CHAPTER 499: CHAPTER 499: ELDER LUO RETURNS

A man and a dog blocked their path. The dog was a good one, but the same couldn’t necessarily be said for the man. After the initial shock passed, Chen Shixian made her assessment.

The little black dog wagged its tail. Upon returning, it charged directly at Wen Qingshan. The latter, greatly alarmed, raised his hand to cast the Void Skill.

However, Hei’s Sword Dao had already descended. It manifested in dense layers, sealing the ten directions of the world. A terrifying heaviness, like Mount Tai weighing billions of pounds, pressed down. CRACK! The Void Skill shattered. Wen Qingshan suffered a grievous injury, his face turning deathly pale.

"Huh, why is this Divine Body so weak?" Chen Pingping wondered aloud, surprised.

Wen Qingshan coughed up blood. Nearby, Chen Shixian’s expression stiffened; she too possessed a Divine Body.

WOOF WOOF!

Hei’s paw pressed down on Wen Qingshan’s body. Though it exuded no discernible aura, Wen Qingshan didn’t dare make a rash move. His scalp tingled, and his heart pounded.

What breed of dog is this? Why is it so terrifying? I... I, with my renowned Void Body, didn’t even get a chance to strike! At that moment, despair filled Wen Qingshan.

What plunged him deeper into despair was the sight of the second Elder rushing towards them. The Elder’s eyes were wide with anxiety, a torrent of unspoken warnings caught in his throat: Don’t come over! Don’t attack! Run...

This Elder also seemed to sense that something was gravely wrong. He keenly perceived danger, though he couldn’t pinpoint its source. Moreover, seeing the severely wounded Wen Qingshan—the Void Body—he was shaken to the core. He hesitated no longer and turned to flee.

The little black dog barked a few times and darted off in pursuit.

"Hey, hey, hey, Hei, don’t run off!" Chen Pingping exclaimed.

Hei had the playful heart of a child. It rarely took action and didn’t have many companions. Lao Huang the ox utterly disdained it, and the Earth Chicken always strutted about with its nose in the air. Mao Qiu slept all day, and the Emperor Spirit was simple and honest. Consequently, Hei had always been very lonely. But now, having finally cornered a few Saint Realm cultivators, it was determined to have some fun.

The man and dog quickly disappeared from their sight. Chen Pingping looked thoroughly exasperated.

However, Wen Qingshan, who was behind Chen Pingping, began to laugh. That dog was powerful enough to easily suppress him, but it wasn’t here now. My chance has come!

Wen Qingshan straightened his clothes, rose composedly, and said with a light laugh, "Now, how do you intend to convince me?"

Not far away, Chen Shixian grew secretly vigilant, preparing for battle.

Huh? Chen Pingping turned around. "What do you mean?"

"Without that dog, how will you defeat me?" Wen Qingshan’s eyes burned with intensity as he stared at Chen Pingping, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly in an unintended smirk. He was supremely confident. He was a Divine Body, a cultivator at the Sixth Heaven of the Lord realm. Combined with his various trump cards, his combat power approached the Seventh or even Eighth Heaven. He could even challenge a Ninth Heaven powerhouse. With such formidable strength, what could Chen Pingping possibly do to him?

Wen Qingshan continued, "I initially thought you were very powerful. But now it seems that dog has been the one sweeping away your formidable enemies all along, hasn’t it?" His words and demeanor seemed to convey a clear message to Chen Pingping: Stop pretending. I’ve seen through your bluff. You’re actually quite weak, aren’t you? Without that dog, you’re nothing.

What in the world? Chen Pingping thought.

BANG!

Wen Qingshan wasted no more words. He swiftly activated his cultivation realm, intending to forcefully suppress Chen Pingping before the dog returned.

"Be careful!" Chen Shixian exclaimed, her expression changing slightly as she sensed Wen Qingshan’s surging power.

But Chen Pingping, standing before her, remained perfectly calm and didn’t retreat an inch. As Wen Qingshan’s Void Skill enveloped the area, Chen Pingping casually swung his sword.

A humming sound resonated. The Power Path, intertwined with a ray of Sword Dao, directly pierced through the Void Skill.

Oh? Chen Shixian, who had been about to intervene, froze in surprise.

