Chapter 71: The Start of a Thousand-Mile Escape

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The Start of a Thousand-Mile Escape

"Elder Ju, Elder He, with your Combat Power, if you were besieged by those four, could you have achieved such a result?"

Below, Yan Ying watched as Chu Fan was swarmed by countless Celestial Derivation Sect disciples, who threw themselves at him like moths to a flame. Without turning her head, she asked the two elders beside her.

The elder with the salt-and-pepper beard shook his head. "We couldn’t. Forget achieving such a result; we’d be incredibly lucky just to avoid defeat."

"That elixir he took earlier, have you ever heard of it?" Yan Ying asked again.

"According to what you said, that boy is only at Golden Core Realm Perfection, but the power he’s displaying now is at the Integration Realm," the salt-and-pepper-bearded elder said. "Assuming he wasn’t deliberately hiding his Cultivation Realm from you during your time together, then this is an elixir that I’m afraid not even the three top sects in our Central Domain could produce."

Yan Ying asked no more questions. Her gaze remained fixed on Chu Fan as she murmured to herself, ’So this was your trump card. How many more secrets are you hiding from me?’

In truth, the ones most horrified of all were probably the people from the Lingyun Sect.

This was especially true for Yun Keji. Regret and remorse began to spread through his heart.

’If he had known that Chu Fan could recover his cultivation and possessed such skill, why would he have ever abandoned a son-in-law like him for a notorious piece of trash like Shui Yuntian?’

This time, the Lingyun Sect’s losses could not be measured by any conventional means.

Not only was its reputation in tatters, but the sect had also shot itself in the foot, losing a disciple with limitless potential—and with him, the entire future of the Lingyun Sect.

And he, Yun Keji, was about to lose his daughter as well.

With Yun Xi on his back, Chu Fan hovered in mid-air. The Python Shadow Four Swords alone were enough to handle the besieging disciples from the Celestial Derivation Sect.

But even knowing they were no match, the disciples fearlessly charged forward, unafraid of death.

Of course, Chu Fan was currently unleashing the Python Shadow Four Swords almost purely on instinct. He couldn’t spare a thought for whether he was killing his opponents or merely wounding them.

He had only one goal: to escape with Yun Xi.

Finally, after about ten minutes, having slain at least two or three hundred disciples from the Celestial Derivation Sect, he broke through the encirclement.

Without a second thought, he activated his Body Technique and fled.

Fortunately, Liu Yicai was holding an auction in Nanling County, and several elders and stewards from the Celestial Derivation Sect had gone to attend it.

Otherwise, he likely would have been held up for much longer. In fact, against two more experts at the Divine Separation Realm, he wasn’t sure he could have escaped at all.

However, what Chu Fan never expected was that just as he broke free, a single sentence from one person would make him the public enemy of every cultivation sect in the Eastern Domain.

Master Ni.

Master Ni watched Chu Fan’s rampage, his heart filled with bitter resentment. ’Why? Why is it that this man, who was already crippled, can now steal the show like this?’

’He must have obtained some incredible inheritance from the Divine Hall, and that Scroll from inside the Divine Statue!’

So, the moment Chu Fan broke free, he pointed at the fleeing figure and shouted, "I remember now! It’s Chu Fan! He’s the one who killed so many of our fellow cultivators on Zao Ying Mountain and stole the Scroll from the Divine Statue! He’s Fan Chu! Fan Chu... Chu Fan... it’s just his name backward!"

Master Ni’s shout sent shockwaves through the crowd.

When the Scroll from the Divine Statue was stolen, disciples from several sects had been killed. In Jiangdong County, the Wuji Sect had also lost many of its disciples to him.

The deaths of those disciples weren’t the main issue. The most important thing was that Chu Fan had stolen the Scroll from the Divine Statue.

He had to be hiding some great secret. Otherwise, how could he have gone from a cripple to this powerful in just half a year?

Before, everyone had watched him rampage, even defeating the combined forces of Shui Zebo and three elders. No one was willing to stick their neck out when there was nothing to be gained.

