Nine Astra Skies

Ten or so Mystique Rank experts had formed an impenetrable barrier around Ye Chen.

Ye Chen saw these people closing in and stopped in his steps, his eyes narrowing quickly. He had noticed long ago that two of them had been observing him.

“Hey, you scoundrel. I’m the custodian of the Sand Beast Clan, Sha Nantian. You’re the one who robbed my brother? Hand it over, kneel, and kowtow to me. I’ll spare your life then!” That silver-armored middle-aged man glared nastily at Ye Chen, his yellow pupils gleaming ominously.

“It’s this young’un indeed!” Among the group, a black-robed guy with a vulgar countenance pointed at Ye Chen accusingly.

“It’s this tyke who beat up my brother and robbed him of his possessions!” Another skinny man pointed at Ye Chen too.

Being in public, the Sand Beast Clan had to consider how things would look. They dared not kill and rob someone in broad daylight, so they were going to frame Ye Chen, then seize his possessions.

Upon hearing what the Sand Beast Clan said, the surrounding spectators suddenly understood. It was this guy who had stolen something from the Sand Beast Clan, so they came for revenge!

“He even dares to steal from the Sand Beast Clan. What a d*mn fool!”

“Doesn’t he know that the Sand Beast Clan mustn’t be provoked?”

“He’s incurred the wrath of the Sand Beast Clan – he’s a dead man!”

The surrounding crowd discussed fervently. Seeing that a conflict was erupting, they stepped back and created a wide, empty space.

Sha Nantian did not plan to give Ye Chen a chance to explain himself. He barged over ruthlessly, grabbing at Ye Chen. Ye Chen swiftly sidestepped him and avoided his hands. Sha Nantian grabbed only thin air and was slightly shocked. ‘This tyke isn’t too shabby. He must be peak Mystique Rank at least.’

“You said that I stole something from you. I’d like to ask – what was it you lost?” Ye Chen asked icily.

Sha Nantian paused in his steps, his fists held up to his eyes. His gaze was as sharp as steel.

The two guys behind Sha Nantian were momentarily blank.

“Twilight gold ancient coins!”

“Secret technique jade slips!”

Both of them blurted out at the same time but they said different things.

“So, tell me, is it twilight gold ancient coins or secret technique jade slips?” Ye Chen gave them a humorless smile.

When the surrounding crowd heard this exchange, they had realized the truth. Ye Chen did not rob the Sand Beast Clan of anything. It was the Sand Beast Clan who wanted to rob Ye Chen, so they came up with a story.

“This guy must’ve something that the Sand Beast Clan has their eyes on.”

“One should never flaunt one’s riches! Poor guy, he’d better just obediently hand over whatever it is.”

The Sand Beast Clan was a large faction that was not to be provoked. Thus, even though they learned that Ye Chen was wrongfully accused, the crowd could only retreat strategically.

Sha Nantian harrumphed coldly and growled. “Hand over the secret technique jade slips and twilight gold ancient coins now. Otherwise, you’ll die right here and now! Surround this scoundrel and don’t let him escape!”

The ten or so Mystique Rank experts of the Sand Beast Clan had crowded around Ye Chen. They drew their weapons. Most of them were using spiked knuckles while others held knives.

“Where else can you run?” The group of Mystique Rank experts displayed smiles of ridicule. From their perspective, Ye Chen was a trapped animal.

“You’re just ten or so Mystique Rank fighters. You think you can handle me? You’ve seen too little of the world. I possess not only twilight gold ancient coins and secret technique jade slips. I have these as well – I wonder if you can take them?” Ye Chen scoffed softly. The Ternary Sword Array was unleashed. With a “hum”, the three flying swords were hovering around Ye Chen.

‘On this sixth level of the Soul Pagoda, there are no Grand Supreme or Peerless Powers for now. Who can deal with me, Ye Chen?’

