The Six-legged Saber-Cicada shot southward like a bolt of lightning, and Teng Qingshan, standing on its back, clearly sensed a 'black hole' suddenly lurching toward the Saber-Cicada from the side.
“Huhu, go after Ah Chao, quickly,” Pei San landed on the back of the Six-legged Saber-Cicada.
“Saber-Cicada.”
Although Teng Qingshan hadn't sensed the aura of the strange Void Realm expert—the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace—he sensed Li Chao’s aura. He immediately guided the Six-legged Saber-Cicada. With a single beat of its two pairs of wings, the creature hit its speed limit, naturally forming an energy shield on its back to shield Teng Qingshan and Pei San from the slightest buffeting wind.
The cities below flashed past in a blur.
Flying over forests, hills, and rivers, Teng Qingshan’s domain clearly sensed Li Chao and another unfamiliar aura.
“They’ve gone underground,” Teng Qingshan smiled.
Burrowing was what the Six-legged Saber-Cicada excelled at. At this moment, the creature also detected the auras of Li Chao and the other strange Void Realm expert. Therefore, without any guidance from Teng Qingshan, it chased directly after them.
“Hahaha, you little white-browed thief, you think you can pursue this old man? Eat my earth!” Clad entirely in armor, wearing a helmet that only vaguely revealed silver-white temples around the face, with fiercely sharp eyes—this was the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace. At this moment, he was rapidly diving into the earth.
“Hmph, old thief Ding, this time, you won't escape,” Li Chao burst forth with sword light enveloping his entire body and plunged into the ground.
Underground, the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace, with streams of (jade-green) light constantly flickering around him, swiftly tore through the earth, flying deeper and deeper. Li Chao, whose entire being had transformed into a sharp sword, also continuously burrowed downward… In terms of subterranean speed, both of them had reached the zenith of Void Realm experts burrowing underground.
Based on the results of the previous sneak attacks by the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace, wouldn't Li Chao chase this old master relentlessly, day and night, as he drilled wildly underground?
It was a test of patience.
Li Chao knew he wouldn't catch up, and eventually, the former Palace Master would have to give up. Then, the old master would have succeeded once more.
“Little white-browed thief, how many days are you planning to chase me this time? Three days, or ten? This old man doesn't care; I have plenty of time to waste with you,” the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace kept burrowing, relying on his experience… He needed to drill at least seventy or eighty li deep underground so that the pursuing Li Chao could not maintain contact with the surface.
Just then—
The face of the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace changed.
“Old thief, still smiling? Can you still afford to smile?” Li Chao’s cold voice transmitted.
“You… you actually invited a burrowing demonic beast?” The old master knew things were bad. He had detected three Void Realm auras within his domain. Although their flying speed was incredibly fast, he hadn't paid much attention at first, as flying demonic beasts generally couldn't match their speed when burrowing underground.
This was why the Lightning Eagle couldn't catch him. Beasts comparable to the Undying Phoenix, truly divine creatures, were exceedingly rare.
He hadn't cared before.
But—
The Six-legged Saber-Cicada burrowed at an astonishing speed; its subterranean speed was far, far faster than theirs.
“What, do you think you can keep killing my Heavenly God Palace elites repeatedly?” Li Chao sneered via transmission. “Old thief, today is the day you die!”
“Hahaha…”
The old master’s arrogant laughter rang out almost simultaneously in the ears of Teng Qingshan, Pei San, and Li Chao. Simultaneously, the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace abruptly changed direction, actually heading toward the Heavenly God Palace encampment on the surface.
……
“Rumble~~”
In the scorching magma, the Six-legged Saber-Cicada, resembling a gigantic electric drill, instantly pierced through the lava and then through the layers of rock, chasing upward toward the surface.
“Twice in and out of the magma now,” Teng Qingshan noted. Although no magma splashed onto him, the heat, reaching hundreds of degrees, made both Teng Qingshan and Pei San uncomfortable. Pei San even manifested faint streams of light, enveloping himself in wisps of icy cold energy to reduce the temperature.
“There he is!”
Both Teng Qingshan and Pei San showed smiles.
The speed of the Six-legged Saber-Cicada was truly astounding. Even though they were quite far behind initially, and the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace had taken a wide detour when changing direction, the Saber-Cicada was still closing in fast.
Six li, four li, two li…
“Whoosh!”
Soil and sand rushed past in front of them, and Teng Qingshan already sensed the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace just ahead.
Swish! Swish!
The two sharp spikes on the Six-legged Saber-Cicada's bladed arms, which were drilling the earth, suddenly shot out. The creature controlled the spikes with all its might; these were sharp enough to pierce the hide of the Sun-Shooting Heavenly Wolf. If a typical Void Realm expert failed to block them with a weapon or divine armor, their body would surely be perforated.
“Clang!” “Clang!”
The former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace surprisingly did not block the two spikes. Instead, he slightly adjusted his body’s trajectory, allowing the spikes to embed themselves in his back.
“Clank!”
Using the powerful force from the spikes, the speed of the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace did not decrease; rather, it increased, rocketing him upward.
“This fellow is ruthless; isn't he afraid of damaging his divine armor?” Pei San, however, started laughing.
“Roar~~” The Six-legged Saber-Cicada grew irritated.
Whoosh!
It accelerated again. This time, it didn't fire its spikes but charged its massive body directly in front of the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace.
……
“This Heavenly God Palace actually managed to borrow such a powerful demonic beast; its subterranean drilling speed is this astonishing,” the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace’s eyebrows twitched wildly. Just as he was about to burst into the Heavenly God Palace encampment underground, suddenly—
“Boom!”
A ferocious and terrifying demonic beast, seemingly cast from black metal, swept down with multiple giant battle blades simultaneously, striking toward the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace—six massive blades in total!
