Chapter 144: Divine Beast White Marsh, Chen Changsheng’s Terrifying Defense
Chapter 144 – Divine Beast White Marsh, Chen Changsheng’s Terrifying Defense
Seeing Fu Yao flatly refuse his request, Chen Changsheng immediately donned a warm, amiable smile.
“Brother Bairen, do not take offense. I was merely exchanging jests with you.”
“Now, let us resume our discussion of graver matters.”
Faced with Chen Changsheng’s erratic shifts in demeanor, Zhang Bairen smiled without uttering a word.
The struggle for supreme authority was inherently a life-and-death crucible. If slaughtering Chen Changsheng could seize the Heaven’s Mandate, he would strike without a sliver of hesitation.
The sheer existence of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land now vaguely threatened him. It was entirely within the laws of the Dao for Chen Changsheng to harbor murderous intent.
“For my third question, Brother Bairen, what did you imply earlier by ‘lower realm’?”
“Furthermore, what does that colossal hand atop the ancient bronze hall signify? Will those entities descend upon us again?”
Chen Changsheng exhaled the myriad doubts weighing upon his Dao heart in a single breath.
Hearing this, Zhang Bairen spoke with serene detachment. “I cannot reveal the answers to these questions just yet.”
“When Brother Chen ascends to that height, the truth will naturally unveil itself.”
“No matter. Since those matters are taboo, let us shift the inquiry.”
“Why do bearers of the Heaven’s Mandate inevitably target the forbidden lands? Is there a resonance between the Inauspicious Energy beneath the ancient bronze hall and…”
“Brother Chen!”
Before Chen Changsheng could finish, Zhang Bairen sharply cut him off.
Seeing this, Chen Changsheng feigned confusion. “What, are these questions forbidden as well?”
“The karma forged over a single cup of tea is only worth three questions.”
“Brother Chen has already exhausted his chances. To pry further would be an act of insatiable greed.”
“If you refuse to answer, say so directly. Why weave riddles just to insult me?”
“I accept the terms of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land. I expect you will not forsake your oath when the critical moment arrives.”
With the pact sealed, Zhang Bairen rose, preparing to depart.
Before leaving, Zhang Bairen cast a final glance at Chen Changsheng. “As compensation for leaving your third question unanswered, I shall grant you a piece of intelligence.”
“If you wish to revive the Divine Beast White Marsh at your side, you must brave the Nether Forest. A method to salvage its life may lie hidden there.”
Upon hearing this, a sharp gleam ignited in Chen Changsheng’s eyes.
“Where lies this Nether Forest?”
“The Eastern Wasteland. To locate it, you will require specific means.”
As he spoke, Zhang Bairen tossed a jade slip toward Chen Changsheng.
Catching the jade slip, Chen Changsheng wore a look of deep suspicion. “Why the sudden surge of benevolence? You are not shrewdly weaving a trap for me, are you?”
“Rest assured, not a single syllable of falsehood taints my words. If the Nether Forest cannot save the White Marsh, then nothing under the heavens can.”
“The more absolute you sound, the more my unease grows.”
“How about you venture into the Nether Forest in my stead? I will concede to any demand you name.”
Faced with Chen Changsheng’s brazen request, Zhang Bairen merely smiled and shook his head.
“I will not step foot in the Nether Forest. Even I would meet a gruesome end in such a domain.”
“The Heaven’s Mandate of this era is already set in stone, but I am absolutely resolved to claim it in the next.”
“Thus, against a predator like you, it is only natural that I lay traps to bury you.”
“Even if my traps fail to claim your life, I must devise means to shackle your ascent. Do you not agree?”
Chen Changsheng: “…”
How can you spout such venom so openly? Your skin is even thicker than mine.
“Such candor!”
“Truly worthy of being the scion of a forbidden land. Your shamelessness eclipses that of ordinary mortals.”
“For this ‘gift’ alone, when I find the time, I will undoubtedly unearth you from the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land and beat you half to death.”
“Hahaha!”
Hearing Chen Changsheng’s threat, Zhang Bairen roared with laughter.
“If you possess the courage, then come.”
“When I bear the Heaven’s Mandate, I shall forge a sovereign force to conquer this world.”
“Should you fall to my might, I will kindly reserve a spot for you to guard the gates of my ‘Heavenly Court’.”
Leaving behind those arrogant words, Zhang Bairen turned and vanished into the distant void.
Once Zhang Bairen departed, Chen Changsheng glanced at Fu Yao. “It appears you will face yet another terrifying rival for the Heaven’s Mandate in the next era.”
