Chapter 698: Pay-To-Win VS Cheating (II)

Shi Tianyun frowned, narrowing his eyes as his thoughts raced. What is that fellow doing? Why hasn't he attacked yet? If he waits any longer, Xiao Yu will enter the dangerous region of the Bloody Trial Grounds.

Since that fellow was unreliable and refused to attack, Shi Tianyun would have to force Xiao Yu into exposing an opening himself. Otherwise, matters would become troublesome once Xiao Yu entered the most dangerous region of the Bloody Trial Grounds deep within the demon cave.

That region contained not only all manner of powerful yao with strange abilities, but also many monstrous geniuses lurking in secret. Shi Tianyun would need to guard against the terrifying yao while preventing other cultivators from discovering him. Given his strength, that was nearly impossible.

"Damn it, wasn't this fellow a complete coward before? Yet now, during a yao tide, he actually dares charge toward the dangerous region of the Bloody Trial Grounds. Has he lost his mind?" Shi Tianyun could not help cursing.

His figure flickered and vanished from the spot. He could not allow Xiao Yu to advance any farther, so Shi Tianyun decided to intervene directly and create an opportunity for his accomplice.

***

"Oh? Why did that fellow run off?" Lin Zheyu looked surprised when he sensed Shi Tianyun suddenly racing elsewhere. However, his surprise quickly vanished, replaced by an amused smile.

I see. He plans to redirect trouble toward me and personally create an opportunity for his accomplice, Lin Zheyu thought.

Through his perception, Lin Zheyu sensed Shi Tianyun deliberately provoking a peak six-pattern yao several kilometers away before fleeing toward him in a sorry state.

"Roar!"

The yao behind Shi Tianyun suddenly caught up to him and swept its tail, which was thicker than a barrel, through the air with astonishing force. With a thought, the shell-like dharma treasure on Shi Tianyun's back snapped open and enclosed him protectively. The yao's enormous tail slammed into the shell-like dharma treasure and sent him flying.

The shell-like dharma treasure slammed into the ground and blasted out an enormous crater less than three hundred meters from Lin Zheyu. Shi Tianyun emerged from the treasure in a sorry state and immediately activated his escape light to continue fleeing. Then, as though he had only just noticed Lin Zheyu, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly sent a voice transmission.

"Fellow Xiao! Please help me hold back this peak six-pattern yao for a few seconds. I only need a few breaths, and I'll be confident of killing it!" Shi Tianyun's voice sounded somewhat anxious.

"Heh~." Lin Zheyu glanced sidelong at him and replied flatly, "No!"

"You! If you refuse to help me, then don't blame me for doing the same to you. If I die, we're all dying together!" Madness flashed through Shi Tianyun's eyes as he charged toward Lin Zheyu with a savage grin. He sneered inwardly, clutching the Divine Movement Talisman in his right hand and ready to teleport away at any moment.

"You!" Lin Zheyu feigned panic and fled into the distance. The corners of his lips curved upward.

These fellows have finally taken the bait!

"Roar!"

The yao pursuing Shi Tianyun let out a thunderous roar and smashed its enormous tail into his shell-like dharma treasure once more.

"Now!" A cold gleam flashed through Lin Zheyu's eyes as his right hand tightened around Voidcleaver, deliberately exposing an even greater opening.

As expected, the burly man concealed in the darkness revealed a cold smile and launched his fatal strike.

"Hehe, die!" The burly man transformed into a black shadow with a savage grin and merged into the darkness. The shadow flickered and appeared beside Lin Zheyu.

Sharp claws extended from his right hand and stabbed fiercely toward Lin Zheyu's temple. A savage grin hung on his lips, and his eyes brimmed with anticipation. He longed to see shock, despair, and unwillingness in the eyes of this Martial Alliance genius. However, he was disappointed. The familiar sensation of piercing flesh never came. His right hand passed straight through Lin Zheyu's head, and the seemingly lifelike figure dissolved into an illusion and vanished into the darkness.

"How is that possible? Just now, he clearly... Wait, no!" The burly man whipped his head around toward Shi Tianyun.

