Shi Yangzi merely swayed his body and instantaneously regained his clarity.
From that single thunderous shout, he deduced that the newcomer’s cultivation was certainly no less than his own, perhaps even greater. What was more, it was highly likely that the person was the senior of the Daoist boy in front of him. If only one had come, he might handle it, but if two or three showed up, escape would be impossible.
Hence, his most prudent choice now was to avoid clashing head-on. But his eyes first showed a trace of hesitation, followed by a flash of cunning malice.
His gaze hardened as he let out a low grunt. Instead of retreating, he flicked his finger, and a streak of white light spun midair—heading directly to kill Zhang Pan, with a clear intent that he would stop at nothing short of his death.
Yet, just at that moment, there came the sound of wind splitting. The piercing shriek shook the eardrums, seeming almost as if to tear them apart. A brilliantly patterned flying hammer arrived in time, colliding head-on with the streak of white light.
Only the sharp clash of metal rang out, and the white ray instantly shattered into three pieces, falling to the ground. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Cold Iron Short Sword.
Shi Yangzi, far from shocked at the sight, revealed a gleam of triumph in his eyes, as if his scheme had worked.
Seizing the moment, he stretched out his hand and made a long-distance grab toward the Crane Spirit Jade Talisman in Zhang Pan’s hand. The latter, unprepared, only managed to let out an "Ah!" before the talisman was snatched by Shi Yangzi without warning.
After grabbing the talisman, Shi Yangzi tossed it into his sleeve, then opened the Three Qi Earth Covering Umbrella in midair. With a single shake, a wisp of black air emerged below the umbrella, swiftly pulling the Soul Suppressing Inkstone into its confines. Enveloping himself with Xuan Guang, he turned into light without so much as a backward glance and fled.
These movements were executed with exceptional fluidity, all completed before Zhang Yan could arrive. Shi Yangzi felt rather pleased with his own swiftness and skill.
It wasn’t that he feared Zhang Yan, but rather that he cherished his pursuit of immortality. Having cultivated to his current level was no easy feat, and he hoped to one day seek the Dao of immortality. Thus, he was very protective of his own life, avoiding fights with other Xuan Guang Practitioners unless absolutely necessary.
Moreover, upon learning that the Chen couple might be under Lu Tianying’s care, he chose to endure and refrained from causing trouble.
Most crucially, he was uncertain about Zhang Yan’s background. He’d already been intimidated by Zhang Pan’s relentless use of Dharma Treasures earlier. If Zhang Yan employed similar methods, what would he have in defense?
Even if he managed to triumph, who in the immortal cultivation world doesn’t have allies within their sect? If they came searching for trouble one after another, how would he continue his cultivation?
Thus, he preferred the safer option of retreating first, firmly unwilling to provoke Zhang Yan unnecessarily. Avoiding even the slightest encounter was ideal, so as to spare potential conflicts in the future.
With a mindset set on diffusing trouble, Shi Yangzi flew madly away. After traversing dozens of miles, he glanced back and spotted a ferocious mist-cloud tightly following him, causing him to silently curse.
Upon closer inspection, however, he realized that while the opponent’s tunneling speed wasn’t slow, it wasn’t significantly faster either. This eased his nerves somewhat. He patted the umbrella, taking out the treasure inkstone from within, gazing at it with pride, clearly feeling his endeavor today was worthwhile.
At this point, the fate of the Soul-Gathering Bell chasing behind him no longer mattered. He had already discerned the exceptional qualities of the inkstone earlier; it was absolutely superior to the fully-complete Six God Bell. Unfortunately, Zhang Pan couldn’t unleash its potential power. But once Shi Yangzi returned and refined the treasure inkstone for his own use, he’d be ready to make waves at the Baozhi Conference.
Zhang Yan closely followed behind Shi Yangzi, his eyes fixed ahead with a hint of amusement glimmering in his gaze.
This man had twice troubled the Chen couple, though his motives were unclear. However, Mrs. Chen bore an unborn child deeply tied by karmic fate to Zhang Yan. Until this child was safely born, he would allow no harm to befall her.
Zhang Yan couldn’t possibly linger around the Chen couple constantly to shield them. Yet Shi Yangzi had taken his Soul Suppressing Inkstone, marking him as someone who must be eliminated.
More importantly, Zhang Yan was currently acting as a Power Dao Practitioner—a path he’d never before used to confront others directly. Initially, he thought to find a cultivator to practice against, and now this opponent had kindly presented himself. Hence, he made no attempt to use sword escape, sticking solely to driving the mist-cloud forward.
If the opponent kept running, he wouldn’t mind pursuing all the way. He wanted to see who would falter first.
After nearly an hour, Shi Yangzi cast another glance backward, realizing the pursuer seemed to have picked up speed compared to earlier. This startled him slightly.