616: beat

Chen De shook the blade in his hand twice. "Sect Master, don't panic. This is just a prop."

"If you don't believe me, try it. It doesn't hurt at all when it hits you, really."

He looked at Xu Lan with a sincere gaze, his pure eyes devoid of any impurities.

Xu Lan asked, "Then what about these formations?"

"Sect Master, don't misunderstand. This Grand Array isn't meant for you; it's mainly to mask the commotion."

Under the starry sky, Chen De smiled as he explained to Xu Lan.

"Is that so?" The more the other party spoke this way, the more warily Xu Lan glanced at the Grand Array.

"The Saintly Mother does not tell lies."

After answering another question, Chen De suddenly took the initiative to strike.

Xu Lan was also prepared for battle at any moment. Holding the yuanxu plate, he immediately unleashed a divine power.

Yuan Magnetic Void Restriction!

However, Chen De had already experienced this move before.

But the same move is completely different when used by different people.

Being in poor condition would not affect the level of comprehension of the Rhyme of Law.

Although Xu Lan's cultivation had plummeted to the early stage of the Ninth Transformation, his Rhyme of Law was still at the peak of the Ninth Transformation.

Furthermore, the yuanxu plate and the Yuan Magnetic Void Restriction could be said to be a matched set. With this spiritual treasure, the power of the divine power could be amplified to the maximum extent.

So, even though Xu Lan's cultivation was only at the early stage of the Ninth Transformation, his strength was not inferior to an expert at the late stage of the Ninth Transformation.

Meanwhile, Chen De was at the early stage of the Ninth Transformation of the Demon Venerable Realm. Combining various factors, he could also rival the late stage of the Ninth Transformation.

Yet, there was still a chasm-like gap between those in the late stage; it depended on who was further along in the late stage.

Someone at the late stage approaching the peak could even instantly kill someone who had just entered the late stage.

One strike!

Chen De unleashed a blade strike he had been charging for a long time.

The blade light sliced through the nearly stagnant force field, silently carving a smooth gap and slashing straight toward the target.

Xu Lan's pupils shrank.

Judging by the power of this single strike, it was definitely not something an early-stage Ninth Transformation could pull off.

Using the yuanxu plate, he blocked the attack, but a tiny scratch was left on the plate.

Clearly, he had fallen into a disadvantage in this exchange.

This was because while he seemingly rivaled the late stage of the Ninth Rotation, he had to suppress his injuries, so being able to occasionally unleash late-stage power was already quite good.

Based on the size of the dot representing Xu Lan on the system map, Chen De already knew the gap between the two sides.

In this battle, Xu Lan was no match for him.

Then, with three more blade strikes, Chen De closed in and engaged him in close-quarters combat.

In this stagnant force field, Chen De's figure seemed completely unaffected.

Xu Lan retreated steadily. The injuries within his body were gradually becoming impossible to suppress, which in turn had a greater impact on his combat power.

On the other hand, after fighting for a long time, he hadn't managed to deal a single bit of effective damage to his opponent.

During this time, he looked for every opportunity to escape, but he was intercepted exactly every time.

Realizing he was truly going to be left here today, Xu Lan's gaze gradually turned cold.

Then, he seemed to make a certain decision.

The next moment, a unique ripple emanated from him, spreading in all directions.

Its speed far exceeded the speed of light, something even a peak Ninth Transformation at full speed could not match.

Seeing this, Chen De knew it was likely some form of communication method. As for the recipient and the content, they were naturally self-evident.

After sending out the ripple, Xu Lan seemed to have set down a burden.

What he had just sent was an internal distress signal of the Ten Sects Alliance, calling for help from the other nine sects simultaneously.

However, this signal had never been used since the alliance's inception.

Today, he had used it, and it was because of internal strife within his own sect.

He couldn't predict what the final outcome would be.

But what was certain was that the most intense part of this battle was about to begin.

"Heaven-Rending and Earth-Shattering..."

"world-descending demonic blade!"

At this moment, Chen De directly unleashed his ultimate move, the one he had used from the Lower Plane to the Upper Plane.

"Nine Roaring Clouds Yuanxu Astral Godlight!"

Seemingly sensing the power of Chen De's strike, Xu Lan no longer suppressed his injuries and chose to go all out.

He activated the yuanxu plate to unleash the strongest strike he possessed.

A flickering beam of light was fired from the very center of the yuanxu plate.

The moment the two attacks collided, the entire time and space seemed to freeze and stand still.

Both sides were using martial techniques that were the best fit for the spiritual treasures in their hands, although these weren't their respective strongest possible strikes.

Chen De's charging time was insufficient, and Xu Lan's cultivation had dropped and was hampered by his injuries.

But the power of the collision was enough to make even Ninth Transformation experts turn pale.

At this moment, the so-called Grand Array, Small World, Yuanxu Sect headquarters... everything vanished under the impact of this violent collision.

Emptiness. In this space, all that could be felt was emptiness.

Besides that, there were two solitary figures.

One stood with a blade, his body covered in cracks, but they were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Although some force was still destroying and hindering the repair, it seemed laughable in the face of such terrifying recovery speed.

The other appeared to be much better off, only with a pale face and a slight bleed at the corner of his mouth.

However, he held a circular plate in his hand. Other parts were fine, but from its center, a blade mark ran through it from top to bottom.

It looked as if it was about to split the entire surface of the plate in two.

Seeing this, Xu Lan couldn't help but give a bitter laugh. "I lost."

On the surface, he seemed to have the upper hand in this exchange, but in reality, the yuanxu plate had been severely damaged.

And he had seen the opponent's recovery power before; this level of damage was equivalent to nothing.

Looking at himself, he had already lost his greatest reliance in battle.

Without the yuanxu plate to balance his state and stabilize his injuries, he would be taken down within a few moves.

As for the so-called resources, he likely wouldn't live to see them.

"Sect Master, it's time to go."

As Chen De spoke, he walked toward Xu Lan step by step... Three breaths later, he was the only one left under the starry sky.

But his cultivation at this moment was actually the middle stage of the Ninth Transformation of the Demon Venerable Realm.

This level was already truly comparable to the so-called peak of the Ninth Transformation.

Moreover, if the fight lasted a long time, he would definitely be the one to win in the end.

Having settled the matters of the Yuanxu Sect, Chen De knew well that this was not a place to linger.

Thinking about the signal Xu Lan had just sent, the other eight sects would likely send people before long.

If it were anyone else, it might be fine, but if the one who came was Xie Feng, the Sect Master of the Nine Absolute Sword Sect, it would be disastrous if they crossed paths.

So he had to leave, leave immediately, leave right now.

Just as he was about to leave, his body paused for a moment because Chen De suddenly thought of a good plan.

If the plan went smoothly, it wouldn't be impossible for him to rush to the peak of the Ninth Transformation in one go.

With this thought, Chen De's body gradually became illusory as he left the place.