97: ambushing on the way home

The battle at Black Nightmare Mountain had settled.

Ye Chen stood in the chaotic valley. Though his aura was slightly withered, his Earth Fiend Realm Third Layer cultivation was completely stabilized. Because he had swallowed the pure Profound Ice Origin left behind by the Nether Prison Profound Maiden, his Protective Aura had become colder and more nihilistic, carrying a chilling Guixu Sword Intent.

He glanced at the three Dark Hall Elders cowering on the ground, having lost their fighting spirit after the Nether Prison Profound Maiden's will dissipated, and the terrified ordinary Disciples around them. These people were no longer a threat.

He did not kill them all, not out of kindness, but because he needed someone to bring the news back to the Dark Hall. He wanted the higher-ups of the Dark Hall to know that Tianfeng Academy, and he, Ye Chen, were not soft persimmons that could be bullied at will!

With a flick of his finger, three subtle Chaos Sword Qi shots entered the Dantian of the three Elders, crippling their cultivation and destroying their demonic roots.

"Roll back and tell the Moon-Erosion Demon Venerable and the Nether Prison Profound Maiden that for today's 'gift', Ye Chen will personally go to the Dark Hall another day and return it a hundredfold!"

The cold words swept past like a winter wind. The survivors felt as if they had received amnesty, scrambling and fleeing in panic from the mountain range that now resembled a demonic ruin.

Ye Chen ignored them, took a few Medicinal Pills, adjusted his breath, and transformed into an inconspicuous dark blue sword light, speeding toward Tianfeng Academy.

He had to return as soon as possible. The Black Nightmare Mountain stronghold had been eradicated, and the Nether Prison Profound Maiden's will had been severed; the Dark Hall would surely be furious. The subsequent retaliation would likely be like a violent storm. The academy needed him, and he needed the academy as a relatively safe base to digest the gains from these successive battles, especially his newly broken-through cultivation and the newly comprehended Ice Ruins Sword Intent.

On the way back, while flying, he inspected his body.

The Earth Fiend Realm Third Layer Protective Aura surged in his Meridians like a vast sea of ice ruins, possessing the dual characteristics of nihilism and extreme cold, far exceeding the power of the same rank. The earth fiend gang core in his Dantian had turned dark blue, with Guixu runes and ice crystal patterns interlaced on its surface. As it slowly rotated, it autonomously absorbed the thin Chaos energy and extreme cold aura between heaven and earth.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the chaos primordial fetus also seemed to have become "fuller" because it had absorbed the Profound Maiden's extreme cold Origin. The ice-blue stream of light mixed in the Chaos airflow became more obvious, making the fetus's capacity and evolutionary ability stronger. The ancient sword phantasm deep in his Soul remained constant, emitting an ancient sword rhythm that supported everything.

Holding the guixu sword in his hand, he felt a sense of intimacy as if connected by blood. The sword spirit also seemed more agile, conveying a desire to continue fighting and devouring.

"This harvest far exceeds expectations." Ye Chen felt slightly settled. As long as he had time to stabilize, even if the Dark Hall sent Tiangang Realm experts, he might not be without the power to fight!

However, just as he relaxed slightly, less than a hundred miles from Tianfeng Academy, he could even see the light blue Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation light shield covering the academy from afar—

The unexpected happened!

In the seemingly calm dense forest below, without warning, four huge black banners engraved with countless twisted ghost faces and filthy blood runes rose up!

The banners grew in the wind, instantly turning a hundred feet high, like four ghost walls connecting the sky and earth, sealing off Ye Chen's path forward, backward, left, and right! Thick, ink-like Yin Fiend ghost energy permeated from the banners, transforming into countless ferocious ghost shadows, letting out piercing screeches, and crazily pouncing toward Ye Chen!

There was also a powerful, filthy force specifically targeting the Divine Soul, like an invisible swamp, attempting to erode and pollute Ye Chen's Sea of Consciousness!

"Ten Thousand Ghost Soul-Devouring Banner?! And Polluting God Turbid Qi!" Ye Chen's eyes sharpened, instantly recognizing this vicious Formation. This Formation did not rely on brute force to suppress people, but specifically attacked the Divine Soul, polluting one's intelligence; it was extremely sinister! Obviously, the Dark Hall had already studied his methods and specially set up a targeted ambush here!

"You rats hiding your heads and showing your tails, get out here!"

Ye Chen snorted coldly, the guixu sword shook, and the Ice Ruins Sword Intent exploded! The dark blue sword qi, like a ring-shaped shockwave, spread to the surroundings. Wherever it passed, those pouncing ghost shadows were like encountering a nemesis, letting out shrill screams, instantly frozen, and then annihilated into nothingness! The invisible Polluting God Turbid Qi was also firmly blocked out by the pure aura emitted by the chaos primordial fetus, unable to advance an inch!

However, these four Ten Thousand Ghost Soul-Devouring Banners were obviously not the main attack method. Just as Ye Chen broke the ghost shadows and turbid qi—

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!"

Four attacks, condensed to the extreme, of different colors, but all containing deadly threats, silently attacked from the four directions of southeast, southwest, south, and north!

In the east, it was a fine, almost transparent green poison needle, as thin as cow hair, wreathed in nauseating stench, specifically breaking Protective Aura and corroding the Physical Body and Meridians!

In the west, it was a twisted blade made entirely of shadows, with a strange trajectory, as if it could merge into light, stabbing directly at the core of the Divine Soul!

In the south, it was a skull burning with pitch-black flames, the resentment-filled Soul fire jumping in its eye sockets, emitting demonic flames that burned everything and polluted Magic Treasures!

