Free Web NovelChapter 303: Leaving Tiangong City
Outside Tiangong City, the market was bustling, and the crowd was as dense as a weave.
Fang Hao mingled in the crowd, appearing to stroll aimlessly, but in reality, he had already taken in the surrounding environment. His Divine Sense, like invisible tentacles, carefully sensed the subtle movements behind and around him without excessively disturbing others.
That cold Divine Sense, belonging to Mo Yunhe, had only offered a fleeting glance at the city gate and had not swept over again. However, Fang Hao could clearly feel that at least two auras, like maggots on bones, were trailing far behind him.
One aura was at the Middle Golden Core Stage, and the other was at the Early Golden Core Stage. The two cooperated tacitly, alternating their tracking, always maintaining a distance of about a hundred zhang, and constantly changing positions, appearing extremely experienced.
"Only two? Or is there an ambush?" Fang Hao sneered in his heart, but his face remained calm. He continued to maintain the appearance of an ordinary middle-aged Loose Cultivator, stopping and walking, occasionally pausing in front of roadside stalls to pick up insignificant items to look at, and bargaining a few words with the stall owner, as if he were truly just strolling.
He did not immediately head toward the secluded route he had planned, but instead walked toward the outskirts of the market in the opposite direction, leading to the official road of the Great Yan Empire’s interior.
Since the other party had already set up eyes and ears, no matter which path he took, he would likely find it difficult to completely shake off the tracking. Rather than being intercepted in the wilderness, it would be better to test the other party’s intentions and arrangements in this relatively crowded and chaotic place.
After strolling for about half an hour, Fang Hao seemed "bored" with the hustle and bustle of the market and turned to walk toward a relatively quiet path leading to a low hilly area.
This path was not a main road and usually didn’t have many pedestrians, mostly just nearby herb gatherers or low-level Cultivators walking occasionally.
The two auras behind him followed like shadows, turning into the path as well, the distance seemingly closing in a little.
In the hilly area, the vegetation grew deeper, and there were few people. Fang Hao’s pace was unhurried, as if he were enjoying the scenery along the way. He seemingly chose a fork in the road at random and headed deep into the hills. The further he walked, the more remote it became, and soon there were only the sounds of insects and birds, with no sign of people.
Just as he stepped into a relatively open clearing surrounded by tall trees, he stopped and slowly turned around.
"You’ve been following for so long, aren’t you tired? Come out." Fang Hao’s voice was flat, sounding exceptionally clear in the silent forest.
After a brief silence, two figures, one on the left and one on the right, flashed out from behind the trees in the direction Fang Hao had come from. They were exactly those two trackers.
One of them was a Black-robed Elder with a withered face and sinister eyes, his cultivation at the Middle Golden Core Stage. The other was a short and sturdy man with a scarred face, holding a pair of water-splitting daggers, his cultivation at the Early Golden Core Stage.
"Kid, good alertness." The Black-robed Elder’s voice was hoarse, like a broken gong. "Unfortunately, you’re still too green. Hand over your Storage Ring obediently, seal your cultivation, and come with us to see Elder Mo, perhaps you might be able to keep your life."
The scarred man grinned, revealing his stark white teeth: "Why waste words with him? He’s just at the Early Golden Core Stage, just take him down! Elder Mo said, dead or alive doesn’t matter, we just need the Storage Ring!"
The two clearly did not take the "Early Golden Core Stage" Fang Hao seriously; in their words, they already viewed Fang Hao as something in their pocket.
A trace of just-right "panic" and "forced calmness" appeared on Fang Hao’s face: "You... are you Elder Mo’s men? I... I have already sold everything, there’s nothing valuable in the Storage Ring..." As he spoke, he seemed to retreat two steps in fear.
"Sold it? Hmph, who are you trying to fool!" The scarred man sneered, his body suddenly erupting, pouncing toward Fang Hao like a cheetah. The water-splitting daggers in his hands brought up two gloomy blue cold lights, stabbing straight at Fang Hao’s chest and abdomen vitals. His speed was extremely fast, evidently skilled in close-quarters combat. "Once I take you down and search your soul, I’ll naturally know whether the things are there or not!"
He didn’t put Fang Hao in his eyes at all, just wanting to end the battle quickly and snatch the first merit.
However, just as he pounced to within a zhang of Fang Hao, and the moment the water-splitting daggers were about to reach his body, the "panicked and retreating" Fang Hao suddenly erupted with cold light in his eyes!
The aura that had been restrained erupted with a boom! It was no longer the disguised Early Golden Core Stage, but the Perfected Golden Core, and the aura was so solid and heavy that it far exceeded an ordinary Perfected Golden Core!
The sneer on the scarred man’s face instantly froze, replaced by boundless horror! He had never expected that this seemingly ordinary middle-aged Loose Cultivator had actually hidden such terrifying cultivation!
But at this moment, his Move had already been committed, and it was too late to change tactics. He could only frantically urge his spiritual power, pushing the power of the water-splitting daggers to the extreme, attempting to force Fang Hao back.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Fang Hao’s body didn’t Move, he just simply raised his right hand, five fingers spread, like iron hoops, not dodging or avoiding, grabbing straight toward those two gloomy blue cold lights!
Clang! Clang!
Two crisp sounds of metal clashing rang out almost simultaneously! The scarred man only felt an irresistible giant force coming from the water-splitting daggers, his web between thumb and index finger instantly burst open, and the water-splitting daggers almost flew out of his hand!
What caused him to feel Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering was that the opponent’s seemingly ordinary palm had actually hard-blocked his Magical Artifact, which was infused with his full spiritual power, without suffering any damage!
"Body Cultivator?! Perfected Golden Core?! Not good..." The scarred man was terrified to the point of extinction, withdrawing his body and retreating rapidly.
But how could Fang Hao give him a chance? The moment he grabbed the water-splitting daggers, his right leg was like a whip, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air, and at a speed invisible to the naked eye, it fiercely whipped onto the scarred man’s waist and abdomen!
Crack!
A tooth-aching sound of bone cracking rang out. The scarred man let out a miserable scream, his whole body as if hit by a galloping wild elephant, flying backward at a speed faster than when he came, breaking three or four trees as thick as a bowl, before falling heavily to the ground, blood spraying wildly from his mouth, mixed with fragments of internal organs, his body arched like a shrimp, clearly not going to survive.
In one exchange, the Early Golden Core Stage scarred man was severely injured and dying!
Everything happened too fast. From Fang Hao’s eruption to the scarred man being severely wounded, it was nothing more than a flash of lightning. The Black-robed Elder hadn’t even had time to react, his grin just turning into astonishment.
"You... who exactly are you?!" The Black-robed Elder was both shocked and angry, shouting sharply, while his body retreated rapidly, pulling distance from Fang Hao. In his hand, there was already a pitch-black soul banner, on the surface of which ghost shadows were flickering, emitting miserable howls, evidently a vicious Magical Artifact.
He no longer had any contempt; the youth in front of him, where was he an Early Golden Core Stage one could easily manipulate? He was clearly a Vicious Beast! His Physical Body was so strong, and his power so great, it was simply appalling!
"The person who will kill you." Fang Hao’s tone was cold, shaking off the non-existent dust on his hands, walking step by step toward the Black-robed Elder. His pace was not fast, but it carried a heavy sense of oppression; with every step he took, it seemed to step on the Black-robed Elder’s heartbeat.
