Fleeing South

Zhou Wenwu drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the stormy waves in his heart. He knew that, at this moment, everything had to give way to the General Gathering Bell.

The situation was urgent; there was no longer time for careful arrangements or personnel investigations.

Zhou Wenwu made his decision at once and said gravely to Li Chengjie and all the guards, "The situation has changed! The General Gathering Bell has rung—the matter is urgent! Alchemist Li, come with me to Central Plaza immediately! We'll investigate this after we handle the emergency!"

This decision took everyone by surprise. Even Li Chengjie froze for a moment.

But Zhou Wenwu clearly had his own considerations: keeping Li Chengjie, this "trouble," by his side was safer than leaving him at the Steward's Office or the shop, which the Chen Family might attack. At the same time, it ensured that everyone would reach the gathering point at once.

"Yes!" Though surprised, the guards knew that military orders were as immovable as mountains, and they answered in unison.

Zhou Wenwu said no more. He shot Li Chengjie a look. "Alchemist Li, pardon the offense. Keep up!" With that, his figure flashed, and he was already racing out of the shop.

Li Chengjie did not dare delay. Suppressing both his injuries and the turmoil in his mind, he immediately employed his movement technique and followed close behind.

The three guards also immediately changed roles, surrounding Li Chengjie to prevent him from escaping midway. The group merged into Zhou Wenwu's party, becoming streaks of swift light as they sped toward the market's Central Plaza, without even having time to deal with the shop more thoroughly.

Less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea after Zhou Wenwu's group left, Chen Liming personally led several dozen murderous Chen Family members—none below the fourth layer of Qi Condensation—to the entrance of Li's Pill Pavilion like a violent black torrent, carrying towering fury with them.

"Surround it! Don't let even a fly escape!" Chen Liming's beard and hair bristled as the pressure of the Peak of Ninth Level of Qi Refining erupted without restraint, nearly freezing the surrounding air solid.

Yet when they smashed through the doors, all they found was a shop sealed with a simple spiritual energy barrier, empty of people and left in ruins, with bloodstains not yet dry.

Zhou Wenwu and Li Chengjie had long since vanished. Only the traces of the fierce battle and the thick stench of blood remained, silently recounting everything that had just happened here.

Chen Liming looked at the empty shop, especially at the glaring pool of blood on the ground that belonged to his nephew Chen Xuan. Spiritual energy surged wildly through his body as he punched the already cracked dark-red alchemical furnace beside him into fragments!

"Where are they?! Where is that little bastard Li Chengjie?! Where did Zhou Wenwu take him?!" Chen Liming roared like a trapped beast, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over the scattered passersby who had been alarmed but did not dare approach.

Then his sharp gaze abruptly fixed on the entrance of the alley opposite him. A skinny figure was peeking out, unable to hide the gloating curiosity on his face—it was Zhang Gui!

Chen Liming flashed forward and appeared before Zhang Gui like a ghost. The powerful pressure made Zhang Gui's legs go limp, and he nearly dropped to his knees.

"Boy!" Chen Liming's voice scraped like ice shards. "You've been across the street the whole time? Speak! Where did that little beast Li Chengjie go?! Where did Zhou Wenwu take him?!"

Terrified out of his wits by Chen Liming's gaze, which seemed ready to devour him alive, Zhang Gui did not dare conceal a thing. He hurriedly pointed toward the Flowing Cloud Sect's Steward's Office and poured out the words like beans from a bamboo tube. "Clan... Clan Leader Chen, please calm your anger! I... I saw it! Steward Zhou brought people here just now and inspected the scene, then... then those three bell chimes rang!

"Steward Zhou seemed extremely anxious. He directly... directly took that boy Li Chengjie, along with all his men, toward... toward Central Plaza! They only left a short while ago! I saw it with my own eyes—it's absolutely true!"

"Central Plaza?! The General Gathering Bell?!" Chen Liming understood in an instant, and his expression turned even uglier.

The Flowing Cloud Sect's emergency summons had interrupted his plan for revenge!

But Chen Liming had already made up his mind to kill. How could he let the matter rest because of this?

