Chapter 656

Although Chen Chen Zifeng's cultivation base was still stuck at the peak of the sixth level of Core Formation, he was one of the most formidable among the many Core Formation cultivators in the Profound Puppet Sect when it came to combat ability.

Especially when paired with the late-stage Core Formation "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" he had spent years cultivating, his strength was not the least bit inferior to an average late-stage Core Formation cultivator.

It was precisely because he held this highly powerful "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" as his greatest reliance that Chen Chen Zifeng was so confident in his battle against Song Song Qingming, never once feeling that the other party had the ability to escape from his grasp.

As for Song Song Qingming's side, while he could barely hold his own against Chen Chen Zifeng by relying on his own combat skills, "Jin Feng," whose cultivation was only at the peak of the first level of Core Formation, was truly outmatched when facing the opponent's late-stage Core Formation "Black Armored Corpse Puppet."

After only a few dozen exchanges, "Jin Feng" had already been sent flying backward multiple times by the opponent, and a large hole had been drilled into one of its legs by the opponent's magic treasure; the sight was truly gruesome.

Fortunately, damage to a corpse puppet's physical body did not significantly affect its combat effectiveness. Although "Jin Feng" was currently in a sorry state, it could still barely help Song Song Qingming hold off the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet," preventing him from being completely surrounded by the opponent.

However, Li Mu was already showing signs of defeat and likely could not hold on for much longer. There was no word on the situation of the fleeing Daoist Cui, and the other two Core Formation cultivators who had gone in pursuit could return to provide support at any moment.

The opportunities and time left for Song Song Qingming were indeed running out.

Seeing the urgency of the situation, Song Song Qingming had no other choice; he had to go all out to see if he could repel the opponent first and carve out a path to survival for himself.

Having made up his mind, Song Song Qingming put away the "Ink White Sword" in his hand and took out a pair of palm-sized golden ring magic treasures, directly casting a spell to bind them onto the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" that was currently entangled with "Jin Feng" not far away.

This sudden restraint of the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" caused the pressure on "Jin Feng" to drop sharply, and having been beaten into a steady retreat, he finally managed to stabilize his stance.

"A Tier 3 superior magic treasure? You actually possess a spiritual object of this level? Hehe, I truly underestimated you."

Seeing the golden ring magic treasure Song Song Qingming had unleashed, a trace of surprise flickered across Chen Chen Zifeng's face, which immediately transformed into a look of greedy delight.

As a Core Formation Elder of a Nascent Soul sect like the Profound Puppet Sect, Chen Chen Zifeng did not yet possess a single Tier 3 superior magic treasure. He had not expected that a wandering cultivator like Song Song Qingming would possess an item of this caliber.

However, although this golden ring could control the late-stage Core Formation "Black Armored Corpse Puppet," it could not hold for very long; it could only temporarily trap the opponent for Song Song Qingming.

During this period, although Chen Chen Zifeng would have to face Song Song Qingming alone, the opponent's cultivation was a level lower than his own, and in terms of direct combat strength, he was not stronger than himself. Song Song Qingming was well aware of this.

Years ago, after obtaining the relics left behind by Zhao Zhao Jibai in the outer East Sea, Song Song Qingming had quickly refined and used the two Tier 3 superior magic treasures he found. The "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" he had just used to deal with Chen Chen Zifeng's "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" was one of them.

This Tier 3 superior magic treasure not only had powerful offensive capabilities but could also change form to bind enemies, which was somewhat similar to the divine ability of Song Song Qingming's natal magic treasure, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror."

Borrowing the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" in his hand to temporarily trap the opponent's "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" and resolving his immediate worries,

Song Song Qingming raised his hand and summoned his natal magic treasure, the "Five-Colored Divine Light Mirror," releasing several beams of five-colored divine light toward Chen Chen Zifeng not far away. He began to shift from defense to offense, actively charging toward where Chen Chen Zifeng was located.

Knowing that Song Song Qingming wanted to end the battle quickly and escape, Chen Chen Zifeng was not in a hurry. With a faint smile, he took out a Tier 3 middle-grade silver orb magic treasure, which transformed into two light shields that easily blocked Song Song Qingming's attack.

