Chapter 18

Ye Jingshen took a deep breath and secretly activated his ring, absorbing the power of the Lianyan True Fire seed.

His actions were all seen by Yan Zhaoge, who shook his head and was about to speak. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked up.

The black fog above, which had been constantly oscillating, suddenly became even more violent, with wind and clouds surging. The heaven and earth within the Zhenlong Abyss seemed to shatter!

The stable center of the vortex instantly ceased to exist!

Under the onslaught of the violent force, the black fog, which had never seen the light of day, actually began to disperse slightly!

Firelight fell from the sky above the heads of the crowd, and the violent air pressure made people feel as if they were about to be crushed to pieces.

A roar shook the heavens and earth!

"Brat surnamed Yan, the sins your father committed will be borne by you first!"

Seeing the firelight, Yan Zhaoge quickly reacted: "Red Spirit Banner Lord!"

What the hell, just lost the Lianyan True Fire seed and was feeling depressed, and now a Grandmaster has come to attack.

In an instant, the heavens and earth seemed to turn into a furnace, with destructive power descending from the sky!

"Shut up!" Yan Zhaoge immediately activated all his means to prepare for the attack.

The black-clothed guards rushed to Yan Zhaoge, trying to protect his safety.

"Die!"

At this moment, the Red Spirit Banner Lord's roar echoed, and his violent fist had already landed, aiming directly at Ye Jingshen!

Aiming directly at Ye Jingshen...

Aiming directly at... huh?!

Wait, something seems off!

Yan Zhaoge, who had already prepared for the attack, stared in shock as the Red Spirit Banner Lord's power landed centered on Ye Jingshen, while he himself was only at the edge of the storm.

What's going on?!

Sikong Qing, the black-clothed guards, and the Guangcheng Mountain disciples were all stunned.

As the party involved, Ye Jingshen was even more bewildered!

The person who just called out seemed to be... a brat surnamed Yan?

That should refer to Yan Zhaoge, right?

So what's happening now?

Yan Zhaoge looked over and saw that the Lianyan True Fire seed in Ye Jingshen's palm was even more active, jumping continuously as if trying to break free from Ye Jingshen's hand.

The surrounding air currents, like a raging firestorm, clearly resonated with the Lianyan True Fire seed.

"He used the seed to lock onto the target, able to locate even from the Zhenlong Abyss." Yan Zhaoge suddenly realized: "This Lianyan True Fire seed was probably found by him first, set up as a trap to lure me."

"No wonder, no wonder, he hid his presence and waited, sensing someone absorbing the seed's power, thinking it was me, and then attacked. This was too sudden and swift, even the Eastern Tang Chief Elder of Guangcheng Mountain couldn't stop him in time."

Yan Zhaoge came to his senses, his expression slightly strange.

The Red Spirit Banner Lord likely also sensed the presence of the Eastern Tang Chief Elder of Guangcheng Mountain and had to act decisively to avoid being intercepted.

Without even entering the Zhenlong Abyss, he directly struck from outside the valley!

He didn't expect that Yan Zhaoge had been intercepted by someone else...

Ye Jingshen didn't expect that a blessing from the heavens would suddenly turn into a disaster.

He obtained the seed but ended up shielding Yan Zhaoge from the attack!

"Ah!" Ye Jingshen, in the center of the furnace, felt as if his insides were burning.

Compared to him, Chao Yuanlong was like a firefly compared to the sun and moon.

The violent air currents surged, and Sikong Qing and the others near Ye Jingshen also suffered, being pushed back. Sikong Qing wanted to move forward but was overwhelmed by the Red Spirit Banner Lord's Grandmaster power, even the aftereffects pressing her down.

The gap between the two sides was too great, far beyond the limits.

This was not a level they could currently reach. Unless they provoked a Grandmaster, how many Grandmasters would take a Body Cultivation realm martial artist as an opponent?

They couldn't even meet face to face.

For Body Cultivation realm martial artists, Grandmasters were legendary figures.

Even Yan Zhaoge, an Inner Qi Master, was only a target for the Red Spirit Banner Lord's venting because of his father.

Ye Jingshen roared, raising his right hand, with a dark red ring on his finger glowing with firelight, trying to block the Red Spirit Banner Lord's attack.

