CHAPTER 431: ALMOST TOO LATE

"Crap!" Lu Yi’s face fell as a powerful force burst from him, pushing back against the searing heat Gui Donghua had unleashed.

He barely managed to shield a small group of people—and salvage a handful of precious resources in the process.

Up above, Jiang Chen watched it all play out. That’s more than enough for him to bounce back, he thought, before quietly making his next move.

Just as Lu Yi reached for the spirit stones he’d managed to protect, ready to feed them into his system, everything in front of him suddenly crumbled to ash—gone in an instant.

"What?! My spirit stones—they’re gone!" He froze, eyes wide, hands trembling. Rage flared across his face, laced with the first real flicker of panic. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?!"

Without those spirit stones, turning things around was impossible.

Is this really where it all ends?

Anger and frustration boiled up inside Lu Yi.

At the same time, Gui Donghua and the others spread out, surrounding him from all sides.

Not one of them questioned what had just happened to the spirit stones. Whoever wiped them out had clearly been helping them—no need to overthink it.

None of them had a clue that Jiang Chen was the one pulling strings from the shadows.

Lu Yi steadied himself, eyes flicking between the four who had boxed him in. He sent a calm transmission.

"Look, I’ve still got some valuable cultivation resources."

"If you’re dead set on killing me, I’ll shatter my storage ring right here. Everything inside gets torn apart by spatial turbulence—including this upper-grade Nirvana Peering-level immortal weapon."

"But if you’re open to a deal, just toss me some spirit stones and these treasures are yours. Straight trade—nothing shady."

He paused, then added, "Let’s start small. This bottle’s got top-grade pills, and I’ve got a few rare herbs too. Once we’re done with those, we can talk about the immortal weapon."

It was bait, pure and simple. Lu Yi just needed enough spirit stones to push his system forward and flip the script.

As for handing over the Luminous Heavenly Fury Blade? Not a chance. That thing was his last line of defense.

Lu Yi’s offer gave Gui Donghua and the others a moment of pause. Their thoughts weren’t all that different.

His mother’s Lu Tingyun—no way he’s not carrying some serious treasures.

If he destroys his storage ring, all of it’s gone to spatial turbulence. That’d be a damn waste. If we play this right, those treasures could boost our cultivation big time.

Still... why is he asking for spirit stones instead of begging for his life? He’s on the edge of death and this is what he’s focused on?

They traded glances, each catching the same mix of surprise—and barely restrained greed—in the others’ eyes.

Lu Yi sent another message, steady and firm.

"One more thing. If we make this trade, you’ve got to let me go—just for a bit. If you don’t agree, I’ll blow myself and everything I have to pieces. Simple as that."

"Fine. We agree." Gui Donghua’s eyes gleamed as he sent his reply.

They all knew Lu Yi was probably up to something—but their greed was louder than their doubt.

As far as they were concerned, he had nowhere to run. Making the trade didn’t cost them anything.

Once they got their hands on the goods, taking him out would still be easy.

And best of all? No one else had to know a thing.

But neither Gui Donghua nor Lu Yi realized that Jiang Chen—already at the Nirvana Cleansing realm—was watching everything from above, tracking their every move.

So he’s trying to bait them, Jiang Chen thought, eyes narrowing. And stall for time. If Gui Donghua and the others don’t move fast, they’re done for.

At least, that’s how things played out originally. This time... yeah, they’re still dead men walking. Just not by Lu Yi’s hand.

He’d seen enough. It was time to step in.

Down below, Lu Yi suddenly released a thick mist—strong enough to block the divine sense of anyone below the Nirvana Peering realm.

"Kill!" Gui Donghua and the others yelled, charging straight into the fog like they meant it.

But behind the act, they’d already prepared the spirit stones. The trade was about to begin.

Originally, they would’ve gone through several trades with Lu Yi, giving him enough spirit jades to power up his system—only to get crushed in a surprise counterattack.

But before that could happen, a thunderous Roar! shook the heavens, and the terrifying presence of a true dragon swept across millions of kilometers.

"What the—?!" Lu Yi and the group led by Gui Donghua all froze, faces twisting in shock.

For Gui Donghua and the others, dread hit instantly. There was only one being on Prosperous Stone Immortal Star tied to a true dragon.

Jiang Chen.

A wave of raw terror surged through them. Every hair on their bodies stood on end as they turned to run.

Too late.

Swoosh!

Four enormous dragon claws ripped through the void, each one locked onto a target. Space itself tore apart as the claws came crashing down—swift, brutal, inescapable.

Right after that, before Lu Yi could even react, Ying Luo’s true dragon head tore through the void—swallowing all four bodies in one clean bite.

At the same time, a familiar voice rang out, calm but closing in fast. "Almost too late."

Jiang Chen flew in from the distance, stopping right in front of Lu Yi.

Inside his Sea of Consciousness, system prompts rang out one after another—

[Ding! Plot alteration detected! You’ve successfully stopped protagonist Lu Yi from stealing the spotlight. Lu Yi’s Heavenly Fate Value has dropped by 5,000 points!]

[Ding! You’ve gained 10,000 Villain Value points!]

"Rawr, Big Brother!" Ying Luo zipped to Jiang Chen’s side, shrinking down to about ten centimeters and wrapping herself snugly around his hand.

"Good girl." Jiang Chen raised his hand, and she rubbed her cheek against it with a soft purr.

Despite how it looked, Ying Luo hadn’t taken down Gui Donghua and his crew on her own.

The real power behind those instant kills was Jiang Chen—quietly using spatial force from the shadows.

"Jiang... Senior Jiang Chen..." Lu Yi stared at the man in front of him. Deep down, he wanted to shout, You ruined everything again, didn’t you?

But then he remembered what Jiang Chen had said—Almost too late.

He hesitated. Jiang Chen had shown up to save him. Given how fast everything had happened, how could he have possibly known what Lu Yi was planning?

It was obvious that Jiang Chen had unknowingly ruined his plans.

But could Lu Yi really blame him? Not this time.

"You alright?" Jiang Chen gave him a small, easy smile.

"Yeah, I’m fine." Lu Yi forced a bit of energy back into his voice and managed a smile of his own. "But why would Senior Jiang Chen step in for me? Didn’t you say traveling with you would only make things more dangerous?"