Chapter 234 – One Against Five, Crushing the Fiends—Experience True Despair

Above the Sea of Learning, the five Immortal Fiends currently besieging Ye Hao remained oblivious to the enormous lotus blooming silently beneath them in the waters below.

Though the lotus contained immense Sword Intent, it remained completely concealed. Not only did the Immortal Fiends hovering mid-air fail to detect it, but even the fish swimming in the Sea of Learning showed no discomfort in its presence.

To their eyes, the azure lotus appeared no different from an ordinary lotus—aside from its colossal size.

Yet it was precisely this concealed Sword Intent lotus that proved most terrifying, for it signified its master had refined his Sword Intent to the point of wielding it as effortlessly as his own limbs.

Only when the Sword Intent lotus had fully enveloped the area where Ye Hao and the Immortal Fiends stood did Lu Chen emerge from the cloud platform Xing Li had unfurled.

Sword Domain… unfold.

“Not good!”

The moment Lu Chen’s Sword Domain expanded, one of the Black Lotus Sect’s Immortal Fiends finally noticed the situation. But by then, it was already too late to react.

Lu Chen had remained hidden precisely to ensnare them all in one fell swoop. His strength far surpassed theirs, and with the advantage of surprise on his side, the five Immortal Fiends falling into his trap was inevitable.

In truth, everything had unfolded according to Lu Chen’s design. Outwardly, he had pretended to intervene out of righteous indignation to save Ye Hao and his companion. In reality, he had used Ye Hao as bait to prevent the five Immortal Fiends from scattering.

Lu Chen knew that if word of his pursuit of the Immortal Fiends leaked, others would soon be alerted. Dealing with them would then become far more difficult.

As the Azure Lotus Sword Domain unfolded, a massive azure lotus enveloped both Ye Hao and the five Immortal Fiends. Lu Chen took a step forward, fully revealing himself before the five fiends, his killing intent now undisguised.

The expressions of the five Immortal Fiends twisted into masks of dread at the sight.

Lu Chen approached Ye Hao, who had been beaten pale and unsteady on his feet within just half a minute by the fiends. “Take your friend and leave,” Lu Chen said calmly. “I’ll handle things here.”

Ye Hao shot him a grateful glance, offering no unnecessary words before turning to flee without hesitation. Though he couldn’t comprehend how Lu Chen had broken free from Xing Li’s restraint to appear here, now was not the time for such questions.

Of thirty-six stratagems, retreat was the best!

The moment Ye Hao left Lu Chen’s Sword Domain, he immediately went to aid his sworn brother Zhao Liuhuo. What had been a two-against-one situation instantly became an even match. The two Martial God Mountain Cultivators couldn’t hope to capture Ye Hao now—they weren’t even certain they could defeat the pair.

Still, remembering Xing Li’s instructions, they gritted their teeth and delayed the two, preventing their swift escape. But at this stage, their efforts were ultimately futile.

For the five Immortal Fiends now faced Lu Chen’s true body directly, while Martial God Mountain’s Quasi-Celestial Xing Li found himself pinned down by one of Lu Chen’s Heretical Avatars.That’s right. From the very beginning, it wasn’t Lu Chen’s true body that appeared, but one of his Heretical Avatars.

After all, his goal was to eliminate all the Immortal Fiends present.

Killing them wasn’t difficult; the challenge lay in preventing their escape and the leakage of information.

To achieve this, Lu Chen didn’t hesitate to conceal his aura and present himself through a Heretical Avatar.

Unlike ordinary clone techniques, Lu Chen’s Heretical Avatar was virtually indistinguishable from his true body until it was destroyed.

No wonder Xing Li and the others fell for it.

Thus, while it seemed earlier that Xing Li had managed to restrain Lu Chen, in reality, he was the one being held back by Lu Chen’s Heretical Avatar.

To ensure Xing Li wouldn’t cause any trouble, Lu Chen even controlled the Heretical Avatar to unleash the ‘Mountain of Corpses Sea of Blood Sword Domain.’

The overwhelming killing intent and blood-soaked aura directly obscured Xing Li’s senses, preventing him from perceiving anything outside.

In a way, the moment Lu Chen detected the presence of the five Immortal Fiends, it had already become a situation of certain death.

Inside the Azure Lotus Sword Domain.

The five Immortal Fiends stared at Lu Chen, who had surrounded them with his Sword Domain. After exchanging glances, they all understood the current predicament.

Du Zhaogang, the Black Lotus Sect Immortal Fiend, looked at Lu Chen and said, “Fellow Daoist, must you really go this far? If we were to reveal your true identity, surely you wouldn’t fare well either, would you?”

“There are five of us, and only one of you. Given the circumstances, we won’t hold back our true strength any longer. You should be well aware of our methods.”

