Chapter Ninety-One: Death!

A wave of force erupted from the self-detonation of the golden core.

Luo Tian groaned inwardly. He knew that Shen Qingkong was only at the lowest rank of the human-spirit golden core realm, the weakest kind of cultivator in the golden core stage, but a being who had cultivated to such a level still possessed astonishingly vast power. Once it burst apart, it would be no trivial matter.

He pressed his body as close to the ground as he could and buried his head low, hoping only that the blast would kill Fang Zheng outright, so that he might reap the spoils from the struggle.

As for the storage pouch, Luo Tian was not worried. The thing was made of fairly sturdy material; a mere human-spirit golden core explosion would not affect it at all.

Wind shrieked over his head. Fortunately, this was somewhat downhill, and the force of Shen Qingkong’s core detonation had not been concentrated here. So although the commotion was fierce, Luo Tian suffered no injury.

At the same time, the rustle of leaves being swept away by the gale and the crack of snapping branches rang out without end.

No, that should not be so.

Luo Tian frowned in confusion. Even the weakest golden core, once it detonated, could not simply pass with a great noise and little effect. It had not even blown down a tree?

After thinking it through carefully, Luo Tian finally understood: the power of a golden core’s self-detonation also depended on how much core energy it contained. The more energy within, the greater the force of the explosion.

When Shen Qingkong hit the ground, he must already have been all but spent, practically at the end of his rope. It was no wonder the self-detonation had failed to harm him.

Luo Tian had even prepared himself to lose a layer of skin, so to arrive at such an outcome naturally carried a touch of pleasant surprise.

Then how was Shen Qingkong supposed to kill Fang Zheng?

With a soft sigh, Luo Tian felt somewhat helpless. All of Qin Tianyu’s memories were experiences he had personally lived through. Though Luo Tian had already read them all, whenever he needed to use the related knowledge and experience, he still had to rummage through them in a targeted way. It was indeed troublesome.

Fortunately, such matters did not take much time. Luo Tian soon understood the reason.

Even when a golden core had no more energy left in it, the core itself still possessed formidable killing power. It could be said to be extremely sturdy. Once it exploded and scattered, the shattered pieces would be like splinters from a blast, sharp, hard, and carrying tremendous impact.

So that was the trick.

Luo Tian let out a slow breath. This time, Fang Zheng was probably in grave danger.

The fire essence spirit, the transformed fire of true astral essence.

The lifelong treasure hoard of Elder Shen Qingkong of the Divine Sun Sect.

As though he could already see two mountains of gold beckoning to him, Luo Tian’s heart could not help but stir with quiet excitement.

As the saying went, wealth moved the heart. If Shen Qingkong and Fang Zheng both died, the fortune they left behind would, when converted into money, amount to a figure beyond reckoning. Even mountains of gold and silver would not be enough to describe it.

Who could remain unmoved?

Still, Luo Tian intended to wait a while longer. If Fang Zheng had not died, then rashly appearing now would be unsafe.

But Heaven did not follow man’s wishes. The very thing Luo Tian least wanted to see still happened.

A weak groan drifted over. Though feeble and powerless, Luo Tian knew at once that Fang Zheng was still alive.

Only, how badly had he been injured?

Luo Tian lay obediently on the ground, fists clenched, not daring to act rashly.

A cultivator in the vein-flow realm possessed keener senses than one in the condensing-qi realm, and Fang Zheng had even reached the peak of the vein-flow realm, the ninth transformation, the white-light transformation. Even if he were doomed never to step into the golden core stage, the improvement to his physical body would still be nothing to scoff at.

Any unusual sound would likely be noticed.

Luo Tian lifted his head slightly and watched as Fang Zheng walked step by step to where he had stood before. His clothes were in tatters, blood streamed without cease, and not a single part of him looked normal. Especially his legs, shoulders, abdomen, and arms, where the blood was shockingly vivid. And yet, even so, he still clutched Shen Qingkong’s storage pouch tightly in his hand.

Even fleeing for his life, he had not forgotten that. Shen Qingkong had indeed been desperate enough.

If only Shen Qingkong had had a little more experience and sent the fragments of his core straight through Fang Zheng’s heart, how good would that have been? Then Luo Tian would not need to keep his tail between his legs as he did now.

The thought rose on its own, and Luo Tian gave a self-mocking smile. To expect a golden core expert to have experience with self-detonation was sheer fantasy; after all, which golden core expert did not die on the spot once their core exploded?

"Hahaha!"

Standing there, Fang Zheng let out a strange cry that was half laugh, half sob, then thudded to his knees on the ground. "At last he is dead, at last he is dead! Old beast, old beast! Good riddance! The Four Great Clans all deserve to die!"

Having said that, Fang Zheng lifted his face to the sky and let out a long howl, as though he meant to pour out all the grief and hatred he had accumulated over the years, and the despair he had only just heard concerning his ruined cultivation path.

Was this guy ever going to die or not?

