Chapter 525: Escape

Caught in the Black Demon Palace's formation, Meng Chuan did not panic.

This was also within his expectations.

Unlike the negligible chance of entering a forbidden zone like the ‘Sun Star Core’ from the space-time turbulence, this time, a significant proportion of the tens of thousands of cultivators escaping were intercepted. It was normal for him to be caught. When adventuring in the outer realm, it's difficult to always be lucky.

“With my Cloud Mist Dragon Snake Movement Technique, which is at the late Heaven and Earth Realm, I can only sense a partial range of the formation. This formation is unbelievably vast,” Meng Chuan calmly analyzed.

“To intercept as many cultivators as possible, the Black Demon Palace designed these formations to prioritize ‘vastness’ over power.”

“The formation's damage is very weak.”

“Its purpose is twofold: first, to seal space, and second, to increase resistance.” Meng Chuan observed the countless ‘water droplets’ within the formation, which drew upon spatial power, making them incredibly heavy.

“The spatial confinement is very powerful; even a Lesser Spatial Shift Talisman won't allow escape.” Meng Chuan's current cultivation realm was very high. His self-created Cloud Mist Dragon Snake Movement Technique was considered highly advanced even among Emperor-level ultimate techniques. Although he was only at the late Heaven and Earth Realm, he was only slightly inferior to an Emperor at the perfected stage.

At this realm, he could already understand the true level of a Lesser Spatial Shift Talisman.

“I can vaguely sense the formation's range, which exceeds a hundred million li,” Meng Chuan mused. “I've only detected the formation's edge to my left; I haven't found its boundaries in any other direction.”

Meng Chuan's domain had also greatly improved.

When he first entered the outer realm, his Lightning Magnetic Domain could cover an area of a thousand li. Now, it could extend up to sixty thousand li around him! If he solely sensed spatial fluctuations, he could detect them within a range of about a hundred million li. Even perfected Emperor-level experts who specialized in spatial arts didn't have a significantly wider sensing range than Meng Chuan.

“Escape to the left,” Meng Chuan naturally headed towards the nearest exit of the formation. “I need to keep a low profile. I can sense quite a few cultivators who have entered this formation. The speed I display shouldn't be too outlandish. If it’s too extreme… it might attract a Tribulation Realm mighty figure.”

Meng Chuan only displayed ten percent of his speed as he fled towards the left.

As a cultivator who pursued extreme speed, with his Endless Blade cultivation reaching the Cavern-Heaven Realm perfected stage, even ten percent of his speed was approximately the peak for a normal Venerable.

The formation's immense size meant it sacrificed offensive power, serving only to seal and create resistance.

Therefore, the formation's controllers had to fly to pursue and kill the individual cultivators.

“These Venerables, trapped within the formation, fly slowly and can't escape.” The five Emperor-level experts controlling the formation were very relaxed. Within the formation, they experienced no obstruction and could continuously accelerate, even reaching near light speed. Those skilled in temporal arts could also influence the flow of time, making their travel even faster.

While those caught in the formation didn't experience the same rule suppression as in a life world, the formation's resistance was so great that their speed would reach a certain limit and then be unable to increase further.

Most Venerables attempted to escape at a speed of about a hundred thousand li per instant. However, within the vast formation, their cultivation realms were too low to accurately scout, so they could only randomly choose a direction and flee blindly.

“Whoosh.”

A black-armored Emperor maintained a sixfold time flow around himself, moving at a speed of three million li per instant, rapidly pursuing a Venerable.

The Venerable continued flying, unaware of the approaching danger.

“Poof.”

A crescent of blood energy flew past the Venerable. In horror, the Venerable's flesh and blood were completely devoured, leaving no trace behind, only their weapons and treasures.

The black-armored Emperor flew past, waved his hand to collect the treasures, and then continued chasing the next closest Venerable.

An Emperor killing a Venerable? It was far too easy.

The strongest controller of this formation was a mighty figure of the Third Tribulation Realm.

This mighty figure naturally set his sights on the sole Emperor who had entered the formation.

“Whoosh.”

The blue-robed man manifested his domain, sending out ripples of water energy in all directions, parting the water droplets, and moving at an extremely high speed.

Suddenly, his expression changed.

An old man with long eyebrows appeared before him, his brows swaying gently as he smiled at the blue-robed man. “The Black Demon Palace offers Emperors two paths. The first path: hand over two hundred square foreign realm primordial crystals and serve loyally for a thousand years, after which you will regain your freedom. The second path: we kill you.”

“Two hundred square foreign realm primordial crystals?” the blue-robed man's face darkened. “Can the price be lower?”

“These are rules set by higher-ups; I cannot change them,” the long-browed old man said. “Make your choice within three breaths, or we will still kill you.”

The blue-robed man gritted his teeth. “Two hundred square foreign realm primordial crystals? You Black Demon Palace are truly insane! Consider this loss thrown to the dogs!”

Just as his voice fell, *boom*.

The blue-robed man instantly exploded, and terrifying fluctuations swept through the surroundings.

“Self-detonation?” the long-browed old man watched calmly. “Self-detonation cannot destroy Tribulation Realm secret treasures.”

“Looks like he was poor.”

The long-browed old man waved a hand, briefly examining the treasures left behind by the blue-robed man, and scoffed. “Just as I suspected. Two fifth-tribulation realm secret treasures, plus some other miscellaneous items. All together, they barely amount to two hundred square foreign realm primordial crystals.”

Wealthy Emperors would often be willing to hand over two hundred square foreign realm primordial crystals and a thousand years of freedom in exchange for keeping their remaining treasures.

