Chapter 761: A Grand Scheme

Puff! Puff! Puff!

A wave of ultimate skills swept across the void. Ever since he was hit by Ye Chen's Shen Shang, the black-clothed person was in a complete daze. The previous second he had been acting all high and mighty, but in this second, he was beaten so badly that he couldn't even tell east from west.

Ah!

Soon, the pitch-black heavens and earth echoed with the black-clothed person's furious roar. With disheveled hair and blood dripping from his bones, he looked like a demon, his face twisted and terrifying. He finally managed to steady himself.

Ba Huang Zhan!

Ye Chen was as dominant as ever, swinging his blade and cleaving the heavens with a single strike.

Get lost!

The black-clothed person roared in anger, not even bothering to defend himself. He let Ye Chen's blade strike his shoulder, then countered with a palm strike that sent Ye Chen flying.

In this brief clash, both were severely wounded. Ye Chen crashed into a towering mountain, while the black-clothed person's arm was nearly severed by Ye Chen's strike, hanging on by just a thread of flesh and bone.

Take him down!

Dan Chen and Dan Yi charged forward to attack.

With just you?

The black-clothed person scanned them with his grotesque eyes, his killing sword in hand, and swept out with a punch, sending Dan Chen and the others retreating once more.

Whoosh!

After repelling Dan Chen and his group, the black-clothed person turned and fled, moving at an astonishing speed like a streak of dark light.

Although his combat power was formidable, he had underestimated Ye Chen. After taking a hit from Shen Shang and enduring a barrage of ultimate skills from Ye Chen and Dan Chen's group, he was heavily injured and no longer at his peak. With Ye Chen as an unpredictable factor, continuing the fight would only lead to more losses for him.

Chase him!

Dan Chen and his companions wouldn't let such a major enemy escape. Letting him go now would invite disaster later. Their goal was clear: at the very least, they needed to uncover the black-clothed person's identity.

"You think you can just fight and run? Not that easy."

Ye Chen was even faster, unleashing Tai Xu Shen Xing Shu to its most profound level. Burning his vital energy, his speed reached its highest since he began cultivating, like a streak of golden divine light, brilliantly radiant against the dark night sky.

"Damn it."

Seeing Ye Chen and Dan Chen closing in, the black-clothed person's face twisted grotesquely. With his body nearly crippled and his divine sea and soul severely damaged, he was no match for them now.

Thinking of this, he burned his true yuan, dramatically increasing his speed.

Where do you think you're going!

Ye Chen stepped forward, covering hundreds of zhang in one stride, his golden hand descending like a canopy over the sky.

At the sight, the black-clothed person halted abruptly, spun around, and shattered Ye Chen's golden hand with a punch.

Try this—Feng Shen Jue!

Ye Chen timed it perfectly, his strike visibly powerful. Chi Xiao Sword hummed, wrapped in thunder and immortal fire, delivering a peak attack that pierced the void straight toward the black-clothed person's brow.

Faced with such a fierce sword strike, the black-clothed person gritted his teeth. With no time for secret techniques, he dodged sharply to the side.

Zheng! Bang! Crack!

Three sounds rang out in succession. Due to the black-clothed person's dodge, Ye Chen's sword grazed past his mask. But the force of Feng Shen Jue was too overwhelming, shattering the mask on the spot.

Under the faint moonlight, the black-clothed person's true face was revealed.

It was an aged face, full of wrinkles, with sunken eye sockets and deep, desolate eyes flickering with bloody light. His entire old face bore the marks of time's relentless passage.

"You..."

Dan Chen and Dan Yi, who had just caught up, stopped dead in their tracks. The nine elders stared at the black-clothed person's face in utter disbelief.

"Shishu Zu."

Dan Chen opened his mouth, still in disbelief as he looked at the face. Though it was very aged, he recognized it at once—wasn't this their Shishu Zu?

"Shishu Zu?"

Ye Chen's expression was the most intriguing. He glanced at Dan Chen and the others, then scrutinized the black-clothed person, unable to stay calm.

"Dan Chen's Shishu Zu—how high is his seniority!" Ye Chen thought to himself. "No wonder he's a master alchemist and so powerful. With such a high seniority, how long has he lived!"

"But what's this all about!" Ye Chen muttered. "Dan Chen's Shishu Zu kidnapped Dan Chen's disciple and demanded the Wan Dan Bao Dian as ransom. That doesn't add up!"

"Just call me Dan Mo, my dear grand-disciples. Do you still remember this old man?"

The black-clothed person bared his white teeth, looking at Dan Chen and the others with great interest.

"We should have guessed it was you."

After their initial shock, Dan Chen and his companions' faces turned ice-cold in unison. "Back then, you harmed our Shizu and crippled our Shizun. Today, we'll make you pay in blood."

"So it's old grudges from the previous generation."

Ye Chen overheard clearly, stroking his chin in thought. "That makes sense now. But this Dan Mo—could he be from the Mo Domain? If so..."

