Long before the daoist nun came to Tianqing County, Chen Chao already expected that there would be this day. So he made preparations in advance. After he escaped from his own courtyard, he set up ambushes along the way. Where to retreat after ambushing, he had long already had a plan for all these. So after that daoist nun came to the courtyard, everything after that had been developing according to what Chen Chao wanted.
In fact, that middle-aged daoist nun being injured by him during the fight afterward was also practically the outcome that Chen Chao had envisioned.
But, he could only do so much.
The gap between the two people's realms was too great. Chen Chao already knew right from the start when the daoist nun entered the courtyard.
Even if the daoist nun would be slightly injured at the beginning because she would underestimate the enemy, wanting to kill the daoist nun here was virtually something impossible.
There should be a gap of two cultivation realms between the two. This daoist nun should have already crossed Bitter Sea and was standing at the Great Beyond.
The difference between one realm could still be made up for by relying on various methods. But two whole realms made Chen Chao unable to give rise to any unrealistic fantasies.
Hence, after Chen Chao succeeded with his attack earlier, he chose to flee far away at once and did not harbor any mentality of getting lucky.
Furthermore, he was very clear that since cultivators from those few sects came knocking, then it would definitely be impossible for there to just be this daoist nun alone.
He was not this daoist nun's match. If the cultivators afterward came here too, then his best conclusion would be to be besieged and killed.
Right now, the only thing that he needed to do was to buy time.
Delay until those tactics of his from before would truly be put into full play and save his measly life.
After Chen Chao headed in the northwest direction, that middle-aged daoist nun swept up countless blue tiles and chased after. But due to the delay from before, when she saw Chen Chao's figure again, he already went out of the city in a panic and disappeared in the vast mountains outside the city.
The middle-aged daoist nun was unrelenting and swooped forward expressionlessly.
Her figure was exceedingly fast.
The scene of her wrapped in countless blue tiles while advancing caused many Tianqing County civilians to look up one by one.
In the fight before, the middle-aged daoist nun destroyed many civilian residences. Furthermore, who knew how many civilians died at the hands of the daoist nun? Therefore, after the daoist nun left, crying sounds lingered incessantly for some time in the initially quiet city.
……
……
In Peach Blossom Alley.
A knocking sound suddenly sounded out at the door to Zhou Gouqi's house.
The man opened the door and saw that the person was actually Chen Chao who had disappeared outside the city. He did not feel surprised either. Instead, he smiled and said, "It's the Puppet Talisman that you found on that Guo Xi. You're young, but disregarding other things, your cunningness beats many people."
Luring that middle-aged daoist nun out of the city using the Puppet Talisman and then returning here, was what Chen Chao planned from the start. It was likely that even if that daoist nun was beaten to death, she would never think that Chen Chao would turn around and return here.
Chen Chao smiled bitterly and said, "Even so, that's just a stopgap measure too. That b!tch's cultivation realm is too high and she also has plenty of techniques. I don't know when she'll return."
The man thought about it and said, "At most an hour. That b!tch's cultivation realm isn't low, she should be a cultivator who has stepped into Great Beyond. Your cultivation is too shallow, you don't stand a chance."
"You knew long ago that those people were coming to find trouble with you. Why didn't you sneak away earlier? Can't bear to part with your lousy house? Didn't you take to heart what Your Father said to you before?"
The man was somewhat doubtful. This was also what he was confused about.
Chen Chao shook his head and suddenly smiled.
No matter how amazing he was, he was also just a Divine Trove martial artist. There was still a Bitter Sea Realm separating him from Great Beyond.
"That's why I came to find you for help." Chen Chao went straight to the point, "You must have some means that can allow me to escape her pursuit."
The man said crossly, "Where will Your Father get those magical abilities? Moreover, do you think that it's just that b!tch alone?"
Chen Chao turned to look in the courtyard and did not see that robust woman. He probed, "Then let me go in and hide?"
"Get lost! You, brat, caused such huge trouble. If those people know that you're in Your Father's house, can Your Father still live?"
