It was the height of August, when the vegetation on Dayan Mountain was at its most lush, yet the sky was choked with dark clouds, intermittently rumbling with thunder. It was a stifling silence, all thunder and no rain, and throughout Dayan Mountain, the anxious roars of wild beasts could faintly be heard.

Swish!

The Six-Legged Saber Cicada skimmed inches above the surface of Dayan Mountain, fleeing at breakneck speed within its confines.

"This Yu Huang Sect truly seeks revenge for the slightest offense," Teng Qingshan knew he was teetering on the edge of life and death. "Blast it, that Wind-Rending Dragon Falcon is too fast!" Within his domain, Teng Qingshan clearly sensed the Dragon Falcon, carrying three Void Realm experts, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

And that Six-Eared Tunneling Rat was also in hot pursuit through the forest.

Teng Qingshan turned his head and his expression shifted dramatically—

A hundred yards behind him, standing at the very forefront atop the colossal form of the Wind-Rending Dragon Falcon, was Shen Gongtu of the Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain. Shen Gongtu had already drawn his ancient, rustic divine bow, pulling it back to a full moon shape, faint ribbons of colored light flickering across its body.

The arrow—so familiar to Teng Qingshan—especially the chilling, icy glint emanating from its arrowhead, sent a deep freeze into his heart.

Shen Gongtu stared coldly at Teng Qingshan.

"It's the Void-Piercing Arrow!"

Teng Qingshan desperately gestured to the Saber Cicada, "Cicada, underground!" But he couldn't speak its language, and the speed of his guidance was clearly no match for Shen Gongtu's speed in releasing the shot.

Drawing, nocking, Shen Gongtu’s imposing aura peaked.

Behind him, Yu Tonghai sneered slightly, "Jing Yi, let's see if you survive this."

"Hum!"

Shen Gongtu's eyes were like lightning. As his right hand released the bowstring, the Void-Piercing Arrow seemed to teleport, vanishing instantly from the bow. Even with Teng Qingshan’s eyesight and reaction speed, he couldn't discern the arrow's body; he only saw the golden afterimage it left tracing through the air—

Relying on his domain's perception of that arrow, which gathered terrifying heaven and earth power, Teng Qingshan instinctively moved a step forward, raising the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe to shield himself.

"Clang!"

The Void-Piercing Arrow slammed directly into the Divine Axe. Instantly, the terrifying arrow itself disintegrated into fine dust. Simultaneously, the hands gripping the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe were violently jarred, the tiger's mouth splitting open and blood beginning to flow.

"Rumble~~~"

He possessed absolutely no power to resist. Before the mighty, terrifying force contained within the Void-Piercing Arrow, all Teng Qingshan felt was the roar of wind in his ears as his body was thrown uncontrollably backward, off the back of the Six-Legged Saber Cicada. With a series of muffled thuds and crashes, massive trees were snapped, swathes of vegetation were swept aside, and only after scraping past the edge of a small hill, shattering numerous boulders, did Teng Qingshan manage to roll and halt his momentum.

"He actually survived."

"That axe Jing Yi wields... it must be an axe forged by a Void-Penetrating expert," Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia watched Teng Qingshan fly back, both startled. The ancestor of the Yu Huang Sect, 'Yu Huang,' was a wielder of axes, thus many Void Realm experts in the sect who used axes existed.

As for particularly potent axe-like weapons, the Yu Huang Sect possessed quite a few already; one more or one less made little difference. If they could collect another valuable piece, they would certainly welcome it.

I must take it later, Liu Xia thought silently.

"The first shot stunned Jing Yi; this next one will kill that demonic beast, the Saber Cicada," as Teng Qingshan was thrown back, the Six-Legged Saber Cicada was simultaneously darting toward him. Shen Gongtu drew his bow again, readying another Void-Piercing Arrow! One shot to repel Teng Qingshan, the second to eliminate the Saber Cicada. This was all within his plan.

"Hoo." Teng Qingshan had just regained his footing when he looked back.

"Awoooo~~" The Six-Legged Saber Cicada swooped toward Teng Qingshan. Its blood-red eyes fixed on him, showing a hint of anxiety. As a proud yet solitary demonic beast, the Saber Cicada rarely acknowledged other beasts, let alone humans. But once it formed a bond...

The Six-Legged Saber Cicada would treat that person as a true friend, a partner!

It intended to save Teng Qingshan!

"Cicada, watch out!" Teng Qingshan’s face changed drastically as he urgently transmitted his thought.

Shen Gongtu, who had already re-drawn his divine bow, fixed his icy gaze intently on the Saber Cicada below. Colored light swirled around the bow in his hands, gathering onto the Void-Piercing Arrow, which now faintly glowed gold, its chilling tip emitting a bone-chilling coldness.

Shen Gongtu’s lips curled slightly as he released his right hand.

Hum!

The Void-Piercing Arrow vanished from the string instantly.

Sensing a sharp aura rapidly engulfing him from behind, the forewarned Six-Legged Saber Cicada instantly vibrated its four wings, its body splitting into two.

"Splat!"

One Void-Piercing Arrow shot through the Cicada's front-left wing, piercing its dark scales on the left side of its body, emerging beneath its shoulder!

"Roar~~" With a howl of agony, the Six-Legged Saber Cicada involuntarily lurched violently, smashing directly into a nearby tree, causing it to explode into splinters. Its wing-blades, sharper than any edge, sheared through some trees and plants as it passed, instantly severing them.

"Cicada!" Teng Qingshan's face turned grim.

"Quick, dive into the earth," Teng Qingshan roared, urgently pointing toward the ground.

Meanwhile, high in the sky, Shen Gongtu on the Wind-Rending Dragon Falcon’s back had already pulled back his divine bow again, clearly preparing for a third shot.

