Chapter 334: Old Friends Reunite

Tan Hao fled with all his might, but the vast difference in cultivation levels meant the masked man easily caught up to him.

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind assailed him from behind, swift as a clap of thunder.

Tan Hao was aghast. Daring not to pause, he hastily activated a shield artifact and threw it behind him.

Clang!

A crisp metallic clang sounded.

The masked man's flying sword easily struck the shield away. After a brief pause, the sword light flickered again, and it resumed its pursuit of Tan Hao.

One artifact after another was thrown, each either struck away or directly destroyed by the flying sword. The distance between them not only failed to widen but steadily grew shorter.

"Keep running, let's see how far you can get..."

The masked man's mocking voice rang in his ears, impossibly close.

Deceived by Tan Hao and forced to take so many detours, the masked man's rage was difficult to quell. With a cat-and-mouse mentality, he intended to thoroughly torment Tan Hao and vent his pent-up frustration.

A fierce expression flashed across Tan Hao's face. His escape light abruptly halted, and he suddenly spun around, flicking his hand with a swish. A stack of spirit talismans flew out.

Only a series of loud dragon roars could be heard.

What was sealed within these spirit talismans were identical spells. After the talismans shattered, over a dozen ice dragons, formed from ice crystals, appeared out of thin air, roaring furiously at the sky.

Amidst their roars, they lunged towards the masked man, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

These ice dragons were aggressive and majestic. They formed a dragon array, working together to corner and eliminate the masked man.

The masked man had been holding back and was well-prepared. Seeing this, his figure flickered several times as he calmly wove through the dozen-plus ice dragons. His flying sword circled beside him, slicing out streaks of sharp sword energy, each strike precisely targeting the ice dragons' weak points.

A series of loud bangs and frustrated roars filled the air as one ice dragon after another was decapitated by the masked man. Their bodies disintegrated into clumps of ice shards that scattered and fell like snowflakes.

It was like a night of heavy snow.

The scene was quite beautiful.

Only Tan Hao was not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful scene; his last resort had been easily countered by the masked man, failing to harm him in the slightest.

This was the difference between the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment stages.

He possessed no powerful artifacts or spirit talismans, no mysterious cultivation techniques or unfathomable spells; it was impossible for him to bridge this gap.

Tan Hao ceased his futile struggle. He raised his head, his gaze fixed on the southwest. His sight seemed to pierce through the boundless swamp, where he saw his own cave dwelling and his only relative waiting there.

The Tranquil Spirit Pill had been bought, but it could never be delivered now.

From the moment he decided to enter the Ancient Immortal Battlefield with his Qi Condensation cultivation, Tan Hao had already foreseen this day.

Without reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one would constantly live in fear on the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.

For years, thanks to the mask's help, he had deterred opponents multiple times, turned dangers into safety, and survived in the perilous Ancient Immortal Battlefield. But the mask wasn't omnipotent, and this day had finally arrived.

There wasn't much despair in his eyes; instead, there was a sense of release and relief.

Tan Hao sighed softly and silently murmured, "Xiao Jie, your big brother will go ahead first, to scout the path below for you..."

His right hand clutched a dagger, which he had kept for himself.

The cultivation world had too many methods of torture, some of which could be considered the most brutal punishments known to man; the mere thought sent shivers down his spine. He could clearly feel the masked man's hatred towards him, and he would rather commit suicide than fall into his hands!

Otherwise, he would be unable to live and unable to die!

Tan Hao had long been prepared for this.

Unexpectedly, just as Tan Hao was about to raise his arm, he suddenly heard an extraordinarily shrill scream coming from amidst the scattering ice shards ahead.

This scream, surprisingly, came from the masked man!

Tan Hao froze, his face a mix of shock and uncertainty. He knew very well that those spirit talismans could never have made the masked man emit such a sound, unless...

Puff!

A slender, small, emerald-green spirit sword, carrying a spray of fresh blood, flew out from the ice shards.

The warm blood, upon encountering the ice, immediately froze, turning into a shower of bloody ice shards. Then, the flying sword deftly flicked and immediately flew back.

The next moment.

Thud!

The ancient tree nearby trembled violently.

The flying sword carried a corpse and pinned it firmly to the tree trunk.

The corpse was already covered in a thin layer of ice, and the two sword wounds on its chest were still strikingly vivid red.

The masked man's eyes were wide open, unable to close, with traces of terror and panic still lingering within them. It was clear that after realizing the sneak attack, he had no time to offer any resistance before being slain by the spirit sword.

This was precisely the first divine ability of the Soul Nurturing Sword Chapter: the ability of Shadowless Escape.

The masked man had felt absolutely secure, fully focused on toying with Tan Hao. He never expected there to be an unseen threat, an ambush from behind, unaware that the Ebony Sword was close at hand, and thus died a tragic death.

When facing opponents of the same cultivation stage, there were few opportunities to use the Ebony Sword for a close-range sneak attack. But against cultivators of lower cultivation stages, this divine ability was exceptionally effective!

There was no need for talisman treasures or the Ten Directions Yama Banner at all.

Plop!

The Ebony Sword disdainfully tossed the masked man's corpse into the mud, then, with its sword qi wrapped around the masked man's mustard seed pouch, it flew back.

The rotting mud quickly swallowed and corroded the masked man, leaving no trace behind.

Just then, a figure emerged from behind an ancient tree. He put away the spirit sword, took the masked man's mustard seed pouch, casually glanced at it, shook his head in disappointment, put it away, and then looked up at Tan Hao.

From being in a desperate situation to the masked man suddenly being ambushed and killed, the situation changed unexpectedly in an instant. At this moment, Tan Hao understood he had just witnessed a case of one rogue preying on another.

Tan Hao's face showed shock and uncertainty, and he couldn't be sure whether this situation was good or bad for him.

To be able to kill the masked man so easily, his strength must undoubtedly be greater.

Whether it was the masked man or this mysterious figure, either could easily kill him. However, this person wasn't like the masked man; he hadn't chosen to casually kill him, so perhaps there was a glimmer of hope for survival.

Tan Hao felt the person's gaze fall upon him through the cloak. His heart tightened, and he hastily presented his mustard seed pouch with both hands. Bowing, he said, "Many thanks for saving my life, Senior. This junior has nothing to repay you with but a meager fortune. I hope Senior will not disdain it."

For a long time, the mustard seed pouch in his hands remained untouched.

The mysterious person stood still, showing no intention of killing him.

This tormented Tan Hao's heart.

Qin Sang looked at Tan Hao, pondering for a moment. Finally, he chose to unfasten his cloak, revealing his true face, and said, "Tan Hao, long time no see. Do you remember an old friend?"

Tan Hao was startled by the words. He suddenly looked up and saw Qin Sang's face.

First, there was some confusion in his eyes, then long-dormant memories were awakened. After all, Qin Sang's appearance hadn't changed much compared to decades ago.

"You are... Qin..."

Tan Hao pointed at Qin Sang, utterly astonished.

Qin Sang nodded and said with a touch of emotion, "Decades have passed since we last met. I never expected to reunite today, Brother Tan. I hope you've been well."