Boom!
A massive hand descended from the sky, akin to the hand of a deity, filled with a brilliant might that couldn't be resisted.
But just when the hand was about to reach them, the space before Mu Chen and the rest suddenly shattered and a crimson gourd jumped out in a peculiar manner.
When the crimson gourd appeared, an endless crimson lustre gushed out from the mouth of the gourd. Looking from afar, it looked like the origin of a volcano. The crimson lustre seemed to be blazing with flames, and every single lustre was akin to an ocean of magma.
The temperature in this region instantly rose and even the surrounding ocean started to boil.
Boom!
An inexhaustible red light soared into the sky and clashed against the Divine Spiritual Hand. In that instant of impact, the heavens and earth seemed to tremble as countless clouds were ignited by a terrifyingly high temperature.
Boom!
Under the terrifying heat, the hand swiftly started to dry up with cracks spreading out. In the next moment, it had been turned into a petrified hand by the crimson lustre.
Rumble!
The giant hand exploded, turning into countless pieces of rock that rained down from the sky, creating a huge wave in the sea.
Up in the sky, when Gu Shihuang and Liang Xiesha saw the massive hand shattering, their eyes were filled with shock with fear on their faces.
Clearly, the scene in front of them had frightened them.
That's because the one that made a move was a genuine Heavenly Sovereign. But even such a terrifying attack was easily dealt with, so how terrifying was the one that made a move?
Before such an expert, Perfected Earth Sovereigns like them were akin to ants.
Huff!
After the crimson gourd destroyed the Heavenly Sovereign's hand, it flew out and landed not far away under the dumbfounded gazes of Mu Chen and the rest.
At this moment, they realised that a plain-clothed old man with a cane had appeared out of nowhere.
The old man smiled with his eyes narrowed as he took the crimson gourd and drank a mouthful. In that instant, Mu Chen and the rest could see a magma-like liquid flowing into the old man's mouth.
Even if they had not come in contact with the magma-like liquid, Mu Chen and the rest could still sense the terrifying temperature, which made them know that the magma-like liquid that the old man drank wasn't something that they could endure.
Mu Chen and Luo Li exchanged a look with shock in their eyes. This old man was too mysterious, and judging from his actions, he must be a genuine Heavenly Sovereign.
However, they clearly didn't know who this Heavenly Sovereign was, so why would he help them?
Facing their shock, the plain-clothed old man paid no attention to them. After drinking a mouthful of the gourd, he raised his head and looked at the spatial vortex behind Gu Shihuang and the rest with a smile. "You're someone with status in the Ancient Buddha Clan, so why are you lowering yourself to make a move on some juniors?"
Gu Shihuang and Liang Xiesha kept quiet out of fear. The spatial vortex behind them briefly fell into silence before an aged voice resounded, "So it's Celestial Chi Yan of the Ancient Spirit Clan. But my Ancient Buddha Clan and your Ancient Spirit Clan have always minded our own business, so why are you interfering in the matters of my clan?"
The plain-clothed old man, who was known as Celestial Chi Yan, shook his head with a smile. "This is a sapling that I have been searching for for years, so how can I let your Ancient Buddha Clan destroy it?"
"Hmph, this brat is a sinner of my Ancient Buddha Clan. If your Ancient Spirit Clan takes him away, I'm afraid that even you, Celestial Chi Yan, won't be able to bear it!" A furious voice resounded from the spatial vortex, causing space to tremble.
Celestial Chi Yan rolled his eyes as he pointed at Luo Li, before pointing at Mu Chen. "The good sapling that I'm talking about is her, not him."
When Mu Chen saw this, he felt awkward and could only helplessly shrug his shoulders.
In the spatial vortex, the intent seemed to have heaved a sigh of relief, and then it said in a deep voice, "Since that's the case, you can take her away, but the sinful child must remain."
When Luo Li heard that, she immediately replied, "If Mu Chen stays here, I will not leave as well!"
Finishing her words, she looked at Celestial Chi Yan and said, "This Junior understands Senior's importance."
Celestial Chi Yan wasn't angered by her words. On the contrary, he nodded his head with a smile before looking at the spatial vortex. "Looks like I can't leave this brat behind. Since that's the case, then I can only experience the might of the Ancient Buddha Clan's pagoda if you're not willing."
As he spoke, the red gourd in Celestial Chi Yan's hand gradually emanated a crimson lustre and a terrifying temperature rose between the heavens and earth.
Seeing Celestial Chi Yan's determination, the spatial vortex fell into silence. The Heavenly Sovereign of the Ancient Buddha Clan was clearly enraged. However, he had done this on his own, and if the clan found out about it, it would definitely be troublesome.
Especially if this matter reached Qing Yanjing's ears. With that person's character, the moment she flared up, even the Grand Elder wouldn't be able to suppress her. At that time, he might be the unlucky one.
As the spatial vortex fell into silence, Celestial Chi Yan turned his head to look at Mu Chen with a flash of astonishment in his eyes and sighed, "This brat is also a good sapling. Your Ancient Buddha Clan is truly unaware of your own fortune. If such a sapling is properly nurtured, he will definitely become a Heavenly Sovereign in the future. But you guys still want to label him as a sinner, how ridiculous."
