Escape

For Zhang Xuezhou, avoiding battle when facing a powerful opponent is nothing new.

He didn't feel ashamed, nor did he think that giving way was a bad thing.

He practiced the Grain Avoidance Instruction, so his body was not afraid of physiological needs such as hunger and thirst for a long time. If Zhang Manqian and others could take care of him, Zhang Xuezhou could have lasted even longer.

In this mission, Zhang Xuezhou's first delay was ten days, which was also the remaining interval between his world travels.

As long as the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon can steal his three souls and seven spirits, or take over them and then remain motionless and cower in place, this period of avoiding battle can be extended.

Zhang Xuezhou was at a disadvantage in terms of movement, but he had a significant physical advantage.

The real test is his ability to maintain his time during the journey. If the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon can handle it, this battle can be prolonged.

If they can't handle it, or the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon are unlucky, or Zhang Xuezhou gets stuck in the battle and can't move around, causing the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon to wait on the tree chair, or something else.

That was all Zhang Xuezhou had to say, and he occasionally made some "uh-huh" sounds in response.

These sounds not only revealed some information to him, but for cultivators skilled in Demonic Sound Technique, they were also a way to set up sound traps, thereby misleading their opponents' judgment.

Everything was progressing as Zhang Xuezhou had envisioned, until a colossal black dragon emerged from the darkness.

"Luo Zhong?"

The motionless black dragon stood like a target, just as Zhang Xuezhou had targeted Zuo Jin, allowing the nine-petaled flower to relentlessly attack it.

If the black dragon had any advantage over Zuo Jin, it was that after being hit, the dragon was at least still repairing its body and did not suffer a physical collapse due to the brief beating.

"Luo Zhong can transform into this dragon-like body using magical techniques; there's no way he wouldn't have some experience in combat using magical techniques?"

It's not unusual for a third party to intervene in a contest of skill and strategy. In the contest between Emperor Jing and the Prince of Liang, the King of Huainan was involved, along with Zhang Xuezhou, who was secretly watching the spectacle.

Anyone with the relevant abilities, who is on the verge of a battle of wits, or who has used some kind of treasure, has a chance of getting involved.

The appearance of the black dragon was sudden, and Zhang Xuezhou could barely accept it, but he didn't understand its origins for a moment.

Zhang Xuezhou had held Luo Zhong's head and witnessed the stench emanating from it.

If a person isn't completely dead by that point, Zhang Xuezhou has nothing to say. After all, he doesn't yet possess the corresponding abilities. If someone's head is chopped off, they'll die anyway; that's a realm he doesn't understand.

He remained hidden in the shadows, neither speaking nor attempting to use his physical strength to launch a sneak attack and break through the nine-petaled flower.

As the black dragon was slaughtered like a fish having its scales scraped off, Zhang Xuezhou's mindset remained unchanged until the Zhang Xuezhou began to move, at which point he fixed his gaze on it.

"Is he awake?"

"Or have you come to a clear understanding?"

The sudden transformation from an upright-walking human to a four-legged, flying creature inevitably involves some degree of maladjustment and requires a period of adaptation.

Zhang Xuezhou still couldn't figure out the situation clearly.

The Black Dragon Body's continuous repair undoubtedly accumulated extremely profound power, which was also the reason why he first recognized Luo Zhong.

But watching the other person's awkward twisting and thrusting, his judgment gradually leaned towards this being the behavior of a novice.

"Could it be Ning Que who's manipulating things?"

The last person related to Luo Zhong was Ning Que, who was the subject of Zhang Xuezhou's observation.

The other party possesses almost the same conditions as Zhang Xuezhou: both have been influenced by powerful cultivators, both are in a weak position in cultivation, and both need to break free in order to gain autonomy and independence.

Zhang Xuezhou frequently kept track of Ning Que's movements, hoping to see if this kind of person had any chance of breaking through his current predicament, and whether he could learn something from him.