Three flying swords floated silently in mid-air. The Celestial Ice Sword was pure white and gleaming all over, encased in a layer of white frost and exuding a chilly aura. The Storm Sword was thoroughly blazing red, its blade glimmering with a red radiance and revealing an astonishing heat. As for the Storm Sword, its luster rippled like water and Water-type ripples spread outwards.

With three flying swords wielded at once, the surrounding area over hundreds of meters was enveloped in terrifying sword energy. The ten or so Mystique Rank experts from the Sand Beast Clan could not help but take a few steps back from the sheer pressure. They were bowled over.

“Sheesh, what formidable spirit artifacts! These three swords are definitely above Tier Eight, maybe even Tier Nine!”

“Is this a sword array? What overbearing ferocity!”

Around the Celestial Ice Sword, the air had been frozen into ice and frost. Near the Searing Sun Sword, flames raged and danced. The Storm Sword was shrouded in gentle Water-type Celestial Chi. There was a subtle connection between all three longswords. They floated around Ye Chen and a murderous aura instantly locked Sha Nantian and the rest in place.

Any one of these swords would be a truly impressive treasure. Even the top ten sects of the Central Empire would have used a flying sword like this to rule the faction. However, Ye Chen had taken out no fewer than three!

Even scarier was that these three swords of such extreme quality had been used to construct a sword array!

Even those standing a hundred meters away could feel the vicious force rolling outward. Their faces helplessly turned pale and they stepped back dozens of meters.

Currently, Sha Nantian and the rest were even worse off, under the direct pressure of the sword array’s brutal power. It was difficult to even take a step and their eyes were bulging with fear.

Who was this fellow? He had such a fearsome sword array!

Sha Nantian had experienced life and death on the battlefield before. He stubbornly resisted the murderous aura of the sword array and looked up to glare at Ye Chen. In a low voice, he said, “Buddy, the Daemon Kings of the Sand Beast Clan are nearby. If you put down these three weapons, my Sand Beast Clan wouldn’t pursue the matter. If not, once the Daemon Kings of the Sand Beast Clan arrives, buddy, you can forget about staying alive!”

“Reckless idiot!” Ye Chen scoffed coldly. “So, what if the Daemon Kings of your Sand Beast Clan arrive? You want me to put down these swords – what wishful thinking! What I want to find out is whether you can handle them!”

The sword array’s vicious force locked upon the members of the Sand Beast Clan.

“You dare to offend my Sand Beast Clan. My Sand Beast Clan will not let you get away alive!” Sha Nantian shot a poisonous glare at Ye Chen. When he saw that Ye Chen still had not attacked, a smirk flitted over his lips. “If you dare to kill us, you’re dead meat! My Sand Beast Clan will not allow you to walk out of the Soul Pagoda!” Sha Nantian was a ferocious man, unafraid of dying.

When the crowd witnessed this, they burst into a heated discussion.

“The Sand Beast Clan is one of the most troublesome tribes with an ancient bloodline. If this guy kills them, there would surely be great trouble.”

“The Sand Beast Clan has plenty of expert fighters. Plus, the five Daemon Kings of the Sand Beast Clan are just around here. Perhaps they’re already observing from some corner!”

“Most people really can’t afford to offend the Sand Beast Clan. I think he can only admit his ill-fortune!”

“It’s good enough that he can preserve his life. Without this sword array, his corpse would’ve gone cold by now!”

Sha Nantian and the rest had predicted that Ye Chen would not dare kill them.

Just then, two Psyches extended over. One of the Psyches condensed into an enormous yellow beast in the sky. He was rather like a large bear, except his body was composed entirely of sand. From time to time, sand-like stuff would cascade off his frame.

The bear-like Psyche gave a deep, low roar. The booming voice from his throat was like thunder crashing from the skies.

“My friend, the Sand Beast Clan has no quarrel with Your Excellency. Please allow my subordinates to leave!” the Sand Beast said in a low voice, fixing his stare on Ye Chen. Ye Chen had used three Tier Nine spirit artifact longswords to construct a Ternary Sword Array, which was enough to fight against Daemon Kings. Thus, this Sand Beast did not attack directly.

