Chapter 454: Soul Clash
"Let me think it over," Jiang Chen said, stalling for time. Secretly, he was already inside the System Mall, moving to redeem a pill.
Which one would give him the edge?
He’d gone over his options during calmer days, preparing for different emergencies. Right now, he needed something that could spike his cultivation and fighting power in an instant.
His eyes settled on the Supreme Dao Gathering Immortal Pill, a Nirvana Cleansing-level treasure that fit perfectly with what he needed.
Without hesitation, his thought triggered the exchange.
[Ding! You’ve spent 300,000 Villain Value points and obtained: Supreme Dao Gathering Immortal Pill ×1!]
The system notification chimed, and a Supreme Dao Gathering Immortal Pill appeared in the Immortal Martial Mustard Seed. Jiang Chen didn’t waste a breath—he swallowed it on the spot.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The pill melted away on its own, flooding his body with a torrent of raw power. Energy roared through him, pushing his cultivation higher at breakneck speed.
It wasn’t as fast as burning Villain Value directly, but compared to any ordinary pill, the surge was astonishing. And it cost far less—thanks to the system’s half-price exchange, this was easily the smarter investment.
The Supreme Dao Gathering Immortal Pill was worth 600,000 Villain Value points—one of the finest Nirvana Cleansing-level treasures, prized even above certain Void Tribulation-level pills.
And Jiang Chen had gotten it for half that price.
Thanks to Chao Xin’s choice to talk instead of striking right away, there was no need to burn Villain Value points directly to boost his strength. That kind of desperation was best saved for sudden, unavoidable crises.
"Three breaths have passed."
Chao Xin’s words cut through the air, colder by the moment. "Boy, life or death—have you decided?"
He had no idea Jiang Chen’s cultivation was already climbing fast. Every trace of it was buried under the overwhelming bloodline aura of the Death Calamity Dark Star Moon Dao Embryo.
Jiang Chen kept up the act, his face twisted with hesitation. "Not yet. You’ve promised benefits, but words alone aren’t enough. Shouldn’t there be some proof?"
"Hmph." Chao Xin sneered, contempt dripping from every word. "To grant you a path to survival is already the height of generosity. Yet you dare to demand proof? Bold. Ungrateful."
His eyes flared. "Since you don’t value the chance I’ve given you, then die!"
"Wait—hold on!" Jiang Chen threw in a note of panic. "I’ll submit! Just tell me what I need to do!"
Even as he spoke, the pill’s power finished settling. A final surge roared through him, pushing his cultivation straight into the Late-stage Nirvana Cleansing realm.
Jiang Chen’s combat strength surged, surpassing even the peak of Nirvana Cleansing realm and, for the moment, pressing down harder than Chao Xin himself.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Breaking into the Void Tribulation realm was out of reach—he hadn’t grasped enough of the Great Dao yet.
His thoughts shifted to Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning. Both had clawed their way back to the Nirvana Peering realm, just a step short of Nirvana Cleansing realm.
One Supreme Dao Gathering Immortal Pill carried enough force to push them the rest of the way.
With Wan’er and Ning’er back at Nirvana Cleansing realm, my strength will rise again, Jiang Chen decided. He sent his will into the system without hesitation.
Redeem one Supreme Dao Gathering Immortal Pill.
Three hundred thousand Villain Value points vanished, and a surge of pure cultivation essence was drawn forth.
"Now."
Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning began absorbing the power he shared with them. Their damaged souls knit back together at incredible speed.
When the pill’s energy was fully spent, both had stepped once more into the Nirvana Cleansing realm.
Two former Void Tribulation realm great powerhouses restored—even at this level, the effect on Jiang Chen was immense. His soul strength leapt forward, divine sense spreading outward until it spanned a hundred million kilometers.
He was brushing against the threshold of the Void Tribulation realm itself.
The surge in Jiang Chen’s strength happened in just a few breaths.
All the while, Chao Xin wrestled with the urge to tear him apart on the spot. But he held back.
A dragon-blooded cultivator and a true dragon, alive and subdued, were worth far more than corpses. With them, he could restore himself to Void Tribulation realm—and maybe even push beyond his old peak into the middle or late stages. Dead, they were nothing more than fuel to reignite his shattered soul core.
"Hmph. Frightened now?" Chao Xin sneered. "You had the gall to bargain with me earlier..."
He straightened, his words edged with command. "Here’s what you’ll do. Drop your soul defenses and let me brand you with my control method. Try anything clever, and I’ll kill you where you stand."
The killing intent radiating from him left no doubt he meant it.
Chao Xin’s eyes spun, releasing a flood of spiritual power. A crushing wave of soul energy burst out, wrapping itself around Jiang Chen’s head in an instant.
Jiang Chen’s gaze hardened. Void Tribulation Soulring!
At his thought, the Heaven-Defying Fate Changer flared to life. His soul fused even tighter with Shangguan Ning’s and Nangong Wan’s, their strength merging into a single overwhelming presence.
"Ning’er—your move!"
Shangguan Ning stepped forward without hesitation. "Kill the Soul, Burn the Heart Decree!"
Her deadliest soul technique roared forth.
As a former Void Tribulation realm cultivator of the Azure Hollow Heavenly Fox Clan, Shangguan Ning might not match Nangong Wan in every field, but when it came to soul arts, she reigned supreme.
The fused soul power of the three burst forth like living fire, tearing through Chao Xin’s attack and striking straight at his swirling eyes.
"What!? How can your soul be this strong!?" Chao Xin staggered, shock and rage flashing across him.
He had expected Jiang Chen to fight back—but not with a soul force on par with the Void Tribulation realm itself. The realization left him reeling.
Shangguan Ning’s attack slipped into his eyes like invisible blades.
"AAAGH!" His skeletal frame convulsed, and his fractured soul let out a shriek too high for mortal ears to hear.
But Chao Xin was no ordinary foe. To endure ten million years in a broken state and still chase resurrection, his soul foundation was anything but weak.
Shaking off the blow, he shredded fragments of his own soul, weaving them into a thick barrier that sealed him in defense.