ISWI Chapter 452-453

Chapter 452: You don't want Ying Tiansheng to lose face because of you, do you?

Ye Chen's words were utterly sincere. The fiancée's gifts had triggered critical hits twice. Despite her quirks, he could accept them. Forget the box—with her multiplier, he'd even give her immortal qi to help her ascend. "Help you become an immortal" wasn't empty talk.

Yi Qingwu's lips curved, sensing his sincerity. She believed he meant "spare no resources." Enlightenment Tea Leaves and Laurel Flowers were rare, yet he gave them without hesitation, showing deep admiration. Men were possessive—just as Ying Tiansheng raged over her marked primordial spirit. Ye Chen likely couldn't stand his beloved being another's fiancée, wanting to take her away for a life together. Reasonable, but impossible.

Raising her chin proudly, her smile faint and voice celestial yet cold, she said, "You think you're worthy to be my partner and take me away? I'm Heavenly Intention Holy Son's fiancée, body and soul. Your twenty-one humiliations are mere ripples to me, meaningless. Once I suppress you, erase the shame and marks, you'll see how laughable your words are!"

She struck again, endless moonlight flooding the array, aiming to grind Ye Chen down. He frowned. Was she the type who needed a firm hand?

The array's moonlight was sharp, dissolving all, leaving no hiding place. But Ye Chen's Imperishable Scripture let him ignore such attacks effortlessly.

Unable to fathom her thinking, he decided to seize the tablet first, then deal with the rest. His Heavy Pupils swirled with chaotic qi.

"Heavy Pupils Open Heaven!"

A pure land formed, aiming to suppress Yi Qingwu. Confident, she raised a hand, summoning the tablet's killing force, manifesting countless moons like meteors crashing toward him. Unity realm Yi Qingwu, amplified by the tablet, was far more terrifying, shaking the pure land's edges. But Ye Chen's Deity Transformation breakthrough had surged his power. His Heavy Pupil's pure land held firm, enveloping and suppressing her.

Transforming into a Kun Peng, he pierced space, appearing before her instantly. His left eye shot a destructive beam, striking the tablet.

Yi Qingwu's face paled as the tablet flew from her grasp. Ye Chen, a golden blur, grabbed for it.

"That's my fiancé's—how dare you touch it?"

Unwilling, she fought the suppression, lunging for the tablet. Ye Chen unleashed a surge of Imperial Dragon Qi, intercepting her. He seized the tablet.

It bore Ying Tiansheng's mark, resisting as if unwilling. Ye Chen's face remained calm. His near-infinite spiritual sense surged, crushing the mark effortlessly. The tablet stilled, obedient in his hand. Raising it, he probed with his spiritual sense, feeling its divine patterns brimming with supreme killing force and infinite charm. With time, he could comprehend a wondrous technique from it.

With his talent, Ye Chen's spiritual sense gleaned insights from a single sweep of the tablet. But he had no interest in studying a mere half. He'd learn the full technique. So, he tossed it into his small world, saving it for later gifting.

Done, he turned to the fiancée. His earlier Imperial Dragon Qi wasn't full force, just meant to stall her. With her strength, she shouldn't be harmed. But seeing her, his eyes widened, filled with confusion and awe. She stood like a jade beauty, carved from white jade, almost unreal in perfection.

Yi Qingwu remained calm, her gem-like eyes blazing with anger and humiliation, glaring at him. Her black-grade white dress robe was gone—shattered by his strike.

How? A black-grade treasure could be broken with his full power, but a casual hit? Impossible, especially with Yi Qingwu, no weakling, able to block it easily. This wasn't their first time—he'd seen her reborn in the Moon Palace after killing her. So, he didn't linger long. Exhaling, he frowned. "Yi Qingwu, you're scamming me, aren't you?" This was definitely a setup.

Her face burned with humiliation and killing intent. "Ye Chen, my fiancé is right outside, and you dare treat me like this! You marked my spiritual core before, and he was already furious. Now you want to push further? But I bet you lack the guts to do anything. If my primal yin is lost, it'll be obvious once we leave. Then, my fiancé will be truly enraged, annihilating you instantly. Are you scared? If you are, kneel before me and surrender! Dare touch me, and you'll regret it forever!"

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes. She was up to something novel—threatening, yet somehow enticing him to act. He realized she was telling the truth: Ying Tiansheng knew about the marks on her core. She'd deliberately let him know. And now, she was urging him to do more. If her primal yin was lost, she'd likely reveal it outside, even if Ying Tiansheng didn't notice.

This was bad. He'd become her tool to provoke Ying Tiansheng. Ye Chen didn't like being used. But her taunts were too much—doing nothing would mean he feared Ying Tiansheng.

Unacceptable.

He formed a giant spiritual qi hand to suppress her, adding practiced threats: "Holy Maiden, don't resist or dodge! You don't want me to shatter this array now, letting everyone see you like this, do you? You don't want Ying Tiansheng to lose face because of you, do you?"

Chapter 453: How did Ye Chen seize the tablet?

