Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 239: Encountering an Elder of the Sun Family

Fang Hao dragged Sun Tianqi, who looked like a dead dog, through the "Soul Corrosion Mist," stumbling his way out. He felt like an old ox cart about to fall apart, and every step took an immense amount of effort. After being tempered and battered by the "war soul" trial, his Divine Soul had solidified somewhat, but the exhaustion and stinging pain remained, as if countless tiny needles were pricking his brain. His body was in an even more miserable state. The injuries from the earlier force field impact hadn’t fully healed, and after forcing himself to fight and getting grazed by the ghost Qi of Ghost Bone Superior, half his body was now numb and tingling. His Qi was bottoming out, and he was only holding on by the slow circulation of the Chaos Derivation Art and a few ineffective Medicinal Pills he had in his pocket.

"Dammit, this was a huge loss; I almost lost my life." Fang Hao cursed inwardly, but when he thought of the basic Chapter of the "War Heaven Scripture" inside the star evolution plate, he felt it was worth it. As long as he got out alive and mastered this Body Refining divine art, his strength would definitely skyrocket.

He dared not stop. Relying on the vague guidance of the star evolution plate, he groped his way toward the direction he remembered entering from, which was the approximate location of the Secret Realm exit. The visibility in this ghost mist was too low; he could only rely on his intuition and the faint light of the compass to identify the direction, and his speed was barely faster than a snail.

After walking for about half an hour, the mist ahead seemed to thin out a little, and he could faintly hear the sound of flowing water in the distance, and also... human voices?

Fang Hao’s heart tightened, and he immediately stopped. He pushed his Shadowless Evasion Technique to the limit, suppressing his presence to the extreme. At the same time, he gently placed the "burden" that was Sun Tianqi behind a rock, then silently crept behind a protruding boulder and peeked out.

Ahead lay a small creek valley where the mist was much thinner. Three people stood by the creek, whispering to each other with ugly expressions, as if they were searching for something. All three wore the Sun Family’s signature silver-trimmed brocade robes. The leader was an old man with a sallow face and gloomy eyes, whose cultivation was clearly at the Late Golden Core Stage! The other two, a middle-aged man with a square face and a young man with a horse-like face, were both at the Middle Golden Core Stage.

"It’s the Sun Family! Three Golden Core Cultivators!" Fang Hao’s heart sank. This was exactly what he feared! Judging by the situation, this must be a team sent by the Sun Family to search for Sun Tianqi or explore the Secret Realm. Looking at their gloomy and anxious expressions, they had likely lost contact with Sun Tianqi and were searching everywhere.

"Third Elder, we’ve searched all around here, but there’s still no sign of Young Master Sun Tianqi. We can’t reach him via communication talisman either, could he..." the square-faced middle-aged Cultivator said, his tone full of worry.

"Shut up!" The sallow-faced Third Elder interrupted sharply, his expression even uglier. "Tianqi is the Family Head’s most valued grandson; nothing must happen to him! Keep searching! If he’s alive, I want to see him; if he’s dead... I want to find his corpse! Also, watch out for that Loose Cultivator named Fang Hao. The Family Head has ordered: if you see him, kill him on sight!"

"Yes!" The other two hurriedly acknowledged.

Hiding behind the rock, Fang Hao broke out in a cold sweat. Kill on sight? The Sun Family had completely burned their bridges. He was heavily injured and dragging a half-dead Sun Tianqi; if he were discovered by these three, he would definitely die with no chance of survival.

Just as he was pondering how to sneak past them, Sun Tianqi, whom he had left behind the rock, whether due to his severe injuries or being stimulated by the Third Elder’s voice, let out an extremely faint, painful groan: "Uh..."

Although the sound was soft in the quiet creek valley, how could it escape the notice of three Golden Core Cultivators who were searching with full concentration?

"Who is it?!" A sharp light flashed in the Third Elder’s eyes, and he shouted sternly. His Divine Sense swept over like a tidal wave! The other two immediately summoned their Magical Artifacts and looked vigilantly toward the direction where Fang Hao was hiding.

"I’ve been discovered!" Fang Hao’s heart skipped a beat, and he knew he couldn’t hide anymore. He gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. Since he couldn’t hide, he would strike first! He would catch them off guard before they fully pinpointed his location, and then run!

He suddenly dashed out from behind the rock. Instead of attacking, he used his last bit of strength to fling the few broken bone fragments he had been holding onto—which he had "picked up" from Ghost Bone Superior and were stained with Netherworld ghost Qi—with a deft flick toward the thick mist on the other side of the valley, far away from where Sun Tianqi was hidden! The bone fragments tore through the air with a sharp whistle, carrying the lingering, chilling, and unsettling ghost Qi!

"Over there!" The square-faced middle-aged man and the horse-faced youth were immediately distracted by the sound of the bone fragments tearing through the air and the ghost Qi, and they subconsciously looked in that direction.

"Careful, it’s a trap!" The Third Elder was experienced. Although his attention was momentarily diverted, his Divine Sense remained firmly locked on the direction where Fang Hao had dashed out. He shouted, "It’s that brat! Stop him!"

But in that momentary delay, Fang Hao had already executed Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, flashing past the creek side like a ghost, and charged toward the dense forest on the opposite side from where the bone fragments were shot! He had no intention of fighting; his only goal was to run!