"Li Chengjie! Do you think you'll be safe just because you've hidden in Central Plaza?! Even if this reaches Elder Zhao Qianfeng, I'll still demand justice!" Chen Liming roared, then spun around and bellowed at his clansmen behind him, "Move! To Central Plaza! We'll demand the man from Zhou Wenwu! Li Chengjie must be handed over today!"

Only after watching Chen Liming lead that pack of wolfish, tiger-like Chen Family members toward the market's Central Plaza, brimming with Killing Intent, did Zhang Gui brace himself against the wall and slowly straighten up, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

The terror on Zhang Gui's aged face swiftly faded, replaced by a complicated expression mixed with pleasure, resentment, and anticipation.

Watching the Chen Family members disappear into the distance, then glancing at the wrecked Li's Pill Pavilion, Zhang Gui began to chuckle in a low voice, hoarse as a night owl's cry:

"Hehe... Fight, fight! Make a scene, make a scene! You lofty big shots, always throwing your weight around and never treating us Rogue Cultivators as people! That Chen Family brat died? Serves him right! Li Chengjie has landed himself in serious trouble now! Hehe, this is going to be quite a show!"

Excitement gleamed in Zhang Gui's clouded eyes, as though he could already see the conflict between both sides escalating before the Flowing Cloud Sect's higher-ups until it could no longer be contained. "Fight! Better yet, start fighting before Elder Zhao too—fight until it's Mutual Destruction, until you die and I live!

"When you lot fall into disaster, those of us you've crushed so hard we can barely breathe will finally have better days! The more chaotic the market becomes, the better. Once it's in chaos... this old man can fish in troubled waters and scrape out a living!"

Zhang Gui laughed sinisterly and retreated into the alley's shadows like a lurking viper, ready to strike when the chance came, eagerly awaiting the chaos and opportunities that this storm—whose direction he had "guided"—would bring.

Central Plaza, Qingshi Market.

At this moment, several hundred Flowing Cloud Sect Disciples had already gathered in the plaza. From the early stages of Qi Refining to the late stages, every one of them wore a solemn expression, filled with confusion and tension as they quickly took their places according to their assigned formations.

On the raised platform, Zhao Qianfeng, the Foundation Establishment Elder stationed at the market, wore a grave expression.

A quarter of an hour later, Central Plaza was a sea of black. Nearly every Flowing Cloud Sect Disciple within the market had arrived. Heads crowded together as hushed discussions filled the air, and the atmosphere was oppressive and tense.

On the raised platform, Foundation Establishment Elder Zhao Qianfeng slowly rose to his feet. Though not tall, his figure seemed to contain the weight of mountains, instantly drawing every eye. The plaza fell utterly silent.

Zhao Qianfeng swept his gaze across the hundreds of faces below, all filled with confusion and unease. His face remained expressionless, but his voice was like shattering ice, reaching every ear with unmistakable finality:

"Silence!"

Those two words instantly extinguished every whisper.

He paused, as if weighing his words, but in the end delivered the earthshaking news in the most direct manner possible:

"We have just received the sect's highest emergency decree. The northern front... fell completely three hours ago."

"What?!"

"It fell?!"

"How is that possible?!"

An uproar instantly erupted below. Cries of shock and voices of disbelief surged like a tide!

The northern front was the main defensive line where the Flowing Cloud Sect resisted the Blood Fiend Cult!

It had actually fallen?!

Ignoring the commotion below, Zhao Qianfeng continued in his cold, steady tone, "The Blood Fiend Cult's main force will arrive within days. Qingshi Market will bear the brunt of it. The sect has decided to abandon the Qingshi Market stronghold. Everyone... evacuate immediately!"

"Abandon the market?!"

"Evacuate?! Now?!"

"Th-This is too sudden!"

This time, not only the ordinary disciples—even many stewards and squad leader-level cultivators revealed looks of disbelief and panic. Abandoning a market they had operated for years?

That meant the accumulated wealth, businesses, and connections they had built up here over so many years might all go down the drain!

The crowd below instantly erupted into an uproar. No one could remain calm any longer.

A steward in charge of warehouse management turned deathly pale and practically shrieked, "Elder Zhao! There's still a huge batch of supplies in the storeroom that hasn't been moved out! Medicinal herbs, ores, and the tribute Spirit Stones meant to be handed over to the sect! What are we supposed to do with all that?! Are we just giving it to the Blood Fiend Cult?!"

