bookbashuk Chapter 71 Escape
Chapter 71 Escape
"Let's see what tricks you can pull."
The leader spoke indifferently, as if he were commenting on a struggling insect.
He strode slowly toward Zhao Fan, who lay sprawled in a pool of blood.
The moonlight shone on his gray robes, casting long, imposing shadows on the ground.
He walked steadily, his gaze not even fully focused on Zhao Fan, but rather with a hint of amusement as he scrutinized his prey's final reaction, sweeping over Zhao Fan's blood-stained tattered clothes and the dark red stains spreading beneath him.
The white-robed scholar frowned almost imperceptibly, his lips moved but he ultimately remained silent. His fingers, which were gripping the high-grade defensive talisman, turned slightly white, and his gaze, like that of a hawk, was fixed on Zhao Fan's every subtle movement, especially his right hand, which hung limply in the pool of blood.
Although the one-eyed strongman was dissatisfied, he still carried his knife and followed two steps behind the leader, ready to deal with any unexpected situation at any time.
The other cultivators also gripped their magical artifacts tightly, their energy subtly shifting and sealing off the surroundings.
A distance of seven or eight zhang is nothing more than a blink of an eye for a cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Refining.
The leader stopped about ten feet away from Zhao Fan. For a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator who was seriously injured, dying, and whose magic artifacts were destroyed, this distance was an insurmountable barrier.
But for him, it was an area under absolute control; he could even smell the strong stench of blood and the decaying aura of spiritual energy dissipating from Zhao Fan's body.
"explain."
He looked down at Zhao Fan, his voice completely flat.
Zhao Fan lay there, his chest rising and falling slightly, the blood he coughed up staining his mouth and jaw red.
His unfocused gaze struggled to meet Boss Qiu's cold, downcast eyes, and his blood-stained fingers seemed to twitch unconsciously beneath him.
It's now!
The last glimmer of light in Zhao Fan's eyes suddenly exploded, transforming into an almost manic determination and ferocity!
His right hand, which had been hanging limply in the pool of blood, suddenly rose with a speed exceeding the limits of a severely injured person. His five fingers spread open, and in his palm, a talisman about an inch long, dark gold like a vajra, was suddenly revealed. It was frantically absorbing the essence and residual divine consciousness in his palm and was bursting out with a sharp and destructive aura that made one's soul tremble.
The dark gold talisman, which had absorbed the essence of blood and divine consciousness, had transformed into a pure, condensed dark gold aura that seemed capable of cutting through space and ignoring all obstacles!
The moment this malevolent light appeared, it devoured the surrounding light, carrying an aura that could annihilate spiritual power and break through all defenses. With a speed beyond comprehension, it shot straight at the leader's chest!
The distance was too close, the burst was too fast, and the protective aura contained in the evil light had a natural ability to restrain and penetrate the protective aura!
The leader's indifference and amusement froze the moment Zhao Fan's eyes changed drastically and his right hand was raised!
His pupils suddenly contracted, and an unprecedented sense of deadly crisis, like ice water poured over his head, instantly overwhelmed his mind!
He never expected that a mere Qi Refining Level 5 kid, severely injured and on the verge of death, would possess such a terrifying weapon that could be activated instantly!
This murderous aura... it's a talisman! And a killing talisman specifically designed to break through protective barriers!
"not good!"
Alarm bells rang in his mind. He had no time to think further. His survival instinct and profound cultivation at the tenth level of Qi Refining erupted instantly!
The protective aura that had been held back suddenly shone brightly, more solid and substantial than ever before, with a faint yellowish-brown halo, clearly indicating that the practitioner had cultivated a remarkable protective technique.
At the same time, he leaned back sharply, his footwork shifting mysteriously as he tried to move to the side to avoid it.
The pair of dull, lifeless short halberds at his waist even hummed automatically and sprang out half an inch, as if trying to protect their master.
But it was too late!
The speed of the dark gold light far exceeded the speed at which he could dodge and defend!
Its power to break through the protective aura resonated strangely with and eroded the protective spiritual light that he had hastily erected!
In the blink of an eye, that condensed dark golden light, like a red-hot iron rod piercing into the snow, easily pierced through the leader's seemingly thick protective spiritual light with almost no resistance, and precisely entered his heart!
"Well……!"
The leader's body stiffened abruptly, and all his movements stopped instantly.
He looked down, staring incredulously at the thumb-sized, translucent hole in his chest.
The flesh and bones around the hole had an eerie grayish color, as if all vitality and spiritual power had been annihilated in an instant by the terrifying Geng metal evil energy and destructive power contained in that evil light!
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a strange "clucking" sound came from his throat.
The sparkle in his eyes faded as quickly as the tide receded, replaced by a deathly gray.
The immense spiritual power of the tenth level of Qi Refining had spiraled out of control, beginning to dissipate wildly from his pores and seven orifices, creating a chaotic storm of spiritual energy. His imposing body swayed, as if all his bones had been removed, and he fell straight backward, without a sound.
All of this happened so fast, in the blink of an eye!
"Big brother!!!"
The one-eyed giant's roar was filled with endless shock, anger, and fear!
