Chapter 401: One After Another

"

Aaaaaah!!

"

Within the grand formation, Xu Hongqiu did her utmost to move the saber, but she found it extremely difficult to shift the saber even a tiny bit.

Jiang Shenting, on the other hand, resisted with all his might, as if his flesh and blood were made of steel. He was still trying his hardest to break free from the formation's constraints.

Right then, someone's hand suddenly reached out from the side and grasped the hilt of the saber.

"Miss, let me teach you..." the person said with a soft laugh. "This is how you should cut."

His hand easily moved the saber leftward from Jiang Shenting's shoulder, severing his right arm in one fluid motion!

"

Aaargggh!!!

" Jiang Shenting roared in pain. Nevertheless, his gaze remained sharp as he shouted, "You—"

He had something to say, but he held it back when he saw who the person was.

The person was a beautiful youth dressed in fine clothes. He had skin that was fair and smooth like jade, a pair of lustrous golden eyes, and a silver scale on his forehead.

This youth was Ji Lingjue—the person who had captured the South-Sea Inferno Dragon!

Xu Hongqiu did not know who this youth was. He had helped her sever Jiang Shenting's arm, but she felt a strangely sinister vibe from him.

So, Xu Hongqiu asked him, "Who are you?"

"Me?" Ji Lingjue uttered, shifting his gaze to Xu Hongqiu. When their eyes met, dark golden rays of light shone out of his eyes. With an extremely entrancing tone, he said, "I am your ally..."

Whoosh.

The dark golden light shone into Xu Hongqiu's eyes, and her eyes gleamed with that dark golden light. Suddenly, she fell still and seemed very dull and lifeless.

A moment later, she regained some life in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shenting noticed that the constraints on him had gotten lighter. It seemed that the Grand Primal Origin Immortal-Binding Formation had been broken when his arm got severed!

For Jiang Shenting, the grand formation had been like incredibly heavy iron chains wrapped around him, impossible to shake off. However, for Ji Lingjue, it was a simple matter that could be resolved with a swing of a saber.

As cultivators advanced through the cultivation realms, the gap in power between two cultivators at the same realm would widen. It seemed that was precisely the case for Jiang Shenting and Ji Lingjue; Ji Lingjue was much more powerful than Jiang Shenting even though they were at the same cultivation realm.

Finally free from his constraints, Jiang Shenting surprisingly did not strike at Xu Hongqiu.

Instead, he retreated swiftly and shouted, "Hongqiu, you should stop persisting down the wrong path!"

The burly man, Chi Menshen, blocked Jiang Shenting's path of retreat and yelled, "Jiang Shenting! You still think you can escape?"

Chi Menshen swung his right fist, and a glowering Blood Vajra Warrior appeared behind him. His fist struck forth heavily!

Boom.

Jiang Shenting blocked the punch with one arm, but the force of the punch sent him flying dozens of zhang away.

Ji Lingjue immediately grabbed him with one hand.

"That's Chi Menshen!" someone in the hall shouted. "He used to be a member of the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, but he betrayed them. I've seen him before!"

"Ji Lingjue?" someone else quickly recognized the silver-scaled youth. "Isn't that the traitor of the Ji Family? It appears that they're all from Celestial Charm Sect."

The powerful figures from the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten sects broke through the blood fog one after another. There were several seventh-realm Eminent Ones among them.

Once they saw suspected members of the Celestial Charm Sect appear, they no longer held back. They immediately surrounded the suspected members of the Celestial Charm Sect!

Ji Lingjue lifted Jiang Shenting with one arm and said to Xu Hongqiu, "Miss, didn't you say you wanted to kill him? Go ahead and kill him..."

Upon hearing that, Xu Hongqiu raised her saber.

Jiang Shenting shouted, "Hongqiu, how could you conspire with those demons from the Celestial Charm Sect to harm me!"

"Hongqiu?!" Huang Hanshan uttered from amid the crowd.

He was greatly astonished to see Xu Hongqiu like that. She had told him about her plan, but there had definitely been no mention of the Celestial Charm Sect being involved. She couldn't possibly be colluding with those demons from the Celestial Charm Sect!

Huang Hanshan keenly sensed that something was amiss. If Xu Hongqiu were to kill someone now, the situation would change drastically.

So, Huang Hanshan yelled, "Put down the saber!"

However, Xu Hongqiu could not hear him. At this moment, there was a command echoing repeatedly in her mind like the resounding gongs of a massive bell.

Kill him...

Kill him...

Your enemy is right in front of you.

Before Xu Hongqiu could take action, Jiang Shenting broke free from Ji Lingjue's grip!

With divine light flashing in his eyes, he swiftly leaped into the crowd, shouting, "Don't let those demons from the Celestial Charm Sect escape!"

Those words were unnecessary though. The powerful figures from the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten were already attacking the members of the Celestial Charm Sect... but Xu Hongqiu was among them too!

"Don't harm Hongqiu!" Huang Hanshan shouted loudly from the side.

He summoned three vicious beasts, and they thundered over to protect Xu Hongqiu.

Nevertheless, Jiang Shenting was not going to allow Xu Hongqiu to live any longer. Once he got out, the first thing he did wasn't treat his wounds. Instead, he took out a long spear and raised it high.

He locked his stream of qi onto Xu Hongqiu! With this spear, he would root out his problem completely!

From this moment on, this traitor who colluded with the Celestial Charm Sect to cause chaos in the Whale Gang would disappear along with her father!

