Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

The First State.

This was the largest state in the entire Celestial Fate Ancient Realm, home to over a hundred thousand powerful cultivators.

There were even two experts from the Venerable List here!

However...

Because Lan Haichen was here, the other expert on the Venerable List—Sima Hengfeng, currently ranked eighth—had immediately exchanged his points for a Great Void Transmission Talisman and teleported to another state the moment he made the list.

Thus, the First State was effectively Lan Haichen’s domain.

Of course,

Lan Haichen had since left the First State, his current whereabouts unknown.

The Celestial Alliance now had as many as thirty thousand experts in the First State, which accounted for nearly a third of all the cultivators from the Saint Martial Dynasty who had entered the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm.

The Celestial Alliance’s power in the First State was that of a juggernaut; no one could challenge it in the slightest!

Within Celestial Essence City, the capital of the First State.

Experts of the Celestial Alliance were gathered here. In a private courtyard next to the City Lord’s Mansion, Jiang Ziyou, dressed in a long purple gown, sat at the head seat. Her aura was far more composed and powerful than it had been before she entered the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm.

Upon inspecting her cultivation, one would find she had already advanced to the Seventh Stage of the Heavenly Destiny Realm.

This rapid progress was only possible due to Lan Haichen’s dedicated support.

But...

Jiang Ziyou couldn’t feel the slightest bit of joy, because she had just seen the name of the person she hated most in her life sitting high on the Venerable List.

’Damn you, Jiang Chen! How can you be so strong? One of the Ten Great Venerables... That’s the Venerable List!’ Jiang Ziyou clenched her fists, her furious eyes flickering like flames. Her resentment and hatred had reached their absolute peak.

She could never have imagined it.

In just over a year, the man she once saw as a mere ant had actually grown to such an astonishing level.

Even Lan Haichen, who had never taken Jiang Chen seriously, had felt a sliver of a threat from him and used a Great Void Transmission Talisman to leave the First State.

This filled Jiang Ziyou with an even deeper sense of frustration.

’My only regret is not having Senior Brother Lan kill you directly back then...’ Jiang Ziyou thought viciously.

Just then,

a bald young man walked in from outside. He looked at Jiang Ziyou respectfully and said in a low voice, "Junior Sister Ziyou, everything at Celestial Treasure Mountain is in place!"

"Oh?"

A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Ziyou’s eyes. "Senior Brother Cangming," she said excitedly, "are you sure it’s foolproof?"

"Absolutely foolproof!"

The young man, Xuan Cangming, looked up. The scar on his face was particularly intimidating. He grinned and said faintly, "The Immortal Slaughter Ancient Array is ranked third on the Celestial Fate Daoist’s Treasure List. It cost us a full eight hundred million points to acquire. Now that it’s set up on Celestial Treasure Mountain with Ruan Lingyun as the bait, as long as Jiang Chen goes there, he will certainly die!"

"But... Jiang Chen is devious. What if he sees through the Immortal Slaughter Ancient Array?" Jiang Ziyou asked worriedly.

Xuan Cangming chuckled. "To prevent him from seeing through the trap, I didn’t tell my men who are besieging Ruan Lingyun at Celestial Treasure Mountain about the plan. Besides, so what if he does see through it? At worst, we lose a few lives. From what I know, Jiang Chen is extremely loyal to his brothers. He will definitely go to Celestial Treasure Mountain to save Ruan Lingyun. When he gets there, not only will the Immortal Slaughter Ancient Array be waiting for him, but I’ve also prepared a special surprise! I guarantee it’s foolproof!"

"Good, good, good..."

Jiang Ziyou was overjoyed, her gaze icy and predatory. ’Oh, Jiang Chen, so what if your talent is astonishing? So what if you made it onto the Venerable List? In the end, you’ll still fall into my hands. I’ll make you wish you were dead!’

Jiang Ziyou immediately stood up and left Celestial Essence City side-by-side with Xuan Cangming.

...

「First State, Nine Peaks Lake.」

The lake was immense, surrounded by nine mountain peaks, which was how it had gotten its name!

BZZZT—

The calm surface of Nine Peaks Lake suddenly stirred with waves, sending ripples spreading in all directions. A spatial portal appeared, and a figure emerged from within.

His feet landed on the surface of the water.

His gaze was sharp as he scanned his surroundings, quickly determining the direction. ’Ruan Lingyun is that way. His message sounded urgent. I have to get there as fast as I can!’

SWOOSH—

Jiang Chen shot through the air, transforming into a streak of Flowing Light and vanishing without a trace.

After a full four hours, Jiang Chen finally arrived at the location indicated by Ruan Lingyun’s Communication Token—Celestial Treasure Mountain!

Celestial Treasure Mountain had once been a majestic, ten-thousand-meter peak that towered into the clouds. But now, it was broken in half. The fractured peak had collapsed to one side, its rubble stretching for several thousand meters. The moment Jiang Chen arrived, he scanned the area with his Eyes of the Heavens and couldn’t help but frown. ’Strange. Something seems to be hidden within Celestial Treasure Mountain, but I can’t find any clues when I look closely.’

It was more like a gut feeling.

Jiang Chen kept feeling that there was something unusual about the broken mountain, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

BZZT!

The Communication Token vibrated again.

Jiang Chen’s gaze sharpened. ’There!’

His eyes swept toward the base of the fractured Celestial Treasure Mountain. The broken half of the peak leaned against the main mountain body, forming an arched cavern below. Inside, Ruan Lingyun was covered in blood, tightly bound to a wooden stake by a group of Celestial Alliance experts.

