Chapter 429

Chapter 429: The Master of Escape

The dark energy surged into the sky, connecting with the dark moon.

The withered old man walked slowly, arriving at the mountaintop great hall and standing across from Li Hui in just three or four steps.

Countless shadows loomed behind this old man, within layers of phantom darkness lay a sickly tiger, its body occasionally trembling, causing even more shadows to rise.

The Six-Armed Arhat looked down at the old man, and from its hands, Buddhist light burst forth, creating golden beams that shot down, surrounding the old man with a terrifying sound, yet not causing him the slightest harm.

“The Old Ghost is impressive!”

Li Hui stopped consuming his Buddhist power, recalling the Arhat and moving to the edge of the Xuan Yin Pool.

“Little fellow, how many years have you been cultivating? Where did you find a Arhat fruit to flaunt your prowess? How many ghost kings can you defeat in Sleepy Moon Ridge relying solely on your own power?”

“Hoho, the old man has grown senile. Why use my fists to chop down trees when I have a knife? Am I foolish? Enough with that nonsense. Use whatever means you have and see what you can do to me!”

“Sharp-tongued, you shall die!”

At the utterance of "die," dark purple moonlight began to pull from the dark moon, gathering dark shadows from all directions and imbuing them with endless curse power.

With the sage’s words being as solid as gold, this old ghost imitated, declaring that if he said you would die, you would have no chance of survival.

The curse was more malignant than the Evil Bell and Evening Drum Talisman; once the energy was locked on, it would likely even affect Li Hui’s true form. It was uncertain how much luck must be poured in to counter it.

The Cold Armor Emperor transmitted a message: “Be careful, this curse is extremely troublesome; just a bit of contact is akin to a death calamity. Under the gathering of deathly clouds, no matter how many means you have, you cannot escape.”

“Is there a way to resolve it?” Li Hui hurriedly asked, raising his hand to cast out segments of the Celestial Tree embedded with replacement talismans, then firing off over ten Buddhist treasures in explosions as a blockade. Even then, he felt a tinge of annoyance within moments.

“Watch my method.” The Cold Armor Emperor summoned five exotic treasures from within the miniature Buddhist nation, transforming them into five beams of light that firmly grasped the eerie character of death. The curse howled as if trapped like a beast, attempting to break free.

This "death" character sprouted countless tiny faces, with surfaces bulging with pus-filled bubbles, creating an incredibly disgusting sight. It was hard to imagine what would happen if it were imprinted on one’s body.

“Eh?” The Old Ghost looked on in shock.

Li Hui’s expression turned somber; such means were truly vicious. Just a glance made his scalp tingle. Luckily, the Cold Armor Emperor had seen much and knew how to restrain it. Even if wasting five exotic treasures was considerable, it was well worth it.

“Bang, bang, bang…” The five exotic treasures began to crack. The Cold Armor Emperor sighed, “My cultivation isn’t what it used to be; I haven’t shed my karmic burden even after becoming a protective king, I fall far short!”

“That’s enough!” Li Hui shifted and vanished.

This Old Ghost was unfathomable; his spiritual sense swept over but couldn’t discern his cultivation. His abilities were too high for Li Hui to counter. Today, he had already killed enough to regain his footing and unveiled layers of mystery, believing that the Great Xia’s Heavenly Monitoring Bureau had calculated this location. And above all, seeing his big sister safe brought him some comfort.

“Trying to escape?” The Old Ghost sneered.

What else would he do? Stay and die? Even though this was an External Transformation, he bore an important mission and could not fall here.

In an instant, Li Hui flew out of the gates of Sleepy Moon Ridge, only to see hundreds of Flying Sky Yasha floating in the air, their eyes gleaming with fierce intent. The formation was truly substantial, ready to stop him at all costs.

Not to say they would stop him at all costs; even a moment’s delay would put Li Hui’s life in jeopardy.

“Swift!” Thirteen treasure talismans began to revolve around Li Hui.

