Chapter 82: Chapter Eighty: No Way to Escape

The heart-protection mirror worn close to the body writhed, a small piece of white metallic liquid turning into an exquisite cage that wrapped around the white egg.

Wu Tie looked around at the surroundings.

The great hall was empty, all the black skeletons having been crushed and vanished.

After the great cauldron disappeared, the mist in the air lost its source and was slowly dissipating. The piercing cold faded, and the surrounding temperature was slowly rising. It seemed that before long, the Nether Demon Mine would return to normal.

Wu Tie suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

He had not only discovered the source of the anomaly in the Nether Demon Mine, but even eliminated that source.

How many stalks of lava grass should the Shi Family give him?

One hundred stalks?

Two hundred stalks?

Fine, anyway it would be enough for him to cultivate to the Sensing Mystery Realm.

The white egg lay still on his chest; Wu Tie waved the long banner, a cold wind rose from the ground, great clouds of smoke rolled, bearing him as he floated outward from the mine.

The flight speed was extremely fast, several times faster than Wu Tie propelling himself with an invisible force field.

Moreover, this was not yet the maximum speed of this Concealment-Trace Wind Cloud Banner; if Wu Tie already had the cultivation of the Sensing Mystery Realm and had cultivated magical power, his flight speed could still increase by at least tenfold.

For this long banner, merely rushing along is only its most basic function; the importance lies in the four words "Concealment-Trace".

Wu Tie gripped the long banner and shook it hard a few times; immediately the wind roared, smoke billowed, his speed increased considerably, and he charged out of the mine shaft amid rolling dust and smoke.

The flight speed was truly too fast; Wu Tie was immersed in the novelty of a child who had just gotten a new toy, his right hand constantly shaking the long banner, completely failing to notice the movements outside at the bottom of the mine.

He swooshed out of the mine with a swish, then heard a boom; a chilling, cold-qi figure almost brushed past his body, nearly colliding with him.

Wu Tie hastily halted the smoke clouds and looked in the direction from which the figure had flown.

Several hundred meters away, Jia Zhengfeng was surrounded by rolling blood clouds; behind him, a gigantic sun-wheel flower loomed faintly, with countless blood-colored tendrils constantly swaying behind the flower.

Beside him lay four withered bodies on the ground.

Judging by their attire, they were clearly disciples of the Changsheng Sect; like Wu Tie at this moment, they had become skin and bone, as if four lemons squeezed dry of juice.

It was obvious that Jia Zhengfeng had used on them the Changsheng Sect elders' favored method of dealing with enemies.

Devouring the disciples' essence-blood energy to replenish his own consumption, letting him maintain peak formidable combat power.

"What a coincidence?" Wu Tie stared wide-eyed at Jia Zhengfeng and the others.

Behind him came a dull thud; Bo Xi heavily hit the ground, dragging an extremely deep and long groove across the hard stone floor, then slammed headfirst into the rear pit wall.

Flying rocks splashed; Bo Xi smashed a hole several meters wide into the rock wall.

"Heh, this move, not bad strength." Bo Xi's cold laugh came from the dust; a chill rose, the cold wind howled, sweeping away smoke and dust. She nonchalantly rose from the pit and stepped toward Jia Zhengfeng.

Wu Tie landed on the ground and stepped aside a few paces.

Jia Zhengfeng's eyes flashed with blood light as he looked at Wu Tie and said coldly, "Who are you? Hmm?"

Shixi looked at Wu Tie, bewildered; he did not know that Wu Tie had come to investigate the source of the anomaly in the Nether Demon Mine, and given his status in the Shi Family, he would not care about such trivial external-affairs matters.

But since Jia Zhengfeng had asked, Shixi immediately stepped forward two steps, pointed at Wu Tie and shouted sternly, "What person are you? Why are you in my Shi Family's mine? Hmm?"

Wu Tie raised his eyebrows, bowed with clasped fists toward Shixi with a smile: "You are of the Shi Family? What a coincidence, I am as well… I received a mission from the External Affairs Office to come investigate the source of the anomaly in the Nether Demon Mine."

Shixi's cheek twitched; he turned his head and smiled toward Jia Zhengfeng: "Vice Sect Master, he is a member of my Shi Family… Since I don't even know him, he's an insignificant nobody."

Jia Zhengfeng gave Wu Tie's long banner a thoughtful glance, then nodded slowly: "Oh? An insignificant person… somewhat interesting. Heh, we'll interrogate him later; first we'll deal with this reckless rebel."

Jia Zhengfeng raised both hands; the bloody gauntlets on his hands glowed with a faint light, two clusters of bloody flames rose up, matching the rolling blood clouds around him, bathing a radius of several hundred meters in scarlet. The air also carried a strong bloody smell that continually drifted.

