Chapter 204: Long Time No See

Lu Fang, frowning in thought, suddenly warned: “Bad! They’ve spotted us—leave immediately, run to the other side of the mountain!”

“Go!”

Jiang Yuan didn’t sense being detected, but she chose to trust Lu Fang.

Bei Tian and the Five Precepts Monk froze for a moment—and in that instant, several powerful demonic barbarians rose into the sky far off, staring directly at them.

The four turned simultaneously and fled in opposite directions.

Jiang Yuan was the fastest; Bei Tian and the Five Precepts Monk followed closely behind; Lu Fang did not rush, deliberately lagging at the rear to draw the demonic barbarians away.

Though they had only been together briefly, Jiang Yuan and the other two had won Lu Fang’s admiration, so when he could protect himself, he did his best to shield them from danger.

“Don’t worry about me—find a distant, hidden place to hide. Fang Young Master and I will join you shortly. If anything happens, use the message talisman—remember the secret code.”

Jiang Yuan glanced back, halted abruptly, as if waiting for Lu Fang at the rear.

Bei Tian frowned: “No. We either all run together, or we watch each other’s backs. If I and the Five Precepts Monk run first, word will spread—and we’ll be laughed at.”

The Five Precepts Monk grinned and chanted a Buddhist mantra: “Bei Tian is right. If we flee first, guilt will haunt us for life.”

“No time to waste.”

Lu Fang shouted, seeing more demonic barbarians closing in from behind. “Didn’t I say? By sheer luck, I’m fast.”

“Don’t worry about me—I can hold them off. All three of you ignore me. If you delay any longer, you’ll all die here. I have full confidence in my speed.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan and the other two did not flee at full speed.

Instead, they all maintained the same pace, as if sharing fortune and misfortune alike.

Seeing the three chatting and praising each other’s righteousness, Lu Fang rolled his eyes, then blurred into a streak of light and appeared beside Jiang Yuan and the others.

“You scared me!”

Jiang Yuan patted her chest. She knew Lu Fang was fast—she’d heard it—but seeing it firsthand left her stunned.

They’d been far apart—and yet he’d caught up in the blink of an eye?

That was absurd.

Bei Tian and the Five Precepts Monk were equally shocked. A sixth-rank, third-stage Confucian with such speed? Unthinkable.

“Three of you—this is a life-or-death escape. Take responsibility for your own lives,” Lu Fang said lightly, then vanished into the distance.

At this moment, Lu Fang could use the extraordinary speed of his Qimen Flying Armor while concealing it.

Almost instantly.

He disappeared from Jiang Yuan’s sight.

“Looks like we overthought it. If he wanted to run, he wouldn’t need our help,” Jiang Yuan sighed.

Bei Tian’s face darkened. He glanced back, frowning: “Bad. The demonic barbarians behind us are too fast. If this continues, they’ll catch up.”

The Five Precepts Monk solemnly said: “Split—three different directions!”

Jiang Yuan shook her head:

“No. Too many are chasing us. Even if we split up, it won’t help. Listen to me—don’t run toward Fang Young Master’s direction. Take another path. I’ll hold them back as long as I can.”

“I’ll hold the pursuers,” Bei Tian hesitated, then said.

The Five Precepts Monk sighed: “There’s no escape now. Let’s just….”

Before he could finish—

A mocking voice echoed from behind them: “Stop struggling. You won’t escape. Surrender now—I might consider sparing your lives.”

*Shing!*

Jiang Yuan drew her twin greatswords from her back, spun around, and locked her gaze on the sinister young man in purple robes, her battle aura blazing.

Fifth-rank, first-stage?

The young man looked young—yet she was startled: he wasn’t a demonic barbarian. He was human.

“A fifth-rank, first-stage Confucian?”

Jiang Yuan frowned. His realm was lower than hers—yet his pressure was overwhelming.

This was clearly abnormal.

If Lu Fang were still here, he’d recognize this old acquaintance: this man was Song Ce, possessed by a divine spirit.

“Die!”

Bei Tian, closest to Song Ce, sensed the pursuer was only a fifth-rank, first-stage Confucian. He punched forward with all his might.

Song Ce sneered. Facing the massive fist imprint, he stood motionless—the fist vanished a full zhang away.

Bei Tian’s eyes widened in disbelief.

But the next instant, a colossal force struck him—he spat blood and flew backward.

The Five Precepts Monk formed a Buddhist seal, absorbing part of the force. He growled: “This man is strange. His righteous qi is unusually strong for a fifth-rank, first-stage Confucian.”

“Don’t linger—escape is the priority,” Jiang Yuan flipped her wrist and slashed a ten-zhang-long sword qi at Song Ce.

It forced him back, halting his pursuit of Bei Tian.

“Trying to run?”

Song Ce smiled, about to toy with Jiang Yuan and the others—when a familiar voice rang out nearby: “Long time no see!”

“Who are you?”

Song Ce frowned at the bearded middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared. His perception had missed the man’s arrival—this startled him.

And the man’s tone suggested he knew Song Ce.

The bearded man was none other than Lu Fang, disguised by the Heaven-Concealing Transformation. Due to his transcendent power, no one could recognize him.

Lu Fang narrowed his eyes and unleashed the Power of Heaven and Earth—a silent force crushed Song Ce downward, as if a mountain pressed on his back.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Lu Fang coldly swept his gaze over Jiang Yuan and the others.

Jiang Yuan bowed to Lu Fang, then said to Bei Tian and the Five Precepts Monk: “Let’s go!”

When Lu Fang was present, she hadn’t known his true strength, so she stayed behind to cover him.

But now that she sensed the bearded man was a fourth-rank martial cultivator, she no longer hesitated—this elder clearly had the means to escape, and seemed to know that strange fifth-rank, first-stage Confucian.