The streamlined sword-shaped light shields, reducing drag, allowed Teng Qingshan's speed to be slightly faster than when he initially fled. However, this was considerably slower than when employing the 'fish form.' Furthermore, since Teng Qingshan was actively darting toward the front-left, the two from the Snow Eagle Sect could easily intercept him.
"Big Brother, watch out for Qin Lang's flying darts."
"Understood. Wu Xiu, with the combined strength of you and me, killing Qin Lang is no difficult feat. Hahaha... If we achieve this merit and secure those two cauldrons, our Snow Eagle Sect will certainly become even stronger in the future." The two from the Snow Eagle Sect felt a surge of excitement, holding Teng Qingshan in low regard in their hearts. They were supremely confident in taking down Qin Lang by teaming up.
The distance between the parties continued to close.
"I shouldn't blame myself; you two are simply seeking death." Teng Qingshan looked at the two from the Snow Eagle Sect, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and he couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. These two cauldrons of 'North Sea Spirit' were enough to provoke two Xiantian Solid Core experts from the Snow Eagle Sect into action.
The distance narrowed: thirty Zhang, twenty Zhang, ten Zhang...
"Hahaha, it really is Teng Qingshan! We couldn't believe the rumors that Qin Lang was Teng Qingshan," the two masters of the Snow Eagle Sect confirmed upon seeing Teng Qingshan’s appearance up close, which only bolstered their confidence further. Teng Qingshan was only seventeen years old; no matter how much of a genius he was, how strong could he truly be?
When they saw the two massive cauldrons, their gazes burned even brighter—
One cauldron held over ten thousand drops of North Sea Spirit. Even the most foolish method of utilization could create an army of over ten thousand first-rate martial artists! Such an army could exhaust dozens of Xiantian experts to death if they charged in! Currently, no sect in the entire world possessed a corps composed of first-rate martial artists this formidable.
If even the most rudimentary use yielded such miraculous effects, one could only imagine the true value of these cauldrons.
And here there were two! Exchanging them for the lives of ten Xiantian masters would still be considered worthwhile.
"Teng Qingshan, my brother will see you off on your journey." The Xiantian true essence surrounding their bodies suddenly erupted, their speed sharply increasing as they lunged in from both flanks.
Rumbling~~~~
The lake water surged violently as both utilized crescent-shaped scimitars.
"Clang!" "Clang!"
"Hmph!" Teng Qingshan shifted his body slightly, instead charging toward the hawk-nosed expert. Just as the scimitar sliced through the lake water, the powerful air currents washing over him, Teng Qingshan suddenly twisted, spun his entire body around, and swung his right leg out like a massive cleaver, propelled by the rotational force!
Boom!
The water at the lakebed exploded!
The hawk-nosed expert, 'Iron Vulture,' saw his face change drastically. He only perceived a blur of shadow instantly piercing through the water, slicing toward him. The sound of the exploding water reverberated painfully in his ears.
"Impossible." Iron Vulture immediately redirected his scimitar to block the shadow.
"Thud!"
The leg shadow slammed against the scimitar, its momentum undiminished, and continued on to strike Iron Vulture’s chest. Like striking a massive drum, a deep, resonant roar sounded as Iron Vulture’s chest cavity burst open, his internal organs pulverized into pulp. Iron Vulture’s eyes were wide with disbelief that he was dying so suddenly!
"How could this be? Big Brother!" Wu Xiu’s face instantly turned ashen.
A cold smirk played on Teng Qingshan’s lips as he turned toward Wu Xiu.
How could it be impossible?
Currently, the power erupting from his own arms was around six to seven hundred thousand Jin. However, his leg bones and muscles possessed greater endurance, allowing for significantly stronger explosive force. While his leg attacks might lack refinement in technique, their sheer destructive power was far greater. A single kick easily reaching close to a million Jin was not surprising.
Teng Qingshan’s terrifying kick killing Iron Vulture was, therefore, not unexpected. The gap in explosive output between them was too vast.
However, if he encountered a Xiantian Golden Core expert, Teng Qingshan would be in a precarious situation. Xiantian Golden Cores had explosive power comparable to Teng Qingshan’s, but their 'Spirit' was stronger, allowing them to eliminate air resistance and make their swords faster.
"No!"
Seeing Teng Qingshan charge, Wu Xiu was so terrified he dared not fight, immediately turning tail and fleeing.
Whoosh!
Without employing the 'fish form,' Wu Xiu’s escape speed was indeed faster than Teng Qingshan’s current pace, and Teng Qingshan could only watch as 'Wu Xiu' sped away.
"He knows when to yield," Teng Qingshan remarked lightly. The current Teng Qingshan actually didn't wish to kill; his priority was survival. Securing these two cauldrons of 'North Sea Spirit' meant the Guiyuan Sect could nurture many outstanding disciples, allowing those with high comprehension but poor physical aptitude to bypass difficult hurdles directly. As a result, the Guiyuan Sect's future contingent of Xiantian experts would naturally increase.
"Go." Just as Teng Qingshan prepared to transform into the 'fish form,' his expression suddenly shifted.
He saw a figure rapidly approaching from less than half a li to his left, the person holding one of the cauldrons.
"It's him—the Xiantian Golden Core expert from the Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain, 'Wang Kehou.'" Teng Qingshan knew this was trouble. He instantly transformed into the 'fish form,' forcefully pushing off with his legs, his massive fish tail, formed entirely of Xiantian true essence, slammed against the lake water, launching Teng Qingshan forward in a sudden burst.
This Venerable Wang had blue Xiantian true essence, which was less conspicuous in the lake water than the fiery red glow. The golden pearl on the cauldron had already been pried off by Venerable Wang... After all, for an archer, being discovered prematurely was the greatest taboo. Moreover, given the previous battle between Teng Qingshan and the Snow Eagle Sect duo, Teng Qingshan hadn't noticed Wang Kehou until the two were about eighty Zhang away.