This silver orb was his most powerful defensive magic treasure. Since obtaining it, it had helped Chen Chen Zifeng turn danger into safety many times over the years, allowing him to hold his own even against average late-stage Core Formation experts.

The offensive capability of Song Song Qingming's natal "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" was mediocre to begin with; even after unleashing his full-strength attack, he still had no effective way to deal with this silver orb magic treasure.

Seeing that a frontal assault was ineffective, Song Song Qingming quickly retracted the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" controlling the Black Armored Corpse Puppet, wanting to change direction and escape. However, Chen Chen Zifeng, who had been prepared, immediately entangled him again, intending to intercept Song Song Qingming.

"Hmph! Fellow Daoist, where do you think you're going?"

Having only escaped a few hundred zhang away, Chen Chen Zifeng, who had already caught up to the side, held a flying sword and rapidly unleashed several sword beams, slashing toward the path in front of Song Song Qingming.

Behind him, the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet," having just broken free, also struck "Jin Feng" aside with a single punch and chased after Song Song Qingming.

Watching the opponent close in from front and back, Song Song Qingming, who appeared to be in a desperate situation with no options left, did not panic; the expression on his face remained extremely calm.

With a flash, he first dodged the opponent's fierce strike, then once again utilized the "Jiugong Meteor Evasion," boosting his escape speed to flee in a different direction.

Seeing that Song Song Qingming still refused to give up and wanted to rely on his evasion speed to shake off his entanglement, Chen Chen Zifeng smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth and immediately commanded the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" to transform into a black streak of light, chasing toward the front of Song Song Qingming.

Relying on the "Jiugong Meteor Evasion," Song Song Qingming could briefly outpace Chen Chen Zifeng, whose evasion speed was average.

But the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" in his hand had also cultivated a powerful evasion divine ability. After chasing for only five or six li, it flashed and arrived at Song Song Qingming's side.

However, just as it prepared to intercept the fleeing Song Song Qingming with a single strike, Song Song Qingming voluntarily stopped his movement and once again released the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" to trap the opponent.

Immediately following this, another crimson talisman appeared in Song Song Qingming's hand, and he began to frantically inject his spiritual power into it.

"This is... a Tier 3 superior talisman! Not good, dodge quickly!"

Chen Chen Zifeng, who was still rushing over with all his might from the rear, saw the crimson talisman in Song Song Qingming's hand and his expression changed instantly. He immediately accelerated his evasion speed, rushing forward to prevent Song Song Qingming from using this talisman.

The Tier 3 superior crimson talisman in Song Song Qingming's hand had been gifted to him for self-defense by Senior Feng He back when they were on their way to the "Donghuang Kingdom" cultivation world, just in case.

Later, when Senior Feng He successfully broke through to the Nascent Soul stage and Song Song Qingming parted ways with him, Song Song Qingming had wanted to return the talisman. However, Senior Feng He, now a Nascent Soul cultivator, had directly refused Song Song Qingming's idea of returning it, which was why it had remained in his possession.

Song Song Qingming, currently casting the spell, naturally saw Chen Chen Zifeng rushing toward him at full speed and immediately commanded "Jin Feng" to step forward and intercept the opponent.

However, it was certainly difficult for the already injured "Jin Feng" to stop Chen Chen Zifeng, who had a cultivation base of the sixth level of Core Formation.

Moreover, at the same time, thousands of colorful golden-armored butterflies suddenly flew out from Song Song Qingming's side, heading straight for the approaching Chen Chen Zifeng, which finally helped "Jin Feng" entangle the opponent.

Blocked by the "Golden Illusion Butterflies" and "Jin Feng" summoned by Song Song Qingming, Chen Chen Zifeng, unable to rush over for the moment, saw the situation and immediately manipulated the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" in the distance to dodge Song Song Qingming's talisman attack.

Although the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" had bound its limbs, making it unable to attack the opponent for the moment, the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" could still move freely and had a chance to rely on its powerful evasion speed to dodge Song Song Qingming's subsequent attack.

