Chapter 516 - 501: I’ll Be Back
Shen Lang’s current situation was dire.
He had sent the Desolate Domain Demon Ape, Evil Song, and the others away.
Now, his only real helpers left were the Ghost King and the Evil Eye Lord.
However, he definitely couldn’t let the Evil Eye Lord out to help.
Shen Lang didn’t have a contract over the guy’s Soul Blood. Faced with this kind of crisis, he would probably vanish at the first opportunity.
Even if he didn’t run, his abilities were only enough to handle two Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven experts at most.
The key problem was Dingdang, who was in the King Martial Realm!
The final outcome would surely be him getting slapped into paste by Dingdang.
As for the Ghost King, he only had one use right now—to serve as Shen Lang’s wings. Without these wings, Shen Lang would be in an even worse state.
So, what were his options? ’Fight? I’m heavily injured, and my cultivation is greatly diminished. There’s no way I can win in this condition.’
’Even if I could win, how could I bring myself to use a powerful Sword Skill like the Demon Blade Technique against Xue Dangdang?’
’Run? The Ghost King’s speed can’t even match a Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven expert, let alone outrun someone in the King Martial Realm.’
’The only option left is to hide in the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron.’
’But the issue with the seal at the fissure isn’t resolved yet, and holding the Eternal Tree consumes an unimaginable amount of energy...’
’If Xue Dangdang camps out here for a week or two, I’m completely finished.’
Faced with this incredible crisis, his mind instantly raced through countless possibilities.
’If a contest of strength won’t work, then I’ll have to rely on a contest of wits!’
He had to find a slim chance of escape amidst the danger!
Shen Lang slowly shifted his feet, moving into a position where he could both attack and defend.
The Immortal Celestial Saber hung low, dragging slowly across the ground...
As he moved, Shen Lang glanced to the northwest.
This place wasn’t far from the fissure, probably only about a hundred and fifty or sixty li from here.
’If I make a big enough commotion, I should be able to attract the attention of the King Martial Realm expert from the Imperial Dragon Sect over at the fissure.’
"Dingdang!" Shen Lang suddenly shouted. "This saber in my hand is the Imperial Artifact, the Immortal Celestial Saber, and you know its power! And this Xingtian Battle Armor I’m wearing was crafted from the scales of a King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven Four-winged Green-scaled Python..."
A smile touched the corners of Xue Dangdang’s lips. "And you think those two items give you the right to challenge me?"
Shen Lang slowly raised the Immortal Celestial Saber in his right hand. He gripped the hilt with both hands, held the long saber horizontally, and said, "I may not have the right to challenge you, but if you push me too far, I can certainly take the heads of these five old geezers."
"Insolent!" The five men surrounding Shen Lang roared in anger.
Their beards bristled and their eyes bulged, wishing they could cut Shen Lang down on the spot.
Being treated like dead men walking felt absolutely terrible.
However, they had to admit the kid had the right to be this arrogant.
After all, it was an indisputable fact that he had scared the five of them into scattering disgracefully with a single slash of his saber.
If the armor he mentioned was truly forged from the scales of a King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven Four-winged Green-scaled Python, then aside from Miss Dingdang, likely no one else here could break through his defense.
Seeing that Xue Dangdang remained silent, Shen Lang continued, "Dingdang, you want to kill me because I killed your subordinates. I don’t want the enmity between us to deepen, which is why I want you to order these five old geezers to get lost."
"If you don’t want them to die, you should have them step aside and go draw circles in the corner. Otherwise, when the fighting really starts, the first thing I’ll do is chop off their mutt heads! Your cultivation may be far greater than mine, but I’m not without a few aces up my sleeve."
Xue Dangdang was still silent.
Shen Lang gave a wry laugh. "Besides, as a King Martial Realm expert, you should have your pride. Ganging up on me with these old fossils is beneath you, don’t you think? If you want to kill me, and if you’re confident enough in your own cultivation, then you should fight me one-on-one!"
The five old Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven experts surrounding him chuckled coldly.
’Demonic cultivators? Who the hell cares about some expert’s pride?’
’Killing is the ultimate goal. Who’s going to talk about fairness with you?’
’The kid must be scared, spouting such nonsense in a situation like this.’
’Still, his threat to kill the five of us first is something we have to guard against.’
’Even a cornered dog will leap over a wall. If this kid really decides to go all out and hunt us down, it’ll be a real headache...’
Just as the five men started to laugh, Xue Dangdang laughed along with them. "Fine. If so many of us gang up to kill you, you won’t accept your defeat anyway. I’ll give you a chance. I’ll fight you one-on-one!"
"Hey, about that..." one of the men from the White Bone Hall hastily tried to object.
Xue Dangdang shot him a cold glance. "Are my words not good enough anymore?"
A chill ran down the man’s spine. He quickly said, "No, no, this subordinate wouldn’t dare... I just mean that this kid is sinister and cunning. You must be careful he doesn’t try any tricks."
"Hmph!"
Xue Dangdang snorted coldly. "In the face of absolute power, all schemes and plots are a joke... The lot of you, get out of my sight."
As she spoke, she descended, landing on the ground and clasping her hands behind her back. She looked at Shen Lang with indifference.
Seeing this, the few remaining powers from the surrounding area immediately fled in a panic, scrambling to get away.
A battle between experts of this caliber would surely cause mountains to collapse and the earth to split. If they got caught in the crossfire, they’d die with no one to cry to for justice.
"Very well. Let me see just how powerful a King Martial Realm expert truly is!" Shen Lang said, nodding with a grave expression. "Dingdang, do you dare to take one slash from my saber?"