"Bo Xi, Bo Xi… no matter what evil arts you use, external power remains external; you could never be my opponent." Jia Zhengfeng said in a deep voice: "Surrender, considering our past affection…"

Bo Xi dragged her heavy sword with both hands, stepping slowly toward Jia Zhengfeng.

Just now, when she and Jia Zhengfeng exchanged blows, at first she had gained a slight edge, even slicing his cheek with a sword, leaving a deep wound on his face.

But Jia Zhengfeng, without hesitation, swallowed the essence-blood of the four disciples; not only did his wounds instantly heal, but his power surged, and a single strike sent Bo Xi flying.

Considering himself to have an absolute advantage, Jia Zhengfeng immediately called for surrender.

"The ignorant know no fear." Bo Xi muttered coldly to herself, stepping closer until she stood beside Wu Tie.

Wu Tie stepped back a few paces again; he would absolutely not interfere in the fight between Jia Zhengfeng and Bo Xi. He still hadn't figured out what had happened; his mind was full of returning to Great Stone City to turn in the mission and then claim the lava grass he deserved.

Bo Xi suddenly halted, turned her head sideways, and gave Wu Tie, several meters away, an expressionless glance.

"Miss… hello? I'm not with them." Wu Tie gave a bright grin, opening his mouth to reveal two rows of pure white teeth.

He had clearly seen the Xuanbing Ice Armor on Bo Xi's body.

It was exactly the same kind of thing as the cold ice armor Guo Que Nu wore that day.

Moreover, through the transparent frost armor, one could see that Bo Xi's body was clean, not a thread of clothing on her.

Furthermore, recalling how Guo Que Nu had set aside her clothes before fighting that day, Wu Tie could guess with his buttocks that Bo Xi and Guo Que Nu were clearly allies.

Enemy!

Wu Tie instantly classified Bo Xi as an enemy.

But this enemy was clearly fighting the Changsheng Sect people… the Changsheng Sect were also enemies.

Two enemies fighting like dogs biting dogs; Wu Tie would absolutely not intervene.

He nodded to Bo Xi with a smile, shouting in his heart—"Hit! Beat them to death, dogs biting dogs, a mouthful of fur, nothing could be better!"

Bo Xi tilted her head, gave Wu Tie a cold glance, her eyes suddenly flashing with azure cold light as she stared deeply at his long banner: "Primeval, pollution source… must be purged."

Wu Tie's expression changed; he was about to shout when Bo Xi suddenly flickered, gripped her sword with both hands, and brought it down in a vertical strike.

Fast, indescribably fast.

The heavy sword tore the air; Bo Xi's speed far exceeded that of sound, she reached Wu Tie's front, the blade's edge nearly splitting his forehead, Wu Tie had not yet heard the sword's tearing through the air, nor even clearly seen her movement.

That single blow nearly beheaded Wu Tie.

Inside the small cage formed by the heart-protection mirror, the white egg suddenly trembled; a hazy white light flashed, Wu Tie's long banner rotated, a sheet of smoke rolled, within a radius of a hundred meters thick smoke billowed and cold wind rose, and Wu Tie suddenly shifted through empty space.

The next instant, Wu Tie found himself dazed a hundred meters away, he shook his head vigorously, still not recovered from the jolt of that instantaneous shift.

Just like that, inexplicably, he tore open space, directly crossing a hundred‑meter distance, from one point to another?

"This is..." Wu Tie looked at the banner in his hand, both surprised and delighted.

"What a treasure!" Wu Tie laughed more and more splendidly, he laughed splendidly, but his eyes were like an iceberg, coldly gazing at Boxi.

This woman, inexplicably, gave him a sword strike; if not for this white egg, he would already be dead!

Boxi's sword strike missed, and her icy face involuntarily showed an expression of astonishment.

With a "hiss", a sword scar as wide as a thumb and of unknown depth suddenly appeared on the ground where Wu Tie had been standing, extending backward nearly a hundred meters.

"An ancient treasure?" Jia Zhengfeng laughed, nodding satisfactorily: "It's an unexpected joy… this little brat, being an insignificant nobody, this treasure probably isn't his."

The Chief Steward laughed happily, fawningly smiling at Jia Zhengfeng: "Vice Sect Master is right; not to mention this treasure originally wasn't his, even if… it should be offered to you, Vice Sect Master. Only you are worthy of such a marvelous treasure."

The Chief Steward had muddled through life his whole life; his eyesight was naturally excellent.

Boxi's current strength is almost about to break through the Chonglou Realm, reaching above the Chonglou Realm.