“You might manage to kill a few of us, but if even one of us escapes, what awaits you is an endless, relentless pursuit by the Cultivators of this realm.”

“How about we each take a step back? You let us go, and we’ll act as if nothing ever happened. What do you say?”

Even now, Du Zhaogang and the other four Immortal Fiends still believed there was room for negotiation.

After all, they assumed Lu Chen’s motive for targeting them was merely to save Ye Hao and the others.

They had underestimated Lu Chen’s determination to “rescue” them.

But it wasn’t too late to make amends, especially since they hadn’t actually killed Ye Hao, right?

In that case, there was still a chance to turn things around.

Yet Lu Chen looked at them, his eyes calm and unreadable.

The five Immortal Fiends had misjudged one crucial thing.

But it wasn’t Lu Chen’s determination to save others—it was his determination to kill them.

Without any intention of explaining himself to these people, Lu Chen slowly raised his hand.

Immediately, countless lotus-shaped Sword Qi began to manifest around them.

Seeing the dense, innumerable Sword Qi and the Sword Intent Azure Lotus completely enveloping them, Du Zhaogang and the others realized that Lu Chen had no intention of letting them go.

At this realization, Du Zhaogang immediately said in a grave tone, “No more holding back. If you want to live, bring out your true abilities.”

With these words, everyone ceased their concealment.

Not to mention that, in their eyes, Lu Chen himself wasn’t exactly clean.

The Sword Domain Lu Chen had just displayed alone meant they had to go all out, leaving no room for reservation.

Zhu Cunfu and Niu Shixiong of the Great Thousand Gate immediately activated their secret techniques.

In a short time, their bodies underwent a complete demonic transformation.

Zhu Cunfu took on a pig-headed, human-bodied form, while Niu Shixiong became a bull-headed, human-bodied creature.

Moreover, judging from the heavy Karma surrounding them, it was clear that these two had stained their hands with the blood of many Mortals.

Meanwhile, the other two Black Lotus Sect Immortal Fiends each produced a peculiar, faceless mask.As the masks were donned, their auras abruptly transformed, as if they had become entirely different people.

As for the Immortal Abominations from the Corpse Fiend Cave, there was little worth mentioning.

He summoned his own Longevity Coffin and released his human corpse fiends.

In an instant, they transformed from ordinary cultivators into a horde of demons and monsters.

To an uninformed observer, one might think Lu Chen had stumbled into a demon’s lair.

Just as they revealed their ancient fiendish methods, an overwhelming Sword Intent descended upon them from above.

There, suspended mid-air, was a massive Azure Profound Spirit Sword.

This sword continuously absorbed the surrounding Spiritual Power like a vortex.

And that wasn’t even accounting for the Azure Lotus Sword Energy swirling around them.

With a giant sword hovering overhead and countless sword energies encircling them, the five Immortal Fiends found their thoughts momentarily frozen.

They simply couldn’t comprehend how a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could achieve all this.

Had this guy started cultivating from his mother’s womb?

Meanwhile, Lu Chen watched the Righteous Azure Lotus Sword continuously absorbing Spiritual Power and growing stronger. He formed a sword finger gesture at his brow.

The next moment, the previously suspended sword energies shot toward Du Zhaogang and the others like arrows.

“Defend!” Du Zhaogang roared at the terrifying rain of swords.

With the ‘Buddha-Nature Mask’ adorning his face, he resembled a Vajra deity manifesting in the mortal realm, having grown two grotesque, massive arms.

Each arm measured two meters long—his own height—and was exceptionally thick.

The bulging veins and purple skin clearly indicated these were no ordinary limbs.

As Du Zhaogang swung his Vajra arms, Lu Chen’s lotus sword energies collided with them, producing sharp metallic clangs.

It was as if the sword energies were striking tempered steel rather than flesh and blood.

However, Du Zhaogang was only defending one direction.

The other three directions were respectively blocked by Zhu Cunfu, Niu Shixiong, and the human corpse fiends from the Corpse Fiend Cave.

Watching the four jointly withstand his first wave of sword energy attacks, Lu Chen remained expressionless.

Though they had temporarily blocked his assault, the Righteous Azure Lotus Sword above showed no signs of halting its absorption of Spiritual Power.

Theoretically, whether they could withstand these lotus sword energies was irrelevant to the final outcome.

Because the true killing move was the Righteous Azure Lotus Sword hovering above them.

In fact, the longer they delayed, the slimmer their chances of survival became.

For Lu Chen’s Righteous Azure Lotus Sword possessed limitless growth potential.

Yet these Immortal Fiends seemed completely oblivious, focusing solely on defense without attempting to flee or counterattack.

Lu Chen didn’t believe they had surrendered.

They must be waiting for something.

A nine-colored divine light shimmered in Lu Chen’s eyes—the mark of Diting’s destiny power, the Innate Nine Qi.

