Chapter 323 – Gates of Life and Death
Shangguan Yilei was portraying an image of grandeur as he used his mighty strength to push Jiang Chen downwards without wasting too much effort. But, who would have expected this to happen? In just the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen’s energy had increased significantly, and he had turned the tables, instantly killing Shangguan Yilei with just a strike.
Fast! Everything happened so fast! Jiang Chen had struck in a formidable manner with extreme speed, he didn’t give Shangguan Yilei any chance to respond!
“Heavens! Just how strong is he?”
“I don’t even think he’s a Late Divine Core warrior! With just a Peak Mid Divine Core cultivation, he has the ability to kill a genius Early Combat Soul warrior with ease! This is too shocking, if I hadn’t witnessed this myself, I wouldn’t have believed it at all!”
“This is incredible! With such insane combat strength, even those peerless geniuses from the Martial Palace can’t compare with Jiang Chen!”
…………
There was none present who weren’t shocked! A fight between a Divine Core warrior and a Combat Soul warrior was shocking enough, but an existence like Jiang Chen who possessed the strength to kill a Combat Soul warrior while only at the Peak Mid Divine Core realm… It went against the common sense of everyone present!
Many people were having the same thoughts; Jiang Chen was the Shangguan Clan’s nemesis, and since the beginning of the ocean trip, every single man from the Shangguan Clan had been killed by him; none had survived!
Shangguan Yilei was dead, and so were the three young geniuses from the Shangguan Clan. The crowds had no choice but to treat these four as some chaotic devils.
After Shangguan Yilei died, Jiang Chen and Big Yellow harvested some relatively precious herbs from the sky garden, then they left. A lot of people left the sky garden and proceeded further towards the inner area of the Island of Ice.
There weren’t many herbs left, and for those who couldn’t get any more herbs, it was pointless to stay behind. More importantly, no one had any idea how much longer the Island of Ice would remain open. There were definitely some more precious treasures hidden somewhere deeper, and no one would give up what awaited them.
“Little Chen, you were really fierce and powerful just now, even that Shangguan Yilei was killed by you! Your combat strength improved with such incredible speed, I’m sure you’re cultivating with an amazing skill! That explains why you’re able to absorb herbs in such a manner.”
Along their way, Nangong Wentian couldn’t help but praise Jiang Chen. He had basically thrown himself down at Jiang Chen’s feet in admiration, just like Han Yan. In his mind, Jiang Chen was a man who was an expert at everything! Alchemy, defense mechanisms… he even had such incredible combat strength at the Peak Mid Divine Core realm! Nangong Wentian had absolutely no confidence he could defeat Jiang Chen.
Nangong Wentian was a genius of the younger generation, one of the strongest geniuses from the Southern Continent. He was really prideful, and had never admired anyone other than himself. But now, Jiang Chen was the first person he had ever admired.
“Yes, I’m cultivating a pretty powerful skill. It allows me to perfectly absorb all energy and medicinal strength contained within herbs.”
Jiang Chen replied with a smile.
“Little Chen, the way you level up is incredibly fast, it’s just like a grand feast. But, won’t it affect your foundation? That wouldn’t do you any good for your future cultivation.”
Han Yan turned to Jiang Chen and asked in a worried tone.
“Don’t worry. The reason why I wanted to fight Shangguan Yilei alone was to use the pressure to increase my strength. Besides, all those herbs I absorbed were from different elements. Although I fully absorbed all the energy within, most of the medicinal strength is still stored within my body. With all the medicinal strength, I will be able to strengthen by body and improve my foundation. So, not only will it not affect my foundation, it will actually help me strength it. It won’t take long for me to break through to the Late Divine Core realm.”
Jiang Chen explained. He was in a tip-top condition right now, and the sky garden had provided him tremendous benefits.
“You’re such a terrifying existence! Looks like I need to work harder. If not, the gap between us will just get bigger and bigger.”
Han Yan said in a slightly depressed manner. In this group of three man and one dog, he was the weakest. Although he possessed the bloodline of the Ancient Divine Devil, if his cultivation still remained at the stage it was at right now, he would soon be left behind by the other three monsters. Putting aside Jiang Chen, Big Yellow and Nangong Wentian were two abnormal monsters as well.
“Looks like we’ve come to the end of the road.”
Nangong Wentian said as he furrowed his brows. What they were facing right now was a vast expanse of whiteness. There was white fog everywhere; nothing else. No road could be seen on the ground, and the white fog was really thick, so they could barely see anything beyond it.
“The white fog is the same as the ones we’ve entered before. Only difference is that it’s much thicker. I sense no danger from it, and if we want to venture further into the Island of Ice, we’ll need to cross this white fog.”
Jiang Chen said.
The group dashed into the white fog with great speed. When those who followed after them saw that no harm was done to Jiang Chen and his group, they immediately followed their steps. Soon, more and more people arrived at the sky garden, and they too all venture into the white fog.
