Chapter 730: Pursuit
Ji Danhong and two others, three Mountain Sea Realm experts, instantly made their moves in the later stage, while others in the Mountain Sea Realm needed to wait for opportunities to come to them. Why bother waiting when they could just make their move and seize the opportunity directly?
“Roar!”
The Monster King roared, a surge of demonic power spanning over a dozen miles, extending in the wind as if it intended to devour the entire void.
A black shadow silently appeared beneath Heavenly Rain Flower, extending a skeletal hand forward.
The One-Armed Hades appeared behind Qin Zesheng, bowing towards the position of Heavenly Rain Flower. In an instant, the heavens and the earth fell silent.
Ji Danhong raised a single hand, and a giant city phantom descended from the sky. Its silhouette resembled that of Flowing City without a difference.
Within the phantom city, figures could be seen coming and going. Even now, many within the city stopped their activities, looking up at the sky with puzzled expressions.
Xu Jinglun pointed forward, and the Sword of the Heavenly Path seemed as though it could pierce through the heavens. Within a radius of several tens of miles, many sword-type spiritual treasures in the hands of Mountain Sea Realm cultivators resonated slightly.
Chen Fei looked at the scene in the distance, his brows tightly furrowed.
This was the power of the later stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, truly earth- shattering. Chen Fei realized that he still had a long way to go to reach this level.
Fortunately, Chen Fei knew clearly how to tread these paths.
“Boom!”
The cracks in the sky’s void slightly hesitated, and some of the cracks even seemed to be filled.
Although the Mountain Sea Realm couldn’t tear open the void, it wasn’t entirely powerless against the threat of void cracks. When the later stage of the Mountain Sea Realm erupted with all its power, it could momentarily halt the void cracks.
During this momentary pause, one could escape.
Of course, this applied only to uncontrolled void cracks. Dealing with artificially torn void cracks was far more complicated and difficult to evade.
The radiance of the Heavenly Rain Flower trembled slightly, silently splitting into two, with sixty percent directly falling into the hands of the shadowy Evil King, while the remaining forty percent disappeared in an instant.
Xu Jinglun narrowed his eyes as he witnessed this scene. It seemed unlikely that he could achieve his goal of obtaining all the Heavenly Rain Flower.
This Evil King manipulated the void, causing the spatial forces surrounding the Heavenly Rain Flower to shift, resulting in this situation. The remaining seventy percent of the Heavenly Rain Flower would likely benefit the peripheral cultivators in the Mountain Sea Realm.
As the shadowy Evil King obtained a portion of the Heavenly Rain Flower and dissipated into the distance, the massive figure of the One-Armed Hades already stood in its place.
The peripheral cultivators had already observed the scene in the distance. At this moment, they spared no effort to maximize the spatial channels of their spiritual treasures and continuously stimulate spatial fluctuations, hoping to lure the Heavenly Rain Flower to come to them.
Moreover, everyone scanned their surroundings. Although each cultivator was currently far apart from one another, with the vision of the Mountain Sea Realm, they could still clearly see each other.
It wasn’t crucial to seize the Heavenly Rain Flower immediately, but it was imperative to identify who did.
Chen Fei activated his innate teleportation talent, sensing the fluctuations in the void. Suddenly, his expression subtly changed as a barely perceptible spatial fold appeared in front of him.
Faced with the spatial lattice, the Heavenly Rain Flower indeed came willingly.
“Hum!”
The spatial force enveloping the Heavenly Rain Flower collided with the spatial lattice, emitting subtle fluctuations, and then the Heavenly Rain Flower disappeared from view.
Chen Fei’s brows furrowed slightly. Although the fluctuations weren’t significant, compared to using spiritual treasures to contain the Heavenly Rain Flower, the previous fluctuations should have been much smaller.
However, at this moment, the peripheral cultivators were all watching each other closely. Although the fluctuations were minor, some still noticed them.
In an instant, Chen Fei sensed three pairs of eyes locking onto him.
“Heavenly Rain Flower will be evenly split. Don’t think about running away. With so many cultivators here, if you leave, everyone will know it’s you. By then, you’ll get nothing!”
A voice rang in Chen Fei’s ears. He turned to look and saw a cultivator holding a long staff, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth as he slowly approached Chen Fei.
“You all truly have keen eyes,” another voice chimed in.
“Although there’s less than half of the Heavenly Rain Flower left, we four will split it evenly. It’s still some gain.”
“Exactly!”
The three individuals approached Chen Fei naturally, but after reaching a certain distance, they stopped, not revealing their intentions to others.
The other cultivators hadn’t noticed anything unusual here. The spatial fluctuation had been fleeting, and at a distance, they couldn’t sense it at all.
At this moment, everyone was still looking around, yet there was no movement whatsoever.
“Who among you has obtained the Heavenly Rain Flower? I urgently need it. If you’re willing to offer it up, I’d be greatly thankful,” a mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator exclaimed.
However, no one responded to this statement. They exchanged glances with each other, and as the battle in the sky intensified, everyone began to slowly retreat.
Continuing to linger here and speculate serves no purpose. Instead, it might drag one into the conflict above.
The power of the later stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, let alone the early or mid-stage cultivators, even a slight misstep could lead to either death or severe injury.
“You there, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. If you arouse suspicion, you might end up losing both your life and your wealth.”
Ao Bozhong held his staff with one hand, sending a threatening message to Chen Fei. He was reminding Chen Fei not to think about monopolizing the Heavenly Rain Flower and also cautioning against moving too quickly, which could arouse suspicion from others.
Chen Fei remained expressionless, maintaining a normal pace as he flew towards the periphery.
These Mountain Sea Realm cultivators, having practiced for hundreds of years, were all astute individuals. Sometimes, by detecting subtle clues, they could sense something amiss.