Empowered by this destiny, Lu Chen quickly detected an anomaly.

Hidden within the Sea of Learning, a Black Lotus Sect Immortal Fiend—neither fully male nor female—was silently approaching him.

An ordinary person would likely have failed to detect her presence.

She had concealed her aura perfectly.

Not a trace of killing intent or any other presence leaked out.

Truly a master assassin.

Unfortunately for her, Lu Chen’s destiny power defied all logic.As long as a person is alive and still within the destiny of heaven and earth, the ‘Nine Qi’ must still exist within them.

Yet ordinary people can neither see their own Nine Qi nor control it.

Thus, even though that Black Lotus Sect Immortal Fiend had done everything perfectly, she still revealed a flaw.

But this wasn’t her fault—she was defeated by destiny.

Night Rakshasa of the Black Lotus Sect silently appeared beneath Lu Chen. Seeing that Lu Chen seemed unaware of his presence, his eyes sharpened.

To avoid complications and missing this golden opportunity,

Night Rakshasa launched his attack without hesitation.

The Buddha-Nature Mask granted him a pair of saber arms akin to Magic Treasures.

The two black long sabers fit perfectly with his arms, as if they had grown from them.

As Night Rakshasa sprang into action, a burst of black energy erupted around him.

In an instant, his figure vanished from his original position, reappearing right behind Lu Chen.

Throughout this process, Night Rakshasa made not a single sound.

If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, or even a Golden Core Stage cultivator with dull spiritual sense,

they might not have been able to react in time to Night Rakshasa’s ambush.

It was precisely because of his confidence in his own methods

that Night Rakshasa dared to attack Lu Chen alone.

Relying on this technique, he had not only slain numerous Immortal Fiends in the Ancient Fiend World

but had also covertly assassinated many prodigies in the Immortal Cultivation World, absorbing their Aptitude.

Seeing Lu Chen still with his back turned, seemingly completely unaware,

Night Rakshasa’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

In a daze, he seemed to envision himself decapitating Lu Chen with a single saber strike and absorbing his Dao.

The mere thought of it sent shivers of exhilaration through his mind.

Dao-Infused Saber Technique… Night Kill.

Above the Sea of Learning, darkness enveloped Night Rakshasa as his twin black sabers gleamed coldly, aimed straight at Lu Chen’s neck.

Yet this strike ultimately failed to hit Lu Chen.

Because his attack halted two steps away from Lu Chen’s body.

Staring at his immobilized sabers, Night Rakshasa’s eyes filled with astonishment.

It was as if Lu Chen was surrounded by a barrier similar to the Protective Qi of a Golden Core.

Observing the invisible fluctuations swirling around Lu Chen, a intense sense of danger surged within Night Rakshasa.

For Lu Chen had now turned to face him.

His icy expression was like that of someone gazing upon a cold corpse.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Night Rakshasa attempted to activate ‘Leaping Netherworld’ again to retreat to safety.

But he suddenly realized his Ancient Fiend Divine Ability could not be activated at all.

Because an ethereal white Spirit Sword had materialized above his head.

It was this very Spirit Sword that suppressed his Ancient Fiend Divine Ability.

Not good!

Night Rakshasa’s pupils contracted as he instinctively tried to flee toward the Sea of Learning’s surface.

But the moment he turned, a black Spirit Sword swiftly sliced through his neck.

[You have slain a Black Lotus Sect Immortal Fiend (Foundation Establishment Perfection/Earth Foundation Establishment). You have gained 700,000 EXP, Soul Crystal Shard (Purple)*2…]

Splash!

Night Rakshasa’s head separated from his body, plummeting into the sea below.

And hovering above him was Lu Chen, his expression calm and unperturbed.The moment Lu Chen detected Night Rakshasa’s trail, he had already activated his Innate Divine Ability—Reincarnation Time.

With prior knowledge of his enemy’s movements and overwhelming superiority in strength, Night Rakshasa stood no chance—not even one in ten thousand.

Never strike without absolute certainty of a kill.

Every strike must yield results.

This was Lu Chen’s Dao.

From the instant he voluntarily appeared before these Immortal Fiends, their fates had been sealed.

Du Zhaogang watched as Night Rakshasa, their greatest hope, collapsed just two steps away from Lu Chen.

A feeling named despair flooded their hearts.

Could they truly defeat such a monster?

Yet this despair lasted only momentarily.

Their survival instinct suppressed the inner fear, driving them to seek an escape.

Surrendering meant certain death—persisting might still hold a sliver of hope.

But before they could act, Lu Chen’s raised sword-finger swept downward.

Simultaneously, the crowd witnessed most of Night Rakshasa’s dissipating Spiritual Power flow into the colossal Righteous Azure Lotus Sword hovering above them.

Following Lu Chen’s sword-finger, the great sword descended…

(End of Chapter)