Chapter 281: The Dusk Dunes

In that moment, Chen Fei decisively gave up on using the blade edge of the Edgeless Greatsword to clash head-on. Instead, he swung the flat side of the blade toward his enemy with full force.

Eight Ghosts was stunned.

Such an unorthodox method of attack caught him completely off guard.

“Kid! You picked the wrong target!” a cold glint flashed in Eight Ghosts’ eyes.

Eight Ghosts was a notorious figure among evil cultivators. Thirty years ago, he was at the height of his fame—one of the few who had escaped the Tianqing Holy Land’s purges. Although still only at the Profound Realm, his mastery of the technique Starshift Reversal allowed him to battle across realms.

As the gust of power surged toward him, Eight Ghosts remained composed. He drew a circle in front of himself with his arms, then flipped his wrists and slapped toward the incoming greatsword.

Feeling the force behind the blow, Eight Ghosts sneered.

“Saint Son Chen, consider this a small lesson—one wrong move, and you’re doomed!”

But just as his words left his mouth, a panicked voice rang out:

“Eight Ghosts, watch out!”

It was Departed Soul, both frightened and furious.

The counterattack came too fast. Eight Ghosts was still grinning smugly when the Edgeless Greatsword—redirected perfectly by his own Starshift Reversal—swept straight at Departed Soul with even greater momentum!

This unexpected turn of events was entirely due to Eight Ghosts’ own technique!

“Impossible!” Eight Ghosts cried out, scrambling to intervene—but it was already too late.

“Aaaagh!” Departed Soul howled in pain.

Seizing this chaotic moment, Chen Fei, his forehead glowing with golden patterns, twisted his body midair. The redirected greatsword arced with strange precision and crashed into Departed Soul.

Among the three enemies, Departed Soul was the weakest—only recently stepping into the Profound Realm and still unfamiliar with Dao comprehension.

Worse, his body had never been physically tempered—it was soft and fragile.

The combination of these weaknesses meant the result of taking the Edgeless Greatsword head-on was… predictable.

With a clean strike, Chen Fei broke through their encirclement, slipping away like a mudfish.

But as soon as he escaped, the world before him abruptly changed.

A forest of blooming peach blossoms emerged before his eyes.

No doubt—Peach Blossom had made her move!

She wasn’t trying to attack him directly, but to trap him and buy time for White Lotus and the others to catch up.

Chen Fei laughed coldly.

“Peach Blossom, this illusion of yours is embarrassing. Don’t use garbage like this next time!”

As he spoke, golden light lit up in his eyes.

The blossoming forest shimmered like a mirage and vanished completely. Chen Fei didn’t slow down even for a breath—he flew ahead at full speed.

“Chen Fei!” Peach Blossom shouted, her face twisted with rage.

She tried to give chase, but a wave of weakness suddenly surged through her body.

The mysterious being in the Tianzhang Secret Realm was simply too powerful. Even a glance had left her injured. Without that, there was no way Chen Fei could have escaped so easily!

Chen Fei didn’t dare linger.

Fueled by the Burning Blood Pill, his speed pushed past its peak, turning him into a black streak fleeing toward Tianqing Holy Land.

“Chase him! We must recover the Blood Fiend Formation, or none of us will escape the Holy Sovereign’s wrath!” Peach Blossom coughed lightly, blood seeping from her pale fingers—a stark contrast that stung the eyes.

The faces of White Lotus and the others turned grim.

Departed Soul had taken the brunt of the damage—his body nearly split in two. Even with pills, his face was ghostly pale. Clenching his teeth, he ignored the pain and chased after Chen Fei.

“Eight Ghosts, that brat’s up to something. Don’t underestimate him!” White Lotus warned.

Eight Ghosts didn’t reply—but his iron-blue face showed how deeply infuriated he was.

Chen Fei coughed violently as he ran.

Although the Void Heaven Cauldron had suppressed most of the side effects of the Burning Blood Pill, he was still injured.

Fortunately, the damage wasn’t too severe.

But the situation wasn’t getting better—in fact, it was getting worse.

The evil cultivators had gone mad. Regardless of their level, anyone who spotted him immediately attacked without fear of death—just to delay him even a second.

“Sigh…” Chen Fei exhaled, seeing a swarm of black dots ahead.

He had no choice but to change direction again.

These enemies weren’t strong, but there were too many of them. Even killing them all would take too long.

“There he is! After him!”

“Orders from the Holy Sovereign: whoever captures Chen Fei will enter the Holy Temple!”

Those words were like injecting adrenaline into the mob.

They howled excitedly, swarming after him.

Three days later.

Chen Fei stared dumbfounded at the endless desert stretching before him.

Because of the constant pursuit, he had changed direction again and again.

But there were just too many evil cultivators!

No matter which way he ran, he couldn’t shake them off.

Originally, he had hoped to escape directly to Tianqing Holy Land.

Now? He was running further and further away.

“You think I can’t kill you all?” Chen Fei took a deep breath, eyes flashing with murderous intent.

But then he calmed himself, suppressing the killing aura—and without hesitation, rushed into the desert.

Moments later, Peach Blossom arrived.

She stared at the dunes ahead, face dark.

“That bastard actually dared to enter the Dusk Dunes?”

The Dusk Dunes—one of the forbidden zones of the Xuanhuang Continent.

Forbidden zones were always a hot topic among cultivators. In multiple danger rankings, the Dusk Dunes consistently held a spot in the top five.

What made it so terrifying?

Blistering heat.

Once inside, your spiritual energy would begin draining rapidly. Even Profound Realm experts couldn’t last long!

After three days of relentless pursuit, the evil cultivators were exhausted.

At first, they had been fueled by the promise of massive rewards and chased him like rabid dogs.

But as more and more died, they began to sober up.

Now that they had reached the Dusk Dunes, many of them started glancing around nervously.

For Foundation Realm cultivators, stepping into the Dunes meant counting their survival time in seconds.

Peach Blossom noticed the change in morale—but could do nothing.

The desert inside the Dusk Dunes was alive—it flowed and shifted. A dune visible one second might be swept away the next!

Tracking someone in this terrain was nearly impossible without overwhelming manpower.

Just relying on herself, Eight Ghosts, and the others wouldn’t be enough to find Chen Fei.

“The Holy Temple has made itself very clear. If you want to withdraw, I won’t stop you—but don’t expect protection afterward.”

Her eyes swept across the group with a razor-sharp gaze. The threat was obvious.

The evil cultivators paled.

Did they really have a choice?

One by one, they forced awkward smiles.

“We follow Fairy Peach Blossom’s orders! We’ll give it everything we’ve got!”