As the cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes were talking, Chen Feng, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta were quickly discussing what to do using their divine senses.
"The Six Great Sky Grottoes. There are over 20 cultivators from each sect. In total, there are over 100 cultivators. There are also some experts concealing themselves, not intending to take action just yet. As for our surroundings, there are others looking at us like preys for the sake of the Water of Life. This is a really unfavourable situation for us," said Ye Ziming.
"This is not merely unfavourable. This is an extremely hopeless situation. Unless we have cultivated up to the Sky Human stage, it will be very difficult to charge our way out," Lu Ta cried out.
"There is nothing we can do about it. If it comes down to it, we will just enter a b.l.o.o.d.y battle against them. If they want to kill us, we'll just have to kill off at least 10 of them," Chen Feng suddenly said with a loud voice. Killing intent and combat resolve was already radiating off his body as stream after stream of sword light flowed around his palm.
By then, the attacks from the Six Great Sky Grottoes had arrived. Sword beams, primary energy blasts, palm silhouettes, magic treasures and various other streams of light engulfed Chen Feng and the others.
"Let's go!"
The ones to react first were actually Shadewind Scholar and Blood Profound Daoist. They made their move the very instant the cultivators from Six Great Sky Grottoes attacked. Shadewind Scholar waved the fan in his hand furiously to summon forth a sinister wind. Instantly, dark clouds roiled and ghastly cries rang out. There were also traces of devilish and b.l.o.o.d.y energy mixed within the atmosphere.
The fan in Shadewind Scholar's hand was a sinister Magic artefact, which had been fused with vast amounts of sinister energy. It had also absorbed the blood essence of some cultivators. When in combat, he could directly blow sinister energy into his enemies' bodies, causing their souls to shatter apart. It was a truly sinister move.
Blood Profound Daoist attacked at the same time. Two b.a.l.l.s of blood rapidly flew out from his palms before exploding, sending countless strands of blood out into their surroundings. The nearby trees immediately withered before turning into ashes.
"Ha ha! Have a taste of my Blood Profound Bonechange Magic!" Blood Profound Daoist's menacing laugh echoed across the sky.
"Be careful. Stay close to me!"
Chen Feng, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta did not run away because the incoming attacks had already sealed off all possible routes of escape. The pressure brought forth by the attacks was such that Chen Feng's group knew there was no chance for them to charge out.
A dazzling burst of sword light radiated out from within Chen Feng's body to swiftly form a spherical shield, which protected all three of them. It would appear that Chen Feng planned on using the power of the Prized artefact to block off all the incoming attacks.
The moment the shield - formed from sword light - was created, the countless attacks engulfed Chen Feng and the others. At present, at least 100 cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes were attacking them, all at once. It was an attack that even a Sky Human stage cultivator would want to avoid.
They are dead!
Seeing Chen Feng and the others engulfed by the attacks, the cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes and the nearby cultivators thought so. The situation was self-evident. The difference between the two forces was simply too great.
"Argh!"
"This is bad!"
The miserable cries of Blood Profound Daoist and Shadewind Scholar rang out.
"Eh? Where are they? Could they have been blasted into smithereens?" When the attacks finally dissipated, all the cultivators became shocked to find that Chen Feng's group had disappeared.
"They must have been torn to pieces by the attack," cried out someone from the Six Great Sky Grottoes.
"There is a big hole here!" It was then that someone suddenly noticed a circular black hole on the ground. At a glance, they were unable to gauge how deep it went or determine where it led to.
Somewhere hundreds of metres away from them, the hard ground suddenly exploded outwards. Chen Feng, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta - still wrapped up by the sword light - burst out from underground, causing dirt to scatter all over.
"Although I do not know any earth-slipping techniques, I can still utilize my magic treasure to drill a pa.s.sageway through the ground. Did they really think I would face their attacks head-on? Only a fool would do that," said Chen Feng with a chuckle.
"Huh! It is so easy to escape? I did not even have to utilize my Voidslip technique," said Ye Ziming in disbelief.
"We haven't escaped yet. Hurry, they've found us," Chen Feng was quick to say.
"There! Hurry, don't let them escape!" By then, the cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes had discovered Chen Feng's group.
"Let's go!"
Having successfully made their way out from the encirclement, the three of them did not hesitate to quickly flee.
"Blood Flight Magic!"
Suddenly, Blood Profound Daoist released a pained cry. Next, b.l.o.o.d.y light emanated out from his body as the aura on his person began swelling up and his speed shot up several times. Grabbing Shadewind Scholar, he charged out from the Six Great Sky Grottoes' encirclement with lightning-like speed. He ended up running in front of Chen Feng's group.
"Woah! He is so fast!" Lu Ta exclaimed.
"That is the Blood Flight Magic. Combusting one's blood essence to obtain great power. This fellow is going all out. Even if he successfully escapes, his strength will deteriorate greatly as his cultivation base drops," said Ye Ziming.
In all honesty, after utilizing his Blood Flight Magic, Blood Profound Daoist could have easily escaped. Yet, who knows what he was thinking as he made his escape? He suddenly attacked Chen Feng's group.
"Ha ha ha ha! You three kids can stay behind!" Blood Profound Daoist suddenly laughed out loudly. With a flip of his hand, he attacked Chen Feng's group. Three b.a.l.l.s of blood shot out from his palm before exploding. Next, powerful blood energy wrapped Chen Feng's group up.
Blood Profound Daoist had attacked them during a critical juncture. He wanted to delay the rate at which Chen Feng's group was escaping so that the cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes can catch up to them. This was a most vicious move.
"This old b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Lu Ta's swearing voice rang out from within the b.l.o.o.d.y mist.
Sou! Sou! Sou!
