Only after asking did Yu Kong learn that the two had failed to coordinate properly, and in trying to save Yan Wu, Wu Chen had nearly gotten himself killed as well.
Wu Chen's injuries were more severe than Shangguan Lifeng's, but so long as he took medicinal pills, recovery would not be difficult. Even so, time did not permit them to keep waiting indefinitely.
Seeing that both directions they had entered were false gates and that the true exit lay among the other six directions, Yu Kong had no choice but to leave the two wounded men, Wu Chen and Shangguan Lifeng, behind to heal, pairing Qin Sang and Yan Wu together to continue scouting the path.
"Daoist Qingfeng..."
Yan Wu cupped his hands to Qin Sang, his expression somewhat unnatural.
Just moments ago, he had been sternly warned by Yu Kong once more and dared not harbor any other ulterior motives, lest Yu Kong discipline him without hesitation.
Yan Wu's tone seemed entirely devoid of resentment, making Qin Sang wonder whether the prickly gaze he had felt earlier like needles on his back could really have been an illusion.
Qin Sang regarded Yan Wu suspiciously. Pondering for a moment, he proposed that they follow the method agreed upon between him and Shangguan Lifeng—moving in single file and taking turns scouting ahead.
He would rather face the perils of the sea of fire alone than keep a ticking time bomb at his side.
Yan Wu raised no objection to this and readily agreed.
With their previous experience, the danger of pathfinding had diminished considerably, but Qin Sang did not trust Yan Wu in the slightest, his vigilance not waning at all.
Qin Sang flitted to the edge of the sea of fire, just about to enter.
Right at that moment, he suddenly felt an abnormal tremor ripple through the fiery space, and his figure instinctively halted.
Before Qin Sang could realize what this fluctuation signified, a furious bellow fraught with extreme rage and shock, followed by a muffled groan, abruptly rang out behind him.
Both voices were exceedingly familiar.
The enraged roar belonged to Yu Kong, while the person who had let out the muffled groan was Shangguan Lifeng!
What happened?
Stunned, Qin Sang whipped his head around.
His gaze caught the exact moment Yu Kong struck Shangguan Lifeng in the chest with a palm. Shangguan Lifeng's chest caved in with a shocking depression as he spat blood and went tumbling far away.
Blood splattered into the air, only to be instantly incinerated to nothingness by the blazing flames.
This strike had been unleashed in Yu Kong's towering fury; unable to dodge, Shangguan Lifeng bore the full brunt with his body. One could imagine how grievous the injury was. Had he not twisted sideways at the final instant to keep the blow from his vital heart, he would most likely have died on the spot.
Shangguan Lifeng could barely stand, his face as pale as gold paper and his breath faint to the extreme, yet the corners of his mouth curled into a cold, vindictive sneer.
And what Shangguan Lifeng had purchased by risking his life was a long yellow rope wrapped tightly around Yu Kong.
The yellow rope was clearly a top-grade magic tool. It bound not only Yu Kong's physical body, but also caused the spiritual power within him to stagnate.
At this moment, five figures had appeared around Yu Kong at some unknown point, completely surrounding Yu Kong and the utterly shocked, bewildered Wu Chen, who had no idea what was happening.
Qin Sang had seen all of these people before.
The one confronting Yu Kong head-on was Luo Xingnan!
Beside Luo Xingnan were four others: Old Man Gong, who had acted as an undercover agent beside Sheng Yuanzi; a scholar in white; a hook-nosed middle-aged man; and Yunyouzi!
"Luo Xingnan, you're not dead!"
Yu Kong was even more shocked than Qin Sang.
Although Yu Kong could not fathom in the least why Luo Xingnan had not been killed by the hook serpents, or where his own flawless plan had gone wrong, none of that mattered anymore.
In that instant, Yu Kong realized his plight and immediately made the most correct decision:
Flee!
*Bang!*
The yellow rope was blasted off.
