Seeing the person ahead suddenly speed up, the boy was slightly taken aback. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and once again gave chase after Qin Fengming.
The two of them were both astonishingly swift. Keeping a distance of roughly a dozen zhang between them, they left Tenglong Town one after the other.
Several times, the boy wanted to activate the small, three-inch-long weapon in his hand and kill the person ahead, but in the end, he abandoned the idea.
He was intensely curious. The person ahead was unquestionably an ordinary mortal, yet his speed had left the boy greatly astonished. His master had once told him that even the pinnacle Lightness Skills of the martial world could hardly compare with the immortal arts he cultivated.
Yet now, he was utterly baffled. He wanted to see exactly why the person ahead possessed such astonishingly swift movement techniques.
At this moment, Qin Fengming was even more terrified. His speed was already rare beneath heaven, yet that boy had been floating more than a dozen zhang above the ground, following right behind him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shake him off in the slightest.
Although he had not looked back, he knew that the boy behind him showed not the slightest sign of strain. Such an inconceivable immortal technique filled Qin Fengming with extreme horror.
One traveled along the ground while the other flew through the sky. Chasing and fleeing, they sped through the mountain forest, leaving Tenglong Town several li behind in barely a moment.
Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred. Qin Fengming, fleeing at full speed, slipped underfoot and tumbled to the ground. The veil covering his face was caught and torn away by a tree branch, while his treasured sword was flung several feet away.
Greatly alarmed, Qin Fengming's expression changed drastically. He had only just sat up and had not yet managed to rise when the boy flew to a spot three zhang above and in front of his head. His speeding body came to an abrupt halt. A small cluster of flames danced continuously atop the index finger of his right hand.
"Don't move. Move even once, and I'll scatter your soul into oblivion." A childish voice came from the boy's mouth. There was not the slightest trace of anger in it.
Hearing the boy's words, Qin Fengming immediately stopped moving. Sitting on the ground, he braced himself with both hands behind him and looked up at the sky. His face was filled with terror, and he did not dare move another inch.
But when the boy saw the appearance of the person before him clearly, he could not help revealing a trace of shock. The person on the ground was only fifteen or sixteen years old, merely four or five years older than him.
"I wonder what martial art you practice. How can your movement be so fast? It's actually on par with my Sky-soaring Talisman. As long as you honestly tell me, I, your young master, can let you die quickly and painlessly. Otherwise, I'll make you wish you were dead."
As he spoke, the boy slowly descended to a spot about a zhang away from Qin Fengming. The flames in his hand flickered and billowed restlessly, as though ready to be unleashed at any moment.
Facing the boy, Qin Fengming's face was filled with extreme fear, but his eyes stared coldly at him. He did not answer a single question.
Seeing this, the boy chuckled. "It doesn't matter if you don't answer. I just don't understand what grudge you had against my father and elder brother that you would ruthlessly kill them." As he spoke, he took two more steps forward. He was now less than a zhang from Qin Fengming.
Qin Fengming stared at the boy. His face was filled with the terror of facing death, but he still did not answer at all.
"Fine. Since you refuse to answer, then I, your young master, will send you into the netherworld to avenge my father and elder brother."
Without the slightest haste, the boy raised his right hand and prepared to unleash the endlessly dancing ball of flame.
"Wait! I have something to say."
At the sound of his voice, the boy abruptly stopped his right hand. But during that brief pause, a faint click suddenly rang beside his ear.
As the sound rang out, several dark stars suddenly flashed into existence and shot directly toward his chest.
Although the boy had already sensed the danger, the two sides were simply too close. A cold gleam flashed, and he felt a pain in his chest. Then he suddenly fell to the ground. Every part of his body had become utterly incapable of exerting the slightest strength.
Seeing the boy fall, Qin Fengming, still sitting on the ground, was instantly overjoyed. With a movement of his body, he sprang up, and in a flash, he was before the boy. His fingers moved, seizing the boy by the throat, while the internal energy within his body surged violently.
"Hmph. You're just a child. Even if you've cultivated supreme immortal arts, how could you understand the tricks of the martial world? Now, you can go join your father and elder brother."
Crack! The boy's head was forcibly torn from his body by Qin Fengming. Blood immediately sprayed out like a fountain, shooting more than a zhang away.
Seeing that the boy's body and head had been separated and knowing he was completely dead, Qin Fengming finally let out a long breath and collapsed weakly to the ground...
No one knew how much time passed. A mountain breeze blew over, and a chill seeped into his body. Only then did Qin Fengming awaken. By then, the sky was already broad daylight.
Turning his head to look at the boy's corpse lying on the ground, Qin Fengming's face revealed a lingering look of fear.
His ability to survive after brushing past death this time had been due to the aid of his Azure Cloud Maze movement technique and the hidden weapon "Cold Star," which he had kept as his trump card. At the same time, the boy's lack of experience in facing enemies had been the principal reason.
Looking at the corpse of the twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy before him, Qin Fengming was extremely curious about how he had been able to fly through the air. Immortal arts were indeed wondrous beyond compare. The flame in the boy's hand was even more mystical. Such an array of extraordinary abilities filled Qin Fengming with boundless yearning.
Crouching beside the boy's corpse, he searched the boy from head to toe. Apart from a dozen or so taels of silver and a small, yellowing booklet without a title, he found nothing else.
Looking at the corpse, his face was filled with disappointment. Such a strange boy actually had no valuable possessions on him.
After looking around, he went to a large tree nearby. At a relatively soft patch of ground, he used his treasured sword to dig a small pit and placed the boy's corpse inside.
Just as he was covering the corpse with soil, he suddenly noticed a ring on the boy's right middle finger. It appeared to be made of tungsten iron. Its surface was extremely rough, ugly beyond measure, and completely inconspicuous.
Even so, Qin Fengming's heart stirred. The boy had been dressed entirely in white, immaculate from head to toe, so why would he wear such an ugly ring? This ring must surely have an extraordinary origin.
Thinking this, Qin Fengming removed the ring from the boy's finger. Holding it in his hand, he examined it carefully. It felt like metal but not metal, like wood but not wood. Apart from that, there was nothing unusual about it. Yet since it had belonged to the boy, it should not be an ordinary object.
He placed the ring on a rock, took up his treasured sword, and struck it with all his strength. With a clang, the sword was bounced high into the air, while the ring did not bear even the slightest mark.
At once, Qin Fengming was overjoyed. This was unquestionably a treasure. After all, the treasured sword in his hand was capable of cutting gold and severing jade. Without bothering to study it carefully, he cautiously slipped the ring into his pouch.
Then he covered the corpse with soil and concealed the bloodstains around it with earth as well. Only after that did he leave the mountain forest.
Before you continue