Chen Xuemu, like a startled bird, fled through the spatial barriers. Each time he looked back and saw no one, he would try to rest, only to hear the wind and immediately activate his spatial escape.
Emerging from the spatial barrier, he found himself barely ten feet from where Mo Qi was waiting. Terrified, he activated his spatial technique again, desperately fleeing.
Eventually, his spatial technique faltered, and he could only rely on his flight technique to barely stay airborne.
Mo Qi pursued him from behind, occasionally flicking an arrow of energy to worsen his injuries.
Suddenly, a colossal figure violently collided with him.
It was that skeleton again!
Mo Qi was entirely focused on chasing Chen Xuemu and had not noticed it.
His body instinctively dodged to the side, but the skeleton had grown much larger. He couldn't evade it completely and was thrown heavily to the ground. The immense impact created a large crater in the earth.
His entire body felt on the verge of disintegration, and the giant skeleton gave him no respite. It raised a massive foot and stomped towards him, intending to crush him into a pulp.
What is this thing?
Mo Qi felt a surge of frustration!
Why wouldn't it die?
Even though its master was dead, it remained so resilient!
Could it be some kind of mechanical contraption?
He had no time to ponder. Faced with life and death, his mind became exceptionally sharp.
He unleashed the Golden Light Shrinking Ground Technique, a point of light sliding along the edge of the skeleton's foot.
Then, it began to climb up the skeleton's body.
The skeleton swung its arm to strike him, but he slipped through its palm again.
The skeleton's eyes glowed crimson, and two beams of red light shot from its eye sockets towards Mo Qi.
Mo Qi again squeezed through the gap between the two beams of light, heading straight for the skeleton's cheek.
Unsure of his intentions, the skeleton panicked. It retreated, swatting at him with its hands alternately, as if trying to swat a fly.
With the Golden Light Shrinking Ground Technique, Mo Qi easily evaded every strike through the narrowest of gaps.
Each of the skeleton's blows landed squarely on its own face, causing its face to rapidly cave in, sending debris flying. Soon, its face was unrecognizable.
That wasn't all. Seizing an opportunity, Mo Qi produced a Bursting Pill and hurled it into one of the skeleton's eye sockets.
If it were a mechanical device, its soul or core must be hidden somewhere in its head. Only by destroying its head could it possibly be annihilated.
After throwing the pill, Mo Qi immediately activated his escape technique and fled rapidly.
The skeleton flailed its limbs and pursued Mo Qi, simultaneously reaching into its eye socket to retrieve the Bursting Pill. Several fingers went in, but its entire palm remained outside.
This provoked a furious, earth-shattering roar from the skeleton.
Another deafening explosion rocked the area.
The skeleton's head shattered from the inside out, and its entire body rapidly disintegrated from top to bottom.
Debris scattered in all directions.
Nearby buildings and trees shook violently, instantly riddled with holes by the flying fragments.
Only the skeleton's legs remained. Due to inertia, they continued to surge forward for a distance before crashing down with a thunderous roar, like two fallen celestial pillars, crushing rows of houses.
Mo Qi revealed his true form and, without pausing for breath, immediately resumed his pursuit of Chen Xuemu.
By now, his presence was barely detectable.
If his mind had been clear, he might have already escaped.
At this moment, Mo Qi could only hope that his mind was a complete blank.
Filled with a sense of grim determination, Mo Qi pursued towards the outer island.
Meanwhile, outside the island, Hua Xianfu and Fu Tian were locked in a fierce battle. The ripples emanating from Fu Tian and the floral shadows cast by Hua Xianfu continuously collided and exploded in the air, filling the surroundings with a ceaseless barrage of booming sounds and dazzling flashes of light.
Valley Master Li was about to intervene when the toad spirit intercepted him, blocking his path.
Seeing that Hua Xianfu was unable to gain the upper hand, Que Hongxia flew to Fu Tian's side, formed a hand seal, and caused countless vines to erupt from the ground, ensnaring Fu Tian's legs. The vines were covered in sharp thorns that dug fiercely into Fu Tian's body.
Fu Tian cried out in pain.
He spun his body abruptly and transformed into a red streak of light, rapidly retreating towards Qingxuan Gate.
Hua Xianfu's cultivation was on par with his, and if others were to launch a surprise attack, he would be outnumbered and overwhelmed.
He needed to retreat first. However, his intention was not to flee but to strategically withdraw. He wanted to return and see if there were any fellow disciples at Qingxuan Gate who could fight alongside him.
Perhaps someone from Dinghai Gate would also do. He had heard that their sect leader was currently discussing cooperation with them.
Thus, he accelerated his flight, with Hua Xianfu and Que Hongxia in hot pursuit.
At this moment, Hui An, accompanied by disciples from Dinghai Gate, was rapidly approaching from within.
Upon seeing Fu Tian, Hui An shouted excitedly, "Senior, do not panic! We are here to help you!"
Fu Tian was overjoyed and immediately increased his speed towards Hui An.
As Hui An sped along, he glanced at Hua Xianfu behind Fu Tian, observing that the situation seemed to indicate Hua Xianfu was indeed targeting him.
Fu Tian knew that Hui An could not contend with Hua Xianfu, but if he could provide a brief distraction, allowing Fu Tian a moment to catch his breath, he could then turn the tables and achieve victory.
At this moment, he completely let down his guard, moving confidently and boldly past Hui An.
But just as their figures were about to cross, Hui An made his move.
