Chapter 72: Turning the Tables

Looking at the sturdy man's appearance, it seemed as if he wanted to fight Zhang Nuo to the death, but suddenly he shifted his figure, and at the same time, the "Wu Hook" in his hand grew to the size of a zhang, he leaped onto the Magic Treasure, and fled as if flying.

Zhang Nuo had originally prepared for battle, but he did not expect the man before his eyes to bluster for so long only to flee; it truly exceeded his expectations. However, immediately after, a faint smile appeared on Zhang Nuo's face. He slung the Sword Box onto his back, leaving only one Flying Sword outside while storing the rest inside the Sword Box. Leaping onto the Flying Sword, he chased in the direction the man had fled.

Zhang Nuo hated these cultivators who made a living by harming others to the extreme. Although he had been on guard just now and had not suffered any damage, he still felt quite terrified inside. If he let the sturdy man go, he did not know if he would return to seek revenge. One must cut weeds and eliminate the roots; Zhang Nuo did not want to leave unnecessary trouble for himself in the future.

The man fleeing in front suddenly sensed Zhang Nuo chasing after him with his Divine Sense, and he could not help but be greatly shocked; beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

He had thought that once Zhang Nuo obtained the Spirit Stones from the girl in palace attire, he would not come chasing him anymore, but who would have thought that this little fiend he had provoked today would be so unrelenting, as if he had locked onto him!

Having witnessed Zhang Nuo's Fast Sword, the man had no confidence at all in defeating him. Thinking of this, the Divine Sea within the sturdy man's body stirred, and a large amount of Spirit Power was forced out and injected entirely into his Flying Magic Tool. In an instant, the "Wu Hook" beneath his feet shone with a brilliant green light, and his speed immediately increased by a few notches.

Zhang Nuo followed behind the sturdy man unhurriedly, always maintaining a certain distance. When the opponent accelerated, he accelerated; when the opponent slowed down, he slowed down. This tailing-style pursuit made the man flying in front even more terrified.

The opponent neither launched a fierce attack nor gave up, as if playing a game of cat and mouse. There seemed to be only one possibility: Zhang Nuo's cultivation level far exceeded his own, and the other party had enough confidence to behead him.

The two flew toward the depths of Panlong Mountain, and in the blink of an eye, more than a day had passed. At this time, the sturdy man flying in front was already so tired that he was panting heavily, and the Spiritual Qi within his Divine Sea was nearly exhausted.

He looked back at Zhang Nuo, only to see the other party still following unhurriedly, without the slightest sign of being in a rush.

"Could it be that this brat is carrying a Pill that restores Spiritual Qi? Why is there no sign of his Spiritual Qi being depleted?"

A wave of suspicion arose in the sturdy man's heart. By the end of the flight, he truly had no strength left. If things continued like this, he would surely be exhausted to death.

If he were to be exhausted to death like this, it would be better to return to the ground and have a fight with the opponent; perhaps there might still be a glimmer of survival. As soon as this thought emerged, the sturdy man immediately flew downward. After landing, the "Wu Hook" returned to its original size and was grasped firmly in his hand.

Zhang Nuo, who had been chasing from behind, saw that the opponent had landed and a cold sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. The Spiritual Qi storage capacity of a Dual Spirit Sea Cultivator was even higher than that of two Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators; he could hold out even if this full-speed flight lasted another day.

With a flash of spiritual light from the giant sword beneath his feet, Zhang Nuo also landed on the ground. Looking at the sturdy man's ferocious face, he shook his head with a faint smile.

"Why aren't you running anymore?"

"This fellow Daoist, if you can spare my life, I will definitely reward you handsomely! If you need Spirit Stones, I still have over thirty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones here; you may take them all!"

The sturdy man, seeing that he could not outrun the other party and could not beat the other party, immediately used Spirit Stones to trade for his own life.

"You have thirty thousand Spirit Stones on you right now?"

Zhang Nuo's eyes lit up, as if he had been moved by such a large sum of Spirit Stones.

"That is natural. My wife and I have been in this line of work for not just a year or two, and on hand..."

Speaking to this point, the sturdy man suddenly shut his mouth. Did saying this not undoubtedly mean that he was a habitual offender?

"Oh! Since you are carrying them on you, then I won't trouble you, fellow Daoist!"

Zhang Nuo suddenly gave a cold, sinister smile, and at the same time, with a slight movement of his Divine Sense, eight Flying Swords flew out from the Sword Box. These Flying Swords buzzed, looking somewhat restless.

"What do you mean?"

Hearing the hidden meaning in Zhang Nuo's words, the sturdy man's heart immediately tightened.

"It means nothing! I have always liked to do things cleanly; I am not accustomed to leaving unnecessary trouble for myself! So please, fellow Daoist, go and accompany your deceased companion!"

His voice suddenly turned cold, and a murderous intent flashed in Zhang Nuo's eyes. With a wave of his hands, all eight Flying Swords were struck out. In truth, Zhang Nuo did not need to use eight Flying Swords to fight this person; he only did so deliberately because he wanted to use the sturdy man to practice.

The eight Flying Swords flashed with icy light, attacking the sturdy man from different directions. Holding the Wu Hook in his hand, the sturdy man extracted the last trace of Spiritual Qi from his Divine Sea and swung the Magic Treasure in his hand with force. A half-moon-shaped streak of light was instantly unleashed, blocking all the Flying Swords attacking him.

After swinging this sword, the sturdy man's face turned deathly pale, and his hands were even trembling. He looked at Zhang Nuo with pleading eyes, wanting the other party to spare his life.

After the eight Flying Swords were struck back by the streak of light emitted by the Wu Hook, they merely circled in mid-air before pointing their tips at the sturdy man once again.

"Spirit Power exhausted?"

Zhang Nuo stood calmly to the side, watching the man panting heavily.

"Fellow Daoist, if you think the Spirit Stones I have on me are not enough, there are several tens of thousands more Spirit Stones where I live. You only need to follow me to get them!"

Even at this moment, the sturdy man still harbored a glimmer of luck in his heart.

"No need! I presume those Spirit Stones of yours were not obtained cleanly either; I'd rather not have them!"

Before the sturdy man could finish speaking, Zhang Nuo interrupted him.

"Killing you can be considered a good deed. Don't blame me when you reach the Yellow Springs!"

Suddenly, Zhang Nuo's voice turned cold, and with his brows tightly furrowed, the eight Flying Swords suspended in mid-air simultaneously bloomed with dazzling white light.

Seeing this, the sturdy man knew that the other party was about to deliver the killing blow. He let out a long howl and was just about to swing the Wu Hook in his hand to make a final struggle, but before he could make any move, the eight clusters of white light in mid-air simultaneously transformed into eight White Threads, instantly striking his body all at once.

As if pierced through the body by eight White Threads, the sturdy man only felt his internal organs shattering as if struck by lightning.

With a "thump," the man's corpse fell to the ground. Zhang Nuo gave a light beckon with one hand, and all the Flying Swords returned to the Sword Box. He walked to the side of the sturdy man's corpse, only to see eight blood holes on his body continuously flowing with blood, his eyes wide open, his face filled with an expression of disbelief.