Wang Kehou, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Ranking.
Yet, even at eleventh, Teng Qingshan surmised that even his own master, Zhuge Yuanhong, ranked sixth, would likely be wary of Wang Kehou. In truth, everyone felt a degree of apprehension facing experts from the Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain because... their long-range capabilities were terrifyingly potent. However, once forced into close combat, they weakened considerably.
Wang Kehou’s arrow strikes carried devastating power. Close combat was his weakness. If his close-range strength matched his archery prowess, his ranking could potentially surpass Zhuge Yuanhong.
"This Qin Lang, he escapes quite quickly—faster than me," the approaching Venerable Wang murmured, his expression subtly changing. He could see the blurry red glow in the distance streaking away at an astonishing speed.
Knowing he couldn't catch up, Venerable Wang set down one cauldron, enveloping it in Xiantian true essence, and simultaneously retrieved the dark crimson divine bow from his back: "Hmph, a Xiantian Solid Core? You think you can escape my grasp? For two cauldrons... I’ll sacrifice two excellent arrows!" This Venerable Wang pulled two pitch-black arrows, their tips glowing faintly green, from his quiver.
Both arrows were nocked simultaneously.
"Shhh~~" Blue Xiantian true essence instantly surged over the dark red divine bow. The bow stretched taut into a perfect full moon. His eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, fixed on the distant red glow, faint blue electrical sparks flickering around the tips of the two arrows.
Suddenly—
"Die!" Venerable Wang hissed the command.
He released the strings!
The two arrows pierced the water and vanished from sight instantly. They were too fast!
...
When a Xiantian Golden Core master from the Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain loosed an arrow, no one dared to treat it lightly. Teng Qingshan dared even less. While fleeing at top speed, his eyes constantly monitored his rear, his hands gripping the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe—its head was large enough to serve as a small shield.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two arrows were so swift that even Teng Qingshan, who was already prepared, only saw a blur before the two projectiles were ten Zhang behind him.
"Not good!" Teng Qingshan’s face changed dramatically.
Because... the two arrows Wang had shot curved along two separate arcs, one aiming left and the other right toward Teng Qingshan. It was impossible for him to block both simultaneously... Moreover, the speed of these two arrows vastly exceeded Teng Qingshan's expectations. The last time he witnessed Wang Kehou shoot at the Heavenly Flood Dragon Palace, he hadn't expected the speed to be even greater this time! Teng Qingshan was unaware that Venerable Wang was using two extremely precious arrows for the sake of the two cauldrons.
"Boom!"
Teng Qingshan reacted with maximum speed, dropping both cauldrons first and enveloping them in Xiantian true essence. He swung the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe sharply, managing, with extreme difficulty, to block the left-hand arrow.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Two massive explosions erupted as the arrows detonated simultaneously, one on the left, one on the right! Teng Qingshan himself was blasted hurtling forward, and the 'two cauldrons' enveloped in true essence were thrown forward along with him.
...
"Certain death," Wang Kehou confidently flew toward Teng Qingshan's previous location. "My Yin-Yang Double Arrows, combined with the 'Black Soul Arrowheads,' ensure that even a Xiantian Golden Core couldn't escape at eighty Zhang distance on land. Although the power is slightly diminished underwater, he is still surely dead."
The confident expression of Venerable Wang suddenly solidified. The red glow in the distance paused momentarily in place, then astonishingly sped away at a rate far exceeding Wang Kehou's own speed. In moments, Teng Qingshan's red glow completely vanished from Wang Kehou's line of sight.
"He didn't die?" Wang Kehou couldn't believe it.
These Black Soul Arrowheads were specially refined by the Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain. He had only brought four on this trip, and one had already been expended to seize a cauldron at the Heavenly Flood Dragon Palace previously. Now, killing Teng Qingshan was utterly impossible.
...
"Truly terrifying," Teng Qingshan swam rapidly, his Xiantian true essence forming a gigantic fish shape around his body, the tail slamming repeatedly against the water.
"So close, truly so close to losing my life," Teng Qingshan’s face was pale, blood at the corner of his mouth. His clothes were tattered, and his back was crisscrossed with bleeding wounds. The two sections of the Reincarnation Spear shaft were adhered to his back by Xiantian true essence.
The covering was gone!
Yes! Previously, Teng Qingshan had blocked the left arrow with the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe. But what about the right arrow? If he had allowed it to hit directly, Teng Qingshan likely would have perished. At the razor's edge of life and death, Teng Qingshan used his 'Xiantian true essence' to manipulate the covering on his back. Inside that covering were the two shafts of the Reincarnation Spear!
By sheer chance, that arrow struck the spear shafts within the covering. It sheared off a piece of metal from one shaft, and the arrow simultaneously exploded. These Black Soul Arrowheads, besides their high velocity and immense power, also possessed terrifying explosive force. This explosion instantly vaporized the covering and Teng Qingshan's clothing. Although his skin's toughness surpassed that of profound iron, the blast still ripped the skin, leaving over a dozen wounds on his back. If the explosion had occurred internally... The thought alone sent a chill through him.
"What a pity. Everything inside the covering, except the Reincarnation Spear shaft, is gone. The biggest loss is the human-skin mask," Teng Qingshan sighed inwardly. Under such an explosion, with his own back injured, how could other items possibly survive?
"Still, I was fortunate enough to save my life and bring back these two cauldrons of 'North Sea Spirit.' I should be content," Teng Qingshan carried the two cauldrons, flicking his fish tail as he swam rapidly away... By this point, no Xiantian expert could possibly catch him anymore.