Nine Astra Skies
chapter-250

Even the Earthly Venerable Rank fighters from the Xiwu Empire had rushed over. However, they were stuck outside the array and no matter what methods they used, be it through wind palms or great flames, they were still unable to break the array.

“I have not a single clue as to how we’re supposed to break this array!” Great Emperor Mingwu frowned.

“It seems that we’re unable to break the array from the inside. The only thing we can do now is to wait for the Tribunal Council’s return.” Nie Qingyun was slightly frustrated. “If a small fry like Zuoqiu Gongye has already given us this much trouble, how are we supposed to face His Highness the Daemon King?”

‘His Highness?’ Great Emperor Mingwu flinched. He was confused as to why Nie Qingyun had referred to Ye Chen that way. However, even if he were to question Nie Qingyun, he was certain that he would not receive an answer. As such, Great Emperor Mingwu had buried the question and waited for Ye Chen to answer it instead.

Rumble… Rumble… The Exclusion Zone shook continuously as if a great earthquake was occurring.

“What’s happening?”

“What’s this?”

Be it Zuoqiu Gongye, Great Emperor Mingwu, and his team or even the Earthly Venerable Rank fighters standing outside the array, they were equally confused. What on earth was taking place in the Exclusion Zone?

Nie Qingyun and the Eclipsing Firebird in the form of an old man raised their brows. In their mind, they both thought, ‘Did His Highness the Daemon King encounter a powerful foe? After all, His Highness wouldn’t personally come to the Exclusion Zone just to get rid of a few Nanman Kingdom fighters. Does this mean that there are other experts hidden within the Exclusion Zone and His Highness has personally come down to face them?’ The ground below their feet continued to quake and deep rumbles constantly echoed from the depths of the ground. It was a fearsome sound. ‘Is the battle taking place underground? I wonder who His Highness is facing off against. I bet they’re peerless powerhouses as well.’

“His Highness the Daemon King usually hides his abilities but once he gets serious, his combat prowess is astounding!” Nie Qingyun’s heart was frozen with fear. In his mind, Ye Chen was already a being that was equal to a god and as such, even if he had ten times the courage he currently had, he still would not dare to disobey Ye Chen.

Aside from Nie Qingyun, the Eclipsing Firebird in the form of an old man had shared the same sentiments as well.

On the other hand, Great Emperor Mingwu was frowning. He worried about Ye Chen’s safety as he had noticed that the two guards posted at the entrance into the Exclusion Zone were Human Puppets. Not only was Great Emperor Mingwu curious about the Exclusion Zone, but he was also plagued with an unsettling premonition. ‘Could the Exclusion Zone contain some unforeseen terrors?’

Despite being plagued with worry, the fact remained that they were stuck within the array.

“This isn’t good, my Celestial Chi is being sapped. I believe this might be an effect of the array!” Noticing that strange things were occurring within his body, Great Emperor Mingwu hurriedly shouted.

“Same here!” Nie Qingyun and the others voiced their fears.

They hurriedly sat cross-legged to control the loss of their Celestial Chi. However, while the rate of loss had been greatly diminished, they were unable to halt the flow completely.

Upon sensing the major earthquake, Zuoqiu Gongye had retracted his mischievous expression and had been replaced with a newfound sense of urgency. He needed to regain his stamina as soon as possible and finish off Great Emperor Mingwu and the others!

As long as Great Emperor Mingwu and his team were contained within the array, their Celestial Chi would be gradually siphoned off. Once it had gone on for long enough, Zuoqiu Gongye would finally possess enough power to kill Great Emperor Mingwu and his team!

“Mingwu, Nie Qingyun, the geezer and that damned bird, it won’t be long before you meet your demise!” Zuoqiu Gongye snickered coldly as he shut his eyes and began to meditate.

Meanwhile, the battle located deep underground had continued. Rays of divine light were constantly lobbied at the surrounding stone walls, causing them to crack and shatter.

“If this goes on, the entire cave will collapse!” Ye Chen tensed up. He then looked at Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy and ordered, “Little Tanuki, Little Wingsy, it’s time to leave. We need to hurry up to the surface!”

‘It’s no longer safe to dwell underground!’

Ye Chen then carried Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki as he lifted off the ground.

Boom!

Another loud explosion rocked the cave and the vibrations intensified. As the rumbling continued, the path toward the surface began to collapse as well.

Since the caves underneath were made from igneous rock, they were quite sturdy. On the other hand, the caves that were near the surface had contained a high percentage of soil and as such, the upper levels were the first to crumble.

“Big Brother Ye Chen, the way back has been sealed shut!” Little Wingsy shouted in panic.

‘If it’s only a small portion that has crumbled, we’ll just dig our way out! We must get back to the surface!’

Ye Chen sent his Astral Body forward but his heart froze at the sight that greeted him. The route ahead had been completely sealed off by soil and stone and it had spanned for several kilometers. It was impossible to dig their way out!

Ye Chen’s Astral Body had reached the entrance of the cave and from there, he noticed that there were four Mystique Venerable Rank Human Puppets operating switches, causing locations that were previously unsealed to be filled with soil and stone. Moreover, there was green poison oozing out from the soil. They did not allow anyone to dig their way out!

A thought flashed across Ye Chen’s mind. ‘The Tribunal Council is trying to eliminate all evidence!’

‘The moment they noticed that there were intruders, the Tribunal Council immediately sealed off all exits to prevent anyone from revealing the secrets of the Exclusion Zone!’

‘It’s a fool-proof strategy!’

