Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Escape to the Red Fortress

“Junior Brother, how many times have I told you not to be so clever!” A voice came from the Black Fortress pulled by the dragon-horned turtles. “Do you think mentioning that a large group of cultivators follows Zhenglun will lead me to him for a chaotic fight? In the Zheng lineage, only one can rise, and the competition is fierce, but it’s not at the final moment yet. Perhaps you should quickly advance to Bosa. Then Zhenglun, I, and Zheng Hong can jointly eliminate you!”

“Brother, you’re joking. I don’t have the fortune to advance to Bosa!” Hongmo Zhengfang was alarmed at the unexpected appearance of the other party.

“Oh? Isn’t your old man the one who advanced from Condensed Essence to Bosa on Wan Nest Island many years ago? Hahaha, my old man happens to know some clues. After much speculation, he believes the opportunity for my advancement to Bosa lies with you, Junior Brother.” The laughter concealed a sinister chill, and a rumble echoed ominously in his ears.

The Li Family cultivators, who had just broken through the formations, had somehow surrounded Hongmo Zhengfang and Qian Qiu Yue.

As for Li Hui, Chef Zhao, and Huo Qiniang, they were completely ignored. After scanning them with their spiritual sense, they found them to be mere Gather Spirit practitioners, not worth paying attention to. Today, they had to capture Hongmo Zhengfang to seize the opportunity.

“Junior Brother, go first.” Qian Qiu Yue secretly transmitted her voice as Li Hui stepped back to grab Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang.

“Damn you, Hongmo Zhenglin!” Hongmo Zhengfang cursed loudly and then looked tearfully at Qian Qiu Yue, “Boss, can you give me what I need now? My life…”

“Boom, boom, boom…” The Condensed Essence Stage practitioners began their attack, and the flames lit up the sky. Hongmo Zhengfang and Qian Qiu Yue plunged into a fierce battle, their magical artifacts erupting in brilliance.

Li Hui retreated a step further, his form quickly twisting as Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang vanished alongside him.

“Eh?” A light voice came from the Black Fortress, which then commanded, “Send some beastmen over there; that little brat just passed through several formations and escaped. Zhengfang wouldn’t randomly take along a low-level practitioner; there must be something going on. Bring him back to me!”

“Yes!” The Li Family cultivator complied.

Not long after, several hundred stout, rock-like beasts with interspersed teeth let out terrifying howls as they burst forth from the Black Fortress. One cultivator raised his hand to capture a scent and then flicked it towards the lead beast’s nose. The beast pack then locked onto the direction and charged, finding many formations inexplicably invisible to them.

Li Hui had a clear goal and dashed toward the eastern dark red fortress.

Although Hongmo Zhengfang hadn’t specified which red fortress could lead to the purple fortress, through more interactions, Li Hui noticed a unique habit of this guy: he would unconsciously raise his chin while speaking.

What if the Condensed Essence Stage practitioner didn’t matter? Some seemingly insignificant habits could be more deeply rooted.

He raised his chin four times while speaking, which indicated that an action was about to unfold, suggesting that the red fortress was nearby. Analyzing his speaking posture, the probability was high that the eastern dark red fortress led to the purple fortress.

Li Hui, while promoting in the Jade Symbol Sect, was skilled at intuitively interpreting the thoughts of his Senior and Junior Sisters based on their every movement. Over time, he formed a kind of instinct, observing people in detail, especially the subtle movements, to infer their intentions.

“Boss, did you hear that sound?” Chef Zhao grinned, feeling like he was being gripped as if in a vice.

“Something powerful is chasing us.” Li Hui frowned slightly, his legs suddenly misting over as a mysterious arc rose behind him.

Ahead, the ground and sky were filled with large and small formations, all exceptionally beautiful, with the small ones resembling carved jade bi and the larger ones resembling partition walls. In the next moment, the figures of the three blurred and then appeared among the dense array of halos, red smoke rising beneath them to shred any intruders, and once again, their figures vanished.

For the first time, the Ideal Body revealed its miracles in front of others. Li Hui, taking two living people with him, forced his way through the restrictions. Despite the abundant formations, they couldn’t find any way to stop him; he was extraordinarily unimaginable.

Once again, a voice echoed from within the Black Fortress: “There is indeed some skill; send a few Condensed Essence Stage practitioners over. Don’t let this little rat slip away.”

“Understood!” Four figures soared into the air, shattering large numbers of arch-shaped formations, and pursued Li Hui along the direction he departed.

“Opportunity! Opportunity!” A light sigh came from the Black Fortress, “If I don’t seize this chance, how will I remain in the sect in the future? Zhenglun and I have agreed to take everything Zhengfang possesses during this trial. Who would expect a delay of ten days? What a useless and incompetent fool! To punish you for making me wait, I will use the most delightful tools; tardiness is an utterly loathsome crime!”

Without mentioning Hongmo Zhengfang and Qian Qiu Yue’s battle, Li Hui was not without his troubles.

The howls behind him grew closer as he led Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang into a large formation. This formation activated incredibly fast, entirely different from the outer formations. Light pillars erupted from all directions.

“Boss, I’m too heavy! Let me down! You take Seven Niang and run.”

Before Huo Qiniang could speak, Li Hui concentrated spiritual energy on his back as he replied, “If I thought you were in the way, I would have knocked you out and stuffed you in my bag of treasures. Getting zapped by a heavy scale is better than dying. Don’t worry; this little bit of commotion is far from enough! If you want to catch me, you can wait until your next life!”

Just as he spoke, the beast pack charged into the formation.

“Go!”

Li Hui looked back briefly and was puzzled that the chaotic beasts hadn’t triggered the formations outside. Then, an incredible sight unfolded: as the light pillars thundered towards him, they were disturbed and did not block him but seemed to push him onward.

Fast, too fast! He couldn’t even see how they were zipping along, with Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang kept behind him, darting left and right, appearing and vanishing until they stood before the dark red fortress’s gate, not taking more than thirty moments.

“What’s going on?”

The Li Family cultivators responsible for chasing the “little rat” were greatly astonished. Even though this formation was nothing to them, passing through should take at least sixty moments!

Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang hadn’t recovered their wits yet. Just a moment ago, the light and shadow had crawled strangely, and then they stood before the fortress gate, their thoughts unable to keep up with their Boss’s speed; it was astonishing.

Li Hui took a deep breath, his face a little pale. Thankfully, the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays within his body were continuously functioning, coupled with the rich spiritual energy on the island, allowing him to quickly replenish his energy, and his color returned to normal in an instant.

If he exerted the Ideal Body to its fullest twice in a row, it would definitely exhaust him. He felt a vague awareness; due to the limitation of the Spirit Motion Stage, he couldn’t fully exhibit the wonders of the Ideal Body.

With a sigh, he thought, “Finally reaching the phase where I feel my cultivation is too low; I can rely on talismans but shouldn’t depend on them too much! The sect emphasizes cultivating various methods for a reason; pushing talisman methods upward is even more difficult. Most times, it’s more effective to diligently practice cultivation methods.”

Without hesitation, Li Hui stepped into the fortress gate and activated the Ideal Body again, leaving a trace of Tai Chi Yin-Yang arc behind him as he began to assess the depth of the red fortress beneath his feet.