Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 48

Volume 6 Chapter 48: Rescue and Escape (Part 1)

The fight wasn’t very exciting, but it was intense. Both sides attacked and defended but found they could not harm each other, so they stopped fighting and just looked at each other coldly, marking a temporary pause.

In fact, Xu Qingfan did not want to engage Feng Qingtian. He could imagine Feng Qingtian’s current strength and understood his own. Both he and Feng Qingtian had reached a level far beyond that of ordinary golden core cultivators, where only Mahayana Stage masters could rival them. Because of this, neither could truly overcome the other.

And it turned out that Xu Qingfan was right about this before.

However, Feng Qingtian did not believe this initially. Furthermore, after Xu Qingfan learned about the "Jiazi Cave," he had to keep Xu Qingfan here. But the result was just as Xu Qingfan had told him at first: neither could kill the other.

Although Feng Qingtian had a more powerful cultivation method besides the "Infernal Formula" that he had not used, and even though Xu Qingfan had not summoned his two avatars or used the "Three Bodies Unite" technique to triple his strength, and Little Black was not involved either, the two masters had glimpsed each other’s power. After exchanging attacks and defenses, both realized that their battle, though impressive, did not showcase their full abilities. If the fight continued, there would be only two outcomes: wasting time or mutual destruction; neither of which they wanted. Therefore, although Feng Qingtian was reluctant, he chose to stop attacking along with Xu Qingfan.

Of course, Feng Qingtian did not know that Xu Qingfan had a disciple who was a descendant of the Qiongqi family and possessed a spirit position like his. Otherwise, even if it meant mutual destruction, Feng Qingtian would never let Xu Qingfan leave alive.

Feng Qingtian looked at Xu Qingfan not far away, his eyes filled with complex feelings. He clearly remembered their first battle, which happened two hundred years ago during the great competition at Jiuhua Gate. At that time, Xu Qingfan had fought with all his might but still couldn’t pose any threat to him. After the fight, Feng Qingtian had not even been touched by Xu Qingfan’s attacks.

The second time they fought was before he betrayed Jiuhua. At that time, Xu Qingfan was still not as strong as him, but he already had the power to challenge him. During their battle, Xu Qingfan caused him quite a bit of trouble. In the end, although he won, he paid a heavy price, suffering from injuries that lingered for seven or eight years. It could only be called a pyrrhic victory.

And this time, without realizing it, another hundred years had passed. Feng Qingtian always felt that since he joined the "Ming" organization, his strength had increased much faster than before. He thought he had left Xu Qingfan far behind, but unexpectedly, Xu Qingfan had made even greater progress during these years. Although Xu Qingfan benefited from having a magical item that countered his cultivation method, it was undeniable that at this moment, they stood on the same level.

Is this still the Xu Qingfan with poor talent that I have never considered a threat?

Suddenly, a deep sense of resentment surged in Feng Qingtian’s heart, not against Xu Qingfan, but against himself.

"If I can’t even defeat someone like Xu Qingfan, how will I take revenge on Jiuhua and Zhang Xusheng in the future? The stronger my hatred, the stronger my desire, the stronger my power will be. Is my hatred and my desire not strong enough?"

Feng Qingtian stared at Xu Qingfan, his gaze becoming unfocused. Gradually, it turned fierce, and his handsome face twisted slightly at that moment.

But after a moment, Feng Qingtian seemed to remember something. He glanced back at the "Jiazi Cave," and his eyes and expression returned to their usual coldness and gloom.

"I still have the secret power of the Mythical Beast family in my hands. As soon as I fully master it…"

Feng Qingtian thought to himself, his heart calming down again, and there was even a hint of satisfaction.

On the other side, Xu Qingfan was also watching Feng Qingtian, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

After Xu Qingfan discovered that his strength was growing, he sometimes unconsciously compared himself to talented people like Feng Qingtian and Jin Qinghan. The outcome of their battle today was already expected in his mind.

He didn’t notice it before, but after fighting Feng Qingtian today, Xu Qingfan realized that he had become so strong.

He had changed, but his opponent had changed even more. If it weren’t for the unchanged face, Xu Qingfan could hardly believe that this was the Feng Qingtian from back then. His proud and pure personality had turned into a cold and gloomy demeanor. His single-minded focus on revenge and restoring the Feng family had transformed into great ambition. The cultivation method he once used had become mysterious and unpredictable.