Suddenly, the sky turned dark.

...

Rumble.

It was still morning, and the sun was shining brightly, so how could the sky suddenly get dark?

All the powerful figures were too preoccupied with the battle to notice the darkened sky. Nonetheless, the tens of thousands of people watching from below the steps all noticed it.

Only those at the seventh realm or above could get involved in the battle at the top of the steps, so the people in the square could only watch. That was why they were very quick to notice the sky darkening.

When they looked up, they saw what seemed to be an endless mass of dark clouds.

What is that?

It's... It's filled with dense demonic qi!

Could it be...?

"

RAAAAARRRRR!!!

"

A resounding roar[1] filled with feelings of distress and despair ripped through the skies and shook the nine provinces.

One of the Eminent Ones present yelled, "The Heaven-Devouring Python!"

Jiang Shenting's gaze darkened. He cursed Ji Lingjue inwardly,

How could someone who seems smart do something so foolish?

Calling the Heaven-Devouring Python over only confirmed that it was connected to the Celestial Charm Sect and pointlessly drew suspicion to them. After all, could Xu Hongqiu truly have gotten someone to have her father devoured?

Jiang Shenting could have condemned Xu Hongqiu to death by pinning the crime of colluding with the Celestial Charm Sect on her, but that wasn't possible now.

Regardless, Jiang Shenting didn't care about anything else. He was filled with rage; he had to kill this woman no matter what!

Jiang Shenting charged up the spear to full power and threw it! As it flew through the air with thunderous force, it was accompanied by whistling wind that sounded like a dragon's roar!

Whoosh—

Nonetheless, Jiang Shenting had no idea... that Ji Lingjue was astonished to see the Heaven-Devouring Python.

How did it get here?

Ji Lingjue had made the Heaven-Devouring Python a tamed beast, so as its master, he could sense the Heaven-Devouring Python's location with just a thought. However, he had been so focused on the chaos within the Whale Gang that he hadn't bothered thinking about where the Heaven-Devouring Python might be. It had been precisely because of his deep focus on the situation at hand that he had been able to quickly think of framing Xu Hongqiu.

However, while he had been doing that, the Heaven-Devouring Python had been moving at a high speed in a panic. Well, to be more precise, it had been fleeing for its life!

As a tamed beast, the Heaven-Devouring Python knew its master's location, so that was where it went.

As a great fearsome beast that dominated the four seas, the Heaven-Devouring Python rarely had moments when it felt scared. But the more fearsome the beast, the more terrified it would become when encountering something that was even more fearsome than it.

The Divine Phoenix that was chasing the Heaven-Devouring Python was its worst nightmare ever! So, it could only seek its master's help!

Nevertheless, it didn't know that its master was also surrounded at this moment.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"

Raaar!

"

As the Heaven-Devouring Python lowered its enormous head, countless terrified cries rang throughout the Giant Whale Mountain Manor. Its gaping mouth was large enough to swallow the whole manor along with the mountain it was on!

However, the only one who knew that wasn't its intention was Ji Lingjue. He heard the Heaven-Devouring Python's roar as a cry for help.

Di Nufeng had transformed into a Divine Phoenix by using the Samadhi True Fire, so her form was tiny in comparison to the Heaven-Devouring Python. Nonetheless, the difference in spiritual qi was not determined by size.

"I've caught you!" Di Nufeng exclaimed.

She waved her hand toward the Heaven-Devouring Python, and the Divine Phoenix's claw swiped through the python's tail.

Shhk.

Another chunk of the python's thick tail fell to the ground.

Booooom.

It crushed a nearby mountain peak!

The Giant Whale Mountain Manor was located near the capital of Yu, so the commotion drew the attention of those in the imperial city. Several streams of qi soared into the sky and flew toward the manor!

The Heaven-Devouring Python howled in pain. "

Raaaaar...

"

Its roar shook the Central Region!

Ji Lingjue frowned.

Why are there so many unexpected things happening today?

While he was thinking that, yet another unexpected event occurred.

A crimson-gold Inferno Dragon suddenly appeared with a trail of blazing Divine Dragon Flames!

It let out a thunderous roar that shook the heavens. "

RAAAAAAARRRRRRR!

"

And what is that?

The members of the various immortal sects present were dumbfounded, feeling overwhelmed by the events.

As everyone stood in stunned silence, the Dragon Spear that Jiang Shenting had thrown was already flying toward Xu Hongqiu!

"Hongqiu!"

Two people called out her name simultaneously. One was Huang Hanshan, and the other person was on top of the Inferno Dragon.

In an instant, the Inferno Dragon swooped down, darting straight toward Xu Hongqiu. Then it coiled around her, blocking the mighty Dragon Spear!

The Dragon Spear pierced through the Inferno Dragon's scales, going halfway in. This showed just how ruthless and malicious Jiang Shenting's attack was. If it had managed to hit Xu Hongqiu as intended, there was no chance she would have survived!

While everyone was left speechless by the waves of shocking events, a young man in fine clothes stood tall atop the Inferno Dragon's head.

Amid the group of people from the Thunderbolt Stronghold, Wei Tiandi suddenly uttered in surprise, "Lin Bei?"

1. Okay. So, I know snakes don't roar. I've been avoiding it for the python, but it's in the raw and fits better for this particular line. It's not a normal python anyway, so just ignore real life lol. ☜