Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 670: Grab two!

Chapter 670: Grab two!

...

A soft chuckle escaped Chen Huaian as he gave his silent approval.

He recognized that the majority of Hua Jin the True One's speech was merely diplomatic fluff—the kind of professional flattery used to cement alliances.

He couldn't help but wonder how she would react if she realized that the very person she was endorsing was the one destined to seize the Celestial Jade Marrow.

Naturally, Chen Huaian intended to keep this secret buried until every last rival had been dealt with.

...

The minutes ticked by slowly.

Above the basin, the purple energy began to solidify, transforming into a physical spring that seemed to pour directly from the heavens.

The entire sky was painted in a stunning shade of purple-gold.

A low, humming vibration shook the earth as the tremors grew more violent.

The atmosphere became saturated with incredibly pure spiritual energy, laced with a faint, primordial aura of mystery.

Rising from her seat upon the rock, Hua Jin the True One's presence expanded, her azure robes billowing despite the lack of wind.

She gripped a folding fan decorated with shimmering water patterns, which added a layer of serenity to her gentle features.

However, her gaze remained as freezing as ice.

Only when her eyes fell upon Wang Shouyi did they soften with a hint of warmth.

Meanwhile, Chen Huaian had found a vantage point in front of the Kunlun Immortal Palace disciples. He had already arranged a table and chairs, snacking on melon seeds and sipping mineral water. He briefly considered pulling out a large watermelon but decided that might be a bit too disrespectful.

After all, he was being watched by everyone!

On the opposite side, the Great Thunder Temple's ranks were thin, consisting of only a handful of arhats.

It was evident that the demon immortal avatar had lacked the time to gather a significant following after arriving in this realm.

The Great Thunder Temple simply didn't possess the same draw for other ascenders as the Kunlun Immortal Palace did.

Consequently, their numbers appeared rather pathetic by comparison.

Chen Niu seemed to realize they were losing the battle of momentum due to their small group.

Nevertheless, he possessed his own ways to assert the Great Thunder Temple's dominance.

Where quantity failed, raw quality would suffice.

Boom—!

The kasaya worn by Chen Niu erupted outward. A sinister purple-black energy swirled around him, merging unnervingly with a holy Buddhist radiance to create a flickering, distorted halo.

The ground beneath him fractured without a sound, sending spiderweb cracks stretching out for several zhang.

His fiery, bell-like eyes were fixed intently on Hua Jin the True One, radiating blatant bloodlust and savagery.

The space in his wake began to warp. Faint, guttural roars of a beast could be heard as the flickering image of an ox-headed, snake-bodied law manifestation appeared and vanished behind him.

"Fellow Daoist Hua Jin," the monk Chen Niu growled, his voice vibrating like grinding stones, "There are ten shards of Celestial Jade Marrow in total! My Great Thunder Temple claims seven! Such is the Buddha's decree; it cannot be challenged! Out of respect for our shared history, I will permit you to have three. Move aside now, lest we ruin our friendship!"

As he spoke, he balled his massive hands into fists, his knuckles popping loudly.

The clash of demonic Qi and Buddhist light generated small sparks of electricity at his knuckles—a clear demonstration of his might.

The message to Hua Jin the True One was unmistakable.

If she refused to be sensible, his fists would find her skull.

"Hah!" A cold, subtle smirk touched the lips of Hua Jin the True One. With a sharp flick, she snapped her fan open, creating a gust of wind that cut through the thickening pressure. "Master Chen Niu certainly has a bold appetite. The rarest treasures of the world belong to those with virtue—they are not distributed by your personal whims. You want seven? Then... try to take them by force."

A Buddha's decree?

It was nothing more than the orders of those higher-ups.

Chen Niu served his masters.

Did she not have her own backers as well?

They were both merely pawns on a Go board; there was nothing left to discuss.

The auras of both combatants surged violently.

While Hua Jin the True One was technically at a lower Cultivation level than Chen Niu, the grand formation laid out by Zhang Yibai provided her with protection, neutralizing a portion of the overwhelming pressure.

In the end, the two forces reached a tense equilibrium.

However, the ascenders gathered on the surrounding peaks were struggling.

The air felt as though it had turned to stone under the weight of the pressure, making every breath a difficult chore.

"Heavens, is this the power of Void Shattering experts? I can barely breathe..." A cultivator at the early Nascent Soul stage turned ghostly pale, sweat dripping from his brow as he struggled to swallow.

"Look at Master Chen Niu! That demonic Qi is overwhelming! I thought the Great Thunder Temple was a holy Buddhist site? Why does he feel more malevolent than a demon!" Someone pointed toward the warped halo surrounding the monk, their voice shaking with terror.

"Shh! Be quiet! Do you want to die? Look at his eyes—he looks like he'd eat us alive!" A companion quickly muffled the speaker's mouth, stealing fearful glances at Chen Niu.

"Her Eminence Hua Jin truly embodies the spirit of the righteous path. She remains perfectly calm even when facing such a monstrous monk!" Several cultivators watched Hua Jin the True One with deep respect.

"Go on! Fight! Once they've crippled each other, I might have a chance to strike!" In a shadowed nook, a gaunt Nascent Soul cultivator with shifty eyes licked his lips. He whispered to his partner while clutching a black talisman that pulsed with dark energy.

"You? Strike? A single shockwave from their battle would turn you into a cloud of dust! Wake up and just watch. Witnessing a clash of this magnitude is a rare opportunity in itself!" His partner was more grounded, though his eyes remained glued to the center of the basin, clearly running his own numbers.

"It is true what they say; when immortals clash, it is the mortals who suffer... Let's move further back!"

On the edges of the crowd, lower-ranked ascenders were already retreating, terrified of being obliterated by the coming chaos.

Anyone below the Foundation Establishment stage knew they had no hope of obtaining the Celestial Jade Marrow.

However, the spiritual energy at the birth site of such a treasure would remain thick for days. Even just meditating nearby would be a massive boon.

Suddenly, a heavy silence fell as every eye turned toward the heart of the basin.

Hum!

A melodic, crystalline chime echoed through the world, sounding like the strike of fine jade or a note of heavenly music.

At the very center of the basin, a violent explosion of purple-gold light erupted, as if three tiny purple suns were bursting from the earth at once!

Three shimmering pillars of light pierced the clouds.

Within each pillar sat a piece of jade the size of a small child's fist. They were perfectly translucent, filled with swirling purple light that resembled a miniature galaxy.

As they surfaced, a literal tidal wave of pure spiritual energy washed over the area, momentarily clearing the purple-gold clouds above.

The top-tier Celestial Jade Marrow had finally appeared!

Unlike the singular piece from before, three had emerged simultaneously!

While everyone else was paralyzed by the breathtaking sight of the treasure's debut.

Hidden within the throng of ascenders.

A young woman in a simple white veil, her presence completely masked, suddenly moved like a pebble breaking a still pond!

Li Qingran vanished, leaving only a fading afterimage. Her velocity exceeded the perception of most cultivators, appearing as a streak of white lightning as she dove toward the two closest pieces of Celestial Jade Marrow.

Her timing was flawless.

She struck at the exact moment the treasures appeared—when the spiritual energy was most chaotic and everyone's focus was fractured.

During her time in the Cangyun Realm, Li Qingran had encountered countless treasures alongside Chen Huaian.

The Celestial Jade Marrow was valuable, but it wasn't enough to make her lose her cool.

Her Master had instructed her to secure one piece and retreat.

But she intended to seize two!

One was for the mission, and the other was to earn extra credit so she could dual cultivate with her Master!

...