Suddenly, sword energy expanded from within the b.l.o.o.d.y mist to instantly cut it apart. Next, Chen Feng and the others charged out with lightning-like speed.
"Chen Feng, kill him!" Ye Ziming spat out through gnashed teeth. Due to the delay, their pursuers had gotten closer. All three of them were infuriated and the thought of rushing forward to tear Blood Profound Daoist into pieces raged within them.
"Don't worry. I will not let him go," said Chen Feng with a sneer.
Shua!
Both of Chen Feng's eyes glinted and the Overwhelming Astral Sword shot out from him at lightning-like speed as it flew in pursuit of Blood Profound Daoist.
Just as the sword was about to kill him, Blood Profound Daoist gritted his teeth and hurled Shadewind Scholar out.
"Blood Sacrifice Magic, explode!"
Boom!
A blood-coloured light flashed out and the powerful force from the explosion greatly reduced the momentum behind the Overwhelming Astral Sword's charge. Next, Blood Profound Daoist fled at an even higher speed.
"A truly vicious move." Chen Feng's face sank and he could not stop himself from blurting out. Next, with a wave of his hand, he retrieved the Overwhelming Astral Sword. It was no longer possible to attack Blood Profound Daoist.
In order to block Chen Feng's attack, Blood Profound Daoist had actually performed his Blood Sacrifice Magic on Shadewind Scholar. Such a move caused a chill to run down Chen Feng's spine.
"Where do you think you are going?!"
A loud shout abruptly rang out from behind. Next, a seemingly tangible stream of light, black and red in colour, pierced through the sky to envelop Chen Feng's group.
"Careful! This is Yin Yang Sky Grotto's Yin Yang Energy Razor!" Ye Ziming shouted.
"I will break it!" Lu Ta roared and the Endless Sky of Turbidity staff in his hand thrust forward. Light burst out from the point of contact and the Yin Yang Energy Razor enveloping them from behind was shattered.
"Behold our Goldenlight Sky Grotto's Shadowless Goldenlight Needles!"
Golden light abruptly erupted across the sky and numerous, minute energy currents pierced through the sky. The energy currents transformed into streams of light, which gave off a variety of dazzling colours, enveloping the sky as they shot towards Chen Feng's group.
Chen Feng was just about to mobilize the Overwhelming Astral Sword when he felt a painful sensation coming from his back. Next, a powerful paralyzing sensation began spreading through his back. At the same time, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta grunted out. Apparently, they too, had been hit.
"Not good. All of us were hit by the needles," said Ye Ziming with a bitter smile.
"Rippling Watermoon Arrows!"
"Purplecrane Boltstrike!"
By then, the attacks from Watermoon Sky Grotto and Jade Ding Sky Grotto had also arrived. Chen Feng hastily jerked his head back and saw that their pursuers were preparing to unleash powerful attacks to stop them.
Bang!
A ten-metre long arrow of light pierced right through Lu Ta's shoulder while a purple-coloured electrical bolt struck Ye Ziming to send him tumbling forward. If it were not for Chen Feng's quick action of grabbing him, Ye Ziming would have been unable to escape anymore.
"What should we do? We really cannot escape anymore now!" Lu Ta shouted.
"We can escape! We can definitely escape!" Chen Feng waved his hand and the Overwhelming Astral Sword rapidly appeared before all three of them.
Pu!
Chen Feng sprayed out a mouthful of blood essence upon the sword. Immediately, the Overwhelming Astral Sword shone with greater intensity. Next, it swiftly grew larger. Its body became three zhang long and one zhang wide. It was comparable to the size of a small room (1 zhang = 3.333 m).
After that, the Overwhelming Astral Sword released three beams of sword light, which swept Chen Feng, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta up to its surface.
Puchi!
Another dazzling arrow of light arrived. It exploded upon Chen Feng's back, causing flesh and blood to scatter. As a result, the flesh on Chen Feng's back became exposed; even his bones could be seen here and there.
Pu!
Chen Feng felt his vision turning dark for a moment and he coughed out another mouthful of blood. Coincidentally, his blood fell upon the sword.
"Blast off!"
Chen Feng forced himself to focus and shouted. Next, the Overwhelming Astral Sword they were on unleashed the power of a Prized artefact. With a speed surpa.s.sing that of a meteor and a ferocity surpa.s.sing that of a lightning strike, it flashed away from their pursuers' attack range. Next, it became like the wind, leaving only a black line in the sky. It did not take long for them to disappear from sight.
"Not good. They actually possess a Prized artefact! How do we catch up to them?"
After giving chase for hundreds of li, they were still incapable of finding any traces of Chen Feng's group. Thus, the cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes slowed down their search. They swore and cursed every now and again. However, there was nothing they could do about it (1 li = 0.5 km).
"Those fellows possess a Prized artefact. To let them slip away now means leaving a powerful enemy for us in the future."
"Humph! No matter how powerful they may be, how can they be a match for our Six Great Sky Grottoes? Besides, we are backed by the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects."
"Eh? That is right! Earlier, it seems as though the cultivators from Extensive Truth Sky Grotto did not attack," someone from Purplecloud Sky Grotto spoke up.
"Right, right. If you hadn't said that, I would have forgotten about it. Earlier, the guys from Extensive Truth Sky Grotto did not attack."
"Come! Let's go question them and see how they answer us. Could those three fellows be from Extensive Truth Sky Grotto?"
…
After flying across hundreds of li, Chen Feng saw that there were no longer any pursuers. Then, he fell on his b.u.t.tocks as blood began flowing out from his mouth. His back was all b.l.o.o.d.y and the amount of blood flowing out gave Chen Feng the image of a bloodstained human.
"Brother Chen, how are you?" Ye Ziming's face was pale and he asked through gasped breaths.