Chapter 74: Escape

"Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao, don't speak yet, we are taking you away."

Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang's eyes were slightly red as she gently lifted the limp Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao.

Beside her, Lin Ruohan looked stern. The ice-blue long sword in her hand pointed diagonally at the ground, emitting wisps of cold air that froze the humid, foul-smelling air around them into fine ice crystals.

"Rest assured, the guards outside have already been dealt with." Although Lin Ruohan's voice was cold, it carried an anchoring strength.

"No… no, it won't work!" Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao grabbed Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang's sleeve tightly.

Due to excitement and weakness, her delicate body trembled violently, her eyes filled with terror and despair.

"It's Xiao He! He deceived me! A few days ago, he suddenly found me, saying he had an extremely secretive Sect mission for me to handle. I didn't doubt him at the time, but who would have thought that as soon as I followed him to the back hall of this Fugui Tower, he attacked me from behind and knocked me unconscious!"

Speaking of this, Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao's voice carried a crying tone as she pointed to the dull-eyed women in the surrounding cells: "More than thirty female cultivators imprisoned here were mostly deceived by him using various excuses just like me, or secretly abducted from the outside! This is his lair, filled with Formations and ambushes, you must leave quickly! If you don't leave now, it will be too late!"

"Beast!" Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang gritted her teeth, her fists clenched tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

As a true Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, Xiao He should have been a model for other Disciples, yet he secretly committed such heinous, inhuman deeds!

"No need to rush, I am here."

Lin Ruohan said in a deep voice, her tone not loud, but resolute.

Her eyes, like cold pools, swept over the other women in the cell, and she had already made a decision in her heart.

She flicked her fingertips continuously, and several strands of pure ice-attribute True Qi turned into streamers, flying out and precisely shattering the iron locks of the cells holding those women.

"Senior Sister Ruohan, you…" Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang was startled.

"Save as many as we can; we cannot just watch them stay here and wait for death." Lin Ruohan sheathed her sword, conveniently supported the other side of Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao, and called out coldly to the female cultivators behind her, "Divine Sword Sect Disciples are here; those who do not want to die, follow us closely!"

Those women, who had already been desperate and numb, finally saw a glimmer of hope for survival in their dead-grey eyes upon hearing the words "Divine Sword Sect". Supporting each other, they tremblingly followed behind Lin Ruohan and Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang, starting to retreat towards the top of the tunnel.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of Fugui Tower.

The air was so heavy it felt like it would drip water.

Chu Chang and Xiao He stood and sat respectively. In the void between them, dark golden True Qi and purple-black True Qi constantly collided, emitting a harsh "hissing" sound, plowing scorched gullies into the floor tiles.

Just at this tense moment, a blood-stained guard in black rushed out from the back hall in a panic, his expression filled with extreme terror.

He didn't even care about the terrifying pressure in the main hall, directly throwing himself at Xiao He's feet, wailing: "Young… Young Lord! It's bad! The tunnel in the backyard rockery was forcibly broken open, all the guards were killed, and the female cultivators in the dungeon… are about to be taken away!"

"What?!"

Xiao He stood up abruptly from his jade chair, his face turning extremely sinister in an instant.

He had painstakingly managed this Fugui Tower for many years, using beauty and resources to win over various forces, and even secretly trading with Demonic Path cultivators of the Blood Fiend Sect. This underground dungeon was his most important hub.

Once exposed, not only would he be ruined, but he might even attract the ruthless suppression of the Divine Sword Sect's Law Enforcement Hall!

"Trash!"

Xiao He kicked the reporting guard away. The purple-black True Qi around his body instantly surged, and his figure turned into a streamer as he prepared to rush to the back hall.

However, just as he moved, a tall and sturdy figure blocked his path out of thin air, as if teleporting.

It was Chu Chang.

Chu Chang crossed his arms over his chest, a mocking sneer hanging on the corner of his mouth as he looked at the livid Xiao He: "Senior Brother Xiao, the show isn't over yet, where are you rushing off to?"

Looking at Chu Chang blocking his way, and thinking of the sudden attack on the back hall, a flash of inspiration hit Xiao He's mind, and he understood instantly. He stared fixedly at Chu Chang, his eyes as venomous as a viper:

"So that's how it is… From the moment you entered the door pretending to be drunk and smashing my hall, it was all to stall for time! It was you who did it!"

"Correct." Chu Chang lifted his chin slightly, admitting it generously, "Senior Brother Xiao, you commit evil deeds daily; today, let's settle the new and old scores together."

"Hahahaha! Just you?" Xiao He laughed out of extreme anger, his face twisted, "Chu Chang, I admit you have some strength, but do you think you can turn the world upside down just by being an Outer Sect bumpkin? Ruining my big plan, today neither you nor those two idiots behind you will be able to leave alive! You are courting death!"

Boom!

The True Qi in Xiao He's body erupted completely at this moment.

The pressure of the Late Stage Foundation Establishment Realm was unleashed without reservation. The dark purple robe behind him fluttered without wind, snapping loudly.

"Purple Extreme Demonic Pupils, Kill!"

Xiao He's eyes instantly turned into an eerie deep purple. Two purple beams mixed with pure Divine Sense and Demonic Path True Qi tore through the air directly, heading straight for Chu Chang's glabella. This move was extremely vicious, specifically designed to sever a person's Divine Soul.

"Petty tricks."

