Huff! Huff!
The sound of his chest rising and falling rapidly was like a bellows that was utilized at an insane speed, and the air bore into his throat like blades, causing him to feel a burning and piercing pain in his chest and stomach.
Zhao Qinghe forcefully endured the intense pain as he fled madly for his life.
Under the scorching sun, his chilly and firm face was pale to a terrifying degree to the point of being practically translucent, and his eyes were filled with crimson red streaks of blood. His clothes were extremely tattered and completely tainted with fresh blood while his exposed skin was covered in bone deep injuries, and they seemed like the mouth of an infant that had opened up while crimson red and gurgling fresh blood flowed out to soak him in blood.
At this moment, he was like a trapped beast that was on the verge of death, and only the trace of desire for survival in his heart was supporting him to flee madly.
Am I going to die? Zhao Qinghe’s consciousness became fuzzy because his injuries were too heavy. But when he recalled the perils he’d encountered earlier, a strong feeling of rage flowed through his entire body like scorching lava.
Earlier, the news that the genius experts of the various Dynasties were gathering together with the intention of entering the Isle of Fallen Treasures within the Primitive Sea for the sake of annihilating Chen Xi was spread throughout the Primeval Battlefield.
He’d heard of this news as well and practically didn’t hesitate in the slightest to set out and rush towards the Primitive Sea.
The reason that urged him to do this was extremely simple. Just like Chen Xi, he was from the Darchu Dynasty, so even if their relations.h.i.+p in the past could only be considered to be ordinary, but after they arrived at the Primeval Battlefield, Chen Xi had imperceptibly become one of the companions he could trust the most when compared with the experts of the other Dynasties.
When one’s companion was in trouble, how could one stand idly by?
Even though he, Zhao Qinghe, had always been unwilling to admit being inferior to Chen Xi, yet he knew extremely clearly, if he were to choose a force that he could trust the most in the Primeval Battlefield that was filled with horrifying compet.i.tion, then it would surely be the disciples that came from the Darchu Dynasty like him, and if he were to choose a friend he could count on the most, then it would surely be Chen Xi.
So when he found out that Chen Xi was in trouble, he’d rushed over without the slightest hesitation.
Even if he knew there were numerous experts besieging Chen Xi, he still headed over resolutely, and it wasn’t for the sake of proving how great he was, but only because he took Chen Xi to be a friend.
Unexpectedly, he’d met Lu Xiao on the way. This reserved disciple of the Divine Wood Sect that kept a low profile had replaced Su Chan’s position and had the luck to enter the Primeval Battlefield.
Zhao Qinghe didn’t know Lu Xiao in the past and hadn’t even spoken a word with him, but he was able to discern that Lu Xiao was rus.h.i.+ng towards the Primitive Sea, so Lu Xiao’s objective was naturally similar to his, Lu Xiao was heading there to rescue Chen Xi.
This discovery caused Zhao Qinghe to feel delighted. Perhaps everyone was competing with each other and unconvinced of the other’s strength while in the Darchu Dynasty, but after everyone really left the Darchu Dynasty and faced the hostility of the other Dynasties, they noticed that the small conflicts between each other were just nonsense, and their relations.h.i.+p between each other had instead become worthy of being counted on like the relations.h.i.+p between friends.
So he took the initiative to join up with Lu Xiao and rush towards the Primitive Sea together.
Unfortunately, before they could even approach the Primitive Sea, they’d encountered a planned ambush. Lu Xiao had died, not at the hands of an enemy, but at the hands of one of their own…
When he thought up to here, Zhao Qinghe was overcome with sorrow as boundless self blame filled his entire body, causing him to grit his teeth to the point they emitted cracking sounds while his eyes almost split open, and he wished for nothing more than to turn around right now and fight that b.a.s.t.a.r.d to the death.
I can only blame myself for being too careless and not perceiving that fellow’s wicked nature… In his mind, Zhao Qinghe couldn’t help but recall the scene from before.
