Chapter 1153: A Struggle Between the Strong (Three)

“The protector clans have arrived sooner than I expected. The ripening of the Saints’ Fruit caused too large of a disturbance. I just never thought they’d actually come so quickly,” said Rui Jin.

“What do we do now? Do we get the people of the protector clans to fight with those vengeful spirits and get them to attract their attention? And once they obtain the Saints’ Fruit, we steal it over in a crucial moment?” Hong Lian inquired.

All of them contemplated the situation. Stealing the Saints’ Fruit from a group of vengeful spirits or a great party of Saint Kings would both be difficult.

In terms of battle prowess, the Saint Kings that had charged in from outside were nowhere near as strong as the Saint Emperor vengeful spirits. However, they could work together, and there were many of them who knew Saint Tier Battle Skills and various ancient secret techniques. They were not easy to deal with either.

Rui Jin glanced at Jian Chen. He said, “Let’s not steal the Saints’ Fruit from the hands of the ten protector clans. That might lead to a lot of people panicking and doing some impulsive things. After all, the Saints’ Fruit is no ordinary item. It’s the only shortcut to Saint Emperor, so is there anybody willing to let it be stolen from them?”

Jian Chen nodded slightly with that. Rui Jin was looking out for Jian Chen with what he suggested. Jian Chen was not just a single person. He needed to consider the people around him. The Changyang clan in Lore City, the Gesun Kingdom, and the Flame Mercenaries could not endure abuse from the protector clans and the ancient clans.

Although these large organizations were usually disinclined to do things like that, the Saints’ Fruit that could let people reach Saint Emperor was involved this time. The great temptation could easily drive people mad.

Time was tight right now. They began to move as soon as they came up with a plan. A gate opened in the golden world and Jian Chen, Rui Jin, Hei Yu, and Hong Lian all flew out. They flew over the heads of many vengeful spirits, quickly charging toward the Saints’ Fruit.

Tie Ta did not come out. In order to protect his identity, he was persuaded into the artifact space by Jian Chen within the miniature world.

Their appearance immediately garnered the attention of all the vengeful spirits present. At that moment, all of them stopped meditating and stood up in unison. Without saying anything, they all charged at the four of them.

Jian Chen, Rui Jin, Hong Lian, and Hei Yu had made preparations long ago. Chaotic Force filled every corner of Jian Chen’s body, pushing the defenses of his Chaotic Body to the limit. As for the three others, they had drawn their origin energy treasures, ready to attack and defend.

A devastating streak of light flickered by. Rui Jin’s sword and Hei Yu’s machete were swung out simultaneously, sending out a strand of powerful sword Qi and blade Qi toward the many vengeful spirits up ahead.

A layer of white flames had coated Hong Lian’s Scorching Godfire Hairpin as she coordinated with Rui Jin and Hei Yu to wipe out the enemies at the front.

As the three origin energy treasures struck out at the same time, the power was unimaginable. It could destroy space and annihilate everything. It collapsed the vengeful spirits that rushed forward at the front without any difficulty at all, reducing them into black mist. Under the power of the origin energy, the vengeful spirits quickly weakened.

However, it was not enough to deal with them completely. Their bodies were quickly reconstructed, but the attacks had paved a path. They immediately used it to quickly approach the fruit.

However, there were just far too many vengeful spirits that charged over from all directions. Over five hundred vengeful spirits formed a wall to encircle them. They all struck out the same time as various attacks rained down on the small group, almost drowning them like a flood.

Swinging her hand, nine fire-red phoenix feathers flew out of Hong Lian’s hand. The feathers expanded in the wind, rapidly growing larger before becoming nine flying phoenixes over a hundred meters long. Flames burned around them, causing the temperature to quickly skyrocket.

The nine phoenixes did not attack, and instead, they quickly flew about in a circle. They moved faster and faster before transforming into a fire-red barrier that surrounded the four of them. The barrier blocked the attacks from all the vengeful spirits.

“There were a few lacking materials for the Phoenix’s Guard, so the full strength of the formation cannot be used. It can’t last for very long, so let’s move a little faster. We need to obtain the fruit as soon as possible,” Hong Lian gruffly informed then. She then took control of the formation, quickly moving forward with it.

Muffled sounds constantly rang out. They originated from all the attacks that rained down on the formation, causing the light screen created by the phoenixes to constantly tremble.

The vengeful spirits blocked their way like a black mass, but Hong Lian slowly advanced by controlling the formation, traveling less than a thousand meters in five whole minutes. Every single step for them could be described as arduous.

Finally, the formation shattered with a loud sound. The vengeful spirits in the surroundings immediately appeared before Jian Chen and the others, charging toward them in a blanketing fashion.

Rui Jin moved just in time. He threw out eighteen dragon scales. Each scale had undergone a special refinement, so they were covered with inscriptions. The eighteen scales levitated in the air, shining with a streak of light which intertwined with one another to protect their small group.

Coming out this time, Rui Jin and Hong Lian had both made sufficient preparations. They had created many defensive formations and many killing formations, so even though they faced an extremely terrifying amount of vengeful spirits, they felt no fear.

Tiny cracks appeared on the eighteen scales after lasting for five minutes. They clearly could not last much longer anymore, yet the four of them had only advanced by a thousand meters.

“We’ve only prepared a limited number of formations. We can’t use them all, so we need to advance quicker. Jian Chen, you enter the artifact space first. We’ll kill our way over together,” Rui Jin spoke gruffly.

Without any deliberation, Jian Chen pulled out the saint artifact and disappeared into it. The saint artifact was then placed in Rui Jin’s bosom. The moment the eighteen scales shattered, the three of them erupted with their peak strength. They stabbed through the obstructing spirits like a blade, charging forward with an unstoppable force.

Along the way, the three of them resisted the many powerful attacks from the vengeful spirits. They would have become heavily injured long ago if it were not for the origin energy treasures on them.

At the same time, all the Saint Kings lead by the protector clans had entered the third zone. Saint Force of various attributes flickered around them, which made them seem like tiny lanterns from afar. They used their full strength to resist the vile energies present.

As soon as they entered the third zone, their faces immediately changed. All their attention gathered in a single direction.

The disturbance created by Rui Jin, Hong Lian, Hei Yu, and the vengeful spirits was just far too great. Even with such a great distance between them, they could still sense the violent ripples of energy.

“Sh*t, someone’s gotten here before us. They’ve already started fighting with the vengeful spirits,” a red-robed old man growled. He was a great elder from the Heaven’s Incense School.

“The Saints’ Fruit has only just ripened, and we arrived here in the shortest amount of time possible. How could they have made it here before us?” A ruddy but sagely old man from the Shenxiao sect wondered out loud. He frowned heavily.

“The people over there are extremely powerful, and they’re no weaker than a few of us. They can actually fight so ferociously against the encirclement of vengeful spirits. This isn’t something people at Great Perfection can do,” Yi Yangzi of the Yiyuan sect said. The light in his eyes flickered.

“Perhaps it’s a Saint Emperor? Surely it isn’t the path lord of carnal desires, right?” A Saint King from another protector clan suggested.