“What should we do, Big Brother Ye Chen?” Little Wingsy asked. As they were quite a distance away from the surface, digging their way out was no longer a viable option. Since the cave was still collapsing, without any special techniques, even the Daemon King would die of suffocation if he were to linger any longer.

“Tantai Ling… Yes, Tantai Ling! She didn’t enter the cave through the surface’s entrance. There must be another way out underground!” As if he had just figured out something, Ye Chen then flew underground along with Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki.

Boom! Boom! Boom! As the cave continued to collapse, huge boulders began to fall from the ceiling.

Little Wingsy charged forward and for every punch he launched, the boulders before him crumbled to dust.

After frantically sprinting ahead for who knew how long, Ye Chen, Little Wingsy, and Little Tanuki had finally reached an open space that was filled with the stench of corpses. It was an odor that no ordinary person could have handled.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Shots of light, along with frigid gusts were unleashed. Upon striking the ground and the surrounding walls, they exploded, kicking up a pile of dust and debris.

“Little Wingsy, Little Tanuki, be careful!” Ye Chen warned. He had experienced Tantai Ling’s rainbow-colored divine light before and in his present state, he was unable to endure the power contained within it. As for the dark winds conjured by the dark spirit, its power was likely equal to Tantai Ling’s rainbow-colored light! After all, the dark spirit was still in peak form despite battling Tantai Ling for such a long time.

Ye Chen quickly scoured the area with his Astral Body but in the end, he was unable to find a way out!

“What’s the meaning of this? This can’t be right! If there are no exits here, then how did Tantai Ling enter this area in the first place?” Ye Chen furrowed his brows as he lapsed in thought. Suddenly, he thought of something. Earlier, Ye Chen’s Astral Body had come across an ancient grave that was scrawled with text and oddly enough, Ye Chen’s Astral Body was unable to venture past it.

‘Since there are no other exits here, the exit must lie within the grave!’

Coincidentally, the grave was located just underneath Tantai Ling and the dark spirit’s battleground. One misstep and they might find themselves being smashed to pieces by Tantai Ling’s divine light or the dark spirit’s dark wind.

“Why are you down here?” Tantai Ling asked as she intercepted the dark spirit’s attack with her trident. In her mind, she thought, ‘Not only did Ye Chen and his party not flee, but they have also made their way down here. Do they have a death wish?’

“Someone intends to destroy everything here! They’ve already sealed the upper entrance!” Ye Chen delivered a message with his Astral Body. Despite Tantai Ling’s stone-cold demeanor, in truth, she was not as cruel as she had made herself to be. Otherwise, she would never have ventured down to slay the dark spirit.

Tantai Ling did not respond to Ye Chen’s words. Although she had deemed it a waste for Ye Chen to die down here, she refused to go out of her way to save him either.

All it took was one look for Ye Chen to understand. He was not going to receive Tantai Ling’s help and he would need to rely on himself!

“Big Brother Ye Chen, it’s that meanie!” Little Wingsy gripped his fists upon noticing Tantai Ling. He was extremely mad but at the same time, he dared not lay a hand on Tantai Ling as she was way too powerful for him.

“Let’s go, Little Wingsy. Our destination is that grave over there!” While he spoke, Ye Chen glanced over at Little Tanuki who was perched on his shoulder.

Little Tanuki nodded. However, her eyes were trained on Tantai Ling who was levitating in mid-air. She was able to tell that Tantai Ling was not doing as well as she had made it out to be. She was likely not a match for the dark spirit and Little Tanuki feared that Tantai Ling would lose soon!

Ye Chen and his party flew over to the grave.

While they did so, rainbow-colored divine light rained down around them, causing loud explosions.

If Ye Chen were to look up then, he would see Tantai Ling floating in the air like a goddess from the Nine Heavens (TN: Heaven is split into nine levels in the Chinese folklore). She was wreathed in a rainbow-colored glow and she was as radiant as the sun. In contrast, the dark spirit looked like a massive dark cloud. It had broken several of the chains that had bound him and only two metal chains had remained.

“I can’t believe a puny Sea Demon like you would dare to make an enemy out of me. Once I kill you, I’ll consume your Soul!” The dark spirit let out a high-pitched snicker. Although the dark spirit was a Soul, it had retained some of its conscience from when it was alive.

Tantai Ling coldly harrumphed and said, “Well, let’s just see whether you have the ability to do so, shall we?”

Divine Moon Chakram Radiance!

Tantai Ling thrust her divine trident forward, unleashing a glowing ring the color of moonlight onto the dark spirit.

Boom!

A giant explosion followed and it had released an immense amount of energy.

With a vicious “thump”, half of the dark spirit’s body was blown into smithereens and it wailed in agony.

Ye Chen, Little Wingsy, and Little Tanuki were struck by the energy as well. It was too late for Ye Chen to summon his Celestial Chi and with a “boom”, Ye Chen was hurtled dozens of meters away and was sent crashing into a stone wall. He spurted a mouthful of blood but on the bright side, Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy were only minorly injured. They were still holding strong.

The Soul Pearl in Ye Chen’s grip had dropped onto the ground nearby and as it laid there, it began to buzz and glow dimly.

Upon noticing the Soul Pearl on the ground, Little Wingsy immediately leaped at it and picked it back up.

On the other hand, the dark spirit who was still levitating in the air, howled while facing upward. It then gave Tantai Ling a malicious glare.

“D*mn you, woman! I’ll kill you!” The dark spirit’s eyes were red with rage.