Beside him, a manager who ran one of the sect's businesses was hopping with anxiety. "My talisman shop on East Street! Half a lifetime of savings and a shipment that just arrived are still inside! Give me the time of one incense stick! Just one incense stick! I'll go retrieve the most important things!"

"My alchemical furnace! My Second-tier Low-grade Purple Cloud Cauldron is still in the alchemy room!"

"I still have several bottles of premium pills I painstakingly traded for hidden in my residence!"

"The deal I arranged with several Rogue Cultivators isn't finished yet—my Spirit Stones are still in their hands!"

"My..."

For a time, anxious, terrified, and unwilling voices tangled together, and the scene nearly spiraled out of control.

Everyone was thinking of what important belongings they had yet to deal with, what precious possessions they had yet to pack away, hoping to seize this final bit of time.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Zhao Qianfeng suddenly barked out a roar like thunder exploding. The pressure of the Foundation Establishment Realm descended over the entire crowd as if it had substance, instantly crushing all the noise into silence!

His gaze was sharp as a blade as it swept over them, his voice carrying unquestionable resolve and a trace of icy ruthlessness.

"The order has been issued. There is not a moment to lose! What matters more—your lives, or those worldly possessions?! The Blood Fiend Cult's vanguard could appear outside the market at any moment! Anyone who dares delay will be dealt with under military law! Now, everyone, immediately! At once! Follow me—go!"

Zhao Qianfeng gave no one another chance to argue or prepare. His figure flashed, and he drifted down from the raised platform. Yet rather than heading directly for the South Gate, he stopped in the middle of the plaza.

Under the gazes of hundreds of bewildered, anxious, and terrified people, Zhao Qianfeng slowly raised both hands. His ten fingers danced swiftly like butterflies flitting through flowers, forming one intricate and profound hand seal after another, while he began to chant a low, ancient incantation.

As Zhao Qianfeng moved, the ground of the entire Qingshi Market began to tremble faintly!

A vast and mighty surge of spiritual power spread outward from him like ripples on water, resonating with the enormous invisible Second-tier Mid-grade defense formation enveloping the entire market!

"Bzzzz—!"

A deep hum that nonetheless resounded through the heavens rang out. At the edges around the market, countless interwoven azure runes abruptly lit up across the once formless, invisible canopy!

As though they had come alive, the runes raced along predetermined paths, flowing and converging until they finally became eight incomparably thick pillars of azure light. They shot up from eight directions around the market, piercing straight into the clouds!

This sudden Heaven and Earth Phenomenon instantly overwhelmed all the clamor and panic. Everyone was dumbstruck by the magnificent, breathtaking sight before them!

They had lived in the market year-round and knew of the Mountain-Protecting Formation's existence, but they had never seen it activated and revealed so completely!

"Elder Zhao... what are you...?" Zhou Wenwu, who stood closest, felt the vast power of the formation and could not help voicing his shock and doubt.

Zhao Qianfeng did not answer. Completely focused, he changed his hand seals again, and his command rang out like crashing thunder. "Earth Vein returns to origin, spiritual pivot stir! Azure Wood Xun Wind Array—withdraw!"

As the final word, "withdraw," left his lips, the eight pillars of light reaching into the sky suddenly contracted inward. Endless radiance and runes surged madly toward the space above Zhao Qianfeng's upraised hands in the center of the plaza, like all rivers flowing into the sea!

In the blink of an eye, they condensed into a sphere of light no larger than a fist. Yet it emitted a heart-palpitating Spiritual Power Fluctuation, and within it, countless azure wind vortices and runes seemed to continuously arise and vanish.

The sphere of light slowly descended into Zhao Qianfeng's palm. With a turn of his hand, he stored it inside a Jade Box he had prepared beforehand, its surface covered in sealing runes.

The instant the sphere was taken away, the invisible barrier that had covered Qingshi Market for nearly a century and safeguarded the peace of countless cultivators completely vanished!

Everyone could clearly feel that the boundary between the market and the outside world no longer existed. A feeling of being nakedly exposed to danger swept over them.

