Chapter 676: Token Acquired

Ah!

Amidst the discussions, Yin Zhiping’s furious roars echoed from within the barrier.

Now, his disheveled state was no better than Ye Chen’s; he had been beaten so badly that he no longer looked human.

“Shouting won’t help.”Ye Chen sneered coldly and delivered another powerful punch.

However, this time, his punch was noticeably slower by half a beat.

Or rather, he had deliberately slowed it down, essentially creating an opening for Yin Zhiping.

And sure enough, Yin Zhiping seized the opportunity perfectly.

“Kill!”With a furious roar, he swung his sword down in a fierce chop.

Blood splattered immediately as Ye Chen dodged the vital spots, but Yin Zhiping’s sword struck his right shoulder. Due to Yin Zhiping’s insufficient force and Ye Chen’s extraordinarily tough and dominant physique, the arm wasn’t severed.

In that instant, Ye Chen’s right hand shot up, firmly gripping the Taixu Longjian.

At the same time, he pulled back his attacking left fist and summoned an indestructible crimson killing sword, slashing towards the hand Yin Zhiping used to grip his sword.

Yin Zhiping’s face changed drastically on the spot; the distance was too close, and Ye Chen’s strike was too swift, leaving him no time to react.

Thud!

As blood sprayed, Yin Zhiping’s sword-holding hand was instantly cut off.

“It’s mine now!”Ye Chen grabbed the Taixu Longjian and swiftly retreated.

Seeing this, the Hengyue elders outside the barrier all turned to Tongxuan Zhenren. While others might not know, they certainly did—that Taixu Longjian was transformed from the Hengyue sect leader’s token, and if it fell into someone else’s hands, the consequences would be dire.

“Don’t worry, he’s trapped in the barrier and can’t escape.”Tongxuan Zhenren chuckled coldly.

“Oh, what a fine sword!” Inside the barrier, Ye Chen, now holding the Taixu Longjian, admired it with evident delight.

Zing! Zing! Zing!

The sword trembled in his hand as if resisting, with a tremendously powerful force inside it rapidly awakening, trying to break free from his control.

“Break!”Ye Chen snorted coldly, forcefully suppressing the powerful force within the Taixu Longjian.

Thud!

As he subdued that force, Yin Zhiping in the opposite void suffered backlash. He had just steadied himself when he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”Then, the heavens echoed with Yin Zhiping’s roars. His hair was disheveled, and he raged like a mad dog.

At that moment, his right arm was drenched in blood and still bleeding, all because Ye Chen had severed half of it; otherwise, he wouldn’t have lost the Taixu Longjian.

However, as he roared, the severed arm was regenerating at a visible speed. This terrifying recovery ability left the onlookers in the surroundings utterly shocked.

“This sword is mine now.”Ye Chen bared his white teeth and, right in front of Yin Zhiping, stuffed the Taixu Longjian into his storage bag.

In reality, while it seemed to outsiders that he had put the Taixu Longjian into his storage bag, he had actually used a secret technique to send it to Yang Dingtian and the others through the connection between his true self and his clone.

Huh?

This action drew murmurs from the spectators. “That Taixu Longjian is so dominant, so why isn’t Qin Yu using it?”

“You don’t get it! The Taixu Longjian has restrictions; only its owner, Yin Zhiping, can unleash its true power.”

“Oh, I see!”

“Kill!”Amidst the discussions, the enraged Yin Zhiping charged at Ye Chen.

Even if he won this battle, it would be a humiliating victory. First, his storage bag was stolen, and then the Taixu Longjian was taken—those two incidents alone were enough to make him lose all face.

“Acting all high and mighty without the Taixu Longjian—you’re quite confident!”Ye Chen advanced instead of retreating, like a primordial beast lunging at Yin Zhiping, unleashing world-shaking divine abilities.

Boom! Bang! Rumble!

The battle erupted once more, with immense momentum.

This time, Yin Zhiping had truly learned his lesson, being extra cautious about letting Ye Chen get too close, as the outcome would be disastrous otherwise.

As for Ye Chen, he no longer engaged in close combat, knowing that defeating Yin Zhiping with just that approach was still far from enough. He wasn’t in a hurry; he just needed to wait for Yang Dingtian’s signal, then he could unleash his peak strength.

On his end, a sword’s hum sounded, and Ye Chen’s clone manifested the Taixu Longjian in his hand.

Immediately, Yang Dingtian reached out and grasped the Taixu Longjian, narrowing his eyes as he examined it.

“How about it? This time, it’s definitely right, isn’t it?”Gu Santong and the others all looked at Yang Dingtian.

“It’s undoubtedly the sect leader’s token.”Yang Dingtian confirmed with certainty.

“Move out.”The Tianzong elder said at once. They couldn’t wait any longer; every second delayed could bring changes.

Moreover, Ye Chen was still waiting for their signal. Their goal was to seize Hengyue with lightning speed in the shortest time, allowing Ye Chen to fight without any burdens.

Right away, the group dispersed in various disguises towards different directions of Hengyue.

This was a mist-shrouded spiritual mountain, where a middle-aged man in black sat cross-legged, quietly meditating. Chilling, ethereal lights swirled around him, with one or two occasionally merging into his body.

This person was Feng Ji, the master of Hengyue Sect’s intelligence network.

Hmm?

In the next moment, Feng Ji’s brows furrowed deeply, and he abruptly stood up.

But before he could make any further moves, a rusty iron sword was pressed against his left shoulder, and a silver spirit talisman was affixed to his body, sealing his soul and dantian.

“Feng Ji, master of Hengyue Sect’s intelligence network, right?”A leisurely voice rang out as Gu Santong’s figure materialized.

“My friend, what is the meaning of this?”Though astonished by Gu Santong’s strength, Feng Ji’s expression remained unchanged.

“Just wanted to have a chat with you.”Gu Santong smiled faintly, pressed Feng Ji back into his seated position, and casually summoned a barrier to envelop the entire spiritual mountain.

At the same time, Hengyue’s inner sect—one hall, one pavilion, two gardens, seven cabinets, nine peaks—and the outer sect—one hall, one pavilion, two gardens, three peaks, eight cabinets—were all covered by barriers.

Indeed, while Gu Santong was handling Feng Ji, Zhong Jiang and the others succeeded at the same time.

Their actions were swift and synchronized.

Most importantly, to avoid any accidents, each of them had cultivation levels far superior to their targets.

For example, Gu Santong was at the peak of Zhun Tian Jing, while Feng Ji was only at the peak of Kong Ming Jing—this was an absolute suppression of cultivation. What they needed was speed and overwhelming force.

At that moment, Hengyue Sect’s higher-ups were basically all under control.

Just as Ye Chen had anticipated, with proper planning and sufficient speed, controlling Hengyue Sect’s leadership would only take a few seconds—and that was exactly what happened, from start to finish in no more than three seconds.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Then, the heavens buzzed as nine massive barriers enveloped the entire Hengyue Sect. Not even a fly could enter or exit, and any transmissions were blocked on the spot by Ye Chen.

“All disciples and elders, return to your respective peaks immediately. No one is to leave without orders. Violators will be executed.”An ethereal and authoritative voice lingered over Hengyue Sect.

“What… what’s going on?”Such a huge disturbance naturally left the Hengyue disciples and ordinary elders stunned, all of them looking up at the nine massive barriers.

“A nine-layer sealing barrier—has some major event happened?”

“Who knows? That’s for the higher-ups to handle. We’d better head back to our peaks!”

In an instant, the vast Hengyue Sect, which had been bustling with people moments ago, became eerily empty.