He watched helplessly as the terrifying dark golden light pierced his elder brother's chest, and as his brother fell to the ground without any resistance, his mind went completely blank.
Even after the dark golden light pierced through the leader, its power continued unabated.
The one-eyed burly man, who was only two steps behind Boss Qiu, was a beat slower to react because of the shock of the view and his mind!
When he saw the murderous light emanating from his elder brother's chest and was horrified, he tried to retreat or parry with his sword, but the aftershocks of the dark golden murderous light, which had weakened slightly after passing through Boss Qiu but was still incomparably sharp, had already reached his body!
"Pfft!"
The edge of the glare struck the one-eyed burly man's left arm, which he hastily raised to block, and half of his chest!
"ah--!"
The one-eyed strongman let out a piercing scream! His left arm was severed at the elbow, the cut smooth as a mirror, but no blood gushed out, only a deathly silence and desolation.
A large chunk of flesh was ripped from one side of his chest, and the beating heart and bare bones were even faintly visible. The wound was also being eroded by the terrifying Geng metal evil energy, and his life force was quickly extinguished!
He was struck as if by a giant hammer, spitting out blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, flying backward and crashing heavily into a boulder behind him, cracking the rock like a spider web before finally sliding to the ground. Although he was not dead, he had completely lost his fighting ability, his aura was extremely weak, and his eyes were filled with pain and disbelief.
"withdraw!"
A sharp, urgent shout, filled with obvious panic, rang out! It was the white-robed scholar, Mr. Bai! The moment Zhao Fan raised his hand to reveal the talisman, he had already slapped the high-grade defensive talisman in his hand onto himself without hesitation, and a layer of solid blue water curtain light shield instantly enveloped him.
It was precisely this protective barrier, coupled with his slightly distant position and constant high vigilance, that allowed him to escape unscathed from the terrifying aftershocks of the bursting of malevolent light, the death of his leader, and the serious injury to his deputy. He was only shaken to the point of blood churning, and the barrier itself did not break despite the violent fluctuations. He suffered only minor injuries.
He could see clearly that the leader was dead, and the strongest fighter, One-Eyed, was also crippled. Although the other kid looked like he was not far from death, who knew if he had a second terrifying talisman like that?
Even without it, given the ruthless and decisive nature of the enemy, their willingness to perish together with their leader, their morale has collapsed, and their subordinates may not be able to secure victory. The most urgent task is to save their lives and take away the remaining forces!
After his fierce shout, he completely ignored the other stunned cultivators and transformed into a fleeting white shadow, retreating without hesitation into the dense forest in the opposite direction from Zhao Fan!
The leader died suddenly, the deputy was seriously injured and on the verge of death, the third leader fled in panic, and the remaining six or seven cultivators collapsed instantly!
Someone shouted, and everyone scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing for their lives in all directions. They wished they had two more legs, and no one cared about Zhao Fan, who was dying on the ground, or the heavily injured one-eyed strong man.
The moment Zhao Fan activated the Golden Fiend Talisman, he felt all his vital energy, spirit, and even most of his life force being drained along with his blood and consciousness.
The moment the talisman left his hand, everything went black before his eyes, and he almost immediately fainted. But he knew that if he lost consciousness now, he would surely die!
He bit his tongue hard with his teeth, the intense pain and the salty taste of blood barely keeping him conscious.
He didn't even glance at the dead leader or the screaming one-eyed strongman, nor did he have time to care about the fleeing cultivators.
Driven by the instinct for survival, his mangled body suddenly rolled up from the pool of blood. His left hand trembled as he reached for his storage bag, grabbing two or three jade bottles without even looking at them. He then poured all the pills inside—including the two remaining low-grade Spirit Nourishing Pills and the three high-quality first-grade Blood Coagulation Pills that he had kept as backup—into his mouth and swallowed them whole.
The elixir entered his stomach, transforming into streams of heat that barely sustained his collapsing mind and began to slowly nourish his battered body, especially the injuries to his internal organs.
However, the depletion of spiritual energy and damage to the meridians made the medicinal effects dissipate at a hopelessly slow pace.
Struggling, with his almost numb legs and the faint remaining light from his Cloud-Stepping Boots, he stumbled and crawled towards the deeper, desolate mountains and wilderness, in the opposite direction from the direction the white-robed scholar, Mr. Bai, had fled.
Every step he took aggravated his wounds, causing excruciating pain. Blood gushed from the wounds on his ribs, back, and shoulders, leaving a trail of broken blood behind him.
As he desperately charged forward, his right hand trembled as he grabbed a few low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag, clutching them tightly in his palm. He frantically circulated the remaining path of the Heavenly Origin Technique, trying to squeeze out even a trace of spiritual energy from the cold, hard spirit stones to replenish his nearly depleted dantian and meridians.
Spirit stones are precious, and he would never normally absorb them so roughly, but at this moment, he couldn't care less about that.
Run! We must run even further! Although the white-robed scholar has escaped, he may not turn back, or other scattered cultivators may come to their senses and give chase.
In his current state, even a cultivator at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining could easily take his life!