The plaza fell utterly silent. A needle dropping would have been heard.

Everyone had been cowed by Zhao Qianfeng's heaven-shaking method of taking away the Mountain-Protecting Formation with a mere turn of his hand!

So this Foundation Establishment Elder, who usually kept himself secluded, was not only the market's guardian—he was also the true controller of this Second-tier Mid-grade grand formation!

"The... the formation was taken away?!"

"Th-There isn't even any last line of defense left?!"

"If the Blood Fiend Cult attacks now..."

Boundless terror, like an icy tide, instantly flooded everyone's hearts and minds.

At the same time, Chen Liming, who was leading his clansmen toward Central Plaza in a fierce rush, abruptly halted. Like every other member of the Chen Family behind him, he stared wide-eyed as the eight pillars of azure light shot into the heavens, then watched them contract and disappear like phantoms, while the formation power that had protected the family's foundations for years completely dissipated.

"The Azure Wood Xun Wind Array... was taken away?!"

The fury and Killing Intent on Chen Liming's face instantly froze, replaced by extreme shock and a faint, barely perceptible panic. "Zhao Qianfeng... he actually took away the Mountain-Protecting Formation outright?! Could it be... could it be that the Flowing Cloud Sect truly intends to abandon this place completely, without even planning to delay for a moment?!"

Chen Liming had originally believed that even if they evacuated, the Flowing Cloud Sect would at least leave the formation running to hinder the Blood Fiend Cult for a while—buying these "natives" some time to react, or perhaps creating some chaos.

But he had never imagined Zhao Qianfeng would be so decisive, directly extracting even the Formation Foundation at its core!

This meant the Flowing Cloud Sect's retreat was absolute—an abandonment without the slightest hesitation!

At this moment, the vengeance for his nephew's death, the settling of scores with Li Chengjie—all of it seemed so insignificant and laughable before the immense crisis of the family's destruction and a powerful enemy pressing upon their borders.

A tremendous sense of bewilderment and crisis replaced the flames of revenge, shrouding Chen Liming's heart.

In the square, Zhao Qianfeng put away the Jade Box, his expression still as placid as an ancient well, as though he had merely done something utterly insignificant.

Without so much as a glance at the pale-faced disciples below the platform, Zhao Qianfeng leaped into the air again. This time, he sped without hesitation toward the South Gate, leaving only a cold sentence echoing through the air:

"The array has been withdrawn. This place will become a dead zone! If you don't want to die, follow me!"

Zhou Wenwu was the first to react, shouting sharply, "Move! Quickly!"

Zhou Wenwu grabbed the still-dazed Li Chengjie and took the lead in following Zhao Qianfeng.

Only then did the other Flowing Cloud Sect Disciples snap awake as if from a dream. They no longer cared about shops, supplies, or Spirit Stones. Survival Instinct overwhelmed everything else, and the crowd surged madly toward the South Gate like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam!

Once outside the South Gate, Zhao Qianfeng did not pause. With a sweep of his sleeve, that azure Flying Sword appeared again.

Zhao Qianfeng stepped onto it. Sword light flared brilliantly, transforming into the most dazzling azure rainbow as it shot into the sky without hesitation, streaking toward the southern horizon!

"Ride your swords—follow!"

Zhou Wenwu and the other cultivators capable of riding swords followed suit, summoning their Flying Swords and carrying those fellow disciples unable to do so. They became streaks of Escape Light in every color, chasing closely after Zhao Qianfeng.

Thousands of sword lights and Escape Lights swept across the heavens like a migrating meteor shower, bearing panic, desolation, and grim resolve. They left Qingshi Market—stripped of the array's protection and exposed in the wilderness like a naked infant—completely behind them, farther and farther away.

Swept along amid the crowd, Li Chengjie's heart churned with towering waves.

His Li's Pill Pavilion, the Minor Sumeru Vajra Array he had just purchased and had not even had time to warm in his hands, all his alchemy materials and savings... everything would be left here. (After being taken away by the enforcers, he had not yet had time to collect the Minor Sumeru Vajra Array.)

At this moment, preserving his life was already a blessing beyond measure. Li Chengjie stayed close behind Zhou Wenwu's group, not daring to fall away in the slightest.