Nine Astra Skies

With a buzz, the Flying Dagger in Ye Chen’s mind trembled violently. Celestial Chi surged out wildly and gradually soothed Ye Chen’s agony.

On one side, Little Tanuki was panicking and berating itself. It did not know why Ye Chen was like this. It had thought that when Ye Chen’s blood entered the Heavenly Astra Seal, he would receive a treasure. However, it did not hear what the one-horned mystical beast had said for only Ye Chen could hear those words.

“I, the Purple-fire Astra Lion, had been trapped by this Heavenly Astra Hidden Magic Seal for thousands of years. Throughout this long period, it felt like it had stretched back to ancient times. However, in another twenty years, I’ll be able to come out. In twenty years, I’ll gain my freedom! If you want to subdue me to become your protective divine beast, let me tell you that it’s impossible!” The Purple-fire Astra Lion slammed its paws angrily on the ground. The ground quaked and seals drifted up in the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Those seals exploded on the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s body, causing it to become more downcast. However, it glared at Ye Chen in endless defiance.

After a long time, Ye Chen slowly recovered. He wiped away the blood trickling from his ear and curled up powerlessly on the floor. Slowly, he circulated the Nine Astra in his body and healed his injuries. From the words of the Purple-fire Astra Lion, Ye Chen had gained some understanding of the Heavenly Astra Seal.

This Heavenly Astra Seal should be called the Heavenly Astra Hidden Magic Seal. Someone in the past had sealed this Purple-fire Astra Lion here for some unknown reason and it had fallen into the Ye Clan’s hands somehow and became the clan’s stamp seal. If someone could make the Purple-fire Astra Lion yield, the Purple-fire Astra Lion would become that person’s protective divine beast!

The Purple-fire Astra Lion’s strength was unknown but it was not any weaker than Little Wingsy at his peak, which was Daemon King Rank at least. Moreover, the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s power had been significantly suppressed by the Heavenly Astra Hidden Magic Seal. If its power was fully unleashed, who knew how strong it would be?

“Twenty years to make you yield is more than enough!” Ye Chen scoffed coldly as he spoke to the Purple-fire Astra Lion. Before this mystical beast, he must not appear feeble!

The conversation between Ye Chen and the Purple-fire Astra Lion was carried out mentally. Little Tanuki could not hear them.

“Someone like you? Your cultivation base is merely a human’s Earthly Venerable Rank. You want to defeat me in twenty years?” The Purple-fire Astra Lion acted like it had heard a hilarious joke and laughed uproariously. Then it said in a low, raspy voice, “Even if my power is sealed, it’s not something you can handle. If you shatter the Heavenly Astra Seal, I’ll let you go!”

The Purple-fire Astra Lion was an old monster that had lived for who knew how long!

“Shatter the Heavenly Astra Seal? Do you think I would possibly do that?” Ye Chen snorted coldly. Shatter the Heavenly Astra Seal and let the Purple-fire Astra Lion loose? If he did that, then would his little life not be in the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s hands?

This Purple-fire Astra Lion had been sealed for a few millennia but it was sure to come out in twenty years? Ye Chen did not believe that!

Furthermore, there seemed to be some links between this Heavenly Astra Seal, the Flying Dagger, and the Nine Astra Skies. What secret was hidden here?

There were two Heavenly Astra Seals. One of them contained the Purple-fire Astra Lion, so what about the other one? When should Ye Chen take a look at the Heavenly Astra Seal that was in his father’s possession and see what secrets it contained?

Ye Chen saw that Little Tanuki was looking at him anxiously and forced a smile. “Little Tanuki, I’m fine!”

Ye Chen used all his strength to stand up. He was no longer afraid of the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s thunderous voice. He looked up at the Purple-fire Astra Lion and noticed the mystical beast’s bell-like eyes glaring at him in rage as if it was itching to gobble him up. Too bad the Purple-fire Astra Lion could not break free of the formation’s restriction!