Watching him, Luo Tian’s head throbbed. Shen Qingkong truly was a pit. He himself could not leave now, nor could he stay, and the worst part was that he had no idea how serious Fang Zheng’s injuries were.

"Who is there?"

At that moment, Luo Tian heard Fang Zheng’s cold, harsh shout.

Was there someone else here?

Luo Tian instinctively turned his head and scanned the surroundings, and immediately felt his mind go blank.

The shockwave from Shen Qingkong’s golden core explosion had blown away a great deal of the clutter around him. Though there was still some obstruction ahead, how could it possibly hide him from the eyes of a vein-flow realm cultivator?

Looking up at Fang Zheng, Luo Tian’s heart lurched.

Fang Zheng’s sharp eyes were now locked dead on him.

How unlucky could one get?

Seeing that there was no way to hide, and feigning death was out of the question, Luo Tian could only slowly rise to his feet, fearing that any overly large movement would provoke Fang Zheng, whose mind was surely in a highly abnormal state at this moment.

"I—"

In that instant, Luo Tian thought of more than one explanation. But clearly, whether he said, "I saw nothing," or "I am not from the Four Great Clans," nothing would persuade Fang Zheng to spare him.

"Die!"

With a fierce shout, Fang Zheng sprang up at once. His feet shifted rapidly in alternation, and though his body swayed somewhat, and though such violent movement made the blood flow even faster, none of that could alter his decision.

This disciple of the Divine Sun Sect had to die!

Run!

The moment Luo Tian saw Fang Zheng’s movements and expression, he knew he had been targeted. Between the two of them, only one could survive.

If Fang Zheng did not kill him, he would never let this matter rest!

Without hesitation, Luo Tian turned and fled. He still could not gauge the severity of Fang Zheng’s wounds, so he could only choose the safest method: delay.

Delay until Fang Zheng bled to death!

Within the Divine Sun Forest, a nimble figure raced through the woods at great speed, his feet drumming against the ground like a rapid beat. His body would sink low, then lean sideways, constantly shifting in precise response to the changing terrain, dodging or leaping as needed.

The ape form and the horse form, after many days of Luo Tian’s practice, had blended together perfectly, nearly on par with a true demon beast.

And yet, even though Luo Tian was pouring every ounce of strength into his escape, Fang Zheng was still closing the distance rapidly.

White light seemed to gather into substance beneath Fang Zheng’s feet, while within his body, the thick, paste-like spiritual power rushed swiftly along the established pathways of his meridians.

"I have the Fire Step under my belt. You cannot escape! Today you are dead for sure! Stop obediently, and I can at least let you die more quickly!"

Hearing Fang Zheng speak, Luo Tian immediately knew that his speed truly could not surpass him. Leaving aside the gap in cultivation, Luo Tian did not even possess a movement technique of his own. Whereas the other had practiced it for years, this difference was simply impossible to make up.

Still, one sentence was hardly enough to scare Luo Tian into kneeling and awaiting execution. He knew perfectly well that Fang Zheng had little strength left. Whether from his own injuries or from the battle with Shen Qingkong, in which he had had no time to recover, his fighting power had certainly been affected.

Luo Tian paid him no mind and kept his head down as he ran.

Hmph. Once I catch him, I will make sure to torment this brat properly!

Fang Zheng had just killed his own master and knew full well that he could no longer remain in the Divine Sun Sect. If he let this brat return and report what had happened, he would surely not escape the sect’s pursuit.

The fury in his heart had not yet been spent, and Fang Zheng only felt an urgent need to vent it all at once. Only after calming himself could he consider his next destination.

With a flash, a horizontal slash from the broken jade sword sent a crescent of white sword qi rushing toward Luo Tian.

Fang Zheng had named this short sword Broken Jade, implying that it could shatter defenses.

However, this sword qi did not bear any special trait of broken jade at all. It was merely an ordinary attack.

External release of spiritual power!

Though Luo Tian was running, he had not forgotten to watch for movement behind him. When he saw a sharp white sword qi slash toward his waist, he immediately twisted his body and changed direction to continue running.

If the range of this sword qi were a little smaller, Luo Tian had the confidence to evade it by relying on serpentine movements. But now he could only keep his distance as best he could.

Seeing that Luo Tian had nimbly dodged aside, Fang Zheng did not hesitate. He sent out several more bursts of spiritual power. He did not expect these attacks to succeed, but there was no doubt they made it easier for him to close in on the brat.

The two drew ever closer, and the cruelty in the smile at the corner of Fang Zheng’s mouth grew more and more vicious.

The Broken Jade Sword struck again. This time, however, he did not use the external release of spiritual power. That method was after all a little lacking in force, far inferior to thrusting the sword directly into flesh.

The strike was swift as lightning. Luo Tian reacted quickly and again used serpentine technique to twist and evade, but Fang Zheng’s Broken Jade Sword was simply too fast. It still carved a wound nearly half a meter long across Luo Tian’s back!

Though the wound was not deep, its length was shocking to the eye. In an instant, blood burst from Luo Tian’s back!