The man in the lead had a young, handsome face. He wore black battle armor, with two pale blue rings of light circling his body, and stood with his arms folded across his chest, looking down on Li Qiang and his two companions.
Suddenly, Mei Jingjing cried, "Watch out, he's an Attendant of the Litang Kingdom!" She flicked her hand, sending three whip shadows flying.
"Still the same few moves. Show me something new!" The man reached through the air for the whip shadows. They wound around his wrist on contact, but blue light flashed along his arm, and the whip shadows vanished without a trace.
Mei Jingjing gritted her teeth. "Li Zifeng, don't push us too far! You're still haunting us, even now. Tell An Lang that our Mei Household will never submit!"
The five men roared with laughter. Li Zifeng sneered, "A little girl like you hardly warrants sending out the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys. Ha! An Lang? He couldn't get all five of us to come together." His tone turned vicious. "Li Qiang! That's right, your name is Li Qiang. You ruined our plans. The Litang Kingdom absolutely won't let you off this time."
Li Qiang was a little nervous. Although he had fought quite a few times, he still felt somewhat unaccustomed to facing enemies each time. He kept smiling. "Haha, that's right, I'm Li Qiang. Get it? It means I'm stronger than you! Hey, fellow Li, what are you planning to do?" Li Qiang realized he seemed to be getting better and better at mouthing off.
"Have a taste of something good!" Mei Jingjing threw three Ice Explosion Bombs she had obtained from the Shadow-Shooting Insects.
Li Zifeng casually caught them without a care, and paid dearly for it. His expression changed as the Ice Explosion Bombs detonated. Despite his formidable cultivation, he was caught off guard, and one hand was almost blown to pieces. The fierce cold contained within the Ice Explosion Bombs instantly covered his black battle armor in frost.
Li Qiang took the opportunity to send Zhao Hao a voice transmission, telling him to protect Niuniu, while firing a string of golden eagles.
These five men had come prepared. One of them, a fat man, formed a strange hand seal. A small black silk net emerged from his plump body and rose above his head. He shouted, "Go!"
The black silk net suddenly expanded. The golden eagles struck it, setting off a series of thunderous explosions. The fat man was forced back step after step, seemingly under great strain. The two men standing beside him each spat a mouthful of True Essence Power into the black net. At once, it shone with an eerie blue-green light and swept toward Li Qiang and his companions.
Only now did Li Zifeng recover. Fine cracking sounds came from the ice covering his black battle armor. He took a step forward, and the armor crumbled off his body like snowflakes. He was both pained and humiliated, furious that Mei Jingjing had made him lose face before his companions.
Li Zifeng bellowed, "None of you are getting out alive! I'll tear you apart!" He too spat True Essence Power into the black net.
This black net was an unconventional weapon called the Heaven-Burning Lord's Fall, a Law Treasure cultivated jointly by the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys. Relying on it, they had defeated countless cultivators.
Li Qiang had a keen eye. Knowing that the three of them were no match for their opponents, he sent Zhao Hao a voice transmission, telling him to take Niuniu and flee toward the Bewilderment Forest first, while he held off that damned black net.
Zhao Hao hesitated briefly before agreeing. He was more experienced than Li Qiang and knew this was the best way to keep everyone alive.
Li Qiang rapidly spurred his Nascent Soul into action, channeling True Essence Power into the Eagle Strike Crossbow while preventing it from firing. In an instant, purple light spread over his entire body, and an enormous purple-gold eagle actually manifested around him. Li Qiang shouted, "Go, now!"
Zhao Hao grabbed Mei Jingjing, spat out his flying sword, and flew toward the Bewilderment Forest.
The Five Heaven-Burning Envoys were secretly alarmed. Li Zifeng said, "Watch out for that eagle!"
Li Qiang had not expected accumulating True Essence Power in the Eagle Strike Crossbow to produce such an effect. A little surprised, he circulated his true essence, and the purple-gold eagle beat its enormous golden wings, carrying him into the air.
The Heaven-Burning Lord's Fall Net glimmered with eerie blue-green light as it slowly closed in on Li Qiang.
