You Grabbed Him. What Does That Have to Do with Me?

The black-robed elder rode the wind, crossing a hundred miles of mountains and rivers in a single breath. Within moments, he was a thousand miles from Jianning City.

As he sped through the air on the wind, the black-robed elder glanced back out of the corner of his eye. No one was there.

"Just as I thought. He couldn't keep up." The black-robed elder smiled confidently.

He had deliberately taken several detours. Besides, the Ao Kingdom's terrain was complex, its mountain ranges rising and falling without end. Anyone unfamiliar with its geography had no hope of catching him.

After savoring his triumph for a while, the black-robed elder's smile slowly faded. His expression darkened, and his eyes grew vicious.

His grandson was dead. Unless he avenged him, his Dao heart would never know peace!

So what if that man was a Qi Refinement Perfected with three life-bound divine abilities?

As the saying went, a gentleman could wait ten years for his revenge. Once he became a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being, he would slaughter that wretch first!

The black-robed elder seethed, branding Zhang Yuan's face deep into his memory, waiting for the day he could avenge his hatred.

But just then, a voice rang out without warning.

"I trust you've been well, fellow Daoist. We meet again."

The black-robed elder nearly lost his soul to terror, staring ahead in horror.

A Golden Carriage suddenly appeared across his path, its radiance flowing over carved dragons and painted phoenixes, magnificent beyond measure.

Standing atop the Golden Carriage was none other than Zhang Yuan, looking at him with a faint, enigmatic smile.

"You've got to be joking! How did you catch up?" the black-robed elder cried in terror, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Zhang Yuan had clearly been nowhere behind him. How had he appeared ahead of him in the blink of an eye?

Zhang Yuan was indeed unfamiliar with the Ao Kingdom's terrain. Had [Golden Chariot] been roughly as fast as the black-robed elder, he really would have lost him.

Unfortunately for the elder, [Golden Chariot] could travel a thousand miles with a single thought. With such an overwhelming advantage in sheer speed, he could never escape, no matter how well he knew the terrain!

Zhang Yuan smiled without answering. Instead, he drove the Golden Carriage straight into the stunned black-robed elder.

Bang!

The collision landed squarely.

The black-robed elder, who had been riding the wind with his divine ability, plummeted toward the mountains below like a kite with its string cut.

He smashed straight through a mountain and landed in a patch of woodland.

Qi Refinement Perfected seized the creative power of heaven and earth. Beyond possessing life-bound divine abilities, they were hardly weak in body. Each Heavenly Dipper or Earthly Baleful Force they refined brought a qualitative transformation to their flesh.

Even so, the black-robed elder kept vomiting blood as he struggled to his feet. He was clearly badly injured.

"You despicable bastard, attacking me by surprise! Damn you!"

The black-robed elder seethed, wishing he could slice Zhang Yuan into a thousand pieces.

But he could only entertain that thought.

Soon, he would not even have the chance to do that.

For a streak of golden light was descending from the sky: Zhang Yuan, following close behind.

The golden light struck the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Several iron chains followed like dragons, attacking the black-robed elder from every direction.

Terror tore through the black-robed elder. He was about to rise into the air when he realized the iron chains had already sealed off the space overhead.

Zhang Yuan recalled the Golden Carriage and approached at an unhurried pace. Raising his hand, he prepared to bring the chains down and kill the black-robed elder in a single stroke.

But just as the black-robed elder was about to fight for his life, the bushes behind him rustled, and someone emerged.

The man wore a ragged padded coat, his dark face purple with cold. An herb basket rested on his back, a machete was in his right hand, and his left steadied a bundle of firewood. He was a farmer without a shred of cultivation.

Chen Qinkuai stared blankly at Zhang Yuan and the black-robed elder.

He had been searching the mountains for herbs and gathering some firewood along the way when he suddenly saw golden light fall from the sky. Driven by curiosity, he had followed it all the way here.

But he had never expected to find two lightly dressed men standing where the golden light had landed.

Chen Qinkuai had never attended school, but he was fairly quick-witted. He immediately dropped to his knees and bowed. "Th-this humble one is Chen Qinkuai. My respects to you, Immortal Masters."

Zhang Yuan frowned, not having expected someone to suddenly emerge.

The black-robed elder froze for a moment. His eyes, already resigned to death, rekindled like dead embers, revealing a glimmer of delighted surprise.

With a vicious laugh, the black-robed elder reached behind him and seized Chen Qinkuai by the neck as though picking up a chick.

"Good, good, good! You've arrived at just the right moment. Your name is Chen Qinkuai, isn't it? Help me survive this ordeal, and I guarantee you wealth and glory for the rest of your life!"

Despite the black-robed elder's promise, Chen Qinkuai could barely breathe with his neck clamped in that grip. Unable to utter half a word or properly struggle, he could only make tiny nodding and shaking motions with his head.

The black-robed elder stopped looking at the mortal and addressed Zhang Yuan instead. "If you have any conscience, fellow Daoist, let me leave today. Otherwise, this man will accompany me to the grave!"

He was gambling.

Gambling that Zhang Yuan was not a Demonic Dao Cultivator.

Judging from how Zhang Yuan had destroyed the corpse and erased the evidence, the odds were slim. But at this point, he had no better option.

If he gambled right, he would live. If he gambled wrong, he would kill the ant in his hand, then stake his life on one final fight with Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan remained expressionless. "You grabbed him. What does that have to do with me? Why should I let you leave?"

At those words, the black-robed elder began cursing inwardly.

He really is a Demonic Dao Cultivator! He probably follows the same path as that [Blood Miasma Heavenly Being]!

Otherwise, how could those words possibly come out of his mouth?

Damn it! If I survive this, the Demonic Dao and I will never coexist!

"Fellow Daoist, is there truly no peaceful end to this?" the black-robed elder asked, unwilling to give up.

Zhang Yuan did not respond.

"To think that I, Daoist Netherwind, who held sway over Jianning City for more than twenty years, would be driven into such a corner by you..."

The black-robed elder's heart sank to rock bottom. His face grew more savage, and his grip on Chen Qinkuai tightened, intent on snapping his neck outright.

Just as Chen Qinkuai's neck bones were about to break, a tremendous force slammed into the black-robed elder's arm.

His arm twisted instantly, forcing his hand open and releasing Chen Qinkuai.

"Who's there!"

The black-robed elder paled in shock, thinking someone had come to help Zhang Yuan.

He could not defeat Zhang Yuan alone. How could he possibly handle another opponent?

Yet as he looked around, no fourth person appeared. Instead, Zhang Yuan's figure, which had remained standing in place until then, gradually dimmed and dispersed on the wind, only to reappear in front of Chen Qinkuai.

[Severing Past and Present, Leaving No Trace].

Past-Life Body.

Zhang Yuan had previously seen Xiao Yuanjun use it this way. Now, copying the tiger by following the cat's example, he found it perfect for saving someone.

He casually tossed the farmer, Chen Qinkuai, aside.

Zhang Yuan brought his palms together, and the iron chains sealing off the space overhead swept down.

A heavenly net spread above and below, leaving nowhere to escape.

Realizing he had been played, the black-robed elder flew into a humiliated rage. Hardening his heart, he gathered a rapidly spinning black wind in his palm.

He had attained Six-Turn Qi Refinement and possessed two divine abilities.

His first life-bound divine ability, the one he used to ride the wind, was called [Blackwind Escape]. It specialized in escape arts and had no killing power.

His second life-bound divine ability was the exact opposite: it possessed only offensive power.

Its name was [Mirage Wind]!