"Of course not!"
Chen Jingsheng refused decisively, then pressed the two metal spheres together.
The two spheres were already attracted to each other, and once pressed together, they stuck firmly.
But Chen Jingsheng was still careful enough not to circulate even a trace of Inner Qi.
After all, according to the intelligence they’d tortured out of their captives, bringing the two spheres together and infusing them with the Inner Qi of a Seventh Grade Martial Artist would activate the treasure.
Zhu Qiming then realized his question had been pointless. With another long sigh, he struggled to his feet and staggered toward Wei Lingyun and He Qingzhi.
He wasn’t worried that Chen Jingsheng would choose to silence him.
Obtaining an Immortal Treasure meant a high probability of continuing to advance toward the peak of the Martial Dao in the future.
And the greater one’s hope of climbing higher, the more one would care about a Heart Demon Poison Oath.
Therefore, Zhu Qiming was certain Chen Jingsheng wouldn’t do something so foolish.
Zou Feng and Wang Xingjian also gathered around Chen Jingsheng, congratulating him endlessly.
Among them, Chen Jingsheng and Wang Xingjian were naturally the happiest.
On the path of the Martial Dao, they had originally had almost no future to speak of.
But now that they had the Immortal Treasure, it was very likely they could truly defy the heavens and change their fate.
As for Zou Feng, he still found it all a bit unreal.
’Did we really get our hands on the Immortal Treasure this easily?’
But perhaps he was just being overly suspicious. After all, they had prepared for so long, and his own cultivation side effects had even helped them. Such an outcome was to be expected.
Of course, this was no place to linger. The three of them immediately prepared to leave.
Although he desperately wanted to silence Zhu Qiming and the others, the Heart Demon Poison Oath was no mere decoration. Chen Jingsheng could only give up on the idea.
But it wasn’t a major problem. Zhu Qiming’s group had also sworn a poison oath. Unless they were willing to throw all caution to the wind, they wouldn’t easily violate it and leak the news.
In any case, the most important thing now was to find a safe place to activate the Immortal Treasure. Everything else had to be put aside for the time being.
"Let’s go!"
With a wave of his hand, Chen Jingsheng was about to take the lead when a dozen small dots suddenly appeared at the foot of the hill.
They were a dozen or so Martial Artists, rapidly closing in on their position.
The one in the lead was astonishingly fast, gliding through the air toward them.
The Qi Force surrounding his body billowed like flames, making for a glaring sight.
The sight made Chen Jingsheng’s eyes widen in disbelief.
One had to know that even for a Seventh Grade Martial Artist, their Inner Qi couldn’t produce such a distinct special effect.
Just now, when Zhu Qiming had taken the Evil Pill, his Inner Qi had seemed to transform into black smoke, but it was only a faint and blurry state.
It merely "looked like" it; the Inner Qi hadn’t truly become black smoke.
Therefore, for this person’s Qi Force to manifest as a distinct flame-like form even from so far away, there was no doubt—a Gang Qi Realm master had arrived!
The Gang Qi Realm!?
Chen Jingsheng was stunned, and a deep despair immediately washed over him.
Zhu Qiming’s group was equally dumbfounded. This was clearly not a backup plan they had arranged.
Besides, if a Gang Qi Realm expert had known about this beforehand, they would have just snatched it directly. Why would they wait for the duel to decide a winner?
It was Zou Feng who first noticed something amiss.
"It’s people from the Ten Directions Sect!"
He had, after all, dealt with the Ten Directions Sect extensively and had even cultivated the Great Compassion Hand. Thus, after only a moment of observation, he identified their origins.
But Zou Feng couldn’t figure out why a Gang Qi Realm master would be here.
No new names had appeared on the List of Gods, so they obviously hadn’t come specifically to kill him.
Zou Feng had long been puzzled by one question: why the Ten Directions Sect, despite being miserably cornered, had stubbornly refused to withdraw from Yuan Guang County.
Although the Southern Prince’s sudden rebellion seemed to offer a reasonable explanation, it now looked like one of the reasons the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect remained in Yuan Guang County was likely to seize the Immortal Treasure!
’Most likely, some gifted individual within the Ten Directions Sect used an inference skill to predict that a treasure would soon appear in Yuan Guang County...’
Of course, this was all Zou Feng’s speculation; the real reason was still unknown.
But he knew one thing for sure: there was no time to hesitate.
"Brother Chen, Brother Wang, drop the Immortal Treasure! Split up and run!"
This was the only possible way to survive.
Looking at the Ten Directions Sect’s lineup, not to mention the Gang Qi Realm expert, the speed of the others rushing over clearly marked them as masters as well.
Therefore, trying to hold onto the Immortal Treasure was pure fantasy. The real question was whether they could even stay alive.
Their only chance was to throw the Immortal Treasure away. The Gang Qi Realm master would certainly prioritize retrieving the treasure, giving them a slim chance of survival.
After shouting this, Zou Feng was already running for his life.
Wang Xingjian also took off, but Chen Jingsheng remained motionless.
He couldn’t accept it!
"Hall Master, hurry up and go!"
"Brother Chen, as long as the green mountains are there, you’ll never lack for firewood!"
Chen Jingsheng still didn’t move. A moment later, he actually took out the two spheres, looking as if he was about to open the treasure right then and there!
However, at that very moment, another unexpected development occurred from a different direction.
Nine Martial Artists wearing the standard Martial Attire of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect appeared out of nowhere.
The one in the lead was surrounded by a deep cyan Qi Force, and his vast Sword Intent could be felt even from such a great distance.
Needless to say, the Celestial Essence Sword Sect also had a Gang Qi Realm expert present.
"Fang Jingchuan, so you really were hiding in Yuan Guang County, you scoundrel!" the Gang Qi Realm disciple from the Sword Sect boomed.
The Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist from the Ten Directions Sect recognized the newcomer and said grimly, "Shen Xuan!"
"Heh, did you really think only your so-called Dharma King could calculate that a strange treasure would appear here? Do you take my Sword Sect for a bunch of nobodies?"
The two actually knew each other. And with their voices amplified by Gang Qi, their exchange instantly confirmed Zou Feng’s earlier suspicion.
’Son of a bitch, they really did use some metaphysical inference skill to figure it out...’
The Celestial Essence Sword Sect had indeed sent a Gang Qi Realm disciple here as well; they had just been hiding all this time, same as the Ten Directions Sect.
He was now filled with regret, cursing himself for being greedy for some Immortal Treasure at this time.
’This truly isn’t something that someone at my current stage can scheme for.’
’Especially knowing that the High Grade Martial Artists of this world already show signs of what looks like Immortal Cultivation, I shouldn’t have been so careless.’
Fortunately, perhaps fate had decided he wasn’t meant to die yet. Although the appearance of the master from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect made the situation more chaotic, it also greatly increased his chances of escape.
These two Gang Qi Realm masters would surely have to deal with each other first. They would fight it out before doing anything else.
As for the other Eighth and Seventh Grade experts who might chase him, as long as he fled with all his might, it shouldn’t be a major problem.
But while Zou Feng and Wang Xingjian had decisively chosen to flee as far as they could, Chen Jingsheng had become obsessed.
The sudden appearance of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect disciples didn’t shake his resolve to open the Immortal Treasure right now. After all, the outcome would be the same—he had no hope of ever touching the Immortal Treasure again.
’So, while I still have the chance, I’ll open the Immortal Treasure first and see what’s inside.’
Chen Jingsheng even fantasized that once the Immortal Treasure was opened, it would directly teleport him into an Immortal Mansion that no one else could enter...