Chapter 554 - 554: Drawing a Crowd

Magma Essence!

Hearing this, the eyes of all four men lit up, and their breathing quickened.

They had all heard the rumors.

Chu Qingyun's goal in the Molten Rock District was the Magma Essence!

"Ahem, Junior Brother, may I ask your name?"

The Level 8 Martial Spirit spoke as he took two steps forward, closing the distance to Chu Qingyun. His hands trembled slightly with excitement.

A Level 6 Martial Spirit, all alone, searching for Magma Essence.

No matter how they looked at it, this person fit the description of the Chu Qingyun they had been searching for!

Chu Qingyun, of course, saw the Level 8 Martial Spirit's subtle movements as clear as day. He had pulled similar tricks himself more than once.

However, Chu Qingyun pretended not to notice and continued, "I am Chu Qingyun. I joined the sect less than a month ago."

Upon hearing the name,

the four men's hearts pounded in their chests, and an irrepressible excitement surfaced in their eyes.

'Our big break has arrived!'

"Oh, so it's Junior Brother Chu. It's a real... pleasure to meet you!"

As the Level 8 Martial Spirit said the word "pleasure," he suddenly drew his sword, unleashing a slash of Sword Qi at Chu Qingyun.

But Chu Qingyun was, of course, already on guard. He sidestepped twice, swiftly dodging the attack.

"Senior Brother, what is the meaning of this?"

Chu Qingyun retreated two steps, feigning shock and panic as he asked.

The Level 8 Martial Spirit was slightly surprised that his ambush had failed, but he didn't think much of it.

"Heh heh, what's the meaning? Chu Qingyun, stop pretending. If you know what's good for you, hand over your Token. We might even spare your life."

The Level 8 Martial Spirit chuckled darkly.

The other three men dropped their pretenses and began to close in on Chu Qingyun.

"Hmph!"

Chu Qingyun snorted coldly, turned, and ran.

"After him! Don't let him get away!"

The Level 8 Martial Spirit ordered, then took the lead in chasing after Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun's speed was still a bit slower than that of a Level 8 Martial Spirit.

But he wasn't worried.

The Molten Rock District was dotted with many rocky hills. These were formations of extremely hard stone, left behind after being eroded by rain and magma over countless years.

Whenever he passed one of these rocky hills, Chu Qingyun would duck behind it to hide for a moment.

In that brief instant, he would activate his Shadow Martial Soul, concealing himself within it before continuing to flee.

Once he had put some distance between himself and the four men behind him,

Chu Qingyun would then deactivate his Shadow Martial Soul, deliberately letting them spot him again so they would resume the chase.

This made the four men behind him a little suspicious.

But they didn't dwell on it. After all, it was already pitch black, so it made sense that it would take some time to track someone in the dark.

Besides, Chu Qingyun had completely concealed his Qi, giving them no reason to be suspicious.

And so the chase continued, with both sides maintaining a nearly constant distance from each other.

"Big Brother, that kid is too slippery! Let me use a Soul Technique to stop him!" one of the four men suggested.

"No. We can't use Soul Techniques."

"And extinguish the Primordial Power in your hands. We absolutely cannot let anyone else know that we've found Chu Qingyun!"

The Level 8 Martial Spirit rejected the suggestion without hesitation.

The strength of their group of four wasn't particularly strong or weak within the Molten Rock District; they were probably just below average.

Being able to "find" Chu Qingyun was purely a matter of luck.

If they used any large-scale Elemental Power Soul Techniques, they would be incredibly conspicuous in the darkness.

If they attracted more people, forget about snatching Chu Qingyun's Token—they'd be lucky to even get a piece of the pie.

After about ten minutes of this cat-and-mouse chase, Chu Qingyun's eyes suddenly lit up.

He saw several hazy clusters of light from Primordial Power to his front left. There had to be people there.

Without hesitation, Chu Qingyun immediately changed direction and rushed toward them.

It was a large group, more than a dozen people, who, just like the first four, were searching for something in the night.

Chu Qingyun had been using the Hidden Qi Technique the entire time, so they didn't notice him.

But as he got closer, the group of a dozen or so did notice the four people moving at high speed.

At a time when everyone was desperately searching for Chu Qingyun, what did it mean for four people to be moving so quickly? 'Could it be... they've found Chu Qingyun's whereabouts?'

After getting a bit closer to the group, Chu Qingyun once again ducked behind a rocky hill, changed course, and ran off in another direction.

Meanwhile, the four men chasing him were now being watched by the group of a dozen.

The group didn't even need to discuss it; they immediately charged forward and fell in behind the four men.

"Junior Brothers, who might you be chasing in the middle of the night?" one of the newcomers asked as he kept pace.

The expression of the Level 8 Martial Spirit subtly changed.

The one who had spoken was a Level 9 Martial Spirit!

"We're... not chasing anyone..." the Level 8 Martial Spirit said.

"Liar! Boss, there's someone up ahead!"

"I see him too! A figure!"

"It has to be Chu Qingyun!"

Just then, Chu Qingyun happened to deactivate his Shadow Martial Soul, and he was instantly spotted by the many people behind him.

Now, there was no need to ask. They all knew.

Who else but Chu Qingyun would be frantically pursued in the middle of the night?

The Level 9 Martial Spirit didn't ask any more questions. He shot the original group of four a glance, snorted coldly, and took off after Chu Qingyun at full speed.

However, he ran into the same problem.

Every time Chu Qingyun rounded a rocky hill, they would briefly lose sight of him.

So, even though the number of pursuers had multiplied several times over, the average speed of the chase remained at the level of a Level 6 Martial Spirit.

They couldn't catch up, yet no one fell behind.

This feeling was incredibly frustrating for the fastest among them, the Level 8 and Level 9 Martial Spirits.

In this manner, Chu Qingyun led the growing crowd behind him on a wild goose chase all around the outer edge of the Molten Rock District.

Whenever he sensed new people nearby, he would lead his pursuers straight toward them, drawing the newcomers into the chase as well.

An hour later, the number of people chasing him had multiplied several times over, now totaling more than thirty.

Among them were now two Level 9 Martial Spirits!

With so many people, the commotion grew larger, and their concerns about being discovered dwindled.

Soon, during the chase, they briefly conferred and came to a decision.

'First, stop and finish off Chu Qingyun!'

As for how to divide the Saint Extreme Points, that could be decided after they had the Token in hand.

And so,

more than thirty people simultaneously unleashed their Primordial Power or Soul Techniques, lighting up the night with a dazzling, blinding radiance as a storm of attacks howled toward Chu Qingyun.