Shen Tian had his whole mind fixed on thinking how to best set up the gravestone for Sword Venerable Qian Yang when the change occurred.
His instincts made him take a leap back—but of course, how would he be able to handle Zhang Yunxi’s infuriated attacks anyway?
Shen Tian quickly threw the stone in his hands at Zhang Yunxi and whipped out the Black Tortoise Shield to block Zhang Yunxi’s advances.
Boom!
How could a mere gravestone fend off Zhang Yunxi’s attacks?
The moment it came into contact with Zhang Yunxi’s fists, the whole stone burst into fine powder.
Shen Tian couldn’t even have time to feel sorry for Sword Venerable Qian Yang before he felt yet another hit against the Black Tortoise Shield—it felt like a truck had bumped against the shield.
His entire person was blasted back by hundreds of meters. By the time he managed to steady himself, both his arms felt numb with ache, and he almost couldn’t hold onto the Black Tortoise Shield.
Sssss!
I have to give my hat off to Senior Sister!
Such brute strength, such scary advances!
But before Shen Tian could finish his admiration, his face paled behind the mask because he saw that Zhang Yunxi’s aura got more formidable.
For heaven’s sake, after acquiring the Mixed Divine Lightning, Senior Sister’s abilities have increased by leaps and bounds.
Not only did she manage to attain the Golden Core Eight Refinement Stage, but she also has the Mixed Divine Lightning to protect herself. This means that if she used the Mixed Divine Lightning now, she could easily suppress other cultivators who attained the Golden Core Eight Refinement Stage!
Much as though Shen Tian’s abilities had increased after his adventure at the valley, he was also afraid to face such a shrew. Most importantly, Shen Tian was still wearing the Spirit Venerable Divine Water’s armor—how on earth would he dare to battle with Zhang Yunxi in this state?
As such, the situation became like this—while Zhang Yunxi’s advances became more ferocious every blow she dealt out, Shen Tian was too scared to be recognized that he had to retreat repeatedly.
It was obvious as to who was on the losing end between the two of them.
“Damn it, you b*tch! You even took my Junior Brother’s Black Tortoise Shield! Where is my Junior Brother Shen Tian? Hand him over NOW!”
Zhang Yunxi was too stuck on the conventional mode of thinking, and it never occurred once to her that there might be other possibilities. She was undoubtedly certain that this blue-armored lass in front of her was the demon that ruled the Fog Plain.
If not, why would the token of love that she had given to her Junior Brother and his Black Tortoise Shield end up in “her” hands!?
Junior Brother Shen Tian must be held captive by her. Once I beat this demon, I will be able to save him!
Wait a minute…
At that moment, something came to Zhang Yunxi’s attention from the corners of her eyes—she saw a new grave beside them.
Her whole body shook, and a scary thought leaped up to her mind.
Can it… can it be that Junior Brother Shen Tian has already come to harm?
At that thought, a huge wave of sorrow and hatred washed over her.
Powers that were never seen before erupted from her body and the Mixed Divine Lightning covered her entire torso.
A shimmering Golden Core rose up from Zhang Yunxi’s body, emitting majestic divine lights. However, this Golden Core was cracking up—broken fragments peeled off from the Golden Core’s surface, revealing another even more brilliant Golden Core hidden within it.
Yes, that’s right—Zhang Yunxi had made a breakthrough in the middle of this battle!
She had evolved further from her current status of the Golden Core Eight Refinement Stage and attained the Golden Core Nine Refinement Stage.
The present Zhang Yunxi was no longer inferior to Fang Chang—more accurately, she had surpassed him in power!
…
At the same time, both the Divine Firmament’s Sacred Leader and Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus stood facing each other in mid-air.
The expression on the old Taoist priest’s face was too interesting for words to describe. Meanwhile, one could see the heavenly aura on the surface of Divine Firmament’s Sacred Leader body vibrating so vigorously that it seemed ready to explode at any time.
Azure Lotus’ mouth twitched. “Junior Brother, do you think that fellow down there is him?”
The Sacred Leader replied, “He-cough, cough, no, that lass cannot be Shen Tian.”
Glee was written all over the old Taoist priest’s face. “Stop lying. Do you honestly think that I believe the Phoenix Feather Mask can shield against your divine consciousness?”
The Sacred Leader tried to keep his usual aloof stance as he replied, “That demonic lass is not Shen Tian!”
“Junior Brother, are you sure? Surely, I believe you can see that this armor set is a supreme-grade Spirit artifact. No demons could own that!”
“…Well, I believe Tian’er must have encountered some extreme danger then. He must have no choice but to equip that armor set. It’s at times like these that we need to do our best to protect his identity.”
Azure Lotus mocked, “So, the Son of Providence can also meet extreme crises?”