“What the hell!” The old master’s face changed in alarm.
“Thump!”
He barely managed to deflect three strikes with his sword, protecting his face and vital points, simultaneously using the force to immediately recoil and attempt to evade the other three blades. However, the six bladed arms of the Six-legged Saber-Cicada were too long. As the old master leveraged his escape, the longest, foremost bladed arm still struck his shoulder, slamming the old master bodily into the dirt.
With just that one slam!
The old master’s speed instantly dropped from maximum velocity to a downward plunge. This allowed Li Chao, who was pursuing from below, and Teng Qingshan and Pei San, who had already dismounted the Saber-Cicada, to instantly surround the old master.
“Ding old thief, you have nowhere left to run,” Li Chao stared at him coldly.
“You old thief, you’re vicious,” Pei San looked at the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace before him. “To fear death so little, sneak-attacking my Heavenly God Palace disciples time and again.”
Teng Qingshan remained silent, standing with the Six-legged Saber-Cicada to the side, watching the cornered former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace. This old master was fully clad in thick armor, battle boots, and even wore a helmet; his complexion was ruddy, and he looked robust, his eyes sharp as lightning, showing no sign of defeat.
Hiss hiss~~
The immense Heavenly Power surrounding the various Void Realm experts had already pushed the surrounding earth away, creating a subterranean cavern.
“Fear death?” The old master’s voice boomed. “From the day my Carefree Palace was annihilated, I have already died!”
The old master then looked coldly at Pei San and Li Chao, sparing a glance for Teng Qingshan: “Hmph, your Heavenly God Palace certainly has many Void Realm experts; there’s another stranger here.”
“My Carefree Palace descendants are already hidden throughout the Nine Provinces. During this long period of concealment, there’s nothing for an old man like me to do. I can only go cause trouble for them,” the old master sneered, sweeping his gaze across the group. “Since I am useless, and I only have a few decades left before my end, I might as well do something gratifying.”
“Well? Are you heartbroken over the loss of so many disciples?” the old master sneered.
Li Chao’s expression grew icier.
This cunning old master had conducted sneak attacks over the past few months, causing the Heavenly God Palace to lose several experts of the Innate realm, including disciples of Li Chao himself!
Cultivating a good disciple was not easy. Li Chao intended for his disciples to carry on the lineage of his Sword Sect.
“You are considered a man of exceptional talent,” Pei San, however, smiled faintly, looking at the old master. “As the last Void Realm expert of the Carefree Palace, your performance has been decent… Though you lost points, you’ve also managed to inflict maximum losses upon my Heavenly God Palace as a form of revenge. Alright, you’ve said enough; it’s time for you to die.”
“I want to see just how strong an expert of the Cave Void realm truly is!” the old master roared, suddenly lunging forward. His single sword strike instantly generated thousands of phantoms, making it impossible to discern which sword shadow was real.
Pei San used no weapon at all, simply waving his right palm. The skin of his hand was fair, tender as fine mutton-fat jade.
But—
As his palm flipped, it instantly transformed into a Great Seal of Heaven and Earth, smashing directly toward the sword phantoms lunging from the old master.
“Boom!!!” The surrounding soil and earth exploded violently, the intense surge of energy blasting out a massive subterranean pit dozens of zhang deep, causing even the structures on the surface to tremble, with some houses collapsing outright.
“Ah.”
The jade-like palm struck the true body of the sword shadow precisely. The former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace cried out in pain; his divine sword slipped from his grip. Cracks spread across his palm, and blood seeped out—his hand was shattered by the impact. Meanwhile, Pei San’s palm seemed to teleport—
It landed directly onto the armor covering the former Palace Master of the Carefree Palace’s chest.
“Ah!” The old master’s body violently shuddered.
The divine armor remained completely unharmed.
“Pfft.” Shattered internal organs sprayed from the old master’s mouth. He stared wide-eyed at Pei San, “As expected, truly formidable. Engaging you head-on, I was defeated in a single move… Being able to kill me through the divine armor, a Cave Void realm expert—I am impressed, impressed.” Blood continued to pour from his mouth as he spoke.
The vitality of a Void Realm expert was far more exaggerated than that of an internal arts master who had just entered the Grandmaster realm.
With their physical life force extinguished, their powerful ‘spirit’ could sustain them for a moment, unless—a sword pierced directly through their Niwan Gong (Marrow Palace) in the brow, ensuring instantaneous death.
“Ah ah ah…” The old master’s face instantly flushed red, and he roared, “Heavenly God Palace, my Carefree Palace will rise again! Whoever destroys your Heavenly God Palace will be a successor of my Carefree Palace!!” Roaring, the old master’s eyes seemed to tear apart at the corners. As he exhaled his last breath, there was silence.
His entire body slumped into the soil.
“In the future, whoever manages to destroy my Heavenly God Palace will do so because they are stronger. But today, it is my Heavenly God Palace that is strong,” Pei San said with a faint smile as he walked over. “It is merely the way of the victor and the vanquished!”
Saying this, Pei San flipped open the divine armor and frowned: “This old thief, indeed. He only wore the outer armor; he likely didn't wear the inner armor, arm guards, or anything else.”
“Ah Chao,” Pei San instructed.
“Master,” Li Chao immediately stepped forward.
“Although this set of divine armor is incomplete, you can keep it. At least this set is quite decent,” Pei San said calmly. Li Chao nodded and stepped forward, a formidable sword radiance already manifesting in his palm. The radiance instantly shook the old master’s corpse into powder, which flowed away like grains of sand, leaving behind only the empty helmet, divine armor, and battle boots.
Teng Qingshan watched the scene silently, the words Pei San had spoken earlier echoing in his mind: “It is merely the way of the victor and the vanquished.”