Yu Kong's face flushed crimson. Sparing no cost, he frenziedly squeezed his sea of qi to gather spiritual power, ultimately detonating a magic tool to break free of the yellow rope binding him.
Though he forcibly broke the restraint, he was also injured by the backlash.
Yu Kong had no time to worry about that. Forcibly suppressing his internal injuries, his figure shot forth like an explosion, charging toward the weakest of the five, the scholar in white.
Yet since Luo Xingnan and his group had premeditated this ambush, how could they allow him to escape?
The five had long since formed a battle formation. The scholar in white seemed like an opening, but was in reality a trap—a net spread wide, waiting for the prey to walk right into it.
Before Yu Kong could even reach the scholar in white, an illusory ancient seal materialized silently, bearing the weight of myriad tons as it crashed down from above.
*Boom!*
The ancient seal smashed heavily into Yu Kong. His face went deathly pale; injury compounded upon injury, and he violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Old dog Yu, if you haven't died yet, how could I bear to die?"
Luo Xingnan laughed heartily. With a flick of his finger, two streaks of sword light—one cyan and one red—shot out from his palm. The spirit swords gleamed in harmony as crisscrossing sword qi surged, unleashing an onslaught like a tempest that gave Yu Kong no room to catch his breath, leaving him not even a moment to beg for mercy.
Even so, Luo Xingnan still allowed Yu Kong to die knowing why.
"You didn't expect Shao Chunhui to have such an accomplished disciple, did you?"
Yu Kong's eyes went wide. He understood everything now.
Luo Xingnan's paramour, Crescent Fairy, had merely been a pawn, a smokescreen to blind his eyes.
Perhaps Crescent Fairy's identity had even been intentionally leaked to him by Luo Xingnan.
To a man like Luo Xingnan, what was a woman worth?
The real hidden piece was Shangguan Lifeng, Shao Chunhui's disciple, whom Luo Xingnan had somehow tracked down!
Yu Kong's eyes glazed over slightly as a phrase he had never believed in surfaced in his mind:
Karmic retribution...
Seeing that their primary target, Yu Kong, was completely overpowered by Luo Xingnan with no chance of turning the tables, his demise only a matter of time, the other four pulled back from the fray.
The scholar in white drifted down beside Wu Chen and pressed a hand against his shoulder. Wu Chen, his injuries still unhealed, darted his eyes around, not daring to twitch a muscle. Meanwhile, the other three leaped toward Qin Sang and Yan Wu.
Qin Sang's eyes met Yunyouzi's midair. After a brief unspoken exchange, their gazes broke, and Qin Sang immediately spun around and plunged into the sea of fire without hesitation.
Yan Wu was half a beat slower, but in the end also scrambled to flee.
Those people had not slain Wu Chen and seemed only intent on killing Yu Kong, but Yan Wu was different from Wu Chen; how could he dare gamble with his life? Furthermore, even if captured alive, he would inevitably be used as cannon fodder to probe the way, meeting no better end.
Though the sea of fire was fraught with peril, a sliver of hope lay within.
As long as Luo Xingnan and the others were still after the spirit herbs on the mountain, they could not waste time staying behind to scour the place for them.
Yunyouzi and the other two followed hot on their heels.
"Split up and pursue!"
Yunyouzi barked, summoning his spirit bamboo flying boat. His speed soared instantly as he gave chase in the direction Qin Sang had fled, vanishing into the depths of the sea of fire in a flash.
The other two exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly. Their speed was nowhere near Yunyouzi's, so they could only team up to hunt down Yan Wu.
...
Upon plunging into the sea of fire, Qin Sang activated the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman. Though the cracks in the talisman were still not fully mended, it was enough to boost Qin Sang's speed to a level comparable to the middle Foundation Establishment stage.
With flood dragons coiling around him, Qin Sang easily shook off Yan Wu, but after flying a certain distance, he came to a stop.
Chapter 294