This Is Not a Universe Rune Box

?

"Jin Xuan!"

Lu Feng glared furiously, a chilling killing intent spreading through the air. He had long expected Jin Xuan to have entered this Domain Realm as well, but he had not expected to encounter him under such circumstances.

"My surname has two characters—Jin Guan. My given name is Xuan!"

Jin Guan Xuan corrected Lu Feng's form of address, his lips curled in faint contempt as he provocatively said, "The grudges between us should be settled today!"

He raised a hand and beckoned Lu Feng, a powerful aura emanating from his body. "The children are innocent. If you do not want those students of yours to die, come with me!"

Lu Feng's expression darkened. Jin Guan Xuan's aura had already come infinitely close to the level of five breaths within the Heaven Soul Realm.

Against such an opponent, while he had the ability to contend if they truly fought, there was absolutely no way he could protect Ruo Shui, Qian Xin, and the others amid an intense battle.

Helplessly, Lu Feng could only accept Jin Guan Xuan's provocation and follow him away.

He naturally understood that Jin Guan Xuan was not truly considering his students' safety. Rather, he feared the strength of the space here and was merely luring the tiger away from the mountain.

If Jin Guan Xuan wanted to break through Lu Feng's defenses and kill those behind him, the only possibility would be to shatter this space. But if he did so, Lu Feng would never stand idly by, and Jin Guan Xuan himself would inevitably be caught up in it.

That was why he intended to lure Lu Feng away and leave the Short Man traveling with him to handle what remained.

Lu Feng clearly understood the two men's intentions, but his present circumstances gave him no choice. Before the Longevity Valley group escaped their predicament, he had to deal with Jin Guan Xuan first.

After following Jin Guan Xuan for nearly a thousand meters, Lu Feng intercepted him halfway up a mountain peak.

Looking at Jin Guan Xuan's handsome yet detestable face, Lu Feng's eyes revealed a trace of coldness.

Whether it was his instigation of Zhou Zhi and Mu Hongfei in the Eastern Origin Spirit Prison, causing them to become enemies, or the Star Fiend Corpse Poison in Tian Yuan City that harmed living beings and framed him as unjust;

Jin Guan Xuan's shadow could be found behind it all.

Their grudges truly needed to be settled!

But before settling them, there was something Lu Feng did not understand. "In the Eastern Origin Mountain Range, why did you injure that girl before leaving, but not kill her!?"

Jin Guan Xuan hesitated for a moment, then gave a playful laugh and said teasingly, "Of course, it was because she was beautiful. I intended to savor her slowly, but you ruined my good thing!"

"You're courting death!" Fury immediately burst forth in Lu Feng's eyes. He clearly did not believe Jin Guan Xuan's words. When he found Jiang Ruoyun that day, Jin Guan Xuan had already left. It was nothing like the lecherous intent he now claimed.

Seeing that Jin Guan Xuan kept his words watertight, Lu Feng asked no further questions. A fierce sword force cleaved straight toward Jin Guan Xuan's head.

If he could not force the answer out with words, then he would beat it out of him!

Jin Guan Xuan's expression instantly turned serious as well. As his spiritual energy circulated, a crimson layer suddenly surged over his right hand. Boundless Fire Essence Qi swirled beneath his palm, igniting the crimson hue over his skin until it resembled flames, dazzlingly brilliant in color.

Blazing Phoenix Slash!

Facing Lu Feng's incoming sword force, Jin Guan Xuan answered with a palm strike.

The palm force was like wind, like a blade, resembling a burning crimson half-moon and carrying terrifying, searing blade light.

Though it had been unleashed from his palm, at the instant it collided with the sword force, Lu Feng sensed a genuine blade force from the surging shockwave.

He could not help but realize that this move of Jin Guan Xuan's was likely a palm technique derived from some kind of saber art. Yet because the space was constrained, their first clash was merely a test. Neither had revealed much of their strength, so both attacks remained around the Heaven Soul Realm. Though the collision looked savage and intense, it was all within their control and expectations.

After one exchange, Lu Feng stepped forward again, his Sword Fingers stabbing directly at Jin Guan Xuan.

No more testing—his strike immediately displayed the terrifying offensive power of the Heaven Soul Realm.

Along the Sword Light he thrust forth, space trembled repeatedly, streaks of Black Ripples faintly emerging.

Lu Feng had originally thought Jin Guan Xuan would continue blocking and retreating with his palm force. He had therefore prepared to flee if their collision caused the space to collapse. Yet Jin Guan Xuan unexpectedly chose to evade, leaving not the slightest risk of shattering the space.

Lu Feng understood his intentions in an instant.

He was clearly trying to stall for time.

Though he kept shouting about Settling Accounts, his actions were entirely the opposite. He had no intention of fighting to the death at all and even feared the restricted environment here.

Knowing that, Lu Feng naturally would not grant his wish!

As Jin Guan Xuan repeatedly evaded, the sword force in Lu Feng's hand grew increasingly fierce and tyrannical, while more and more Black Ripples burst forth throughout the surrounding space.

This horrified Jin Guan Xuan, who cursed aloud, "You madman! If we keep fighting, the power of this shattered space will grind us both to death!"

"Do you think this is children playing house?" Lu Feng shot Jin Guan Xuan a mocking glare. The sword force in his hand did not slow in the slightest, remaining fierce and overbearing.

