Chapter 194: Blast!

Chapter 194: Blast!

Although the Black Fire Vulture Crow was huge in size, its speed was astonishing.

Like a bolt of black lightning, it shot towards them.

Its speed far surpassed Chu Ning's Divine Wind Escape technique.

Seeing this, Chu Ning's heart filled with anxiety.

Behind him, Chen Chengzong's face lit up with joy.

At this moment, Chen Chengzong no longer tried to catch up to Chu Ning; he just followed from a distance, indicating the direction to the Black Fire Vulture Crow.

Chen Chengzong knew that he might not have many ways to deal with Chu Ning, but as long as the Black Fire Vulture Crow and that Summer Elder arrived, Chu Ning would have nowhere to escape.

How could Chu Ning not be aware of this at this moment?

His face paled as his mind raced, thinking of a way to escape.

At the speed of the Black Fire Vulture Crow, it would most likely catch up to him long before he reached Jade Spring Island.

"It looks like leaving directly from the teleportation formation on Jade Spring Island is definitely not going to work. If I do that, I'll just expose the formation."

As these thoughts flashed through Chu Ning's mind, he gritted his teeth and quickly turned, flying in another direction.

"Little White, get ready. As soon as we reach the ancient sect ruins of Pinghu Island, take me inside immediately."

As he continued to fly, Chu Ning spoke to Ling Xiao Bai without delay.

At this moment, the only place he could think of to hide was the ancient sect ruins of Pinghu Island, where he had once taken refuge when pursued by Song Li.

However, that place was also not very close.

Chu Ning wasn't sure if he could reach the island before the Black Fire Vulture Crow caught up to him.

But at this moment, Chu Ning couldn't afford to worry about that.

He spurred his spiritual power and flew towards Pinghu Island.

Behind him, the Black Fire Vulture Crow, which had transformed into a black shadow, was getting closer and clearer.

Chu Ning had only flown halfway when the Black Fire Vulture Crow had already caught up to within a dozen li.

"This is troublesome!"

Chu Ning continued to fly, his face filled with bitterness.

At the speed of the Black Fire Vulture Crow, it would probably catch up to him after flying another hundred li at most.

And indeed, as Chu Ning had expected, after flying about fifty li...

"Gu!"

The Black Fire Vulture Crow behind him let out an excited cry.

The distance between the two parties was now just over a thousand zhang.

Chu Ning could clearly see that on the back of the Black Fire Vulture Crow stood three people.

In addition to Chen Chengzong and the middle-aged Confucian scholar he had seen before, there was also a thin, elderly man in black robes.

Chu Ning was also familiar with this old man.

In fact, he had seen him several times.

The first time he had seen him was outside the Spirit Realm.

At that time, it was this thin, black-robed old man who had thrown out a Soul-Calling Banner, enveloping countless Qingxi Sect disciples in a ghostly mist.

In the end, over a thousand Qi Refining disciples had perished in the wilderness.

This was a person who even the Jin Dan cultivators of Qingxi Sect found troublesome.

Chu Ning didn't know if he should feel honored or sad that he was being pursued by two Nascent Soul cultivators.

His eyes flashed with determination.

"Now that it has come to this, I can only take a gamble!"

As the distance between the two parties narrowed to within a thousand zhang, Chu Ning reached out and took out two round balls.

They were the Thunder Pearls he had obtained from the ancient sect ruins!

"I hope these two Thunder Pearls are powerful enough. Otherwise, I'm afraid my life will end here today."

Chu Ning took a deep breath, pinning his hopes on the two Thunder Pearls.

At the same time, he was silently calculating the distance between them.

"Eight hundred zhang! Five hundred zhang! Three hundred zhang...

One hundred zhang!"

When the Black Fire Vulture Crow flew to within a hundred zhang behind him, Chu Ning didn't hesitate any longer.

He knew that if he waited any longer, he might not even have a chance to activate the Thunder Pearls.

Holding a Thunder Pearl in his right hand, Chu Ning infused it with spiritual power and then flung his hand backward.

Immediately, the Thunder Pearl shot backward like lightning.