"Hiss, hiss~~" The Six-Legged Saber Cicada was not foolish. After crashing down large amounts of wood and vegetation, it rapidly flailed its six bladed arms and quickly vanished beneath the surface. Although struck this time, the Cicada had dodged quickly enough that the Void-Piercing Arrow did not strike a vital spot; however... its injured wing drastically reduced its flight speed and agility.

"Brother Liu, Brother Tonghai, you and the Wind-Rending Dragon Falcon go after Jing Yi. I will deal with that demonic beast, the Saber Cicada," Shen Gongtu stated confidently via sound transmission.

And then—

Whoosh!

Shen Gongtu flew directly to the approaching Six-Eared Tunneling Rat and, having command of its language, merely uttered a few soft growls. The Tunneling Rat immediately burrowed underground to pursue the wounded Six-Legged Saber Cicada.

"This is bad."

Teng Qingshan, not far away, watched with dismay. "The Saber Cicada is already slower underground than the Tunneling Rat, and now it’s injured. If the Tunneling Rat and Shen Gongtu team up... Shen Gongtu!!!" Teng Qingshan was filled with hatred; if it weren't for this Shen Gongtu, given the Cicada's defensive capabilities and dodging speed, it would have been nearly impossible for even a peak Grand Completion Void Realm expert to kill it.

"Haha, Brother Jing Yi, my sworn brothers will see you off!" Accompanied by a fierce gust of wind and the shattering of countless trees and thorns in its wake, the Wind-Rending Dragon Falcon, Liu Xia, and Yu Tonghai—the two men and one beast—swooped down.

"They want to kill me."

Teng Qingshan darted rapidly through the forest. Since first entering Dayan Mountain, his escape had been directed toward a specific destination: the Azure Cold Pond. This was because at the bottom of the pond resided a Demon Dragon and that Golden Turtle.

"Still trying to flee at a time like this? Haha, Jing Yi, you need to understand, the divine armor of my Yu Huang Sect is not easily taken." Yu Tonghai's boisterous laughter reached Teng Qingshan's ears just as the Wind-Rending Dragon Falcon arrived directly overhead.

"Not good." Teng Qingshan immediately plunged violently toward the earth.

"Whoosh!"

The Wind-Rending Dragon Falcon, with its pair of ghostly green eyes, slightly opened its sharp beak, releasing an invisible projectile akin to an 'air spike' that instantly pierced the void.

"Hmph." Teng Qingshan quickly used the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe to block above and to the side.

"Boom!"

Many of the engraved patterns on the surface of Teng Qingshan's Divine Axe were shattered, only the patterns on the handle and the back of the axe remained. However, in the heat of battle, Liu Xia and the others paid no mind to the axe’s markings. All they knew was... Teng Qingshan had been blasted deep underground.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Liu Xia and Yu Tonghai, one holding a battle-axe and the other a sharp sword, plunged into the earth as if diving into water.

Thwack! Thwack! The two swiftly bored downward.

"He blocked the Void-Piercing Arrow's strike just now, and now he’s blocked the Wind-Rending strike. Even if he hasn't died, his arms must be badly shaken," Yu Tonghai transmitted mentally. "Senior Brother Liu... this time, let's see which of us can kill Jing Yi first."

"Agreed."

Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia swiftly pursued them into the depths.

...

Meanwhile, another chase was unfolding deep underground. Although the Six-Legged Saber Cicada was extremely agile in the subterranean world thanks to its six bladed arms, the Six-Eared Tunneling Rat was rapidly closing the distance, now only fifty yards away, and the gap continued to shrink.

"Hmph, you wicked beast, let's see you survive this time."

Shen Gongtu once again drew his divine bow, heaven and earth energy surging into it, fusing according to strange patterns. Some formed transparent energy gathered on the string, while the rest coalesced into a golden force on the Void-Piercing Arrow. Shen Gongtu drew and nocked his arrow, yet kept his eyes closed.

He clearly sensed that powerful aura about forty yards ahead.

"There it is!"

Without ceremony, Shen Gongtu fired this shot, aiming directly toward the center-lower area of that sensed aura.

Whoosh!

Over the short distance of forty yards, the soil and sand had almost no effect on the Void-Piercing Arrow, which passed through instantly... Underground, the Six-Legged Saber Cicada’s instant evasion speed was clearly slower than when airborne. Coupled with the arrow's extreme proximity, the Saber Cicada could only manage a clumsy vibration of its wings—

Splat!

The Void-Piercing Arrow pierced the root of its front-right wing, then tore through its scales, emerging from the front of the Saber Cicada's chest.

This strike... was nearly fatal!

"Roar~~" The Six-Legged Saber Cicada emitted a cry of extreme pain, one that bordered on the shrill. Gurgle gurgle~~ Thick, unsettling green blood seeped from between its teeth. Its blood-red eyes were filled with rage, madness, and torment.

...

Teng Qingshan, who had also been blasted underground and was rapidly tunneling toward the Saber Cicada's location, clearly sensed the terrifying aura of the Void-Piercing Arrow within his domain as it struck the beast.

"Roar~~" Hearing that piercing, mournful cry, Teng Qingshan’s expression twisted. It felt as if a sword had stabbed him in the heart.

Pain! Guilt!

The Six-Legged Saber Cicada followed him with few demands, merely observing him practice his movements to fathom its own path. Yet, because of him, it was driven into a desperate situation...

"Cicada, Cicada, no!"

Teng Qingshan’s face contorted, his heart filled with an overwhelming, mad desire for destruction. "Yu Huang Sect, Yu Huang Sect, I, Teng Qingshan, am not finished with you!!!"

Boom!

Teng Qingshan desperately rushed toward the Saber Cicada: "You cannot die, Cicada, you absolutely cannot die!"