The aura on Wu Tie's body clearly belongs to a Foundation Establishment realm brat.

Boxi's sword strike, the Chief Steward thought he could not dodge it; yet Wu Tie actually dodged.

This banner is naturally a fine treasure.

Jia Zhengfeng took a liking to it, and naturally would think of a way to get it for him.

The Chief Steward lightly waved his hand; the few Fog Blade masters beside him in black cloaks quickly merged into the surrounding vast mist.

Shixi blinked, looking at the Chief Steward then at the smiling Jia Zhengfeng, suddenly straightened his waist, pointed at Wu Tie and shouted sternly: "What's your name? What position do you hold in the Shi Family? Hmm? This treasure of yours looks so familiar to me—could it be something from the Shi Family's storehouse?"

Shixi strode toward Wu Tie, with dozens of elite warriors closely following behind him.

"Hand over that banner so I can have a look, hum… if you dare steal the Shi Family's secret treasure from our storehouse, I will surely flay your skin and pull out your tendons…"

Boxi's sword strike did not kill Wu Tie, and she furrowed her brows.

Looking at Jia Zhengfeng, then at Wu Tie, Boxi shook her head, pursed her red lips, and blew a sharp whistle.

Among the young men and women of the Changsheng Sect beside Jia Zhengfeng, two males and three females—five youths in total—simultaneously raised their heads, gazing deeply toward the dome.

In the next instant, five extremely thin blue lights fell straight down; the cold qi around Jia Zhengfeng surged, the five youths let out low, deep cries, their clothing exploded into scattering ice crystals, and cold light condensed on their bodies into exquisite sets of Xuanbing Ice Armor, while they also gained similarly ice‑condensed longswords in their hands.

Jia Zhengfeng let out an angry roar.

Before his very eyes, another five traitors!

Together with Boxi, that makes six… What made Jia Zhengfeng's heart race and anger flare was that these six traitors were not ordinary cultists who could be used at any time as human-shaped great tonic pills, but true elite disciples who had received the Changsheng Sect's inheritance.

Such elite disciples are not many even beside Jia Zhengfeng.

All of a sudden, six traitors appeared.

"You all deserve to die!"

Jia Zhengfeng hoarsely howled, launching an attack against the five traitors whose bodies were surging with cold qi.

Boxi turned her head, her gaze icy as she stared at Wu Tie. Her body suddenly moved—with a "swish" she appeared before Wu Tie, her heavy sword sweeping horizontally at the waist, the blade flashing with a vast cold light, instantly reaching Wu Tie's waist.

Wu Tie began to sway the banner as soon as Boxi blew the whistle.

As soon as Boxi moved, a great cloud of smoke rose from the ground; he stepped on the smoke and soared into the air, bringing a great gust of wind toward the top of the mine pit.

"Crazy woman, did I provoke you?" Wu Tie shouted sternly: "I don't have time to accompany your madness; go play by yourself."

Just as Wu Tie rose into the air, several cloaked figures suddenly appeared where he had been standing.

Several straight blades almost grazed Wu Tie's body as they swept past.

Wu Tie shot up into the sky, which clearly exceeded the expectations of the few Fog Blade masters; their ambush missed, but Boxi's longsword had already come down.

Several miserable cries rang out; three Fog Blade masters became Wu Tie's sacrificial substitutes, being cut in half at the waist by Boxi's sword.

The heavy sword spewed bone‑piercing cold; the wounds of the several Fog Blade masters were as smooth as ice mirrors, with not a drop of blood flowing out. The cold sealed their nerves, and they hardly felt any pain.

They watched helplessly as their bodies split into two, letting out hoarse, exhausted wails, terrified and rolling on the ground—a scene that was horrifying beyond description.

Wu Tie also broke out in a cold sweat from fright.

Boxi's strength was too great, her movements too fast; he could not clearly see her actions, nor could he possibly block her attacks.

He could only drive the banner to fly toward the mine's exit, fleeing at the utmost speed.

Old Tie was right—when you can't win, you run.

Fleeing for one's life, there's nothing shameful about it.

The banner was marvelously miraculous; Wu Tie's flight speed was extremely fast—within the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, he flew out from the depths of the mine pit, which was over ten li deep, and even crossed dozens of li to reach the place where he had entered the mine.

Then Wu Tie stayed there.

And the exit?

Where did the exit go?

Such a huge opening—how could it disappear?

The rock wall was smooth as a mirror, with no trace of that huge mine entrance.

Moreover, the rock wall bore faint, mysterious patterns that came and went, filled with a faint yellow glow.

Behind him came a piercing sound of tearing air; Boxi had already stepped onto a path of icy blue light, chasing after him like an arrow.