Yu Yixiang moved her finger, and two silver swords, one above and one below, propped open the crack, supporting Wang Longyu, and quickly slipped out of the crack.
Shen Yezhen struggled several times but failed to break free from the stone lions.
Just as Qian Duoduo was about to act, he suddenly heard a furious roar from Shen Yezhen. He spat a mouthful of vital blood onto the golden sword in his hand. A ball of yellow flame appeared on the golden sword, then exploded. The fiery fragments struck countless wounds on his body while also severing the flesh circle and the stone lions.
Freed from his restraints, Shen Yezhen, covered in wounds and blood, rushed to the crack but stopped. He grabbed Qian Duoduo without looking, and with a backhand, flung Qian Duoduo towards the stone lions.
How meticulous his thoughts were! Qian Duoduo, this scapegoat, was to play his final role as cannon fodder.
At this moment, the upper half of his orange robe was already outside the crack, and he also smelled the fresh air outside the castle.
However, he didn't have eyes on the back of his head. If he did, he would have seen that Qian Duoduo had an extra Magic Treasure in his hand, the Spring Breeze Yin-Yang Scissors, a high-grade artisan artifact.
“Ding,” a soft sound. The Spring Breeze Yin-Yang Scissors shot out a gray light, and a small hole immediately appeared in Shen Yezhen’s back. His rushing figure instantly stopped.
“Senior Brother Shen!” Qian Duoduo cried out in pain, reaching out to grab the orange robe, pulling Shen Yezhen back, and then casually taking his Storage Pouch.
“You—” Shen Yezhen’s face turned ashen, his large nose collapsed, and he leaned backward, clutching his chest with his right hand, staring fixedly at Qian Duoduo, unable to believe that he was alive again while he himself was about to die.
Slipping into the crack, Qian Duoduo kicked backward. Shen Yezhen was struck by Qian Duoduo’s kick and shared a passionate embrace with the pursuing stone lions.
The moment Qian Duoduo crawled out, the crack closed, disappearing completely.
“Senior Brother Shen…” Qian Duoduo roared tearfully, but inwardly he was laughing wildly as he ran with the wind towards the forest outside the castle.
The sword Shen Yezhen held at Qian Duoduo’s throat was finally gone.
However, the He Lou Family’s was still there.
In the underground palace beneath Helou Castle, an old man sitting in a blood-red Formation suddenly opened his eyes. “Outer Sect Disciple of Refining Spirit Sect…” the old man, whose cultivation had reached Foundation Establishment Late Stage, whispered. Around him, countless people knelt in the Blood Pool. The Blood Pool surged, transforming into a stream of Spiritual Qi, impacting the Soul imprint on the old man’s body.
Generally speaking, after winter set in, no one from the Refining Spirit Sect would come to the Chifeng Mountain Range. The He Lou Family had then activated the Blood Sacrifice Great Law to corrode the Soul imprint on the old man’s body, and then the entire Family would relocate. Unexpectedly, Wang Longyu arrived. After imprisoning Wang Longyu in the Spirit Pomegranate, it was unexpected that Qian Duoduo and the other two would come looking for him.
“Another month should be enough,” the old man thought to himself. “The entire area around the castle is covered by forbidden Formations, so these people cannot contact the Refining Spirit Sect. Killing one is no different from killing them all.”
Thinking this, the old man calmly spoke: “You seven, go out and quickly catch up to the Refining Spirit Sect Disciples. Once they’ve come, they shouldn’t expect to return…”
On the snowy ground in front of Qian Duoduo, two clear sets of footprints were imprinted. In the forest, two dark figures were particularly conspicuous.
Undoubtedly, those were Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu.
Before they could get close, Yu Yixiang shouted to Qian Duoduo, “Junior Brother Jin, hurry over, let’s go together.”
“Senior Sister Hu, Senior Brother Shen blocked those two stone lions to save me, and even gave us his Storage Pouch—Senior Brother Shen is a good Senior Brother. What do we do now?” Qian Duoduo wiped his eyes with his sleeve, extended his left hand, and supported Wang Longyu from the other side, also using him to block his face. After all, along the way, Shen Yezhen had unreasonably suppressed Qian Duoduo countless times in front of Yu Yixiang, so acting too sad would seem fake.
Not being too sad also made sense. Their rescue of Wang Longyu was a joyous occasion.
Yu Yixiang looked back at the castle, which was once again tightly sealed, “Let’s go, quickly.”
Wang Longyu’s legs were still weak. He opened his eyes slightly, “You two go, don’t mind me—the He Lou Family won’t give up easily, they’ll pursue us.”
“If we go, we go together.” Qian Duoduo stuffed a few Qi Return Pills into his mouth, took out a bottle of trauma medicine from his Storage Pouch for him to apply to his wounds, and placed a Flying Sword in his hand.