Ruan Lingyun was unable to move, and his injuries were extremely severe.

The Celestial Alliance experts were taunting him. "Weren’t you so arrogant? The Heaven-Soaring Alliance? Ptooey! If you’ve got the guts, try soaring over our Celestial Alliance!"

"Hahaha! Your Alliance Leader, Jiang Chen, is just a monkey ruling the mountain because there are no tigers. Are you really expecting him to come save you?"

"Senior Sister Ziyou has already instructed us to ’take good care’ of you!"

"Here, have a taste of this branding iron!"

One of the Celestial Alliance experts, holding a red-hot branding iron, moved to press it against Ruan Lingyun’s body.

Just as the iron was about to leave a searing mark on Ruan Lingyun, a fierce gust of wind descended from above. A large hand seized the branding iron. A SIZZLE echoed from the palm as the iron was crushed into a lump of scrap. A cold voice rang out, "You dare torture a brother of mine, Jiang Chen? You all deserve to die!"

"What? Jiang Chen?"

"Y-You... what are you doing here?"

"No—"

The group of Celestial Alliance experts were scared out of their wits and immediately tried to flee.

However...

how could Jiang Chen possibly let them escape?

"Blood Rain Without Limits!"

With a single sweep of his sword, the Spirit-Slaying Sword unleashed a torrent of Sword Qi as dense as rain. All thirty-odd Celestial Alliance experts were dismembered, their bodies left in pieces.

Jiang Chen snorted coldly. He undid the iron chains binding Ruan Lingyun and checked his condition, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, your foundation isn’t injured," he said. "Brother Lingyun, are you all right?"

"I-I’m fine!"

Ruan Lingyun forced a bitter smile and said self-reproachfully, "Alliance Leader, it’s all my fault. I was careless and fell into their hands, forcing you to come all this way to save me!"

"We’re brothers. There’s no need for such formalities. I’ll get you out of here first. I still feel like there’s something strange about this place..." Jiang Chen said gravely.

He lifted Ruan Lingyun onto his back and prepared to leave Celestial Treasure Mountain.

But just at that moment...

brilliant beams of divine light shot up from all over Celestial Treasure Mountain.

A total of nine hundred and ninety-nine beams of light converged, forming terrifying chains that assembled into a gigantic lid.

It enveloped Jiang Chen completely.

He tried to break through but was viciously whipped back by the purple lightning radiating from the chains, sending him crashing to the ground.

At the same time...

"There’s no point in resisting. This is the Immortal Slaughter Ancient Array. Not even a Union Palace Realm expert could break it!" A cold laugh echoed from the sky above Celestial Treasure Mountain. "Hahaha! Oh, Jiang Chen, for all your cleverness, didn’t you still end up falling into my hands?"

"Hm?"

Jiang Chen’s expression changed. He snapped his head up to see Jiang Ziyou and Xuan Cangming hovering in the air, looking down on him condescendingly.

Jiang Chen’s brow furrowed. "Jiang Ziyou? So it was you, you bitch?"

"Hahaha! Jiang Chen, you dare insult me when you’re about to die? You really are courting death!" Jiang Ziyou wore a cold, triumphant smile as she looked at Jiang Chen. Suddenly, a cold glint flashed in her eyes as she yelled, "Ruan Lingyun, what are you waiting for? Strike now!"

"What?"

Jiang Chen’s heart sank, and he subconsciously turned around.

A sharp pain suddenly shot through his back, right over his heart.

"Get off me!"

Jiang Chen’s eyes turned bloodshot. With a low roar, his surging True Essence formed an invisible hand that brutally slapped Ruan Lingyun away. He reached back and pulled the black dagger from his back. It was coated in a dark poison. A wave of weakness washed over Jiang Chen. Staring at Ruan Lingyun with bloodshot eyes, he ground out through his teeth, "Why? Why would you do this?"

Ruan Lingyun spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, "Why? Senior Sister Ziyou promised that if I helped her get rid of you, she’d help me obtain all the rewards promised by the Holy Son. Jiang Chen, you can only blame yourself for being so blind as to oppose the Holy Son. Hahaha... The title of Marquis, all that territory, the treasures—they’re all mine!"

"You’re courting death!"

Jiang Chen snorted, about to strike in his fury.

Ruan Lingyun jumped in fright and tried to flee. "Senior Sister Ziyou, save me!"

"Get back there!"

Jiang Ziyou sneered and kicked Ruan Lingyun back toward Jiang Chen. With a look of utter despair, Ruan Lingyun was smashed into a bloody paste by Jiang Chen’s palm.

Jiang Ziyou said with a cold laugh, "Useless trash. If it weren’t for getting rid of Jiang Chen, what right would you have to bargain with me?"

"Jiang Ziyou..."

Jiang Chen’s face was pale as the poison began to ravage his body. He grew weaker and weaker, his vision blurring. He glared at Jiang Ziyou. "What kind of poison did you use on me?"

Jiang Ziyou gave a sinister sneer. "This is the ’Seven-Step Bewitching Powder,’ which I spent one hundred million points to get from the Celestial Fate Daoist. Jiang Chen, not only do I want you dead, I want your name ruined. I want you to die with eternal regret! Open your eyes and watch closely. This is the grand gift I’ve prepared for you..."

Watching the dark shadow that Jiang Ziyou flung out with a wave of her hand, Jiang Chen’s pupils contracted violently, his face a mask of utter fury and disbelief...