Emperor Chu had once given each of them a jade token, and they were able to sense the existence of their companions within an area of 50,000km by relying on this jade token. It was given to them for the sake of allowing them to take care of each other and deal with the enemies from the other Dynasties together.
However, it was precisely this jade token that caused Zhao Qinghe and Lu Xiao to encounter a meticulously prepared and planned ambush.
It was a group of experts from the Darqian Dynasty that ambushed them, and the person in the lead was the Crown Prince, Hong Zhuo. The reason Hong Zhuo and the others were able to ambush them was because they possessed the jade token that belonged to the Darchu Dynasty.
The jade token belonged to Huangfu Changtian. At the beginning, Zhao Qinghe and Lu Xiao thought that Huangfu Changtian activated the jade token and intended to contact them to go rescue Chen Xi together, yet never had they imaged that they encountered an ambush in the end instead!
This was like a blow to the head for Zhao Qinghe, causing him to utterly not dare believe that such an incident would occur. Huangfu Changtian had actually joined forces with the enemy and a.s.sisted the Darqian Dynasty to make a move against them. Who would believe such a thing?
When he saw Lu Xiao being brutally tortured to death by his enemies, and when he saw the indifference, coldness, and disdain in Huangfu Changtian’s expressions, Zhao Qinghe finally believed that all of this was true and had really occurred before his eyes…
However, he resolutely chose to flee. He wanted to survive, he wanted to tell the others of this news, and he wanted to tell them that they absolutely must not fall for Huangfu Changtian’s tricks.
So a scene of being pursued and fleeing occurred.
Fortunately, Zhao Qinghe was a body refiner, causing his vitality to be tenacious to the extreme. No matter how numerous and strong his enemies were, it was impossible for them to annihilate him in a short period of time.
But what caused Zhao Qinghe to be worried was along with the pa.s.sage of time, the injuries on his body grew heavier and heavier, and his consciousness started to become fuzzy. If he was still unable to get rid of the enemies following behind him, then only death would be waiting for him.
…
“Hmph! An ant from an ordinary Dynasty is actually trying to survive while being pursued by me? Truly laughable!” As he looked at Zhao Qinghe in the distance who was covered in serious injuries yet still flying madly, the corners of the Darqian Dynasty’s Crown Prince, Hong Zhuo’s, mouth couldn’t help but be suffused with dense ridicule.
When he spoke up to here, a wisp of gloominess and ruthlessness gushed out from Hong Zhuo’s eyes as he turned around the instruct the people behind him. “Don’t rush to kill him once we capture him later. I want to extract his soul and make him suffer torment for eternity. Hmph! Chen Xi actually dared kill so many experts of my Darqian Dynasty, so I want to kill everyone from his Darchu Dynasty as well! Otherwise, it’s impossible to calm the hatred in my heart.”
The five people behind Hong Zhuo were all experts of the Darqian Dynasty, and they’d hated the members of the Darchu Dynasty to the bone since long ago, so all of them agreed in unison and revealed ferocious gazes when they heard this.
“Crown Prince, Chen Xi has overcome the Phoenix Tribulation of Rebirth, and his strength can’t be underestimated. Since we’re pursuing his companions, then once it enrages him, wouldn’t it be slightly troublesome?” Someone from the group suddenly spoke out.
“There’s no need to worry. We relied on Huangfu Changtian’s jade token this time to meticulously prepare this ambush. So long as the target is annihilated, then would anyone in this world know that we did it?” Hong Zhuo waved his hand and spoke without minding in the slightest. “Not to mention, the Darchu Dynasty has so many enemies, so even if he suspects someone, it wouldn’t be us.”
The others couldn’t help but heave sighs of relief in their hearts when they heard this. Obviously, they were extremely afraid of the terrifying strength that Chen Xi possessed at this moment.