Mei Jingjing was frantic as Zhao Hao forcibly dragged her away. From afar, she saw the golden eagle emerge around Li Qiang, then watched him fly up to meet the black net. She could not stop her tears from falling.
As he watched the approaching black net, Li Qiang's mind grew calm. At the very instant the net swept over him, he bent his body and sprang like a shrimp, slipping free of the energy that had taken the golden eagle's form. The moment the black net touched the purple-gold eagle, it wrapped around it. With a thought from Li Qiang, the golden eagle exploded.
Dazzling golden light burst outward, bathing everything in gold.
The energy contained within this golden eagle was simply too great. A tremendous roar echoed through the mountains, and the midair explosion shattered everything within a radius of two hundred meters. All six men were hurled away by the immense blast, and the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys spat blood. The Heaven-Burning Lord's Fall Net was intimately linked to all five of them, and its destruction left them all severely wounded.
Even Li Qiang had not expected this outcome, but that strike had also consumed a third of his True Essence Power.
A streak of green light flew swiftly toward them. As it flashed, a figure landed-the very man who had rescued Du Dingguang at the gambling house. He looked coldly at the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys. "Utter fools. You couldn't even handle this little matter. What use are you?" The five men knelt in terror and begged forgiveness. The man continued, "I'll give you one last chance. Capture him for me."
"Hey, who are you? This isn't fair! Five against one, and you're hiding off to the side watching the fun, ready to strike when you get the chance. Damn it, I'm done playing!" Li Qiang spouted nonsense while looking for a way to slip away. Unless he had absolutely no choice, he had no desire to foolishly fight to the death. As a former businessman, he understood better than anyone how to act as circumstances demanded. As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood.
"Take a look at my golden eagles!" Li Qiang fired a string of golden eagles, then sprang away in flight. The Five Heaven-Burning Envoys panicked. If they failed to catch Li Qiang, their fate might be even worse than his. Without stopping to heal, the five forcibly raised the Heaven-Burning Lord's Fall Net and chased him.
The man was rather surprised to see Li Qiang flee. He flew into the air and watched silently to see how the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys would capture him. He would keep his word and give the five envoys a chance to prove themselves.
Firing golden eagles continuously depleted Li Qiang's true essence too quickly. He reckoned that fighting this way would leave him no way out; he had to change tactics. He dropped from the air and darted into the dense forest.
The Five Heaven-Burning Envoys watched Li Qiang hide in the forest and drove the black net down over it. The net spread wide, covering the trees within a radius of three hundred meters. The instant the trees touched it, the yin fire on the net burned them to ashes, without even a wisp of smoke. Almost unimpeded, the black net reached the ground.
Li Qiang barely paused after entering the dense forest, flying level to the left at tremendous speed. Even so, the black net almost caught him. Seeing the trees it had burned away sent chills through him. It would be no joke if that thing caught him. He darted deeper into the forest.
Under the man's watchful gaze, the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys drove the black net desperately onward. The Heaven-Burning Lord's Fall Net skimmed the ground close behind Li Qiang. It was truly terrifying, destroying practically everything it encountered, but this also consumed a great deal of the five envoys' true essence.
"Fuck your mothers! Addicted to chasing me, are you? Have this!" Driven into a corner like a dog forced to leap a wall, Li Qiang let the curses fly. He struck with his palm, sending a boulder over two meters tall hurtling toward the black net.
The boulder rose a full three meters and slammed into the net. The Five Heaven-Burning Envoys shuddered violently and spat blood. All five exerted their strength together, shattering the boulder into small pieces before it could fall.
Seeing that it worked, Li Qiang searched for large rocks as he ran. Rounding the foot of a mountain, he cheered: before him lay a stone forest. He rushed inside and hid behind an enormous rock, determined to smash that net to pieces with boulders.
The five envoys rounded the mountain's foot and stared dumbfounded. An immense stone forest lay before them. They could hardly sweep it with the black net; the net could not sweep it away anyway. While they stood stunned, Li Qiang went on the offensive. Cursing, punching, and kicking, he sent the boulders around him smashing into the black net one after another without pause.
