Six days after his last outing, Chen Dengming felt the gathering place had suddenly changed its environment.
The streets that had previously been quite lively were now desolate and dreary on all sides.
It was almost noon, yet frost was congealing around the roadside.
The few pedestrians were mortals with sallow complexions and in tattered clothes, seemingly out to forage for some firewood or find food.
The cultivators seemed to have collectively gone into hiding. Those few occasionally seen wore cautious expressions and hurried in their steps.
Passing by Zanhua Tower, Chen Dengming glanced at it.
He found that although the building was open, business was desolate.
Not a single refined guest came out; only muffled, seemingly lifeless tunes drifted from within.
His heart inevitably sank.
It seemed the environment of the gathering place had truly worsened, and Zanhua Tower's business had faded just like the vegetation on the roadside today.
"Has something happened recently?"
He spoke up to ask Wu Chen.
Wu Chen nodded solemnly, looked left and right, and said, "The people of Iron Forest Hall clashed with Hutong Street yesterday. One of Qian Yuan's strongholds was raided. Those pirated gu-refining workshops you had me investigate before—who would have thought they were actually run by Qian Yuan?
After the people of Iron Forest Hall raided his stronghold and workshop, the supplies inside were completely looted."
"Iron Forest Hall is so uninhibited?"
Chen Dengming was dumbfounded.
This meant going to direct war with Hutong Street. Could Qian Yuan swallow this insult?
Moreover, this seemed to be a further provocation by the Zhu Family against the Luo Family.
After all, such a thing had happened to the rogue cultivator forces backed by both sides.
Wu Chen said in a deep voice, "Hutong Street will likely fight it out with Iron Forest Hall today, but I am not optimistic. Flower Rain Gate might just meddle in."
Hearing Flower Rain Gate, Chen Dengming understood and asked, "Did Qian Yuan go find the master of the workshop?"
Wu Chen shook his head. "How could he? Even if he did, the master of the workshop wouldn't—"
He shook his head and added, "The master of the workshop admonished us to act low-profile and not get involved."
Chen Dengming felt a headache coming on at these words.
What time was it? They still didn't understand the principle of the lips being gone and the teeth feeling cold, and were still engaging in infighting.
However, thinking that if Golden Character Workshop truly intended to walk together with Hutong Street to counter Iron Forest Hall and Flower Rain Tower, he would also be unable to stay out of it. When the real fight started—
"Even if a fight doesn't break out, once Hutong Street falls, it will soon be Golden Character Workshop's turn. Is Xu Ning not in a rush?"
Chen Dengming felt that while Xu Ning was not in a rush, he was already anxious. The thought of leaving grew increasingly firm, and he wanted to turn back right now to get his luggage and run.
During this period, he had already made preparations to run at any moment. His luggage had long been packed and even divided into several bundles, hidden separately in several different locations.
As he pondered this in his heart, the group had already walked out of the gathering place and reached the path outside.
Following the path as a shortcut, they would soon arrive near the gu-refining grounds.
The branches and leaves of the trees along both sides of the road were already completely bare, presenting a charcoal-like black color, peering about restlessly and quietly.
Though clearly windless, it carried a biting chill.
Chen Dengming inexplicably felt a sense of anomaly.
Within the array disk at his waist, Little Array Spirit also felt slightly restless. He was just about to speak to Wu Chen when a warning omen suddenly flashed through his heart, and he immediately dodged sideways.
"Whoosh—"
A spear like golden lightning instantly pierced through the chest of Wu Chen, who was speaking right beside him. Flesh and blood splattered, and a few warm drops of blood mixed with minced meat flew directly onto the back of Chen Dengming's neck.
That warm and sticky sensation, as if a perverted old devil had fiercely licked him, caused goosebumps to instantly rise on his neck, making him feel a intense crisis...
"There are enemies!!"
The sudden change happened too fast.
The other two cultivators also had their faces splattered with flesh and blood, and only a moment later did they react.
One screamed and retreated, while the other took out a talisman to prepare a counterattack.
Yet in the next instant, the air heated up drastically, and several more fireballs and golden spears came hurtling in succession.
Before the two cultivators could form a counterattack, they were blasted down. The violent roar was like exploding gasoline bottles, jarring to the ear.
Chen Dengming's movement technique was extremely fast, and he had already dodged away.
Turning his head to look, he saw six Iron Forest Hall cultivators wearing black mysterious robes coming aggressively from the hillside.
The spiritual might emitted by the leading person was very strong, at least at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Level. It was Lin Jun, one of the higher-ups of Iron Forest Hall, and he pointed straight at him.
"Take him down! Drag him back!"
"Damn it!"
Chen Dengming did not hesitate to execute the Divine Speed Technique, running swiftly with an extremely ugly expression.
He had just been thinking that Iron Forest Hall was only fighting Hutong Street and hadn't officially started a war with Golden Character Workshop yet, so even if he turned back right then, he would have enough time to prepare his gold and silver valuables to evacuate.
As a result, they struck without warning.
And they had actually come straight for him, apparently intending to capture him, a gu-refining master, to serve as a tool.
