208: Chapter 208 Descending to Heaven: The Deliveryman!

Duanhun Valley.

This was a famous ominous land in the Eastern Desolation, shrouded year-round in a thick layer of gray poisonous miasma where sunlight rarely penetrated and birds were nowhere to be seen. Within the valley, jagged rocks were everywhere and yin winds howled, as if it were connected to the Nine Serene Hells.

Everyone knew of the dangers of Duanhun Valley, but few knew it was actually the largest stronghold in the Eastern Desolation for the Central State's number one assassin organization, the "Heavenly Court"—the Third Branch.

Three thousand zhang underground, within a magnificent yet eerie subterranean palace.

The leader of the Heavenly Court's Third Branch, Li Qianjue, known as the "Blood-Handed Human Butcher," was currently seated upon a throne constructed from white bones.

In his hands, he toyed with two still-bleeding skulls; they belonged to two disobedient rogue cultivator Saints he had just hunted down.

"Is there still no news of Reaper Venerable?"

Li Qianjue's voice was hoarse, sounding like two rusted iron plates rubbing together, a sound that made one's teeth ache.

"Reporting to the Leader."

Below him, a black-clad deacon knelt trembling on the ground. "Reaper Venerable led a team to intercept and kill Xu Chen and that traitor, Shadow Kill. Logically, they should have returned long ago. But... there has been no transmission so far."

"Hmph."

Li Qianjue snorted coldly, the skulls in his hands instantly turning to dust. "A bunch of trash. To waste so much time dealing with a second-generation heir who forcibly raised his cultivation through pills."

"Pass down the order to send two more teams of gold-rank assassins to provide backup. I want to see them if they're alive, or their corpses if they're dead. Anyone who dares to provoke the majesty of my Heavenly Court, even if he is an Young Master of the Imperial Clan, must pay the price!"

"Yes!"

The black-clad deacon was just about to take his leave.

Suddenly.

"Rumble—!!!"

An earth-shaking roar came from directly overhead without any warning.

Immediately after, the entire underground palace began to shake violently, as if a magnitude ten earthquake had struck. Countless rocks fell from above, and most of the Ever-burning Lamps used for illumination were instantly extinguished.

"What's happening? Is it an earthquake?"

Li Qianjue's expression changed, and he abruptly stood up.

"Report—!!!"

An assassin responsible for guarding the entrance rushed in, crawling and stumbling, covered in blood. His face was filled with extreme terror, as if he had seen something impossibly horrific:

"Lea... Leader! Something terrible has happened!"

"The... the sky is falling!"

"Bullshit!"

Li Qianjue kicked the assassin away. "Straighten your tongue and speak! What exactly is going on?"

The assassin clutched his chest, pointed upward, and said tremblingly:

"Ships... such huge ships... so many ships..."

"They've completely blocked out the sun!"

...

Above Duanhun Valley.

The gray poisonous miasma that usually never dissipated had already been forcibly torn apart and blown away by an overbearingly terrifying aura.

In its place were nine Ancient Void Warships that blotted out the sky.

They floated quietly in the sky, their massive hulls shimmering with a cold metallic luster. Each warship was inscribed with complex Imperial Dao array patterns, and the pressure they emitted merged together, completely sealing off the surrounding space for ten thousand miles.

Before these nine behemoths, Duanhun Valley below looked like an earthworm being stepped on—tiny and pathetic.

Atop the dragon head of the flagship.

Xu Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering. He looked down at the valley now exposed to the sunlight, a playful arc curling at the corners of his mouth.

"This is Duanhun Valley?"

Xu Chen turned to Mo Han beside him. "It looks like a mass grave; the Heavenly Court's taste is really poor."

Mo Han had now changed into a set of black tight-fitting martial attire, holding the Imperial Weapon dagger named "Starfall." She was like a sword drawn from its sheath, radiating a heart-palpitating chill.

"Young Master."

Mo Han pointed expressionlessly at a seemingly ordinary boulder in the center of the canyon. "The entrance is right there. That is the 'Dragon-Severing Stone,' which connects to the underground sect-protecting array. It cannot be broken by anyone below the Saint King realm."

"Cannot be broken by anyone below the Saint King realm?"

Xu Chen raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying I need to find a locksmith?"

Just then.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Several powerful auras soared into the sky from below the canyon.

Li Qianjue, leading a dozen Saint-level assassins from the Heavenly Court branch, appeared in mid-air with a look of shock and anger.

When he clearly saw the nine Void Warships overhead marked with the character "Xu," and the densely packed, fully armed Imperial Guards on board, Li Qianjue's pupils instantly constricted to pinpoints, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Imperial Clan Xu!

And... the entire army has been deployed?!

Was this some kind of joke? To mobilize a nation-destroying lineup like this just for a traitorous maid?

"Youn... Young Master Xu!"

Li Qianjue forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart and shouted with feigned bravado,

"What is the meaning of this? My Heavenly Court and your Xu Family have always minded our own business. By mobilizing such a large force today, do you intend to provoke an all-out war between the Imperial Clan and my Heavenly Court?"

