CHAPTER 399: SNEAKING THROUGH CHEN CANG’S TUNNEL

Chapter 399: Sneaking Through Chen Cang’s Tunnel

…

“Let’s go.”

On the Qingfeng Sect’s arena, Chen Huaian stowed the two little tiger demons’ bodies away and flicked his sleeve, ready to leave.

The Qingfeng Sect elders, faced with Wang Shouyi’s presence and the pressure of raw power, eventually chose to return the corpses over being turned into limbless stumps.

Their way of addressing Chen Huaian quietly shifted from “Who are you?” to “Senior.”

“Senior, this whole thing was my fault.” Wang Shouyi stood on his flying sword, head lowered, not daring to meet Chen Huaian’s eyes. “I had gone to search for Baji at the time. If I’d told those Ascenders what was going on beforehand, maybe none of this would’ve happened.”

“This wasn’t your fault.”

Chen Huaian spoke calmly. “No one could’ve predicted that your senior brother would just happen to pass by. No one could’ve predicted he’d be out looking for birthday tribute materials. And no one could’ve predicted that he’d just happen to fancy those exact two tiger demons... All those coincidences piling up are what caused this. How could that be your fault?”

Wang Shouyi thought Chen Huaian had let it go, and the tight knot in his chest finally loosened.

“You’re so understanding, Senior. If it were anyone with a worse temper, they might’ve killed me by now.”

Anyway, the fact that Chen Huaian didn’t kill Li Buyi was a win.

With pills, Li Buyi’s limbs could still be restored. Even if word got back to the Honored One, he had ways to cover for Chen Huaian.

Sure, the tiger demons were dead, but at least Chen had taken the materials. That counted as salvaging some of the loss.

“Don’t worry, Senior! Within seven days, I’ll definitely find you a pair of demons similar to those tiger cubs to guard your place!”

Chen Huaian smiled faintly but said nothing.

Only Li Qingran, silent to the side, knew the truth.

Her master was still simmering with unresolved anger—and he definitely hadn’t let Li Buyi off the hook.

Those calm eyes didn’t hold retreating tides; they were a volcano building pressure, ready to erupt at any time.

…

And so, the three of them—two people and one beast—returned to the Exorcist Division in that heavy, uneasy atmosphere.

At the moment, Zhao Ying and the others were still out with the main force of Ascenders.

Lin Lingling, the “atmosphere queen,” wasn’t around either.

The whole Exorcist Division felt strangely deserted.

“Brother Wang, we gained a lot from this trip to the Demon-Sealing Tower. I’d like to check out a few others.”

Just as they landed, Wang Shouyi was racking his brain for an excuse to return to the Kunlun Immortal Palace—he needed to cover today’s incident properly.

Then out of nowhere, Chen Huaian’s words made him beam with delight.

“Absolutely! No problem at all!” Wang Shouyi grinned from ear to ear, rubbing his hands eagerly. “To be honest, Senior, I’m currently the only one capable of completely conquering a Demon-Sealing Tower and opening the Well of Heaven.

After all, I’m the only one who can use the Divine Descent Talisman. For now, the other Ascenders go into the towers mostly to scout and to keep the emerging monsters from causing too much havoc outside.”

“Is that so?” Chen Huaian raised an eyebrow. “So besides you, will others eventually be able to use that talisman too?”

“Sure. My senior brother, for instance,” Wang Shouyi replied. “The Divine Descent Talisman isn’t something just anyone can use. Even if another Ascender gets their hands on one, they can’t trigger a descent. You need compatibility with a specific immortal—it’s like signing a contract.”

“Then why didn’t your senior brother use it earlier?”

Wang Shouyi scratched his head and sighed. “Well, you weren’t actually trying to kill him… The Honored One was very clear—this talisman can only be used when facing powerful monsters at the top of a Demon-Sealing Tower. If you misuse it, you lose the right to ever use it again.”

Chen Huaian nodded.

No wonder the Blood Amber Mountain Lord had said the monsters were just whetstones.

Ascenders fought monsters inside the towers.

The weak were eliminated, the strong survived—and those strong ones would gain ample resources.

To avoid having those elite Ascenders wiped out by apex monsters like Zhuyan or Dang Kang, there were people like Wang Shouyi and Li Buyi serving as their safety net.

If you couldn’t win? No biggie.

Just activate Divine Descent and let a god take over your body.

What monster, no matter how fierce, could stand up to that?

“So that means, in the short term, no other towers will be conquered—unless someone else like you comes along?”

“Exactly,” Wang Shouyi confirmed.

Chen Huaian pursed his lips, digesting the information.

No doubt about it—those Ascenders capable of divine possession were a serious threat.

They also jeopardized the plans of Ancestral Dragon and Taotie.

But looking at the other side of the coin—right now, only Wang Shouyi and Li Buyi could use divine descent.

That meant he had time to follow Wang Shouyi to other towers and meet other auspicious beasts.

There was no way he could let someone like Li Buyi be the one to conquer the towers.

Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes.

Perfect—another reason to kill Li Buyi.

Wang Shouyi cheerfully said his goodbyes to Chen Huaian and Li Qingran and returned temporarily to the Kunlun Immortal Palace.

The moment he left, the smile on Chen Huaian’s face vanished.

He led Li Qingran and Baji into Containment Facility No. 0, his expression grim.

In the small room, Chen Huaian and Li Qingran sat facing each other.

“Master, you don’t plan to let Li Buyi go, do you?”

“You really do know me best.”

Chen Huaian pulled out the Sect Summoning Token and placed it on the table, frowning in thought.

Now that he’d reached the Golden Core stage, he could summon cultivators up to the Body Fusion Realm. He could also summon Nascent Soul cultivators to stay in this world for ten minutes. Anything below that could stay for three hours.

As for the Body Fusion old monsters—they could remain for five minutes, but only if he summoned one at a time.

To deal with Li Buyi, just one Nascent Soul-level sword cultivator from Cangyun World would be enough.

But he had to consider the possibility that Li Buyi might get desperate and activate Divine Descent.

In the Demon-Sealing Towers, Dang Kang was roughly at the Body Fusion level.

Even if Zhuyan was slightly weaker, it wouldn't be by much.

When Wang Shouyi used Divine Descent, he didn’t manage to instantly defeat Zhuyan. Judging by the injuries on him afterward, it was clear the descent came at a cost—not only did his cultivation drop, but he was left with internal injuries.

So Divine Descent wasn’t as invincible as it seemed.

It was clear that even gods were limited by the vessel’s physical strength—their true power couldn’t descend completely.

That made things easier...

But still, he couldn’t summon a peak Nascent Soul cultivator directly.

And summoning a Body Fusion expert might be too late.

“I got it!”

Li Qingran’s eyes lit up as she glanced at the Sect Summoning Token. “Master, you’re planning to work from the shadows, right? Have someone assassinate Li Buyi while you stay hidden. That way you’ll have a perfect alibi, and the sects in this world won’t dare retaliate!”

“Smart girl.”

Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes, a plan forming in his heart.

This time, he was definitely going to kill Li Buyi.

It was just a shame about the two little tiger demons.

Chen Huaian looked at the two demon souls floating beside Baji.

This was Baji’s new ability—gathering the souls of dead monsters around him.

Even though their souls were intact and could be revived one day…

He still felt guilty for having let down the trust of the Blood Amber Tiger King.

“Is fate truly unchangeable?”

Chen Huaian gripped the Sect Summoning Token, eyes blazing with murderous intent.

“Then let’s see if your so-called ‘fate’ can actually save Li Buyi!”

…

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