Thus, although the other cultivators seemed to have given up on the Heavenly Rain Flower, many were still secretly observing. If anything unusual was detected, they would choose to pursue.
After a quarter of an hour passed, all the Mountain Sea Realm cultivators were already hundreds of miles apart. Behind Chen Fei, however, three figures slowly emerged.
“There are no outsiders here. Quickly divide the Heavenly Rain Flower, and everyone can go their separate ways.”
Miao Wanhua appeared elderly, leaning on a cane, but her aura was no weaker than those around her.
“You’re right. Once the Heavenly Rain Flower are divided, we can each go our own way,” Wu Zisheng nodded repeatedly, holding a long sword with his white clothes fluttering.
“Sir, please hold on!”
Seeing Chen Fei’s lack of response, Ao Bozhong frowned. With a roll of his body, he blocked Chen Fei’s path in an instant, his staff held horizontally.
Chen Fei glanced at Ao Bozhong, then swiftly moved, activating his Sky Travel, darting past Ao Bozhong.
The aura Chen Fei now displayed was completely different from before, merged with Nie Li’s, so there was no need to worry about these individuals recognizing him.
Moreover, among the Mountain Sea Realm cultivators at Corpse Cliff Mountain, they came from various parts of the Middle Continent, not from those well-known holy lands with eyes and ears everywhere. Even if someone were to recognize his aura, it would have been extremely difficult to track him down.
The Middle Continent was vast, and even with the power of the Mountain Sea Realm, it was impossible to hunt someone down solely based on their aura.
“The way you’re acting is forcing our hand!”
Seeing Chen Fei trying to leave without a word, Ao Bozhong narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flickering in his gaze.
“Drinking the toast but refusing the punishment, Heavenly Rain Flower is not something you can monopolize!” Wu Zisheng coldly exclaimed.
“Young man, being too greedy will get you killed!” The wrinkles on Miao Wanhua’s face piled up, appearing to be admonishing, but the murderous intent in her words couldn’t be concealed.
Chen Fei remained silent. Though these three individuals seemed not to know each other, some exchanges in their glances revealed something.
Although Chen Fei’s Heavenly Eye was not as mysterious as it was in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, he could still clearly observe such subtle details.
The trio’s supposed plan to divide the Heavenly Rain Flower ultimately aimed to divide Chen Fei entirely, with no intention of sparing his life.
Chasing after Chen Fei for just a moment, their brows furrowed. Chen Fei’s speed was too fast, far beyond what a cultivator in the early stage of the Mountain Sea Realm should have been capable of.
The more they chased, the further apart they became. Now, there was already a distance of several miles between them. If they delayed any longer, they might not even catch a glimpse of Chen Fei’s figure.
“This kid must have realized the relationship between us, so he doesn’t dare to stop for even a moment!” The previously benevolent expression on Miao Wanhua’s face had long disappeared, replaced only by sarcasm and hostility.
“At thisspeed, we won’t catchup,” Wu Zisheng frowned.
“Even if we can’t catch up, we must pursue. If the three of us spot the Heavenly Rain Flower, it proves that we’re destined to have them. How can we let it go so easily?”
Ao Bozhong snorted coldly, and a bright pearl flew out from his staff, splitting into three and hovering above their heads.
In the next moment, their elemental energies suddenly linked together, boosting their already swift speed.
Chen Fei flew ahead, suddenly sensing something amiss behind him. He glanced back and noticed the trio linked together, prompting a slight furrow of his brow.
In his spiritual consciousness, the talent for teleportation glimmered slightly. Chen Fei took a step forward, causing ripples to appear in the void beneath his feet, and he vanished abruptly.
Still within the boundaries of Corpse Cliff Mountain, such a chase or even a battle could easily attract the attention of other Mountain Sea Realm cultivators.
That’s why Chen Fei didn’t want to engage in direct conflict with these three. Provoking the attention of mid-stage or even late-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators would be the most troublesome outcome.
Ninety miles away, Chen Fei reappeared, then vanished again several times in succession, now over three hundred miles away.
Without stopping, Chen Fei continued flying towards the outskirts of Corpse Cliff Mountain’s boundary.
At this moment, Corpse Cliff Mountain was still in a tumultuous state, and since Chen Fei had already obtained the Heavenly Rain Flower, he was unwilling to linger here any longer.
Whether it was refining the Heavenly Rain Flower or cultivating techniques, it would be better to find a secluded place than to stay in Corpse Cliff Mountain.
Three hundred miles away, Ao Bozhong and the others watched as Chen Fei suddenly disappeared, their eyes widening slightly.
“Teleportation talent?” Wu Zisheng exclaimed in surprise.
“This kid’s luck is so extraordinary? But with such talent, it’s no wonder the Heavenly Rain Flower ultimately chose him!” Miao Wanhua said somewhat begrudgingly. With the talent for teleportation, how could they catch up?
“It may not be luck. It could also be the Black Divine!” Ao Bozhong suddenly spoke up.
“The Black Divine?” Wu Zisheng turned to Ao Bozhong.
“The Tianling Sect is currently collecting information on the Black Divine. If we capture this kid, the benefits the Tianling Sect can offer may be no less than the Heavenly Rain Flower,” Ao Bozhong explained.
“That’s just speculation. If we’re wrong, the Tianling Sect might not be so forgiving. Besides, even with our current situation, we can’t catch up to that kid!” Wu Zisheng shook his head.
“We can chase, but we need to figure out how to prevent this kid from teleporting further.”
Miao Wanhua pulled out a jade hairpin from her hair, and to their surprise, it bore the imprint of Chen Fei’s aura. They couldn’t tell when it had been imprinted onto the hairpin.