Chapter 892: Hope
Xiao Yan and the others were startled when they saw the way the two gray-clothed elders acted. They immediately faced the direction where the elders were looking, only to see an empty space. There was not a single human figure or any slight energy ripple.
Although their hearts carried some doubt, Xiao Yan and the others were clearly aware that given the strength of these two people, it was natural that they would not act senselessly. If they had said such words, it was likely that the empty space should possess a secret that was difficult to discover.
“Even after so many years, you are still the same hateful old self. This spatial hiding method is useless against the two of us…” Old Qian smiled faintly and gently waved his sleeves. Following the waving of his sleeves, Xiao Yan’s group immediately sensed the surrounding space emit an intense fluctuation. A water-wave-like ripple spread out from an elder’s fingertip. In the blink of an eye, it completely covered the empty space…
“Bang!”
The ripple gently brushed by like a wave of water. Xiao Yan’s group was surprised to see that the space had actually split and formed a black line in a strange manner. A miserable human figure was spat out from within it.
Xiao Yan’s expression immediately changed when he saw the human figure that had been spat out from the spatial crack line. Who else could this fellow be other than the Old Ground Demon Ghost who had been struck by the ‘Extermination Fire Lotus’ a moment ago? He was actually able to survive the fire lotus?
“This old ghost actually survived?” Su Qian’s face was shocked as he spoke with disbelief.
At this moment, the Old Ground Demon Ghost was indeed still alive. However, the clothes on his body had been completely turned into powder. His body was also covered with extremely ugly and disgusting sear wounds, causing his entire body to not have any good flesh. Bright-red fresh blood had solidified all over his body, causing his entire being to look as though he had been skinned and rolled in a pot of hot oil. His appearance was extremely terrifying. His original skull-like face was even more frightening. One could almost fail to differentiate his eyes from his nose. Clearly, the Old Ground Demon Ghost might have survived Xiao Yan’s ‘Elimination Fire Lotus’ with some tactic but… the price was too great.
The Old Ground Demon Ghost that had just came out glared at Xiao Yan with an extremely vicious gaze. When his eyes swept over the two gray-clothed elders, however, his naked body immediately trembled. A fear that was difficult to hide appeared in his sinister tone, “Bai Lie, Qian Mu? It is unexpected that you two old fellows are still alive…”
Old Bai and Old Qian used a pitiful gaze to look at the Old Ground Demon Ghost, who had been turned into a manner that was neither human nor ghost. They smiled faintly and said, “Even an old ghost like you is still alive, how can we die?”
The face of the Old Ground Demon Ghost twitched slightly as his heart became darker and more solemn. The appearance of these two old fellows today had caused his plans to completely fall through. With his strength, he would be extremely strained just dealing with one of the two of them, much less the both of them. Moreover, there was still Su Qian and the others looking maliciously from the side. It seemed that the situation today was really quite bad…
“Old Bai, Old Qian, you cannot let this old fellow off. These years, quite a number of students from our Jia Nan Academy has been harmed by the Demon Flame Valley. If you were to let him off today, he will definitely become a great scourge in the future!” A cold glint flashed in Su Qian’s eyes. His tone was also filled with killing intent.
Old Qian’s and Old Bai’s eyes narrowed when they heard this. There was little emotion on their old faces. All they did was nod indifferently. They clearly understood just what kind of threat an enemy who had reached a seven star Dou Zong was to the Jia Nan Academy. One must eliminate the threat at its root. This was naturally something that these two extremely old and experienced fellows clearly understood.
At their level, they would need to frequently undertake retreats in order to breakthrough to the Dou Zun class. At times, they would undertake a retreat for an extremely long time in one go. During such a period of time, they would have difficulty sensing anything happening to the Jia Nan Academy. If the energy of the ‘Elimination Fire Lotus’ had not been overly frightening this time around, it was likely to have been extremely difficult to wake them up from their state of retreat. However, despite having such good luck this time around, it was difficult to predict what would happen the next time…
The eyes of the Old Ground Demon Ghost immediately shrank a little after having sensed the vague killing intent that lingered around the bodies of Old Qian and Old Bai. From the moment they met, the former knew that the current strength of these two old fellows was definitely stronger than him. Moreover, he was currently quite seriously injured, and it was difficult for him to unleash his peak strength. If these two were to attack him, it was likely that he would really lose his life in this place today.
This thought lingered in a lightning-like manner in the Old Ground Demon Ghost’s heart. An instant later, his eyes immediately turned cold. Before waiting for Old Qian and Old Bai to attack, he violently smashed a fist against his chest. A mouthful of fresh blood was spat out and scattered before covering his body. After his body was covered by the blood fog, the space around the Old Ground Demon Ghost’s body swiftly became distorted.
“He is about to flee! Stop him!” This unexpected change occurred within a split second. By the time everyone recovered, the Old Ground Demon Ghost’s body had already been wrapped by the blood fog. Su Qian hurriedly cried out upon discovering the former’s intent.
“Bang!”
The cluster of blood fog blasted apart with an explosive sound after Su Qian’s voice sounded. The space became distorted and the body of the Old Ground Demon Ghost simply disappeared into nowhere.
