Chapter 388 - 385: Suppression

Chapter 388: Chapter 385: Suppression

’Damn it! I’ve been exposed!’

Sensing the vast and mighty aura descending from above, the gaunt figure inside the hidden room felt his expression change drastically.

BOOM!

He thrust a palm toward the sky. Potent Magical Power flared in his palm, then erupted into a jet-black pillar of light dozens of feet long. It instantly pierced through the roof, shattering it, and shot toward the colossal, storm-wreathed hand descending from above with unparalleled force!

At the same time,

he formed a Technique with his other hand. A black glow enveloped him, and the faint shadow of a black moth seemed to appear on his body. Wisps of profound energy emanated from him, rippling through the air.

This was the enemy’s main camp.

The gaunt figure had no intention of getting bogged down in a prolonged fight here.

Now that he was exposed,

the most important thing was to escape as quickly as possible!

He was about to use the clash as cover to flee with an Escape Technique.

However,

RUMBLE!

The moment his upward-striking black pillar of light collided with the storm-wreathed hand from the sky,

his expression changed dramatically once again!

In a single instant,

he felt an unstoppable force, crashing down on him like a tidal wave.

The black light he had unleashed held for only a moment before it was crushed like paper!

"What?! How is this possible?!"

The gaunt figure cried out, his eyes wide with disbelief.

With no time to think,

the black light on his body flared brighter. The instant the giant hand struck, he transformed into a black afterimage and shifted away.

RUMBLE!

Accompanied by a violent tremor, the unremarkable little house was instantly obliterated by the palm strike, reduced to dust!

At the same time,

dozens of feet away,

the gaunt figure reappeared nearby,

his face grim.

That palm strike seemed to possess the power to lock down space itself!

Even using his most practiced Tier Two Escape Skill, he hadn’t managed to dodge it completely.

The shockwave had left him with some injuries.

"Damn it!"

The gaunt figure cursed under his breath.

But his current situation didn’t allow him to linger.

"Hmph! You got lucky!"

The gaunt figure snorted coldly, taking one last deep look at the rapidly approaching silhouette.

In the span of a breath, he turned into a wisp of black smoke,

and his figure abruptly vanished.

"Hm?"

A distance of hundreds of yards,

crossed in the blink of an eye.

Shen Changchuan’s figure appeared as if by Instant Teleportation, hovering above the dust of the pulverized house.

He had clearly just seen a figure vanish from this very spot.

But now that he was here,

there was no trace of him.

There wasn’t even a lingering trace of Magical Power from his escape!

’An Escape Technique?’

’No, it was a method that used a Gu Insect!’

Shen Changchuan’s eyes narrowed.

’Such an application of Gu Technique isn’t something a Cultivator from the Tian Nan Domain would possess.’

’It’s most likely a technique from the Demon Dao, or perhaps even a Cultivator from one of the Four Major Clans who specializes in Gu Techniques!’

’For him to be able to sneak into Barbaric City...’

’Was his goal to ambush Senior Brother Wu Tianhao?’

’That can’t be right!’

’Wu Tianhao is only at the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer,’

’but that guy’s aura felt like he was at least at the Sixth Layer!’

’If he really wanted to deal with him,’

’he could have just ambushed him when he was out on a mission.’

’Or perhaps,’

’he had another objective,’

’and ambushing Wu Tianhao was just incidental?’

’Besides,’

’to be able to sneak into Barbaric City so easily... does that mean someone helped him get in?’

In an instant,

a multitude of thoughts flashed through Shen Changchuan’s mind.

’Forget it.’

’What’s the point of overthinking it?’

’I’ll understand everything once I catch him!’

Shen Changchuan pushed the myriad thoughts from his mind.

’Using a Gu Insect to escape is indeed a clever trick. If it were anyone else, they might not have been able to find the direction you fled.’

’But unfortunately for you, you ran into me!’

Without the slightest hesitation,

Shen Changchuan took out Xiaojin.

The antennae on Xiaojin’s head twitched.

It let out a hiss, facing a certain direction.

’That way!’

Shen Changchuan instantly understood Xiaojin’s meaning.

At the same time, however,

a thought occurred to him.

’Even though I raised Xiaojin and we have a certain rapport, it’s not as effective as direct communication.’

’Perhaps after this is over, I should modify that Beast Taming Secret Technique. At the very least, I need to be able to communicate with Xiaojin...’

As the thought flashed through his mind,

Shen Changchuan’s movements didn’t pause for even a moment.

He took a step into the void,

and his figure vanished.

Behind him,

sharp whistles rang out.

The patrol teams that had sensed the commotion were rushing over from a distance...

...

「A few moments later.」

Outside Barbaric City,

several miles from the city walls.

Above a river and lake.

Shen Changchuan hovered in mid-air, looking down at the land below—a place shrouded by tall trees, overgrown with weeds, and crisscrossed by a winding river. His expression was uncertain.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

Xiaojin: HISS! (The scent trail ends here!)

Shen Changchuan fell silent.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Ever since he had discovered the enemy’s tracks in the city, made a decisive move, and then watched him escape with some kind of Gu Technique,

Shen Changchuan had used Xiaojin’s ability to track him all the way here.

But,

’how did he escape Barbaric City so easily?’

’Barbaric City is protected by a Guard Array that’s active around the clock!’

Even if Shen Changchuan himself tried to force his way out of Barbaric City, it would trigger fluctuations in the city’s Guard Array!

But this guy,

had escaped the city without a sound!

’If it weren’t for Xiaojin,’

’I probably wouldn’t have been able to find him at all!’

’Is this a method similar to Spatial Teleportation? Or something else?’

He didn’t have much time to ponder,

for at that moment,

Barbaric City stirred behind him.

Powerful auras surged as shouts of a city-wide alert rang out. A white curtain of light rose above the city, enclosing it like an overturned bowl.

’Looks like,’

’they’ve finally discovered what happened and are starting to take action...’

A glint flashed in Shen Changchuan’s eyes.

’In that case... I’ll retreat for now!’

’The enemy is an unknown quantity,’

’and his methods are a mystery.’

’To avoid walking into an ambush,’

’it’s best to retreat first!’

’If I go back and call for them, I can summon a large number of helpers.’

’Only a fool would charge in and fight alone.’

Shen Changchuan turned, preparing to leave.

However,

at that very moment,

VMMMM!

An invisible ripple spread out.

Shen Changchuan discovered,

that the space within a hundred-zhang radius was suddenly suffused with an invisible Abnormal Power, cutting it off from the outside world!

Shen Changchuan’s body came to an abrupt halt.

’The space has been restricted!’

His pupils contracted.

"This is..."

Just then,

from the lake behind him,

the gaunt figure from before slowly rose from the water, his face dark and menacing.

"Hmph! A mere Soul Emergence Fourth Layer actually dared to chase after me!"

"If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll really think I’m a helpless kitten, won’t you!"

The gaunt figure snorted coldly.

A savage expression appeared on his face as a terrifying killing intent filled the air.