative emotions and turn into a bloodthirsty madman!’

That being said, when he recalled the feeling of his cultivation rapidly increasing from devouring others’ Essence Blood and Martial Souls, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

’According to them, more people from the Celestial Alliance will be arriving soon. Since you all want to kill me, I’ll prepare a grand gift for you!’ Glancing at the seven desiccated corpses, the corners of Jiang Chen’s mouth curled into a cold arc.

After a quick search of the bodies, he found some Spirit Crystals, pills, and Profound Weapons.

With a wave of his hand, Jiang Chen incinerated the seven bodies. Then, using his Dustfall Sword, he hacked out a massive square pit in the ground, its length and width both exceeding ten thousand meters.

The pit was ten meters deep, like a giant cellar.

Jiang Chen soared into the air, flew for over ten miles to find a huge, five-thousand-foot-tall mountain peak, and uprooted it completely. He then activated an Artifact Refining Secret Technique in mid-air. A terrifying True Flame began to melt the mountain down. Jiang Chen’s gaze was icy as he formed one Seal Technique after another, chanting, "Endless Universe, True Flame Refining—"

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH—

Streams of molten iron fell from the sky like a torrential downpour.

The molten iron plunged into the square pit, coating its bottom with a fiery red layer. Jiang Chen descended onto the surface of the molten iron.

A layer of dark golden energy spread out from under his feet, covering the entire layer of molten iron. He then slammed his hands down. With a dull HUM, the molten iron began to boil violently. Jiang Chen’s expression turned grim as he abruptly lifted his hands from bottom to top, letting out a furious roar, "Rise!"

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The molten iron churned violently as sharp iron spikes shot up from the surface. A forest of spikes, growing with a series of SHINGS, covered the entire pit.

Each iron spike was two meters long, as thick as a finger, densely packed, and incomparably sharp!

"Gravity Inscriptions—Form!"

Jiang Chen’s figure flickered, splitting into ten clones that branded Gravity Inscriptions onto the iron spikes at incredible speed. Each spike was branded with three full Gravity Inscriptions. Anyone within ten meters of the spikes would be suppressed by three times the normal gravity!

Jiang Chen returned to the edge of the pit. He picked up a rock and tossed it lightly. As soon as it entered the ten-meter range of the spikes, its speed instantly increased, and with a BOOM, it slammed onto a spike and was pierced straight through.

"Perfect!"

Jiang Chen grinned, his half-closed eyes looking up at the sky. ’You bastards from the Celestial Alliance, come and have a good taste of the first pit I’ve prepared for you in Celestial Fate!’