Every one of the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys felt stifled with frustration. This brat kept coming up with crooked tricks. It was too late to withdraw the net now; they could only pour all their true essence into breaking up the incoming boulders.
The man cursed from the air. "Five idiots! Fools! Useless good-for-nothings! You should have thrown away that rotten net long ago! The five of you could have beaten this brat to death outright. How can such brainless creatures exist in this world?"
Li Zifeng was fiercely competitive. The man's abuse threw his mind into turmoil, and he actually used his Nascent Soul to withdraw the net. With four men driving it forward and one pulling it back, a backlash struck immediately. Pulled between the two forces, the unusual treasure gave a strange cry and vanished into nothing. The force of the backlash gravely depleted the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys, instantly stripping them of their ability to fight.
Li Qiang thought, If I don't run now, when will I? He took to his heels. Good heavens, with that speed, even rabbits were his grandsons.
The man landed and said icily, "I gave you your chance. A pity, such a pity. You didn't seem to take it seriously, did you?"
The Five Heaven-Burning Envoys trembled all over in terror. Li Zifeng pleaded, "Senior Lei, for my master's sake, please spare this junior just this once."
The man laughed loudly. "Your master? Haha, very well. I, Lei Tianxiao, will leave you intact corpses."
"You...!"
A streak of green sword light swiftly pierced the crowns of all five men's skulls. Red light flashed as their Nascent Souls shot into the sky.
Lei Tianxiao beckoned, casting a sheet of green light over the Nascent Souls fleeing in every direction. The green light seemed to possess tremendous suction. With shrill, agonized squeals, the five Nascent Souls were drawn into a dark green gourd.
He laughed smugly. "Not a bad haul! Haha!" A jet of Samadhi True Fire shot toward the five corpses, reducing them to ashes in an instant.
Lei Tianxiao sprang into the sky. Far away, he could see Li Qiang running at tremendous speed. He muttered smugly, "Little bastard, let's see where you can run."
Li Qiang was truly in trouble this time.
Li Qiang felt that, at his current running speed, he seemed faster than a cheetah. He was a little intoxicated by this speed, swift as the wind and lightning, and even thought he could surely win a championship or something if he entered the Olympics. While he was feeling pleased with himself, a green sword rainbow streaked overhead, and Lei Tianxiao landed effortlessly directly in his path.
Li Qiang could not help cursing himself inwardly. What an idiot! Hadn't he learned to fly? How could he possibly outrun him on foot? Li Qiang stopped and quietly weighed his options. This fellow seemed formidable. He could not beat him in a fight, so how could he deal with him? Scratching his head, he put on an innocent look and prepared to stall for time. He smiled. "Hey, who are you? Let's hear your name. I don't think I know you."
Lei Tianxiao did not normally smile. He only laughed loudly when pleased with himself or killing someone. He laughed now. "I am Lei Tianxiao, the man here to send you to your grave. You have only yourself to blame for ruining our great undertaking. Haha!" A sword shot out, aimed straight at the crown of Li Qiang's head.
"What the hell?" Seeing that Lei Tianxiao had not taken the bait, Li Qiang swung his Hundred-Blade Spear up against the sword shadow. The crushing pressure startled him. The green sword shadow instantly became hundreds upon thousands of streams of light, seeping into every gap like mercury spilling across the ground.
The Crimson Flame Dragon Shield immediately unleashed its maximum protection. The purple dragon spun rapidly, but the sudden pressure nearly left Li Qiang unable to breathe. Lei Tianxiao was equally shocked. His flying sword could not penetrate Li Qiang's defenses, and even showed signs of rebounding against him. He spat a mouthful of True Essence Power into the sword shadows, making them blaze with dazzling light.
Seeing that the Crimson Flame Dragon Shield was about to give way, Li Qiang shouted in desperation, "Cold Spirit Giant Palm!" True essence surged into his hand. His entire hand swelled, purple light flickered, and a palm the size of a washbasin flew from his wrist.
Hou Pijing's exclusive technique was extraordinary indeed. As soon as the Cold Spirit Giant Palm left his wrist and touched the sword shadows, it made crisp popping sounds. The pressure abruptly eased, but the Crimson Flame Dragon Shield had already reached its limit. With a mournful cry, the purple dragon dissolved into the void.
