Chapter 674: Nine Profound Divine Iron

"No!" Yang Dingtian's words caused everyone's brows to furrow.

"Could the token not be on Yin Zhiping?"

"The token is definitely on him." Yang Dingtian spoke with certainty. "That token is extremely important and would never be entrusted to a second person. Once it leaves the sect leader's ten-zhang radius, it will trigger a restriction. This is a measure to prevent anyone with ill intent from stealing it."

"This makes things complicated," Zhong Jiang said in a deep voice.

"What's so complicated? If we have to, we can just fight our way in." Gu Santong and Wuya Daoist, the two who always caused trouble, started instigating again.

"We should avoid an all-out war unless absolutely necessary," Tianzong Laozu pondered. "This is the main headquarters of Hengyue, garrisoned by their core cultivation army with countless experts. Even if we had twenty more Quasi-Tianjing masters, it still wouldn't be enough."

"That's right," Yang Dingtian interrupted. "We're already taking a risky gamble, so there can be no mistakes. We've planned this for so long, so we need to strike decisively. Controlling the Hengyue high command is easy enough, but we can't afford to alarm their main forces. If the Hengyue leaders decide to fight to the death, the situation could spiral out of control in an instant. As Ye Chen said, once a direct war breaks out, any unexpected twist could completely erase our advantages."

"So, we need the Yanhuang army to join the battle," Tianzong Laozu said solemnly.

"Contact your true self, I'll speak with him." Yang Dingtian quickly turned to Ye Chen's three clones standing among them.

"Understood." Ye Chen's three clones immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, using a secret technique to connect with him.

Bang! Boom! Rumble!

As they spoke, the shocking battle within the barrier of Langu Cangyuan continued.

Looking up at the sky, radiant divine light obscured the sun, with spatial rifts raging everywhere, only to be instantly smoothed over by the two fighters' palms. By this point, Ye Chen's form was extremely tattered.

Taixu Jiudao!

With a light shout from Yin Zhiping, he thrust his sword forward, unleashing nine beams of divine light. These nine beams were incredibly strange; as they shot out, they merged into one, forming a multicolored divine light that carried devastating piercing power.

Seeing this, Ye Chen poured his surging energy into the Wuhuang Zhanmao. He then combined various secret techniques in an instant and thrust the spear through the void, directly targeting the oncoming multicolored divine light.

However, in that very moment, the merged multicolored divine light split back into nine beams, bypassing the Wuhuang Zhanmao entirely.

Damn!

Ye Chen cursed inwardly and hastily retreated, but he was too late.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

As blood splattered, even Ye Chen's powerful Huanggu Shengti body couldn't withstand the divine light, and nine bloody holes were punched through him.

Taixu Longyin!

Yin Zhiping struck swiftly, stepping forward and slamming out a palm that sent Ye Chen, who hadn't yet stabilized, flying.

This scene once again drew sighs from the surrounding spectators.

"It seems Qin Yu has overestimated himself," many remarked while stroking their beards. "Thinking he could take down Yin Zhiping to claim the top spot on the Fengyun List is truly biting off more than he can chew. The gap between them is enormous!"

"Sis, at this rate, it won't be long before Yin Zhiping cuts him down from the sky," Shangguan Yuer said, her delicate brows furrowed as she looked at Shangguan Han Yue beside her.

"I didn't expect the ninety percent host to be this strong," Shangguan Han Yue replied, her expression grave, with a hint of worry in her beautiful eyes.

"Knowing you're no match for him, you still challenged him publicly. Do you care that much about the top spot on the Fengyun List?" In the crowd, Ji Ningshuang, disguised as a man, frowned more than once. "Or do you have some ulterior motive?"

"This guy is in trouble if he doesn't unleash his peak power soon; he's going to get wrecked!" Nearby, the old Zhuge fellow couldn't sit still any longer.

"I mean, if a third party tries to kill him, I could still step in and block it, but if he gets taken out inside the barrier, there's nothing I can do," Niu Shisan said with a shrug to Taiyi Zhenren in the crowd.

