Chapter 1356
Chapter 1356 (Raw 1346 Repeat):
Xiao Chen simply could not persuade Yue Bingyun and Mo Chen to change their minds. In the end, he brought the two of them along, returning to the Supreme Sky Sect via the transportation formation with Shui Lingling.
Light flickered, and the four appeared at the Supreme Sky Sect's transportation formation at the same time.
Xiao Chen was rather familiar with the Supreme Sky Sect's transportation formation. He had used it many times in the past and was also familiar with its surroundings.
He looked around and could feel the tension in the air. Everyone showed graves expressions, frowning endlessly.
"Greetings, First Senior Sister."
"Greetings, Azure Dragon King!"
The Supreme Sky Sect disciples around the transportation formation bowed and greeted when the group of people appeared.
Shui Lingling nodded slightly and walked out of the formation. A young disciple immediately came over and said, "First Senior Sister, the Sect Master has already been waiting a long time for you."
"I got it. You may withdraw first."
With Shui Lingling taking the lead, the four soared into the air, flying towards Supreme Sky City a short distance away. In a few breaths, the four saw the majestic city that was the sect's headquarters.
The once familiar Supreme Sky City now had a desolate air shrouding it. The ordinary people of the city were already gone, leaving only the Supreme Sky Sect disciples.
When the group approached the city gates, Xiao Chen, Mo Chen, and Yue Bingyun felt sharp auras coming from the city walls, locking in on them.
It was like ferocious beasts suddenly opened their eyes and locked down on the three.
Xiao Chen did not panic; he understood that these were extraordinary times. The formation in the city must have been activated long ago. The people guarding the formation nodes were not sure who the three were and needed to take precautions; they could not afford to be careless.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two figures arrived, heralded by sonic booms. They each had a scarlet rope tied on their right arms with an ancient armband tied in the middle of the scarlet rope. Xiao Chen had some recollection of the person on the left, a quasi-Emperor elder of the Supreme Sky Sect. However, Xiao Chen did not know his name; he had only seen this person a few times before.
Xiao Chen was sure that the person on the right was a stranger to him. That person was also a quasi-Emperor, and he exuded a dense aura of lightning.
Xiao Chen recalled that the Thunder and Lightning Palace had joined the Supreme Sky Sect's side. If he was not wrong, this should be an elder of the Thunder and Lightning Palace.
"Miss Shui, please show me your identity medallion and put on your armband to prove your identity."
Shui Lingling frowned slightly but did not refuse. She took out her identity medallion and put on her scarlet armband. Only after that did the two old men relax their expressions. They showed such caution due to the fear of Martial Emperors sneaking in after changing their appearance.
"This is my junior brother, the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen. Three of them do not have armbands yet," Shui Lingling explained.
The Supreme Sky Sect elder smiled and said, "It does not matter. It would be impossible to imitate the air of the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen. Lingling, it is enough that you proved your identity. There are three armbands here. Hand them out."
Shui Lingling received the armbands and gave them to the three. "These red rope armbands look simple, but in reality, they were personally refined by the Sect Master. Others cannot duplicate it. With this armband, one can enter and leave the various formations of the Supreme Sky Sect at will. Once it is taken away by others, it will instantly ignite with just a thought."
After Xiao Chen, Mo Chen, and Yue Bingyun dripped their blood on their respective armbands to make it acknowledge them as its master, they tied the armbands on their right arms.
After passing the city walls, the four flew in the air towards the inner city. After a while, they crossed many layers of defenses and arrived at the inner hall.
The simple inner hall had a huge sand table in it. This sand table showed the situation of the entire Supreme Sky Province.
[TL Note: In ancient China, whiteboards did not exist. So they used a table containing sand to draw their diagrams and plan strategies. Simple terrain could even be simulated on it.]
Unlike ordinary sand tables, this sand table before them was a miniature Supreme Sky Province. Furthermore, extremely mystically, anything that happened within the Supreme Sky Province would be reflected there.
Xiao Chen squinted. After he stared for a few seconds, the originally small scenes in the sand table suddenly grew larger, directly projecting into his mind and allowing him to see the transportation formation outside the city.
About ten people stood around the sand table. Aside from the Supreme Sky Prime, Ying Zongtian, Xiao Chen did not know the rest of them. However, without exception, all of them were Martial-Emperor-level experts.