However, the price of ‘two hundred square foreign realm primordial crystals’ was also quite precise; it was the average value of treasures an Emperor would carry while adventuring in the outer realm. Only if they had gained significant fortune through chance encounters, or if their home world had produced a powerful mighty figure, would their wealth be higher. Otherwise, when faced with the Black Demon Palace’s terms, most Emperors would rather destroy one of their true bodies.

A true body in one's home world could be cultivated anew.

But lost treasures were gone forever.

One by one, the cultivators trapped in the formation were intercepted and killed.

In reality, Meng Chuan was the highest-ranked and most powerful cultivator among all those intercepted within this formation! However, he perfectly disguised himself as an ordinary Venerable using the ‘Mirage Dragon Medallion’.

Furthermore, because his spatial sensing was so powerful, Meng Chuan could remotely detect the Black Demon Palace Emperors as they pursued. He deliberately maintained his distance, secretly guiding the Emperors to first chase other, closer Venerables.

“That Venerable is quite fast, and he also specializes in temporal arts, maintaining a tenfold time acceleration… He's only thirty million li away from the edge of the formation; he'll fly out soon.” An Emperor with green wings targeted Meng Chuan. Spreading his wings, he combined with the time flow to pursue at a terrifying speed of two million li per instant.

Meng Chuan could clearly sense him.

“What now?”

“I'm already displaying a very high speed; any faster and it wouldn't seem like a Venerable's speed,” Meng Chuan faintly knew something was wrong.

The green-winged Emperor rapidly closed in. When the distance between them narrowed to several hundred thousand li, it was clear that the Emperor would arrive with a single pounce and soon launch an attack.

“Hmm?”

Meng Chuan, however, acted as if he had just noticed, glancing at the winged Emperor in a panic before instantly crushing a jade token in his hand.

In reality, it was an ordinary jade token.

But the time flow around Meng Chuan rapidly surged from its original tenfold to fiftyfold.

“A one-time time acceleration talisman?” The winged Emperor’s expression changed upon seeing this. “He’s quite a wealthy Venerable.”

After his Endless Blade cultivation reached the Cavern-Heaven Realm perfected stage, the maximum time flow Meng Chuan could maintain was fiftyfold.

Meng Chuan, appearing strained under the pressure, moved at a speed of ‘a hundred thousand li per instant’. Combined with the fiftyfold time flow, his speed instantly surged, completely surpassing the winged Emperor.

“Stop him!” The winged Emperor grew anxious; his speed was actually inferior to a Venerable’s, and he didn't have a time acceleration talisman.

“I'll do it.”

The five Emperors were already positioned at the edge of the formation for better interception. At this moment, a red-haired Emperor, who was tens of millions of li away, actively rushed to intercept.

“If I continue flying in my original direction, I'll be perfectly intercepted by that red-haired Emperor.” Meng Chuan could sense the opponent from afar. He clearly detected the ‘spatial fluctuations’ generated by the opponent rushing at maximum speed, knowing that the Emperor would precisely intercept his flight path.

“If I change direction, will the Black Demon Palace suspect that I detected an Emperor tens of millions of li away? Will they conclude that I'm actually an Emperor in disguise? Will it attract a Tribulation Realm mighty figure?”

Thoughts flashed through Meng Chuan's mind.

After a moment's consideration, he decided to be straightforward.

He desperately charged forward, maintaining his original speed and direction.

He quickly outpaced the winged Emperor, but he was drawing closer and closer to the ‘red-haired Emperor’.

“Excellent.” The red-haired Emperor, seeing through the formation, was certain of the Venerable’s blind escape trajectory. He leisurely stopped, even summoning six small flaming mountains to float before him with a wave of his hand.

Meng Chuan blindly rushed forward.

He was getting closer and closer to the edge of the formation: ten million li, eight million li, six million li…

When he was five million li away, he finally encountered the red-haired Emperor.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.” The six small flaming mountains assaulted him without warning, crushing down. The red-haired Emperor paid no attention to Meng Chuan, only wanting to crush this Venerable to death and then quickly move on to kill other Venerables.

“Hahaha.” The winged Emperor, who had been left tens of millions of li behind by Meng Chuan, stopped and laughed as he watched the scene.

Meng Chuan's gaze turned cold as he looked at the six small flaming mountains.

The spatial pressure around him suddenly surged. An invisible force directly bound the six flaming mountains, causing them to halt in mid-air, unable to move. Meanwhile, the red-haired Emperor’s face drastically changed. “Oh no!” he realized as terrifying pressure squeezed in from all directions—a spatial-level compression he couldn't escape, unable to move even an inch.

Not only that, the spatial-level pressure also bore down on his physical body and internal power.

This was complete spatial confinement!

“Whoosh.”

The ‘Lightning Star Bead,’ imbued with the laws of extreme speed, had already transformed into a dazzling meteor, instantly crushing through the red-haired Emperor.

“No—!” The Emperor was utterly shocked and furious, yet he couldn't move an inch, watching helplessly as the several-zhang-tall lightning star crashed into him.

With a *bang*, he instantly turned into dust.

Meng Chuan flew past, casually waving his hand to collect the treasures left behind.

“What?!”

The winged Emperor watched the scene from afar, utterly stunned.

The other three Emperors, including the Third Tribulation Realm mighty figure, the ‘long-browed old man,’ simultaneously looked towards that direction from afar, their expressions changing dramatically.

“An Emperor was hiding here, and I didn't even see through his disguise!” The long-browed old man roared in fury, furiously chasing in Meng Chuan’s direction.