The Sacred Leader replied coolly, “Well, can’t you sense the extravagant aura Tian’er’s body is emitting?”
At that, the old Taoist priest’s forehead creased up. He turned back and stared intently at Shen Tian, and shock took over his initial doubtful expression.
When extraordinary items were just being refined, the person who obtained them would not be able to contain all of their auras.
For those of high cultivation levels, such auras were very obvious.
As such, when Azure Lotus observed more closely, he was shocked to discover that just in a few days, there was such a drastic change in Shen Tian’s aura.
What the hell!? Did he go and ransack some sacred grounds during these few days that he went missing?
How come there are suddenly auras of Spiritual Wood and Exceptional Fire emitting from his body? The grades of those items are quite advanced too!
Azure Lotus felt that the Azure Heavenly Fire he possessed might be of a lower grade than what Shen Tian possessed now.
At the same time, he also sensed that Shen Tian’s constitution had changed to that of the Little Five Elements Yang Divine Lightning Constitution!
But a few days before, that lad only had a normal constitution. How is it that he could develop a Yang Divine Lightning Constitution in just a few days? What kind of fortuitous opportunities did he meet with exactly!?
After all, out of all the talents the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground had seen throughout the ages, there were only a scarce few people who possessed the Yang Divine Lightning Constitution.
Not to mention that Shen Tian had developed such a constitution just at the Foundation Establishment stage—this was unheard of!
Azure Lotus stared at Shen Tian with bloodshot eyes.
“This lad, he… he…”
Seeing how Azure Lotus was unable to complete the sentence, the Sacred Leader replied nonchalantly, “So, what do you think of him now? I have already said before that Tian’er is the Son of Providence. Senior Brother, do you believe it now?
“The Fog Plain’s master has gone missing, and it was most probably Tian’er’s doing. In front of those who have great providence, cultivation levels are like nothing!”
The old Taoist priest swallowed and asked, “Then what should we do now?”
The Sacred Leader replied calmly, “Xi’er is too impulsive for attacking Tian’er just like that. But I daresay Tian’er’s capabilities might be on par with her, and he can get out of this fix by himself.
“Senior Brother, let’s just wait and see what will happen. Leave matters to me, and don’t act by yourself. Remember, now what we need to do is to be mindful of Tian’er’s dignity.”
…
Back on the plains, Zhang Yunxi’s abilities had a marked improvement after her cultivation was stabilized.
She attacked Shen Tian continuously, and every strike was fiercer than the previous one.
Shen Tian felt really resigned. He didn’t know if he should fight back or not.
Oh, wait! Didn’t I obtain the Divine Devouring Vine’s Ground Burrowing skill?
Shen Tian finally remembered that he had this last life-saving skill.
He immediately stuck out his right hand, and a lush green vine shot out. The vine hit Zhang Yunxi’s right fist, and needless to say, it was flung backward. After all, much as though the Divine Devouring Vine was powerful, Zhang Yunxi’s cultivation was too high, and it was easy for her to defeat this vine.
However, the main purpose of Shen Tian releasing this vine was also not to beat Zhang Yunxi. That was too unrealistic.
The moment the vine touched Zhang Yunxi, Shen Tian’s body flung out with it. He was actually using Zhang Yunxi’s strength to quicken his retreat!
Following which, lush green vines stuck into the ground like growing spirals.
Just within the blink of an eye, Shen Tian disappeared in front of Zhang Yunxi, leaving no traces at all!
Zhang Yunxi looked alarmed as she requested, “Father, that demon had escaped by burrowing through the ground. Please subdue it for us!”
Despair washed over Shen Tian’s whole body after he heard what Zhang Yunxi said from above the ground.
Why the hell is Master here too!?
After all, he was a Saint who had truly survived the tribulation transcendence and was much more formidable than the Vine Mother, Lu Ji.
Before him, Ground Burrowing would most probably not work!
Is it really set in stone that my reputation will be ruined today?
…
Just when Shen Tian was freaking out underneath the ground, he heard the Sacred Leader’s serious voice ring out.
“Heavens is kind. I see that you had it hard to reach your current cultivation, and I really do not want to ruin it.
“Fellow cultivator, I shall give you an hour to release my disciple.
“Should Tian’er be missing even one hair, I will wipe out the whole Fog Plain and leave no living species!
“Remember, give him his rightful apology and send him out in a respectable fashion!”
The Leader’s announcement was obviously siding with Shen Tian, and this made him really touched.
At the same time, Shen Tian heaved a sigh of relief—he didn’t expect that even his Master could not see through his disguise.
No matter what, that’s great. I will just change my clothes and come out from another direction to meet them later.
My reputation is preserved!
…Hmm, but really, is the Phoenix Feather Mask so powerful that it can even hide one’s identity from a Saint?
This setup seems too illogical!