Chu Chang snorted coldly, neither dodging nor evading. The bottomless Pure Yang True Liquid within his body boiled at this moment, golden light radiating from the surface of his skin, like an Arhat descended to earth.

"Break for me!"

Chu Chang took a breath and threw a punch, simple and unadorned.

This punch condensed the terrifying power of his Peak Foundation Establishment Realm. The dark golden fist light turned into a roaring, angry Dragon, colliding head-on with the two purple beams.

Bang—!

In the deafening loud noise, the entire Fugui Tower shook violently, and countless rubble and tiles fell one after another.

Those two purple beams, which seemed astonishing in power, were actually as fragile as glass in front of Chu Chang's domineering Pure Yang fist wind, instantly shattered.

The remaining power of the fist wind turned into a heat wave, forcing Xiao He's expression to change, and he took several steps back before standing firm.

"This is impossible!" A raging sea surged in Xiao He's heart, staring fixedly at Chu Chang, "You… you are not in the Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm! This power… Peak Foundation Establishment Realm?! You hid your cultivation!"

"Only knowing it now, it's too late!"

Chu Chang's figure flickered, bringing a series of dark golden afterimages, instantly closing in on Xiao He.

"Great Sun Pure Yang Palm!"

Chu Chang's palm turned dark gold, carrying an extremely scorching high temperature, and struck down from above.

Wherever the palm wind passed, the air was distorted by the heat.

Xiao He felt a fatal threat; at this moment, he dared not hold back the slightest bit. He bit the tip of his tongue, spat a mouthful of essence blood onto his palm, and simultaneously formed seals with both hands:

"Purple Extreme Imperial Heaven Shield!"

An octagonal shield burning with purple-black flames instantly condensed in front of him.

Rumble!

Chu Chang's palm landed solidly on the shield. The terrifying energy aftershocks spread out like a tide, causing large swathes of the first-floor walls of Fugui Tower to collapse. Although Xiao He barely managed to block this blow, his whole body was shaken backward by that violent force, plowing a deep trench several zhang long on the ground. His throat tasted sweet, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Damn it! How can this little beast be so strong!"

Xiao He was both shocked and angry. He knew he had kicked an iron plate today. Not only could he not keep the secret of the back hall, but if he dragged it out any longer, he might even lose his life here.

Thinking of this, a flash of determination crossed Xiao He's eyes. Taking advantage of the force of being knocked back, he suddenly pulled a blood-red Talisman from his bosom and crushed it violently.

Hum!!!

A cloud of blood mist instantly enveloped him.

"Chu Chang! I will remember today's grudge! One day I will surely grind you to dust!"

Before the words faded, Xiao He's figure transformed into a blood light within the blood mist, and with incredible speed, crashed through the roof of Fugui Tower, fleeing wildly towards the outside of Qingshi Town.

"Want to run? Did you ask me!"

Chu Chang's eyes narrowed slightly. He stepped on the ground, and his whole body turned into a dark golden rainbow, chasing closely behind.

That blood light carried Xiao He, crashing through the dome of Fugui Tower with a near-suicidal extreme speed, turning into a meteor and escaping towards the desolate mountains outside Qingshi Town.

"Where are you going!!!"

Chu Chang shouted coldly, the dark golden True Qi around his body erupting like a volcano, and he stomped his feet violently on the ground.

With a loud "rumble", the entire jade-paved main hall floor instantly shattered into pieces.

He was like a golden arrow released from the string, shooting straight into the clouds, poised to chase and kill.

However, before he could rush out of the ruins of Fugui Tower, a shrill whistling sound suddenly rang out all around.

"Stop him! Buy time for the Young Lord!!!"

"Kill!"

From every dark corner of Fugui Tower, more than a dozen black figures suddenly shot out.

These guards had blood-red eyes, black Demonic patterns faintly appearing on the surface of their skin, and even their entire bodies were strangely swelling, emitting a violent and extremely unstable destructive aura.

"Dead soldiers?!"

Chu Chang's pupils constricted.

These were obviously dead soldiers secretly cultivated by Xiao He, and they had just been triggered with some kind of Demonic Path self-destruction secret technique. Each one was fearless, clearly intending to use their lives to forcibly drag him down.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three dead soldiers at the Peak of the 10th level of the Qi Refining Realm rushed to the front first. They didn't even wield weapons, but instead rushed madly towards Chu Chang, and the moment they approached his body, their physical bodies exploded with a bang!

The violent blood-colored True Qi and flesh fragments turned into a terrifying shockwave, instantly halting Chu Chang's forward momentum.

Immediately after, several more fearless dead soldiers rushed up, the blades in their hands flashing with dark green poisonous cold light, sealing all of Chu Chang's retreat paths.

"Get lost!!!"

Chu Chang was a bit impatient. Xiao He was a person with deep schemes and knew too many of his secrets. If he let him escape today, it would be like releasing a tiger back to the mountains, leaving endless future troubles.

His Fist Intent was like the great sun across the sky, the Pure Yang True Liquid in his body completely boiling, and every punch he threw brought up a sky full of dark golden fist shadows.

Bang! Bang!

Two dead soldiers attempting to self-destruct were blown into blood mist by his terrifying fist wind in mid-air. However, these dead soldiers seemed to have no sense of pain or fear; the ones in front died, and the ones behind were already stepping on their companions' flesh and blood to fill the gap. The thick, bloody smell permeated the main hall, making one feel nauseous.