Chapter 71: A Situation of Certain Death

The ninth tiered field lay amidst a chaotic expanse of jagged stones. Chu Jie and his companion now stood face to face with seven martial artists.

Wu Long wore an embarrassed expression as he spoke, “We’ve been to this place before—there are many side paths. Still, we mean no harm…”

No harm?

Chu Jie looked each of them over. Their eyes glimmered a greedy green, as if they beheld a beloved treasure, veins bulging on their foreheads, lending their faces an unsettling, almost grotesque appearance.

“That’s right, we mean no harm,” Li Yao added with a sly chuckle.

Chu Jie’s voice was cold. “You’ve trailed us in secret again and again. At first, I let you go, but now, to keep you from following us further, I’ll have to send you to your deaths.”

Behind Chu Jie, nine blazing suns manifested, causing the surrounding space to freeze for a moment. Air surged violently, gathering into gusts that swept over the rocky ground—where ordinarily, not a breath of wind would stir.

Wu Long had wanted to say more, but seeing Chu Jie attack without warning, he grew tense, his hand instinctively grasping for his weapon. His companions, seeking to protect themselves, did the same, surging spiritual power within them to resist the mounting pressure Chu Jie exuded.

Their cultivation ranged from the fourth to fifth level of the Convergence Spirit Realm; together, their combined strength was formidable.

Yet, even as their auras united, Chu Jie’s Ninefold Sun-Heaven Rending Claw descended.

He targeted Wu Long directly, locking him in with an unbreakable aura. Unless Wu Long had some secret technique to save himself, he faced certain death—his skull crushed in Chu Jie’s grasp.

A flash of light split the air. The golden dragon’s claw appeared above Wu Long’s head, crashing down with overwhelming force.

Just as it was about to shatter Wu Long’s skull, a transparent shield materialized above his head, enveloping all seven of them—a collective defensive array, distinct from the Body Gang Realm’s defenses, meant specifically for cultivators of the Convergence Spirit Realm.

The golden dragon’s claw smashed against the shield, sending tremors through the ground and distorting the space beneath it, radiating a blinding light.

Chu Jie was surprised—they had withstood his Ninefold Sun-Heaven Rending Claw.

Truly, there was strength in numbers.

The golden dragon’s claw was whittled away until only a faint shadow remained, while the shield above the seven flickered, on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, the nine blazing suns behind Chu Jie flew out one after another, all aimed at Wu Long’s head.

Wu Long’s face turned deathly pale—he felt as if the next instant would be his last.

Each sun slammed into the shield above his head; with every impact, their bodies shuddered as their vital energy was drawn toward the array. Blood trickled from Wu Long’s lips, his position bearing the brunt of the assault, suffering the greatest harm.

When the sixth sun landed upon the shield, the strain of the array grew too much for the weaker members, and one coughed up blood on the spot.

Chu Jie expended great reserves of spiritual power to maintain the golden dragon’s claw. Though it was costly, under normal circumstances it could instantly slay a fifth-level Convergence Spirit Realm cultivator—truly a tyrannical technique.

When the ninth sun struck, the shield above their heads shattered with a thunderous crack. Their faces drained of color; even united in defense, they could not withstand Chu Jie’s onslaught.

“They’re too strong—we’re finished!” one of the martial artists muttered, despair etched on his face.

“It’s over. We’re dead,” another resigned himself to fate.

Chu Jie could have maintained the golden dragon’s claw with more spiritual power, but its duration was limited. As his opponents reached their limits, the last vestige of the dragon’s claw faded away.

Though Wu Long survived, Chu Jie gained a new respect for their prowess. At the very least, these men were no ordinary fighters—and they clearly weren’t strangers to one another, wielding their defensive array with practiced precision.

Chu Jie did not attempt the claw again. Instead, the Wheel of Reincarnation within him spun rapidly, light swirling in his dantian as he began to recover his spiritual power. His earlier attack had been a test: if the opponents had proven weak, he would have dispatched them at once. But since they had some strength, he decided not to linger—he could not afford to waste time here.

“We’re leaving,” Chu Jie announced.

Making haste for the heart of the Divine Demon Abyss was the real priority; dallying here would serve no purpose.

Duan Kun cast a glance at Wu Long’s group, his spindle-shaped artifact spinning madly at his side. In the end, however, he put it away and followed Chu Jie as they departed.

The two figures quickly vanished from sight.

Wu Long and his companions finally exhaled in relief; had it come to a true clash, they would surely have lost.

