Chapter 59: Final collision, arrival.

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Final collision, arrival.

Back to the battlefield.

Chen Yan’s eyes narrowed as the masked man moved through the air, but this time, he did not give him another chance to approach the carriage.

The ancient bell above his palm suddenly expanded rapidly, growing several times larger than before as dense spiritual energy surged through its surface, causing the patterns engraved across the bell to glow faintly.

Chen Yan swung his arm. "Take this!"

The enormous bell descended through the air with a heavy rumble, and the instant it struck the air, a terrifying wave of force erupted from its surface like a stone being dropped into still water.

The masked man was caught directly within the waves, his body twisting violently as the invisible force smashed into him and sent him flying hundreds of meters through the sky.

He flipped several times before finally stabilizing himself, his dark robes whipping violently behind him.

Chen Yan didn’t wait to see whether he had recovered.

He immediately turned toward the carriage and shot toward it, wrapping his spiritual energy around Zhao Lianyu, Zhao Linger, Qingxue, and the two guards.

"Hold tight, we are leaving."

The moment his voice fell, the surrounding space seemed to blur.

Their vision shifted, and before anyone could react, the carriage had disappeared from its original position as the wooden bearing creaked heavily in the split second.

In the next moment, their vision regained its clarity. They reappeared directly above one of the enormous flying demonic beasts that had emerged from the Great Divide.

The creature was massive, its body covered in thick scales and strange protrusions, while a pair of enormous wings stretched across the sky. Its aura was that of a Middle-stage Foundation Establishment demonic beast.

The two guards alongside Zhao Linger immediately went stiff as they felt the horrifying spiritual pressure being emitted by the demonic beast, though Chen Yan barely spared it a glance.

The beast immediately noticed the people standing above it and released an enraged roar, its enormous body twisting as it tried to throw them off.

But Chen Yan didn’t give it the chance. His spiritual energy immediately erupted. "Be obedient for a moment."

Swoosh!

Countless strands of spiritual energy wrapped around the creature’s body, penetrating through its scales and forcing their way into its muscles and meridians.

Rather than simply suppressing the beast, Chen Yan directly connected his spiritual energy to its body, controlling the movement of its muscles and wings through sheer force.

Zhao Lianyu gasped at the sight. ’What terrifying spiritual energy control!’

The creature fought desperately, but it was to no avail as Chen Yan’s control was absolute.

"Move!"

He forcibly steered the enormous beast forward. Its wings suddenly spread to their limit, and its massive body shot across the sky at a terrifying speed.

BOOM!

The carriage would have been fast enough under ordinary circumstances, but a Middle-stage Foundation Establishment flying demonic beast possessed far greater physical strength and endurance.

Under Chen Yan’s control, it accelerated beyond what its body naturally allowed, transforming into a dark blur that tore across the heavens.

They crossed the sky like a streak of light.

The pressure became increasingly violent as the beast’s speed continued to climb.

Its scales began cracking under the strain, while blood seeped from several wounds along its body.

Even its enormous wings trembled as they struggled to withstand the speed Chen Yan was forcing upon it.

Then a thunderous sound erupted across the sky.

BOOM!

A sonic boom rolled across the heavens as the demonic beast broke through the sound barrier, sending clouds scattering in every direction.

Behind them, the masked man finally stabilized himself in the air, the eyes behind the mask momentarily shocked.

Then, with a chuckle, a female voice came from behind the mask. "Chen Yan, what an interesting toy you have."

He looked toward the rapidly disappearing beast, then slowly raised one hand. Golden light gathered around his palm.

"Since you’ve gone out of your way to use such a unique move, I naturally have to respond in kind." His voice carried across the distance, and a faint smile appeared beneath his mask. "At least take my farewell gift!"

The golden light condensed into another spear, this time much larger than the previous one as the masked man drained almost all of his spiritual energy reserve into it.

The spear stretched several dozen meters through the air, its surface covered in dense golden patterns as an overwhelming pressure spread across the surrounding sky.

Then the masked man threw it. "Golden Sunfall."