“Then how does Crown Prince intend to deal with Huangfu Changtian? That fellow is a member of the Darchu Dynasty, and he knows everything about the actions we took. What if he leaks information about it…?” The person that spoke out earlier was still worried and continued with another question.
“This fellow’s existence is very troublesome indeed. But he killed Lu Xiao with his own two hands, so how could he possibly leak information about such a thing?”
Hong Zhuo laughed gloomily as he said, “Moreover, I’ve already sent him to a.s.sist the members of the Darxuan Dynasty to ambush and kill the other members of the Darchu Dynasty in Primeval City. Those fellows from the Darxuan Dynasty aren’t idiots, so they naturally will take precautions against this. Perhaps it would be the end of Huangfu Changtian once the mission is completed. At that time, everyone from the Darchu Dynasty would be dead and only Chen Xi alone would remain. Let me see how he’ll survive in the final test of the Primeval Battlefield!”
“So it turns out that Crown Prince has already planned everything, then I have nothing to worry about anymore.” The person that spoke out earlier heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, and then he said with a smile, “Crown Prince, watch how I stop that fellow.”
As he spoke, he casually flipped his hand to cause a 1m long verdant rope to appear on his palm. The rope was thick like a thumb, covered in surging talisman markings, and it was like an extremely agile green colored little snake.
“Verdant Rattan Rope!” Someone recognized this magic treasure and cried out in surprise.
This was a top-grade heaven-rank magic treasure that was refined from a green rattan that had grown for 10,000 years in gentle water. Even though its offensive strength was ordinary, its speed was swift like a shooting star. Most terrifying of it all was the so long as this green rattan touched the body of a cultivator, countless green strings that were like tentacles would grow out from it and instantly and tightly bind the enemy like a large net.
Unless one’s cultivation was superior or one held a formidable weapon, it was utterly impossible to break through the binding of the Verdant Rattan Rope, and it was an absolutely formidable magic treasure in intercepting one’s enemies.
Hong Zhuo said with surprise, “No wonder you’re so confident about stopping that fellow in front of us. So it turns out that you possess such a treasure.”
He smiled lightly before stretching his hand out and shaking it, causing the Verdant Rattan Rope to suddenly transform into a flowing light that appeared above the distant Zhao Qinghe’s head in the next moment, and then a myriad of green strings shot out explosively to transform into a large net that enveloped Zhao Qinghe from above.
Hong Zhuo’s craggy face couldn’t help but be suffused with a savage smile when he saw this scene. In his eyes, Zhao Qinghe had already become a fish in the net, and continuing to struggle was useless.
Sure enough, at the instant the Verdant Rattan Rope descended, it directly bound Zhao Qinghe up. If it was at an ordinary time, Zhao Qinghe would be completely capable of easily dodging such an attack, but unfortunately, he was exhausted and heavily injured at this moment, causing him to be unable to break free.
Crack! Crack!
An expert from the Darqian Dynasty moved forward and directly broke Zhao Qinghe’s limbs before moving aside for Hong Zhuo. He knew that the greatest addiction of Crown Prince was to personally torture a person that was about to die.
Looks like I’ll really be unable to escape calamity today. I wonder if that fellow Chen Xi will take revenge for me once he finds out… As he looked at Hong Zhuo who laughed savagely while walking towards him, Zhao Qinghe’s expression was calm, and the pain within his entire body was far inferior to the dejectedness and powerlessness he felt in his heart. A trace of self ridicule had suddenly suffused the corners of his mouth. I was unable to send out the news in the end. I was still too weak.
“Actually, you didn’t have to die, but who asked you to be a disciple of the Darchu Dynasty? Who asked you to be a companion of Chen Xi’s? All of this can’t be blamed on anyone else, right?” Hong Zhuo looked down dominantly at Zhao Qinghe with a gaze that was filled with pity, yet he didn’t hold back in the slightest to step on Zhao Qinghe’s face and fiercely trample on it.