The man waved his hand in disdain and was about to close the door.
Chen Chao gritted his teeth and did not insist on it in the end. He just quickly waved his hand and said, "Hope that this isn't the last time that we meet."
The man gave a cold laugh, "Kid, not that Your Father has a foul mouth, but you belong to the family of rats, how can you die so easily?"
Chen Chao smiled brightly, "I'll borrow your blessings."
He turned around and was about to leave.
The man furrowed his brows and suddenly stopped him, saying huffily, "There's a group of people coming from the east now, the ones in the lead are two Great Beyond Realms. All the best to you, kiddo."
Without waiting for the man to finish speaking, Chen Chao scampered away.
The man looked at the back view of that youth in black and laughed angrily as he said, "Stinking brat, are you so afraid of death?"
……
……
Just as Chen Chao had left Peach Blossom Alley, several figures already swooped down on this place.
They were precisely the group of cultivators that Li Huo and Xu Yu two people brought along.
Li Huo took a look at Chen Chao who was passing through the alley and said with a frown, "Fellow Daoist Xu, order your South Heaven Sect cultivators to secure the east. My Three Streams Manor will pursue him from here. Take care not to kill him, I still have to bring him back to the mountain to complete my mission."
A hint of darkness flashed across Xu Yu's eyes, but he still smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist rest assured, I'll definitely capture that evildoer alive."
Finished saying this, he shot a few glances behind him. The cultivators from the South Heaven Sect understood and got up one by one, speeding towards the east.
Li Huo beckoned his hands too. Three Streams Manor's cultivators also chased after that figure one by one.
The two people restrained themselves on account of their status and did not act personally.
The two landed on a tall building and looked ahead somewhere. That was precisely where the daoist nun suffered a loss before.
Li Huo said, "That kid is deeply scheming, he isn't an ordinary youth. Looks like Junior Apprentice Sister also suffered a loss when she came here."
Xu Yu looked over there too and he could roughly surmise what happened before. However, while Li Huo could say that, he could not. Hence, he just smiled slightly and said, "Fellow Daoist Wang wasn't aware of it too. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stumbled."
Li Huo shook his head, "That Junior Apprentice Sister of mine has been coddled since young. How can she know the dangers of this world? Descending the mountain this time is also considered as letting her experience things. But we're still more or less a little late here."
Hearing this, Xu Yu just smiled slightly and did not say a word.
At this moment, over a dozen cultivators from two sects had formed an encirclement around Chen Chao numerous times in the city. But they failed to capture him. Chen Chao was running around in the alleys like a loach in the fields; burrowing here and there. It was challenging for those cultivators to control him completely.
Every time those cultivators would finally encircle Chen Chao, Chen Chao would always break free from the heavy encirclement. Not only did he break free from the encirclement, but he would also even conveniently heavily injure one or two of the cultivators who besieged him. After a few exchanges, those dozen over cultivators only had seven or eight people who still had the strength to fight at this moment.
Looking at this scene, Xu Yu could not resist saying, "Fellow Daoist Li, should we take action?"
Li Huo nodded his head. At this point, he finally completely understood why someone as shrewd as Guo Xi would die in that youth's hands, and why a Great Beyond cultivator like his junior sister would also suffer a loss at the very beginning.
That explains things.
Li Huo was just about to leave the tall building when an angry roar suddenly came from not far away, "Little wretch! I'll see how you run!"
It was that middle-aged daoist nun who rushed back after finally coming to a realization in hindsight.
She was currently brimming with heavy killing intent, speeding over from afar without any care. Her qi was surging without any scruples.
Li Huo frowned and called out, "Junior Apprentice Sister, don't be impulsive!"
But, how could the daoist nun who was already burning with fury at this moment care about these? Ever since she stepped into this county town, she had been suffering setbacks all the way. If the other party was a powerhouse, then forget it. But, he was just an ordinary Divine Trove martial artist who actually made her suffer such losses. Previously, she rushed out of the city with great fanfare. In the end, that youth did not go out of the city at all.