Even attacking from outside the Zhenlong Abyss, the Red Spirit Banner Lord's attack was greatly weakened, but even so, it was enough to instantly kill Ye Jingshen!

Yan Zhaoge, watching this, felt a bit of a toothache: "So, don't just grab things randomly."

"Though the main character with a protagonist aura can fight beyond their level, there are limits to this. It's not possible to just leave the beginner village and take down a super-high-level boss."

"The gap in levels is too great. The difference between the tenth level of Body Cultivation and the late stage of the ninth level is much greater than the difference between the middle and late stages of the ninth level. The gap between a Master and the tenth level is even greater than the gap between the late stage of the ninth level and the tenth level."

"And the Red Spirit Banner Lord is a Grandmaster, strictly speaking, not just a few levels higher than Ye Jingshen, but dozens of levels..."

The difference was so great that it couldn't even be described as a level gap.

It was clear that in this life-or-death moment, Ye Jingshen had no time to hide his secrets and unleashed all his power without reservation.

The current threat was much greater than when facing Chao Yuanlong.

But unfortunately, facing a gap of over a kilometer, increasing from one centimeter to two or three centimeters made no difference.

"Wait, let me think... In such situations, some main characters are still hard to kill." Yan Zhaoge protected the people near him and moved toward Ye Jingshen in the center of the storm: "At this moment, a similarly high-level old monster often appears, for some reason or another, to help the main character through the crisis?"

"Or someone with a past connection, or the main character cleverly uses someone else's power, in any case, the main character is saved."

"Later, it might even lead to another opportunity for the main character?"

As Yan Zhaoge thought this, he suddenly felt a violent tremor deep within the Zhenlong Abyss.

A terrifying aura emerged from the black fog, seemingly even more powerful than the Red Spirit Banner Lord!

Yan Zhaoge's eyes widened: "...Damn, you really have it?"

"Who ruined my good deed?" A furious voice echoed through the abyss, almost making everyone lose their souls.

Ye Jingshen, on the brink of death, heard this vicious voice and was overjoyed, struggling to call out: "Brother Han!"

"Hey, is that Brother Ye?" The voice roared: "Who dares to touch my little brother?"

As the voice echoed, a hand emerged from the black fog, growing larger as it extended, quickly becoming a giant hand that shielded Ye Jingshen from the firestorm!

The Zhenlong Abyss immediately shook.

The other Guangcheng Mountain disciples, seeing the rapidly changing situation, were momentarily stunned.

Yan Zhaoge rolled his eyes: "Damn, even sworn brothers, sworn brothers, and all that. You, a Grandmaster, and a Body Cultivation martial artist, sworn brothers? Can you see his protagonist aura like I can?"

"...Wait, my Inner Crystal Furnace!"

At the critical moment, the newcomer shielded Ye Jingshen from the Red Spirit Banner Lord's attack. The aftereffects of the two Grandmasters' clash directly leveled the surrounding area.

The black fog in the Zhenlong Abyss surged like a tsunami, the special environment stimulated, and space began to distort and warp.

Rocks collapsed and shattered in large pieces, and Yan Zhaoge's Inner Crystal Furnace was also affected, falling into the abyss below!

The Red Spirit Banner Lord, blocked, became furious, and the owner of the giant hand, also with a short temper, transformed into a bolt of lightning, piercing through the sky above the Zhenlong Abyss, charging at the Red Spirit Banner Lord.

At this moment, another terrifying aura, vast like the sea, emerged outside the Zhenlong Abyss.

It was the Eastern Tang Chief Elder of Guangcheng Mountain who finally arrived.

The Guangcheng Mountain disciples, just about to breathe a sigh of relief, heard a thunderous roar from outside the canyon.

"Yan Laoer!"

"Han Laoguai? You're not dead?"

"Yan Laoer, thanks to you, I almost died in the past. Today, I'll settle this score with you!"

Outside the Zhenlong Abyss, a more massive battle between Grandmasters immediately erupted, affecting a hundred miles of heaven and earth!

Everyone at the bottom of the abyss was stunned, never expecting that the person who just saved Ye Jingshen would turn around and fight their own Eastern Tang Chief Elder in a heaven-shaking battle!

The Red Spirit Banner Lord, for a moment, was left unattended...