Chapter 998: Completing the Solitary Cultivation
Over a dozen Heavenly Lord Demon Commanders flocked to the Deity ground to bring Chen Fan down.
This news had been spread all over Tianhuang and therefore attracted many cultivators to the area. Even those listed on the Longevity Roll wanted to witness the momentous battle, unprecedented on the Tianhuang Planet.
However, their focus was neither on Chen Fan nor on his opponent; instead, they wanted to see Chen Fan’s servant girl and Shenxi.
“Someone saw them at the southeast corner of the fifty-ninth floor. But I’ve also heard that Goddess Shenxi was called back by Heavenly Lord Xuhuang,” Gu Xiaoyi said with a smile.
“How arrogant of him to remain in Ancient Demons Loch!”
Xiao Hong’s eyelid twitched a little, while paired with a sneer.
At least seven Heavenly Sects had issued a manhunt order for Lin Wuhua. Anyone who managed to kill her would get a superior-grade Spirit treasure as reward. If she was captured alive, the captor would receive a one-time favor from a Heavenly Lord. The reward was too great to pass up; countless cultivators flocked to the Ancient Demons Loch.
However powerful Lin Wuhua was, she would be overwhelmed by the unending waves of onslaught.
“It seemed that they wished to break into level sixty, so that they could use the Ancient Demons to stop the attackers.” Jun Aochen nodded as the battling spirit flared in his eyes.
“It has been four months since Chen Beixuan entered the deity ground. He has been turtling there ever since, despite Mount Emperor’s insistent aggressions. They don’t believe he’s unaware of his situation. Ancestral Patriarch Fudu ordered his disciples to shout at the deity ground every day,” Gu Xiaoyi said, shaking his head.
“Humph! I think Chen Beixuan is afraid.”
Xiao Hong sneered.
At the moment, even Jun Aochen remained silent.
Chen Beixuan!
This was the name that belonged to the man who took Tianhuang by storm. He slaughtered Heavenly Lords and Demon Commanders, forcing the ten Heavenly Lords to intervene. Any of those deeds could make a man famous, but he had done all of them.
Jun Aochen knew that all the Qinhe Towers across Tianhuang were packed with cultivators, eagerly waiting for news from the front line.
Even if Chen Fan was able to break through the encirclement of the ten Heavenly Lords, he would still have to face Mount Emperor.
“I bet he’s going to chicken out. He must know how dire the situation is. Ten Heavenly Lords and five Demon Commanders are hot on his heels. If I were him, I wouldn’t come out ever again.”
A senior cultivator sneered.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
It wasn’t that Chen Fan had become weaker, it was the power of his enemies that had made them doubt Chen Fan. Ancestral Patriarch Fudu, Heavenly Lord Shenyan, Tianxuan Sword Master and Heavenly Lord Shenyan, each one of them possessed world shattering strength.
Chen Fan had indeed killed Hongyang, but he wouldn’t stand a chance before the combined might of the ten heavenly lords.
“Rumor has it that Mount Emperor has slaughtered all the connate cultivators of the Chinese race. Despite its small size and meager influence, the Chinese have been truly resilient, never surrendering to their Essence Core enemies. I’ve heard that the Grand Elder of the Chinese race is the only Connate Cultivator left among them. It would only be a matter of time for Mount Emperor to find him and kill him.”
Another cultivator said with a sigh, “It’s going to be a massacre. The Heavenly Lords are too much for the average civilians.”
A young cultivator stood up and shouted, “If I were Chen Beixuan, I would storm Mount Emperor to avenge the dead!”
A cultivator from the Ghost Underworld Sect said with a gloating smile, “Humph! Chen Beixuan has been quiet for four months now. I bet he already ran away. He must be aware of the situation outside. Well, I don’t blame him, he’d be doomed if he stayed.”
To that, some people shook their heads in disagreement; some were indifferent, and some shared his gloating sentiment.
All of Tianhuang was busy discussing Chen Fan’s inactivity. Time was running out and Mount Emperor’s three-month grace period was going to expire.
Everyone believed that Chen Fan would falter since any one of the ten Heavenly Lords would be a deadly opponent for him. The best he could do was to go into secluded cultivation and avenge his defeat once he had improved his cultivation.
“That would make him a coward,” the people from the Demon-suppressing Heavenly Sect commented.
“What choice does he have? He shouldn’t have been arrogant, making so many enemies in the process,” Ancestral Patriarch Wu Wendin said, sighing.
“It’s a shame. I even wanted him to marry my heir,” Ancestral Patriarch Wang said as he shook his head.
Such discussion could be heard all over Beihuang, Mount Reincarnation, the Demon Warding Heavenly Region, and the Changsheng Heavenly Region. Only a small fraction of the population supported Chen Fan while most of them believed that he would fold before the threat.
After all, Mount Emperor and the ten Heavenly Lord couldn’t hold the encirclement forever.
If he ever ran away, he would forever carry the guilt of abandoning the Chinese race. As time went on, more and more people lost their faith in Chen Fan.
“Senior Chen, are you really going to abandon us?”
Somewhere in the Ancient Demons Loch, Yun Yier and Mu Hongti stumbled across a bleak landscape. Yun Yier’s eyes were red and teary.
Lin Wuhua’s black outfit had been stained by blood that seeped out of her wounds. She thinned her lips and pressed them together in silence.
Even her belief in Chen Fan started to crumble.
“Mount Emperor’s three-month grace period ends tomorrow. The Chinese race is doomed. If Chen Beixuan can even stomach such humiliation, I don’t think we’ll ever see him again.”
The sun had reached the zenith outside the Deity ground, surrounded by ten flames, each concealing a Heavenly Lord. The speaker was Heavenly Lord Shenyan.
His words had made the others guffaw.
Tianxuan Sword Master shook his head and said in disappointment, “Our combined forces are quite the overkill when it comes to handling him.” His body was surrounded by Sword Qi, so deadly that it threatened to rip space open.
Heavenly Lord Xuhuang, Ancestral Patriarch Guimin and the Ethereal Heavenly Sect’s Goddess—all of them nodded in agreement.
Ancestral Patriarch Fudu heaved a sigh, lamenting his excessive caution.
“These jerks!”
Shenxi stood behind Heavenly Lord Xuhuang and glared at the heavenly lords with burning hatred in her eyes.
Heavenly Lord Xuhuang had summoned her. As a disciple of the Reincarnation Sect, she had to obey orders. However, the arrogance of the Heavenly Lords didn’t sit well with her.
“Chen Beixuan, are you really going to abandon Xiao Mang?”
Even as Shenxi wavered, a clear voice drifted down from the deity ground.
“Are you ready for your demise?”
Everyone was taken aback by the voice.
They watched as a young man in azure cloth descended from the Deity ground. His face was indifferent and his movement impassive. It was as if the Heavenly Lords were nothing but worthless insects. He was Chen Fan.
In his eyes, the Heaven Lords were already dead!