“No wonder he’s famed as a peerless fiend, a slayer of countless men—a model for us all…” Wu Long sighed, his tone laced with almost admiring respect for Chu Jie.

“Do we keep following? If we do, I fear it’ll really be the end of us,” Li Yao muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. The earlier backlash had injured him slightly, but it was nothing serious.

“We follow!” Wu Long’s eyes were resolute, his voice ringing with conviction. “Brothers, let’s recover for a moment first.”

Meanwhile, Chu Jie said to Duan Kun, “We’ve shown some of our hand—perhaps they won’t follow us now. I did want to give them a real slaughter, but I held back. It’s truly vexing to have people on our tail.”

Duan Kun replied, “This group is strange. They seem to be after treasure, yet not quite… If their only purpose was to seize treasure, I would’ve killed them long ago.”

Duan Kun had considered attacking before, but decided against it. The ninth tiered field was fraught with peril—if they slew this group, others might leap out to attack them at once. Caution was essential.

By now, they were not far from the heart of the Divine Demon Abyss, which loomed ever more spectacular in the distance.

From the center, colossal pillars of light would erupt skyward, piercing the heavens before vanishing into the vortex above.

The spiritual energy of the world was in utter chaos here—restoring one’s power was nigh impossible. Fortunately, Chu Jie had purchased Azure Blue Pills; without them, he’d be at a loss as to how to recover his strength.

From here, they could already see a great crowd gathered at the abyss’s center. Treasured artifacts danced in the air, warning others to keep their distance, marking out territories of their own.

All the factions of Bloodslaughter City, large and small, were represented here. The heart of the Divine Demon Abyss was packed to overflowing. So many people left Chu Jie feeling dizzy.

“There must be thousands of cultivators here,” Chu Jie murmured as he surveyed the crowd.

And more were arriving by the moment.

Initially, Chu Jie had thought only Convergence Spirit Realm cultivators would come, but he soon noticed many Body Gang Realm fighters had also joined the fray.

Within Bloodslaughter City, Convergence Spirit Realm martial artists formed the backbone. Above them, some clan leaders were masters of the Star Core Realm—a realm entirely distinct from the Convergence Spirit Realm. Only upon forming a Star Core could one be considered a true expert.

Chu Jie did not know if any Star Core Realm masters were present this time. But with so many warriors gathered, a glaring problem became apparent.

That was, the identities of himself and Duan Kun. Somehow, someone had circulated their likenesses, labeling them as peerless fiends.

As a result, they dared not approach. If they did, so many people would attack them at once—it would be suicide.

It seemed not even the real peerless fiends had made an appearance, perhaps waiting for the right moment.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun halted, gazing toward the heart of the abyss. Both were scheming their next move.

If Chu Jie removed his mask, everyone would recognize him, and a mob would come for him. If he kept it on, all would assume he was a peerless fiend—and still attack.

Duan Kun’s case was more troublesome; he had not concealed his appearance upon arriving, and had likely drawn unwanted attention as well.

“We’ll have to find a way to disguise ourselves,” Chu Jie sighed. If they brazenly approached, they’d be torn to shreds in moments.

The irony was, neither he nor Duan Kun was any sort of peerless fiend. In truth, Chu Jie was hoping the real peerless fiends would arrive, unleash a massacre, and then he and Duan Kun could snatch the treasures.

But with no sign of the true fiends, he had no recourse.

The center of the Divine Demon Abyss grew increasingly crowded, with even Body Gang Realm cultivators braving the peril. In Bloodslaughter City, the most common type of person was one unafraid of death—whenever opportunity beckoned, crowds would surge forward.

Unable to communicate with others, Chu Jie had no way of knowing when the abyss might change again.

But just then, Chu Jie and Duan Kun saw more than three hundred people charging out from the center of the abyss—a mighty throng, their purpose unclear.

Yet as they rushed closer, Chu Jie and Duan Kun’s faces fell. This mob was headed straight for them.

A quick review of earlier events suggested the answer: someone must have noticed them long ago, but only now had word reached the center of the abyss, spreading news of Chu Jie and Duan Kun—now labeled as peerless fiends—causing an uproar.

Peerless fiends murdered indiscriminately within the abyss. They were the sworn enemies of Bloodslaughter City, feared by all, spoken of in dread.

But when so many gathered together, fear vanished. Bands of cultivators now poured forth to hunt Chu Jie and Duan Kun.

“Slay the fiends, seize the treasures!” their thunderous shouts rang out.

Though far away, Chu Jie heard them as clear as day.

He groaned inwardly, knowing he had blundered into a death trap—soon, he would face the assault of several thousand martial artists.