"Get back here!"
Chi Yan snapped back to his senses, fury igniting in his heart. Completely ignoring the spear piercing his chest, he gave chase. He reached out with a massive hand, rolling flames surging to form a colossal claw that lunged toward Xu Xian.
Its light illuminated the polar night.
At that same moment, eight golden talismans Xu Xian had hidden underground burst through the soil. They transformed into eight beams of light, surging toward eight directions, weaving intricate threads of golden formation patterns.
The formation was complete in the blink of an eye.
Xu Xian took the opportunity to lead Chi Ji out of the formation wall.
The monstrous flames, inches away, slammed into the barrier.
They were blocked.
The fire blazed fiercely, accompanied by demonic energy, instantly engulfing everything within a one-mile radius of the formation.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
The wind and fire churned, whistling and howling. Inside the formation, Chi Yan stood bathed in fire, his anger boiling over. "Damn it! Damn it!"
He crashed against the unknown barrier like a madman, like a giant beast jolted awake, relentlessly violent.
Outside the formation, Xu Xian recalled Wait to his feet. He unleashed his Wind-Riding Immortal Art to its limit, fleeing into the depths of the polar night.
He didn't forget to swallow qi-recovery pills one after another.
Under his arm, Chi Ji looked back toward Ze Capital, her eyes filled with urgency. "My immortal-demonic spear! My father gave that to me..." she wailed.
Weapons in the Demon Abyss were fundamentally no different from those in Fanzhou; their grades and ranks were similar, only the names differed.
In Fanzhou, they were called: mortal weapons, spirit weapons, earth weapons, heaven weapons, and immortal weapons.
In the Demon Abyss, they were: mortal-demonic weapons, spirit-demonic weapons, earth-demonic weapons, heaven-demonic weapons, and immortal-demonic weapons.
Aside from the long-lost great dao divine weapon, the Spirit-Sealing Seal, immortal-demonic weapons were the highest grade known in the Demon Abyss.
Chi Ji's spear was a low-grade immortal-demonic weapon.
Essentially, an immortal weapon.
Its name was the Crimson Flame Gilded Spear.
It was one of the greatest treasures of the Crimson Demon Palace.
Even the red-clad woman who had died earlier only possessed a heaven-demonic short blade.
This was why Chi Ji had been able to catch Chi Yan off guard and pierce his chest.
Unfortunately.
Chi Yan was, after all, a peak eighth-rank powerhouse.
Even in the outside world, he would be one of the few top figures.
That single thrust hadn't actually damaged his foundation; it was better than nothing, but barely.
It served only to distract him and make their escape smoother.
"Don't damn well move," Xu Xian scolded irritably. "If you keep moving, I'll throw you down."
Chi Ji slowed her struggling, becoming as obedient as a little lamb while being tucked under Xu Xian's arm. Still, she couldn't help but whisper in grievance, "That's an immortal-demonic spear. It's priceless. It could sell for nearly a million shadow soul stones."
Whether they were immortal-demonic weapons or immortal weapons, such items were non-renewable. In the current era, the only person capable of forging an immortal weapon was the one on Ancient Sword Mountain.
But that old senior had been in seclusion for many years; it was uncertain if he was even still alive.
Because of this.
The price of an immortal weapon was extremely high, and they were the kind of existence that money couldn't buy.
In the Central Plains, someone had once offered a reward of a hundred million spirit stones for a single immortal weapon.
They still hadn't bought one.
Immortal weapons possessed spirits and chose their own masters. Those who owned them generally weren't short on money—Xu Xian being an exception.
Naturally, no one would sell them. Not just in the Demon Abyss, but even among the Three Sects and Seven Schools of Fanzhou, the number of immortal weapons was fixed.
Some small sects and families couldn't even produce a single one.
Chi Ji's heart ached, and so did Xu Xian's.
Although he had a Sword Mound containing nearly a hundred immortal swords, those swords couldn't be brought out, let alone sold.
However, he really hadn't expected Chi Ji to suddenly have a moment of brilliance and stab someone.
If he had known, he should have snatched it and kept it as a down payment or collateral.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He snapped, "Stop rambling. Do you want the spear or your life?"
