Chapter 698 - 698: The Favor of the Hunt

"Alright, let's set out as well. Remember, we absolutely cannot let Zhou Jianxiong and his group detect our presence before Zhou Yongyang makes his move!"

The Martial Soul Hall emissary gave the warning, then led his men away, quickly vanishing into the night.

Even after they were all gone, Chu Qingyun didn't rush to show himself and leave.

From the previous conversation between Zhou Yongyang and the Martial Soul Hall emissary, he had managed to piece together quite a few things.

'First, Zhou Yongyang and the Martial Soul Hall are definitely in collusion. He's even hiding it from Zhou Jianxiong. What's more, their target isn't just Zhou Jianxiong—it includes me, Chu Qingyun!'

'Second, Zhou Jianxiong's group has found a way to track me, and they're already on their way!'

Chu Qingyun easily figured this part out. 'It must have been Tu Guang. Just like Tu Qiang, he must have done something to my clothes when he left.'

'And third, Zhou Yongyang seems to be hiding some method capable of dealing with many people at once.'

'Based on all this, Zhou Jianxiong's group and those people from the Martial Soul Hall must be very close to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stumbled upon their secret meeting…'

Chu Qingyun considered this, and a cold smile gradually spread across his face.

'Hmph. Since you're all conspiring against me, don't blame me for what comes next!'

With a flash, Chu Qingyun leaped down from the tree branch and continued toward another Array Platform.

The night was at its darkest. Under the cover of his Shadow Martial Soul and the Hidden Qi Technique, even if he ran straight into Zhou Jianxiong's group, they probably wouldn't be able to detect him!

Therefore, Chu Qingyun had to use the night to cover more ground and ensure he left both Zhou Jianxiong and the people from the Martial Soul Hall far behind.

Only then could he guarantee his plan would be carried out smoothly.

After daybreak, the Devouring Martial Soul finally finished absorbing the Black Wing Martial Soul. Two choices now lay before Chu Qingyun.

He could use the Black Wing Martial Soul's power to strengthen his Devouring Martial Soul, or he could preserve the Black Wing Martial Soul itself.

Chu Qingyun didn't hesitate for a moment and chose to preserve the Black Wing Martial Soul.

After he made his choice, a stream of black power surged out from the Devouring Martial Soul. It quickly condensed into a pair of wing-shaped Martial Souls outside the Devouring Martial Soul, then floated upward to take its place on his Martial King Essence Pill.

"Black Wing Martial Soul!"

With a thought, Chu Qingyun activated the Black Wing Martial Soul.

A pair of enormous black wings unfurled from his back, their surfaces shimmering with a dark light.

Back when Chu Qingyun was in Lianshan County of the Great Xia, he had worked with Xia He and practiced flying with wing-type Soul Techniques.

Moreover, since this Black Wing Martial Soul had been reconstructed by his Devouring Martial Soul, it had an extremely high affinity with him, allowing for one hundred percent perfect control.

As a result, Chu Qingyun quickly mastered the art of flight, taking to the skies from the forest with a beat of his Martial Soul's wings.

"Shadow Wing Saber!"

In mid-air, Chu Qingyun suddenly unleashed a Soul Technique. His two black wings instantly spread wide, their tips flashing with dark light as they transformed into razor-sharp blades. He shot forward.

PFFT! The wings sliced through the air like the sharpest of blades, smoothly cutting a protruding boulder in half.

'With the Shadow Wing Blade Soul Techniques, my wings can turn into blades at any moment. Even if I'm intercepted mid-air, I can just charge right through... Hmm? What's that?'

As Chu Qingyun hovered in the sky, testing out his newly acquired Martial Soul and Soul Techniques, he suddenly saw a massive pillar of blood-red light shoot up from the direction of Blood Abyss City.

The pillar of blood-red light shot straight up for several thousand meters before it triggered the power of the Five Directions Spirit Fire Array. Streaks of flame descended, coiling around the pillar and burning it until it collapsed.

'That's... a Martial Emperor Realm Blood Corpse taking action!'

'There's a powerful Martial Emperor Realm Blood Corpse in Blood Abyss City!'

Now, without the Six Imperial Demon-Sealing Array in the way, he could faintly feel the terrifying momentum of that blood-red pillar, despite the great distance.

A lingering fear crept into his heart.

'It's a good thing I didn't rashly barge into Blood Abyss City a couple of days ago and chose to come to this original Blood Sect ruin instead.'

'Otherwise, if I had provoked a Martial Emperor Realm Blood Corpse, even I would have had no hope of survival!'

'With a Martial Emperor Realm Blood Corpse in Blood Abyss City, no one will be foolish enough to go there and die. That means more people will pour into this original Blood-soaked Land.'

'I can't afford to waste any more time...'

Chu Qingyun descended, picked up his pace, and continued toward the next Array Base.

The reason he wasn't flying was that he wanted to use the Blood Corpses at that Array Base to give Zhou Jianxiong and Zhou Yongyang a "gift" in return for their "kindness" in hunting him for the past ten-plus days.

But if they were too far away, it would mean Chu Qingyun would have to lure a large number of Martial King Realm Blood Corpses across a great distance within the ruins.

Not only would that be too conspicuous, but it would also risk the weaker Blood Corpses falling behind.

So, Chu Qingyun planned to lead them close to the Array Base before making his move.

A day later, as Chu Qingyun passed a cave, he felt the location was about right. Looking at the map, he wasn't far from the Array Base.

'Zhou Jianxiong, just you wait. You'll all be fighting for your lives against Martial King Realm Blood Corpses right here...'

Chu Qingyun gave a cold smile and walked into the cave.

A ninth-level Martial Spirit Realm Blood Corpse resided in the cave. Chu Qingyun killed it with a single palm strike and devoured it completely.

Afterward, inside the cave, he changed every piece of clothing and his shoes, then tossed the old clothes into the deepest part of the cave and hid them.

After walking out of the cave, Chu Qingyun moved a large boulder to cover the entrance, but he didn't seal it completely.

This was, of course, to ensure that the scent of the powder Tu Guang had left on his clothes could continue to drift out and attract them.

After all this was done, Chu Qingyun activated his Black Wing Martial Soul and flew toward the location of the final Array Platform.

'It would be great if there was a Celestial King Realm Blood Corpse near this last Array Platform. That would be an unexpected gift for Zhou Jianxiong and his men...'

As he flew rapidly through the air, Chu Qingyun couldn't help but reveal a cold smirk.

Before obtaining the Black Wing Martial Soul, he had been hoping there wouldn't be any powerful Blood Corpses around the Array Platforms.

But now that he had the Black Wing Martial Soul and the ability to fly, he didn't care even if there were powerful Blood Corpses—unless they were as strong as a Martial Emperor Realm Blood Corpse!

But that was basically impossible. The Martial Emperor Realm was the strongest existence in the Blood Sect ruins.

There was already a powerful Martial Emperor Realm Blood Corpse in Blood Abyss City.

This meant it was highly unlikely that another Martial Emperor Realm Blood Corpse would appear here in the original Blood Sect ruins.