Immediately after, Chen Pingping struck out with a palm. His hand swiftly enlarged, resembling the legendary Heavenly Hand, imbued with an incredibly violent and bizarre power. Though devoid of any discernible Tao, it effortlessly negated the Void Skill.

BOOM!

A single slap sent Wen Qingshan crashing downwards.

Oops, I might have hit him too hard, Chen Pingping thought as he strode forward. He extended his Divine Sense to check on Wen Qingshan, who was now deep in a mud pit. Detecting a lingering life force, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Shixian was dumbfounded. "You... you’re not at the Fourth Heaven of the Lord realm!" How could a Fourth Heaven Lord possess such immense power? He had ignored the Void Skill so easily, and his attack seemed to contain a bizarre, inexplicable law. It was utterly inconceivable.

"You actually deceived me?" Chen Shixian accused.

"Not at all!" Chen Pingping replied.

"You just said you were at the Fourth Heaven of the Lord realm!" she retorted, disgruntled.

"And at that moment, I indeed was at the Fourth Heaven of the Lord realm," Chen Pingping answered earnestly...

It was just that in the interim, the Earth Chicken had merged with the Ancient Phoenix’s Life Origin, and Mao Qiu, after eating something unknown, had also improved considerably. This had caused his own cultivation realm to suddenly jump to the Sixth Heaven of the Lord realm. So, technically, he hadn’t lied.

Chen Shixian didn’t believe him. "You were at the Fourth Heaven just now. What about now?"

"Sixth Heaven," Chen Pingping reiterated earnestly.

"You’re lying!"

"..." Chen Pingping was silent.

Alas. Chen Pingping sighed softly, feeling somewhat helpless. Advancing two minor realms in just over ten minutes, especially within the Lord realm, was so outrageous that no one would believe it if he told them. Yet, it was the truth.

He didn’t bother arguing further. He dragged Wen Qingshan out of the mud pit and muttered to himself, My realm hasn’t risen any further. Does that mean Earth Chicken and Mao Qiu have succeeded?

He had successfully stalled the higher-ups from Star Sea, buying precious time for the Earth Chicken and Mao Qiu. Now, it was time for him to depart.

"Damn... that stupid dog! Always goofing off when there’s work to be done!" Chen Pingping looked up and suddenly cursed.

Not every part of the Dragon Soul Secret Realm was riddled with Arrays and restrictive enchantments, but where such defenses existed, they were typically dense and closely spaced. Chen Pingping had deliberately led the Star Sea higher-ups here to trap them.

An hour had now passed. They had managed to break through one powerful Array after another, along with their accompanying restrictions, yet they still hadn’t found a way out of this cursed place.

The two Elders who had ventured out earlier had met different fates: the first was killed, while the second was currently being chased by the little black dog, howling in distress.

At that moment, within a formidable Array, the Star Sea experts, after considerable effort, finally broke through. Their tense God Realms relaxed, and smiles touched their lips. We’re out! they exulted silently. An hour of effort wasn’t wasted!

They had not only broken through but had also begun to understand the patterns of these Arrays. A sense of confidence filled them; if they encountered another Array, they felt certain they could dismantle it swiftly. Excellent!

One Elder scoffed, "It seems the Dragon Soul Secret Realm isn’t so formidable after all!"

"Indeed! How could a few mere Arrays possibly trap us?" another chimed in.

"Let’s go! Qingshan must be waiting for us up ahead!"

"Hmm, that’s right. Qingshan should have stalled Chen Pingping by now... Heh, that brat truly is something, managing to navigate the Arrays in this place."

"I’m more interested in the Heavenly Fire," an elderly Elder declared, his eyes gleaming as he gazed ahead, a deep-seated greed flickering within them. "Legend says it can incinerate the very Void. If we could control it, we could even shatter Emperor Weapons!"

These words instantly invigorated the group of higher-ups.

Just then, a figure came running towards them. It was Luo Muyu, the Saint Realm powerhouse who had also broken through the series of Arrays and escaped that cursed section of the land.

"Oh? Elder Luo is back already? He’s moving fast! Let’s see what good news he brings," one of them chuckled.

"I’ll wager Elder Luo has suppressed Chen Pingping by now!"