Xue Dangdang sneered. "Why wouldn’t I dare? I can take ten or a hundred of your slashes!"
"Good!"
Shen Lang roared, then retreated over a hundred meters, stopping only when he reached the edge of a cliff.
He stood at the cliff’s edge, holding the Immortal Celestial Saber, clad in the Xingtian Battle Armor. His aura surged, climbing ever higher.
His face showed the high-spirited expression of one ready for a bloody battle, radiating a natural-born dominance!
The Immortal Celestial Saber was slowly raised. A world-shocking Sword Qi surged forth, blanketing the sky and earth, covering an area two hundred meters in all directions.
Phantoms of fish and dragons swam through the air, winds howled and clouds churned—all sorts of strange phenomena began to appear in the sky, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
’This guy... who in the world is he? With his level of cultivation, how can he possibly release such a powerful momentum? And this slash is still gathering power, yet it’s already giving me a sense of dread...’
Although Xue Dangdang wasn’t overly concerned, a strange look still appeared in her eyes.
Meanwhile, the five Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven experts from the White Bone Hall were wiping sweat from their brows, thankful that they had run away fast enough earlier.
Xue Dangdang, being at the King Martial Realm, might not care about an attack of this level, but they certainly did...
If that slash landed, there was absolutely no way the five of them could withstand it.
Under everyone’s disbelieving gazes, a beam of saber light blazed into existence, shooting a blinding glare straight into the sky!
Xue Dangdang’s eyes narrowed, and she instinctively looked away.
At that exact moment, Shen Lang, who was hidden by the saber light, suddenly spun around. WHOOSH! In the blink of an eye, he had crossed several dozen zhang to the other side of the cliff!
"Pleasant Goat, I, Grey Wolf, will be back!"
Shen Lang roared, and after two flickers, he had already vanished into the distance.
The terrifying saber light in the sky immediately went POP! with a loud bang, shattering like a soap bubble. Endless, brilliant colors scattered, lingering in the sky along with the almost tangible Sword Intent, refusing to dissipate.
Whether it was the people from the White Bone Hall or the onlookers watching the excitement from afar... or even Xue Dangdang.
Everyone was completely and utterly stunned...
That guy... he put on a show for so long, making such a world-shaking commotion, only to pull a stunt like this at the end?
The problem was, forget escaping from a King Martial Realm expert, even those Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven cultivators could catch up to him in no time. Did he really think he could make a clean getaway just by tricking them and buying a few moments of time?
Xue Dangdang stood there dumbfounded, unable to react for a long moment.
Having reached the King Martial Realm, her perspective was slightly different from the others.
Although she knew nothing about Shen Lang, she had felt his Sword Momentum earlier. She understood that not only had he comprehended Sword Intent, but he also had considerable achievements in the Sword Dao.
He might even have surpassed many King Martial Realm experts of the Sword Dao!
His body and the long saber in his hand constantly exuded a fearless, domineering aura.
He was the kind of warrior who looked at death as if it were nothing.
The saber is the heart of all weapons, and only a person like him was worthy of wielding one!
That was why, even though Xue Dangdang wanted to kill him, she also wanted to give him a chance at a direct confrontation, to let him die an honorable death in battle.
Who would have thought that this guy would just turn and run, and even trick her before he did!
"Bastard! How dare you!"
Xue Dangdang’s beautiful face was flushed with killing intent, and she was practically mad with rage. In an instant, she vanished from the spot.
By the time everyone else came to their senses, her figure had already reappeared on the distant horizon.
The five men from the White Bone Hall exchanged glances for a moment, then immediately gave frantic chase.
"That kid dares to pull a stunt like that in front of a King Martial Realm expert? He must have a death wish!"
The five experts from the White Bone Hall were grinding their teeth in frustration.
They were already scheming about how they would perform Soul Extraction and Refining on Shen Lang after they caught him, making him wish for both life and death!
However, when they flew at incredible speed for more than ten li beyond the cliff, they all froze.
Above a mountain hollow, Xue Dangdang was hovering silently.
But ahead of her, Shen Lang’s figure was gone!
"Why... How could this be? This is impossible!"
The five old geezers were dumbfounded.
Only a dozen or so seconds had passed. Even if they had just let Shen Lang run, he couldn’t have gotten very far at his speed.
How could every trace of his aura have vanished in just a moment?
Incredulous expressions appeared on the faces of the five men from the White Bone Hall.
Xue Dangdang’s face was flushed red with anger as she said, "My Divine Thought was locked onto him the whole time, but I suddenly lost his trail right here. He’s most likely hidden himself underground or somewhere else. Search for him! Dig a thousand zhang into the earth if you have to, but find him for me!"
"Unbelievable!" The five old geezers exchanged glances.
’How powerful is the Divine Thought of a King Martial Realm expert? So what if he burrowed into the ground?’
’How could he possibly escape Xue Dangdang’s Divine Thought lock?’
If Xue Dangdang fully extended her Divine Thought, she could cover an area of a hundred li in every direction.
At Shen Lang’s speed, flying two li in fifteen or sixteen seconds would have been an incredible feat.
"It seems that kid must have used some kind of High Tier Talisman or a powerful Magical Treasure to conceal his aura. He must be hiding nearby!"
"Let’s go down. We have to find him!"
The five experts from the White Bone Hall immediately descended to the ground and spread out.
Meanwhile, Xue Dangdang’s Divine Thought stretched out in all directions, completely covering and locking down the entire area within a hundred-li radius.
’Even if I have to search every speck of dust, I will find you!’