Chapter 162 Desertion in the Face of Battle
He Zuo was struck by a powerful force and suddenly propelled backward, flying off the Wind-Riding Immortal Crane. His body plummeted directly from the sky.
Immediately, the Wind-Riding Immortal Crane shrank rapidly and flew into Bai Qingzhou’s storage pouch.
Falling from such a height, He Zuo remained calm, for he had already prepared the Flying Cloud Spirit Paper at Bai Qingzhou’s reminder.
“Transform!”
Spiritual energy surged in, and the spirit paper in his hand abruptly expanded, catching his rapidly descending body.
“Phew... that was close.”
Once steady on his feet, He Zuo exhaled lightly, then looked upward.
In just one glance, he spotted He Li treading on the Flying Cloud Spirit Paper in midair and immediately felt relieved.
“Boom!”
“Bang!”
“Clang!”
A series of earth-shattering sounds erupted continuously in the air.
He Zuo quickly shifted his gaze toward two glowing masses hovering above.
Within the light spheres, blades clashed and swords flashed, interspersed with bursts of fire and purple lightning. Clearly, the two had engaged in a fierce battle in an instant.
“Senior Brother Bai...” He Zuo murmured, his heart deeply stirred. This was his first time witnessing a battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“He Zuo, they’re coming! Hurry over!” He Li’s voice suddenly rang out from afar.
He turned his head and saw He Li waving at him repeatedly, with a disciple from the Moon Support Sect standing beside him.
Ignoring all else, he immediately controlled his flying artifact and sped toward them.
As he neared, He Li hurriedly asked, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine!” He Zuo shook his head vigorously, then asked anxiously, “What should we do now?”
“You two leave first!” Wu Haoming, standing at the forefront, said sternly, “Those bastards are trying to ambush. I’ll go help Senior Bai. You’re just early-stage Qi Refinement; you won’t be of any help!”
He Zuo looked ahead and saw Bai Qingzhou not only facing the Foundation Establishment cultivator but also fending off Qi Refinement disciples continuously throwing talismans from behind. He was clearly being overwhelmed by multiple opponents.
Seeing this, He Zuo shouted anxiously, “Then hurry and help Senior Bai!”
“You two, get moving!” With that, Wu Haoming immediately manipulated his flying artifact and charged forward.
He Zuo glanced at the calm He Li beside him, unease in his eyes. “He Li, what should we—”
“We go!” He Li glanced briefly, then turned to control his artifact and retreat. “He’s right! We can’t help. Let’s leave first!”
Seeing He Li’s decisiveness, He Zuo withdrew his gaze, turned, and followed. “Alright!”
The two immediately controlled their artifacts and distanced themselves from the battlefield.
(End of chapter; please turn the page)
...
Seeing He Zuo and He Li depart from the corner of her eye, Bai Qingzhou exhaled heavily, feeling somewhat relieved.
With the two watching from the sidelines, Bai Qingzhou could hardly focus on the fight.
“Clang!”
He blocked the axe strike from the blue-robed man with his sword.
The fierce force transmitted from the hilt to his arm, sending a numb shock through him.
“Fellow Daoist! Are you trying to kill without mercy?!” Bai Qingzhou shouted at him.
“Heh heh!” The blue-robed man grinned broadly. “You little Foundation Establishment rookie, today you’ll die here!”
With that, his sharp axe slashed down fiercely again.
“Bang!”
Enduring the blow, Bai Qingzhou was knocked backward.
Experienced in combat, he immediately used the retreat to dissipate much of the force.
From the moment he engaged, he realized the blue-robed man’s cultivation was likely at the second Foundation Establishment level, far surpassing his strength.
Initially, relying on his Ethereal Sword Technique, he could still hold his own, but the intermittent talisman attacks from several nearby cultivators overwhelmed him.
He quickly fell into a passive position.
“This won’t do!” Bai Qingzhou strategized urgently.
“Senior Bai! I’m here to assist!” Suddenly, Wu Haoming’s voice came from behind.