But Master Ni’s words were a revelation.

’That’s right! If they captured Chu Fan and forced him to reveal his secrets, wouldn’t that be a surer bet than winning some treasure at Mr. Hong’s auction in Nanling County? The potential rewards were far greater!’

Those at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Realms still hesitated, but one by one, the Martial Artists of the Soul Emergence and Divine Separation Realms took to the air, relentlessly chasing in the direction Chu Fan had fled.

On the ceremonial platform, Shui Zebo and the other two injured elders were still tending to their wounds. Words could not describe the fury in their hearts.

Shui Zebo had been fully prepared from the start, even anticipating that someone might try to cause a scene.

But he never imagined it would be Chu Fan. He certainly never imagined the Celestial Derivation Sect would stumble so badly and lose so much face in front of all the other sects of the Eastern Domain.

He had originally planned to use the marriage alliance with the Lingyun Sect to establish the Celestial Derivation Sect’s dominance, allowing them to lord it over the other sects.

This time, they had truly suffered a devastating double loss.

The guests gradually departed. Some came up to offer a few words of consolation to the members of the Celestial Derivation Sect, while others left without so much as a word.

Shui Zebo and the others from the Celestial Derivation Sect were getting a bitter taste of how quickly the world turns its back on you.

Covered in blood, Shui Zebo stared in the direction Chu Fan had fled. His eyes were bloodshot as he ground his teeth and snarled, "Chu Fan, if I, Shui Zebo, don’t kill you with my own two hands, I’m not fit to be called a man!"

Yan Ying and her companions also quietly departed. "Follow him!" she told the two elders.

"Young... Young Master, you promised us we would return to the Central Domain after the wedding feast," the salt-and-pepper-bearded elder said.

Yan Ying sighed. "Fine, fine. We’ll go back to the Central Domain. Happy now?"

Before she left, she glanced in the direction of Chu Fan’s escape and whispered, "I hope you two make it out of this safely."

As for Master Ni, when she heard his outburst, she’d felt a flicker of killing intent, but on second thought, she abandoned the idea.

’A sanctimonious, treacherous man like him can be left for Chu Fan to deal with.’

’If Chu Fan can’t escape this disaster, she’ll probably never return to the Eastern Domain again in this lifetime. Whether she kills this man or not, what difference would it make?’

Carrying Yun Xi on his back and bearing a six-inch-long sword wound on his chest, Chu Fan’s speed was inevitably hindered.

Although he had taken the Earth Spirit Pill, which raised his Combat Power by several realms, the Body Technique he practiced was not particularly advanced. Even when empowered by a seemingly endless supply of True Qi, the boost to his speed was limited.

Before long, he was overtaken by the Third Elder of the Wuji Sect.

"Chu Fan! You killed so many disciples of my Wuji Sect! Pay with your life!"

"Qu Lingce, you can’t stop me. Get out of my way," Chu Fan said coldly.

"I only need to delay you for a moment. Once the others catch up, do you really think you can escape?" Qu Lingce sneered.

"Then don’t blame me for what happens next!" Chu Fan’s gaze sharpened, and he struck with his sword.

"Awakening Dream Clarity Like Sun and Stars!"

Though his escape was slow, his Combat Power was undiminished. With a single strike, a Sword Aura as brilliant as the midday sun surged toward Qu Lingce.

Qu Lingce flinched in fear and hastily dodged to the side.

Still, the Sword Aura left several gashes on his arm.

Moreover, Chu Fan had no intention of lingering in battle. The strike was meant to wound his enemy, but more importantly, to force him aside and clear a path.

Wincing, Qu Lingce clutched his arm. He immediately understood Chu Fan’s intention and cursed, "Despicable!"

Still, he gave chase.

This time, however, he didn’t pursue with all his might. ’Waiting for the others to arrive so we can intercept Chu Fan together is the best strategy. Otherwise, if I stop him myself for a moment but lose my life in the process, won’t I just be making things easier for everyone else?’