"Don't worry, you'll have your hands full soon enough," Taiyi Zhenren replied casually, munching on a chicken butt. Although he didn't know why Ye Chen was holding back his strength, he was still very confident in Ye Chen's combat abilities.

"As long as you don't back down when the time comes, and don't forget you're a Niu," Wu Sanpao added shamelessly, gnawing on a chicken leg. Like Taiyi Zhenren, he was extremely confident in Ye Chen's power.

"Where do you two get this confidence from?" Niu Shisan looked at the pair beside him with a mix of admiration and clicking his tongue.

"Let him die if he wants to, it doesn't matter." On the Zhengyang and Qingyun side, they mostly wore cold smiles. After all, neither fighter was from their side, so they felt no sympathy.

"As expected, Ping'er hasn't disappointed me." Tongxuan Zhenren stroked his beard leisurely, casting a look of contempt at the disheveled Ye Chen.

"He's just got strong combat skills," Hengyue's other elders muttered among themselves. "With all the sins he's committed, if he weren't Hengyue's host, we'd have struck him down eight hundred times over."

Of course, these words stayed in their thoughts. Although they didn't think highly of Yin Zhiping, they still needed his power.

Bang!

Amid the discussions, a thunderous boom echoed from the barrier as Yin Zhiping's sword sent Ye Chen flying. He then pressed down with the Taixu Longyin, nearly forcing Ye Chen, who had just steadied himself, to his knees.

Get out of my way!

Ye Chen roared, forcibly stabilizing his stance as the overwhelming vital energy of the Huanggu Shengti surged. He punched upward into the sky, shattering the Taixu Longyin on the spot.

Taixu Zhi!

Yin Zhiping closed in instantly, his finger striking out and piercing a bloody hole in Ye Chen.

Get lost!

Ye Chen bellowed in anger, combining Bahuang Quan with Kanglong and unleashing a punch.

Yin Zhiping countered with a palm strike. Their fists and palms collided with a deafening boom, sending both reeling back.

Pfft!

Ye Chen spat out blood again, his body staggering and nearly plummeting from the void. He was still waiting for a signal from Yang Dingtian and the others, as he could only unleash his peak power without reservations once Hengyue was under control.

"I hope nothing's gone wrong," Ye Chen thought, wiping the blood from his mouth, a vague sense of worry creeping in.

"This shouldn't be happening!" His mind raced. "The experts we've hidden in Hengyue should be able to control their high command easily, especially with the Yanhuang army's support. There's no reason for this delay."

"True self, the storage pouch has no token," came the message from his clones.

"No token?" Ye Chen's brows knitted. "With so many tokens, how could there be none?"

"It's true, there's none." This time, it was Yang Dingtian's voice.

"Could it not be on Yin Zhiping?"

"It has to be on him." Yang Dingtian remained firm. "Also, the Hengyue sect leader's token isn't just a token, it's also a spiritual artifact without a fixed form."

"Shifu, please explain in more detail so I can have a clear target," Ye Chen said immediately.

"The sect leader's token is forged from a special divine iron," Yang Dingtian got straight to the point. "It was obtained by Hengyue's ancestor Yunqiu during his early travels and is said to come from beyond the heavens. Its name is Jiuxuan Shentie."

"Jiuxuan Shentie?" Ye Chen furrowed his brow slightly; he'd never heard of this divine material, let alone seen it.

"kid, you've seen my iron sword before," Gu Santong chimed in, as if sensing Ye Chen's confusion. "It's made from Jiuxuan Shentie."

"If that's the case, I get it." Ye Chen's eyes suddenly lit up with divine light.

He slowly lifted his gaze, looking at the approaching Yin Zhiping, his eyes finally settling on the Taixu Longjian in Yin Zhiping's hand, as it was made of the same material as Gu Santong's iron sword.

In other words, the Taixu Longjian in Yin Zhiping's hand was the transformed form of the Hengyue sect leader's token.

"I knew it!" Ye Chen sneered. "No wonder its power is far superior to the previous Taixu Longjian, it's the sect leader's token in disguise. Yin Zhiping, you're quite the trickster!"

"Try to get it if you can, but don't force it if you can't," Yang Dingtian's voice rang out again.

"No need, I've already found it." Ye Chen grinned.