However, just as it made its move, a dazzling light flashed before it, and a large swarm of colorful flying butterflies appeared all around, firmly surrounding it.

Facing the overwhelming entanglement of the "Golden Illusion Butterflies," the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" could not distinguish direction for a moment and could only dodge the attacks of these "fierce spirit insects" in place.

These "Golden Illusion Butterflies" were all released by Song Song Qingming in advance, prepared specifically to deal with it.

Although the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" had a formidable physical body, it lacked independent consciousness, and its spiritual sense was relatively weak, making it very difficult to deal with such illusion attacks.

As someone who had also possessed a Core Formation "Corpse Puppet" for many years, Song Song Qingming naturally knew this weakness of "corpse puppets." Without Chen Chen Zifeng's assistance on the side, it was absolutely impossible for it to shake off the entanglement of these "Golden Illusion Butterflies" in a short time on its own.

After the previous entanglement, the reason Song Song Qingming suddenly chose to flee with all his might was not only to make Chen Chen Zifeng lower his guard but also to maximize the distance between him and this "Black Armored Corpse Puppet."

In just a moment, the Tier 3 superior crimson talisman in Song Song Qingming's hand was ready, transforming into a fierce white tiger.

"Go!"

With a cold gaze fixed ahead, Song Song Qingming spat out the word firmly. The white tiger, which had been poised and ready, kicked off the ground and immediately transformed into a streak of white light, rushing rapidly toward the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" not far away.

Accompanied by a fierce, roaring sound of a tiger, the white tiger, which had already arrived above the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet," opened its giant maw and swallowed it, along with a group of "Golden Illusion Butterflies" beside it, into its belly.

Immediately following a flash of white light, the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet," now reduced to only half a corpse, fell from mid-air.

Seeing the success of his strike, Song Song Qingming's face immediately lit up with joy. He decisively put away all his magic treasures and spirit insects, quickly waved his hand to deploy the "Phantom Boat," took "Jin Feng," who had already returned to his side, and abandoned Chen Chen Zifeng to flee into the distance.

"You brute, how dare you destroy my corpse puppet! You truly deserve to die!" Just after Song Song Qingming left, Chen Chen Zifeng, who had caught up to the side, put away the remaining half of the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet." With a fierce look, he glanced at Song Song Qingming, who had already turned into a streak of white light in the distance, and immediately took out a flying boat magic tool, chasing after Song Song Qingming at full speed.

Seeing Chen Chen Zifeng in hot pursuit behind him, Song Song Qingming was not surprised. He had just destroyed the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" that the opponent had painstakingly cultivated for years; no one would choose to let him off easily.

However, Chen Chen Zifeng's evasion speed was average and it was difficult for him to catch up to him in a short time like that "Black Armored Corpse Puppet." Song Song Qingming was not worried about this point.

The reason Song Song Qingming chose to use the Tier 3 superior talisman on the opponent's "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" was not only because the opponent was clumsy and easier to hit, but also for this very reason.

Now, without the entanglement of the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet," Song Song Qingming only needed to rely on his evasion speed to shake off the opponent and find a place to hide for a few days, and he should be able to safely leave this Demon-Sealing Valley.

The two of them, one in front and one behind, soon fled over a thousand li away. Chen Chen Zifeng, whose spiritual power consumption was too great, finally found it difficult to maintain full-speed travel, and his evasion speed slowly dropped. Song Song Qingming took this opportunity to slowly widen the distance between them.

Seeing Song Song Qingming, who was fully manipulating the "Phantom Boat" ahead, maintain his evasion speed without any sign of slowing down, a trace of doubt slowly surfaced on Chen Chen Zifeng's face.

Logically speaking, Song Song Qingming's cultivation was clearly lower than his own, and having just consumed a large amount of spiritual power to use a Tier 3 superior talisman, his spiritual power should have been exhausted earlier than his own.