“You will not cower from the sharp edge again, will you? Fleeing left and right… when will your endless retreat finally end?”
Faced with Chen Changsheng’s venomous mockery, Fu Yao shot him a frigid sidelong glance.
“I walk my own fated path. You need not concern yourself.”
“Revive my younger brother, and I shall owe you a karmic debt—a debt that will never expire.”
“Wait, you are not going to brave the Nether Forest yourself?”
Chen Changsheng stared at Fu Yao in genuine shock, his face etched with utter incomprehension.
A sister so fiercely devoted to her brother, yet she refuses to personally seek his salvation? This logic defies the Dao!
Ignoring Chen Changsheng’s astonishment, Fu Yao gazed into the boundless horizon and spoke calmly.
“Chen Changsheng, I truly envy you. You are unshackled, free to roam and devour this world as you please.”
“But not everyone under the heavens can afford such ruthless freedom.”
“These are Fang Qiancheng’s ‘Wind-Thunder Wings’. They were ripped from his flesh by the Undying Bone. I have safeguarded them for you.”
“With the Wind-Thunder Wings grafted to your form, your odds of surviving the Nether Forest will marginally increase.”
After leaving those words, Fu Yao blurred into a streak of light, vanishing from the spot.
Staring at the blood-drenched wings resting on the jade table, Chen Changsheng muttered, “Why are all of you ancient freaks buried in so many secrets?”
“You might as well brand yourselves as the ‘Secret Sovereigns’.”
After grumbling to the empty air, Chen Changsheng stored the Wind-Thunder Wings.
These Wind-Thunder Wings were inherently blessed by the heavens. If ruthlessly tempered through esoteric arts, they could be forged into a Dharma Treasure of terrifying aerial velocity.
Once forged into a Dharma Treasure, the wings might lose the innate agility they possessed on Fang Qiancheng’s back, but their sheer speed would remain unrivaled in the present era.
“Tsk, tsk!”
“When karmic fortune descends, nothing can block it. Simply taking a stroll yields supreme treasures. Such a life is truly exquisite.”
As he spoke, Chen Changsheng swept his divine intent toward the distant horizon.
“My True Self appears to have clashed with the Kunlun Holy Land. I must hurry back to reinforce him, lest he fall into peril.”
…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Half of a colossal mountain collapsed into rubble. Chen Changsheng, coated in ash and grit, clawed his way out from the crushed stone.
“Hey, is it not slightly shameless for the three of you to gang up on me alone?”
Hearing Chen Changsheng’s energetic complaint, Jiang Ping’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Just how monstrously tempered is this beast’s physical shell?!
Two Elders from the Kunlun Holy Land, alongside himself, had relentlessly bombarded him for an age, yet they had failed to inflict a single scratch. If word of this spread, not a single soul would believe it.
Ripping away his tattered outer robes, a faint, sinister purple luster entered their vision.
Indeed, Chen Changsheng was clad in a brutal armor forged entirely from the scales of a Thunder Beast.
When Chen Changsheng had ruthlessly exterminated the Thunder Beast clan, half of their accumulated wealth had fallen into his grasp—naturally including the corpse of the Thunder Beast Patriarch.
This specific set of armor draped over Chen Changsheng boasted the most tyrannical quality of them all.
Furthermore, for nearly a millennium, Chen Changsheng had obsessively etched defensive Formations into its very marrow.
The absolute resilience of this scaled husk had breached an absurd, heaven-defying extreme.
Beneath that external shell, Chen Changsheng harbored the sacrilegious Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, the Golden Silkworm Silk, and the unnatural enhancement of his Attribute Points.
Layering these terrifying defenses, unless a sovereign of the eighth realm descended to strike him, ordinary cultivators could never shatter his guard.
He acted this way, driven by absolute certainty; this was precisely why Chen Changsheng dared to run rampant through the Middle Heavens. Currently, no one possessed the fated might to sever his life.
“This is pure bullying! Today’s karma is far from settled. Just you wait.”
Spitting out a vicious threat, Chen Changsheng blurred into a streak of golden light, fleeing furiously in a single direction.
In the distance, a second “Chen Changsheng” tore through the air to meet him.
The instant the two figures collided, they fused seamlessly into a single entity.
Ommm!
With his True Self returning to its origin, Chen Changsheng finally achieved absolute completion.
Previously, the True Self had siphoned away the vast majority of his Divine Sense, shackling his capacity to unleash numerous lethal arts.
But now, those worldly restrictions were utterly pulverized.