Chapter 295: Lo Xingnan

Novel:

Yu Kong only learned upon asking that the two of them had not cooperated well, and Wu Chen had nearly sacrificed himself to save Yan Wu. Wu Chen's injuries were more severe than Shangguan Lifeng's, but they were not difficult to recover from with a medicinal pill. However, time did not allow them to wait indefinitely.

Yu Kong realized that the two directions they had entered were false gates, and the true exit lay in the other six directions. Therefore, he had Wu Chen and Shangguan Lifeng stay behind to heal, while Qin Sang and Yan Wu teamed up to continue exploring.

"Daoist Qingfeng..."

Yan Wu cupped his hands toward Qin Sang, his expression somewhat unnatural. He had just been severely warned by Yu Kong again and dared not entertain any ulterior motives; otherwise, Yu Kong would not hesitate to discipline him first. Yan Wu's tone seemed devoid of any resentment, which made Qin Sang wonder. The feeling of a hostile gaze on his back couldn't have been entirely an illusion, could it?

Qin Sang looked at Yan Wu suspiciously. After a moment of contemplation, he suggested that they follow the method he and Shangguan Lifeng had agreed upon: one person leading, the other following, taking turns to explore the path. He would rather face the dangers within the sea of fire alone than have a ticking time bomb by his side. Yan Wu had no objection to this and readily agreed.

After the previous experience, the danger of pathfinding was greatly reduced, but Qin Sang did not trust Yan Wu, and his vigilance remained undiminished.

Qin Sang darted to the edge of the sea of fire, just about to enter. Just then, he suddenly felt an abnormal ripple in the fiery space, and his figure instinctively paused. Before Qin Sang could realize what this ripple signified, a furious roar suddenly came from behind him, followed by a muffled groan. Both voices were very familiar. The roar belonged to Yu Kong, while the groan came from Shangguan Lifeng!

What happened? A surge of surprise struck Qin Sang, and he spun around. His gaze caught a glimpse: Shangguan Lifeng had been struck squarely on the chest by Yu Kong's palm. His chest was caved in with a shocking indentation, and he spat out blood as he fell a considerable distance. The blood sprayed into the air and was instantly incinerated by the fierce flames.

This palm strike was delivered by Yu Kong in a fit of extreme rage. Shangguan Lifeng was unable to dodge it and took the full force of the blow with his body; his injuries were predictably severe. Had he not twisted his body at the last moment to avoid his vital heart, he likely would have died on the spot. Shangguan Lifeng could barely stand; his face was ashen, and his aura was extremely weak, yet a triumphant sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

What Shangguan Lifeng had risked his life to achieve was a long yellow rope tightly wrapped around Yu Kong. This yellow rope was clearly a top-grade magical artifact. It not only bound Yu Kong's physical body but also caused the spiritual power within him to stagnate.

At this moment, five figures appeared around Yu Kong, seemingly out of nowhere, completely encircling him and a greatly shocked, bewildered, and completely unaware Wu Chen. Qin Sang had seen all these people before. The one directly confronting Yu Kong was none other than Luo Xingnan! Beside Luo Xingnan were four more people: Elder Gong, the undercover agent who had been with Sheng Yuanzi; a scholar in white robes; a middle-aged man with a hooked nose; and Yun Youzi!

"Luo Xingnan, you're not dead!"

Although Yu Kong couldn't fathom why Luo Xingnan hadn't been killed by the Hooked Snake, or where his seemingly perfect scheme had gone wrong, none of that mattered anymore. In that instant, Yu Kong realized his predicament and immediately made the most crucial decision.

Bang!

The yellow rope was flung away. Yu Kong's face flushed red as he recklessly squeezed his Qi Sea to condense spiritual power, ultimately self-destructing a magical artifact to break free from the tightly bound yellow rope. Although he forcibly broke free from the restraint, he was also wounded by the backlash. Yu Kong had no time to spare for these injuries. Forcing down his internal wounds, he shot forward, charging towards the scholar in white robes, the weakest among the five.

However, since Luo Xingnan and the others had planned this beforehand, they wouldn't let him escape. The five had already formed a battle array. The scholar in white robes appeared to be a weak point but was actually a trap, a large net laid out, waiting for the prey to ensnare itself. Before Yu Kong reached the scholar in white robes, an illusory ancient seal silently appeared, descending from the sky with immense power.

Boom!

The ancient seal struck Yu Kong fiercely. Yu Kong's face turned unusually pale, his injuries worsened, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Old Dog Yu, if you're not dead, how could I bear to die?"

Luo Xingnan burst into laughter. With a flick of his finger, two streaks of sword light, one green and one red, flew from his palm. The spirit swords intertwined, and sword qi crisscrossed, unleashing an assault like a raging storm, giving Yu Kong no chance to breathe, not even a moment to beg for mercy. However, Luo Xingnan still allowed Yu Kong to understand what was happening before his demise.

"You didn't expect Shao Chunhui to have such a promising disciple, did you?"

Yu Kong's eyes widened, and he understood everything. Luo Xingnan's concubine, Crescent Immortal, was merely a pawn, a distraction used to mislead him. In fact, Luo Xingnan might have deliberately leaked Crescent Immortal's identity to him. To someone like Luo Xingnan, what did a woman matter? The true hidden piece was Shangguan Lifeng, Shao Chunhui's disciple, whom Luo Xingnan had found from who-knew-where!

Yu Kong's eyes became somewhat hazy as he recalled a phrase he had never believed in.

Karma...

Seeing that their primary target, Yu Kong, was completely suppressed by Luo Xingnan, with no chance of recovery and his demise inevitable, the other four withdrew from the combat. The scholar in white robes gracefully landed beside Wu Chen, placing a hand on his shoulder. Wu Chen's injuries hadn't healed yet; his eyes darted nervously, and he didn't dare to move. Meanwhile, the other three lunged towards Qin Sang and Yan Wu.

Qin Sang's and Yun Youzi's gazes met in mid-air. After a brief, unspoken exchange, they swiftly separated, and Qin Sang then unhesitatingly turned and rushed into the sea of fire. Yan Wu was a step slower but also hastily fled in the end. These people didn't attempt to kill Wu Chen; it seemed they only wanted to kill Yu Kong. But Yan Wu was different from Wu Chen; how could he dare to gamble with his life? Even if captured alive, he would surely be used as cannon fodder to explore the path, so his fate wouldn't be good either.

Although the sea of fire was fraught with danger, there was a glimmer of hope within it. As long as Luo Xingnan and the others still coveted the spiritual herbs on the mountain, they couldn't afford to waste time staying here to thoroughly search for them.

Yun Youzi and the other two followed closely.

"Split up and chase!"

Yun Youzi roared, summoning his Spirit Bamboo Flying Boat. His speed instantly surged, and chasing in the direction Qin Sang had fled, he vanished into the depths of the sea of fire in an instant. The other two exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly. Their speed was far inferior to Yun Youzi's, so they had no choice but to pursue Yan Wu together.

As soon as Qin Sang entered the sea of fire, he activated his Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman. The cracks on this talisman had not been fully repaired, but it was enough to boost Qin Sang's speed to a level comparable to that of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. With the flood dragons coiling around him, Qin Sang easily left Yan Wu behind, but after flying for some distance, he stopped.