UGB Chapter 111: The Battle That Never Began
Chapter 111: The Battle That Never Began
At this moment, the surrounding atmosphere plunged into a deep silence, so profound that even the faintest sound could echo.
Gao Zhang, eager to move past that fleeting feeling and aware that his plans were about to come to fruition, exchanged significant looks with the sect masters of the Bright Sun Sect, the Water Cloud Sect, the Divine Wind School, the Azure Jade Sect, and the Beast Emperor Mountain.
In response, they smoothly maneuvered their respective flying artifacts close to the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain’s flying artifact. Quickly, they formed a large semicircle around it.
Observing his pawns positioned just as he planned, with his own forces from the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain behind them, Gao Zhang felt a rush of malicious joy. Yet, he kept up a front of desperation.
"Jiang Chen," he declared, "we’ve admitted our faults, but you still want to annihilate us. If that’s how it is, we’re left with no option but to retaliate with all we have!"
"Even though you’re a powerhouse of the Heavenly Origin realm, your recent breakthrough means your foundation isn’t fully stable yet. You need time to cement your strength. Going up against more than sixty of us, experts from the Mysterious Platform realm, it won’t be easy for you to defeat us all, right?"
"How about a deal?" he suggested smoothly. "We from the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain will offer you compensation of unmatched generosity. In return, we end our decade-old grudges. What do you say?"
Hearing this, Sect Master Zhang Li from the Beast Emperor Mountain nodded, then stressed, "Indeed! Lord Jiang Chen, your strength is clear. But, our six sects host numerous Mysterious Platform realm cultivators, backed by our sects’ secret reserves. Defeating us might not be as easy as you imagine!"
"Perhaps, it won’t be us who face downfall. So, why not consider Sect Master Gao Zhang’s proposal?" he suggested cautiously.
Immediately after, the sect masters from the Bright Sun Sect, the Water Cloud Sect, the Divine Wind School, and the Azure Jade Sect each took their turn to speak, voicing their positions.
They united in their stance against Jiang Chen, emphasizing the power and resources of their respective sects. They all advocated for accepting Gao Zhang’s offer of peace and compensation.
Meanwhile, members of the Starry Abyss Sect, the Heavenly Blade School, the Floating Spirit Sect, and the Ice Heart School, who had immediately stayed silent when Jiang Chen posed his question earlier, were utterly astonished at what was unfolding before them.
Initially, when Gao Zhang started his appeal for unity against Jiang Chen, they thought it was a lost cause—convinced that only someone with a death wish would entertain such desperate pleas from the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain at such a critical juncture.
Yet, to their surprise, they discovered that the world indeed harbored its fair share of reckless individuals, as evidenced by the group now assembled before them, ready to take on Jiang Chen.
Back in the present, recognizing there was no turning back or altering the course of events, Gao Zhang took a decisive step. With his prospects of victory fading, he opted for a bold gamble.
Gritting his teeth and throwing caution to the wind, he was propelled by a deadly resolve. In his mind, he thundered the command: ’ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK!
ALL OF YOU ATTACK THAT BASTARD JIANG CHEN,’ transmitting his order via his divine sense to the high-ranking members of his own Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain, as well as those from the Bright Sun Sect, the Water Cloud Sect, the Divine Wind School, the Azure Jade Sect, and the Beast Emperor Mountain, spurring them to confront Jiang Chen.
Simultaneously, Gao Zhang tried to urgently shout his commands aloud, only to confront a chilling truth: no words could escape his lips; instead, only muffled "umm, umm" sounds emerged. Unknown to him, at some point, his lips had been sealed by a layer of ice, leaving him unable to speak.
Gao Zhang’s eyes widened in alarm, but despite this setback, he persisted in mentally screaming ’ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK! ALL OF YOU ATTACK THAT BASTARD JIANG CHEN’ with frantic desperation. As long as his mental commands could reach his human shields, he held onto the belief that hope remained.
However, even after what felt like an eternity of silent shouting, the expected sounds of battle—clashes and explosions—never materialized. Instead, an unsettling silence enveloped him.
This grim realization shook Gao Zhang to a sobering truth. From the moment he realized Jiang Chen was aware of his plot, panic had clouded his judgment, focusing him solely on self-preservation and blinding him to the events unfolding around him.
Just then, a mocking voice pierced the silence, aimed squarely at Gao Zhang, "Hehe, it looks like you’ve finally come to your senses." As these words resonated in his ears, the fog blurring Gao Zhang’s vision cleared, revealing the true state of affairs surrounding him.
To Gao Zhang’s absolute terror, as his vision cleared, he observed that everyone around him—whether they were senior members of his own Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain or from the Bright Sun Sect, the Water Cloud Sect, the Divine Wind School, the Azure Jade Sect, or the Beast Emperor Mountain—was frozen in place on their flying artifacts.
Each person was encased in a layer of ice, enveloping their entire bodies except for their heads. Just like Gao Zhang, their lips were sealed shut, rendering them all unable to speak.
Yet, this chilling spectacle only added to the confusion amidst the horror overwhelming Gao Zhang.
While the eerie silence now made sense—owing to everyone’s incapacity to move or speak—it did not answer his most pressing question: why did their eyes still reflect consciousness and sanity?
This was especially perplexing because Gao Zhang’s mental command to attack differed fundamentally from the subtle manipulation of their mindset he had previously achieved with the Swallowing Body Snatching Soul Grass embedded within their bodies.
His latest mental directive aimed to outright seize their souls and gain full control over their bodies, essentially turning them into living corpses.