Breaking Through

A beam of light suddenly struck the southeast direction of the mountain villa. Illuminated by the light, a middle-aged fat man appeared. He was Gu Zhenqi, ranked seventh among the inner disciples of the Dongyang Sect.

Gu Zhenqi flew a fist-sized bead from his sleeve. As it met the flashing light, it spun and immediately detonated, creating a sky full of smoke.

"You villain!" Gu Zhenqi immediately understood the enemy's intention. This attack was not meant to harm him, but to cover the escape of the enemy within the villa.

He understood, but for the moment, he couldn't break through the smoke. The smoke spread out, and under the cover of night, it enveloped the entire Jinping Mountain Villa. Anything beyond a few meters was indistinguishable.

Gu Zhenqi shouted, "Junior Brother Ye, Junior Brother Su, retreat from the villa and each take a position to intercept the villain. If there is any resistance, kill them without mercy!"

Two voices responded from the south and southeast: "As Senior Brother commands!"

The three Foundation Establishment experts of the Dongyang Sect retreated. The heroes from various factions within the villa did the same. The Zhang clan elder in charge of the villa's protective formation was unknown, and the formation had long since stopped operating. The ten-foot-high vine wall could not stop the retreat of the crowd. Identifying the locations of the three inner disciples of the Dongyang Sect, they did the opposite, fleeing madly towards the northwest and charging out of the villa from the smoke.

Liu Xiaolou was also fleeing, but his cultivation was insufficient, and his movements were slow. He was at the tail end of the crowd. If he fled like this, he had a high chance of being caught by the Dongyang Sect experts who would arrive upon hearing the news, and he couldn't help but feel a wave of panic and despair.

With the Jinping Mountain Villa destroyed like this, he didn't know how many Zhang clan members had died or been injured. Although he hadn't killed anyone, would the Dongyang Sect listen to his explanation when they dealt with him? Not killing him wouldn't be enough to appease the "public outrage"!

His master had participated in many Hero Assemblies and had once told Liu Xiaolou that once you accepted a Hero's Invitation, you should be prepared to be abandoned. In critical moments, no one would come to save you—if you weren't the scapegoat attracting the enemy's magic power, why would they invite you to get rich?

Liu Xiaolou certainly had this awareness, but to die on his first invitation, he was truly unwilling!

Calm down... calm down...

His cultivation was too weak. Even if he escaped with the main group, he would inevitably be at the very end. Those who escaped couldn't outrun the Dongyang Sect's Foundation Establishment experts. As long as they could outrun him, following them to escape was the worst option.

After a moment of consideration, he gritted his teeth and turned around, heading towards the junction between the southeast and south. This was the gap between the positions of the two Dongyang Sect Foundation Establishment experts. When they pursued the fleeing main group, they should bypass the villa, and this would be his opportunity.

Of course, he couldn't be sure if the Dongyang Sect only sent three Foundation Establishment experts or if there were others. However, his initial judgment was that even if there were others, they were likely not at the Foundation Establishment cultivation level. In any case, his choice was much better than directly facing a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Liu Xiaolou sprinted through the smoke. In this life-or-death crisis, he pushed his Qi Refining second layer cultivation to its limit. Both his movement technique and perception far surpassed his usual abilities. He narrowly avoided trees, steps, piles of rubble, and people...

"Huh?"

"Who?"

"Oh no..."

"You almost hit me..."

"Stop him!"

"Where is he? Where is he?"

Liu Xiaolou swung his arms vigorously, his legs strode forward, his head held high, and he rushed to the edge of the villa. Before him, a broken vine wall appeared, about fifteen or sixteen feet high.

The height that previously required him to use his feet to climb halfway up, he now leaped over with just a light touch.

His Qi Refining second layer cultivation, which had not advanced for three or four years, showed signs of a breakthrough?

Liu Xiaolou had no time to ponder. After crossing the wall, he continued to sprint. In a blink of an eye, he passed through the dense smoke, smelled the fresh air, saw the stars filling the sky, and the layers of black mountain shadows in the night.

Not far to his left, a sharp cry suddenly sounded: "Villain, stop running, surrender quickly, or you will be killed without mercy!"

"Still running? Aren't you afraid of death?..."

"I'll let you run, take your life!"

Of course, he had to run. How could he stay and surrender?

Liu Xiaolou channeled his true essence and ran at high speed, as fast as a galloping horse. He could feel that the pursuer behind him was not one of the three Foundation Establishment experts from the Dongyang Sect. This was his chance to escape.

At first, he worried about being caught up quickly. However, after fleeing for several miles, the other party still hadn't caught up. He couldn't help but look back and saw that the person was about ten feet behind him, relentlessly pursuing.

Glancing quickly, the person seemed to have a silk ribbon tied around their forehead, its color indistinguishable. They were constantly shouting angrily, telling him to stop and surrender. They sounded very young.

Perhaps also in the early Qi Refining stage, like himself?

After fleeing for more than ten miles like this, they had entered an unknown deep mountain. The other party still hadn't given up, which made Liu Xiaolou feel annoyed. A sudden impulse arose: should he fight back?

First, it would obstruct the enemy, and second, he could see if the other party had any good items on them.

But his master had once said that disciples of prestigious sects, even those with weak cultivation, should not be easily provoked. Since they dared to descend the mountain to travel, they likely possessed powerful magical artifacts or Daoist techniques.

Could his low-grade ordinary Three Xuan Sword withstand it?

While he was hesitating, he suddenly saw someone sitting by a tree ahead, panting heavily. The person looked very familiar. It was the "suspected troublemaker" who had tried to take his spiritual herbs when he was searching the treasure vault at Jinping Mountain Villa. He didn't know how he had escaped to this place and was resting here.

Liu Xiaolou rushed past him like a gust of wind, immediately startling the person. After a while, this fellow caught up.

This person clearly recognized Liu Xiaolou. They ran side-by-side and gasped, "Little brother... huff... Dongyang Sect... huff... caught up?"

Liu Xiaolou replied breathlessly, "Yes..."

The person immediately quickened their pace, pulling ahead by several body lengths, their cultivation clearly superior.

Liu Xiaolou gritted his teeth and chased after him, "Brother, don't panic... huff... there's only one... I guess... it might be a Zhang clan member... a junior disciple... with weak cultivation..."

As Liu Xiaolou explained, the person slowed down again, looking back from time to time. But the mountain path was rugged, and they couldn't see anyone.

"Only one?"

"One..."

"Not Dongyang Sect's seventh, eighth, or ninth?"

"No... in short... weak and ordinary cultivation..."

"Which mountain peak are you from, little brother?"

"Pai Sect."

"So you're a brother from the sect! That's great... How come I haven't met you before?"

"Which branch are you from, brother?"

"I'm from the seventh branch. My surname is Ma."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Ma. Phew... I'm from the ninth branch, my surname is Li..."

"I see..."

As they spoke, the tension eased. The person behind them was gradually catching up. Dawn was breaking, and they could now clearly see his figure and face.