Chapter 963: Wear Your Mask

Gan Wudang searched for Lin Yinxiu, who had vanished without a trace. The Sect Master also pursued them.

Lu Ye remained in place, deep in thought. Liu Yuemei had clearly used her superior power to capture and kill him, so how did she become a "Myriad Demon Ridge bandit" in the Sect Master's words?

With a sudden realization, Lu Ye understood. Indeed, the older the ginger, the spicier it is! This time, Liu Yuemei was likely in grave danger!

Feeling the Sect Master's profound care, Lu Ye's heart warmed. Standing mid-air, bathed in the Golden Body Token's light, was somewhat conspicuous, so he flew down to wait quietly.

Dozens of miles away, Liu Yuemei fled frantically, but a wisp of aura, like maggots clinging to bone, firmly locked onto her. The intensity of this aura secretly terrified even a Divine Sea Realm cultivator like her.

Even though she was also a Divine Sea Realm cultivator, at the seventh layer, she deeply understood the vast disparity between herself and the Bloodline Sect's Sect Master. This was someone who had already stood at the pinnacle of Kyushu decades ago. After decades of biding his time and cultivating, no one knew what terrifying power he had accumulated.

So, upon sensing Gan Wudang and Tang Yifeng's auras, she had no choice but to abandon Lu Ye, whom she had just captured, and flee alone. Her pursuer, however, relentlessly gave chase. How quickly the tables had turned! Just recently, Lu Ye had been chased by her, fleeing like a stray dog, but now it was her turn. How ironic.

The distance between them rapidly closed. Even dozens of miles away, Liu Yuemei could still clearly feel the towering wrath of Tang Yifeng, who was pursuing her from behind.

"Villain, where do you think you're going?!" A furious roar, like a clap of thunder, exploded in her ears, deafening and shocking. Under the impact of a potent and pure spiritual assault, the Divine Sea Realm cultivator's vision momentarily blurred, and her body swayed slightly. That delay shortened the distance between them by another ten miles.

From behind, a violent surge of spiritual energy emanated. The Divine Sea Realm cultivator turned her head and saw Tang Yifeng slowly extend a hand, reaching towards her distant location, then abruptly clenching it. With that grasp, the heavens and earth responded.

The Divine Sea Realm cultivator immediately felt the spiritual energy in her vicinity solidify, transforming into an indescribable impediment. It gave her the illusion of being trapped in a mire. She cried out, struggling with all her might to resist the palpable pressure from all directions. But as the Sect Master's large hand violently clenched, she still let out a muffled groan, her aura fluctuating wildly.

Her body abruptly shot out of the space constrained by the lightning spear. Before she could even catch her breath, the Sect Master had already made a grasping motion in the air, and a long spiritual whip appeared in his palm. He aimed at the Divine Sea Realm cultivator's direction and lashed out with it through the air. The long whip was originally only a few zhang long, but as it was drawn, it rapidly absorbed the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth, growing in size. In the blink of an eye, the whip transformed into dozens of miles in length, resembling a celestial river pressing down on the Divine Sea Realm cultivator.

Liu Yuemei was greatly alarmed, her face paling. Her hands rapidly changed to form seals, frantically surging her own lightning power. In an instant, a budding flower appeared where she had stood. Her entire person vanished, enveloped by the lightning flower. It was unclear what kind of defensive spell it was, but for a Divine Sea Realm cultivator like her to cast such a complex one, it was clearly profoundly mystical.

The long whip struck down, heavily landing on the budding flower. The budding flower's petals instantly withered, and the Divine Sea Realm cultivator fell out from within. The mask she wore developed countless cracks, and blood welled from the corner of her mouth beneath it. When she looked back, Tang Yifeng was nowhere to be seen, but an immense crisis pressed down from directly above her head.

She quickly looked up and saw the Bloodline Sect Master, his body brimming with lightning power, blood energy surging. There was no hint of age about him; his aura was flourishing and brilliant like the great sun. He descended like a hawk, directly unleashing a punch towards the Divine Sea Realm cultivator. His eyes, deep like the vast starry sky, overflowed with killing intent and fury. He was going to kill her!

The Divine Sea Realm cultivator was utterly terrified. Originally, when Tang Yifeng pursued her, though she was flustered, she wasn't truly afraid. No matter what, she was a member of the Heavenly Origin Sect and the Vast Heaven Alliance, so she believed Tang Yifeng would at most teach her a lesson, never actually kill her. This time, she had made the first move. If Tang Yifeng truly intended to punish her, she would have no complaints; she was simply outmatched. Moreover, she had concealed her face with a mask this time. Although such a disguise was practically useless between them, as long as the mask remained, it wasn't considered a complete rupture of relations.

Tang Yifeng's character had been thoroughly understood by the Heavenly Origin Sect over the years; he was not one to easily break ties with anyone, known for prioritizing the bigger picture. But this time, Tang Yifeng clearly had no intention of considering the bigger picture. He didn't care about the consequences of his actions or whether the Heavenly Origin Sect would retaliate. His fierce killing intent clearly indicated one thing. Here and now, in this very place, he intended to kill!

As numerous thoughts raced through her mind, the Divine Sea Realm cultivator furiously activated her lightning power to protect herself, and also triggered the defensive array of her precious armor. A punch landed. The spiritual barrier was almost nonexistent. The protective array of her precious armor lasted less than three breaths before shattering. That fist, which had been held back for decades, was finally unleashed today, pouring out all its accumulated fury, making sure all those who dared to harm the Bloodline Sect knew: as long as Tang Yifeng lived, his disciples would have protection!

