Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

A sword slashed toward Long Chen, yet no one could see the attacker. A sharp strand of Sword Qi tore through the void, streaking straight for Long Chen’s back.

Just as Evilmoon was about to block it, Long Chen stopped it. He wanted Evilmoon to concentrate on absorbing the Grand Dao qi. After all, this environment was a perfect chance for Evilmoon to absorb a seemingly limitless amount of Grand Dao qi.

As for Long Chen himself, though his strength had grown, his body still couldn’t hold as much Grand Dao qi. Based on his estimate, he would soon reach saturation again. Thus, he let Evilmoon and the Earth Cauldron absorb it in peace, while Huo Linger and Lei Linger spread their consciousness into the surrounding space, quietly comprehending the Dao.

In response to the sword slash, Long Chen’s Sovereign flames surged. With a dragon’s cry, he unleashed a punch.

BOOM!

The incoming sword shattered. But to his surprise, it hadn’t been a weapon—it was a condensation of Sword Qi.

Before he could relax, a five-colored sword suddenly appeared out of midair, stabbing toward his ribs.

This attack was rapid and bizarre, catching even Long Chen off guard. It was the strike of a true Sword Dao master. The first sword had only been bait, and this was the real killing blow.

BOOM!

Long Chen clenched his fist, twisting the void itself. His body didn’t move, but space beside him warped, forcing the sword’s trajectory to change. As a result, the blade skimmed past his waist by a hair’s breadth.

“Explode!” exclaimed Long Chen.

The next moment, a dragon claw appeared in midair, and the warping space shattered.

This was the Divine Dragon Immolation Claw. However, Long Chen had altered its use, merging offense and defense into one. With it, he dodged the ambush while simultaneously counterattacking.

The shattered space revealed a blurry figure. Though his outline was blurry, his Sovereign flames burned clearly. He was another third-step peak Human Emperor.

“Not bad,” the figure sneered. “But don’t be arrogant, Long Chen. Once I stabilize my realm, I’ll come for your life... and the Earth Cauldron!”

“Did I give you too much face?”

Long Chen’s anger flared. He almost abandoned his absorption right then to cut this man down.

However, before he could do so, that person slashed the void, tearing open a spatial crack. He then stepped into it and vanished.

As the crack slowly healed, that man’s arrogant voice rang out. “Remember my name, the Daluo Sword Sect’s Luo Hao.”

“Brat, just you wait!”

Long Chen snorted, nodding to himself. He didn’t want to waste time chasing him now, but he would remember the insult in his heart. The next time Luo Hao appeared, Long Chen would definitely give him a savage beating.

Just then, a vine stuck its head out from behind Long Chen. Hearing Zhi Zhi’s voice, Long Chen frowned but still nodded.

“This place is dangerous. Don’t send your split bodies’ projections too far. If they’re destroyed, it’ll affect your advancement.”

Huo Linger and Lei Linger were cultivating nearby. Even the Demon Moon Cauldron and Heaven Flipping Seal had started absorbing the Grand Dao qi under the Earth Cauldron’s guidance.

Seeing them so busy, Zhi Zhi felt like it should be doing something. This battlefield was covered in corpses, and Long Chen planned on taking them at the end. However, Zhi Zhi said that it would only be happy once the food was on its plate.

With Long Chen’s consent, Zhi Zhi’s vines snuck their way out of Long Chen’s back. They dove into the ground and vanished from sight.

After that, they spread down like the roots of a mighty tree, covering the entire battlefield. These experts had no idea that a terrifying monster was lying underground.

As starlight flashed around Long Chen’s body, the Starry Sky Battle Robe branded its star diagrams onto Long Chen’s skin. Slowly, these star diagrams started to come to life.

At first, they were small arrays composed of dozens of stars, but gradually larger and more complex constellations emerged.

Long Chen’s skin started to burn. As more star diagrams were branded onto him, their power started to seep into him.

When the astral energy invaded his meridians, a vein bulged on his forehead. Still, he endured the pain, clenching his teeth so hard they creaked.

He knew it was similar to forging an item. His body was the vessel, while these star diagrams were like runes. The more runes carved into him, the stronger he would become.

At that point, his body would truly be like a divine weapon, which would give him the power to survive the upcoming storm.

Soon, the branding spread from his flesh into his bones. His face twisted with agony, and his body was trembling as if pierced by countless nails. Even he struggled to endure it.

Then, his Supreme Bone stirred. Starlight flowed from it, flooding his skeleton. At first, Long Chen thought the Supreme Bone was helping him. But to his shock, the starlight simply hammered the “nails” into his body deeper.

What the fuck?!

The blinding pain nearly made him black out, his vision blurring. Just as he was about to collapse, the torment abruptly faded, and his consciousness cleared.

“Was it a success?” Long Chen muttered, quickly looking around him.

He saw specks of starlight on his bones and soon realized that wasn’t the case. The stars on his bones were fewer than a tenth of those branded on his skin.

“Ah, the Grand Dao qi is disappearing!”

He realized the pain had ceased because the volcano had stopped gushing. What remained was only the fading dregs.

“It’s a good thing it stopped, or I really would have passed out!” Long Chen exclaimed.

He wiped cold sweat from his brow, feeling hollow, as if his strength had been drained. The branding had ravaged his body, and he urgently needed to recuperate.

But before he could move, multiple powerful auras flared and surrounded him.