pjbooks Chapter 159 The Expedition
Chapter 159 The Expedition
Three months.
On the morning of the sixtieth day, the Spirit Gathering Array of Qingyun Academy completed its final upgrade. The concentration of artificial spiritual energy increased from forty percent to sixty percent, and the Primordial Sword Intent automatically adjusted the array parameters, enveloping the entire academy's 50,000-acre territory in a pale golden light shield.
The students on the training ground were doing their morning exercises. Fifteen hundred people stood in neat square formations, their silvery swords flashing in the morning light. From the direction of the physical training area came a dull thud, the crisp sound of metal colliding carrying far on the morning breeze.
Jiang Chen stood behind the window of the dispatch room on the second floor of the factory, holding a cup of hot coffee. The rose bush on the windowsill had already bloomed; the first bud slowly opened in the morning light, its petals deep red with a faint golden sheen at the edges.
His injury has healed.
Three months ago, after the Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors fused within his body, his golden core swelled from the size of a fist to the size of an infant's head, and changed from a pale gold to a strange hue of six interwoven colors. The patterns on the surface of the golden core were more complex, denser, and closer to some indescribable essence than they had been three months ago. With each pulse, a six-colored light would surge from his dantian, spreading along his meridians throughout his body.
Now, those patterns have stabilized. The golden core no longer throbs wildly; six-colored light flows slowly within the dantian, like a calm river flowing through a wide channel. The cracks on his skin have completely healed, leaving no scars. His complexion is no longer pale; instead, it has a healthy, rosy glow.
He looked down at the six-colored flame pattern on the palm of his right hand. The pattern flowed slowly beneath his skin, the six colors of light intertwining to form a slowly flowing, starry sky-like picture. He clenched his fingers, drawing the light into his body, then took a deep breath and poured the last sip of coffee from his cup into his mouth.
The door to the dispatch room was pushed open. Wang Kai stood in the doorway, holding the "Dao" sword in his hand, its blade shimmering with a two-tone light of pure white and emerald green. His cultivation had broken through from the mid-stage to the late-stage Golden Core realm within three months, and the Dao Fruit of the Immortal Emperor of Life had completely stabilized within his body. The newly formed skin on his right arm, nourished by the power of life, had become even more resilient, smoother, and closer to perfection.
"Brother Chen, are you ready?"
Jiang Chen put down his coffee cup, turned around, and looked at Wang Kai.
"Ready."
He walked out of the dispatch room, down the stairs, and into the training ground. At the same instant, 1,500 trainees stood at attention, all eyes fixed on him.
"Attention, everyone." His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly carried across the entire playground. "At ease."
He stood at the very front of the formation, looking at the young faces that had followed him for three months. Three months ago, some of them couldn't even sense spiritual energy, some couldn't even hold a sword steadily, and some shivered in the ice storm. Three months later, some of them had broken through to the Golden Core stage, some had completed all the tempering of their body cultivation, and some had defeated an S-rank instructor from the Awakened Ones Bureau in one-on-one combat.
"Today, I'm going to the Abyss." Jiang Chen raised his right hand, and the Primordial Sword emerged from his palm, six-colored light flowing across its blade. "Not to test, not to negotiate, not to demonstrate. To utterly end the Abyss."
Wang Kai took a step forward. "Brother Chen, I'll go with you."
"No." Jiang Chen looked at him. "Your Life-Giving Dao Fruit hasn't even reached the third stage yet, and your Golden Core hasn't broken through to the Nascent Soul stage. If you come with me to the Abyss now, you won't even be able to withstand a single attack from Nesario."
Wang Kai opened his mouth as if to say something, but Jiang Chen raised his hand to stop him.
"But you can give me a ride."
He raised the Primordial Sword, its tip aimed at the emerald green pattern on Wang Kai's chest. Six-colored light surged from the blade, resonating with the emerald green light in Wang Kai's palm. The two forces intertwined, merged, and compressed at the point of collision, ultimately transforming into a single point of pure, unadulterated white light.
That point of white light was the ultimate fusion of the forces of chaos and life, a seed that Jiang Chen had planted in Wang Kai's body over three months.
"Wang Kai, this seed will sprout when you need it most. At that time, your Life-Giving Dao Fruit will enter the third stage. You will be able to simultaneously convert, store, and release the enemy's attack energy during battle. Neltharion's Chaos Power will become a part of your power."
Wang Kai looked down at the slowly rotating white light core in his palm, feeling his heart pounding and the emerald green light in his chest resonating with it.
"Brother Chen, I understand."
Jiang Chen sheathed the Primordial Sword, turned around, and looked at the 1,500 students on the training ground.
"Attention, everyone! Stand at attention!"
At the same instant, 1,500 trainees stood up straight.
"In the seventh layer of the abyss, beneath a dark red sky, seven thrones made of solidified lava and the bones of ancient behemoths are arranged in a circle. Neltharion sits on the first throne, his half-human, half-dragon head bowed, his dark red eyes half-closed."
Jiang Chen's voice echoed in the void, each word clearly reaching the ears of every student.
"Three months ago, he said at Liangzhou Fortress that next time, he would not test them again. Next time, he would come in person with the full power of the Seven Pillars of the Abyss."
He raised the Primordial Sword, its tip pointing towards the sky.
"Today, I saved him the time of traveling. I'm going to find him."
A six-colored beam of light exploded from the blade of the Primordial Sword, piercing the sky and tearing a huge gap in the thin clouds above Jiangzhou City. On the other side of the gap was the dark red sky of the seventh layer of the abyss.
Jiang Chen stepped into the pillar of light.
His figure disappeared into the six-colored light, into the 1,500 pairs of eyes watching on the playground, and into the slowly rotating white light core in Wang Kai's palm.
On the seventh level of the abyss, beneath a dark red sky, seven thrones are arranged in a ring.
Neltharion sat on the first throne, his half-human, half-dragon head bowed, his dark red eyes half-closed. On the right half of his black dragon skull, the rune-covered horns gleamed coldly in the dark red light. On the left half of his old face, the wrinkles appeared even deeper and more aged under the dark red light.
He is waiting.
Three months passed. They waited for Jiang Chen's injuries to heal, for his golden core to be unable to bear the Dao fruits of six Immortal Emperors, for his students to suffer cultivation deviations and demonic possession, for his successor to be devoured by the Chaos Spiritual Root. And for him to collapse.
But Jiang Chen did not fall.
The dark red sky cracked open.
A six-colored beam of light blasted in from the crack, tearing the entire dark red sky into a massive, horizontal six-colored vortex. At the center of the vortex, a figure dressed in a dark blue uniform emerged from the beam of light.
Jiang Chen stood in the void of the seventh level of the abyss, holding the Primordial Sword in his right hand, six stars on the blade lighting up simultaneously. Six-colored light flowed across the sword, illuminating the entire dark red sky as if it were daytime.
His gaze swept over the seven thrones arranged in a ring. The seventh throne was empty; it was where Balthazaron had once stood. On the sixth throne, Frost's icy blue bone armor gleamed coldly under the six-colored light. On the fifth throne, the Shadow Fiend's black mist churned violently. On the fourth throne, Ember's dark red flames flickered uncertainly amidst the six-colored light.