Yet, Song Song Qingming, who was right before Chen Chen Zifeng's eyes, not only showed no signs of slowing down but occasionally used the "Jiugong Meteor Evasion" to widen the distance between them. It was clear that the spiritual power within his body was still very abundant.

After running for over an hour, Song Song Qingming, knowing he had shaken off the opponent after not seeing Chen Chen Zifeng's figure for a long time, put away a small porcelain bottle in his hand and turned his light to fly toward a high mountain below.

After landing in a forest at the foot of the mountain peak, Song Song Qingming hurriedly took out two middle-grade spirit stones and began to meditate to quickly recover his spiritual power.

Having previously used a Tier 3 superior talisman, Song Song Qingming had consumed more than half of the spiritual power in his body in an instant.

The reason he was able to shake off the opponent's pursuit was not because his spiritual power truly exceeded the opponent's by much, but mainly because he carried the relatively rare spiritual object, Millennium Spirit Milk, which could help him quickly replenish his consumed spiritual power.

Although Chen Chen Zifeng had much more spiritual power remaining in his body when he was pursuing him, he did not carry many spirit pills for recovering spiritual power, so naturally, he could not compete with Song Song Qingming in this regard.

After meditating in place for nearly half an hour, the two spirit stones in Song Song Qingming's hand had turned into a pile of powder. Having recovered most of the spiritual power in his body, he finally stood up.

"It was hard enough to go out with someone, I never expected to encounter such a thing. This time, I really had a stroke of bad luck and suffered a huge loss!"

In the previous battle, in order to escape from the opponent's hands, Song Song Qingming not only used the Tier 3 superior talisman that Senior Feng He had given him for protection, but because the power of that talisman was too great, he also lost dozens of spirit insects that had been surrounding the "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" for nothing.

Fortunately, after activating the talisman, Song Song Qingming had timely retracted the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring"; otherwise, if this precious Tier 3 superior magic treasure had been damaged, Song Song Qingming would have felt heartbroken for a long time.

But it was a helpless move. Chen Chen Zifeng's strength was not weak to begin with, and combined with the powerful "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" he possessed, his true strength was already equivalent to that of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator.

If he hadn't decisively used that Tier 3 superior talisman to destroy the difficult late-stage Core Formation "Black Armored Corpse Puppet" in Chen Chen Zifeng's hand, it would have been extremely difficult for Song Song Qingming, with his own strength, to escape from the opponent's hands so quickly.

Fortunately, the opponent had been somewhat contemptuous from the start and had underestimated Song Song Qingming's strength, never expecting that a wandering cultivator like him would possess so many powerful magic treasures and talismans. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for Song Song Qingming to succeed in one strike and quickly escape the dangerous situation.

After sighing softly in place, Song Song Qingming observed the surrounding environment and felt that this small mountain, situated among a group of mountains, was very inconspicuous, and there was no spiritual energy on the mountain, making it a good place to hide.

After finding a slope on the mountainside, Song Song Qingming reached out and threw out four formation flags, inserting them all around, and only after setting up a high-grade concealment formation did he hide inside.

Now that so much time had passed, Li Mu and Daoist Cui, facing the pursuit of the few from the "Profound Puppet Sect," were likely in grave danger, and the opponent should now be starting to search everywhere for himself, the one who had slipped through the net.

If Song Song Qingming were to rashly appear and flee now, there was a high probability that he would run straight into them. The only plan now was to pin his hopes on the formation before him, hoping it could help him evade the opponent's search.

Moreover, this "Demon-Sealing Valley" was, after all, a dangerous place, and those from the "Profound Puppet Sect" certainly wouldn't dare to stay here for too long. As long as he patiently hid here for a period of time, Song Song Qingming would certainly have a chance to escape this place safely.

Just as Song Song Qingming was sitting patiently in the formation meditating, a streak of light suddenly flew from the distant horizon, heading straight for the small mountain where he was located. This immediately made Song Song Qingming frown.

"Damn it, could it be that I've been discovered by them!"

Just as Song Song Qingming was staring intently at the streak of light in the distance with a grave expression, a massive, dark cloud suddenly emerged from not far behind the light, following closely behind it as if it were chasing the person desperately.

