Emperor Xinyun's divine consciousness had been trapped by the Great Dream Spring and Autumn Formation, but it was only for the briefest of instants. The moment the devastating attack of the Cloud Sky Golden Dipper Formation came crashing down, his awareness finally snapped back.
However, within this formation, even once he had reacted, evading the attack now relied entirely on a single instant of pure instinct.
Unfortunately, his instincts were still half a beat too slow.
The explosive point-blank assault generated by the Cloud Sky Golden Dipper Formation bore down with world-ending, heaven-shattering force, slamming squarely into Emperor Xinyun's body.
Boom!
The entire cavern shook violently.
Emperor Xinyun's Dharma body was ground into nothingness by that horrifying power, leaving not a single trace behind.
The moment Emperor Xinyun was blasted to dust, Jiang Chen quietly clicked his tongue in amazement. He knew the Cloud Sky Golden Dipper Formation was formidable, but he had never imagined it could be this terrifying.
"I've only just reached the initial completion stage, controlling sixteen flying swords, and it already has this kind of power. In the future — five times five is twenty-five swords, six times six is thirty-six swords, all the way up to nine times nine being eighty-one — with each stage of advancement, won't the offensive power increase dramatically?"
Of course, after his wild elation, Jiang Chen did not lose his composure.
He knew that killing Emperor Xinyun was absolutely not solely the credit of the initial-completion Cloud Sky Golden Dipper Formation. The Great Dream Spring and Autumn Formation and the Eight Desolations Rock Formation each deserved half the credit as well.
Moreover, within this cavern, the opponent's martial state had clearly been affected — he was far from his peak strength.
If they had fought fairly in the open, without any tricks or traps, Jiang Chen knew full well that in a straight confrontation, the initial-completion Cloud Sky Golden Dipper Formation would absolutely be no match for an Emperor-realm powerhouse like Emperor Xinyun.
After finishing off Emperor Xinyun, Jiang Chen casually reached through the void and snatched the Storage Ring from his body.
At the same time, the Soul-Seizing Chain was also swept into his possession.
Inside Emperor Xinyun's Storage Ring, however, aside from a massive quantity of Ling Shi, there were mostly pills and similar items.
What delighted Jiang Chen, though, was that Emperor Xinyun actually possessed an Emperor's Descent Armor Talisman and an Emperor's Descent True Force Talisman.
This made Jiang Chen marvel: "Emperor Xinyun himself is an Emperor-realm powerhouse, so why would he carry talismans like these? Were they prepared for his juniors? And I just happened to scoop up this windfall?"
Of course, what Jiang Chen was most satisfied with was Emperor Xinyun's Ling Shi.
"This Emperor Xinyun is truly wealthy. Even just stepping out casually, he carries this much Ling Shi on him. Three billion — tsk, tsk…"
Jiang Chen was burning through Ling Shi everywhere these days, and three billion was close to the auction price of two Pine Crane Pills. Even among Emperor-realm experts, very few carried that much on their person.
Only a power like Pill Fire City, which earned countless fortunes, could have Emperor-realm experts with such extravagant wealth.
Having three billion loose Ling Shi on hand proved that Emperor Xinyun's true fortune was far more staggering than that number!
After securing everything, Jiang Chen tidied up the scene and returned to his concealed space to wait for the next fish to bite. He was perfectly capable of biding his time now.
"That bastard Danji wouldn't come in himself, so he sent his subordinates to their deaths. I hope the next one through the door is him!" If it was Emperor Danji who entered, Jiang Chen would not hesitate for a second — he would activate the restrictions and annihilate Danji on the spot.
As long as Danji was eliminated, Pill Fire City would be leaderless. Their situation would be even worse than Crystal King City losing the Peacock Grand Emperor.
With the Peacock Grand Emperor gone, there was still Jiang Chen to hold things together.
If Emperor Danji fell, Pill Fire City currently had no one qualified to step forward and shoulder everything.
"It all depends on whether that old fox Danji has the guts to come in himself."
Jiang Chen did not go out to provoke anyone. He simply waited, killing whoever walked in, one at a time. This method of killing was slow, but utterly safe.
Most importantly, the returns were enormous.
A single Emperor Xinyun had already yielded such tremendous profits. Jiang Chen almost wished Emperor Danji would keep sending people in, one after another.
…
Outside the cavern, Emperor Danji and his entourage had been waiting for a long time, yet they heard no movement whatsoever from within.
Someone finally couldn't help but speak up: "Your Majesty Danji, Emperor Xinyun has been in there for nearly an hour now. If there were any news, he should have come out by now, shouldn't he?"
"Indeed. If it was just a scouting mission, it should have been done long ago. I suspect there must be something wrong in there."
"With Emperor Xinyun's abilities, even if there were some problem, wouldn't he be able to handle it?"
"Sigh, it's hard to say. That brat Jiang Chen is full of schemes and tricks. By now, more than one Emperor-realm expert has suffered at his hands — several have even fallen."
These Emperor-realm experts exchanged glances and murmurs, but none were willing to volunteer to go in next.
"Your Majesty Danji, perhaps there's another possibility. Perhaps Emperor Xinyun has already captured that brat Jiang Chen and is currently interrogating him?"
These words actually caught Emperor Danji's attention.
He knew that Emperor Xinyun had always been fairly loyal to him in the past.
But when absolute profit was on the line, just how many people could truly maintain their loyalty — that was anyone's guess. If Jiang Chen had truly fallen into Emperor Xinyun's hands, the treasures Jiang Chen possessed would almost certainly be kept by Emperor Xinyun for himself.
At this thought, Emperor Danji felt a cold chill in his heart. Suddenly, he rather regretted being too rash — sending only a single person?