Chapter 174 - 138: Incident and Truth
Beneath the trees, two figures ran, one chasing the other. The one in front was clearly fleeing for his life, looking utterly wretched. He would occasionally throw a few Talismans behind him, trying to delay his capture for as long as possible.
In an instant, scorching flames blazed to life, and a deafening BOOM spread with the terrifying fireballs. Yet an attack of this level wasn’t even enough to make Zhou Wushuang dodge. A black barrier materialized before her, perfectly blocking the flames and the explosion.
Her speed was not affected in the slightest. As she moved, innumerable Ghosts rose and shrieked around her.
These Ghosts were clearly not a technique of the Blood Demon Dao; they were more akin to the methods of a Soul Path Demon Cultivator. Cultivation of the Demon Path is extremely resource-intensive, so the fact that Zhou Wushuang practiced both proved she must hold a core position within the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
Zhao Zuo pushed himself to go faster. The Moyun Workshop had appeared at the edge of his vision, and a sliver of joy sparked in his heart. He began plastering Protective Talismans on himself as if they were free.
Behind him, Zhou Wushuang saw this, and a wicked smile curled her lips. She had many ways to catch Zhao Zuo, but she used none of them... even intentionally allowing him to get closer to the Moyun Workshop.
Zhou Wushuang intended to fill Zhao Zuo with hope, only to then plunge him into despair.
’The greatest pleasure in this world lies in controlling the life and death of an ant and destroying its hope.’
Five hundred meters, four hundred meters, three hundred meters...
Zhao Zuo ran even harder, but after so long, he started to realize something was off. At his speed, Zhou Wushuang should have caught him long ago, not maintained their current distance.
’What is she playing at?’
While fleeing for his life, Zhao Zuo had not lost his composure. He wracked his brain, analyzing the possibilities. To test his theory, Zhao Zuo slowed slightly for a few seconds. He immediately discovered the distance between them neither shortened nor lengthened; it remained at roughly two hundred meters.
’Just as I thought. Zhou Wushuang is deliberately maintaining this distance.’
’So, her reason for doing this is...?’
’Zhou Wushuang isn’t kind enough to let me go, so is she planning to use me to lure someone out...?’
’No, this is Moyun Sect territory, after all. She wouldn’t be that audacious.’
Zhao Zuo’s mind raced. After eliminating the other improbable scenarios, only one conclusion remained: she planned to destroy his hope at the very moment he was ecstatic about his escape. She was like a hunter with a rifle, savoring her prey’s final struggle.
’Such a classic villain,’ Zhao Zuo thought. ’Isn’t she afraid I’ll have a sudden power-up and kill her instead?!’ Unfortunately, he wasn’t a protagonist and had no such trump card. But even an ant would struggle to survive, let alone a man.
Since he couldn’t escape, he had to take his chances and fight.
Silently, Zhao Zuo began to pour Mana into the Soul-Shaking Bell at his waist. It was a Magical Artifact he had kept hidden the entire time, one he could use as a trump card.
He was now only two hundred meters from the stone pillars of the Moyun Workshop. Zhao Zuo first took out a Spirit Revitalizing Pill, chewed, and swallowed it. Then, he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Help! Fellow disciples of the Moyun Sect, come save me!"
"A Demon Cultivator runs rampant! We must unite and slay our foe!"
Amplified by his Mana, his voice was incredibly resonant, like a beam of light piercing the night. The once-silent market stirred with noise. Lights began to flicker on in the shops around the Moyun Workshop, and at the end of the street, a patrol team in blue robes was rushing toward them.
’An ant’s struggles. Foolish, yes, but that’s precisely what makes it so amusing.’
Seeing Zhao Zuo’s actions, Zhou Wushuang felt no anger, only amusement. However, she also knew that things had reached a point where she could delay no longer.
"A pity. I won’t get to torture you properly today," Zhou Wushuang sighed softly.
Then, she gazed at Zhao Zuo’s retreating back, retrieved a blood bead from her Storage Bag, and began forming hand seals.
"Blood Shadow Escape."
This was a supreme Escape Technique passed down from the Golden Core-level Blood River Sect. Zhou Wushuang had paid a great price to inherit this Cultivation Technique. When cultivated to the stage of Great Success, one could burn their blood to escape across dozens of miles in an instant.
Although she was far from reaching that level, it was more than enough to hunt down Zhao Zuo. Her body seemed to transform into an ethereal blood shadow.
With the first flicker, the distance between them shrank from a hundred meters to fifty.
Then came the second flicker.
Zhao Zuo felt a chill wind wash over him. Less than two meters behind him, a figure in a long black dress had silently appeared. Her eyes were like bottomless abysses.
"Count yourself lucky... you won’t have to suffer my torture."
’I’ve been waiting for you.’
Zhao Zuo thought. He stomped his right foot hard on the ground, pivoting at the waist to put all his force into a sudden horizontal slash with his Black Flame Saber. This time, the Black Flame didn’t roar and spread outward; instead, it coiled tightly around the edge of the blade.
At the same time, a brilliant Golden Light erupted from Zhao Zuo’s body, making him resemble an Arhat cast from solid gold, a dazzling sight. His internal Qi Blood surged like a flash flood, and boundless Energy pulsed without end. A terrifying, immense force traveled up from his heels and through his entire frame, his body becoming like a fully drawn bow.
Faced with the threat of death, Zhao Zuo held nothing back. His Qi Blood and Mana intertwined, coalescing into an unstoppable force. This power contained all his will and determination to survive.
The blinding Golden Light expanded, forming what looked like a golden shield, like an indestructible great bell. Amidst the flashing Golden Light, his figure appeared tall and majestic.