He silently formed a hand seal, and countless circles suddenly appeared in the air, surrounding Fu Tian. From these circles, numerous phantoms extended, all striking towards Fu Tian.
Fu Tian was greatly alarmed, having no prior warning. In his haste, he could only activate his protective aura, a light mist instantly enveloping his body.
The phantoms pierced from all directions, briefly resisting before penetrating the protective aura and stabbing into Fu Tian's body. Fu Tian let out a heart-wrenching scream, falling to the ground, blood gushing from his entire body.
Hua Xianfu and Que Hongxia landed on the ground, watching him with calm expressions.
"You... you..." Fu Tian, stopping the bleeding, struggled to sit up and looked at Hui An with disbelief. "You actually ambushed me?"
Hui An laughed heartily and stood beside Hua Xianfu with his disciples. "Our Dinghai Gate has long since submitted to Ancestor Turtle. We feigned cooperation with you with the intention of coordinating from within at the opportune moment."
"You... you deserve to die!" Fu Tian stared at Hui An, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Hahaha..." Hui An threw his head back and roared with laughter. "I will not die, but I think you are close to it."
At this moment, the battered Chen Xuemu stumbled forward, grabbed Fu Tian by the shoulder, and pleaded anxiously, "Grand-disciple, save me! Someone wants to kill me!"
He shook Fu Tian so violently that his body felt as if it would fall apart, causing Fu Tian to roll his eyes and spew more blood.
"No, don't... shake me," Fu Tian said, struggling to pry his hand away. "I am also... in grave danger myself."
Chen Xuemu also noticed Fu Tian's injuries and realized he could not rely on him.
"Useless!" Chen Xuemu kicked Fu Tian and, with a mournful expression, continued his escape.
He suddenly spotted Hui An and his eyes lit up. He charged towards Hui An, shouting, "Sect Leader Hui An, save me! He wants to kill me! He wants to kill me!"
Hui An cast a disgusted glance at him and prepared to finish him off.
Then, he reconsidered. Perhaps keeping him alive would be more useful, as he could tie down that person, and that person could help him kill many others, saving him the trouble.
"It's alright, it's alright," Hui An said with a smile. "I will help you. Don't... be afraid!"
Before he could finish speaking, an arrow of energy pierced through his brow. Hui An collapsed and died without a sound.
Simultaneously, Chen Xuemu unleashed several more arrows, striking directly at Hua Xianfu and Que Hongxia.
These two were leisurely watching the spectacle and were completely unprepared.
Que Hongxia was pierced through the abdomen, and Hua Xianfu's shoulder was wounded.
Enraged, the two were about to retaliate when Chen Xuemu transformed into a point of light and fled.
Before leaving, he tossed several Thunderclap Pills into the crowd of Dinghai Gate disciples. After several thunderous explosions, the ground was littered with bodies; some died instantly, while others were still writhing.
Que Hongxia and Hua Xianfu, unwilling to let him go, took flight in pursuit.
However, at this moment, Chen Xuemu returned, covered in blood, and ran to Fu Tian again, grabbing his shoulder and saying, "Grand-disciple..."
Before he could finish, the furious Fu Tian struck him, his palm hitting Chen Xuemu's chest. Chen Xuemu's chest caved in, and his entire body was flung backward, crashing several feet away and landing on the ground like a puddle of mud.
If Fu Tian had not been severely injured, this palm strike would have surely ended Chen Xuemu's life.
But even so, he was now on the verge of death.
Fu Tian was still not appeased and cursed, "You beast..."
Chen Xuemu was utterly bewildered, thinking, "What did I do wrong? I was just running away! Shouldn't I run if I can't win?"
However, at this point, he couldn't even speak and could only stare at Fu Tian with innocent eyes.
In reality, the first Chen Xuemu to grab his shoulder and shake him was Mo Qi, disguised using the Thousand Faces mask.
In his desperation, Chen Xuemu sought refuge and could only run towards the outer island.
At this point, there was no one else there!
He didn't care if these people could save him or not; any delay was better than none!
Unless you all die, I will use you as shields.
Mo Qi had seen through his intentions and pursued him. From a distance, he saw Chen Xuemu's figure and knew he had guessed correctly.
Seeing that Chen Xuemu could barely run, Mo Qi figured he couldn't escape his grasp. He had a sudden idea and transformed into Chen Xuemu's likeness, using his Void Escape technique to get ahead of him and launch a surprise attack on Qingxuan Gate and Dinghai Gate, aiming to kill as many people as possible with the simplest means.
After all, today's conflict could not end peacefully.
Divine Turtle Island had to be dealt with, but these scoundrels from Qingxuan Gate and Dinghai Gate could not be spared either.
However, when he arrived, he found that Fu Tian was already incapacitated, and he didn't even need to act himself.
But Hui An was still alive and kicking.
And that guy was utterly wicked! Terribly, terribly wicked!
Therefore, he dealt with Hui An first.
Then, he attacked the people from Divine Turtle Island, wounding Que Hongxia and Hua Xianfu.
Seeing the chaos that had erupted on this side, he then went to another part of the island, intending to create more confusion there.
All of this was orchestrated with extreme precision!
When he reached the other side of the island, Chen Xuemu would flee towards Fu Tian, inevitably being attacked by both Divine Turtle Island and Qingxuan Gate.
Chen Xuemu was already covered in wounds and could not escape even with wings.
At that time, he would return to clean up the mess!