Chapter 1170: Ill Motives
Jian Chen remained in the artifact space. Right now, the Changyang clan was no longer a safe place. It was extremely dangerous, staying in it had suddenly become like a prison. He did not possess the secret technique to open the closed World Gate.
The Changyang clan was exceptionally quiet today. Many clansmen sealed themselves in quiet rooms to devote themselves to cultivation. The dense energy of the world quickly surged toward a few mountains peaks or a few residences. From afar, there were only a few younger people scattered about as they practiced martial arts and a few people hiding in desolate places, casting battle skills against tough rock faces.
An old but upright figure suddenly emerged from the central divine hall. His presence was erased, so he seemed simple, just like any old man.
He was one of the seven great elders, Changyang Qing Yun.
Changyang Qing Yun had appeared silently by the door. His profound eyes twinkled slightly. He first looked around before turning his attention to the mountain peak where Jian Chen had gone into seclusion. After hesitating slightly, a determined light flickered through his eyes and he moved. He flew toward the cave with extremely great speed while remaining silent.
He arrived outside the cave in the blink of an eye. He calmly gazed at the barrier Jian Chen had cast down at the entrance before smiling as if he had just seen a joke. With a rapid movement of his hands, he used hand seals to cast a secret technique. He managed to pass through the barrier through a technique that looked like teleportation and entered the cave without triggering the barrier.
After all, Jian Chen’s comprehension of the mysteries of the world remained at the level of Saint Rulers. The barrier was basically non-existent before Changyang Qing Yun, who was at the Great Perfection of Saint King and knew many secret techniques.
In the slightly dim cave, the fist-sized saint artifact hovered in the air and was alit with a faint, golden light. It illuminated the cave to its dim state.
Changyang Qing Yun arrived before it and stood with his arms behind his back. He stared at it in interest and frowned slightly. He murmured to himself, “I didn’t think that little bastard would be so clever, to hide in this small tower to recover. This basically removes any possibility of me getting the Saints’ Fruit from him.”
Changyang Qing Yun was rather unwilling to stop there. He paced around the saint artifact as his face gradually darkened. He murmured, “This tower’s extremely tough. Only Saint Emperors can smash through it. I can’t do anything to him if he hides in there, so what should I do?”
Jian Chen currently sat in a hall in the center of the artifact space. His expression was extremely ugly.
The saint artifact had already accepted him as a master, so an extremely obscure connection had already developed between him and the saint artifact. He understood the situation outside extremely well through the help of the artifact spirit even though he was inside. Jian Chen had begun paying attention to Changyang Qing Yun’s every movement the moment he had entered the cave.
“Hmph. I never thought that Changyang Qing Yun would be so flustered and that he would come to find me so quickly. I just wonder how many people are preoccupied by the Saints’ Fruit,” Jian Chen coldly wondered as his gaze became icy. If he had not hid in the artifact space beforehand, he probably would have fallen to Changyang Qing Yun’s vicious means.
Changyang Qing Yun paced around outside for a while before finally gritting his teeth. He coldly said, “Since that damn brat’s in the tower, I might as well just take the tower away. I can slowly come up with a method to open it in the future.”
Just as Changyang Qing Yun wanted to take the saint artifact away, his expression suddenly changed. He glanced outside before arriving near a cave wall in a flash. He silently disappeared into the rock.
Soon afterward, Changyang Qing Jueri arrived as well. He passed through the barrier with a secret technique just like Changyang Qing Yun. He paced around the saint artifact for quite a while before his expression changed in the end. He sensed the arrival of someone, so he immediately used a secret technique to hide in the mountain.
The third person was Changyang Yuan Zhenghua. He knew quite a few secret techniques as well, so Jian Chen’s barrier was useless against him.
Seeing the floating saint artifact, he also frowned slightly. However, two powerful presences appeared outside at this moment. Changyang Zu Yunxiao and Changyang Zu Xiao had come at the same time, flying to where Jian Chen was resting. However, they differed from the previous three by not concealing themselves. They flew over boldly, causing many members of the clan to raise their heads as admiration filled their faces.
Changyang Yuan Zhenghua was surprised. He could not leave the cave in time, so with no further choice, he did the same as Changyang Qing Yun and Changyang Qing Jueri. He used a secret technique to fuse into the surrounding rocks and completely erased his presence.
Changyang Zu Xiao and Changyang Zu Yunxiao arrived outside the cave together. They hovered ten meters away from the entrance and stared into it. However, they did not set foot into it.