Ning Que's experiences were almost identical to Zhang Xuezhou's. He had to fight for everything himself and was subject to various restrictions. It was extremely difficult for him to stand out from the crowd, and he was often suppressed.

"Luo Zhong doesn't have an additional physical body for teleportation, so he should have nowhere to hide. If this kind of ability is controlled by Ning Que, does that mean Luo Zhong... has completely disappeared?"

Zhang Xuezhou's judgment was gradually leaning towards Ning Que, but he didn't understand why Luo Zhong Zhang Xuezhou or why he was able to leave his body behind for Ning Que.

This is not a skill that Ning Que could cultivate.

"Roar!"

The roar proved the black dragon's anger and resentment, but it also proved that its control over its body was still limited, and it could not even express itself normally.

"Escape!"

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he crept closer and whispered something.

"Who?"

Wielding nearly a hundred flower blades, the naked man relentlessly pursued the black dragon, while also adapting to its ever-increasing power.

In this tranquil space, only his pursuit and the black dragon's unwilling roar remained. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound, which made him stand up abruptly in the flower stamen, staring intently at the surrounding darkness.

The blade swept across the dark area, and he ducked, the sharp whistling sound ringing out again.

A sliver of white appeared in the darkness, then, like a large fish flicking its tail, it quickly disappeared into the endless darkness that was difficult to find.

"Only by adapting to your body and understanding your abilities while running can you truly engage in combat!"

A faint sound of entrustment came, mixed with the black dragon's roar once more.

Compared to its previous rage, the black dragon's roar this time seemed less resentful, and it was no longer as reckless as before, trying to tear a piece of flesh from its opponent.

With a sweep of its tail, the black dragon rose up, its wildly flailing claws no longer trying to dodge the flower blades, nor to resist tearing at the nine-petaled flower.

The nine-petaled flower sweeping through the dark gaps gave him a chance to escape the attack.

"You're still hiding in the darkness of the void?"

The black dragon fled, and the white figure vanished into the darkness once more. The voice from within the nine-petaled flower began to grow cold.

Despite being repeatedly targeted in past confrontations, both sides, whether targeting or being targeted, possess unique advantages.

Huang Daoxian, who can promote the art of fortune, is not a novice who needs to borrow from the Scarlet Alliance State to promote the development of the art. Rather, he possesses unparalleled fortune and a vast fortune body.

Throughout its more than 100-year history, Huang Daoxian's work has consisted solely of healing injuries, nurturing, merging, and offering sacrifices.

For Huang Daoxian, the Luofu Dynasty was merely a pawn to be used, which he could then recoup with interest when the time came to harvest it.

I don't know when it happened, but a small accident occurred.

Compared to wise and experienced rulers like Luo Yan, Luo Zhong, who inherited the throne at a young age, was indeed insignificant and was overlooked by Huang Daoxian. It was at that time that the seeds of an accident were sown.

Luo Zhong's forbearance, development, and arrogant feigned death to escape—everything deviated from the predetermined course.

In his struggle against the young emperor, Huang Daoxian's plan to offer sacrifices to the Luofu Dynasty came to a standstill. And in his fight against Huang Daoxian, who possessed great fortune, Luo Zhong's fate was bound to be unfavorable, and he would also deviate from the original plan.

After the fall of the Luofu Dynasty, this emperor disappeared, and the Scarlet Alliance State developed under the leadership of a group of ministers with differing motives.

Huang Daoxian may seek to merge with Luo Zhong, who serves as a sacrificial vessel to inherit the fortune of the Luofu Dynasty, or he may worship at the Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleum to maintain the remaining fortune of the Luofu Dynasty, or he may expand the distribution of gene seeds to increase the range of perception and observation.

Time passed by in a blur, until the deaths of the sacrificial seeds like Balbo, and things that had been progressing smoothly became chaotic.

Unbeknownst to many, the newly formed Scarlet Alliance State continued to develop, beginning to squeeze out everything that the Luofu Dynasty once possessed, and even leveling the established order of this land, thus moving to the opposite side of Huang Daoxian.