After the light approached much closer, Song Song Qingming finally saw clearly that it was not the few from the "Profound Puppet Sect" he had imagined, but Li Mu, who had parted ways with Song Song Qingming not long ago.

However, he was currently in a rather sorry state, the light of his evasion flickering on and off, as if his spiritual power was about to be exhausted.

And the massive dark cloud not far behind him was not what Song Song Qingming had imagined, but the effect formed by a group of countless black birds gathered together.

Seeing Li Mu being chased so miserably by that group of black birds, Song Song Qingming also knew that these things were definitely not easy to deal with, and he did not want to go out and meddle in other people's business.

However, what made Song Song Qingming somewhat helpless was that Li Mu had not been passing by this place from the moment he appeared, but had headed straight for the location where he was, clearly knowing that Song Song Qingming was currently hiding here.

Under these circumstances, even if Song Song Qingming wanted to ignore the other party and stay out of it, it would be very difficult to do so.

Sure enough, when Li Mu approached the mountainside where Song Song Qingming was located, a voice transmission had already entered Song Song Qingming's ears first.

"Fellow Daoist Song, I have encountered a disaster today. I ask that you please lend a helping hand. I will certainly repay this life-saving grace heavily in the future!"

Just as Li Mu's voice fell, a figure in green flashed from below the slope to his side, grabbed him, and accelerated his evasion speed to return to the mountainside.

After bringing Li Mu back into the formation he had set up, Song Song Qingming immediately cast a spell to rapidly activate the great formation, concealing their figures before turning to look at the dark cloud not far away that was already close to this place.

Although the concealment formation he had set up was very profound and sufficient to evade the search of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator from a hundred zhang away, this was the first time Song Song Qingming had encountered these black birds, and he did not have 100% certainty in his heart whether he could evade them.

"Fellow Daoist Song, these Black Demon Crows are just relatively low-level demonic beasts, with the highest cultivation being only at the late stage of Qi Refining. They should not be able to see through this formation, so don't worry!"

"No wonder these demonic beasts have such heavy demonic energy. I never expected that there would be such a large-scale existence of demonic beasts inside this Demon-Sealing Valley?" After hearing Li Mu's explanation, a trace of fear surfaced in Song Song Qingming's eyes as he looked at those Black Demon Crows.

So-called demonic beasts were a special type of demonic beast formed by the mutation of ordinary demonic beasts after being contaminated by demonic energy.

Unlike those ordinary demonic beasts, these mutated demonic beasts were extremely bloodthirsty and crazy. Whether it was human cultivators or demonic beasts, they would be attacked crazily until they died or were destroyed. They could be considered...

With at least ten thousand of these Black Demon Crows before them, let alone Song Song Qingming and Li Mu, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would likely have a headache if they encountered them head-on.

If the Black Demon Crows really discovered their hiding place, this would be even more dangerous for them than facing the few from the "Profound Puppet Sect."

Just as Song Song Qingming's expression was tense, that group of Black Demon Crows had already flown over their heads and arrived at this inconspicuous small mountain.

Upon arriving here, having suddenly lost their tracking target, those Black Demon Crows immediately began to scurry around this small mountain like headless flies.

Although it was certain that the great formation had completely masked the aura of the two of them, Song Song Qingming still felt a little nervous in his heart, worried that these Black Demon Crows would accidentally discover this formation hidden in the forest.

After all, the number of these Black Demon Crows was truly too large. If they all really landed in the forest, there would still be some probability that they would discover their hiding place.

But fortunately, the two of them were quite lucky. Most of these Black Demon Crows only searched at high altitude and not many landed in the forest. After searching for a while, they gathered into a group again, transformed into a dark cloud, and moved away from this place.

"We are finally safe this time. Fellow Daoist Li, how did you find my hiding place?"

Song Song Qingming, whose gaze was still fixed on the dark cloud in the distance, asked a question, but seeing that Li Mu behind him had not responded to him, he turned around and discovered that he had already collapsed on the ground and fallen into a coma. (End of chapter)