He had no interest in tangling with Jin Guan Xuan any longer. If he wanted to end things in the shortest time possible, he could only resort to this dangerous move—using the threat of spatial collapse to force Jin Guan Xuan to flee, or die!

Of course, this all depended on the hesitation Jin Guan Xuan had revealed in his palm force. If the latter also fought with everything he had, Lu Feng would instead have to watch his every step to avoid being swept into the shattered space.

At this moment, rather than fighting each other to the death, the two were competing in schemes and depth of mind, probing one another's thoughts.

Fortunately, Jin Guan Xuan cherished his life even more than Lu Feng had expected!

Even with more than a fifty percent chance of sending Lu Feng into the shattered space before himself, Jin Guan Xuan did not dare gamble.

In his eyes, compared to his own future, Lu Feng was merely a minor figure. He was not worth paying the price of his own life for mutual destruction.

All he needed to do was buy some time for his companion.

Elsewhere.

Not long after Lu Feng chased Jin Guan Xuan away, the Short Man accompanying Jin Guan Kai appeared and cut off Qian Xin's group.

Lu Feng had guessed correctly. The Short Man was none other than the mysterious young man beside Sun Liuliu—Jin Guan Kai.

The moment Jin Guan Kai appeared, the two cloud-like masses of white and black mist winding around him flew toward Qian Xin and the others. At tremendous speed, they circled around the outside of the group, forming a ring more than fifty meters in diameter.

"Careful! It's an array!"

Qian Xin's face paled in shock. Though no danger seemed to be approaching, when the black-and-white masses circulated, she still faintly caught a trace of array fluctuations. Clearly, an array had already been set up in the place they had fled through. Those black-and-white masses were not meant to trap them, but to awaken the great array here.

Everyone turned their gazes toward Jin Guan Kai. After the black-and-white masses returned to his side, his outstretched palm gathered them in, transforming them into two thumb-sized black and white game pieces.

Just as everyone was wondering what he intended, they suddenly saw a square grid appear on the ground before him. Countless lines crisscrossed within it. At first glance, it was actually a game board!

"Four Directions Flame, rise!"

Jin Guan Kai's rough yet somewhat amiable voice rang out.

The instant the white piece in his hand landed upon the game board before him, four wisps of dark crimson flame suddenly erupted from the four directions of the enormous circle surrounding Ruo Shui and the others.

The flames rose with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, they filled all four directions and connected with one another, transforming the enormous circle that had originally been formed only of spiritual energy into a ring of blazing fire.

Then, as the other black piece in Jin Guan Kai's hand fell, the flames around the ring suddenly surged toward Ruo Shui and the others gathered at the center like a flood, as though they meant to devour them all.

Everything happened far too quickly!

By the time Ruo Shui and the others reacted, the flood-like flames had already spread overhead. Swept by the terrifying heat, the Silver Moon Demon Bear could not stop itself from roaring in fury, while sweat instantly appeared on everyone else's faces.

Seeing that the situation was dire, Ruo Shui immediately sent out her white silk ribbons, which spun and wound together into a circle above everyone's heads. Spiritual energy surged into the white silk, releasing waves of coolness. Like an umbrella, it resisted the scorching flames above and sheltered those at her side.

"Sister Ruo Shui," Ning Xiang cried anxiously, "you won't be able to hold on like this!"

"It's alright," Ruo Shui said with a gentle, pursed smile. Though she was equally terrified and anxious within, she did not reveal much of it. Yet the glimmer of tears in her eyes exposed the fear and timidity in her heart.

Jun Ziyi came back to her senses from her panic and whispered several words into Ruo Shui's ear.

Hesitation filled Ruo Shui's eyes as she stubbornly shook her head.

"If we delay any longer, it will be too late," Jun Ziyi said resolutely. "We have to trust Master!"

Big Brother Lu... Ruo Shui silently murmured, then seemed to find some courage and agreed to Jun Ziyi's suggestion.

The white silk floating overhead began rotating even faster. While continuing to support and block the scorching flames, it unleashed a cool water blade that forcibly cut an opening through the surrounding ring of fire.

Jun Ziyi seized the opportunity without hesitation and darted out. At the same time, she hurled the large iron box she held toward Jin Guan Kai.

Jin Guan Kai watched Jun Ziyi emerge with cold eyes. Though he was somewhat surprised by Ruo Shui using water to break fire, he thought that the Fire Essence Qi contained in his array was of ordinary quality and certainly could not compare to the Water Essence Qi condensed by a Five Elements Pure Water Body. It was only natural for it to be broken, so he did not pay much attention.

If the one who had emerged were the Silver Moon Demon Bear, he might have been somewhat wary. But Jun Ziyi was merely at the Five Elements Realm and posed no threat to him whatsoever.

Especially when he saw that the item Jun Ziyi had thrown was actually a lowly Universe Rune Box, he could not help but sneer. He thought Jun Ziyi far too naïve—she wanted to deal with him using a sneak attack from a Universe Rune Box that did not even carry much force? It was nothing but wishful thinking!

Unhurriedly, Jin Guan Kai placed the newly condensed black and white pieces in his hand onto the game board before him, and another wave of flames shot up within the distant array.

Before he could rejoice at the flames rising smoothly, he suddenly sensed a heart-palpitating aura emanating from the Universe Rune Box flying toward him.

Jin Guan Kai's expression changed at once.

"This isn't a Universe Rune Box!?"