Chapter 368: Escape

Zanpu Dunzhu's entire body stiffened; his expression was one of astonishment, his hands trembling as he let go of Yang Simin and staggered back a few steps.

Yang Simin fell forward, but Chen Che was quick-witted and fast-handed; he took a step forward, caught Yang Simin, quickly laid her flat, inserted Ghost Gate Needles around the wound, and pulled out the Black Rod.

The sequence of movements was smooth and flowing, completed almost in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, Xie Wanning, Lv Hong, and the others swarmed forward, intending to surround and attack Zanpu Dunzhu, but they all stopped their attacks simultaneously by unspoken agreement.

Because, Zanpu Dunzhu... was crying!

To be precise, it was Adili who was crying.

Adili's expression was by turns fearful, flustered, and then hideously ferocious.

Everyone present could see that the consciousness of Adili, who had been left in the corner, was returning and fighting against Zanpu Dunzhu.

"Get out! Get out! Stop controlling me! Stop controlling me!"

Adili grabbed his hair with both hands and pulled hard, black Qi swirling around his body like a thick fog.

"Hahahaha..."

"Get out! Get out!"

Adili alternated between manic laughter and fearful wailing as the two wills engaged in a fierce struggle.

"Leiji, my child, do not resist anymore; give your body to me! You belong to me!"

"No! I don't! I am Adili, not Leiji, I am not!"

Adili's expression kept changing; different words and voices came from the same mouth, appearing so terrifying and insane.

"What are you all waiting for? Take this chance, kill him!"

Xie Wanning let out a sharp cry and was the first to rush forward.

Adili's face changed abruptly; his right side instantly shifted into Zanpu Dunzhu's sinister expression, and black Qi solidified between his right hand, stabbing toward the oncoming Xie Wanning.

"Clang~~"

The Black Rod collided with True Qi; Xie Wanning's body jolted, and she retreated.

After this battle, everyone was injured, and at this moment, their strength was no longer at its peak.

Even though Adili himself was in the Grandmaster Realm, with Zanpu Dunzhu possessing him, he was even stronger by a few degrees.

In Xie Wanning's current state, she could not get close alone; only by everyone attacking together could they successfully kill Zanpu Dunzhu, especially since the power of the four Elder-level Heavenly Masters like Lv Hong was required.

Alas, the four elders could not bring themselves to strike at this moment.

The enemy before them was not just Zanpu Dunzhu, but also a child of the Taiyi Sect, Adili.

Moreover, Adili was struggling hard against Zanpu Dunzhu's control; in such a situation, how could they possibly bring themselves to strike!

"Now is not the time for soft-heartedness, hurry! Otherwise, if he runs away, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Xie Wanning was burning with anxiety and shouted at the people of the Taiyi Sect.

"Master!"

Adili suddenly shouted, and Second Elder Shi Ning's body jolted.

"Master... Elder... do it!"

Adili knelt on the ground, his left hand covering his head as he slammed it hard against the floor; his left face and right face were one bright and one dark, one side filled with grief, the other with ferocity.

"Do you really have the heart to kill your own disciple?"

Zanpu Dunzhu let out a mocking sneer, "But he is such a good child of your Taiyi Sect..."

Second Elder Shi Ning's face turned livid, and he gritted his teeth, clearly undergoing a painful choice.

"Puchi!"

Everyone was stunned.

Chen Che appeared in front of Adili, his sharp hand-blade slashing upward at a forty-five-degree angle, cutting open Adili's chest.

Blood flowed like a pillar, and Adili, with his right face turned downward, collapsed to the ground.

"Cough... cough..."

Adili's body twitched; his left eye fixed on Chen Che, and he whispered, "Sect Master..."

Chen Che panted heavily, his expression filled with pity: "Adili, you did well; the Taiyi Sect is proud of you."

A tear slid from the corner of his left eye; Adili curled his lips, smiled, and slowly closed his eyes.

"Adili..."

Second Elder Shi Ning shed tears of grief and walked forward slowly.

"Puchi!"

Everyone's eyes widened once more.

"Sect Master!"

Just as Chen Che let out a sigh of relief, he felt a sharp pain in his chest; Adili's right hand, gripping the Black Rod, had risen and pierced through Chen Che's chest.

Adili lifted his head at this moment; his left face had gone slack, but his right face revealed a ferocious grin.

"Zanpu Dunzhu..."

Chen Che gritted his teeth and stared at that ferocious face, raising his arm to strike with a palm, but he was already exhausted, and having forced his power just now, the palm strike had no force at all, as soft as cotton.

"It's not bad to have you as a cushion."

Zanpu Dunzhu sneered, the Black Rod continuing to drive into Chen Che's chest, the tip protruding from his back, fresh red blood spilling out, a shocking sight.

"Save him, quickly!"

Xie Wanning let out a loud roar and was the first to rush forward; Lv Hong and the other three elders also did not hesitate for a second, charging up together.

However, a change occurred once again.

Adili's previously closed left eye opened again, his left hand rising to push Chen Che away with force.

Xie Wanning and the others caught Chen Che at the first opportunity, while Adili retreated a few steps at this moment.

"Leiji, you..."