Li Qiang could spare no attention for the Crimson Flame Dragon Shield. He concentrated his entire mind on the Cold Spirit Giant Palm. The crisp pops gradually became resounding crashes. Lei Tianxiao was secretly alarmed. He had already used half his strength and still had not won, so he added another tenth and pressed down.
"Fuck! Go fuck yourself!" Li Qiang poured in every last bit of his True Essence Power and, like a madman, launched another palm strike.
Wind and clouds changed color, and heaven and earth shook. This head-on clash utterly surprised Lei Tianxiao: the two had actually fought to a draw. In truth, Li Qiang had still suffered badly. His opponent had unleashed only one sword attack, and he had already been unable to withstand it. Now he did not even have enough strength left to fly. How could he keep fighting?
"Not bad, not bad. You actually withstood sixty percent of my power." Looking at the great stretches of collapsed stone forest around them, Lei Tianxiao knew Li Qiang had no strength left to resist. He teased him like a cat toying with a mouse. "I thought Fu Chongbi had trained some outstanding disciple. So that's all you amount to. Don't blame me for showing no mercy, then."
Lei Tianxiao was swaggering now, seemingly paying Fu Shan no regard. In truth, if Fu Shan were here, he probably would not dare let out a fart. He was taking advantage of Li Qiang being alone, with no one aware of his predicament. As for the Five Heaven-Burning Envoys, who had known, he had already seized the opportunity to silence them.
Li Qiang deeply regretted not practicing the Primordial Beginning Sect's final technique, Walking Posture, which was specifically meant for rapid movement. He asked, "Are you from the Litang Kingdom's Attendant Hall?" He thought, I'll stall for a while and find a way to recover some True Essence Power. This fellow is definitely an expert. He doesn't even take Brother Fu Shan seriously. Now the benefits of having practiced the Primordial Beginning Sect's Sitting Posture became apparent. Li Qiang secretly spurred his Nascent Soul into action and began recovering at high speed.
Lei Tianxiao plainly had not had enough fun yet. "Hmph, what is the Litang Kingdom's Attendant Hall worth? I haven't sunk that low." His tone was utterly contemptuous.
Li Qiang laughed loudly. "Haha, so you aren't risking your life for the lowly Litang Kingdom. Interesting!" His tone shifted. "Then why the hell are you chasing me so relentlessly? Think I'm pretty? Pah!"
"At death's door, and still so stubborn. Let me skin you alive for some amusement." A mass of green mist surged toward Li Qiang. This was one of Lei Tianxiao's sinister weapons. If it touched someone without adequate protection, it was truly more terrifying than being skinned alive: it could corrode a person's skin away.
Li Qiang retreated swiftly while throwing an Ice Explosion Bomb, then sprang into the air. In that short interval, he had already recovered a fair amount of True Essence Power. He continued taunting, "Save it for skinning yourself! I'm done playing." As he spoke, he flew awkwardly toward the Bewilderment Forest.
Lei Tianxiao flew into a towering rage and cursed, "Little bastard, you sly, slippery thing! I'll..." Before he could finish saying what he would do, he sprang after him, wondering how the brat had recovered so quickly.
One chased and the other fled. Li Qiang knew he could never outpace him in a straight line, so he veered east and west, darting wildly up, down, left, and right through the sky. Every so often, he threw an Ice Explosion Bomb and made a few sarcastic remarks. He angered Lei Tianxiao until his eyes reddened, leaving him too agitated to pursue calmly and repeatedly allowing Li Qiang to slip through gaps.
Lei Tianxiao suddenly stopped in midair. He was an expert after all. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately changed tactics. He took out a small golden box and released the monster inside. It was a green, batlike creature, which flew up with shrill squeaks.
Li Qiang looked back as he flew and saw a green bat pursuing him, wrapped in green mist and as large as a table seating eight. Scared out of his wits, he accelerated into frantic flight.
Controlling the green monster from afar, Lei Tianxiao laughed smugly. "Go on, run! Haha, run a little faster!"