Chi Ji pursed her lips.
If possible, she wanted both.
But if she had to choose, she'd take her life.
"I want my life!"
"Then shut your mouth."
"Oh..."
Before they had run very far, a deafening explosion echoed from the direction of Ze Capital behind them.
Glimpsing back, Xu Xian saw world-shaking flames soaring into the sky, swallowing more than half the horizon.
His heart throbbed with pain, and he grumbled inwardly.
"Eight hundred thousand..."
Eight talismans, eight hundred thousand spirit stones.
Just like that, they were gone. His heart literally ached. Combined with the eight talismans from before and the pills he had consumed, he had burned through nearly two million spirit stones in a single night of fighting.
A total loss.
The little book spirit understood Xu Xian all too well. Seeing the flash of pain in his eyes, it said speechlessly, "Master, what time is it? You're still worried about money? He's about to catch up. We can't get away."
Xu Xian remained silent. How could he not know?
But what else could he do?
He could only keep running!
"Wait, give it your all..."
The sword Wait vibrated, already running at full power. If it could speak, it would have shouted a few words.
The brakes are removed and the accelerator is welded down! What more do you want from me?
Behind them.
Clad in cold armor and bathed in fire, Chi Yan suspended in the sky. Below him, monstrous flames consumed everything, turning the small town and both banks of the creek into a sea of fire.
It seemed intent on burning away every trace of existence.
His cold eyes reflected the glow of the flames, staring intently in the direction Xu Xian was fleeing.
He raised his hand, gripped the spear, and pulled it out of his chest inch by inch.
It was like a sword being unsheathed.
Throughout the process, his dark eyebrows didn't even twitch.
He gripped the spear in his hand.
The wound on his chest healed within the flames at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He glanced at the green blood on the spearhead, already dried by the heat, and sneered.
"Heh."
"This is getting more and more interesting."
"Bai Mang..."
"It seems I underestimated you."
"But do you think you can escape?"
He rested the spear across his shoulder and took a step that covered a hundred meters. Two steps, and he traveled several miles. By the third step, he was like a streak of light piercing through the silent night.
His speed far surpassed that of the young man's sword.
Xu Xian fled like a madman, first moving away from the Nether Creek and into the boundless dark night, then changing direction to head deeper into the Demon Abyss.
Seeing that only a few breaths had passed and Chi Yan was already getting closer, his brow furrowed into a deep furrow.
He cursed under his breath.
"Damn it, is a peak eighth-rank that fast?"
There was a massive gap between the early stage and the peak of the eighth rank, even though they were the same stage.
Furthermore, in life-and-death battles between cultivators, cultivation was only one factor; experience and means were another.
Clearly.
Chi Yan was someone from a military background, a veteran of a hundred battles. A peak eighth-rank was infinitely close to the ninth stage.
According to Chi Ji, Chi Yan was the second strongest in the Crimson Demon Palace, a presence that could firmly rank in the top twenty of the entire Demon Abyss.
Below the demon gods, there were few stronger than him.
No matter how many 'cheats' Xu Xian had—the Pupil of Insight, the Sword Tower, the sword body, the sword embryo—he was still only at the sixth stage.
The gap was there.
Most importantly, he had just fought a battle, and his spirit qi was severely depleted.
In fact, after killing the red-clad woman, he had discovered Chi Yan's presence through the little book spirit.
He had stalled for time by returning to the town not just to loot corpses, but to find an opportunity to run, and even more so to constantly consume pills to restore his qi.
Now, he was still stalling.
The longer he stalled, the more qi he could recover, and only then could he re-summon the Sword Tower to take out two swords.
Only then would he have a chance to fight.
It was just that the opponent's speed was faster than he had anticipated.
"Bai Mang, that dog traitor is about to catch up."
"I know."
Chi Ji took off the ancient jade from her chest and said anxiously, "Put me down and run by yourself. Take this jade, find my father, tell him the truth, and avenge me."
Xu Xian ignored her.
He would if he could, but would Chi Yan be kind enough to let him go?
It was nothing but a pipe dream!
Rate on N.U.
