CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: THE ARCHFIEND

The Corpse King should be a tenth-level world-defying secret spirit. Such a secret spirit is already the pinnacle of combat power in the First Awakening.

The shadow killed the Corpse King with just one sword strike. What terrifying power this is, making Chen Guan suspect that its level is more than just ten.

Chen Guan and Ji Nanhong exchanged a glance and saw fear in each other’s eyes.

Faced with such an existence, they had no means to fight against it. The Corpse King couldn’t escape from the shadow’s sword, and they couldn’t either.

Shadows are born of light; there is light, and then there is shadow. From a certain angle, the speed of shadows may compare to that of light.

Of course, judging from just now, the shadow’s speed definitely isn’t as fast as the speed of light, but its strange and uncanny attack techniques are not something they can resist.

"We must escape quickly," Ji Nanhong’s gaze fell upon the Corpse King’s body hanging from the bone chain.

The Corpse King had climbed down along that bone chain. Although they couldn’t see what the top of the chain was connected to, judging by the position of the chain, it was below the crevice. Maybe they could climb up the bone chain.

The Corpse King’s body was about a dozen meters away in a straight line from them, and if it were the vertical height, it would be about five or six meters.

If she were uninjured, Ji Nanhong could have leapt up and grabbed the Corpse King’s body, but now she couldn’t even stand.

"Can you jump up and grab the Corpse King’s body?" Ji Nanhong asked Chen Guan.

Chen Guan shook his head, "I’m only at level 6 now and don’t have any lightweight secret skill; I can’t jump that far or high."

Besides not being able to jump that far, Chen Guan had another deeper concern in his heart.

They had been here for a while, and the shadow hadn’t attacked them. The Corpse King climbed down along the bone chain and was immediately killed by the shadow.

Chen Guan worried that if he climbed the bone chain, the shadow might attack again, which would be courting death.

But here, there’s no sky above and no ground below; the only way out is to climb up the bone chain, or else they’d have to go into the water to find an exit.

Chen Guan was more inclined to go into the water. Even though his swimming skills were average and there might be unknown secret spirits underwater, it was still better than provoking the terrifying existence of the shadow.

"I know what you’re worried about. In my opinion, that shadow shouldn’t be an ordinary wild secret spirit; it should be a guardian used by Emperor Ancestor to protect the ’Aphran Sutra’ from damage, so it only attacks secret spirits and hasn’t attacked us," Ji Nanhong said.

Chen Guan thought what Ji Nanhong said made sense, but he still wouldn’t take the risk.

"It’s not that I don’t want to go; I really can’t reach it," Chen Guan said.

"This way, while my legs can’t exert force, my hands can still work. You can use your hands to help me leap up there, and then you can use a rope to pull me up. I can climb up with my hands," Ji Nanhong said.

"I’m not going," Chen Guan refused directly, seeing no way to evade, with no hesitation and no attempt to find an excuse.

Ji Nanhong looked at Chen Guan in astonishment, not expecting him to be so direct, not caring about saving face at all.

Darkness descended again, and Ji Nanhong lowered her head, her expression uncertain, thinking that if her legs were not injured, she’d never need to consider Chen Guan’s stance.

But now she had no alternative, pondering over and over yet unable to think of a better solution, she herself couldn’t climb up to the bone chain.

Chen Guan sat and rested, with Warring States beside him, laying a hand on its head, while contemplating.

"Ji Nanhong’s words have some logic, but there are still gaps. Warring States is also a secret spirit, yet the shadow hasn’t directly targeted it..." While Chen Guan pondered, the stone wall brightened again, and the shadow returned to a sitting position, with its shadow sword now gone.

Seeing this, Chen Guan relaxed slightly. The shadow didn’t seem intent on targeting them, yet the sensation of being watched by the shadow remained. He felt the shadow wouldn’t easily let him leave alive.

"Chen Guan, if you’re willing to help me, I can recommend you to join the Celestial Court Army," Ji Nanhong suddenly said.

Chen Guan was startled at her words and turned to stare at Ji Nanhong without speaking.

The Celestial Court Army is the exclusive elite force of the Ancestral Court. Besides guarding the Ancestral Court, it also has the duty and authority to execute the Ancestral Court’s decisions.

One could say the Celestial Court Army is the highest law enforcement agency in the Divine Land; any member of the Celestial Court Army holds a status and prestige not inferior to the lord of a small city.

Welfare benefits and cultivation resources are beyond the reach of ordinary people in a lifetime.

Moreover, the Celestial Court Army has a tradition of familial succession. Although not officially stipulated, generally, the descendants of the Celestial Court Army, if trained from a young age and passing tests upon reaching adulthood, have the chance to become reserves. Once there’s a vacancy, they can fill it.

Being part of the Celestial Court Army isn’t just a lifetime of secure benefits; it could potentially provide a steady future for generations, elevating status and class, being one of the best pathways for ordinary people to transcend classes.

If Chen Guan were from a purely ordinary family, being able to join the Celestial Court Army might be his best chance to turn his life around.

Unfortunately, Chen Guan’s family background was even worse than ordinary people’s; otherwise, he wouldn’t have ventured into the Secret Realm alone and unarmed.

Chen Guan also wanted to join the Celestial Court Army, but he absolutely couldn’t, as they conduct thorough background checks on every member. It might result in him even losing his status as an ordinary person, possibly bringing disaster to his family.

All because of one man, Chen Guan’s father, Chen Xinghe.

Chen Xinghe wasn’t originally surnamed Chen, nor was that his name; he only changed it after taking his mother’s surname, and that’s how even Chen Guan came to have his mother’s surname.

The name change was necessary because Chen Xinghe’s original identity couldn’t be tolerated between heaven and earth.

Thirty years ago, the name of the great demon Qingbai was known throughout the Divine Land, infamous to the extent of stopping children’s cries at night.

In the vast history of the Divine Land spanning over ten thousand years, it’s hard to say if there are successors, but the notoriety of the great demon Qingbai is certainly unparalleled.

The catastrophe single-handedly unleashed by the great demon Qingbai almost swept across the entire Divine Land, causing the death of over a million.

Throughout history, the only universally recognized great demon is this one. When anyone mentions the term "great demon" without other qualifiers, they undoubtedly refer to Chen Guan’s father.

With crimes as despicable and evil as towering mountains, these terms usually describe Chen Guan’s father.

Later, the great demon was besieged by the Ancestral Court in alliance with the Ten Great Families. Although he barely escaped with his life, his cultivation was completely destroyed, and he could never walk the path of cultivation again, becoming no different than a normal person.