Jiang Chen's expression was extremely grave as he watched these three uninvited guests, his mood a complex tangle.
The matter of the Heavenly Demon Lord had already been weighing heavily on Jiang Chen's mind. Yet he hadn't expected that fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come alone — the Boundary Monument Realm of Chenxiang Valley had been forcibly breached once more.
It seemed the future of the human domain was destined to be spent amid unrelenting turmoil.
Originally, upon sensing the violent tremors, Jiang Chen and the Zhuque Divine Bird had intended to go investigate. But in the current situation, charging over rashly — with his strength, confronting these three uninvited guests head-on was clearly beyond his means.
After all, these three figures had evidently already surpassed the Emperor Realm and belonged to a higher tier of powerhouses.
If the Zhuque Divine Bird were at its peak, it would never have feared these three uninvited guests.
But the timing couldn't have been worse.
The Zhuque Divine Bird's feelings were equally conflicted. In the ancient era, it had received a favor from the Holy One Sect and owed them a debt, which was why it had agreed to guard the seal here.
On one hand, it was faithful to its duty, honoring its promise.
On the other hand, it desperately longed to be freed from this place, to seek the opportunity for Nirvanic rebirth.
"Senior, it appears they are not of the demon race," Jiang Chen observed for a moment before reaching a preliminary conclusion. He did have some understanding of demonkind.
These three did not employ the methods typical of demons.
The Zhuque Divine Bird nodded. "They shouldn't be demons. But the Boundary Monument Realm has been broken, and regardless of whether these three are demons, they bear no good intentions. Look at them — once they shatter the outer seals of the Holy One Sect, the spirit vein foundation of the Holy One Sect's sacred ground will be destroyed, and the seal on the Heavenly Demon Lord within will inevitably be broken as well. Jiang Chen, the catastrophe of your human race has truly arrived."
The Zhuque Divine Bird was not being an alarmist.
The current situation was exactly the kind where misfortunes piled up one after another.
Just then, the eldest among the Giant Stone Clan beside them stretched languidly and roused himself from meditation.
The moment he awoke, he detected the violent fluctuations on site.
"Benefactor, what's going on?" Dashí was utterly bewildered, his mind still catching up.
Jiang Chen said gravely, "Invaders have breached the Boundary Monument Realm."
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Dashí showed neither surprise nor dismay — instead, his eyes lit up. "Is it demons? Where are they? Let us brothers go meet them!"
Dashí quickly noticed the upheaval unfolding at the palace across from them.
The Giant Stone Clan possessed an instinct for battle. He said to Jiang Chen, "Benefactor, these three are very strong. Let us go stop them!"
Before Jiang Chen could even nod —
BOOM!
Blinding light erupted from every direction of that palace. In the next instant, the void surrounding the entire palace began to tremble violently, the thunderous roar of exploding qi reverberating without cease.
Cruel fissures in the void appeared one after another. The barrier walls around the palace had finally collapsed entirely.
"Hahaha, it's broken!"
Of the three, the fastest was actually the bald giant. He had shattered one face of the barrier walls, directly causing the other two to demolish theirs almost simultaneously.
In that instant, the entire Holy One Sect's palace was stripped of all protection, fully exposed before the three.
The bald giant was immensely proud. He turned to his two companions with a smug grin: "Young Master Zhongli, old man Chi Yun — looks like I, Lei Xiaotian, was a step faster, huh? Hahaha!"
The three had a wager: whoever broke through the barriers first would have priority in dividing the treasures of this cave dwelling. That had been their prior agreement.
The youth in the purple robe — Zhongli Yan by name, the one Lei Xiaotian had called Young Master Zhongli — curled his lips slightly, muttering something under his breath: "What's there to be proud of? Just... luck, that's all."
Clearly, Zhongli Yan was somewhat frustrated.
As for the red-robed cultivator Chi Yun, his expression was calm and collected, seemingly unmoved — he showed no annoyance over this minor setback.
It was evident that Chi Yun, who appeared older, was the more composed of the three.
"Haha, luck or not, you won't go back on our previous agreement, right?" Lei Xiaotian cackled.
Zhongli Yan gave a cold snort but said nothing.
It was Chi Yun who, with studied casualness, cast a glance in Jiang Chen's direction: "Bald Lei, don't celebrate just yet. There's someone watching us from that mountaintop over there!"
Lei Xiaotian merely shrugged, his expression one of complete dismissal: "So what? According to our intelligence, the human race has fallen into utter decline — they have no Heaven-rank powerhouses to speak of. This lucky breach of the Boundary Monument Realm is precisely the immortal opportunity for our Nandou Li Clan to expand our territory and ascend to greatness!"
Lei Xiaotian's tone was thoroughly arrogant.