Liu Xian's roar startled the Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul transformed into a rainbow light and fled rapidly into the distance.
Unfortunately, the Nascent Soul was too severely injured and too weak.
The entire Nascent Soul appeared "semi-transparent," making it barely possible to discern its features.
It had a square, upright face full of righteousness.
This was the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul."
The Sect Master of "Old Monarch Peak," Zhenren Tie Shan Kao, had "self-detonated his Nascent Soul" moments ago. By all rights, he should have been annihilated, body and soul, yet he had inexplicably survived.
At this moment, the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" had its eyes tightly shut, seemingly devoid of self-awareness.
A burst of golden spiritual light emanated from its head, enveloping the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" and carrying it swiftly away.
That was… the power of the "Summon Deity Art"!
Tie Shan Kao cultivated the "divine power" of summoning, which was now actively protecting him.
It was likely this power that had shielded the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul," allowing it to survive the "self-detonation."
However, this "divine power" was already extremely weak, and without the incantation of the "Summon Deity Art," it was a feat that it could barely manage to envelop the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" and escape. It certainly couldn't fly any faster.
Liu Xian and Sun Zhong were incredibly excited. This was an excellent opportunity to "earn merit"!
If they captured the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul," Zhang Xin would reward them handsomely, and promotion would no longer be a distant dream!
Liu Xian and Sun Zhong moved simultaneously, pursuing the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul."
The two of them were incredibly fast, catching up to the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" in the blink of an eye.
"You're mine!"
"This merit belongs to me!"
The two spoke in unison, each grabbing one of the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul's" arms.
For a moment, the two men were locked in a stalemate.
There was only one reward, and it certainly couldn't be split!
No, absolutely not!
The two struggled and fought over the prize.
The object of their contention, the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul," suffered as a result. Even in its unconscious state, it couldn't help but reveal an expression of immense pain.
If they continued to "struggle" like this, the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" would be torn in half.
At the critical moment.
Two sword energies whistled through the air.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The sword energies were incredibly sharp and ferocious, severing both of the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul's" arms.
With the loss of its arms, Liu Xian and Sun Zhong's struggle immediately failed, and they nearly stumbled and fell.
They looked angrily at the "attacker."
"Senior Brother Cao!"
"Cao Pi, you despicable scoundrel!"
Liu Xian, accustomed to his pretense, merely uttered a dissatisfied "Senior Brother Cao."
Sun Zhong, however, directly cursed him out.
Facing their wrath, Cao Pi appeared unfazed.
He said indifferently.
"If you two continue to fight, you'll kill the Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul… Lord Zhang Xin wants a live Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul, not for you to kill him!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xian fell silent. However, his eyes darted around, clearly plotting something.
Sun Zhong, however, was not deterred and roared.
"Cao Pi, stop playing coy. You just want to fight us for merit, dressing it up as righteousness. Bah, disgusting!"
Hearing this, Cao Pi's expression darkened, feigning anger.
In reality, he inwardly gave Sun Zhong a mental thumbs-up, a "one-armed giant swing.jpg."
Well said!
Brilliantly said!
Splendidly said!
This was all Sun Zhong's own words – that he was vying for merit with them, not using this opportunity to let the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" escape and buy it a sliver of hope.
Absolutely not!
A sharp glint flashed in Cao Pi's eyes. He intended to speak more nonsense to stall for time when Liu Xian's voice rang out.
"Oh no, the Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul has gotten far away!"
With that, he took the lead and gave chase.
Sun Zhong, unwilling to be outdone, followed closely behind.
Cao Pi gritted his teeth and also pursued.
A "chase battle" officially commenced.
The "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" flew ahead, while Cao Pi, Liu Xian, and Sun Zhong pursued from behind.
The "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" was too severely injured, its spiritual light dim, and it had already lost consciousness.
It was entirely propelled forward by the burst of golden light atop its head.
Its speed was not particularly fast.
Liu Xian and Sun Zhong, eager to earn merit, moved with incredible speed, a blur of sparks and lightning.
Soon, they once again caught up to the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul."
Just as the two were about to make a move to capture it, Cao Pi would always intervene at the opportune moment.
While seemingly snatching the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul," he was in fact delaying Liu Xian and Sun Zhong, giving the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" a chance to escape.
It was precisely because of Cao Pi's "secret assistance" that the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" was able to escape at the most critical junctures.
After several such incidents, Liu Xian, the "hypocritical and sinister" fellow, sensed that something was amiss.
His gaze intensely fixed on Cao Pi.
"Senior Brother Cao, are you trying to capture the Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul, or are you trying to save it… Damn!"
Before a torrent of "dirty water" could be thrown at Cao Pi, Liu Xian's words were interrupted by his own cry of astonishment, "Damn!"
It was too shocking!
What had he seen?
Cao Pi seized the opportunity and grabbed the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul."
Liu Xian's face turned green, then pale.
The blow to his pride came too quickly, catching him off guard!
He had just been about to "falsely accuse" Cao Pi of harboring the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul," and before he could finish speaking, the other man had already captured it.
The slap to his face was resounding.
Snap, snap, snap…
In the depths of his mind, it sounded as if a rapid popping of beans could be heard.
Cao Pi sneered inwardly.
He had long known that Liu Xian was "hypocritical and cunning," and that continuously helping the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" escape would not deceive Liu Xian. Special measures were necessary.
With that thought, Cao Pi deliberately slowed his pace.
Concurrently, he secretly activated several "speed restriction formations" and attached them to the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul."
Roar, roar, roar!
A series of angry roars erupted.
"Cao Pi, the Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul is my merit! Give it back to me!"
Sun Zhong, seeing the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" fall into the hands of his archrival Cao Pi, became utterly enraged and went berserk.
His eyes turned crimson, and like a rampaging dragon, he charged forward ferociously.
The bait had taken the hook!
A smile played on Cao Pi's lips.
He deliberately exposed his back to Sun Zhong.
Sun Zhong was fixated on snatching the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul," determined to wrest this merit from Cao Pi. By now, his eyes were bloodshot.
Disregarding everything, Sun Zhong unleashed a palm strike, slamming it fiercely into Cao Pi's back.
In his mind, Cao Pi would surely activate his defensive formations and engage him in a prolonged battle.
Therefore, Sun Zhong held nothing back, delivering a full-power blow.
Bang!
The palm strike landed squarely on Cao Pi's body.
Puff!
Cao Pi spat out a mouthful of blood, and like a bird with broken wings, he was sent flying far away.
At the same time, the "Iron Mountain Rely Nascent Soul" broke free from its restraints, transformed into a rainbow light, and shot away at an astonishing speed, vanishing in an instant.