Chapter 166

Chapter 166: Shadows in the Dark

Zhou Luo walked out of Tian Xia Restaurant, having once again changed his appearance.

His face was calm, his steps in a relaxed manner, like an ordinary person simply leaving after staying at an inn.

Coupled with his wholly unremarkable looks, he would hardly draw attention even if lost in a crowd.

Along the street, Zhou Luo headed towards the market gate.

People came and went on the road, everyone focused on their own affairs, nobody paying him any mind.

The journey of two ke felt exceptionally long in Zhou Luo’s current view.

His mental strength remained constantly expanded, missing nothing out of the ordinary.

Upon reaching the gate, Zhou Luo involuntarily clenched his hands. Stepping onto the land outside, his expression turned slightly grave.

His mind was already anticipating the attacks he might face next and how he would counter them.

Yet, when he arrived outside the market.

Everything was as calm as water; not the slightest unexpected event occurred.

Greatly surprised, he looked back at the market gate with its endless stream of people, his mind filled with confusion.

Had they truly failed to notice?

Or did the people of Zhen Yuan Tower simply not care about that main ingredient for the Lifespan Pill?

Questions flooded him. Without hesitation, Zhou Luo turned towards his planned escape route. His pace was neither fast nor slow, just like most cultivators.

The Dragon Blood Grass was located northwest of the market. According to Wang Yu Wei’s description, Qinyuan Sect had only marked the general area.

It was said the Dragon Blood Grass lay within a lush green valley, and that valley was veiled by ancient Hehuan Sect formation arrays, inaccessible to ordinary sight.

Zhou Luo reckoned that some Foundation Establishment expert from Qinyuan Sect must have discovered the place. Aiming to temper their sect disciples, they had chosen not to break the arrays.

After all, for the important figures of an Immortal Sect, items prized like treasures by Qi Refinement cultivators, such as Dragon Blood Grass, were likely quite ordinary.

Zhou Luo continued northwest.

Once far from the market, his steps gradually sped up.

On the way, he encountered other cultivators.

Seemingly unable to gauge his cultivation level, they showed caution then distanced themselves.

He covered ten li, passed through a mountain range, and still detected no one following.

But the unease within him refused to dissipate.

Impossible.

Zhou Luo inwardly speculated.

Given the interest shown by that Elder Qi, they must have been extremely keen on the Lifespan Pill.

Could his disguise truly have been that effective?

The moment this thought surfaced, Zhou Luo forcefully pushed it aside.

In this perilous world of cultivation, blind confidence would only push him deeper into peril.

His entire life had been like walking on thin ice. If he were to stumble here, it would have been so unjust.

"Forget it. If someone really is tailing me, they will inevitably lose control," Zhou Luo thought to himself.

Then, a gentle breeze surged around his body as he released his spiritual energy, suddenly accelerating and charging toward the northwest.

The explosive boost in speed made him vanish instantly from his original spot, leaving only a streak of residual shadow darting through the forest.

At the same time, beneath a tree’s shade in an unknown place, a figure slowly emerged, gazing at the receding form of the other, a faint glimmer rising in those deep, murky pupils.

He was precisely the shadow dispatched by Qi Chuan.

Watching the target continually depart into the distance, he did not know if the other party had discovered him, yet no matter what, he must not lose track of the other.

So he decisively operated his spiritual energy, transforming into a stream of light to catch up.

And this also meant he had exposed himself.

Ahead, sensing the vast spiritual energy emanating from behind, Zhou Luo’s pupils contracted slightly.

Indeed.

The members of Zhen Yuan Tower had been surreptitiously tailing him all along.

If he hadn’t suddenly accelerated, forcing the other to speed up, he probably would not have discovered the pursuer.

The mere thought that the other party never displayed a single flaw from start to finish sent a wave of post-fear shivering through Zhou Luo.

Fortunately, he had not been overly confident in assuming no one was following.

Otherwise, maintaining a standard speed, he would have definitely clung to by the other relentlessly.

Luckily, the aura of the person tracking him was not as terrifying as Liu Fu Chen’s, yet it was still formidable.

Now that he had found the tracker, resolving things would be straightforward.

Zhou Luo narrowed his eyes, extracted a few spiritual symbols for acceleration, stuck them onto his body, and his velocity leaped several levels higher.

Involuntary shock stirred within the person behind.

He was a shadow of Zhen Yuan Tower, most adept at concealment and pursuit, so his speed far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

Yet the other party actually maintained a certain distance from him, clearly showing that his movement technique was absolutely extraordinary.

With that thought, a surge of dark green light arose in the palm of the shadow’s right hand.

He extended his hand forward, spiritual energy howling from his palm, transforming into a long rainbow that pierced through the void and launched straight at Zhou Luo’s back.

That rainbow arrived with ferocious momentum, carrying a fearsome, trembling power.

Detecting the crisis.

Zhou Luo hastily pulled out a high-grade spiritual symbol and tossed it backward.

In the instant that spiritual symbol was flung into the air, it bloomed with dazzling golden light, and a Vajra Pestle suffused in rich radiance suddenly materialized, possessing immense force as it impaled straight toward that rainbow.

It was precisely that high-grade spiritual symbol acquired from Liu Fu Chen.

The Vajra Pestle brandished astonishing might; wherever it passed, dust swirled upward, and adjacent trees shattered into fragments.

Bang—

The Vajra Pestle thrust directly through the rainbow and charged straight toward the shadow.

"Hmph."

Shadow emitted a cold snort, watching as the attack drew near and extending his left hand.

That bloodless left hand radiated with white light, and Xuan Huang spiritual energy clung to it.

Seeing the Vajra Pestle incoming, he clenched into a fist and punched out, with torrential spiritual energy shaking the surroundings, crushing that attack.

With just one punch, it directly shattered a high-grade spiritual symbol.

Although the spiritual symbol’s power weakened when shattering that long arc, it was still terrifying.

It seemed the opponent was at least an eighth level Qi Refinement cultivator, possibly even having stepped into the ninth level.

Zhou Luo thought secretly to himself.

At this moment, he must widen the distance from the opponent, then devise a plan to set up a trap for the enemy, to truly shake off the opponent.

Plus, he couldn’t linger for too long.

Perhaps that Foundation Establishment strong person was already rushing to this area.

Thinking this, he gritted his teeth and swallowed several potion pills, causing the spiritual energy inside his body to surge violently and bolt out like an arrow.

Fast!

He must be fast!

The opponent’s speed wasn’t slow. Even though Zhou Luo accelerated with all his might, he could only barely maintain the distance, and that gap was narrowing.

He couldn’t hold back.

Zhou Luo very resolutely pulled out two high-grade spiritual symbols and flung them backward.

The two spiritual symbols burst in the sky, emitting one red and one white brilliant spiritual light.

A huge fireball and a frigid snowball simultaneously charged out, bringing an extremely powerful aura.

These two spiritual symbols, one cold and one hot, didn’t have weakened power from conflicting attributes. Each carried terrifying force as it slammed toward the opponent.

Shadow’s face twitched.

He hadn’t expected the opponent to possess three top-quality symbols.

He quickly steadied his posture, summoned a black long sword, and swung it out, invoking several sword light to hack at the colossal entity.

Boom—

Sword light rampaged, stirring fierce sword aura that collided with the fireball and snowball, erupting in an earth-shaking noise.

Dozens of flames scattered out, mingled with falling ice snow.

Shadow’s figure became visible, with a hole showing in his clothing, looking slightly disheveled.

His eyes were shadowy as he stared at the gradually fading silhouette ahead and gave chase again.