"Hand over your life!"

As Ye Chen pondered, Dan Chen and Dan Yi surged with killing intent, charging at Dan Mo with rolling killing energy.

"You're far from ready."

Dan Mo sneered, though he spoke the words while stepping away and fleeing once more. In the midst of their conversation, he had stabilized his aura, boosting his speed to a new level.

"Still running?"

Ye Chen was the fastest, as always.

He didn't care about Dan Mo's connection to Dan Cheng. Since Dan Mo was an enemy of Dan Cheng, he was an enemy of Ye Chen. Such a foe couldn't be let go lightly—if he recovered, it would spell catastrophe.

Boom! Bang! Rumble!

Soon, explosive sounds erupted, and majestic mountains collapsed one after another. Dan Mo was in a sorry state but didn't dare engage, his goal clear: escape the battlefield as quickly as possible.

Behind him, Ye Chen was like a persistent shadow, his speed extraordinary thanks to Tai Xu Shen Xing Shu—a technique perfect for both fleeing and pursuing—making Dan Mo grind his teeth in frustration.

Ahead, a vast plain came into view. Dan Mo shot into it like a black divine light, glancing back at Ye Chen with a strange smile at the corner of his mouth.

Stay behind!

Ye Chen burned his sacred body essence, striding in for the kill. But just as he was about to strike, his brows furrowed suddenly.

Stop!

Ye Chen shouted abruptly, halting and retreating over a hundred zhang.

Boom!

The moment he pulled back, the spot where he had stood was struck by a massive divine light from the sky, blasting a deep black hole. Ye Chen felt a chill run down his spine—if he hadn't dodged, he'd be a pile of flesh and blood now.

But his warning came too late. Dan Chen and Dan Yi had already rushed in.

As they stopped, the entire area trembled violently, an extremely dangerous aura emerging.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang!

A series of bangs followed as ninety-nine blood-red pillars burst from the ground and ninety-nine black pillars descended from the sky, piercing the earth.

Each pillar, whether blood-red or black, was etched with ancient Mo Wen and rune chains that intertwined, forming a massive cage that trapped Ye Chen and his group inside.

Woo woo! Woo woo!

Soon, a sea of blood appeared within the cage, filled with bloody figures struggling and wailing in numbers beyond count, their cries sending shivers down the spine.

"This is the Xue Mo Hai, refined from countless sacrifices."

Dan Chen's face turned extremely cold.

"This blood sea can devour our spiritual power."

Dan Yi's expression grew grave.

Ye Chen and the others had already noticed. Their surging spiritual energy was being absorbed by the blood sea, which also carried sealing and imprisoning abilities.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

With chilling winds, over a hundred black-robed figures appeared, all at the peak of Kong Ming Jing, each exuding Mo Sha Qi and bloody light in their eyes, staring at Ye Chen and his group with interest.

"It's not just about the Wan Dan Bao Dian."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes at those outside.

"Such a massive lineup and a dominating trap—clearly a long-planned scheme."

Ye Chen murmured in thought. "It seems their real goal is to wipe out Dan Cheng's leadership and take control of it."

"What a clever plot."

Ye Chen chuckled coldly. "I'm always the one scheming against others, but today I fell into someone else's trap."

Ye Chen couldn't help but recall the battle where they ambushed Qing Yun Laozu—it was also luring the snake out of its hole and trapping it in a net. The scene now was eerily similar, but they were the ones caught.

Not just him; Dan Chen and the others had realized it too, only now waking from their dream.

The kidnapping, the ransom demand—it was all a ruse. As their Shishu Zu and once a Dan Cheng elder, Dan Mo's true target wasn't the Wan Dan Bao Dian but them.

They all knew that if they were wiped out here, their Shishu Zu could easily seize Dan Cheng. With his seniority, few would oppose.

What a scheme—a massive one!

Their faces turned ashen, never imagining their Shishu Zu was still alive, let alone that he'd pull such a move, catching them completely off guard.

Boom! Bang! Rumble!

As they pondered, the hot-tempered elder from Dan Cheng began bombarding the barrier from inside with secret techniques.

But not only did he fail to shake it, he suffered a terrifying backlash, his face paling instantly as blood trickled from his mouth.

"It's no use. This is the Jiu Jiu Feng Tian Jie."

Ye Chen sighed. "To break such a barrier from inside, you'd need at least thirteen quasi-Tian Jing experts. And with your Shishu Zu controlling it, breaking it from within is basically impossible."

"Damn it."

Dan Yi and the others snorted coldly.

"You're all too green."

From the sky above, Dan Mo looked down with a mocking, playful expression.

"With your status, aren't you afraid of being shamed by posterity?"

Dan Chen retorted coldly.

"So what?"

Dan Mo shrugged. "The victor is king, the loser is thief—that's the world's iron rule. Back then, I lost to Dan Xuan and admitted my inferiority. But today, wiping out his grand-disciples is truly delightful!"