Zanpu Dunzhu controlled the right side of the body, his right eyeball glancing to the left, while Adili controlled the left side and also looked over.

"I said it, don't even think about controlling me again. I must hold fast to my original heart; I cannot let Master... let everyone... let Sect Master... down!!!"

Adili shouted, his left hand snatching the Black Rod from his right hand, and he violently stabbed it toward his throat.

"Squish!"

The Black Rod pierced through the windpipe; Zanpu Dunzhu revealed a look of pain, while Adili felt a sense of relief.

"Thud!"

Adili collapsed to the ground, fresh blood spreading across the floor.

Lv Hong flashed forward, vigilantly checking the situation, then looked up and shook his head at the crowd: "Dead."

For a moment, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Second Elder Shi Ning walked slowly to the side of his disciple's corpse, held it in his arms, and gazed at it in silence.

Chen Che coughed up a mouthful of blood, and Xie Wanning supported him, asking worriedly: "How are you?"

Chen Che shook his head: "It didn't hit a vital point."

Chen Che turned his head to look at Yang Simin, whom Tang Yue was helping to look after; her injuries were much heavier than his own, and the healing process from just now had been interrupted, so it had to be continued as soon as possible.

Xie Wanning supported Chen Che as they walked toward Yang Simin, but Chen Che suddenly froze at this moment, stopping his steps.

"What's wrong?" Xie Wanning became inexplicably nervous.

Chen Che frowned and looked at the ground.

The black Qi that had originally been coiled around Adili's body had not dissipated, but was instead clinging to the ground, slowly drifting toward Zanpu Dunzhu's corpse.

In an instant, memories flooded back, and Chen Che recalled a sentence Zanpu Dunzhu had said when he was controlling Adili:

"This body indeed cannot satisfy me, and my own body still needs a little time, but it doesn't matter."

"Crack!"

The fragments of memory shattered, and an ominous premonition surged into his heart.

Chen Che's expression turned fierce in an instant; he pushed Xie Wanning away, a Lightning Spear condensed between the palms of his right hand, and amidst the surprised expressions of the crowd, he lunged toward Zanpu Dunzhu's corpse.

"Puff!"

The dead Zanpu Dunzhu had revived once again; he clearly had not expected to be seen through by Chen Che, and facing Chen Che's swift and violent attack, he hurriedly stood up and raised his arm to block.

The Lightning Spear pierced through Zanpu Dunzhu's right forearm and stabbed into his right shoulder; with a flick of the spearhead, the entire right arm flew away from his body.

Zanpu Dunzhu spat out a mouthful of blood but did not stop; at this very moment, he understood the principle of a gecko severing its tail or a brave man severing his wrist, and with a flash of his figure, he fled toward the foot of Luoxia Mountain.

Chen Che was just about to pursue, but his vision went black, and he staggered, nearly falling over.

Xie Wanning rushed over and hurriedly supported him; Chen Che clutched his chest, unable to spare the time to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said: "Go after him! His body has just recovered, and his current cultivation is at most at the Earth Master Realm. Go quickly, you absolutely cannot let him run away!"

Although Lv Hong and the others did not yet know exactly what had happened, since Zanpu Dunzhu was not dead, the consequences of him escaping would be unimaginable.

Without hesitation, everyone from the Taiyi Sect who was still able to move followed Chen Che's orders and pursued Zanpu Dunzhu.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Xie Wanning asked with a face full of confusion.

"Just like in Ansili, it is merely Zanpu Dunzhu's method of faking his death. It's just that his physical body suffered heavy damage, which is why he transferred his consciousness into Adili, but not to save his life—rather, it was to steal Adili's life force to use for restoring his own body."

Chen Che slowly stood up and returned to Yang Simin's side, continuing to use the Ghost Gate Needle to help treat her.

"Although I interrupted it and he couldn't recover to his peak strength, he still survived again. I hope the Great Elder and the others can catch him."

"This bastard is really difficult to deal with; we cannot let him run away," Xie Wanning said viciously.

"Puff!"

Chen Che spat out another mouthful of blood, and Xie Wanning was startled, hurriedly saying: "You are too heavily injured, rest for a moment first."

Chen Che shook his head: "The Black Rod pierced Yang Simin's dantian; I must restore her dantian, otherwise she will die."

"But if you continue like this, you will die too!" Xie Wanning shouted.

Chen Che did not speak again, but endured the intense pain in his body and continued to focus on treating Yang Simin.

Chen Che suddenly tilted his head in surprise, discovering that Yang Simin had woken up at some point; she was squinting her eyes, her face pale, clearly still very weak.

Yet she trembled and slowly raised her arm, lightly touching Chen Che's cheek; a hot drop of water fell onto her fingertip, shimmering with a crystalline light.

Perhaps it was sweat? Chen Che did not pay attention and did not think much of it, just silently watching Yang Simin.

Yang Simin felt the temperature of the water drop on her fingertip and smiled slightly, both sweet and satisfied: "So... if I died... you would cry for me... Big... Brother..."

This sentence was very light and weak, just like sleep-talking.

Chen Che did not hear it, and Yang Simin no longer had the strength to say it again; her breathing grew weaker and weaker, and finally, she closed her eyes in contentment.

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