Hearing Celestial Chi Yan's evaluation of Mu Chen, a snort resounded from the spatial vortex, but he did not explain anything. He only snorted, "Since Celestial Chi Yan insists on interfering in this matter, then do as you wish. But I hope that you, Celestial Chi Yan, can bear the price in the future!"
"That's my matter, and it has nothing to do with you." Celestial Chi Yan chuckled.
When the Heavenly Sovereign of the Ancient Buddha Clan saw this scene, he knew that there wouldn't be any progress today. Immediately, a storm of Spiritual Energy swept out and enveloped Gu Shihuang and Liang Xiesha, sucking them into the spatial vortex.
Spatial ripples erupted from the vortex before gradually dissipating from this world.
Along with the disappearance of the vortex, the terrifying pressure that enveloped the heavens and earth had also swiftly dissipated. It was as if the entire heavens and earth had regained its brightness.
Mu Chen, Luo Li, and Long Xiang felt heavily relieved. The pressure that a Heavenly Sovereign gave them was too powerful, and it wasn't something that they could confront right now.
"Thank you, Senior, for your help."
Mu Chen turned around and respectfully cupped his fists towards Celestial Chi Yan to express his gratitude.
Celestial Chi Yan waved his hand as he swept a glance at Mu Chen and smiled. "Brat, even if I didn't make a move, I believe that no one would be able to do anything to you today."
He shot a deep glance at the stone talisman in Mu Chen's hand, which he had yet to put away. Clearly, he had sensed the remnant powerful aura on it. That aura made even him feel slightly fearful.
Mu Chen lightly smiled as he exchanged a glance with Luo Li. "Senior, I wonder why you're looking for Luo Li?"
He did not keep the stone talisman, but allowed Celestial Chi Yan to probe it. Actually, it was also a form of intimidation, since he had no idea why Celestial Chi Yan was looking for Luo Li. If it wasn't anything good, then Mu Chen had to let him know that even if they couldn't confront a Heavenly Sovereign, they weren't helpless.
In this world, sometimes, borrowing power was also a form of strength.
Luo Li also looked at Celestial Chi Yan with doubt in her eyes. When the latter saw Luo Li's gaze, he smiled with his eyes narrowed. "I'm actually looking for her for a simple reason. I just want her to become the Holy Maiden of my Ancient Spirit Clan."
"The Holy Maiden again?!"
Hearing his words, Mu Chen and Luo Li's faces slightly changed.
"Cough, don't mix the Holy Maiden of my Ancient Spirit Clan with the Holy Maiden of the West Heaven Temple!" Celestial Chi Yan immediately explained when he saw their alertness.
Judging from his tone, he actually knew that the West Heaven Battle Emperor had once tried to recruit Mu Chen as the Holy Maiden.
"Senior, I'm currently the Patriarch of the Luo God Clan, and I'm not someone from the Ancient Spirit Clan. So I can only appreciate Senior's goodwill."
Luo Li gently shook her head and rejected Celestial Chi Yan's goodwill. Although the Ancient Spirit Clan was one of the Five Ancient Clans in the Great Thousand World, she had no intention of getting close to it.
Seeing Luo Li's rejection, Celestial Chi Yan was briefly stunned. After all, with the fame of the Ancient Spirit Clan, everyone in the Great Thousand World wanted to have a relationship with them. But when it came to Luo Li, the latter wasn't bothered about it.
Facing this outcome, Celestial Chi Yan wore a bitter expression, looking extremely vexed.
Mu Chen and Luo Li exchanged a glance, but they tacitly ignored him.
Looking at the depths of the Spiritual Jade Island, Mu Chen turned to Luo Li and said, "Let's save Big Sister Ling Xi first."
Luo Li nodded her head and the two of them headed towards the depths of the Spiritual Jade Island, leaving Celestial Chi Yan, who had no idea how to persuade them, in a daze.
At the same time, in a distant region.
In the Ancient Buddha Clan
The black-robed elder's face was grim as he looked at Gu Shihuang and Liang Xiesha, who were trembling before him, and coldly said, "The two of you are truly bold. I didn't give you the talismans to deal with that sinner!"
Gu Shihuang and Liang Xiesha's faces were ashen, but they did not dare to refute.
The black-robed old man let out a cold snort when he saw the two of them acting in such a useless manner. His eyes flickered as he said, "The two of you will follow me to see the young master and report all the information regarding that sinful child to the young master. The young master will make the final decision."
When he finished, he waved his sleeves and left. When Gu Shihuang and Liang Xiesha saw this, they immediately followed up.
The three of them passed through the ancient palaces and finally arrived at a stone platform that was built on the edge of a precipitous cliff. At the edge of the stone platform, where clouds and mist lingered, a green-clothed man was quietly sitting. His aura was like an abyss, as if it was unfathomable. Within his slightly opened and closed eyes, a crystal-like pagoda could be vaguely seen, emitting a brilliant light.
The black-robed old man came to the azure-clothed man and stood with his hands behind his back, while Gu Shihuang and Liang Xiesha immediately knelt down.
"This subordinate pays his respects to the Young Master!"
The green-robed man slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the sea of clouds in front of him and smiled faintly. His voice was neither happy nor angry as it sounded leisurely.
"You guys have seen that sinner?"
(To be continued.)