Ye Feng was speechless at the sight.
He had intended to flee into the sea, but someone suddenly appeared, blocking the Seventh Enshrinement and forcing him to run towards land.
This was clearly an act of hindering rather than helping!
Ye Feng recognized this person as Su Keqing's master.
He was also the powerful individual who had fought against three members of the Black Lotus Cult alone the previous night, named Tao Kun, whom people affectionately called Senior Tao.
It was likely that when Su Keqing had called him earlier, she had learned of his predicament and thus sent Senior Tao to rescue him.
However, if Senior Tao hadn't come, Ye Feng could have easily escaped into the sea.
But now, he couldn't. If he left, Senior Tao would be attacked by the three of them, which would be disastrous.
Upon seeing Su Keqing's master appear, the Seventh Enshrinement's face lit up with surprise. He laughed, "Haha, I thought you had already escaped. I didn't expect you to come back to court death!"
"Black Lotus Cult, you are too rampant! The Dragon Police have already taken action. If you don't want to be caught, scram immediately!" the old man said, staring at the Seventh Enshrinement.
The Seventh Enshrinement, upon hearing this, was not flustered at all. Instead, he laughed, "Hahaha! Do you think the Black Lotus Cult dares to be so arrogant without considering this possibility?"
"What do you mean?" Senior Tao frowned.
The Seventh Enshrinement then said, "We anticipated this situation long ago and made corresponding arrangements. Therefore, the Dragon Police will not be able to reach Dongchuan City today!"
"What? No wonder I thought the Dragon Police were so quiet all day. So you had already tampered with things. Damn it, absolutely damnable!" Senior Tao was filled with despair.
The Seventh Enshrinement glanced at Senior Tao and Ye Feng and said, "You dare to destroy our Black Lotus Cult's stronghold and kill our Black Lotus Cult's youngest genius protector. Today, we will make you understand the consequences of offending us!"
He continued, "Hall Master Qiu, Ninth Enshrinement, I will deal with this old man. You two kill that brat! And retrieve the item!"
"Alright, no problem!" the two replied with smiles.
This meant Ye Feng would face Qiu Xiong and the Ninth Enshrinement alone, while Senior Tao would confront the Seventh Enshrinement.
In his youth, Senior Tao's cultivation had reached the half-step Grandmaster realm. However, after a battle with an enemy, he suffered lasting repercussions.
As a result, his cultivation stagnated, remaining at the peak of the Innate realm, the same as the Seventh Enshrinement.
But because he had fought against three people yesterday, he was heavily injured and still recovering. He struggled to fight the Seventh Enshrinement alone, let alone help Ye Feng.
"Brat, I'll hold them off with my life later. You escape quickly!" Senior Tao said.
Ye Feng was speechless upon hearing this.
Damn it!
If you hadn't come, I would have run away long ago!
Your arrival here is just giving away a life for free!
"Senior Tao, you should run first! I have a way to escape, don't worry about me!" Ye Feng said.
But Senior Tao rebuked him, "What time is it, and you're still pretending to be strong! My old bones are expendable, but you are young and must live!"
Ye Feng was stunned by these words, his heart filled with emotion.
However, their conversation annoyed the three members of the Black Lotus Cult. They said, "Run? Did we give you permission? Attack!"
In the next instant, the three of them attacked.
The two of them joined forces against Ye Feng, and he was no match for them. In just half a minute, Ye Feng was severely injured.
Finally, the Ninth Enshrinement lunged with a claw towards Ye Feng's heart. If it hit, Ye Feng would surely die.
At this critical moment, Senior Tao broke free from the Seventh Enshrinement and rushed over, swatting the Ninth Enshrinement away with a palm strike.
Then, he grabbed Ye Feng and threw him towards the land, shouting, "Go quickly!"
Go where? I wanted to go into the sea, why are you throwing me onto land?
You're not saving me, you're harming me!
However, as soon as Senior Tao threw Ye Feng out, he was struck by Qiu Xiong's "Collapsing Thunder Fist" on his chest.
Senior Tao, already injured, became even more seriously wounded. He vomited blood, flew backward, and fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
As for Ye Feng, who had just been thrown out, he was intercepted by the Seventh Enshrinement, who sent him flying back with a palm strike.
Finally, Ye Feng and Senior Tao lay together, their faces ashen, filled with despair.
Originally, if Senior Tao hadn't intervened, neither of them would have died.
But with his intervention, both were now going to die.
Ye Feng truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this outcome.
"Brat, where is the item? Hand it over! That way, I can give you a quick death!" Qiu Xiong stepped forward and said coldly.
Ye Feng heard this and replied, "If you release Senior Tao, I will give you the item!"
"Hmph, brat, I think you haven't figured out the situation! You are not qualified to negotiate terms with us!" the Ninth Enshrinement said coldly.
The Seventh Enshrinement glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting late. To avoid any further complications, let's just kill him. We'll search for the item ourselves!"
"Good!"
The Ninth Enshrinement, hearing this, produced a dagger and directly thrust it towards Ye Feng's heart.
As the dagger approached, Ye Feng desperately wanted to resist, but he didn't even have the strength to raise his hand.
"Am I going to die? I still have so many things to do! I'm so unwilling!" Ye Feng shouted inwardly, looking at the approaching dagger.
However, just as the dagger was about to pierce Ye Feng's chest, a blinding sword light suddenly flashed through the darkness, as if splitting the night in two.
"What is that?"
The three were greatly alarmed and quickly dodged.
But the Ninth Enshrinement, who was about to kill Ye Feng, was a step too slow and was struck by the sword light, sending him flying backward.
"Ah! My, my hand, my hand!"
The Ninth Enshrinement screamed loudly as he looked at his severed hand on the ground.
It turned out that the Ninth Enshrinement, being a step too slow, had his arm cut off by the sword light.
"Such speed, such a terrifying sword strike! Who are you to dare interfere with my Black Lotus Cult's affairs!" the Seventh Enshrinement exclaimed, scanning the surroundings before finally locking onto the direction of the sword light and shouting with a frown.
Seeing the Ninth Enshrinement's severed hand, Qiu Xiong also roared, "Who is it? Come out! How dare you cut off an arm of our Black Lotus Cult's enshrinement, you are courting death!"
"Courting death? You?"
A cold voice echoed from the front. In the next moment, a figure appeared behind Qiu Xiong.
"What? Such speed!" Qiu Xiong reacted and was about to make a move.
But a heavy sword struck his back, causing Qiu Xiong to immediately spit blood and fly out like a kite with a broken string, crashing beside the Ninth Enshrinement.
This terrified Qiu Xiong. Fortunately, the opponent had used the flat side of the sword. If it had been the blade, he might have lost his head.
At this point, they could see the figure. His appearance was unclear, dressed in black, standing tall in the night, holding a heavy sword.
He turned his head to look at the Seventh Enshrinement, which immediately made him break out in a cold sweat and retreat repeatedly.
When this person had attacked Qiu Xiong earlier, he hadn't even noticed. This meant that if this person attacked him, he wouldn't be able to react either.
Thinking of this, he immediately created distance, hoping to have time to react.
However, as soon as he created distance and before he could relax, the cold voice from behind him suddenly sounded: "Do you think creating distance will allow you to react?"