Chapter 1143: An Unexpected Gain

“I hope that’s the case. If there are many vengeful spirits as powerful as Gustys, we’d probably only be able to protect ourselves after Rui Jin, Hong Lian, and I work together,” Hei Yu gruffly said. He felt slightly pressured by Gustys’ appearance.

The three of them continued, directly making their way to the third zone of the Death Nest. They were attacked by many vengeful spirits as they moved, and all of them were Saint Kings. Saint Emperor vengeful spirits were extremely rare. They did not come across a second one.

The three of them would come across a few bones that originated from ancient times, but the bones had been invaded by the Yin Qi and grudges of the dead long ago, explaining why they remained in perfect condition.

After traveling over a thousand kilometers through the second zone, the three of them finally reached the border. They saw that the Yin Qi, a few thousand meters ahead of them, was thick and the dense like a black mist as it rolled about violently. Ghost faces seemed to be conjured from time to time and seemed to be brandis.h.i.+ng their teeth and claws at Jian Chen. They would produce dreadful wails as well.

This was the depths of the Death Nest, the third zone, the most dangerous zone. It was known as the homeland of Saint Emperor vengeful spirits since this was where they gathered.

The three of them stopped at the border between the two zones. They stared at the third zone sternly, but they did not step over the boundary. They became rather conflicted inside. Just the Yin Qi and grudges that filled the third zone were enough to pressure them.

The power of the Yin Qi and grudges here had reached a frightening level. Jian Chen and Tie Ta were both frowning.

“The third zone is a little too terrifying. If Saint Rulers step into it, they’ll probably pa.s.s away in just a few seconds from the energies present,” Jian Chen gruffly said. The third zone could be described as a killing ground for Saint Rulers. Even without vengeful spirits, Saint Rulers would not be able to survive for very long.

“Only Saint Kings can enter the third zone, and they need to circulate their energy as hard as they can to repel the Yin Qi and grudges. This will lead to an extremely rapid exhaustion of energy, so we can’t waste too much time in there,” said Hei Yu.

“We need to enter even if that’s the case. We’ll back out once we find the precise location of the Saints’ Fruit. Once it ripens, we’ll go in and take it,” said Jian Chen. Determination flowed from his eyes. He needed to go in no matter how great the dangers were.

The Saints’ Fruit only appeared once every forty thousand years. It was the only shortcut to Saint Emperor, so he needed to obtain the Saints’ Fruit this time.

The three of them entered the third zone side by side. As soon as they set foot over the boundary, a bone-chilling iciness immediately invaded their bodies. At the same time, the grudges of the dead that were at least a dozen times more powerful than before wormed toward their souls.

The energies were so powerful that they were comparable to the Yin Qi and grudges present within Gustys earlier.

The three of them were prepared. They immediately began to circulate their energy, creating a barrier outside their bodies to obstruct the invasion.

Strands of Chaotic Force surged from Jian Chen’s chaotic neidan. It filled every corner of his body, using all the advantages that the Chaotic Body offered. At the same time, a layer of dark light moved about the surface of Jian Chen’s body. This was Chaotic Force circulating around his skin.

Tie Ta became enveloped by a blinding golden light. He seemed to have become a golden coc.o.o.n, where only a blurry figure of him could be seen from outside. He seemed like he was a G.o.d in descent, possessing a mighty appearance.

A layer of extremely terrifying energy also pulsed on the surface of Hei Yu’s body. All three of them pushed their energies to the maximum to protect themselves upon stepping foot into the third zone.

“Jian Chen, let out Rui Jin and Hong Lian. There should be quite a few Saint Emperor vengeful spirits here. We should increase the strength we possess,” Hei Yu said to Jian Chen.

Jian Chen nodded and immediately pulled out the saint artifact. He let Rui Jin and Hong Lian out from the artifact s.p.a.ce.

The two of them had been warned by Jian Chen when they were still in the artifact s.p.a.ce, so they knew about the current situation. As a result, they had made preparations before they emerged, using their various abilities to ward off the invading energies.

Rui Jin was enveloped by a golden light as well, appearing like a second Tie Ta. The only difference was that the light from him seemed to be a little duller than Tie Ta’s.

A layer of scarlet flames coated Hong Lian, causing the surrounding temperature to quickly skyrocket. Her flames were an existence of supreme yang, so they just happened to suppress the Yin Qi and grudges of the dead. As soon as the flames appeared, the surrounding energies immediately moved away from her and dared not to get anywhere near her.

Jian Chen, Tie Ta, Hei Yu, and Rui Jin immediately moved away from Hong Lian. Although the flames posed no harm to them, it was extremely uncomfortable to remain near such a terrifying temperature for long periods of time.

“Get a little closer to me. The energies around me are relatively thinner, so it’ll decrease your energy consumption,” Hong Lian said to them.

With that, the four of them looked at each other and they could not help but smile wryly. Tie Ta said with his m.u.f.fled voice, “Senior Hong Lian, I can’t get too close to you. Your flames bake me uncomfortably. They’re too hot.”