Is this person still Feng Qingtian? He is definitely no longer the Feng Qingtian in Xu Qingfan’s mind.

With both parties hiding their thoughts, the battlefield fell silent after they stopped fighting. Finally, the silence was broken by a snort from Feng Qingtian’s Spirit Fox.

Then, Xu Qingfan spoke first.

"I told you, right now neither of us can do anything to the other. Our fight is just a waste of time. So, shall we end our battle for now?"

"You have made a lot of progress over the years, more than I expected. Right now, I really can’t do anything to you," Feng Qingtian said coldly. "However, we both know that I want to destroy Jiuhua and you want to protect Jiuhua. In the future, we will surely have a battle. I hope by then, your strength will have improved significantly, otherwise…"

While speaking, Feng Qingtian surprisingly ignored Xu Qingfan, held the Spirit Fox in his arms, and turned away.

"You’d better not get involved in the matter of ‘Jiazi Cave.’ In fact, you are not from the Mythical Beast family, so it won’t help even if you try. Just do what you need to do; the ‘Ming’ organization’s plan is already set, and you have little time left."

When Feng Qingtian’s figure completely disappeared at the end of the deep cave, that proud yet slightly gloomy voice echoed once more, resonating throughout the cave.

Xu Qingfan watched Feng Qingtian’s silhouette vanish completely, and suddenly sighed with regret. Shaking his head, he walked out of the cave. He needed to hurry and search for Jin Qinghan and Dongfang Qingling, but after hearing Feng Qingtian’s words, he was more determined than ever to take Bai Yu into the "Jiazi Cave" to find out the truth.

…

Watching the strange person busily doing something in front of her, Dongfang Qingling, who was being searched for by Xu Qingfan, felt a wave of panic in her heart.

At this moment, she was lying deep underground on a strangely shaped but very simple altar. Though she was not bound by anything, for some reason, she could not move at all.

The strange person was tall, nearly ten feet high, with dark blue skin. Right now, he was directing a large number of zombies to work in the cave, placing some dark flags here, spilling blood there, yet it was unclear what he was doing. This had been going on for almost a month, and Dongfang Qingling’s panic did not lessen; on the contrary, it grew even stronger.

Sometimes, when the strange person stood with the many zombies, Dongfang Qingling could not tell who was the one imprisoning her and who was the zombie being directed by the strange person; they looked so similar. At times, she even felt that the strange person was simply a zombie with human thoughts.

The underground cave was deep and large. Dongfang Qingling saw this strange person commanding countless zombies to dig it. Zombies are naturally good at moving underground, and it took just over an hour for this cave to be dug out and formed.

The altar below her was made of countless dry bones, which Dongfang Qingling also watched the strange person create. At the moment it was completed, the area for hundreds of miles suddenly became very dark, and the sound of ghostly cries echoed in the air. However, when that strange person placed her on the altar, everything returned to normal.

Dongfang Qingling did not know what this strange person was going to do to her. Six months ago, she had rushed here, worried for Xu Qingfan, thinking that even if Xu Qingfan was dead, she would still want to collect his body.

But when she arrived, she only found chaos: the ground was cracked, and the hills were broken, yet there was no sign of the mysterious black-robed master or Xu Qingfan.

Just as Dongfang Qingling was anxiously searching, the strange person suddenly appeared from the ground. Despite her peak Real Golden Core Stage cultivation, she was no match for him and was easily subdued. However, he did not harm her; he simply tossed her aside and sat down in a strange posture to meditate, ignoring her shouts and questions.

But half a year ago, this strange person seemed to have finished his meditation and began to set up the altar beneath her, as if he was planning something.

"No matter what, knowing that Senior Brother Xu is still alive makes it feel like my wish is fulfilled even if I die now. But I wonder if Senior Brother Xu returned to the Southern Wasteland to look for me?"

As the ominous feeling in her heart grew stronger, Dongfang Qingling began to feel desperate and no longer thought about how to escape like she did at first. In fact, she had thought of many ways to escape in the past six months, but none of them had worked. Her mind drifted to Xu Qingfan, who had passed through here a month ago, and she secretly speculated.

Just as Dongfang Qingling was lost in thought, the strange person who had imprisoned her for more than half a year suddenly walked in front of her and, for the first time in six months, spoke.