The air above Sun-Glow Valley shimmered with blinding light and suffocating heat. Nestled between towering, jagged peaks, the valley served as the lifeblood of the Sun-Veil Sect. Thousands of indentured mortal miners and low-tier rogue cultivators worked under the lashes of sect guards, extracting rare Solar-Gold Ore—the vital material used to forge the sect’s golden arrays and refine Ancestor Sun-Sunder’s vitality-sustaining pills.
High above the valley's defensive perimeter, hidden within a bank of unnatural grey clouds, a massive dark airship constructed from reinforced soul-wood hovered in complete silence.
On the prow of the ship stood Li Chen. His dark robes fluttered against the gale, his scarlet-violet eyes coldly scanning the shimmering barrier below—the Nine-Sun Barrier, a ancient formation powered by three thousand Solar-Gold cores.
— Master, — Xiao Feng reported, stepping forward with a jade compass in hand. — The valley is defended by two mid-stage Core Formation elders and over three hundred sect guards. Their defensive array can withstand attacks from a peak Core Formation cultivator for three days straight.
— Three days? — Li Chen sneered, a cold, ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. — A defensive array built on stolen sun essence is nothing more than a feast waiting to be served.
Li Chen raised his right hand, summoning the Abyssal Heart Cauldron. The dark crimson furnace expanded in mid-air, its surface radiating a dense, abyssal chill that turned the surrounding clouds to black frost. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
— Iron-Hide, Ghost-Blade, — Li Chen commanded without turning his head. — Prepare the vanguard. The moment the barrier drops, slaughter the guards and seize the ore vaults. Leave the elders to me.
— By your command, Master! — the two dark leaders roared, their eyes burning with manic excitement.
Li Chen leaped from the prow of the airship, plunging straight down toward the glowing golden dome like a falling dark meteor.
BOOM!
As he descended, Li Chen channeled the vast, purified energy of his Shadow Core, blending it with the ancient knowledge absorbed from the Abyssal Sovereign’s soul. The dark mist around his body condensed into a massive, shadowy drill that rotated at terrifying speed.
— Enemy attack! — the Sun-Veil guards shouted below, frantically driving their Qi into the formation's core.
The golden barrier flared with blinding intensity, unleashing hundreds of searing solar spears toward the falling shadow.
Li Chen didn't dodge. He slammed his palm into the top of the Abyssal Heart Cauldron, driving it straight against the apex of the Nine-Sun Barrier.
"Dark Dan Secret Art: Devouring Reverse Flow!"
Instead of crashing into the barrier, the cauldron opened its maw, generating a massive gravitational vortex. The blinding solar energy powering the array was forcibly pulled backward, rushing up into the cauldron like a golden waterfall. The Nine-Sun Barrier flickered wildly as its very energy foundation was sucked dry in seconds. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
CRACK!
The massive golden dome shattered like thin glass.
— The array is broken! Charge! — Iron-Hide bellowed from the descending airship as dark cultivators poured down like a swarm of locusts.
Li Chen landed silently at the center of the valley's grand courtyard, his feet crushing the pristine marble floor. Two elder figures clad in golden sun robes rushed out of the central pavilion, their faces twisted in disbelief and horror.
— Li Chen! — one elder shrieked, drawing a flaming longsword. — You dare attack our sect's vital domain?! Ancestor Sun-Sunder will tear your soul into a thousand pieces!
— Ancestor Sun-Sunder is not here to save you, — Li Chen said, his voice dropping to a deathly whisper as violet-black shadow tendrils erupted from beneath his boots, coiling around both elders before they could even complete their stance. — And your precious Solar-Gold Ore will now forge my ultimate weapon.