Chapter 548: Intercepted at Every Turn

Zhang Nuo's roar, like a thunderclap in a clear sky, gave Chen Shuang'er a start. With this woman's Divine Sense, she hadn't felt a thing! Looking in the direction Zhang Nuo was staring, she saw only silence in the dense forest; there was nothing there!

"Do you really expect me to invite you out?"

Changing his tone, Zhang Nuo said coldly! However, there was still no movement in the dense forest! After Chen Shuang'er's beautiful eyes darted around a few times, she also failed to discover anything unusual!

But the moment Zhang Nuo's voice fell, he suddenly flipped one hand, and a ball of dark red flame appeared. With a forceful squeeze of his five fingers, the flame burst open, transforming into a sea of fire a zhang wide that hovered above Zhang Nuo's head!

The next moment, at a thought from Zhang Nuo, the sea of fire above his head surged toward the nearby dense forest! In an instant, the forest was reduced to ashes by the flames, and the area for several miles around turned charred black!

Witnessing this scene, Chen Shuang'er was slightly startled. The kind of flame Zhang Nuo controlled seemed to have immense power; in the blink of an eye, a patch of dense forest had vanished!

A cold laugh rang out from the ground that had turned to ash, and immediately after, a person slowly poked their head out from the earth, and finally, their body emerged from the ground! It felt as if this person had simply grown out of the soil!

"Earth Escape Technique!"

Chen Shuang'er exclaimed aloud. If Zhang Nuo hadn't discovered it early, this cultivator who knew the Earth Escape Technique would have silently snuck up to their side. If they had launched a sneak attack, it was likely no one would have escaped!

A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Zhang Nuo's mouth as he looked at the man! He saw a man of about twenty years old, holding a yellowish-brown bead in one hand and wearing a gray robe, walking slowly toward them! His cultivation, however, was only at the Spirit Transformation Late Stage!

"Tsk tsk! I really didn't expect that even with my Earth Escape Technique being so concealed, you would still discover me! It seems you have some unique qualities! You are worthy of being a cultivator who dares to oppose the Human Emperor Realm!"

The gray-robed man toyed with the yellowish-brown bead in his hand, arriving within close range of Zhang Nuo and Chen Shuang'er in a few steps!

"Hmph! So it's a lackey of the Human Emperor!"

With a cold snort, and without any movement from Zhang Nuo's body, he rushed toward the gray-robed man with eerie speed! Like a gust of wind, Zhang Nuo arrived right in front of the man!

He swung his right hand violently and smashed a fist toward his opponent! The gray-robed man had long been on guard; seeing Zhang Nuo charge with his physical body, he assumed he was a Body Refining cultivator!

He retreated several steps, and at the same time, waved the yellowish-brown bead in his hand at Zhang Nuo from afar! Ripples of yellow light appeared on the surface of the bead! Simultaneously, dozens of giant earthen hands sprouted from the ground where Zhang Nuo was standing, grabbing down toward him!

The bead in the gray-robed man's hand was clearly an earth-attribute Magic Treasure! No wonder his Earth Escape Technique was so concealed; Zhang Nuo had only discovered him when he was a hundred zhang away! If his Divine Sense hadn't far exceeded those of the same rank, he likely would have already fallen victim to the ambush!

No sooner said than done! Seeing dozens of earthen hands grabbing at him, Zhang Nuo leaped dozens of zhang into the air, then his shoulders moved slightly in mid-air, and a pair of black Butterfly Wings sprouted out! Following a full flap of the wings, his speed surged. With a 'swish', a figure flashed by, leaving behind motion afterimages in mid-air, and he attacked the gray-robed man again!

Not expecting Zhang Nuo's speed to suddenly become so fast, the gray-robed man was greatly shocked. He shook the yellowish-brown bead in his hand, and a curtain of yellow light poured out from within it! This light curtain was a full zhang in size, completely blocking the gray-robed man behind it!

Seeing this, Zhang Nuo did not reduce his speed. At the same time, golden radiance flowed continuously over his arm, and he smashed his fist into the yellow light curtain!

Boom!

A loud explosion rang out, and the yellow light curtain shattered upon impact! This time, the gray-robed man was truly anxious! He knew better than anyone how strong the defense of this light curtain was, yet it had been broken by Zhang Nuo in a single blow; one could see to what extent this cultivator's Body Refining Technique had reached!

Turning his body around, the gray-robed cultivator tried to flee!

"Stay here!"

A cold sneer appeared on Zhang Nuo's mouth. He spread his palm, and dozens of cold lights shot out from it, rapidly attacking the gray-robed man! Feeling the chaotic Spirit Power fluctuations behind him, the gray-robed man hurriedly shrank his body and hid inside the yellowish-brown bead in his hand! Then, the bead dove toward the ground, intending to escape using Earth Escape!

However, just as his body submerged into the interior of the bead, the several cold lights released by Zhang Nuo arrived before him! After the cold lights missed, they stopped abruptly, hovering directly around the bead. The next moment, these cold lights released waves of sword Qi, and a white lotus flower trapped the yellowish-brown bead inside!

As the lotus flower gradually bloomed, its power reached its peak! With a crisp 'crack' sound from the surface of the bead, this Magic Treasure could not resist the power of the 'Lotus Fall' Sword Formation and shattered directly!

