Beheading

Zhao Ping'an looked at the signal flares appearing one after another in the distant sky, and whispered in surprise. He immediately used his perfected Yellow Grade Light Skill, Soaring Dragon Void Steps, moving like a dragon entering the sea, and sped towards Wu'an Mountain.

At this time, Wu'an Mountain was in chaos. Countless herb farmers hid in corners, trembling, while the guards suffered heavy casualties, with severed limbs scattered everywhere.

The main casualties were from the Blazing Blade Sect.

That's right, the Blazing Blade Sect. Song Lieyang, for reasons unknown, had dispatched all available personnel from the Blazing Blade Sect, led by ten Houtian Late Stage Martial Artist stewards, to search for Tian Yiming's whereabouts near Wu'an Mountain.

Perhaps he thought that since this was the territory of the peak Grandmaster Zhao Ping'an, Tian Yiming would not dare to come here, making it the safest place. It would also be a way to curry favor with the Grandmaster, a win-win situation.

However, things developed in the opposite direction of his thoughts. Tian Yiming had been on the run for over a month, completely depleted of resources. Furthermore, he was unaware of the Sun family's affairs. With his injuries requiring spiritual medicine for treatment, he directly came to Wu'an Mountain.

Song Lieyang must be regretting it immensely now. Unfortunately, he, hiding in the city, was still unaware of what was happening here.

A few minutes later, Zhao Ping'an arrived at Wu'an Mountain. He looked at the shattered main gate, the collapsed houses, and the blood and corpses everywhere, his expression extremely grim.

"Damn it, Tian-Yi-Ming! You're asking for death!"

Zhao Ping'an gritted his teeth as he looked at the scene before him and quickly rushed towards his pavilion. The medicine storage of Wu'an Mountain was located next to his pavilion.

The medicine storage was already in disarray. The door was broken, the medicine shelves were toppled. Dozens of second-grade spiritual medicines that had matured this month were gone. The third-grade ones had not matured recently, and the opponent disdained the first-grade ones.

"Speak! In which direction did Tian Yiming run? How long ago did he leave?"

Zhao Ping'an's gaze swept across the area, and he swiftly appeared before a guard who had miraculously survived. He asked with a dark expression.

"L-Lord, it was th-that way, he ran that way, not long ago!"

The guard was clearly startled and pointed in a direction with a stutter.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Ping'an shot out like an arrow and quickly disappeared into the forest.

At this moment, Tian Yiming was fleeing through the forest with a grim expression. A bulging package was tightly strapped to his back. He would occasionally take out a spiritual medicine of varying shapes from it and swallow it whole like a glutton, chewing vigorously.

The spiritual medicines from Wu'an Mountain were artificially cultivated, and their medicinal effects were not as good as wild ones. Moreover, they were the most common and widely used spiritual medicines, so Tian Yiming recognized them all and was not afraid of accidentally consuming any poisonous ones.

"I didn't expect so many people to be searching for me. It seems the Hall of Worship people have reached South Ridge City before me. And this Wu'an Mountain, it doesn't even have a single third-grade spiritual medicine, and I've been discovered. What a huge loss!"

While fleeing rapidly through the forest, Tian Yiming muttered to himself.

It was known that the main consumers of second-grade spiritual medicines were Houtian Martial Artists and a small number of Xiantian Early Stage Martial Masters who were short on funds. For him, who was already at the peak of Grandmaster sixth level, they were merely a drop in the bucket.

At most, they could alleviate his injuries, but they were far from enough to completely heal them in a short period.

"Almost there, another four hundred li and I'll reach the territory of the Yellow Marsh Dynasty. I hope I don't encounter any patrols!"

Looking at the undulating hills, Tian Yiming's pace quickened uncontrollably.

"Tian Yiming, where do you think you're running to?"

Suddenly, a cold and disdainful voice appeared beside Tian Yiming's ears, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

Tian Yiming's expression changed, and he immediately moved one Zhang to his left. This was his greatest reliance, allowing him to escape from Profound Water City all the way to the South Ridge City territory. It was his Human Grade Great Accomplishment movement technique, Illusory Body Folding Steps.

It allowed him to suddenly change direction at any moment while running at full speed.

Combined with his naturally astonishing hearing, which he had honed to the extreme for Sound Location, and aided by Illusory Body Folding Steps, it had saved him countless times.

This time was no exception.

"Bang!..."

Tian Yiming, who had moved to the side, did not see what had whistled past his previous location.

But he clearly saw a series of trees being penetrated. The power of it made his scalp tingle. He knew his Protective Qi could not withstand it.

The moment Tian Yiming stopped after moving to the side, a figure suddenly crossed dozens of meters and stood directly in front of him.

It was Zhao Ping'an, who had been pursuing him all along.

With Zhao Ping'an's speed, he should have caught up long ago, but Tian Yiming wasn't foolish and hadn't fled in a straight line. Instead, he had circled through the forest for a long time.

If his Body Cultivation hadn't reached the Martial Venerable realm, causing Zhao Ping'an's facial features to undergo a qualitative leap and allowing him to quickly detect subtle traces in the forest, he might have actually lost him.

"Young man, I advise you not to get involved in this mess. Having the treasure is one thing, but having the life to spend it is another!"

Looking at Zhao Ping'an's excessively young face, with even the fuzz on his upper lip still present, Tian Yiming slowly drew the cold, gleaming Soft Sword from his waist. He kept his left hand behind his back and threatened in a low voice with a frown.

Although he couldn't discern Zhao Ping'an's true cultivation level, based on the hidden weapon just now and his movement technique that allowed him to catch up, he dared not be careless. In his hand behind his back, he was clutching a fist-sized iron ball covered in sharp spikes. This was the Shocking Heaven Thunder that Zheng Hetong had mentioned.

However, experts above the Grandmaster realm reacted quickly, and it was particularly difficult to hit someone with high-level movement techniques.

"Hahahaha, interesting. A mere sixth-level Grandmaster dares to threaten me? And you killed my men and stole my Spiritual Medicine. A mess? You call this shallow puddle a mess?"

Zhao Ping'an was amused by Tian Yiming's words.

"Alright, you can die now. Before you die, I'll let you know that what you call a mess is nothing in my eyes!"

As Zhao Ping'an spoke, his right hand rapidly filled with Qi, and a massive Qi Great Saber, three meters wide and nearly thirty meters long, materialized.

This was the limit attack range of an eighth-level Great Grandmaster, over eight Zhang and approaching nine Zhang, not far from the so-called Forty Meter Great Saber of his previous life.

"G-G-Great Grandmaster!!!"

Tian Yiming's expression shifted from solemnity to shock, then quickly turned to terror. He even stammered in his exclamation.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

With a casual wave of Zhao Ping'an's right hand, the nearly thirty-meter-long Qi great saber in his hand swept forward as lightly as a feather, instantly slicing across Tian Yiming's neck.

His sharp-looking long sword was also cut in half.