Accidents truly were everywhere. When you thought everything was planned out very well, reality would deal you a heavy blow, and everything formalized and predetermined could only be a scripted fantasy.
If not run now, then when?
Chen Dengming's figure darted forward like an arrow, his speed shockingly fast. In a split second, he advanced a distance of more than forty zhang, and the tree shadows on both sides rapidly receded...
Yet at this very moment, a powerful, sharp aura like a tangible substance assaulted him from behind, its spiritual might oppressive.
Chen Dengming was startled, knowing it was a magical artifact. Not daring to be negligent, he immediately pinched incantations to wield his artifact, listening to the wind to discern positions.
Whoosh—
The flying sword obtained from the short-lived ghost darted out, colliding with the magical artifact behind him to produce a "clanging" explosion. The flying sword wailed and trembled, cracking and flying apart.
A middle-grade magical artifact!
At this moment, two people suddenly rushed out again from the forest ahead, their momentum stern, pincering him together.
One had already driven the talisman in his hand, while the other sneered and drove a magical artifact.
This was actually an ambush set beforehand; Iron Forest Hall's target was indeed him. Once captured, he feared he would be reduced to a gu-refining tool in the future.
"Scram!"
Chen Dengming roared furiously, knowing there was no retreating at this point. His wildness exposed, he abruptly pulled out the Ice Spirit Blade and fiercely slashed out with a single blade.
Boom!—
Several zhang of blade Qi were fierce and oppressive, as imposing as a thousand troops or Mount Tai pressing down, slashing down with murderous frost. This caused the two charging people to bear the brunt, impacted by such a tragic and desperate momentum as if entering an ice cellar.
With a loud bang!
The incoming fireball burst into countless sparks and exploded.
The magical robe on Chen Dengming's exterior billowed with a golden light shield for body protection.
Without altering his speed, he rushed out of the fire ring, slashing out in the air along a strange curved trajectory. Suddenly accelerating, he fiercely struck the oncoming magical artifact.
With a clang!
The magical artifact was knocked flying.
The cultivator wielding that magical artifact felt a tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing, actually cowed by Chen Dengming's tiger-like momentum.
Almost at the same time, a black shadow assaulted him.
"Careful!"
Lin Jun in the rear shouted a reminder.
The cultivator quickly retreated, spiritual might erupting from his body, his robes fluttering wildly. He raised his hand in a summon, and a mirror-shaped magical artifact shone upon the black shadow, actually freezing the Blood Centipede Gu in place for a moment.
"Another Qi Cultivation Fourth Level!?"
Chen Dengming's tiger eyes condensed. Perceiving the wildly attacking threat from behind, he roared angrily. The moment he squatted low into a bow stance and lunged forward, the Artifact Control Art was executed, and the Ice Spirit Blade instantly shrank, transforming into a flying knife.
His body followed the blade, the flying knife left his hand, and the blade momentum suddenly accelerated, the stirred-up airflow becoming even stronger.
Yet in the eyes of the two opposite him, it was merely a flash of blade light.
Puff—
Fresh blood splattered, turning into ice crystals before even hitting the ground.
The mirror light shattered, the Blood Centipede Gu roared, and it flashed past.
Screams erupted simultaneously with several gasps of astonishment.
Chen Dengming forcibly gathered his breath, taking advantage of the fact that the Divine Speed Technique had not yet expired. His figure "pounced" out faster than a squall, reaching forty zhang away in an instant.
Lin Jun and the other cultivators only saw figures crossing; Chen Dengming had actually broken out of the pincer encirclement, and even instantaneously shot out a flying golden spear to attack.
"Clang!—"
Lin Jun casually drove his magical artifact to shatter the golden spear. Just as he was about to pursue, his footsteps suddenly paused, and he looked at his companion beside him with a shocked expression.
One of the cultivators who had previously participated in the interception abruptly had his gaze turn dim, a bloody trace left by a piercing flying knife appearing on his forehead. Afterwards, the blood congealed into ice and he tumbled backward.
"Ah!—It hurts to death!"
On the other side, that Qi Cultivation Fourth Level cultivator holding the treasure mirror magical artifact screamed, quickly driving his magical artifact to sever his own left arm.
Yet the moment that left arm hit the ground, it was already spurting cyan-black blood, and the wounds covered by his clothing were filled with bizarre gu poison.
"Gu worms?"
Lin Jun and the others were terrified, immediately stopping in their tracks one after another. Looking again at Chen Dengming, who had long since run out of sight in the distance, their minds trembled and they all broke out in a sweat without realizing it.
What on earth was this fellow's strength? He actually instantly killed a Qi Cultivation Second Level cultivator and severely injured a Qi Cultivation Fourth Level cultivator.
And this running speed—how did it feel faster than any of them executing the Divine Speed Technique?
At this thought, as they looked at each other in dismay, then glanced at the corpses and severed arm on the ground, their hearts felt heavy. Each of them saw the extinguished desire for pursuit in one another's eyes, and the tense, stern atmosphere inevitably relaxed somewhat.
They were all rogue cultivators; in this freezing weather, they were just trying to earn a living. Sweating and bleeding was fine, but as for life-threatening jobs, well... they'd better just forget it.
Before you continue