In the north, it was a gray-black palm print as heavy as a mountain, condensed from countless resentful Souls. Within the palm print, it seemed as if thousands of living beings were wailing, carrying the dual power of suppression and erosion!

These four attacks had tricky angles, ruthless timing, and power that had reached the Middle Stage or even Late Stage of the Earth Fiend Realm! Moreover, the attributes were different: poison, shadow, fire, and Soul, cooperating with each other to form a deadly trap!

What made Ye Chen even more alarmed was that he felt the surrounding space had been faintly sealed by a powerful force, making it difficult to use movement techniques!

"Four assassins above the Middle Stage of the Earth Fiend Realm... The Dark Hall really thinks highly of me!" Ye Chen sneered in his heart, but his eyes became increasingly cold. The opponent was clearly prepared, calculating that he had experienced a great battle, consumed a lot, and was close to the academy, with his mind slightly relaxed, to launch this fatal blow!

Avoiding was no longer possible!

Then... Fight!

Facing the deadly attacks from all four sides, Ye Chen was not flustered, but instead pushed his newly broken-through Earth Fiend Realm Third Layer cultivation to the limit! The guixu sword let out a sound like tearing silk, and the dark blue light on the sword body soared!

He did not choose to block the four attacks separately; that would only lead to passivity and being dragged down by the four people's continuous attacks.

What he wanted was to break the situation in one strike!

"guixu sword Domain — Ice Ruins... Heaven Swallowing!"

He held the sword with both hands and, with himself as the center, suddenly rotated a circle! The guixu sword drew a perfect dark blue circular sword arc!

Where the sword arc passed, a more solid, more terrifying dark blue Sword Domain suddenly took shape! This Sword Domain was no longer composed of countless world phantasms, but seemed to have turned into a miniature... Ice Ruins Black Hole that was constantly collapsing and devouring inward!

Within the range of the Sword Domain, light was distorted, sound disappeared, and even the Yin Fiend ghost energy emitted by the four Ten Thousand Ghost Soul-Devouring Banners was forcibly pulled and swallowed into it!

The four deadly attacks, the moment they entered the range of the Sword Domain, had their speed drastically reduced, and the Law power of poison, shadow, fire, and Soul contained within them were forcibly torn and decomposed by the Ice Ruins Black Hole!

The green poison needle became dim, the shadow blade twisted and collapsed, the pitch-black demon flame skull let out unwilling wails and turned into flying ash, and the resentful Soul palm print was like snow thrown into a furnace, quickly melting away!

The four major killing moves were actually swallowed and neutralized in one fell swoop by this newly born "Ice Ruins Heaven Swallowing" Sword Domain!

"What?!"

"This is impossible!"

Four shocked shouts rang out from four directions at the same time! Four Earth Fiend Realm assassins wearing night clothes of different colors and cold auras were forced to reveal their figures, their faces full of disbelief!

The four of them joined forces to set up a killing trap, and even used the targeted Ten Thousand Ghost Soul-Devouring Banner, yet it was broken by the other party with one sword?! This boy's strength was several times more terrifying than described in the intelligence!

"Swallowing our attacks... This boy's Sword Intent is weird! Cannot fight head-on, retreat!" One of the assassins made a decisive decision and shouted sharply.

The four did not hesitate, their figures retreated violently, trying to merge into the surrounding environment and escape.

"Want to leave now? Too late!"

Ye Chen's eyes were cold; how could he allow them to come and go as they pleased? He flicked his wrist, and the guixu sword pointed at the four people from a distance!

"I just swallowed your 'gift', now... returning it to you!"

The Ice Ruins Heaven Swallowing Sword Domain shook violently, and the four attack energies that had been swallowed and decomposed earlier, after being refined and transformed by the Guixu Sword Intent, actually turned into four more condensed, but diametrically opposite attribute Chaos Ice Ruins Finger Qi, shooting back at the four fleeing assassins at a faster speed than when they came!

Using their own methods to treat them!

"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!"

Four soft sounds rang out almost at the same time!

The four assassins' figures suddenly froze, looking down at the rapidly expanding hole in their chest or center of their brows, carrying ice dregs and the aura of nihilism, their eyes full of despair and confusion.

They died without understanding why their own fatal moves became the death warrant that ended their own lives in this form.

The four corpses fell from the air, and before they hit the ground, they were completely annihilated by the residual Guixu Sword Intent, turning into flying ash.

Ye Chen slowly retracted his sword, his face pale again. Continuously activating big moves was also a huge consumption for him. He glanced at the four Ten Thousand Ghost Soul-Devouring Banners whose light had dimmed and started to disintegrate on their own because their masters had fallen; he ignored them and continued to fly toward the academy without stopping.

After this obstruction, his vigilance increased. The Dark Hall's infiltration and ambushes were everywhere, and he could not be the slightest bit careless.

However, just as he was about to reach the academy gate, and could even see the figures of the patrolling Disciples in front of the gate—

A terrifying pressure, far more vast and profound than the previous Shadow Sword Elder, or even the will of the Nether Prison Profound Maiden, as if integrated with the entire world, descended suddenly like an invisible firmament!

The Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation over the entire Tianfeng Academy let out an unbearable wail under this pressure, as if it would completely collapse at any moment!

A voice that seemed to come from the deep Nether Prison, carrying endless majesty and cold killing intent, slowly echoed between heaven and earth:

"Ye Chen... This Venerable... has come in person."

"Hand over the guixu sword, offer your Soul blood... otherwise, today, Tianfeng Academy... not a single chicken or dog will be left."

The sky, I don't know when, had been shrouded in endless shadows. A remnant, eerie blood-red demonic moon phantasm hung high over the academy, casting cold and dead light.

The Moon-Erosion Demon Venerable... his true body's will had arrived!