Zou Feng, seeing that he couldn’t talk Chen Jingsheng out of it, had no choice but to continue his desperate flight.
At that moment, Wang Xingjian, Zhu Qiming, and the others were also scattering, each fleeing in a different direction.
After all, in a chaotic battle like this, no one could guarantee that the Ten Directions Sect or the Celestial Essence Sword Sect would leave any survivors.
While fleeing for his life, Zou Feng couldn’t suppress his curiosity. He glanced back toward Chen Jingsheng’s position as he ran.
Chen Jingsheng had gritted his teeth and was now clutching the two metal spheres in his hand. With a loud shout, he began to circulate his Inner Qi.
Empowered by his Inner Qi, the two metal spheres actually fused into one.
A dazzling white light immediately erupted.
Though the white light was a bit glaring, it wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it gave one the urge to bathe within it.
The white light appeared as quickly as it vanished.
Once the white light dissipated, the fused metal sphere began emitting a thick mist that rapidly spread out above Chen Jingsheng.
Within the mist that drifted skyward, the faint outlines of exquisite buildings appeared, seeming to stand atop the clouds. Countless immortal cranes soared above them, and the sound of ethereal, pleasant music drifted out.
In short, one look at the hazy scenery was enough to give the impression that this was, without a doubt, an Immortal Mansion where Immortals resided.
After a moment of stunned silence, Chen Jingsheng was overjoyed.
He had only activated the Immortal Treasure out of sheer desperation.
He hadn’t actually held out much hope of entering an Immortal Mansion.
But now... ’Is there a chance!?’
Meanwhile, the sudden, strange phenomenon left nearly everyone dumbfounded.
Almost everyone subconsciously began rushing even more frantically toward Chen Jingsheng, clearly hoping to seize this chance to enter the "Immortal Mansion."
Among them were Zhu Qiming and Wei Lingyun, who had originally been trying to escape.
He Qingzhi didn’t go. He was still feeling too listless.
He wasn’t even putting much effort into escaping.
As for the members of the Ten Directions Sect and the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, they surged forward with even greater ferocity, their faces contorted in crazed snarls.
The two Gang Qi Realm experts, Fang Jingchuan and Shen Xuan, had been on the verge of clashing. But upon seeing this, they both tacitly paused their fight and instead hurried toward the phenomenon.
As for Zou Feng, although he was also surprised that what seemed to be a real Immortal Mansion had appeared, his feet never stopped. He continued to flee.
’It’s as I thought,’ he mused. ’This isn’t something I can get my hands on at my current level.’
’Staying alive is more important than anything.’
’Even without some rare treasure, I can still reach the Seventh Grade in a short amount of time.’
’After that, if I find a few more high-ranking backers, even the Gang Qi Realm won’t be out of reach.’
So Zou Feng looked away and focused solely on his escape.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Wang Xingjian.
Zou Feng noticed the man was even more determined to escape than he was; he didn’t even glance back.
After running for several more moments, a loud explosion suddenly echoed from behind him.
The resulting shockwave made Zou Feng stumble, almost sending him to the ground.
He looked back again, only to see that the "Immortal Mansion" in the mist had vanished like an illusion.
The fused metal sphere, which had been slowly rising, had exploded.
The loud noise just now had been the sound of its detonation.
After the metal sphere exploded, a dozen or so streaks of white light shot out in different directions.
Within these streaking white lights, one could vaguely make out different objects.
There were weapons like sabers and swords, small vials, and cloth pouches. Zou Feng even saw a rag doll.
’The Immortal Mansion just vanished into thin air, and the metal sphere exploded...’
’So, the real treasures are these things that just shot out.’
Chen Jingsheng was stunned again. ’So the Immortal Mansion just now was just a ruse?’
’No, the Immortal Mansion must be real. These treasures must have come from it.’
’If I can get these treasures, I should still have a chance to find the Immortal Mansion...’
Swinging between elation and despair, Chen Jingsheng became completely obsessed. He ignored the fact that the Gang Qi Realm experts were drawing ever closer and instead began to chase after the newly emerged treasures.
The next moment, a scream of agony rang out.
It was Wei Lingyun. He had been viciously struck by a Ten Directions Cultist who had just arrived.
He was already seriously injured, but instead of fleeing, he had turned back to leap toward the "Immortal Mansion" in the mist.
His leap found nothing but empty air, and he succeeded only in drawing the attention of an arriving Ten Directions Cultist...
Since the treasures had scattered in all directions, the members of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect and the Ten Directions Sect quickly broke off to pursue them.
Zou Feng had been making a clean getaway, and luckily, no one had noticed him.
But then, one of the streaks of light headed unerringly toward a spot not far in front of him.
Seeing this, Zou Feng almost cursed out loud.
’I already made the smart choice to not go after these treasures, and now this stuff is going to drag me into it anyway?’
Sure enough, the sound of whooshing air echoed from behind him.