Shi Tianyun had just emerged from the shell-like dharma treasure, feigning a sorry state, and was about to activate his escape light. However, his body suddenly froze. His eyes widened in terror and disbelief. Under the barbarian man's stunned gaze, Shi Tianyun's head slid diagonally from his neck and fell to the ground, revealing a smooth cross section and pale brain matter.

A moment later, Shi Tianyun's arms, legs, and torso split apart, collapsing into a gruesome heap of flesh. Suddenly, radiance swirled around the severed arm clutching the Divine Movement Talisman, and the arm vanished from the spot. The rest of his dismembered body remained behind.

The burly man was both horrified and furious. "Fuck! To hell with early Shackles realm! This man is at least as powerful as a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. He's an old Nascent Soul realm monster!"

He turned without hesitation and activated his life-saving measure. Vast energy surged from the barbarian man's body and enveloped him. However, the instant he activated it, two pitch-black fissures tore open in the void behind him. Two apocalyptic saber lights emerged from the fissures and struck his body. Under his unwilling gaze, they cleaved him into several pieces.

"Aaaargh!"

The anguished scream, filled with unwillingness, echoed through the demon cave before abruptly fading away.

"Huh? That actually worked?" Lin Zheyu was rendered speechless as he watched the barbarian man teleport away through his life-saving measure despite having been killed by two saber strikes.

Even a cooked duck already in his grasp had managed to fly away. It was truly frustrating. The same had happened with Shi Tianyun just now. If Lin Zheyu had not acted quickly and severed the right hand holding the Divine Movement Talisman first, it might not have been merely Shi Tianyun's arm that was teleported away. His entire body could have escaped. These fellows with powerful backgrounds had invested far too heavily in pay-to-win life-saving measures. Hunting them required meticulous planning.

"I need to find a way to seal space... Otherwise, won't it be this troublesome every time I encounter someone with a life-saving measure similar to a Divine Movement Talisman?" Lin Zheyu mused.

It had been the same when he killed Woo Yiyan of the Woo Family. Woo Yiyan had possessed a Grand Teleportation Talisman rather than a Divine Movement Talisman. Since they had been inside the Shamanic Clan's inheritance secret realm, the Grand Teleportation Talisman could only teleport him to a random location and could not break through the secret realm's spatial boundary.

Otherwise, Lin Zheyu would never have been confident that he could prevent Woo Yiyan from escaping and kill him. This was not a matter of strength. These pay-to-win players had spent so much that even a cheating player like him found them difficult to handle.

Alternatively, I could raise the Seven Absolute Sabers' power by another stage and increase the attack range of Gods and Demons Extinguished, Lin Zheyu thought.

Through his cultivation and improvements, Gods and Demons Extinguished had acquired a trace of the Nascent Soul realm's characteristics, granting it an ability similar to short-range teleportation. However, its range was extremely limited, reaching only a little over four hundred meters at most.

"Awooo!"

The roar of the peak six-pattern yao pulled Lin Zheyu from his thoughts. He turned his head to glance at it, then flickered and vanished from the spot. It was merely a peak six-pattern yao, yet it dared to throw its weight around before him. It truly had no idea what death was.

Silver saber lights erupted in the darkness, and the yao's roar abruptly ceased. Its enormous body split into six pieces and crashed to the ground. With a thought, Lin Zheyu stored the still-living yao within the Primordial Chaos Pool.

After dealing with the creature, he stepped forward and appeared beside Shi Tianyun's corpse. Once he had taken everything useful from the body, Lin Zheyu examined his right arm. An ice-blue flame tattoo had mysteriously appeared on the back of his hand. This was a curse mark unique to the Shi Family. Anyone who killed an important member of the Shi Family would be afflicted by this curse.

I'll remove this curse first, then continue hunting yao. Once I've captured enough of them, I'll head to the Eastern Sea and help Xu Chi resolve his grandfather's problem, Lin Zheyu thought.

The stronghold the Martial Alliance had been tasked with guarding was gone, so his mission had ended along with it. Returning a little later would make no difference.