Swoosh!

The enormous golden spear tore through the air like a falling star, accelerating rapidly as it pursued the fleeing demonic beast.

Chen Yan glanced backward, and his expression immediately changed. ’That is a taboo technique. She’s using a taboo technique!’

He could feel the terrifying amount of spiritual energy compressed within the spear. If that power were allowed to collide directly with the demonic beast at such a speed, the resulting explosion would be enormous.

’Is she insane?’

Chen Yan immediately turned toward Zhao Lianyu.

"Take control."

A harness made entirely from condensed spiritual energy appeared in his hands. He thrust it toward her.

"Use this to guide the creature. Don’t let it fall to the ground."

Zhao Lianyu caught the harness without hesitation.

"Y-yes, Senior!"

She immediately connected her spiritual energy to it and began controlling the creature’s movements.

"Roar!"

The demonic beast struggled furiously, clearly unwilling to obey the unfamiliar humans riding on its back, but Chen Yan’s spiritual energy remained deeply embedded within its body, forcibly controlling its muscles and wings.

Chen Yan released his control only slightly before turning around.

The enormous golden spear was already approaching across the sky like a spear of thunder made out of golden light.

His expression became solemn.

"Damn it, Yueran, you are forcing me to go all out."

He whispered as he raised both hands. An enormous amount of spiritual energy surged outward, forming layers of intricate patterns in front of him before finally forming a huge wall of spiritual energy behind them.

One layer turned into two, and two layers turned into three. Eventually, nine layers of strange, revolving spiritual energy were formed in the air behind the demonic beast, covering almost half of the sky.

This was the strongest defensive technique Chen Yuan had ever mastered, a half-step second-grade technique that he had learned from the old Ancestor before he passed away.

Ninefold Qi Shield.

Unlike any other technique, this defensive technique was also one of the few taboo techniques in his arsenal.

The drawback?

Half of his spiritual energy reserve would be depleted in an instant, and his body would suffer internal injuries because of it.

’Come at me, damn woman!’

’I just called you weird, and you went this far!’

The golden spear rapidly approached as the huge wall of spiritual energy finished forming.

And finally, the golden spear collided with the technique.

For one breath, everything seemed to freeze.

Then...

BOOM!

The heavens erupted.

A gigantic sphere of golden light swallowed the sky as the compressed spiritual energy within the spear exploded all at once.

The shockwave expanded outward with terrifying force, tearing through the clouds and sending countless fragments of shattered spiritual energy across the heavens.

The roar of the explosion spread for dozens of kilometers.

The demonic beast beneath them was thrown violently forward, its massive body tumbling through the air as Zhao Lianyu desperately held onto the spiritual harness.

They screamed, Qingxue ducked inside the carriage in fear as Zhao Linger tumbled against the seat like a broken kite. "Ahhh!"

Chen Yan’s technique shattered under the overwhelming force layer by layer until the very last one, and the resulting shockwave struck him directly, his body bearing most of the force.

His robes whipped violently behind him as he was pushed backward through the air, but he remained between the explosion and the carriage on the demonic beast, using his body and spiritual energy to shield the others.

The golden light engulfed the entire sky.

For several breaths, nothing could be seen beneath the overwhelming radiance. The explosion continued to expand, swallowing the surrounding clouds and tearing through the air with enough force to make the heavens themselves tremble.

At the center of it all, Chen Yan gritted his teeth and endured the attack, layers of spiritual energy repeatedly breaking apart around his body as the shockwaves crashed into him.

His robes were torn apart by the violent force, and blood slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Chen Yuan...

His expression twisted slightly as another wave struck him.

This woman is taking her revenge on me!

He had never expected Chen Yueran to take their little performance this far.

Meanwhile, behind him, the group riding the enormous demonic beast could only endure the violent turbulence as Zhao Lianyu desperately maintained control of the creature.

Gradually, the blinding golden light began to fade as the tremor decreased.

The surrounding sky slowly returned to view, and everyone finally saw the figure hovering behind them over the demonic beast’s far end of its tail.