The four of them remained where they were. Although Hong Lian’s flames had already been reduced in strength under her control, the terrifying temperature was still not something they wanted to endure. It could not harm them, but it felt like torture.

Hong Lian smiled. For her flames to be so powerful, her strength had obviously completely recovered. She was at the Great Perfection of Saint King once again. This was all because of the divine water of the world. It could completely cure the backlash from using the Rebirth of Flames.

Rui Jin and Hong Lian appearance undoubtedly increased the strength of Jian Chen’s party. Even if they became encircled by Saint Emperor vengeful spirits in the third zone, they would be able to deal with them calmly.

Jian Chen had no idea where the Saints’ Fruit grew. The sea G.o.ddess did not tell him the precise location, so he could only search for it in the third zone.

The third zone was the homeland of vengeful spirits. There were many Saint Emperor vengeful spirits. Jian Chen’s party came across over ten of them as they moved around. Although they were not as powerful as Gustys, they could not be underestimated. Hong Lian dealt with them all.

Her flames of supreme yang were the bane of existences that skewed toward yin. If Hong Lian dealt with the vengeful spirits, she would be even more effective than Rui Jin. In a vague sense, Hong Lian had become the main force of the party.

Dangers and fortuitous encounters existed together in the Death Nest. There were even more bones and shrapnel of weaponry here. They had all been left behind by Saint Emperors in that age. They even found a few broken pieces of armor and s.p.a.ce Rings. It was a pity that many of the s.p.a.ce Rings had been completely destroyed already, so they could not be opened.

“Hm? Jian Chen, this s.p.a.ce Ring doesn’t seem to have been completely destroyed.” Tie Ta ran over from nearby and happily pa.s.sed an old s.p.a.ce Ring to Jian Chen.

Jian Chen accepted the s.p.a.ce Ring and discovered that it was indeed still intact. He opened it in the end after much difficulty.

It was a s.p.a.ce Ring worn by a Saint Emperor, so the wealth inside was extremely great. However, the energies present in the Death Nest had already invaded the interior, destroying many of the items in there by turning them to dust. Only a few items made from special materials remained.

Suddenly, Jian Chen’s face changed and he pulled out a ten-meter-long square tablet. Examining it carefully, he became delighted.

“This is a Saint Tier Battle Skill!” Jian Chen called out. He was extremely excited, as if he had found some supreme treasure.

With that, Hei Yu, Rui Jin, and Hong Lian all gathered over. They sighed emotionally, “It really is a Saint Tier Battle Skill. You’ve already gained much with just this.”

There was an image of a human on the stone tablet. Only the back of a big man could be seen. He stood in the sky, above the clouds. He looked down on the world, like a lord.

The stone tablet possessed nothing else other than this image. Its name was not known.

The figure in the tablet seemed to be standing there casually, but he gave people a feeling that he had fused with the world. It possessed an odd presence, both vast and majestic.

The figure was only a key to unlocking the Saint Tier Battle Skill. The true Saint Tier Battle Skill could be said to be hiding within the figure. It could also be said to be hiding within the stone tablet. Only after a person’s mind had resonated with the tablet would they be brought to another world to comprehend the Saint Tier Battle Skill.

Saint Tier Battle Skills were different from ordinary battle skills. Many Saint Tier Battle Skills were not recorded in books. Rather, they would carved into a stone tablet as a legacy. An energy that originated from the world would be hidden inside, allowing the tablet to exist for eternity and become almost indestructible.

Jian Chen was extremely excited since he had obtained a Saint Tier Battle Skill. The Flame Mercenaries had already reached a certain scale in size now. They possessed many Heaven Tier cultivation methods and Battle Skills, and the only thing they lacked were Saint Tier Battle Skills. The Saint Tier Battle Skill right before him could make up for this aspect.

Also, Jian Chen found a Saint Tier cultivation method within the s.p.a.ce Ring. It was recorded on the fur of a Cla.s.s 9 Magical Beast. It had been reduced to a sorry state, but all the words recorded were still present.

Unfortunately, there was nothing else in the s.p.a.ce Ring other than those two items. However, Jian Chen was extremely happy with his harvest even though that was the case.

In the blink of an eye, Jian Chen and the others had already stayed in the depths for a whole day. They found a few more s.p.a.ce Rings during that time, but all of them were unfortunately useless. They had all broken.

Hong Lian had already put out the flames around her. She now wore the clan treasure of the Phoenix clan. She used the origin energy armor to repel the invasion of the energies.

Hei Yu and Rui Jin equipped similar armors as well. They no longer used their own energies to repel the invading Yin Qi and grudges. The three of them were all saving energy. There was no energy of the world within the Death Nest, only endless amounts of Yin Qi and the grudges of the dead. They could not replenish their used energy at all.

Jian Chen and Tie Ta had also been persuaded by Rui Jin to enter the artifact s.p.a.ce, but they both declined the offer. The energies they used were extraordinary, and consumptions like this were nothing to them.