Ye Chen glanced at the mysterious runic seal on his left palm and slowly clenched his hand. He had made up his mind – he must tame this lion and make it his own obedient, protective divine beast!

After establishing a connection with the Heavenly Astra Seal, Ye Chen felt that he had become the Heavenly Astra Seal. When he looked out, he could observe the situation in his room.

The Heavenly Astra Seal had merged into Ye Chen’s body as well.

This was a peculiar feeling. Besides sealing the Purple-fire Astra Lion, the Heavenly Astra Seal must have other functions too. He would slowly figure it out.

Ye Chen could not help wondering which tier was the Heavenly Astra Seal as a spirit artifact? It must be at least Tier Six or Seven! Nevertheless, this Heavenly Astra Seal did not seem to have an artifact spirit, so there was no way to identify its tier.

Ye Chen shook his head. He would not think about this for now.

With a single thought, Ye Chen appeared once more in his room. The Heavenly Astra Seal had vanished. Ye Chen could sense that the Heavenly Astra Seal was in his left palm but there was only a mysterious runic seal on his left palm and nothing else.

Little Tanuki had followed Ye Chen out of the Heavenly Astra Seal as well, looking somewhat bewildered.

As he went in and out of the Heavenly Astra Seal, Ye Chen knew that he could control the Heavenly Astra Seal with his will now. He could also fully observe the formation in the Heavenly Astra Seal. The complexity of this formation was many times more advanced that the Chi-amassing Formation he had seen. Ye Chen examined it from all angles but could only conclude that it was endlessly marvelous without being able to comprehend it.

In the Heavenly Astra Seal, the Purple-fire Astra Lion was incessantly roaring in a frenzy. Ye Chen had detected that a tiny crack had appeared in the formation due to the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s struggles.

Ye Chen became particularly fearful. If the crack continued to widen, the Purple-fire Astra Lion was sure to break free of the seal!

It looked like the twenty years the Purple-fire Astra Lion spoke about was not a false story!

As Ye Chen closed his eyes and fully perceived the chi flow in the Heavenly Astra Seal, he finally felt a subtle, distinct response toward everything in the Heavenly Astra Seal. The Heavenly Astra Seal’s formation had sealed off most of the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s strength. At present, the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s strength should be on par with a top Heavenly Adept Rank powerhouse, which was equivalent to the humans’ top Heavenly Venerable Stage. However, as the crack in the formation continued to grow, the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s strength would increase continuously.

From the response of its energy, Ye Chen could tell that the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s peak strength could not be matched by Little Wingsy! Could the Purple-fire Astra Lion also be from an ancient, unique species?

How could Ye Chen tame the Purple-fire Astra Lion as his protective divine beast before it recovered its full strength? Must he defeat it? Ye Chen frowned. With his current ability, it would not be sufficient.

If the formation ruptured further, Ye Chen’s hope of defeating the Purple-fire Astra Lion would become even more unlikely. Only now, when the Purple-fire Astra Lion was at its weakest, would he have the chance to defeat it!

“Little Tanuki, bring Little Wingsy here!” After some thinking, Ye Chen spoke to Little Tanuki by his side. With Little Wingsy’s capability, defeating the Purple-fire Astra Lion was possible. After all, the Purple-fire Astra Lion was only at the top Heavenly Adept Rank.

Little Tanuki dashed out of the room in a whoosh. Soon, it came back with Little Wingsy.

“Big Brother Ye Chen, are you looking for me?” Little Wingsy’s mouth was shiny with grease as he turned his rosy face up.

Ye Chen activated his thought, attempting to bring Little Wingsy together into the Heavenly Astra Seal. Nevertheless, he suddenly discovered that he could not!

Why was Little Wingsy unable to enter, yet Little Tanuki could? Ye Chen paused for a moment and immediately understood. It must be the Astral Body! Only a living being with an Astral Body could enter and exit the Heavenly Astra Seal!

“It’s nothing.” Ye Chen took out a few Purple-gold Divine Pills from his armguard’s space and gave them to Little Wingsy. “Go back and continue your cultivation.”