It looked like those who could come to this inner hall either were Martial Emperors or held an important identity.
A purple-clad middle-aged man beside the Supreme Sky Prime gave off a sharp brilliance. With just one look at him, Xiao Chen felt a huge pressure.
Aside from this person, there were many other Martial Emperors present. This situation put some pressure on Xiao Chen. Even if he used Dharmic World, he might not be an opponent for them.
After Xiao Chen's group arrived, the Martial Emperors present all raised their heads and looked over.
When Ying Zongtian saw Xiao Chen, he nodded with a smile. "Little Brother Xiao Chen, you came really fast. I originally thought that you would only be able to rush over tomorrow."
"Since Big Brother Ying asked for help, naturally, I came as quickly as I could."
When one stood before so many of such major characters, the atmosphere would feel somewhat frightening. Xiao Chen kept his expression calm. As he carried the bronze sword box, his mental state was not affected at all.
Such grace made the many Martial Emperors present nod to themselves. Most regular juniors would be extremely flustered after seeing this group of major characters, unable to speak properly.
"Let me introduce you to the friends here," Ying Zongtian said and started to perform introductions for Xiao Chen. Aside from the Martial Emperors of the Supreme Sky Sect and the Thunder and Lightning Palace, the rest were friends that the Supreme Sky Sect had close relations with and called over for help.
As for the purple-clad middle-aged man that Xiao Chen felt some fear for, he was the Vice Palace Master of the Thunder and Lightning Palace. The Thunder Sovereign had handed over the reins of the Thunder and Lightning Palace a long time ago.
This person was called An Zixuan, an Eighth Heaven Martial Emperor. Xiao Chen just found out that this was An Junxi's father.
[TL Note: This An Zixuan is different from the one introduced in chapter 396. The previous one was Xiao Bai's father.]
No wonder this person looked somewhat familiar.
Following that, Ying Zongtian briefed Xiao Chen on the current situation. The reinforcements from the Ghost Race, the Corpse Race, and the Deity Race had arrived. The Supreme Sky Sect was now in an entirely defensive position. Of the eighteen layers of the Worldly Mountain River Great Sun Formation, the outer nine layers were already broken. The situation was dire.
With every layer broken, the Supreme Sky Sect would be in even more danger.
Ying Zongtian did not have much time to chat. He said, "Little Brother Xiao Chen, I'm afraid there is no time for you to rest. We are short-handed. If it is convenient for you, can you go and help defend the formation of the ninth layer now?"
Xiao Chen nodded and said, "I'll listen to Big Brother's arrangement."
Ying Zongtian revealed a smile on his face. Then, he used his finger to circle a spot on the sand table. A scene immediately leaped up from the sand table, appearing before everyone.
This was a lake within Supreme Sky Province known as Maple Leaf Lake. It was one of the many nodes of the ninth layer of formations—and the most crucial one.
"Take my command token and take charge of this place. I'll leave Maple Leaf Lake to you," Ying Zongtian said with a serious expression as he handed the command token to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen was sent to the frontlines despite having just arrived at the Supreme Sky Sect. However, he did not begrudge this. He only lamented the fact that the Supreme Sky Sect's situation was worse than he thought.
"Zongtian, this Maple Leaf Lake is crucial for the ninth layer of formations. It is second only to the few core nodes. Once it is broken, the entire ninth layer could collapse. Shouldn't we be more cautious?" one of the Martial Emperors present who was worried about Xiao Chen's strength asked.
Ying Zongtian smiled and replied, "Actually, I feel that placing Little Brother Xiao Chen there does him a disservice. My original intent was for him to join us in fighting the Martial Emperors of the other side."
The moment Ying Zongtian said this, he startled all the Martial Emperors present.
Right now, the Supreme Sky Sect had two sets of battles to deal with. The first was the battle for territory, which was the defense of the Worldly Mountain River Great Sun Formation. The other was the fight between the peak powers, which was even more intense and ferocious than the former.
Ying Zongtian wanted Xiao Chen to join the latter. Could it be that Xiao Chen had the strength to fight Greater Heavenly Martial Emperors?
When Xiao Chen heard this, he laughed and said, "Big Brother thinks too highly of me. However, I am confident that I will be able to defend Maple Leaf Lake. I hope all the seniors here can rest assured."
After saying that, Xiao Chen received the command token and bowed as he left the inner hall.