Seeing Qian Duoduo’s generosity, the pale-faced Yu Yixiang’s gaze softened towards Qian Duoduo, “If only we had listened to you. We must escape quickly—just now I tried to contact the Sect with a transmission Jade Slip, but the Jade Slip failed, the He Lou Family has already used a Formation to isolate all fluctuations here…”
Qian Duoduo remembered that there was no Winged Vehicle, and the He Lou Family still had a high-level Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Two huge stones seemed to be tied to his already light feet.
She was at Qi Condensation Level Six, Qian Duoduo was at Qi Condensation Level Six, and Wang Longyu was at Qi Condensation Level Six. Three Cultivators at Qi Condensation Level Six were no different from three small ants in front of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Taking out Shen Yezhen’s Storage Pouch, Qian Duoduo retrieved two jade bottles from it and handed them to Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu, “You two take half each.”
Yu Yixiang hesitated for a moment, then accepted them without much politeness. From entering the castle to escaping, it was actually only a short quarter of an hour. Although she wasn’t injured, her face was pale, no less exhausted than during the Outer Sect minor competition.
Wang Longyu swallowed the Qi Return Pills, his Spiritual Qi recovered, and he gained some strength, “The He Lou Family has grand designs; they slaughtered several surrounding villages and used a Spirit Blood Formation to forcibly raise their Realm. They should be at a critical juncture, so not many people should be able to leave the castle. We still have a chance, as long as we escape the shielding Formation, we will definitely be able to reconnect with the Upper Sect.”
Yu Yixiang nodded, “If the Sect knows about the Family’s rebellion, they will rush here immediately—”
The three of them felt a surge of spirit. Wang Longyu pushed away Qian Duoduo and Yu Yixiang, not wanting their help, and sprinted forward on his own.
After rushing down the hillside, Yu Yixiang took out her transmission Jade Slip again, shouted a few words, then shook her head with a bitter expression.
Still no connection.
“Keep running…” Wang Longyu gritted his teeth, lowering his head, and rushed into the forest ahead.
Qian Duoduo channeled his Eternal Wealth and Prosperity cultivation method, his steps becoming faster and faster, running ahead of him.
In a few leaps, Yu Yixiang also surpassed Wang Longyu.
Just then, a whistling sound suddenly came from behind them.
Oh no, someone was chasing them!
Before Qian Duoduo could warn Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu, “Swish, swish, swish,” seven figures caught up from behind.
The He Lou Family members had arrived!
The leader was a slender young man. Qian Duoduo judged from his aura that he was actually at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation. Among the others, two were at Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight, and four were at Condensing Qi Stage Level Seven.
The strength of the pursuers completely overwhelmed them.
“My He Lou Family, do you think you can enter and leave as you please? Three Cultivators at Qi Condensation Level Six, I’ll let you die knowing who killed you: Helou Chuang.” The slender youth waved his hand, and the He Lou Family Disciples took out their Magic Treasures and rushed towards them.
“Run!” Yu Yixiang shouted loudly, and the three of them desperately burrowed into the forest.
All the Spiritual Qi in the Spiritual Vein turned into plum green, and Qian Duoduo suddenly accelerated, swaying twice, running dozens of feet away.
Behind him, several explosions and sounds of Magic Treasures colliding could be heard.
Looking back, Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu were back to back, already surrounded by the Helou pursuers.
“Junior Brother Jin, don’t come back. Get out. Avenge us.” Yu Yixiang’s voice was still cold. Her silver swords danced, blocking most of the attacks.
“No one is escaping.” Helou Chuang brandished a cold light, “I’ll kill you first.”
Yu Yixiang parried with her silver sword, and with a loud clang, blocked the cold light, but she also spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
“Escape…” Yu Yixiang thrust her silver sword, blocking a blade light for Wang Longyu.
Qian Duoduo ran forward about ten steps, but couldn’t help but stop again. At this moment, Wang Longyu’s leg was struck again by a blade, and he could no longer stand. Yu Yixiang was entangled by four or five pursuers, and there was no hope of her escaping either. It was clear that they were fighting with all their might to buy Qian Duoduo time to escape.
The Spiritual Qi in the Spiritual Vein was abundant, but Qian Duoduo’s legs trembled uncontrollably.
If Qian Duoduo ran now, he was confident that the pursuers wouldn’t be able to catch him.
However, if Qian Duoduo ran, Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu would surely die.
If they died, he would never be at peace!
Qian Duoduo could be rotten, he could lie flat, but he couldn’t live with unease.
Living without peace was worse than death.
Thinking this, Qian Duoduo turned around. His legs stopped trembling.
