Chapter 89: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind
"Run quickly!"
"What are you doing? Why are you attacking me!"
"Ahhh, I don't want to die! Don't blame me!"
"..."
Some cultivators, gripped by fear, turned against their fellow cultivators, shoving them backward to serve as human shields!
In this moment.
The darkest aspects of human nature were laid bare!
"Roar!"
The blood-colored humanoid monster bellowed as it relentlessly continued its pursuit.
However.
The cultivators had already dispersed, each rushing into individual cave entrances, leaving the monster with no choice but to pursue only one of them.
It seemed that the chief disciples of the five major sects had inflicted the most significant damage upon the creature, causing it to harbor a deep grudge against the five.
Having slain Fei Chao and another, it then targeted the chief disciple of the Heavenly Blade School!
In the blink of an eye.
The underground space turned desolate.
'Next, Ye Fan will surely return to seize the giant egg!'
'Ah, and those lifeless bodies strewn across the ground will also become his targets for plunder.'
Jiang Chen observed the scene with a detached expression, a cold, sardonic smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
At that moment.
Five cultivators charged forth from the front.
Upon closer inspection, Jiang Chen recognized them as members of the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain!
Well, well.
Old enemies indeed!
'Due to the incident involving the Thousand Green Pill Heart Records, the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain already bears a grudge against me.'
'Since that's the case, let me eliminate some of the exceptional disciples from this crumbling sect first!'
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and emerged from the shadows.
"Who's there!?"
"Jiang Chen!? Jiang Chen from the Starry Abyss Sect!"
"How is he here!?"
"Never mind that, let's kill him and continue escaping! Everyone, attack!"
Upon seeing Jiang Chen, the five from the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain hesitated for a moment before their eyes flashed with murderous intent!
As exceptional disciples of the Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain.
They were privy to the details of the Thousand Green Pill Heart Records incident and, as a consequence, harbored resentment towards Jiang Chen.
Faced with their foe Jiang Chen ahead and a rampaging monster behind, they almost immediately resolved to eliminate Jiang Chen!
In an instant.
The five unsheathed their weapons and charged fiercely towards Jiang Chen.
"Pathetic ants."
Jiang Chen shook his head dispassionately, his right hand shaping his fingers into a sword and executing a swift, fluid swipe.
Swish!
The sword light viciously sliced through the necks of the five!
Under the force of inertia, their five lifeless bodies hurtled towards Jiang Chen before crumpling to the ground.
Pitter-patter!
Blood spurted from the severed necks, staining the ground a deep crimson.
Five dismembered heads stared with wide eyes, filled with terror and disbelief.
"Ye Fan."
"Come back quickly, it's your turn to take the field."
With a casual wave of his hand, Jiang Chen gathered the loot, stepped over the lifeless bodies, and slowly advanced towards the underground expanse.
Just then.
A figure abruptly reappeared in the underground space.
This person was not Ye Fan.
Rather, it was the chief disciple of the Water Cloud Sect, Hu Hanshan!
'Hmm?'
'Isn't that Ye Fan?'
'It seems there's going to be a spectacle of Ye Fan strutting his stuff.'
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, halted his steps, and leisurely began to observe.
"Ahahaha!"
"This treasure is mine now!"
Hu Hanshan couldn't suppress a jubilant grin as he surveyed the vacant underground space.
Immediately after.
He produced a palm-sized pouch, which was in fact a specially crafted Spirit Beast Pouch.
Spirit beast pouches were exceedingly difficult to refine, requiring a vast quantity of costly materials.
The crux was that even high-level spirit beast pouches could only accommodate spirit beasts or demon beasts of relatively modest size.
Therefore.
Spirit beast pouches were quite a rarity among cultivators.
Clutching the spirit beast pouch.
Hu Hanshan darted towards the giant egg, intent on seizing it!
At that very moment.
An afterimage materialized behind Hu Hanshan, and an incredibly sharp dagger was thrust forth in an instant!
"Who's there?!"
Hu Hanshan sensed the looming peril, his face awash with shock, but caught off guard, how could he possibly deflect the poised assault?!
Thud!
The dagger ruthlessly penetrated Hu Hanshan's chest, piercing straight through his heart!
Simultaneously.
An immense force erupted from the dagger, obliterating a substantial portion of Hu Hanshan's internal organs and meridians.
"No!"
Hu Hanshan unleashed a wretched scream, as despair gradually cemented itself on his visage.
"Hahaha!"
"Did you think you were the only one who'd return?"
"This young master never strayed too far, always lurking in the passage!"
"Now, this giant egg belongs to me~!"
The cultivator who had slain Hu Hanshan unveiled his presence and spoke with a series of chilling laughs.
"Uh."
Jiang Chen observed the scene, rendered somewhat speechless.
That's because the one who had killed Hu Hanshan was not Ye Fan, but the chief disciple of the Divine Wind School, Wang Dong!
The Divine Wind School was renowned for its mastery of speed. Wang Dong had been the first to evade the pursuit of the fused monster and had lain in wait within the passage.
Sensing Hu Hanshan's return, he had pounced.
'Damn it.'
'Is this scenario a case of 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind', and behind the oriole, there's a snake?'
'And if you count me in, behind the snake, there's an eagle?!'
'Damn, it's like a set of nesting dolls...'
Somewhat speechless and grumbling, Jiang Chen's expression gradually grew serious.
That's because Ye Fan had finally appeared!
'The moment the protagonist takes center stage is when I should make my move!'
Jiang Chen extended his divine sense, focusing intently on the ravaged underground field.
He observed Wang Dong pick up the Spirit Beast Pouch that Hu Hanshan had been clutching, retrieve the storage ring, and then sprint towards the giant egg with a smug expression on his face.
Suddenly.
"Please hold on, sir."
A voice emanated from behind Wang Dong.
Cold sweat materialized on Wang Dong's forehead.
He hadn't even detected someone approaching from behind!
When he turned around and recognized that it was Ye Fan, he heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"So it's you, kid."
"It seems your name is Ye Fan, right?"
"Hmph, you want this giant egg too?"
Wang Dong sneered at Ye Fan, thinking that he had been too arrogant before, which was why he hadn't noticed Ye Fan's arrival.
"Not bad."
"If you could give it to me..."
Ye Fan spoke coldly, but before he could finish.
"Give it to you? Ridiculous!"
Another voice emerged from behind the two of them!
Wang Dong and Ye Fan were both startled, and a trace of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.
They hadn't even sensed someone approaching from behind!
As they turned around to look.
They saw Jiang Chen slowly walking out of a passageway from another direction, his face full of playful smiles.
"Is it you? Jiang Chen?"
"A core disciple of the Starry Abyss Sect, with a Late-stage Spiritual Awakening cultivation."
"Hahaha, I never expected that two Spiritual Awakening cultivators would come one after the other to compete with me for this opportunity. Are you trying to make me die of laughter!?"
Upon recognizing Jiang Chen, Wang Dong let out a sigh of relief and mocked disdainfully.
Upon seeing Jiang Chen, a serious look flashed in Ye Fan's eyes.
It was just a fleeting glance.
Recently, he had absorbed a considerable amount of qi and blood energy and advanced his Heavenly Origin cultivation method to the perfect level!
His combat power had reached a higher realm!
'Jiang Chen!'
'You are indeed formidable.'
'But you definitely can't imagine that in such a short period, I have greatly improved my combat power...'
Ye Fan thought to himself, no longer as apprehensive of Jiang Chen.
He was confident that after practicing those cultivation methods, he could defeat Jiang Chen!
It was at this moment.