"Look up!"
A furious shout rang out...
The Kekumeng woman looked up and saw four figures closing in from the north, south, east, and west. Several telekinetic weapons hurtled toward her.
"Who are you people?" the Kekumeng woman shouted. Then she blurred into a streak of azure light, swiftly dodging the incoming telekinetic weapons.
She glanced back at the several weapons hot on her heels and cursed inwardly, Damn it!
"Run!"
"Kill yourself!"
The arrogant voices rang out from above, one after another.
In an instant, a biting wind swept through the air, shrouding it in white mist as frost crystals drifted down.
"You're An Changyan, right?"
"Someone's paid a lot of money to protect you."
It was Chen Beixun who spoke. Crimson vines extended from behind him, entwining into a giant hand about eight meters long.
The hand suddenly expanded thousands of times, descending like the Five-Finger Mountain.
"Run!"
"A World Lord-level plant life-form!"
The four men were terrified and tried to flee.
A suction force suddenly arose from the palm of the hand formed by the Demon Island Vine, pulling the fleeing men toward it.
"No!"
"What kind of plant life-form is this? How can it—aaah!"
"It's devouring me!"
"Listen, it's a misunderstanding!"
They howled and kept trying to explain themselves.
At this stage, the Demon Island Vine's devouring power was fearsomely strong!
In no time, the four men fell silent.
Boom! Boom!
The giant hand's five fingers slammed into the black earth, shaking the mountains and ground.
A fierce gust swept over An Changyan. He first glanced at Chen Beixun, then looked toward the Demon Island Vine.
"The Demon Island Vine?" An Changyan stared at the crimson hand in astonishment and thought, It's usually hard for an ordinary Undying to get their hands on a plant life-form like this.
This guy!
Is he lucky? A scion of an Undying family?
No, judging by what that man said, he shouldn't be from an Undying family.
The Demon Island Vine was extremely expensive to raise, and its purchase price was just as high. Back when Chen Beixun had been at the Planetary and Star Levels, he had poured half his fortune into it.
Outside the giant hand formed by the Demon Island Vine, Chen Beixun thought with a sigh, I hadn't wanted to get mixed up in this.
But what could I do? They offered too much!
A full two chaos units!
Two chaos units could match the entire fortune of some World Lords.
"Demon Island Vine, we should go," Chen Beixun said, gazing at the giant hand formed by the vine.
"Master, they're still a little hard to absorb!"
"These guys' armor is too tough!"
"Wait a moment."
Hearing the Demon Island Vine, Chen Beixun frowned, surprise in his eyes. "Metal above D9-class?"
"That... is something an ordinary Universe Level fighter couldn't afford."
He felt he'd made a huge mess of things and grew uneasy.
If they put a bounty on me and bring in D-class weapons to deal with me...
Wouldn't that be a huge problem?
The Demon Island Vine will be exposed after this fight. I won't be able to keep a low profile anymore.
Hovering in the air, Chen Beixun transmitted, "An Changyan, where are your two guards?"
An Changyan was annoyed that Chen Beixun had addressed him by name, but he still replied politely, "Could you come with me?"
"I'm a stickler for rules. One job, one payment. So... you'll have to pay extra," Chen Beixun replied firmly.
"Hiss..."
An Changyan took a breath, then transmitted, "I'll pay more!"
"Your Highness, show me the way," Chen Beixun said.
An Changyan: "..."
Chen Beixun recalled the Demon Island Vine, flew in front of An Changyan, and nodded.
"Follow me," An Changyan said with a furrowed brow.
The two turned into streaks of light and shot skyward.
Chen Beixun rode the Golden Cloud Shuttle behind An Changyan, who stood on a black, disk-shaped telekinetic flying device.
"The Shadow Void Disk?" Chen Beixun exclaimed. He'd heard of it years ago. Though he'd only heard it described, he'd always longed to own one and had never forgotten it.
"Your Highness is using the Shadow Void Disk, right?" Chen Beixun asked telepathically.
An Changyan looked back at Chen Beixun and thought, He knows his stuff.
"Yes," An Changyan replied.
Chen Beixun couldn't help feeling tempted. If he could, he would have killed An Changyan on the spot.
Everyone had a few things they longed for in life, whether fame or a work of art, great or small.
"You could try your luck at an entry-level auction in the Void Universe."
"You could also try an intermediate-level auction. Your chances would be better there."
Qishan said calmly.
Chen Beixun collected his thoughts and communicated with Qishan using his mind. "How much does the Shadow Void Disk usually sell for?"
"It's hard to say."
"If someone's determined to outbid everyone else, it could go for over three chaos units!"
Chen Beixun gave a few brief replies, then focused his attention on staying alert.
Suddenly, a terrifying pressure swept over them.
The force was so overwhelming that the two men could clearly feel it from far away.
"A World Lord-level battle!" Chen Beixun exclaimed, looking at An Changyan with a trace of anger.
He could also feel waves of spatial fluctuations.
Chen Beixun had already grasped a trace of the law of space and understood its value. That made him realize that the fighters must be formidable.
As they drew closer, a feeling of suffocation settled over them.
It was like a boulder pressing down on them.
"The law of earth?" Chen Beixun frowned. "Both sides are World Lords who've comprehended the law of earth."
"Their grasp of the law of space is miles beyond mine!"
"Crazy woman." He regretted agreeing to this and even considered running away.
But now he was like an arrow on a drawn bow, with no choice but to let it fly.
Above a meteor crater, two men faced off.
"What's your name?" Pavadode glared at the red-armored man standing opposite him.
The man said nothing. He gripped a long saber, his body slightly bent as he prepared to strike.
Pavadode held his staff in both hands, assuming a defensive stance.
After several exchanges, Pavadode knew full well that he was no match for his opponent.
Bang!
The man kicked off the air with both legs and shot forward, leaving a phantom behind.
Pavadode raised his staff horizontally, blocking the man's downward slash.
Boom, boom!
A shock wave erupted and expanded in a circle, sweeping up black sand.
From a distance, it looked like a black sphere growing larger and larger.
"Troublesome!" Chen Beixun stopped moving forward.
An Changyan stopped as well when he saw Chen Beixun halt.
The battle inside the black sphere continued.
Pavadode went on the attack, swinging his staff at the man—Ben Jiangming.
A black shield appeared out of thin air in Ben Jiangming's right hand, blocking the strike.
Pavadode was worthy of his reputation as a ruthless fighter with a thousand consecutive wins at the Giant Axe Martial Arena. He seemed to have the upper hand.
But Ben Jiangming had a deeper grasp of the laws, and soon turned the tables.
Pavadode's combat experience was extensive, and he barely managed to hold his ground.
Bang!
A crimson vine suddenly lashed out. It was so fast that neither man had time to react.
They were both sent flying!
"You?!" An Changyan trembled, surprise plain on his face.
He'd never expected Chen Beixun to do this.
"Faster! Faster!" Chen Beixun ordered the Demon Island Vine.
The Demon Island Vine unleashed its full power. Two hundred and thirty-one long vines whipped toward Ben Jiangming, giving him no chance to catch his breath.
The 231 vines suddenly closed in around him and strangled him, then devoured him outright!
Had Ben Jiangming noticed Chen Beixun's arrival?
He had, but at the time he'd been locked in close combat with Pavadode. He simply hadn't expected Chen Beixun to attack both friend and foe! That was why he hadn't dodged the attack.
"Damn it!" Pavadode spat blood and groaned in pain. "You're one ruthless bastard!"
"Fighting that guy barely even hurt me."
"But that one hit of yours nearly killed me!"
Chen Beixun didn't dare say a word.