Chapter 257 - 245: Hold On—!!
Yet Lin Qingfeng’s movements remained just as elegant, just as... punchable.
When a fire crow attacked from the left, he casually brushed a hand through his hair, tilted his head back, and turned away, letting it graze past his back.
When a fire crow attacked from the right, he once again brushed a hand through his hair, tilted his head back, and sidestepped, letting it skim past the tip of his nose.
With every attack he dodged, he would invariably repeat the same set of show-off moves—brushing his hair, tilting his head back, and turning his body—all while continuing to run his mouth.
"Ooh, you missed, you missed."
"Hey, old man, did you forget to eat today? Want me to order you a roast chicken?"
"A third-rate Nascent Soul like you should just retire already! What’s the point of even being alive?"
"You’ve reached the Nascent Soul Stage, yet you’re struggling this much to kill someone at Core Formation Perfection. You’re a complete embarrassment to all Nascent Soul cultivators!"
Mr. Huohua was fuming, his assaults growing more frenzied. But no matter how cunning his angles or how numerous his attacks, Lin Qingfeng always managed to neutralize them with that same infuriating pose.
Just as Mr. Huohua’s attention was completely fixed on Lin Qingfeng, the others launched their plan.
Wang Xian’s Grievance Beast sleeping bag swallowed Shi Gandang, Ji, and Yan Buliu in a single gulp, then transformed into a phantom and vanished into the void.
Aided by the Grievance Beast’s unique lethargy field, they silently slipped into Mr. Huohua’s perceptual blind spot.
The Grievance Beast reappeared within a certain range, and Mr. Huohua instantly detected the auras of other presences!
"You insolent whelps, how dare you!"
The sleeping bag opened and spat everyone out. First to emerge was Ji, who had been "launched" by one of Shi Gandang’s hammer swings.
He roared in fury, and with a backhanded wave, a wall of fire condensed from beast flames swept toward Ji! But even facing the raging inferno, Ji’s face still held a look of profound, universal sorrow.
"Brothers! I’m heading out first!"
The next second, he was utterly consumed by the beast flames, burned to cinders. An invisible death mark silently settled upon Mr. Huohua.
[Sect Channel]
[Ji]: OK, he’s marked.
The instant Ji was sacrificed, Lin Qingfeng seized the opportunity and charged in!
"Azure Lotus Sword Song!" Countless sword-lotuses bloomed around Mr. Huohua, forcing him to divide his attention. At the same time, a shadow closed in on his other side.
It was Yan Buliu.
"Hmph. Insect." Mr. Huohua snorted. Without even turning his head, he used his spiritual pressure alone to immobilize Yan Buliu and clenched his fist!
POP!
Yan Buliu’s head popped like a balloon, but in that same instant, he activated [Easy Pickings]!
[Sect Channel]
[Yan Buliu]: Chief, I didn’t get anything good. Just swiped his identity Token.
[Lin Qingfeng]: That’s enough! I’ll take it! From now on, whenever I go out looking for trouble, I’ll be a member of the Celestial Furnace Sect! Anything bad that happens? It was the Celestial Furnace Sect!
Their objective achieved, Lin Qingfeng immediately shot backward.
"It’s showtime! Everyone, pull back!"
"You got it!"
"Senior Brother, don’t forget to start the live stream! I’m gonna go lie down and watch!"
Seeing this, Mr. Huohua’s face twisted into a savage grin. He was about to give chase when he noticed that Lin Qingfeng looked completely unconcerned!
[Beginner’s Protection—Activated]
In that instant, an eerie aura suddenly descended upon the area.
The expressionless, empty-eyed "Mr. Qian" instantly appeared before Lin Qingfeng.
At that moment, Mr. Huohua had also pushed his Spiritual Qi to its absolute limit!
"Secret Technique: Ten Thousand Beasts Melting Furnace!"
The beast-bone staff in his hand flared with brilliant light. Countless phantoms of ancient, savage beasts roared out from it, merging with his Core Fire to form a colossal flame beast that bellowed in Lin Qingfeng’s direction!
It was an attack that seemed powerful enough to incinerate mountains and boil the seas!
However, "Mr. Qian" simply extended one hand.
SMACK.
The sound was almost unnervingly crisp.
With a single slap, he... batted away the colossal flame beast and its earth-shaking roar, scattering them into nothing.
Lin Qingfeng, worried about getting caught in the aftershock, quickly retreated to the Ten Thousand Years Warm Jade Coffin and flung open its lid.
"Well, look at you, enjoying such a spacious spot all to yourself!" he said, seeing Su Ling’er staring out at the fight, completely dumbfounded. He jerked his chin. "Scooch over. I’m getting in, too."
Su Ling’er was taken aback. "You... You’re getting in, too? But... the Sect Leader is already here. Do we still need to hide?"
"Who knows how big of a ruckus they’ll make?" Lin Qingfeng said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It’s safer in the coffin."
As Su Ling’er watched Lin Qingfeng’s face lean closer, her imagination started running wild again.
’Is... is he planning on taking this opportunity to try something with me?’
Seeing her pensive expression, Lin Qingfeng could just tell this girl’s mind was off in la-la land again.
"How about I lock you in with Wang Xiedi and enjoy this private room all to myself?" Lin Qingfeng threatened. Su Ling’er glanced at the adjacent prison cart, where Shen Jieye was tending to the unconscious Wang Xiedi, and decisively shook her head.
’The prison cart isn’t very big to begin with,’ she thought. ’It already looks cramped with two people. Adding a third would be a nightmare!’
"It’s too crowded. I wouldn’t want to disturb their private time," she said, obediently scooting over to make room for Lin Qingfeng.
And so, the two of them lay side-by-side in the same coffin, peering out through the crack in the lid to watch the great battle unfold.
...
"Fellow Daoist, why do you interfere in this matter?" Mr. Huohua asked, suppressing the terror in his heart as he attempted to parley. "If you are indeed from the Guixi Sect, then I must protest! It was the Guixi Sect who wronged me first! I was forced to..."