“These guys tried to kill and rob me. How should this debt be settled?” Ye Chen looked up and huffed, his cold gaze burning into the massive Sand Beast materialized from Psyche.

“My Sand Beast Clan would never accuse someone falsely. Your Excellency, please leave the items behind and my Sand Beast Clan won’t quibble with you over the details. You’ll be allowed to leave. Otherwise, if my Sand Beast Clan becomes enraged, Your Excellency will surely perish as ash and dust!” The Sand Beast’s bell-like eyes widened at Ye Chen, glinting murderously. He was lusting after Ye Chen’s treasures too.

The Daemon King’s might filled the air and descended upon them. The surrounding observers were drenched in a cold sweat and retreated over a hundred meters all at once.

“A few Daemon Kings from the Sand Beast Clan had shown up indeed.”

“What fearsome pressure!”

“With the Daemon King here, this guy won’t be able to flee no matter what!”

“The Sand Beast Clan has no fewer than five Daemon Kings nearby!”

“This Sand Beast Clan is surely too unreasonable. They’re robbing someone so brazenly, yet dare to act so righteous,” someone mumbled indignantly. There was a loud “splutter”. A cold beam shot down and that person’s head blew up. Blood splattered everywhere.

“Slanderer of the Sand Beast Clan, die!” The Sand Beast in the sky turned his cold, ruthless gaze over to this side.

The people around were silent with fear. This Sand Beast Clan was truly despotic. Making a single comment could get one killed. Although they were resentful and afraid, they dared to speak up. They definitely would not dare to challenge a Daemon King’s power.

“Wow, you won’t quibble over the details! Wow, you killed a slanderer of the Sand Beast Clan! The Sand Beast Clan is oh-so-mighty. Today, I’ll slay them all! If you Daemon Kings scram, I won’t quibble over the details with you. If you want me to leave my things behind, I want to see if you can compel me to do so!” When Ye Chen saw that an innocent bystander was beheaded for making a reasonable statement, his terrible anger flared up.

“Die!” Ye Chen pointed with his right hand. “Plop, plop, plop,”– ten or so human heads soared into the air, fresh blood gushing out. One of these was Sha Nantian.

Sha Nantian and his group had never imagined that, despite the arrival of the Sand Beast Clan’s Daemon Kings, Ye Chen still dared to kill them! Still, dead men had no way of crying foul.

Ye Chen had merely released a few killing wisps of energy from the Ternary Sword Array and immediately ten or so Mystique Rank experts from the Sand Beast Clan were thoroughly annihilated!

The surrounding spectators were stunned to their core. They would never expect that Ye Chen would dare to kill those from the Sand Beast Clan, even when he was surrounded by the five Daemon Kings of the Sand Beast Clan. This was a self-destructive move! However, when they saw those from the Sand Beast Clan being slaughtered, they could not help but fill a burst of glee. Nice kills!

“You punk, you!”

“You dare kill those from my Sand Beast Clan. You must wish to die!” The Daemon Kings of the Sand Beast Clan all howled in rage.

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh”– two massive Sand Beasts instantly materialized in the sky, lunging downward. In the distance, three figures were dashing over as well.

Two Celestial Beast Daemon Kings, three mystical beast Daemon Kings!

The force of the Daemon Kings covered the land and crashed downward. The surroundings of the Ternary Sword Array were promptly frozen in place by chi flows.

“Today, my Sand Beast Clan will not rest until you’re dead. You can forget about escaping!”

“I, Sha Moling, the elder of the Sand Beast Clan, hereby swear that, if I don’t behead you on the spot, I, Sha Moling, will slice off my right hand!” Sha Moling bellowed wildly and made a savage vow to behead Ye Chen!

“Die, die, die!”

The two gigantic Sand Beasts in the sky, condensed from Psyches, unleashed roars that shook the heavens. They pounced at Ye Chen and that deafening crash was like the earth itself was splitting apart.