Bai Qingzhou glanced sideways and saw Wu Haoming charging out from the rear, wielding a heavy sword.
He couldn’t help but smile inwardly. This showed he hadn’t fled alone—there was still some sense of righteousness.
“You dare come back!?” The thick-browed cultivator exclaimed joyfully, pointing at Wu Haoming and saying, “Elder Miao, this is the one caught stealing in the mine!”
Hearing this, the blue-robed man narrowed his eyes and said, “Hmph, eighth level Qi Refinement... You handle him, I’ll deal with this brat!”
“Yes!” The thick-browed cultivator turned his blade and said to several disciples nearby, “Everyone, follow me!”
But just then—
“Retreat!” Bai Qingzhou suddenly shouted, turning and grabbing the rushing Wu Haoming. The two quickly withdrew.
With Bai Qingzhou’s sudden pull, Wu Haoming was lifted off the ground, unable to retract his artifact, which drifted down slowly, uncontrolled.
“My artifact!” Wu Haoming shouted.
The sudden escape of the two left the others stunned.
Escape just like that?
“Trying to run!” Elder Miao was the first to snap out of it. With a bang, he surged forward, shouting, “Everyone, chase them!”
(End of chapter; please turn the page)
The second Foundation Establishment stage significantly enhanced physical strength and speed compared to the first stage.
Even though Bai Qingzhou initiated first, Elder Miao’s speed steadily closed the gap, especially with Bai Qingzhou dragging along another cultivator.
Just as they were about to be caught, Bai Qingzhou immediately deployed a flying artifact, and their speed increased at once.
It was Bai Qingzhou’s Wind-Riding Immortal Crane.
“Profound-grade flying artifact?!” Elder Miao was shocked. He hadn’t expected this first-stage Foundation Establishment brat to possess such a profound-grade artifact.
He surged forward again, but the distance only widened. With the profound-grade artifact’s speed, the second-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could not catch up.
“Hahaha!” Wu Haoming laughed heartily as the Foundation Establishment cultivators gradually fell behind. He waved his hands behind him, “Goodbye! I’ll be taking your tin stones!”
Seeing the growing distance, Elder Miao despaired and halted his pursuit, cursing bitterly, “Damn it!”
...
“Wow! This speed! So exhilarating!” Wu Haoming shouted excitedly, “So this is the speed of a profound-grade artifact!”
“Hold tight!” Bai Qingzhou warned, immediately steering the Wind-Riding Immortal Crane downward.
“Senior Bai!” Below, He Zuo and He Li called out; they had left earlier.
“Get on!” Bai Qingzhou slowed the artifact. The two retracted the Flying Cloud Spirit Paper and leapt onto the Wind-Riding Immortal Crane’s deck.
The standing area of the Wind-Riding Immortal Crane was over twenty feet long, comfortably accommodating all four of them.
“Whoosh!”
Once everyone was steady, Bai Qingzhou controlled the artifact and soared skyward again.
“Sigh...” Wu Haoming sighed, watching the two children pack away their flying artifacts. “Too bad about my yellow-grade mid-tier flying artifact...”
Hearing this, Bai Qingzhou chuckled lightly. “The tin stones you’re holding now aren’t worth over a thousand spiritual stones? And yet you care so much about that mere few dozen spiritual stones yellow-grade mid-tier artifact?”
“Heh heh!” Wu Haoming scratched his head and smiled, “This time it really thanks to Senior Bai. If that Foundation Establishment cultivator had caught me, I’d have been dead for sure!”
“You know that, huh!” Bai Qingzhou scolded him, then glanced at his still smiling face and sighed, “I have to say, you’re really bold.”
“Exactly!” He Zuo punched Wu Haoming’s shoulder, scolding, “It’s all your fault! You scared me to death!”
Wu Haoming didn’t mind He Zuo’s rudeness. Rubbing his shoulder, he chuckled, “There’s an old saying... fortune favors the bold!”
(End of chapter)