Chapter 306: Separation

Novel:

The Hook Snake was attacking the restriction. Currently, the disturbance was minor, but with the Hook Snake's continuous assault, the restriction's fluctuations would intensify, potentially even breaking, drawing the attention of others. At that point, the secrets within the hall would be exposed.

After they entered, they discovered that the spirit medicine inside had already been collected, and they also found lingering traces of Yu Kong and the others who had died there.

Luo Xingnan turned and left immediately.

Shangguan Lifeng also dared not stay to heal his injuries. He sat up from the ground and quickly cleaned the blood from his body.

Qin Sang wiped away the remaining aura in the hall, leaving the restriction intact to buy as much time as possible. Feigning normalcy, he flew down the mountain and soon arrived at the entrance of the guardian array, fortunately without alarming anyone along the way.

Several Spirit Treasure Pavilions were not quiet, with battles occasionally breaking out. No one had yet noticed anything unusual in the Tribute Hall.

Qin Sang and Luo Xingnan exchanged glances, entering the guardian array almost simultaneously.

It was still the same wind array they had encountered upon entering. Both Shangguan Lifeng and Qin Sang were familiar with its variations, and before its full power could unfurl, they easily located the wind tunnel that marked the exit.

"What are your plans after leaving, esteemed friend?" Qin Sang asked the Scholar in White as they flew towards the wind tunnel.

The Scholar in White understood Qin Sang's unspoken question. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "I am accustomed to traveling alone, so I won't accompany you all. We shall meet again."

This answer was completely unexpected for Qin Sang. He hadn't imagined that the Scholar in White would choose to travel alone, especially with Luo Xingnan lurking like a tiger. Unless, of course, the scholar was confident he could escape Luo Xingnan's pursuit. Qin Sang recalled Yun Youzi's earlier remark about the Scholar in White's excellent escape techniques; it seemed he indeed had a reliance.

Qin Sang frowned, remaining silent. Shangguan Lifeng asked in a deep voice, "Are you not worried that Luo Xingnan will kill and seize treasures? You've personally witnessed his character; do you truly believe he will stop here? If we don't join forces to resist now, won't we just be lambs to the slaughter?"

The Scholar in White retorted, "Join forces to resist, but how? The Golden Ring Array is destroyed, the Daoist priest is exhausted, and Fellow Daoist Shangguan is severely injured with no time to heal. Can you even strike once or twice right now? I am not skilled in combat, and even with Daoist Qingfeng, we would still be lambs to the slaughter."

Shangguan Lifeng paused, "Luo Xingnan is also injured, and Daoist Qingfeng has a talisman treasure..."

"Luo Xingnan also has a talisman treasure," the Scholar in White sighed softly. "I have something to say, though I'm not sure if I should... If you fellow Daoists are not confident in escaping this person, you should carefully consider your options. Of course, besides surrendering to Luo Xingnan, there might be other ways. There are quite a few late Foundation Establishment experts in the cave dwelling now; you might find someone to take refuge with..."

As he spoke, the wind tunnel was close at hand, and the surrounding wind currents had begun to take shape.

"My words are done. We shall meet again!" The Scholar in White cupped his hands, then suddenly accelerated, taking the lead and leaping into the wind tunnel.

Outside Qiuhong Market.

Cloud beast remnants lay scattered everywhere, but not a single human figure was in sight; everyone was busy searching for treasures within the cave dwelling.

A streak of light flashed from the earth fissure, revealing the Scholar in White. Without pausing his movement, he pulled out a spirit talisman from his mustard seed bag, then gently tapped it with his spiritual power.

The spirit talisman shattered, and a wisp of clear breeze flew out, settling upon the Scholar in White. Then, a pair of azure spirit wings appeared on his back. With a gentle flap of the wings, the Scholar in White's speed instantly surged, surpassing Luo Xingnan's previous speed.

However, before the Scholar in White could fly too far, a dazzling, meteor-like streak of light suddenly shot past him, directly overtaking him with astonishing speed. Within the light was clearly a bamboo boat.

During this time, Qin Sang had not been idle. He continuously held spirit stones and had consumed countless spirit pills, recovering most of his spiritual power, enough to sustain the spirit bamboo flying boat for a while. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last too long.

The Scholar in White's face was blank with shock. He had seen Yun Youzi use the spirit bamboo flying boat before, but it had only been slightly faster than cultivators in the early Foundation Establishment stage. He had never imagined that the spirit bamboo flying boat's full-power burst speed would be so astounding.

Then, the Scholar in White suddenly realized something, his expression changing dramatically. He slapped his mustard seed bag, and a palm-sized censer flew out. It was an antique bronze censer, intricately carved with winding dragon motifs. Three dragon heads converged at its top, with wisps of smoke drifting from their mouths.

"Pffft!" The Scholar in White opened his mouth and directly spewed a large mouthful of essence blood onto the censer. The essence blood landed on the censer and was instantly absorbed. The censer was stained with a layer of blood-red, and smoke poured out like a torrent, twisting erratically in the air, faintly echoing with dragon roars. The three dragon carvings seemed almost to come alive.

Having lost essence blood, the Scholar in White's face abruptly paled, and a flicker of heartache crossed his eyes. With a resolute grimace, he uttered a single word: "Explode!"

"Boom!" The censer shattered in response. All the smoke within surged out, transforming into a giant dragon. Just then, Luo Xingnan quietly appeared. The Yin-Yang diagram on his compass spun, emitting a beam of white light. As it was about to strike the Scholar in White, the dragon-shaped smoke roared silently, its body swaying abruptly to shatter the white light, allowing the Scholar in White to escape capture by the Yin-Yang Compass.

Then, under the Scholar in White's control, the dragon-shaped smoke charged directly at Luo Xingnan. The Scholar in White, without glancing back at the outcome, flapped his wings and flew in the opposite direction from Qin Sang and the others. By the time Luo Xingnan defeated the smoke, both the spirit bamboo flying boat and the Scholar in White had escaped a considerable distance, heading in opposite directions.

Luo Xingnan's face was grim, but he didn't hesitate for long. He chose to abandon the Scholar in White, unleashing his speed to the maximum, and pursued the spirit bamboo flying boat. Although he couldn't catch up immediately, Luo Xingnan wasn't worried. The area was open, and he only needed to follow from a distance. He didn't believe Qin Sang, burdened with two injured companions, could maintain such a high speed indefinitely.

Indeed, before long, the spirit bamboo flying boat, speeding across the distant sky, suddenly dimmed and wavered, seemingly unable to continue. It then changed direction, plummeting into a mountain. This was clearly a sign that the artifact user's spiritual power was exhausted.

Luo Xingnan's eyes lit up, and he unhesitatingly gave chase.

The mountains in this area were exceptionally steep, like blades. Qin Sang brought down his escape light, his gaze sweeping around. Spotting a cave, he put away the spirit bamboo flying boat and asked Shangguan Lifeng, "Fellow Daoist Shangguan, are you willing to act against Luo Xingnan?"

"This person helped me avenge my master's death, and I have already fulfilled my agreement and repaid his kindness. Later, he betrayed me, so we can consider ourselves even," Shangguan Lifeng declared without hesitation, his voice firm. "Daoist priest, you brought me along in our escape and did not abandon me. Your kindness in saving my life is deeply etched in my heart! If there's anything I can do, please command me. Though my strength is limited, I will do my utmost!"