The expressions of Xiao Yan’s group changed slightly upon seeing the disappearance of the Old Ground Demon Ghost. They had managed to force the old fellow into such a manner today after much difficulty. If he were allowed to flee, recuperate, and return again, it would definitely be an extremely great trouble for the Jia Nan Academy and Xiao Yan.
“Old Bai, Old Qian, quickly give chase. Don’t allow that old fellow to flee!” Su Qian could only anxiously urge Old Bai and Old Qian in his unsettled state.
“Ke ke, there is no need to panic. This old fellow will not be able to escape.” Old Qian slightly smiled. His eyes immediately turned to Old Bai as he said, “Why don’t you do it this time around…”
“It is still the same Spatial Blood Escape…” Old Bai nodded his head. His hoarse voice contained ridicule as he slowly said, “It has been so many years, yet you are still at the level of a seven star Dou Zong. Today, I will be the one to resolve some of the grudges of the past…”
Old Bai’s body moved gently after his voice sounded. He appeared to have teleported as he quietly appeared a couple of hundred meters away. With a couple of such flashes, he disappeared from the sight of Xiao Yan’s group.
Xiao Yan involuntarily wiped off his cold sweat as he looked at the frightening speed of Old Bai. He muttered, “Is this the speed of an elite Dou Zun?” After seeing the shocking tactics of Old Qian and Old Bai earlier with his own eyes, Xiao Yan had naturally treated them as experts from the Dou Zun class.
“Dou Zun? You have really overestimated us, these two old fellows. We merely only know how to use some superficial spatial strength. We still have quite a big gap when compared to a genuine Dou Zun…” That Old Qian involuntarily laughed upon hearing Xiao Yan’s mutterings.
Xiao Yan was immediately shocked when he heard this. He said in surprised, “One cannot be called an elite Dou Zun even at this level?”
“Old Bai and I can at the very most be considered to have the strength of a nine star Dou Zong. Although there is only one star difference to the strength of a Dou Zun, it is this gap that caused us to spend decades without successfully breaking through… we might not even have a hope of breaking through in our lifetime.” Old Qian sighed softly and slowly explained.
Xiao Yan was silent. Although he had spent unimaginable amount of effort compared to an ordinary person during his training journey, his journey was still considered smooth sailing. This kind of feeling where one was not even able to advance an inch over decades was something that he had never experienced nor did he wish to experience. Perhaps, this route might be one that many people would have to undergo, but he knew that for him, who was practicing ‘Flame Mantra’, his journey to obtain strength would be different from others… similarly, however, this route would also possess a much greater risk than usual training.
“Given the current condition of the Old Ground Demon Ghost, he will not be able to escape from Old Bai. Moreover, the two of them also had some grudges back then that they can coincidentally settle today. Therefore, all of you need not be worried in the future… additionally, the two of us cannot stay for long. We need to once again undertake a retreat after everything is settled. The matters of the Jia Nan Academy will still be left to you.” Old Qian turned his head, looked at Su Qian and spoke faintly.
Su Qian nodded a little. After which, he dispatched some of the Inner Academy’s Elders to pacify the many students of the Inner Academy.
Taking advantage of this free time, Xiao Yan’s gaze swept all around. His heart involuntarily sank a little. The cunning Han Feng had taken the lead to flee the moment he saw Old Qian and Old Bai appearing.
“That bastard fled really quickly…” Xiao Yan softly cursed. He originally intended to capture this fellow and see if he could obtain some information regarding the ‘Hall of Souls’ and the place where Yao Lao had been imprisoned.
“Forget it, there will still be opportunities in the future… how are your injuries?” The Little Fairy Doctor by his side comforted him before asking with a frown. Xiao Yan’s current aura was extremely volatile. Moreover, his expression was also pale-white. Clearly, the display of the so-called ‘Extermination Fire Lotus’ earlier had resulted in a backlash.
“I’m still alright and will be able to completely recover after recuperating for awhile. On the other hand you… earlier, you had to unleash the ‘Woeful Poison Body’…” Xiao Yan waved his hand, wiped off the remaining blood on the corner of his mouth, and sighed.
Little Fairy Doctor gently parted the snow-white hair in front of her forehead and smiled slightly. She did not say anything.
“Ugh, you can rest assured that after we find the last ingredient, you will be able to be free of it…” Xiao Yan could only helplessly speak upon seeing her non-committal manner.
The Little Fairy Doctor nodded slightly. She immediately spoke in a gentle voice, “The strength of these two elders is extremely powerful. I wonder if they are able to resolve the ‘Demon Poison Spot’ in your body…”
Xiao Yan’s heart immediately pounded when he heard this. His original purpose for coming to the Jia Nan Academy was to inquire about the mysterious headmaster and some of the extremely strong people hidden within the Jia Nan Academy. Now that he did not find the headmaster, these two guardians of the academy had become his greatest hope. Moreover, from the various techniques that these two had displayed earlier, they might … really be able to undo the ‘Demon Poison Spot’ within his body…