Chen Yan.

His robes were torn in several places, his hair slightly disheveled, and a thin line of blood remained at the corner of his mouth.

"A-Ancestor?"

Chen Yan glanced at them.

"Don’t talk..."

His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable irritation hidden beneath it. A very clear irritation that he wished to beat someone up right now.

The group immediately fell silent.

None of them dared to say another word.

To them, the situation looked entirely different. Chen Yan had remained behind to confront the masked man, and now he had returned with torn robes and blood on his lips.

The fact that he was still standing meant the masked man had most likely retreated and stopped pursuing them. Yet the things they had heard during the battle were still lingering in their minds.

Zhao Lianyu and Zhao Linger exchanged a brief glance before looking away. Neither of them spoke. They both understood that whatever they had just heard was something they probably should not have heard.

Chen Yan, however, had no interest in explaining anything. He released a wave of spiritual energy that wrapped around everyone on the beast.

Then he looked down at the creature beneath them.

"This is too slow."

His spiritual energy suddenly tightened. The enormous demonic beast’s head was crushed in an instant.

Its roar stopped before it could even leave its throat, and its massive body began falling toward the Great Divide.

At the same time, Chen Yan’s spiritual energy carried everyone away.

"Let us speed up."

Zwoosh!

Their figures shot forward.

The surrounding scenery became a blur as Chen Yan wrapped his spiritual energy around the group and accelerated across the sky at a terrifying speed.

From time to time, he would look back and send out his divine sense to scout for the masked man’s presence.

And after confirming the masked man had stopped chasing, Chen Yan slowed down his speed to conserve his remaining spiritual energy and silently brought the entire carriage ahead under the wrap of his spiritual energy.

The horde of monsters that had been pursuing them gradually fell behind, their grotesque bodies disappearing into the mist of the Great Divide.

They crossed the enormous chasm at an astonishing speed. Eventually, the edge of the Great Divide came into sight.

The group continued forward without stopping.

Time passed during the otherwise silent journey, and by the time they finally realized how far they had traveled, the familiar sight of the Imperial City had already appeared in the distance.

The towering city walls and enormous structures rose above the sky, growing clearer as they approached. The journey back to the Imperial City was far quieter than their journey to the Chen Family’s grounds.

Chen Yan remained at the front with Qingxue nearby, his torn robes and faint bloodstain still visible despite the long journey.

Zhao Linger and Zhao Lianyu stayed behind them, both unusually quiet after everything they had witnessed on the way back.

When the enormous walls of the Imperial City finally appeared in the distance, Chen Yan slowed down and allowed the group to approach the city at a normal pace.

They passed through the main gate without trouble.

The guards immediately recognized the Royal carriage and quickly bowed when they saw Princess Zhao Linger and Imperial Envoy Zhao Lianyu.

Zhao Linger did not waste a second. "This Senior is from the Chen Family."

The guard froze, his eyes widening as he looked at the elderly-looking man standing beside the princess. Zhao Linger’s expression became solemn. "Immediately report our esteemed guest’s arrival to the palace. Tell my father that High Lord Chen Yan has personally arrived in the Imperial City."

"Yes!"

The guard hurriedly turned around and rushed toward the inner city. The news spread far faster than Chen Yan had expected.

A High Lord had entered the Imperial City.

Not just any High Lord, but one of the three High Lords belonging to the recently recognized Chen Family. A true powerhouse who could stand on equal status with the King of Great Yan!

The guards at the gate immediately relayed the information to the next checkpoint, and from there, the message traveled through the city’s communication network.

Palace guards began moving through the streets, officials received urgent reports, and cultivators stationed throughout the Imperial City quickly became aware that something unusual had happened.

The entire Imperial City was soon thrown into an uproar.

"One of the Chen Family’s High Lords has arrived?"

"Why would a High Lord from the Chen Family personally come to the Imperial City?"

"I don’t know, but His Majesty has declared an urgent state of preparation to receive the Chen Family’s high lord."