"Where are you running!" The Third Elder was furious. His figure flickered, turning into a streak of silver light. He was extremely fast, lunging straight at Fang Hao’s back. He struck out with a palm, the fierce wind from the blow carrying the sound of wind and thunder, sealing off a large area of space in front of Fang Hao! He saw that Fang Hao’s breath was unstable; although his movement technique was fast, he was at the end of his rope, and he wanted to kill him in one blow.

"Old dog, here’s a big gift for you!" Fang Hao didn’t even look back. With a backhand motion, he threw Sun Tianqi, whom he had been dragging along, like a sandbag, straight toward the palm wind the Third Elder had struck out! At the same time, he used his last bit of Qi to place a thin layer of Chaos Qi on Sun Tianqi to protect his heart meridian slightly, so he wouldn’t be killed on the spot.

"Tianqi?!" The Third Elder saw the figure thrown over and was terrified out of his wits. He forcibly withdrew most of his palm power, but the aftermath still swept Sun Tianqi. Sun Tianqi was already heavily injured and near death; being swept by this palm wind, he vomited blood again. He didn’t know how many more bones were broken as he flew out like a piece of torn cloth, only to be hurriedly caught by the rushing square-faced middle-aged man.

"Young Master!!" The square-faced middle-aged man and the horse-faced youth were incensed, their eyes splitting with rage when they saw Sun Tianqi’s miserable state.

"Fang Hao, you little thief! How dare you harm Tianqi like this! This old man will extract your soul and refine your spirit!" The Third Elder was shaking with rage. He assumed Sun Tianqi’s injuries were all caused by Fang Hao (in reality, most were caused by Ghost Bone Superior and that last move by Fang Hao). His hatred was monstrous, and he no longer cared to check on Sun Tianqi’s injuries. With a shrill roar, he abandoned the pursuit of Fang Hao and lunged toward the square-faced middle-aged man and the horse-faced youth to retrieve Sun Tianqi first.

This was the effect Fang Hao wanted! Taking advantage of the moment the Third Elder was distracted by Sun Tianqi, he burst forth with Divine Spirit Steps again and charged into the depths of the dense forest without looking back. At the same time, he pulled out the last minor teleportation talisman from his pocket and tore it open without hesitation!

Hum—!

With a flash of silver light, Fang Hao’s figure instantly vanished from where he stood and appeared in another direction a hundred feet away. He did not stop, gritting his teeth to run wildly again. He specifically chose areas with complex terrain and dense mist to dive into, pushing his Shadowless Evasion Technique to the limit, and soon disappeared into the vast sea of mist.

"Teleportation talisman?!" The Third Elder caught the dying Sun Tianqi and sensed the spatial fluctuation in the distance, his face turning ashen. He immediately swept his Divine Sense across the area, but he could no longer find even a trace of Fang Hao’s aura. The opponent was obviously an old hand; the moment he was out of sight, he had completely concealed himself.

"Third Elder, Young Master Tianqi... his injuries are too severe! His Meridians are shattered, his Golden Core is dim, and his Divine Soul is also..." The square-faced middle-aged man checked Sun Tianqi’s injuries, his voice trembling. With these injuries, even if Sun Tianqi could be saved, most of his cultivation would be crippled, and his path of Dao would be completely ruined.

"Ning! Hao!" The Third Elder held the barely breathing Sun Tianqi. Looking at the miserable state of his beloved grandson and thinking of the enemy he had lost, his chest churned, and he almost vomited a mouthful of blood. He let out a shrill and venomous roar toward the sky, the sound echoing in the creek valley:

"Pass the order! All Sun Family disciples who have entered the Secret Realm are to hunt down Fang Hao at all costs! Spread this thief’s portrait and aura throughout the Secret Realm! Whoever can bring his head to me will be rewarded with one million High-Grade Spirit Stones and granted the position of Family Guest Elder! Anyone who dares to harbor or conceal him will be considered an enemy of my Sun Family, and we will fight to the death!!"

The roar was filled with bone-deep hatred and killing intent. This time, there was absolutely no room for reconciliation between Fang Hao and the Sun Family. It was not only because of old grudges but also because Sun Tianqi’s near-crippling injuries had been firmly blamed on Fang Hao by the entire Sun Family.

Meanwhile, Fang Hao, who had fled several miles away and was hiding in a concealed cave, had just finished setting up a concealment Formation when he could no longer hold on. He collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood, his consciousness beginning to blur. He did not yet know that his act of diverting the disaster by throwing out Sun Tianqi to block the enemy had been firmly cemented by the Sun Family as the crime of "harming a Sun Family Prodigy," and it was about to bring upon him the mad pursuit of the entire Sun Family within the Secret Realm.

His vision swam with darkness. He only had time to swallow a handful of Medicinal Pills before he could no longer hold on. Everything went black, and he completely passed out. This trip to the Secret Realm had brought him huge gains, but the price he paid was equally heavy. Next, he would not only have to face his severely injured body but also the all-out pursuit of the Sun Family, as well as the threats from the Zhao Family and the potential remnants of the Netherworld Sect.

The true test of life and death, perhaps, had only just begun.