Ying Tiansheng's mastery of the Movement Secret shocked everyone as he obliterated Hua Yunfei with a single strike. But moments later, another Hua Yunfei calmly stepped out from the ship, leaving all in disbelief. This wasn't resurrection—it meant the one fighting Ying Tiansheng to a standstill was a clone? The revelation was staggering.

In the cultivation world, clone techniques were often lackluster. Heavenly Intention Holy Land's immortal scripture included a technique to form a spiritual sense clone, but its strength was less than one percent of the original. Useless in combat against peers.

Most clone techniques were even weaker, often a realm or two below the original, requiring separate training in techniques—cumbersome and marginally useful. Some clones even rebelled. Only solitary cultivators or those with too many partners bothered with them. A clone with half the original's strength was considered top-tier, sparking bloodbaths among great powers.

Yet Hua Yunfei's clone matched a prodigy's might, holding its own against Ying Tiansheng. If his clone and original fought together, it'd be a crushing force. The thought was terrifying.

Ying Tiansheng's face darkened. He'd suspected Hua Yunfei had the Moral Heavenly Venerate's inheritance but assumed he hadn't mastered the One Qi Transforms Three Purities technique, given its difficulty. That supreme art could create two clones equal to the original in strength and techniques. Yet, the one he'd fought was a clone. He recalled their year-long battle—had that been a clone too? Fighting a clone for a year, even with hidden trump cards, was humiliating.

His eyes turned icy, blood qi surging as he unleashed hundreds of earth-shattering punches. "Original or not, I killed you once, I'll kill you again!"

Hua Yunfei's lips curved, raising a hand to summon vast purple qi, blocking the fist shadows. With a light point, his ship drifted back. Boundless purple qi, more terrifying than his clone's, formed endless Dao and laws, suppressing Ying Tiansheng.

Ying Tiansheng wasn't surprised. His inheritance described One Qi Transforms Three Purities: at mastery, clones matched the original, but early on, they were weaker. Hua Yunfei's original was naturally stronger. Under countless gazes, they clashed again, but Ying Tiansheng was clearly outmatched. His power and combat ability were visibly inferior to Hua Yunfei's original.

Spectators marveled at Hua Yunfei's depth.

Ying Tiansheng stayed calm, activating the Movement Secret again. Its terrifying, unpredictable nature would surely slay Hua Yunfei. A strange force affected everyone within a hundred miles, as if time would freeze again.

Hua Yunfei was prepared. Divine light rose beneath him, a faint Dao palace descending to shield him, isolating all external forces. Unaffected by the time freeze, he calmly countered Ying Tiansheng, unleashing Dao and laws to blast him back.

Spectators erupted in shock. The Nine Secrets were legendary, rivaling the Ten Vicious Treasure Techniques. The Movement Secret, like the Kun Peng Treasure Technique, was a pinnacle of speed, one mastering space, the other time.

Ying Tiansheng's possession of the Movement Secret inspired envy and awe, his luck deemed heaven-defying. Yet, his second use was thwarted. Was Hua Yunfei's original body so formidable? Perhaps the top among the three giants?

Ying Tiansheng, repelled despite using the Movement Secret, looked grim. The Movement Secret was supreme speed, but its time effect was hard to trigger. Hua Yunfei's Moral Heavenly Venerate inheritance and original strength exceeded expectations. Killing and devouring him alone was impossible.

His gaze shifted to the Five Moons Dragon Trap Array. Though Yi Qingwu's combat power was a step below the top tier, her Broad Cold Divine Realm was potent. If she could suppress Ye Chen and aid him, they might still take down Hua Yunfei. At least, suppressing Ye Chen would make this trip worthwhile—his Heavy Pupils and Supreme Heart made his essence the most valuable.

But then, chaotic spiritual qi fluctuations shook the void above. Blood rain fell, accompanied by wails of despair. A roar rang out: "Feng Baiyu, you came too? A grand Holy Master, sneaking around—you have no shame! Elder Chen, Elder Zhang have fallen! Retreat!"

"An ancestor's coming? Useless! With Feng Baiyu's cunning, Heavenly Evolution Holy Land surely has ancestors blocking aid. We're doomed! I'll hold them off—take Holy Son and Holy Maiden and go!"

The commotion stunned everyone. The Endless Sea's black clouds turned red. Heavenly Evolution Holy Master Feng Baiyu was here—and had ambushed successfully? Two Heavenly Intention Holy Land elders dead? Unity realm powerhouses, rarely seen, now fallen? The news shook spectators to their core.

Instantly, several Heavenly Intention Holy Land elders emerged from the void, fighting while retreating, urging their Holy Son and Holy Maiden to flee.

Ying Tiansheng's face shifted. His True Martial Eye glimpsed a scholarly figure in the void—Feng Baiyu, a peak prodigy of the last generation, now at Unity's pinnacle, on the verge of Great Vehicle. Even he wasn't confident against such a foe, especially with two elders down. Knowing the situation was hopeless, he fought Hua Yunfei while preparing to call Yi Qingwu to retreat.

But before he could, his expression changed. The mark he'd left in the stone tablet was erased by a familiar spiritual sense—Ye Chen's, the one who'd marked The fiancée's core.

What happened? How did Ye Chen seize the tablet?