Chapter 680 - 399: The Ignored Big Brother
After hiding for the better part of an hour, Zou Feng and Su Qingyu crawled out from the bushes with lingering fear once everything outside had quieted down.
The expression on Zou Feng’s face was somewhat awkward.
He had to admit that his previous plan to turn the tables and hunt the Tribulation Cultivators had been a bit rash.
For the Ninefold Celestial Court and the Yama Underworld to dare challenge the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, their foundations were indeed not to be underestimated.
Not only could you not reel in a truly big fish like the ones just now, but you’d also get dragged into the water yourself.
’Of course, if Jiang Wanzhao—that Gun Holster—was here, and if we had made the proper preparations, it might not have been impossible to try and take one of them down...’
"Let’s head back first. Senior Sister Jiang has probably given up by now!" Su Qingyu broke the silence with a cough.
Zou Feng knew Jiang Wanzhao better than Su Qingyu did. He didn’t think she would go so far as to give up, but she definitely wouldn’t be showing her face for the time being.
One Tribulation Cultivator of that caliber might be manageable, but with two appearing back-to-back, popping out would just be courting death.
"Let’s keep searching. If we still can’t find Senior Sister Jiang by the end of the night, we’ll escape back to the sect first!"
Zou Feng estimated that his current location wasn’t far from the area covered by the Celestial Dao Cauldron’s signal. There was no need to be too timid; as long as they were vigilant, it shouldn’t be a major problem.
Having come to an agreement, Zou Feng and Su Qingyu continued on their way, making sure to avoid the direction the two powerful figures had taken.
Even so, after traveling for a while, they still came across the bodies of several Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect disciples.
These disciples from the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect were likely survivors from the fall of the Celestial Hearing Tower.
To think they had made it this far, almost back to the warm embrace of the Celestial Dao Cauldron, only for all their efforts to be for naught. They had essentially died just a stone’s throw from their home.
However, upon closer inspection, the way these disciples died didn’t seem miserable at all.
"Something’s strange!" Su Qingyu was the first to step forward and investigate.
By this point, Zou Feng had already gotten a clear look. The three dead disciples before them were all men, and their expressions were clearly wrong.
They had all died with smiles of pleasure and satisfaction on their faces, as if they hadn’t just kicked the bucket, but had achieved Ascension.
Another thing they had in common was that none of the three were wearing pants, and the ground beneath them was a mess.
"They... died from pleasure!?" Zou Feng said with a frown.
Su Qingyu readily agreed. "They were likely hit by some kind of Evil Art that causes extreme arousal. I fear this is the work of that ’Great Bridal Sedan’!"
’So these three fellow disciples got to live out their fantasy of being a "groom," and then were willingly drained of everything until they died?’
Zou Feng couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. He had deliberately avoided the direction the "Great Bridal Sedan" had left in, yet it still felt like he could run into that person at any moment...
’And if I really do run into them, will I be able to suppress the impulse to be a "groom"?’
’It probably won’t be a problem. If worse comes to worst, I’ll just activate "Wise Mode" ahead of time.’
Out of respect for them as fellow disciples, Zou Feng first collected their three Storage Pouches. He planned to take them back to the Immortal Sect to see if any friends or family would claim them.
Then, he raised his hand and used a Skill to alter the terrain, burying the three men.
Unexpectedly, before he had finished burying them, a pillar of light the size of a bowl shot down diagonally from the sky, as fast as a bolt of lightning.
A warning flared in his mind, but it was too late to dodge. On pure reflex, at the last possible moment, Zou Feng activated Iron Block—Gang!
His Tribulation-Indestructible Body was already quite close to the Unity of Heaven and Man Realm. So while this move merely hardened his flesh, its toughness was said to be able to withstand the eighteen tortures of the Underworld.
Amidst the explosive sound, Zou Feng let out a muffled groan and was forced back a full five steps before he could barely regain his footing.
Looking at his chest, not only was his new Martial Attire incinerated, but his physical body—forged through countless trials and combining three special physiques—actually had a bowl-sized scorch mark on the chest.
And Zou Feng was certain that if he hadn’t used Iron Block in time, that scorch mark would have been a bloody hole...
"Who’s there!?"
The sudden change had happened too quickly and abruptly; Su Qingyu was only just now reacting.
She darted to Zou Feng’s side, checking his injuries while warily scanning their surroundings, seeing danger in every shadow.
"Oh?"
A voice, laced with surprise, came from the void.
It was clearly a man’s voice, deep and magnetic.
Zou Feng had assumed his terrible luck had finally caught up to him and he’d run into an exceptionally powerful Tribulation Cultivator. However, the Skill that had just struck him didn’t resemble the methods of the Yama Underworld or the Ninefold Celestial Court.
Upon hearing the voice, Zou Feng had an inkling of who it might be.
’Could it be...?’
A curtain of light suddenly materialized about thirty paces from Zou Feng, and a tall, imposing man in silver armor and a cape slowly stepped out.
Of course, the most striking feature was the third, vertical eye in the middle of his forehead.
Although neither Zou Feng nor Su Qingyu had ever seen him before, they both immediately realized who it was. Who else could it be but the renowned True Monarch Tianyan, Nangong Chu, of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect?
Though they were both True Disciples, True Monarch Tianyan was different from someone like Jiang Wanzhao, who had only recently been promoted and still had a shallow foundation as a True Inheritor.
He surpassed Jiang Wanzhao by a large margin in both personal strength and influence.
Logically, the arrival of True Monarch Tianyan should have been seen as a savior’s coming. Any other Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect disciples still fleeing nearby should have been cheering with joy.
However, Zou Feng didn’t think that way. After all, Nangong Chu was a top name on his list.