Two Ten Directions Cultists were heading for that streak of light.
Zou Feng quickly changed direction, skirting around the treasure’s landing spot.
’By making it so clear I don’t want the treasure, I shouldn’t attract any more attention for now.’
’After all, there are other treasures to chase.’
Unexpectedly, after picking up the treasure, the two Ten Directions Cultists immediately resumed their pursuit of him.
’Tch, they just have to tie up loose ends, don’t they?!’
Fortunately, in a stroke of luck amid the misfortune, both Ten Directions Cultists were Eighth Grade. No Seventh Grade Expert was after him.
The problem was, even though they were only Eighth Grade, Zou Feng couldn’t shake them off.
This wasn’t the labyrinthine streets of Yuan Guang City; he couldn’t use his familiarity with the terrain to his advantage.
The surrounding terrain was wide open, leaving no room to maneuver.
Zou Feng’s Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step was powerful, but he had yet to achieve Refined Skill with it.
The Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step excelled at short-range evasion and maneuvering, but it paled in comparison when it came to long-distance sprints.
In short, facing two Eighth Grade Ten Directions Cultists who had clearly taken Divine Inviting Pills in advance, it was likely only a matter of time before Zou Feng was caught.
’This is bad. I could handle one of them, but with two coordinating and harassing me with ranged attacks, I’ll never get away.’
Zou Feng gritted his teeth, his decision made in an instant.
’If these two have a death wish, then I’ll be happy to grant it!’
The next moment, Zou Feng came to an abrupt halt. Without even turning around, he shot backward, ramming straight into one of the Ten Directions Cultists.
The man clearly hadn’t expected Zou Feng to ram him. His first reaction was a momentary stun.
Then, he sneered and brought his short saber down hard on Zou Feng’s back.
CLANG—
With a dull thud, the saber struck Zou Feng true, but it only managed to tear his clothes, failing to break the skin.
With the protective Inner Strength of his Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force, coupled with the durability of his Tribulation-Indestructible Body, tanking a casual blow from this man was no problem at all.
The man clearly hadn’t expected this outcome and was unable to react in time.
He could only be sent reeling as Zou Feng slammed back into him.
Zou Feng was now in a kill-or-be-killed state. He was unleashing his full power, holding nothing back.
"Ah!"
After sending the Ten Directions Cultist flying, Zou Feng didn’t pause to recover. He immediately spun around, reached toward the man, and made a grasping motion in the air!
The moment he had struck the Ten Directions Cultist, Zou Feng’s flexible and adhesive Inner Qi had already "stuck" to him.
Thus, the man had only flown about ten feet before Zou Feng’s grasp yanked him back.
This, too, was completely beyond the Ten Directions Cultist’s expectations.
In truth, his miscalculation before the impact had already sealed his fate.
The next moment, as the Ten Directions Cultist was pulled back, he saw the illusion of a massive lotus "blooming" furiously before his eyes.
Upon reaching full bloom, the lotus erupted into flames, "engulfing" him.
The Fire Poison Heart Shattering Seal of the Five Poison Fire Lotus Palm struck him squarely in the chest.
PWAA—
Amid a wretched howl, the Ten Directions Cultist was sent flying backward again, traveling a full thirty feet before crashing wretchedly to the ground.
Zou Feng paid the downed man no further mind, his full attention fixed on the other Ten Directions Cultist nearby.
The other Ten Directions Cultist had not been just watching the show.
He hadn’t helped simply because the exchange had been too sudden and ended too quickly.
By the time he could react, his companion had already been struck and sent flying.
Who would have thought that this person, who had been fleeing in a panic just moments ago, could suddenly become so ferocious?
"Hey, are you okay?"
The other Ten Directions Cultist didn’t rush to attack Zou Feng. Remaining on guard, he called out to his companion who had just been sent flying.
As soon as he asked, his companion performed a kip-up, flipping to his feet.
"I’m fine! A soft little palm strike like that can’t do anything to me!"
He wasn’t just putting on a brave face. He truly didn’t feel seriously injured and was perfectly capable of getting up to fight again.
His conclusion was that Zou Feng’s palm strike, for all its flashiness, was all show and no substance!
"Don’t let this brat get away! I’m going to flay him alive with my own hands!"
Once on his feet, the Ten Directions Cultist glared viciously at Zou Feng, clearly furious that his prey had turned and bitten back like a cornered beast.
To this, Zou Feng replied without turning his head, "I’d advise you not to move."
The man laughed at his words and took two steps forward. "I insist on moving. What are you going to do about it?"
"I don’t have to do anything. You’re already dead."
"Hahaha, what shameless boasting! I’ll... huh!?"
Before he could finish, the man found his body beginning to twist uncontrollably.
"Ah? You... what did you do... WAAAAHH..."
His body contorted as if it were being twisted into a braid, a sight that was both terrifying and bizarre.
In less than a second, the twisted body exploded, showering the area in a rain of gore.