Not long after Jiang Chen killed Shangguan Yilei, a few other men from the Shangguan Clan had come out from the path. The leading man was a genius from the Shangguan Clan, Shangguan Yilong. His aura had become much stronger compared to when he arrived at the Island of Ice, it looked like he had reached the Peak Early Combat Soul realm. He was now more formidable than Shangguan Yilei. He had clearly encountered some good fortune back on the path.
At the same time, the group from the Myriad Sword Sect had also come out from the path. Ling Du and Xu Shuang were both in the group as well. They were delayed by all sorts of creatures back on the path. Those creatures weren’t that strong, they were similar to the stone golems Jiang Chen had defeated. With the combined strength of the disciples of the Myriad Sword Sect, leaving the path was an easy job.
The men from the Shangguan Clan came to the sky garden in high spirits, but when they saw the dead bodies on the ground, all their expressions changed instantly.
Boom!
Shangguan Yilong’s fury erupted like a raging inferno. He furiously turned to one of the nearby warriors, growling, “Tell me! Who did this?!”
The warrior was trembling in fear. He dared not hide anything, so he replied with a trembling voice, “Jiang Chen and his group did this.”
“What?! Jiang Chen again?!”
A Late Divine Core genius from the Shangguan Clan exclaimed.
“Impossible, that Jiang Chen is only a Divine Core warrior! Although I didn’t like Shangguan Yilei, I refuse to believe that Jiang Chen has the ability to kill him.”
Xu Shuang from the Myriad Sword Sect was the one who spoke. They felt joy upon seeing someone from the Shangguan Clan dead, but when they found out it was Jiang Chen who killed him, the joy immediately dimmed down. Back in the Jian Province, although the Myriad Sword Sect and Shangguan Clan were rivals, in this Island of Ice, they had a common enemy; Jiang Chen!
Xu Shuang and Shangguan Yilei were rivals, and because of this, he knew very well hos strong Shangguan Yilei was. He knew Shangguan Yilei was a formidable opponent, and none of them were able to defeat each other. That’s why he didn’t believe that Jiang Chen who was only a Divine Core warrior could kill Shangguan Yilei.
“It’s true, Jiang Chen…”
The warrior didn’t dared hide anything. He immediately told the group about what happened in the sky garden, leaving no details about how all four from the Shangguan Clan were killed behind.
“Good, good, Jiang Chen, it looks like we’re going to have a fierce fight in this Island of Ice!”
Shangguan Yilong’s eyes were burning with fury, “That dog and those two bastards, I swear, I will tear them into a million pieces!”
“Shangguan Yilong, that Jiang Chen has the ability to kill Shangguan Yilei. Although you’re stronger than Shangguan Yilei, I don’t think you’re a match for Jiang Chen.”
Ling Du said.
“Hmph! That Jiang Chen was using herbs to forcefully strengthen his cultivation, he doesn’t have a solid foundation, so I can easily kill him!”
Shangguan Yilong coldly harrumphed.
“Save your breaths, let’s move now and chase after them. That guy is in front of us, and if he finds something good along his way and his cultivation improves yet again, we might not even be able to kill him even if we work together.”
A vicious light could be seen in Ling Du’s eyes.
“The warriors from the Martial Palace are coming soon. With the connection between us and the Martial Palace, I’m sure they will be on our side. We’re going to kill this Jiang Chen no matter what!”
Shangguan Yilong said.
“Of course, I am a disciple of the Martial Palace.”
Ling Du added. When he mentioned he was a disciple of the Martial Palace, he couldn’t help but show a prideful expression on his face. Indeed, being able to cultivate in the Martial Palace was something glorious, it was perfectly normal for him to feel proud about it.
“Let’s go, we must kill Jiang Chen and his friends!”
Shangguan Yilong gnashed his teeth in anger. The group flew past the sky garden and ventured further.
Jiang Chen and his group had crossed the white fog area, and what stood in front of them now was two gates.
Both gates had appeared out of nowhere, and they both stood right in front of Jiang Chen, wide open. Two different auras could be sensed from these gates.
There were two characters floating above the gates. One was a golden colored【生 - Life】, and the other was a blood colored【死 - Death】.
“Gates of Life and Death… does this mean one leads to life, while the other leads to death?”
Han Yan threw his glance at both gates. He could clearly feel the Gate of Life brimmed with vibrant energy, giving him a refreshing sensation.
But when he carefully looked at the Gate of Death, an eerie feeling filled his heart. He could even see some spirits of death lingering around behind the gate. It was frightening.
“Damn it, another selection!”
“Do we even need to think about it? The obvious choice is the Gate of Life! The Gate of Death is really terrifying, I can sense a strong aura of death coming from it, even from this far! If we take that gate, we will definitely die in vain!”
“Not necessarily. This Island of Ice is a weird place; the Gate of Life doesn’t mean life, and the Gate of Death doesn’t mean certain death.”