Chapter 708 - 708: Level 2 Martial King

"You still dare to threaten me? Believe it or not, I could kill you right now!"

Zhou Yongyang sneered, rushed in front of Zhou Jianxiong, and viciously kicked him in the face again, sending him flying.

"Enough, Zhou Yongyang. Cut the crap. Which one is Chu Qingyun?" the Martial Soul Hall envoy said.

The people from the Martial Soul Hall only knew that the blood-colored sphere was in Chu Qingyun's possession, but they had never seen him, so they didn't know who he was.

As for the others, they were merely collateral—a small, unexpected bonus.

The Martial Soul Hall members didn't even care about Zhou Jianxiong and his group. They had only been using them to find Chu Qingyun all along.

"My lord, Chu Qingyun is right… Huh? Where'd he go!?"

Zhou Yongyang bowed and scraped as he pointed in Chu Qingyun's direction.

But when he turned to look, his expression instantly turned to one of sheer horror. Chu Qingyun was gone!

Not only was he gone, but the massive Array Platform had also vanished at some point!

The faces of the Martial Soul Hall members immediately darkened.

"Zhou Yongyang, are you messing with us!?" one of the Martial Soul Hall members suddenly said, his cold voice laced with unconcealed killing intent as he stared at Zhou Yongyang.

"No, I wouldn't dare! How could I? Chu Qingyun was right there a moment ago, he really was!"

"If you don't believe me, ask the others! You," he said, turning to the captives, "tell them! Wasn't Chu Qingyun right there just now?"

Zhou Yongyang was in a full-blown panic, trembling from head to toe. In his desperation, he started questioning the people around him to prove he wasn't lying.

However, the people around him just snorted coldly and ignored him completely. Their eyes were filled with contempt and disdain.

They all knew that falling into the hands of the Martial Soul Hall was essentially a death sentence.

Thus, no one was willing to give that traitor, Zhou Yongyang, the time of day.

"Lord Envoy, I'm really not lying to you! You have to believe me, Lord Envoy! How would I have dared to activate the Poisonous Insect if I hadn't seen Chu Qingyun…?"

Zhou Yongyang dropped to his knees with a THUD and began to beg pathetically.

The Martial Soul Hall envoy's face was grim, and a seven-colored light flickered in his eyes, a clear sign of his extreme fury.

He had come here in high spirits, thinking Zhou Yongyang had succeeded in not only capturing Chu Qingyun but also netting so many unexpected prizes.

Instead, this idiot had captured a bunch of small fry while letting the main prize slip through his fingers.

He'd rounded up this pile of useless trash, but lost Chu Qingyun, the one who truly mattered!

Meanwhile, Zhou Yongyang was filled with immense regret.

'After taking down a Celestial King Realm expert like Ban Xing'an, I became far too confident in the Gu Poison. I thought there was no way Chu Qingyun could escape, so I ignored him.'

'But I never imagined that not only would Chu Qingyun disappear, he'd even take the entire Array Platform with him!'

"Hmph. I doubt you have the guts to lie to us. That Chu Qingyun must have seen right through you, you idiot, and escaped!"

The Martial Soul Hall envoy said, calming himself slightly.

"Yes, yes, that's right, my lord! He must have escaped! He ran away!" Zhou Yongyang said hastily, as if clutching at straws.

SLAP!

The envoy backhanded him, sending Zhou Yongyang spinning through the air before he crashed to the ground.

"If you know he escaped, then what are you waiting for? Go find him!"

"That Chu Qingyun was afflicted with the Gu Poison; he can't have gotten far! All of you, go find him!"

"He knows a Secret Technique to conceal his Qi. Search the area carefully. Don't just look for fluctuations in his aura—check every possible hiding spot!"

"If you can't find Chu Qingyun, you all die! But whoever finds him, I'll let them live!"

The Martial Soul Hall envoy said, addressing the remaining, poison-afflicted members of the various sects.

He then sent his own men to supervise and force the captives to begin a thorough search of the surrounding valley.

However, they never would have guessed that Chu Qingyun hadn't been affected by the Gu Poison at all.

After taking the Array Platform, Chu Qingyun used his Hidden Qi Technique to slip out of the valley undetected. Once he was a safe distance away, he unleashed his Black Wing Martial Soul and flew far away in a short amount of time.

Everything that happened back in the valley was unfolding just as he had predicted.

'The Martial Soul Hall members probably won't harm the others until they've caught me.'

Not daring to waste any time, Chu Qingyun flew far from the valley, found a secluded spot to land, and took out the Array Platform. After breaking it apart, he began Refining the Crystal Stones and Demon Cores.

At the core of this Array Platform, just like the last one, was a severely power-depleted Tier Five Demon Core and a massive Crystal Stone brimming with power.

To save time, Chu Qingyun immediately began Refining the Crystal Stone.

A massive amount of Primordial Power was Refined by his Devouring Martial Soul and surged into the Vortex on his Primordial Pill.

As the Primordial Power flowed in, the Vortex expanded, burrowing deeper into the Primordial Pill.

After the Crystal Stone was depleted, Chu Qingyun picked up the Tier Five Demon Core.

The Tier Five Demon Core was also quickly consumed. Then, Chu Qingyun took out the smaller Crystal Stones and the Tier Four Demon Cores.

A continuous stream of power surged into the Vortex.

Finally, when all the Crystal Stones were gone and most of the Tier Four Demon Cores had been consumed, the Vortex suddenly erupted with an immense Sucking Power.

From the surface of his Martial King Essence Pill, his vast Qi Sea, and the nine meridians within his body,

all of his Primordial Power was sucked into the Vortex in a single instant. Then, an even purer stream of Primordial Power erupted from it.

It was the Primordial Power of a level two Martial King!

This level two Martial King's Primordial Power immediately replaced his old power, enveloping the surface of his Primordial Pill, filling his entire Qi Sea, and then surging into the meridians throughout his body.

The gushing out of Primordial Power meant that Chu Qingyun's first Vortex had finally finished forming.

He was now a level two Martial King!

'I finally broke through...'

Chu Qingyun opened his eyes, a mixture of excitement and resignation within them.

This breakthrough gave him a general understanding of his cultivation in the Martial King Realm. 'Breaking through to the next level is indeed much more difficult than it was in the Martial Spirit Realm.'

'But once you do, the increase in strength is undoubtedly massive.'

With an additional Vortex on his Martial King Essence Pill, both the might of the Primordial Pill and his Primordial Power had become much stronger.

Chu Qingyun felt that he now had a chance of defeating even a level four Martial King from his sect.

After successfully breaking through to become a level two Martial King, Chu Qingyun did not leave in a hurry.

He continued to use his Devouring Power, completely consuming the remaining Top-Grade Primordial Stones and the Tier Three and Tier Four Demon Cores from the Array Platform.

More Primordial Power flowed into the Vortex on his Primordial Pill.

This stabilized the newly formed Vortex and solidified his Realm at the level of a level two Martial King.

'Time to go. I imagine those people are scouring the mountains for me right about now!'