“Oh.” Little Wingsy was somewhat puzzled but still went out happily. There were more Purple-gold Divine Pills for him to eat.

Ye Chen pondered the matter momentarily. It looked like he could not rely upon Little Wingsy’s strength to defeat the Purple-fire Astra Lion. Little Tanuki’s Illusion would most likely be ineffective against a powerful creature like the Purple-fire Astra Lion. In that case, he could only rely on himself. Ye Chen thought about it. Was his own Astral Body able to defeat the Purple-fire Astra Lion? Although his chances were slim, he must still give it a go!

“Little Tanuki, come on, let’s enter the Heavenly Astra Seal!” With a single thought, Ye Chen had brought Little Tanuki into the Heavenly Astra Seal.

The Purple-fire Astra Lion kept smacking its front paws onto the ground as it roared continuously. It glared at Ye Chen and Little Tanuki who had suddenly appeared and snarled in irritation. “Little punk, if you don’t let me out, you’ll regret it someday!”

Ye Chen looked down at Little Tanuki and said, “Little Tanuki, wait by one side. I’ll deal with him!” When he noticed Little Tanuki’s worried expression, Ye Chen laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t go past my limits!” He looked back up at the Purple-fire Astra Lion, his eyes instantly burning with a fiery, aggressive look.

The Purple-fire Astra Lion sensed the change in Ye Chen’s manner and looked at him mockingly. “Little punk, you want to fight me? That’s a suicide mission! Roar, I’ll gobble you up in one bite!”

“The outcome isn’t determined yet!” Ye Chen suddenly looked up and growled in a low voice. His Astral Body passed out of his body, and a five, six-meter-tall gold-armored soldier condensed behind him in the air. A wave of overbearing energy surged outward.

“Astral Externalization, Daemon King Stage?” The Purple-fire Astra Lion’s eyes trembled slightly. If this was before it was sealed, forget about one Daemon King. Even a thousand Daemon Kings would be killed in a single breath of its purple flames. Nevertheless, it was sealed by the formation. Its essential purple fire was suppressed and could not be unleashed at all. Its strength was thus only at the Heavenly Adept Rank and it was no match for a Daemon King. It suddenly paused. “That’s not right, it’s not a Daemon King. A Daemon King’s Astral Externalization would take on a solid form, but you, despite your overwhelming Psyche, are only an apparition!”

The Purple-fire Astra Lion was an existence more ancient than Daemon Kings. Its knowledge and perception were not something Daemon Kings could compare to. At a glance, it had noticed the defect in Ye Chen’s Astral Body.

“That’s right, my Psyche is just an apparition, but it’ll achieve Astral Externalization sooner or later. At that point, I’ll make you my obedient, protective divine beast!” Ye Chen glared at the Purple-fire Astra Lion steadily. The gold-armored soldier started to burn with raging flames. It wielded a saber in one hand and walked toward the Purple-fire Astra Lion in mid-air.

“Haha, you want to defeat me with just your Psyche’s apparition? For you to cultivate until the Daemon King Stage, I’m afraid it’ll take a few centuries. By that time, I’d have broken out already. Heh heh, at that point, forget about a Daemon King. Even those at the Grand Supreme Stage would be no match for me!” The Purple-fire Astra Lion laughed icily.

“Then, we’ll see who’s quicker!” Ye Chen exploded with a yell. The gold-armored soldier in the air brandished the saber and suddenly moved, racing toward the Purple-fire Astra Lion.

“Know your place!” As it watched the gold-armored soldier rush over, the Purple-fire Astra Lion gave a cold, derisive snort. It swiped upward with its right paw that burned with purple flames. In its long, extensive life, it had defeated many Psyches. Although its current strength was only at the top Heavenly Venerable Rank, the might of its Psyche far surpassed this level. Furthermore, its physical body was only slightly weaker than it was at its peak.

With a massive “bang”, the gold-armored soldier’s saber slashed into the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s paw.

Clang!

The saber had shattered!