Chapter 297: Fool

The flying boat sliced through the fiery waves, speeding swiftly away.

Soon after, they saw an exceptionally bright silver light ahead, streaking through the sea of fire at high speed. Qin Sang had seen this before; this silver light was emitted by Yan Wu's precious mirror artifact. There were no obvious fluctuations within the silver light, indicating that the two pursuers had not yet caught up to Yan Wu. Seeing this, Yun Youzi put away his spirit bamboo flying boat. Qin Sang went ahead, with Yun Youzi slightly behind, to meet them.

Suddenly seeing two figures appear ahead, Yan Wu was extremely startled. After recognizing Qin Sang and Yun Youzi, he still thought Qin Sang was being pursued by Yun Youzi. Without waiting for Qin Sang to explain the situation, he unhesitatingly flipped his precious mirror, sending a beam of light directly towards Qin Sang. Then, his escape light sharply turned, fleeing to the right. Yan Wu's first reaction was not to join forces with Qin Sang against the enemy, but rather to force Qin Sang back, blocking the enemy and buying himself time to escape. Qin Sang found this both amusing and frustrating, secretly sighing, though he wasn't too surprised. "Better a dead friend than oneself." Such things were common in the cultivation world. However, someone like Yan Wu, who could clearly team up with Qin Sang to kill the opponent, but whose first reaction was to use him as a scapegoat, was truly a rare specimen. This had little to do with their past grievances. Qin Sang believed that even if he were replaced by Wu Chen, Yan Wu would still do the same without hesitation.

Seeing this, Yun Youzi snorted disdainfully, immediately abandoning his intention to cooperate with Yan Wu. He calmly said, "Kill him." Qin Sang nodded, deftly dodging the mirror light. Simultaneously, a light flickered under Yun Youzi's feet, and using the power of the flying boat, he easily caught up to Yan Wu, blocking his path. Yan Wu, thinking his plan had succeeded, was unable to rejoice before being cornered by Yun Youzi and Qin Sang, one in front and one behind. He couldn't help but fall into deep astonishment, then suddenly realized and cried out, "You're working together!"

Yun Youzi didn't bother with further words. He spread his right palm, and a precious orb spun, shining with a vibrant green light. Appearing slow but moving fast, it floated towards Yan Wu. The orb seemed light and powerless, yet it gave Yan Wu a sense of impending doom, and a deep look of terror appeared on his face. He tried to retreat. But at the same time, Qin Sang lightly tapped his ebony sword, and the sword, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, cut off Yan Wu's retreat path. Both Qin Sang and Yun Youzi were seasoned practitioners. Both the precious orb and the ebony sword were rare treasures, and with them attacking from front and back in close coordination, Yan Wu had no chance to escape. He was overwhelmed from both sides. He couldn't even put up a decent resistance before his precious mirror was struck flying by the ebony sword. Then, Yun Youzi's precious orb flashed and vanished, striking Yan Wu's chest, shattering his heart. Yan Wu died instantly.

Yun Youzi formed a large hand from spiritual power, grabbed Yan Wu's corpse, then suddenly his expression changed slightly. He transmitted a message, "They're here, Brother Qin, quick, leave." Without looking back, Qin Sang flew his sword past Yun Youzi, entered the sea of fire, and then activated the Nine Dragon Sky Chariot Talisman, fleeing far away. Yun Youzi, carrying Yan Wu's corpse, turned to face the arriving Elder Gong and Mr. Yin, who had come together.

"You two Daoists are a step too late. This poor Daoist will gladly accept," Yun Youzi said with a slight smile, raising Yan Wu's corpse as if to show it. He then brushed his hand over the corpse's waist, taking the mustard seed pouch, and tossed the corpse aside. The two men exchanged glances, watching the corpse burn to ashes. Their mouths twitched involuntarily. "The other fellow, has he been dealt with by the Daoist priest?" Mr. Yin probed.

Yun Youzi nodded, saying casually, "That junior didn't know his place. This old Daoist advised him repeatedly, but he stubbornly resisted, so I had no choice but to kill him. I originally wanted to help you two Daoists resolve the trouble, but you hadn't arrived yet, so I had to act hastily. The boy almost escaped." The two men secretly sneered upon hearing this, thinking that it wasn't necessarily that the opponent stubbornly resisted; it was probably this old fellow's greed for their treasures that made him act mercilessly, with no intention of capturing them alive. According to their previous agreement, everyone relied on their own abilities, and whoever found the spoils of war would keep them, with no one else allowed to contend for them. Two Foundation Establishment cultivators' mustard seed pouches! Elder Gong's eyes flickered, and he chuckled, "I didn't expect the Daoist priest's escape technique to be so impressive, and his strength so astonishing! To effortlessly deal with two equally matched opponents, I, Gong, am truly impressed!"

"Mere trifles!" Yun Youzi narrowed his eyes and smiled, not mentioning the spoils of war at all, and flew off with his escape light. The two men exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly. They coveted the spoils, but dared not force Yun Youzi to hand them over for an even split. In a short time, Yun Youzi had successively killed two opponents, remaining completely unharmed himself, his strength unfathomable.

***

Outside the sea of fire, Yu Kong was dead, and the situation was completely under Luo Xingnan's control. After hearing Elder Gong's report, Luo Xingnan nodded indifferently. He strode over to Shangguan Lifeng, smiling smugly, "Young man, how about it? Didn't this old man tell you the truth? The killer of your master was either Sheng Yuanzi or that old dog Yu! Among them, old dog Yu was the most cunning, and it turns out it was indeed him!" Shangguan Lifeng was severely injured, but after taking the medicinal pill, his complexion had improved considerably. He coughed violently a few times and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't worry, I will keep my promise and stay here to be at your command, repaying you." Luo Xingnan burst into laughter, very pleased with Shangguan Lifeng's attitude. His gaze then fell on Wu Chen, and he said lightly, "Do you want to live?" Wu Chen nodded eagerly.

After Luo Xingnan and the others left, the restriction regained its calm, and the fierce flames seemed to burn eternally. Suddenly, a figure materialized from illusion—it was Ge Yuan. Before Ge Yuan could stand firm, he saw a figure emerge from the sea of fire ahead and quickly became alert. "Daoist Ge." Qin Sang bowed from a distance, secretly observing Ge Yuan. He noticed that although Ge Yuan appeared unharmed on the surface, his aura showed signs of instability, indicating that his encounter with the snake swarm must have been extremely perilous. If Yun Youzi hadn't secretly helped him, he might have already perished in the snakes' mouths.

"Has Senior Yun Youzi already sent a message?" "Not yet." Ge Yuan saw it was Qin Sang, lowered his guard, shook his head, and inquired about the recent situation. Qin Sang truthfully recounted what happened. Hearing that Luo Xingnan had not only lost no personnel but had also gained reinforcements, Ge Yuan frowned deeply, his expression subtly anxious. Then, hearing Qin Sang mention the plan he and Yun Youzi had set, Ge Yuan's eyes flashed with disbelief. He said in a deep voice, "Luo Xingnan's power is vast; it's best not to conflict with him! Those people are desperate individuals, untrustworthy. How do we know they won't first help Luo Xingnan eliminate us? We are here to collect herbs, not to fight to the death!" Qin Sang glanced at Ge Yuan and said nothing more.

The two waited in silence. Suddenly, Ge Yuan's face lit up with joy, and he looked towards the blue flames on the left. "Let's go!"