Without preparation, he wouldn’t dare approach Phantom Mountain! He had set up a Teleportation Talisman Formation three days ago, and though it couldn’t teleport too far, escaping in an instant was still feasible.

However, just as he was teleported to his destination, he noticed a figure swiftly approach.

“Old Ghost?”

Without hesitation, Li Hui decisively dove into the ground.

“Boom…” The gigantic Black Tortoise blocked the Old Ghost, buying time for its master to activate the underground Teleportation Talisman Formation.

“Open!”

The Old Ghost swung his staff, and with a “bang, bang, bang,” all the Turtle Mountain Seals exploded, creating a chaotic scene. However, today he faced Li Hui, a cultivator who had been on the run every day since his debut, mastering the art of escape in a unique way—powerful enough to level mountains, yet capable of burrowing underground when fleeing.

“Shh, shh, shh…” The flowing light vanished into the ground, and when it reemerged, Li Hui was not far from Kunlu City.

“Come again!”

The light and shadow flickered underfoot, and his form vanished once more.

As soon as Li Hui left, the Old Ghost arrived, reaching out to grasp a ripple with a cold laugh: “How can a mere Teleportation Talisman Formation escape my Dharma Eye?”

After teleporting twenty-three times, he was three thousand miles away from Phantom Mountain. On the mountain ridge stood two enormous wings, surrounded by layers of talisman formations for concealment.

“Hurry!”

Li Hui understood the nature of these strange supernatural masters all too well; they caused great harm, stirred trouble, and held grudges over the slightest affront, seizing any opportunity to strike hard. Previously, dealing with Ghost Fox’s in-laws at the Haotu Sect had proven very troublesome, and this Old Ghost was far superior to them.

Thus, he did not entertain the thought that he could block the opponent using only the Teleportation Talisman Formation.

The two wings on the ridge were formidable; they belonged to the Red-Winged Xuan Dragon Bat, said to rank among the top three in speed on the Wutu Continent. However, they had become extinct many years ago, and such intact wings were a rare sight.

The huge red wings were covered with countless spirit talismans and treasure talismans, beneath which an altar made of Miao Jade was turning to ash. Li Hui darted through the talisman formation to the center of the red wings and formed a hand seal.

“Puff, puff, puff…”

The immense red wings ignited like incense burning, and they blazed quickly, bright red flames converging towards the center.

Li Hui flicked his hand to release eighteen hollow Copper Orbs, arranged from largest to smallest. The large orb was the size of a human head, while the smallest was merely the size of a cow’s eye.

He didn’t hesitate; he shrank down and blended into the smallest Copper Orb, then launched the small orb toward the others, connecting them in a chain, layer upon layer, until only one head-sized Copper Orb floated in the center of the two wings about to be consumed by flames.

“Boom…” All the surrounding talisman formations erupted in brilliance, and a massive ghostly hand pressed down from above.

“You little brat, so you are here.”

In such a short time, the Old Ghost had already pursued him!

“Run!” Li Hui shouted desperately.

The wings burned fiercely, erupting in waves of red light that encircled the Copper Orb. Just before the ghostly hand could reach him, he suddenly activated the orb, ignoring the heavy shadows obstructing him from all directions, and with a whoosh transformed into a faint red glow, shooting out.

The ghostly hand tried to block him, but the air trembled slightly, and the red light pierced through the hand, disappearing without a trace.

“How outrageous!” The Old Ghost roared in fury, managing to step forward with great difficulty while the sickly tiger within the countless shadows behind him rose.

In such circumstances, he could still pursue; truly unfathomable!

As the Old Ghost appeared, he saw the red glow fading at the edge of his vision. He hurriedly took a second step, leaving thousands of miles behind, his aura greatly diminished and no longer as terrifying as before—he had clearly consumed a lot of energy.

With his third step, the Old Ghost reached the seaside. In the distance, several large cities lay in ruin, as the sea produced Shadow Beasts in abundance, resulting in the most impact along the coastline.

When he took his fourth step, the red glow and the Old Ghost entered the vast ocean, one after the other…