This was undoubtedly toying with her.
Hence, when she returned at this moment, the middle-aged daoist nun was already enveloped in rage and could not listen to anyone.
Xu Yu revealed a look of joy. South Heaven Sect did not want Chen Chao to be brought back to the mountains by Three Streams Manor to begin with. Now, Chen Chao dying here was the best conclusion. Furthermore, it would be even better if it was not carried out by a South Heaven Sect cultivator!
Seeing that it was their sect aunt who was charging over, the Three Streams Manor disciples who were originally still besieging Chen Chao dodged to the sides in a panic. The South Heaven Sect cultivators were the same.
Under the berserk qi, the alleyway instantly turned to ruins.
Stone walls collapsed and shattered rocks littered the ground.
The others retreated one after another.
There was only Chen Chao alone left.
A wild wind sent his hair flying and the powerful qi oppressed his body. But, Chen Chao who was holding the broken saber tightly raised his head.
That face did not show the slightest hint of fear.
He also saw that daoist nun who was burning with a frenzy of rage.
After standing straight up, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Chen Chao looked up and cursed loudly, "Old hag!"
"Old hag?!"
"Are you courting death?!"
The middle-aged daoist nun let out a shrill cry. The whisk in her hand swung and countless strands swept up, enveloping the sky.
It even enveloped this dilapidated alleyway.
The powerful qi suppressed frenziedly, akin to a torrential downpour. It was currently beating down on Chen Chao's body non-stop at this moment. Even if he was a martial artist who tempered their bodies the most ruthlessly, facing the middle-aged daoist nun who was two cultivation realms higher than him at this moment, it also became hard for him to stride forward and maintain his figure.
Chen Chao gritted his teeth, blood pouring out of his mouth continuously. But, he refused to kneel.
The middle-aged daoist nun could directly kill him, but she chose to torment Chen Chao here. She wanted to trample his dignity to pieces before he died.
Li Huo did not say anything. Honestly speaking, he did not feel that the death of a youth was very important in the first place. Since that junior sister of his was Guo Xi's master, she actually had the right to determine Chen Chao's fate too.
While Xu Yu watched silently and did not say a word.
The South Heaven Sect could not compare to the Three Streams Manor in the end.
The rock fragments on the ground shattered once more. Then, they became dust and scattered with the wind. A web pattern already formed under Chen Chao's feet, spreading out in all directions. One crack after another kept appearing.
At this moment, his bones began creaking.
Even if he had expended a great deal of effort to temper his body, he virtually could not hold on anymore at this moment.
Crack-
Chen Chao's ribs were the first to break. An intense pain began spreading across his entire body.
His forehead was full of sweat.
Even if he had made so many preparations, when danger truly arrived, all these actually became feeble and pointless.
The disparity of formidable strength could crush all schemes and intrigues.
Of course, it also included all of the preparations that he did.
Chen Chao smiled bitterly with helplessness. He understood this logic, he understood it a long time ago.
Except, just because he was weak, he could not resist? Chen Chao could not do such a thing.
The middle-aged daoist nun looked down on this youth who was still refusing to kneel from a height. Swinging her whisk out, a boundless qi instantly collided with Chen Chao. But even so, the youth who could no longer move only swayed a little at this moment.
On top of the tall building, Xu Yu and Li Huo two people just looked at all these indifferently.
As cultivators, they were long already used to standing high above the masses.
Everything was as it should be.
Right at this time.
Chen Chao who was having a hard time coping with this slowly opened his mouth. His mouth full of blood, he uttered each word with difficulty, "Are you still not coming out?!"
The middle-aged daoist nun frowned.
In the next second.
Right in that alleyway, someone pushed open the door and walked out of a small courtyard that was still considered intact.
Creak...
It was a big and tall man.
He was wearing black robes and a pair of black official boots.
His face was determined and his pair of eyes were incomparably deep.
Taking a look at that middle-aged daoist nun, he turned to look at the two cultivators who were standing higher up.
The man shook his head and said, "Let's end it here."