"Don't forget! My Heavenly Court headquarters has a Quasi-Emperor presiding over it! If you dare to act recklessly..."

"Noisy."

Xu Chen picked his ear, interrupting him with a look of impatience.

He didn't even bother to look Li Qianjue in the eye, merely flicking his finger nonchalantly:

"Hey you, I heard your Heavenly Court has been running some 'Heavenly Kill Order' recently, putting a bounty on the heads of my Xu Family disciples?"

"A misunderstanding! That's a misunderstanding!"

Cold sweat poured down Li Qianjue's face as he quickly explained, "That was the subordinates acting without authorization, privately..."

"I don't care if it's a misunderstanding or not."

Xu Chen grinned, revealing a row of snowy white teeth:

"Since you love collecting heads so much, this Young Master has always been happy to help others."

"So, I've personally come to deliver the goods."

"Deliver the goods?" Li Qianjue was stunned.

"That's right."

Xu Chen pointed at the three thousand murderous Imperial Guards behind him, then pointed at himself:

"The Young Master of the Xu Family, Xu Chen. Plus three thousand fine heads of the Xu Family, they're all right here."

"How about it? Is this delivery substantial enough?"

"Deli... delivery?"

Although Li Qianjue didn't understand the term, he understood the naked killing intent and humiliation in Xu Chen's words.

"Xu Chen! You go too far!"

Li Qianjue roared and abruptly crushed a jade talisman in his hand. "Activate the sect-protecting array! All disciples, heed my command, form the array to meet the enemy! I don't believe that a mere second-generation heir like you can truly breach the Heavenly Court's defenses that have been maintained for ten thousand years..."

"Buzz—!"

Following his command, the entire Duanhun Valley suddenly erupted with blinding blood-red light.

A blood-colored light screen, a hundred zhang thick, soared into the sky, enveloping the entire canyon. Upon the light screen, countless aggrieved souls wailed and roared, emitting a nauseating scent of blood.

This was the "Myriad Souls Blood Sacrifice Array," a defensive formation the Heavenly Court had nurtured with the blood of countless living beings, claimed to be unbreakable by anyone below the Great Saint realm!

Seeing the array rise, Li Qianjue felt slightly more at ease.

As long as he could withstand the first wave of attacks, he could call for reinforcements through the teleportation array. When the powerhouses from the headquarters arrived...

"This is your reliance?"

Xu Chen looked at the blood-colored light screen, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

"Mo Han, step back."

Xu Chen gave a casual instruction.

Mo Han didn't hesitate for a moment, her figure flickering as she retreated to the edge of the warship.

Xu Chen was seen slowly raising his right foot.

He didn't use any spiritual power.

It was purely physical strength.

Within his body, the recently awakened God-Demon Prison Suppressing Force surged violently. Eight hundred and forty million particles roared deep within his flesh, as if an ancient god-demon was awakening inside him.

"For me..."

"Open!!!"

Xu Chen let out a thunderous shout, and his right foot, like an ancient divine mountain collapsing, stomped heavily down toward the void below!

"Boom—!!!"

This stomp seemed to crush the laws of heaven and earth.

An indescribable and terrifying shockwave erupted instantly, centered at the sole of Xu Chen's foot.

Space shattered, and the void collapsed.

That Myriad Souls Blood Sacrifice Array, which was claimed to be "unbreakable by anyone below the Great Saint realm," was like paper before this pure, ultimate physical strength; it couldn't even hold out for a single breath.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound of shattering.

The blood-colored light screen... exploded.

Not only did the array explode, but the Dragon-Severing Stone below, the canyon entrance, and even half of Duanhun Valley's terrain were ground into powder under this single stomp!

"Pfft—!"

Li Qianjue, who was in the center of the array, suffered from the backlash. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell from mid-air like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the ruins.

The entire scene fell into a deathly silence.

Whether it was the elders of the Xu Family or the assassins of the Heavenly Court, everyone was left dumbfounded by this sight.

One stomp.

Just one single stomp.

It crushed a Saint-level array?

What kind of monster was this? What happened to him being a second-generation heir? This was a goddamn human-shaped dragon!

"Oops, I used too much force."

Xu Chen withdrew his foot and patted off the non-existent dust on his pant leg, wearing an "I'm so sorry" expression. "It seems the quality of this so-called Myriad Souls Array isn't all that great."

After speaking, he turned around and waved his hand at the three thousand Imperial Guards behind him who were already unable to contain themselves:

"What are you still standing there for?"

"Elders, move faster."

Xu Chen glanced at the sky, his tone becoming somewhat urgent:

"Don't delay me from going home to have dinner with my wife and child."

"Kill!!!"

With a roar from the Great Elder, the three thousand Imperial Guards of the Xu Family were like a bursting flood, carrying a destructive fury as they poured down toward the assassins who were already scared out of their wits...

Pouring down in a torrent.