It heavily smashed into Liu Yuemei's chest. With a cracking sound...

The Divine Sea Realm cultivator plummeted straight to the ground, spitting out blood that contained visible fragments of internal organs.

*Boom*...

Dust billowed up as the Divine Sea Realm cultivator crashed to the ground, creating a crater. The mask she wore was nearly completely shattered, revealing half of her wretched face. Before she could rise, a large hand descended, covering her face and preventing the mask from completely shattering. A faint voice sounded by the Divine Sea Realm cultivator's ear, sending shivers down her spine: "Keep your mask on. It will be very troublesome if it shatters!"

Another fist was already raised, lightning power surging from its peak. He intended to kill her without mercy!

However, before the Sect Master could deliver that fatal punch, a trace of lightning suddenly materialized out of thin air. Immediately after, this lightning transformed into a beam of light, striking directly towards the Sect Master's chest. The Sect Master's reaction was incredibly swift. As his body flickered backward, layer upon layer of lightning barriers appeared behind him, continuously forming and continuously shattering. The lightning light slowly diminished, and the Sect Master retreated a full eight miles before its power was finally neutralized.

Looking up, he saw only a streak of lightning rapidly fleeing in the distance. Within that lightning, was the Divine Sea Realm cultivator's extremely disheveled form, along with something resembling a short spear.

"Devastating Lightning Spear!" The Sect Master stood still, not giving chase. Because he couldn't catch up. Liu Yuemei herself could never have escaped the Sect Master's pursuit; he had countless ways to kill her. However, the Divine Sea Realm cultivator had now fled using the power of the Devastating Lightning Spear, and its escape speed was so immense that even the Sect Master could not pursue.

The Sect Master was certainly familiar with such a renowned sect-protecting treasure like the Devastating Lightning Spear. He just hadn't expected Liu Yuemei to be carrying it. One could only say she was incredibly fortunate; otherwise, she would undoubtedly have died this time. It was a pity he hadn't fully succeeded.

Gazing in the direction the Divine Sea Realm cultivator had fled, the Sect Master's eyes flickered as he reined in his killing intent, once again resuming his dignified and otherworldly appearance. Lightly brushing off non-existent dust from his body, the Sect Master ascended into the air and returned the way he came.

Lu Ye was still waiting in place. In a short while, Gan Wudang returned with Xiao Xinghe and Liu Yuemei. It was easy for a Divine Sea Realm grand cultivator like him to find people, especially since he could communicate freely with Myriad Demon Ridge. Seeing Lu Ye alone, Gan Wudang immediately had a bad premonition: "Where's the Sect Master?"

Elder Tang truthfully reported: "The Sect Master went to chase down that Liu Yuemei bandit."

Gan Wudang's eye twitched: "Who told you that was Liu Yuemei the bandit?"

"The Sect Master said so," Elder Tang replied with righteous indignation. "And she, as a Divine Sea Realm cultivator, was pursuing you true lake realm cultivators. If she wasn't Liu Yuemei, then was she from the Vast Heaven Alliance? Liu Yuemei, wasn't that right?"

Liu Yuemei nodded her head furiously, like a chick pecking at rice: "The captain is right!"

Gan Wudang looked at the extremely docile Liu Yuemei, and suddenly his heart ached. Suppressing the frustration in his heart, he ordered: "You all wait here!" With that, he shot up into the sky.

He had already perceived the gravity of the situation. The Sect Master had clearly developed killing intent towards the Divine Sea Realm cultivator, and with the Divine Sea Realm cultivator wearing a mask, if the Sect Master called her a Myriad Demon Ridge bandit, no one could refute it. But if the Divine Sea Realm cultivator were truly killed, the situation would become messy, and it could even affect the standing of the Elders' Council. Divine Sea Realm grand cultivators killing each other, regardless of the reason, would bring no benefit to the Sect Master if the news spread. He only hoped he was still in time to intervene, and that Liu Yuemei could hold on a little longer.

He hadn't flown far when he saw Tang Yifeng leisurely flying back from that direction. He quickly went to meet him, asking anxiously, "Sect Master!"

"Ah!" the Sect Master sighed slightly. "That person... is she alive or dead?"

"She escaped," the Sect Master replied.

Gan Wudang let out a long breath: "Good she escaped, good she escaped." As long as she wasn't dead, it wasn't a major issue. It seemed he had overthought things. If the Sect Master truly intended to kill her with his methods, she would have absolutely no chance of survival. Since she had fled, it was clear the Sect Master had shown mercy.

The Sect Master naturally discerned Gan Wudang's thoughts but had no intention of explaining. He simply gestured, "Let's go." The reason for not achieving complete success this time was truly because the Divine Sea Realm cultivator was carrying the Devastating Lightning Spear. Without that sect-protecting treasure, she would have surely died. One could only say her luck was good. This treasure was originally borrowed by her from the sect for a breakthrough attempt. Recently, the Jilian Lake Pass had been busy with battles, and she hadn't had time to return it, so she had kept it on her. She hadn't expected it would save her life. If she had returned this treasure to the sect a few days later, the outcome would have been entirely different.

The two returned to where Elder Tang and the others were. From a distance, they saw the dazzling golden light atop Elder Tang's body, exceptionally brilliant. Liu Yuemei looked extremely curious, constantly poking at the golden light with her hand, and asking questions that made Lu Ye's heart ache to the point of being unable to breathe. That layer of golden light alone was worth a whopping seven hundred thousand battle merits!