Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

A giant flame lotus fell from the sky, unleashing devastation throughout this secret stronghold and destroying countless buildings.

Only one building was still standing. The likely reason was that someone had immediately sensed something, just as Long Chen appeared, and rallied several hundred people to raise a barrier that managed to endure the impact of the World Extermination Flame Lotus.

The people still alive inside the barrier were the core elders of this stronghold. Nineteen of them were half-step Heavenly Sovereigns, while the rest were mostly experts that had touched the threshold. Another portion of them were disciples of the new era. Long Chen had clearly arrived in the middle of an emergency meeting. They had probably received word of the destruction of the other strongholds and were discussing what to do next. This explained how they had reacted so quickly.

“Long Chen!”

When they saw who it was, they were shocked and enraged. Long Chen’s reputation was unmatched in the human race; even half-step Heavenly Sovereigns felt trepidation upon seeing him.

“Oh? This stronghold was hiding a decently powerful person.” Long Chen gazed at the survivors, and his eyes instantly locked onto a certain woman.

She looked... normal. She wore tight black clothes, had her hair in a long ponytail, and wore a sword on her waist. Her face was ordinary, her robes were ordinary, and even her sword looked ordinary. However, Long Chen didn’t even look at the others; his focus was locked onto her.

That woman didn’t react to Long Chen’s gaze. It was as if she didn’t hear his words. She looked almost wooden. However, the hair on the back of her neck was standing upright, selling out her hidden feelings. No one could truly remain indifferent under Long Chen’s gaze.

She didn’t speak. She didn’t look at him. But she felt Long Che’s sharp perception slowly ripping away her defenses. All her secrets were being gradually exposed.

A half-step Heavenly Sovereign stopped forward and roared, “Long Chen, you dare—”

Long Chen waved his hand, sending Cang Lu flying out with the Bloodfiend Halberd. That elder was horrified to discover that he was completely suppressed by Cang Lu’s Grand Dao aura. He was unable to even resist. The next moment, he was bisected by a casual strike.

Cang Lu then turned to the others, and the moment he moved, he was like a tiger among sheep. Those half-step Heavenly Sovereigns and so-called heavenly geniuses were shredded like cabbages. But suddenly, his massacre came to a halt—a long and thin sword had managed to stop the Bloodfiend Halberd! Sparks flew, and Grand Dao ripples spread.

It was that ordinary-looking woman. She could no longer keep concealing her power; doing so in front of Cang Lu was just courting death. She was blown back by this attack, but she had still managed to stop Cang Lu. That showed that her true power was absolutely terrifying.

“Lifehunter?”

Long Chen instantly knew what she was when she drew her sword. However, her bloodline had to be impure. Otherwise, considering the bone-deep hatred between the violet blood race and the Lifehunter race, he would have instantly sensed it upon seeing her.

In that case, there was only one possibility: This woman had to be the result of a union between a Lifehunter and an expert from the Cult of Mara. That would also explain why someone so small was able to unleash such explosive power; after all, Lifehunters were not known for their physical power.

Cang Lu killed half-step Heavenly Sovereigns like chickens. In other words, this woman was also strong enough to easily slay half-step Heavenly Sovereigns. Meanwhile, there were only two, maybe two and a half people on Long Chen’s side who were strong enough to do the same. The two were Zi Yan and Miao Yin, while the half was Zhao Yue.

Zhao Yue was a sword cultivator. Her offensive power was terrifying, but she lacked defensive power and stamina. She could cut down a half-step Heavenly Sovereign in one strike, but she couldn’t do so repeatedly without suffering heavy injuries. As for the eight Flag Bearers and Miao Yin’s four generals, although they had the power to deal with a half-step Heavenly Sovereigns, that required all their focus. They couldn’t be the slightest bit careless.

In other words, this woman was definitely not as strong as Miao Yin and Zi Yan, but in terms of overall power, she seemed substantially stronger than Zhao Yue.

As this woman flew back, she formed a sword seal with her left hand. Sharp sword-intent locked onto Cang Lu, and black mist gushed out behind her.

Long Chen flicked his finger. Lightning flashed, piercing the mist and revealing the spatial runes within.

Her expression finally changed. In truth, she had locked down Cang Lu just to draw Long Chen’s attention while she attempted to flee. Had it been someone else fighting her, it might have worked. But Long Chen was a seasoned warrior, and could tell from the fluctuations of her energy that she wasn’t really planning on fighting. His attack broke the spatial order around her, interrupting her transportation.

Killing intent instantly flashed through her eyes.

Just then, Cang Lu swung down the Bloodfiend Halberd. A necklace she was wearing suddenly lit up, and a runic bell appeared around her. Long Chen was surprised to realize that this necklace was actually a Heavenly Sovereign Dao Weapon!

The runic bell shattered with one blow, but Cang Lu’s attack was once more stopped. And just as the runic bell fell apart, Sword Qi tore through the sky, flying right at Long Chen.

Long Chen’s eight gates and divine ring appeared behind him. His starry sea appeared, with the golden lotus within it. He instantly entered his strongest state.

This attack looked very ordinary, but that was actually an illusion. This attack contained her full power. In fact, it also contained the necklace’s power, as well as a portion of Cang Lu’s power. This woman was truly an expert; she was ruthless and decisive. She had immediately understood that she couldn’t escape from Long Chen and Cang Lu’s combined might, and thus, she was gambling everything on this one blow.

If Long Chen simply dodged this attack, she would follow this Sword Qi as it tore through the void, allowing her to escape. If he didn’t dodge, she was confident that even Long Chen would suffer a heavy injury.

The star-studded spear appeared in Long Chen’s hand. His astral energy was like a sea pouring into it.

BOOM!

The spear and the Sword Qi slammed against each other in an explosion of stars. From a distance, it looked as brilliant as a show of fireworks, but it was actually a supernova of death that instantly obliterated whatever had remained of this stronghold.

Long Chen and Cang Lu were both blown back by this terrifying power. Long Chen’s arm was numb, and he almost lost hold of his spear. That attack was truly powerful. As for the woman, she was simply vaporized by the shockwave; she could not possibly endure this force.

However, just then, black flames suddenly enveloped Long Chen, and curse energy invaded his body. The woman’s voice rang out like a ghoulish shriek echoing throughout heaven and earth.

“Long Chen, I curse you with my life and soul! You will join me in death! Samsara Curse!”