Chapter 269: Chapter 164: Landslide Lead, Daoist Qian Hong’s Bewilderment

Yao Dehai turned to look as well, only to see blood at the corner of Yang Huai’an’s mouth and a conflicted look on his face.

He looked as if he had been caught in an Illusion from a Demon Cultivator.

He quickly took out his Bright Heart Dharma Pearl and activated it to help dispel the Illusion. "Junior Brother Yang, are you all right?"

Bathed in the light of the Bright Heart Dharma Pearl, which was specifically designed to counter Illusion Arrays, Yang Huai’an finally came to his senses. This wasn’t an Illusion Array.

Realizing what he had just done, he immediately flushed red with embarrassment.

But Yao Dehai asked with concern, "When you were circling back in the sky just now, did you run into an Illusion Array left by a Demon Cultivator?"

Yang Huai’an’s expression stiffened, but he nodded anyway. "Ah... yes."

"But thanks to the Bright Heart Dharma Pearl, I’m fine now."

He quickly changed the subject. "Wow, what Xiao did this time was truly... incredible."

At his words, Yao Dehai immediately nodded in agreement.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed someone could be so powerful.

"Two thousand five hundred and forty... two thousand six hundred."

Du Mingjie had finished his count, his voice trembling slightly. "A total of two thousand six hundred points!"

The current highest score belonged to Ning Haochen, the lead disciple of the Lingyuan Sect, who had a total of one thousand three hundred points.

In second place was Ye Fei, with nine hundred and eighty points.

Their scores combined only amounted to two thousand two hundred and eighty points, three hundred and twenty points less than Xiao Chen’s.

And that didn’t even include the four hundred-plus points Xiao Chen had previously accumulated.

If those were included, Xiao Chen’s score alone would be higher than the top three combined.

This was the very definition of an insurmountable lead.

Everyone present was stunned anew upon hearing the number, but this time, the shock quickly faded into resignation.

If Xiao Chen had fought hard for a month to earn six hundred points, everyone would have been buzzing about it for the next three days.

Some might have even been inspired to study his methods, to catch up, to surpass him.

But his score was two thousand six hundred. Now, everyone was left with just one thought—’Holy hell, that’s a lot.’

"By the way, there’s one more thing."

Xiao Chen pulled the six Array Plates he had dismantled from his Storage Bag. "Are there any Daoists here who understand Arrays? I need someone to take a look at these."

"It seems the whole purpose of the Demon Cultivator invasion was to set up these Array Plates."

Yao Dehai walked straight over. "Is that so? Let me take a look."

But before he could even get there, he saw a conspicuous wisp of black qi rise from the Array Plates.

Simultaneously, a beam of blood-red light shot into the air, seeming to pierce the very heavens.

But the brilliant pillar of light lasted only for a fleeting moment before collapsing on itself, lacking the power to sustain its form.

If not for the massive cloud of black qi that transformed into falling Demon Fire, setting the surrounding rocks and trees ablaze, everyone would have thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.

"Hey, what’s going on?"

"What is going on?"

Outside Luoyan Mountain, Daoist Qian Hong’s brows were tightly locked. He repeatedly activated his Magic Formulas, but received no response.

In the sky above Luoyan Mountain before him, five Golden Core True Men from various sects hovered in opposition.

By his side were four of his own comrades.

The Divine Fire Sect had been concealing its true strength, and now they had mobilized in force for the sole purpose of hunting Golden Cores.

But just as both sides revealed their hands and a great battle was about to erupt, Daoist Qian Hong fumbled at the critical moment.

It seemed the Nine Heavens True Demon, which was supposed to descend from the sky and shatter Luoyan Mountain’s Defensive Array, was not going to show up.

The next moment, hundreds of miles away, a red light suddenly flared.

"Now! Attack!"

The Golden Core True Men reacted with incredible speed. In less than a tenth of a breath, all the Golden Cores of the Demon Dao unleashed their attacks on Luoyan Mountain in unison, just as planned.

The Spiritual Qi around the perimeter of Luoyan Mountain was almost instantly drained. The immense Spiritual Qi Tide was so powerful it even affected the Spirit Plants in Spirit Fields for dozens of miles in every direction.

In the next instant, however, the distant red light vanished.

Luoyan Mountain’s massive Defense Array flickered, but it tenaciously withstood the wave of attacks.

"Qian Hong, what the fuck are you doing?!"

A furious roar erupted as the other four Demon Dao Golden Cores instantly disengaged and retreated.

Daoist Qian Hong wore a bewildered expression; he had no idea what happened either.

The Righteous Dao Golden Cores, however, showed no such hesitation, their Spiritual Artifacts already pressing the attack mercilessly.