"Ah! ~"

A scream from the gray-robed cultivator came from inside the bead! Through the cracks in the bead, the sword Qi surged in, mincing the gray-robed cultivator hiding inside into meat paste; even his Nascent Soul did not have time to escape!

From the moment Zhang Nuo attacked to the moment the gray-robed cultivator fell, only a few breaths of time had passed. Even Chen Shuang'er had not yet reacted before the battle was already over!

"Let's go!"

With a wave of his hand, he recalled the Flying Sword into his body, and Zhang Nuo quickly left the area with Chen Shuang'er! Within a few hours after the two had left, several streaks of light fell to this spot. The cultivation of these people was all around the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage, and among them was an old man at the Integration Early Stage!

"This... how is this possible! Even the Fa Tu Bead has been destroyed!"

The old man at the Integration Early Stage felt his heart tighten the moment his gaze swept over the shattered yellowish-brown bead! It seemed he had underestimated the Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator who had taken Chen Shuang'er away! When he received notice and discovered the two, he had rushed over as quickly as possible, but he was still a step too late!

"Continue the pursuit! We must not let them get away!"

The old man stomped his foot in anger and said! The many Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators around him answered in unison before chasing off into the distant sky once more!

Zhang Nuo activated the speed of his Butterfly Wings, fleeing rapidly with Chen Shuang'er. Only now did Chen Shuang'er realize that Zhang Nuo's previous escape speed had only been average, and this was his true limit! The mountains and rivers beneath them were constantly receding; in terms of this current speed, Zhang Nuo was likely no less than an Integration Stage cultivator!

Two months later, Zhang Nuo finally stopped at a small hill. He swept his Divine Sense around and, finding no danger, finally felt at ease!

"Fellow Daoist's divine abilities truly make this little woman look at you with new eyes! You can eliminate a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator in a single move. If you were to trigger the Third Elder's True Spirit Bloodline, I fear even an Integration Stage cultivator would not be your match!"

These words were not Chen Shuang'er flattering Zhang Nuo; they were entirely from the bottom of her heart!

"Hehe! Zhang merely used his full strength; perhaps that cultivator was simply too arrogant!"

After saying this, Zhang Nuo sat on the ground and began to meditate. Judging by the current situation, the Human Emperor's side had already dispatched personnel. The cultivator he had killed two months ago should have only been responsible for tracking them. Once discovered by the large group of Human Emperor Palace cultivators following behind, even if Zhang Nuo triggered his True Spirit Bloodline, he likely would have no way to escape!

A day later, feeling that he had recovered sufficiently, Zhang Nuo stood up and looked toward the distant sky. At this moment, Chen Shuang'er also slowly stood up!

"Fairy Shuang'er, how much further is it to your Chen Family's secret location?"

Chen Shuang'er's brows were tightly furrowed, and she said with a very dejected heart:

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, we have not yet left the Human Emperor Realm. Even after leaving the Human Emperor Realm, it will still take more than four years of flying to reach the territory belonging to the Wuliang Dao Sect!"

Once these words were spoken, Zhang Nuo's expression became increasingly hesitant! According to what Chen Shuang'er said, even after leaving the Human Emperor Realm, it likely wouldn't be a safe zone!

Sighing lightly, he felt that agreeing to Chen Sihuai's request this time was truly a bit risky! With his escape light rising, the two flew once more toward the territory belonging to the Wuliang Dao Sect!

Along this journey, Zhang Nuo and the others stopped and went, sometimes encountering Human Emperor Palace cultivators intercepting them! In the most dangerous instance, Zhang Nuo had to use his Phantom Immortal Dharma Image, which allowed him to kill three cultivators of the same rank in one fell swoop, which further opened Chen Shuang'er's eyes!

As they neared the border between the Wuliang Dao Sect and the Human Emperor Realm, Zhang Nuo and Chen Shuang'er encountered more and more Human Emperor Palace cultivators! After several skirmishes, a very bad feeling arose in Zhang Nuo's heart! The Integration Stage cultivators sent by the Human Emperor Palace were getting closer to them bit by bit!

Just when they were only three months away from flying out of the Human Emperor Realm's sphere of influence, eight Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators suddenly appeared in front of them!

As soon as these eight people saw Zhang Nuo and Chen Shuang'er, they didn't hesitate at all and immediately unleashed all their Magic Treasures! However, the eight people's goal did not seem to be to kill them, but rather to trap the two in this place for a period of time!

When Zhang Nuo realized this while fighting the eight, his heart instantly turned cold! The intent of these people was very clear; they were waiting for reinforcements!

Thinking of this, Zhang Nuo's whole body shook, and he directly activated his Eight Extremes Demon Veins. After opening two meridians in succession, his power surged, and in an instant, Zhang Nuo killed all eight of them, and even used the Divine Tree to collect all eight of their Nascent Souls!

When the effects of the Magic Meridians faded, Zhang Nuo found a place closest to the Wuliang Dao Sect's territory to hide! He had to seize the time to restore his body to its peak state! Even after entering the Wuliang Dao Sect's territory, it likely wouldn't be particularly safe!