Chapter 317: Chaotic Battle

Seeing the opponent trying to flee, the woman in black hurriedly put away the flower basket in her hand and chased after him, stepping through the air.

"Since you've come, fellow Daoist, why the rush to leave!"

The red flame cloud had only flown a short distance when a massive white sword suddenly appeared in front, blocking its path. The person wielding this white sword was none other than the old man in white who had previously intercepted the Foundation Establishment cultivators fleeing from the mountain.

This old man in white was named Fang Quan, the Golden Core cultivator of the Spirit Concealment Sect who had organized the siege of Green Ox Ridge.

Half a month ago, after discovering the hideout of Wu Wenlong's group, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Spirit Concealment Sect responsible for the investigation immediately reported the matter to this Golden Core Elder of their sect.

Seeing that so many skilled Foundation Establishment cultivators had gathered at Green Ox Ridge, Fang Quan guessed that they might be controlled by a Core Formation cultivator behind the scenes. After some deliberation, he personally went to the front line to invite another Golden Core cultivator, Li Yuxia, and together they devised this strategy of surrounding the point to strike the reinforcements.

After surrounding Green Ox Ridge for several days, the Core Formation cultivator behind the scenes finally could not sit still and charged out. The two who had been hiding nearby immediately appeared and surrounded him.

Seeing these two blocking him from front and back, the man in red's expression gradually turned grave; he no longer possessed the relaxed air he had when he first arrived.

In the distance, the three Golden Core cultivators had already begun to clash, and the Heaven Sea Alliance cultivators on Green Ox Ridge had also charged down the mountain, engaging in a melee with the Spirit Concealment Sect cultivators at the foot of the mountain.

"Everyone, don't get bogged down in the fight, retreat quickly!"

Seeing that the Spirit Concealment Sect had the numerical advantage, Wu Wenlong and his group did not choose to fight them head-on. Instead, they concentrated their strength to punch a hole through the Spirit Concealment Sect's defensive line and fled outward.

This breached gap was the very path the Golden Core man in red had broken through when he arrived. By the time the few Golden Core cultivators left, the Spirit Concealment Sect cultivators had not yet fully repaired the gap, and most of the Heaven Sea Alliance cultivators charged out through it.

"Quick! Stop them, don't let a single one escape!"

Seeing the opponent break through the encirclement that had been built with such difficulty, Wang Liangping, the leading Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Spirit Concealment Sect, was furious. While directing the cultivators present to quickly block the gap, he led his own Foundation Establishment cultivators to pursue the fleeing Wu Wenlong and the others.

This siege strategy had been personally set by the sect elders. He never expected that after being temporarily disrupted by the opponent's Golden Core cultivator, many people charging down the mountain would immediately exploit this loophole to escape. As the person responsible for coordinating this operation, Wang Liangping truly had grievances he couldn't voice. If they all escaped, he would have no way to answer to the sect elders later.

Hearing Wang Liangping's shout, Song Qingming and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators dared not slack off and hurriedly chased after Wu Wenlong and the others.

The Spirit Concealment Sect had over a dozen more Foundation Establishment cultivators than the opponent, plus hundreds of Qi Refining cultivators controlling arrays to pin them down. In a head-on battle, the opponent had no chance of winning. However, facing Wu Wenlong and his group who were single-mindedly fleeing after breaking the line, Song Qingming and the others had no good options and could only bite the bullet and pursue.

They were all Foundation Establishment cultivators; when the opponent was determined to flee, it was very difficult for cultivators of the same rank with similar strength to hold them back. Aside from fewer than ten people who were unlucky and were intercepted in time, the remaining twenty-plus Heaven Sea Alliance members escaped. Relying solely on the Foundation Establishment cultivators present to catch up with them was quite difficult.

Regardless of whether they could catch up, Song Qingming and the others had to do their best to pursue. After all, they were executing a combat mission under the watchful eyes of Golden Core cultivators. If they were found to be slacking off, it would be difficult to explain when they were held accountable later.

Eager to earn merit, Cao Rongxue had already taken out a jade tablet that could increase her escape speed and charged directly toward a slower, isolated cultivator. With her cultivation and divine abilities, once this person was caught, it would be difficult for them to escape.

Song Qingming had not practiced any special movement techniques, nor did he have spirit items like flying boats to increase his speed, so he simply chose a lower-cultivation opponent and chased after them.

Below, the Foundation Establishment cultivators had already begun a chaotic battle and pursuit, while in the sky, the three Core Formation cultivators had already fought dozens of rounds. Fortunately, they were all using their methods at high altitudes and did not affect the people below; otherwise, many of the cultivators present would have been dragged into it for no reason and lost their lives.

"You two, it seems today is truly my unlucky day, Liang. But if you think you can take me down without paying a price, you are thinking too simply." After a fierce collision, the man in red, who had already fallen into a disadvantage, looked viciously at the two surrounding him and sneered.

The Heaven Sea Alliance man in red was only at the third level of Core Formation. Now facing Fang Quan at the fifth level of Core Formation, with Li Yuxia at the second level of Core Formation assisting, no matter how the fight continued, his defeat was only a matter of time. He did not want to lose his life here and had been trying to force his way out, but unfortunately, the others had long seen through his intentions and were carefully guarding against him, giving him no chance to escape.

"The fellow Daoist is right. Junior Sister Li, it seems we should be more serious and stop holding back." After Fang Quan and Li Yuxia exchanged a glance, they both put away the contempt on their faces and became very serious.

Although they had the advantage in a two-on-one, Fang Quan and his companion knew that although the opponent was alone and weak, he had some divine abilities and was not an easy opponent to take down. Since the man in red had spoken to this extent, they had to give him enough respect.

"Good! This is the battle Liang wants. Fellow Daoists, bring out whatever divine abilities you have!"

Watching the two opponents' auras undergo a significant change and become serious, the man in red also let out a wild laugh, retracted all the red flame clouds that had been swirling around his body into a jade bottle in his hand, and revealed his true appearance, which he had been hiding all along.

Seeing the opponent voluntarily retract his flame clouds, the expressions of Fang Quan and his companion changed. Their eyes were already filled with a hint of killing intent, and both revealed their magic treasures, launching an even fiercer attack on the man in red than before.

Seeing the attacks from Fang Quan and Li Yuxia already upon him, the man in red, who had not yet reacted, suddenly flashed a look of determination in his eyes, then threw the jade bottle he had been clutching tightly into the air.

The jade bottle suddenly grew several times larger in the air, and then began to emit clusters of red lightning. Upon contact with the outside air, the lightning made a terrifying sizzling sound.

"This is... Not good! Junior Sister Li, dodge quickly!"