Chapter 232

Chapter 232: Assassination Attempt

“Lord Li, why did you rush off when you saw me? Are you trying to avoid me?”

Chen Ansheng spoke calmly.

Li Fengtian trembled and said hurriedly, “How dare I, I just had some urgent matters and did not notice your arrival, Master. Please forgive me.”

While speaking, Li Fengtian took out a hundred ink crystals from his storage bag.

“I humbly congratulate you on your new position. This is a token of my respect, insufficient as it may be.”

Chen Ansheng glanced at him and did not take the ink crystals, saying, “Lord Li, with the kind of relationship we share, surely this isn’t enough, is it?”

Li Fengtian was startled, thinking to himself that what relationship was there between them? He had only collected a few ink crystals from him a few days ago.

Then he realized that this young man was the type who excelled in flattery, and now that he had ascended to his current position, he would naturally be even more greedy than himself. A hundred ink crystals would not be enough to satisfy him.

Thus, Li Fengtian quickly put on a forced smile, and hastily pulled out a painting. He meekly said, “I am truly honored by your favor. This painting is called the ‘Taibei Sword Intent Diagram.’ Though it’s a replica, it is still a highly valuable item. I humbly present it to you.”

“Hm?”

Chen Ansheng’s eyes lit up, and he took the painting, immediately unfolding it to examine it.

In the painting, a celestial swordsman stood before the fading glow of the sunset, his raised sword emitting a golden light, seemingly blending with the sunset, and intertwining with it.

Chen Ansheng lightly sensed it with his divine awareness, and realized that the painting contained a world of swords, an endless powerful sword intent, like the brilliance of the sun, enveloping the entire world.

“Good, excellent. It’s rare for Lord Li to be so thoughtful, I humbly accept it.”

Chen Ansheng smiled broadly and put away the ‘Taibei Sword Intent Diagram’.

Li Fengtian’s heart ached as though bleeding. Although he wasn’t a swordsman and could not grasp its profundities, if sold, it would fetch at least a thousand ink crystals.

“If the master likes it, then that’s good. If there’s nothing else, I will take my leave.”

“Hold on.”

Chen Ansheng stopped Li Fengtian.

“I shall be leaving to take care of some business today. Do you have the coordinates for those ten unclaimed sacred islands?”

Chen Ansheng wanted to investigate these unclaimed sacred islands. With a bit of luck, capturing just a small part would be sufficient to place the Ascension Pool.

“Of course.”

Li Fengtian, who frequently ran errands, knew all the details of the various matters on the Hanyuan Island.

He immediately transmitted a spatial map to Chen Ansheng using divine communication.

“Master, those ten forbidden islands are extremely dangerous, even the various Immortal Kings dare not trespass. Please be cautious.”

Li Fengtian wasn’t truly concerned for Chen Ansheng; he only said this to leave a favorable impression.

“How could I not know? You may leave.”

Chen Ansheng dismissed Li Fengtian.

Not long after, Chen Ansheng arrived at the exit of the Hanyuan Island, triggering the Avoidance Pearl to create a defensive soil-yellow barrier around him. He rose into the air, heading deep into the sky.

…

The Nie Dragon Sea, vast and boundless, endless.

The waters of this ocean were pitch black like ink, possessing no spiritual energy.

Hence, it had existed for unfathomable ages, rarely touched by anyone.

But now, with sacred islands continuously surfacing in the sea, it had attracted some idle Immortal Kings without powerful backing.

Chen Ansheng had been flying over the surface of the sea for a few hours, with the nearest unclaimed sacred island still being hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

“Hmm?”

Feeling a slight anomaly while flying at full speed, Chen Ansheng suddenly realized that a barely perceptible murderous intent had been locking onto him for some time.

“Reveal yourselves!”

Chen Ansheng paused in the air and shouted.

The sea remained calm, with no response.

Then, Chen Ansheng closed his eyes, but expanded his divine awareness to its maximum, covering a range of several thousand kilometers.

After more than ten breaths, Chen Ansheng summoned his celestial sword, and slashed backward with tremendous force.

The sword intent raced through the air and exploded more than ten kilometers away.

Boom!

Fierce powers surged, raising mountains of waves.

Out of the dark tide, a surge of celestial force erupted, colliding with the sword intent.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Two figures, transforming into beams of light, rushed toward Chen Ansheng at great speed.

The two figures were too fast for Chen Ansheng to evade.

He quickly summoned his defenses and struck out with both fists and palms.

Bang! Bang!

The force of his punches and palms clashed with the two figures, the terrifying celestial force shattered Chen Ansheng’s defenses, but his figure managed to phase out of the way.

“Hm? The mission stated that this fellow was only a true immortal realm vermin. How could he be so powerful!”

The two figures appeared after failing to kill Chen Ansheng, both full of doubts.

Chen Ansheng did not flee immediately, knowing that with the strength of these two, fleeing would be futile.

“Both of you seem to be driven by greed. I have some ink crystals here. You may take them, let’s call it a truce.”

From a hundred kilometers away, Chen Ansheng’s voice resonated, carrying divine power.

While speaking, Chen Ansheng used his divine awareness to probe the specifics of the two.

By their appearance, these two were not sea beasts. One had a half-missing shoulder, the other was missing divine bones in his chest, with his chest appearing sunken.

Simply put, both were disabled.

Judging by their energy, these two emanated deep-seated murderous intent, their celestial force fluctuated in the level of Xuan Immortals, yet their celestial bodies radiated an aura of Celestial Immortals.

Thus, Chen Ansheng deduced that these two were once Celestial Immortals, but after sustaining severe injuries and being unable to recover, had regressed to the stage of Xuan Immortals.

This was quite similar to Ji Guiyi.

“Ha, boy, we indeed came for wealth. However, we have principles: we take another’s money, and we eliminate that person’s troubles. Prepare to die quietly.”

The one with half a missing shoulder chuckled coldly.

Chen Ansheng’s brows furrowed.

Judging from his tone, it seemed like someone had put a price on his head, but this perplexed him. He had just arrived in the Nie Dragon Sea. Apart from conflicts with sea monsters, he hadn’t offended anyone. Who could have hired assassins to kill him?

Thus, Chen Ansheng said, “Both of you seem to have been hired to kill me. Could you let me die knowing who sent you?”

The two’s eyes darkened, their murderous intent surging. “A dead man doesn’t need to know so much!”

Then, the two unfurled their weapons, their celestial force erupting as they charged toward Chen Ansheng.

Chen Ansheng coldly hummed, “Then let me understand what your disabled Celestial Immortals are truly capable of!”

Facing these regressed Celestial Immortals, Chen Ansheng was not intimidated. It was a perfect opportunity to test his own limits.

“Kill!”

Both moved at breathtaking speeds, arriving in an instant before Chen Ansheng.

Chen Ansheng, with a thought, solidified a rule-based defense barrier to block them.

“Clang! Clang!”

Both their swords struck the barrier and halted.

At this moment, two golden spear formations condensed in the void, thrusting from behind toward the two assassins.

“Rule-based Sorcery!”

Sensing the rule-based force, both assassins’ faces changed color.

“Unfortunately, your power is too weak. Even if you’re a sorcerer, you can’t do anything to us. Die!”

Boom!

Their celestial force concentrated on their divine swords. In an instant, the area within a hundred kilometers was enveloped in a terrifying sword momentum.