“Looks like Xiangtian’s still healing. I wonder when he’ll make a full recovery,” Changyang Zu Xiao said with an ordinary tone.
“Xiangtian’s a Class 7 Radiant Saint Master as well. He can control powerful Radiant Saint Force, so although his wounds are very heavy, I believe he can heal them very quickly. Great-grandfather, why don’t you go rest in the ancestral hall first. I’ll stay here and wait for Xiangtian to come out,” said Changyang Zu Yunxiao.
Changyang Zu Xiao hesitated slightly before nodding, “Alright. Yunxiao, you stay here. I’ll go back to the ancestral hall first.”
Changyang Zu Xiao turned around and left while Changyang Zu Yunxiao stayed behind. He found a flat area to sit down. The barrier that Jian Chen had cast down stood three meters in front of him.
Jian Chen murmured in the artifact space, “Of the seven great elders, three have already tried to do something to me while I was recovering, but it’s fortunate that Changyang Zu Yunxiao and Changyang Zu Xiao arrived in time, or the saint artifact might have been taken away by the three of them.”
“Now that Changyang Zu Yunxiao is personally watching over outside, the people in the cave won’t dare to do anything. Did he do this because he knew the three of them had already entered the cave and had come to prevent them, or is it purely a coincidence?”
“I still can’t trust any of them…”
Jian Chen lowered his head in thought before moving. He had already silently vanished from the artifact space, reappearing in the dim cave. Now that he could no longer stay here, since it would be very easy for him to fall prey to the schemes of others, he might as well appear in front of them in a bold fashion. Perhaps he could stop them from acting out in the open, in hopes that they wouldn’t lay their hands on him so easily.
Jian Chen put the saint artifact away and made his way outside as if nothing had happened at all. He discovered Changyang Zu Yunxiao sitting outside and a sliver of surprise immediately flashed across his face. He asked, “Great-grandfather, why are you here? Have you come looking for me because of some urgent matter?”
Changyang Zu Yunxiao stood up and examined Jian Chen up and down. He smiled, “Xiangtian, looks like you’ve fully recovered from your wounds. Come with me, I just happen to have some matters I want to discuss with you.”
Jian Chen nodded before following Changyang Zu Yunxiao toward the floating piece of land. However, a they approached the divine hall at the center, Jian Chen stopped. He said, “Great-grandfather, the scenery in the garden over there is quite nice. Why don’t we go discuss there?” With that, Jian Chen flew to the nearby garden without waiting for Changyang Zu Yunxiao to agree.
Looking at Jian Chen’s back, Changyang Zu Yunxiao did not show any displeasure at all. Instead, he smiled slightly and softly murmured, “This kid’s rather cautious.” Afterward, he flew over as well.
Soon after that, Changyang Zu Xiao, Changyang Yuan Wuji, and Changyang Qing Yunfeng emerged from the central divine hall as well and gathered within the garden’s pavilion.
“Haha, Xiangtian’s done it wonderfully this time. You’ve actually succeeded in obtaining the Saints’ Fruit in front of so many experts and brought it back to the clan in perfect condition…”
“Exactly. Xiangtian’s actions this time were far too outstanding, obtaining the priceless Saints’ Fruit for our Changyang clan. Now that we have the fruit, our clan’s strength will definitely skyrocket. Without much time, a Saint Emperor will be born in our clan. Xiangtian’s committed a tremendous contribution.”
“Wrong. It won’t be one Saint Emperor, but two. We’ve all witness Xiangtian’s talent. I believe in less than a hundred years, Xiangtian will reach Saint Emperor.”
Changyang Yuan Wuji and Changyang Qing Yunfeng showered Jian Chen with praises as soon as they arrived. They constantly commended Jian Chen.
Changyang Zu Yunxiao and Changyang Zu Xiao silently sat on the stone seats. Their faces were expressionless, so it was impossible to tell what they were feeling.
Jian Chen’s complexion became rather ugly. The meaning behind Changyang Yuan Wuji and Changyang Qing Yunfeng’s words was that the fruit was not Jian Chen’s but the clan’s.
“Why haven’t Qing Yun, Jueri, and Zhenghua come yet? I’ve just contacted them,” Changyang Qing Yunfeng suddenly asked.
Changyang Qing Yun, Changyang Qing Jueri, and Changyang Yuan Zhenghua appeared at the doorstep of the central divine hall as soon as he said that before heading over in unison.
All seven great elders of the Changyang clan had gathered at that moment.
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