The green monster drew closer and closer. Li Qiang had no solution. He had long since used up his Ice Explosion Bombs and dared not fire golden eagles. His remaining True Essence Power was only enough to keep him flying. He could only skim close to the ground, using the trees and rocks of the terrain to slow the green monster's pursuit. Lei Tianxiao was already out of sight; only the green monster remained close behind.
After passing several enormous rocks in succession, Li Qiang seemed to glimpse a trace of pink and flew toward it without thinking.
A great mass of pink mist drifted across the bottom of a valley. Li Qiang felt that he had seen this pink somewhere before, but had no time to think it through. He plunged headfirst into the mist.
As soon as he entered the pink mist, he felt a greasy slipperiness. An enormous rock stood nearby. He ducked down and hid behind it.
The pink mist suddenly contracted rapidly, revealing someone on the valley floor. Li Qiang was shocked: it was Hua Meiniang. No wonder it had felt so familiar. He thought, Good heavens, another enemy. Before she noticed him, he hurried to recover his true essence.
"Oh my, whose Flying Bat Rong is this? No answer? Then I'll help myself to it."
A great cloud of pink mist enveloped Flying Bat Rong. Amid a flurry of shrill squeals, a drawn-out shout came from afar. "Stop...!"
A green sword rainbow flashed past, and Lei Tianxiao landed on the valley floor. Looking around, he asked in puzzlement, "Where is he? Where did he go?"
Hua Meiniang was furious. Such a great beauty stood right before him, yet he actually pretended not to see her and kept looking around for someone else. Without letting it show, she laughed sweetly. "Isn't this Lei Tianxiao, who hangs around Qianjie Star? How did you find time to come amuse yourself on Heavenly Court Star? You won't even greet your big sister. Have you found some powerful backer and grown your eyes up onto your forehead?"
"Hide all you like! Let's see where you can hide, you little bastard!" A beam of green light struck the enormous rock, blasting it apart instantly. A figure shot into the air and leaped onto the valley floor. The three happened to form a triangle, facing one another.
Hua Meiniang exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this Old Master Fu's brother?" She giggled sweetly. "So you were transported to Heavenly Court Star." She added, "Little Lei-Lei, aren't you impressive now? Daring to chase down and attack Old Master Fu's brother. Your big sister is so impressed."
Lei Tianxiao cursed inwardly. How had he run into this jinx, Hua Meiniang? Worse still, how did she know Li Qiang, and know he was connected to Fu Shan? If he captured Li Qiang before her and she spread the word, wouldn't Fu Shan's Chongxuan Sect fight him to the death? Lei Tianxiao did not know that Hua Meiniang was the very reason Li Qiang had come to Heavenly Court Star.
Li Qiang said nothing. Seizing the opportunity, he quietly clasped an Immortal Stone in his hand and rapidly replenished his true essence.
Flying Bat Rong was still squealing strangely. Lei Tianxiao took a closer look and was heartbroken. Tiny essence-draining needles covered Flying Bat Rong's body. It was already listless and had shrunk to only a third of its original size.
A savage green light flickered in Lei Tianxiao's eyes. "Hua Meiniang, you know what happens to those who oppose our Qianjie Star. Stop playing the fool all day and remove those needles from Flying Bat Rong!"
"Oh, Little Lei-Lei is getting more and more formidable. Can't your big sister just take them back?" Hua Meiniang gave a sinister laugh and beckoned. Flying Bat Rong shrieked in agony as countless essence-draining needles sprang from its body, draining it into a dried corpse in an instant.
Hua Meiniang giggled. "Your big sister took them back."
Heartbroken, Lei Tianxiao howled, "Hua Meiniang, you slut! I'll never let this go!"
Hua Meiniang's character was absolutely notorious in the cultivation world. She could be said to provoke everyone she met, and no one had ever seen her fear anyone. She even dared provoke those as powerful as Fu Shan, let alone Lei Tianxiao.
Lei Tianxiao unleashed his flying sword, aiming straight for Hua Meiniang's head.
Hua Meiniang laughed. "You're getting bolder and bolder, actually daring to draw weapons against your big sister!" In an instant, peach blossoms filled the sky.