Its speed was even slightly faster than the flight speed of the Black Fire Vulture Crow.

Moreover, as they were coming face-to-face, it only took a moment for the Thunder Pearl to reach a distance of just over a dozen zhang in front of the Black Fire Vulture Crow.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to make a move? Petty tricks!"

The thin, black-robed old man on the back of the Black Fire Vulture Crow coldly huffed.

He waved his hand, and a spell landed on the Thunder Pearl.

However, the Thunder Pearl was unaffected and directly penetrated the spell, continuing forward and reaching the Black Fire Vulture Crow.

"Gu!"

At this moment, the Black Fire Vulture Crow suddenly stopped and let out a cry.

A hint of surprise and fear could be heard in its voice.

At the same time, this sixth-grade demon beast opened its mouth and spat out a stream of pitch-black flame towards the Thunder Pearl.

When the thin, black-robed old man heard the Black Fire Vulture Crow's startled cry, his face changed slightly.

However, his reaction was very quick.

A spiritual power shield appeared in front of him, protecting him, Chen Chengzong, and the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

"Blast!"

At this moment, Chu Ning, who was far away, shouted.

He directly stimulated the spiritual power in the Thunder Pearl with his spiritual sense.

"Rumbling!"

A thunderous roar resounded in the air.

In the next moment, a thick arc of lightning heavily struck the Black Fire Vulture Crow, which had opened its mouth to spit out demonic fire.

"Gu!"

The Black Fire Vulture Crow let out a painful cry.

Under its wings, a charred, black wound could be faintly seen.

And its body was filled with surging black mist and blood energy.

Obviously, the power of the Thunder Pearl was immense, and even this sixth-grade demon beast was seriously injured.

The three of them wore shocked expressions on their faces.

"What was that bead he used just now? How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him possess such an attack?" Chen Chengzong asked, his face turning slightly pale.

He felt a chill down his spine, realizing that if Chu Ning had thrown that bead at him directly, he would undoubtedly be dead by now.

"I never expected to encounter such a powerful treasure here in the Thousand Lakes and Islands, and in the hands of a mere early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, no less," the thin, black-robed elder said, his face grim.

"Hmph, I've definitely taken an interest in this little brat. I must capture him alive today!" he added, his eyes narrowing.

"Guuuuu!" The Black Fire Vulture Crow let out an angry cry and prepared to pursue Chu Ning once more.

However, as it began to move, it suddenly let out a startled "Guuu!" and began to plummet towards the islands below.

But, at the last moment, it managed to stabilize itself.

"What happened?" the thin, black-robed elder asked, turning to the demon beast.

The two communicated briefly, and the elder's face turned sour.

He turned to Chen Chengzong and the Confucian scholar and said, "The Sacred Beast was injured by that attack, and it hasn't fully digested the large amount of essence blood it consumed earlier. It's been affected quite a bit. We need to land on one of the islands below so it can properly refine the essence blood. You two stay here and maintain the protective barrier. I'll go after that boy."

Hearing the thin, black-robed elder's words, Chen Chengzong and the middle-aged Confucian scholar exchanged worried glances.

"Be careful, Elder Xia..." Chen Chengzong started, but the thin, black-robed elder shot him a cold glance, silencing him.

Chen Chengzong felt embarrassed as he thought about the fact that the elder was a Jin Dan cultivator, while Chu Ning was merely an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"I'm mainly worried that the boy might have more strange treasures on him," he added.

"Hmph, he couldn't possibly have many of those rare treasures," the thin, black-robed elder said dismissively.

As he finished speaking, his figure disappeared from sight, giving chase to the distant Chu Ning.

By now, Chu Ning had fled far away, appearing as a tiny black dot in the sky.

However, the thin, black-robed elder pursued him with unwavering confidence.

His figure flickered in the air, transforming into a bloody shadow as his speed suddenly increased.

His evasion technique seemed to be the same as the one Chen Chengzong had used earlier, but his speed far surpassed Chen Chengzong's.

While it wasn't as fast as the Black Fire Vulture Crow, it was still slightly faster than Chu Ning.

The distance between the two gradually narrowed.

Chu Ning noticed this and his expression became a mix of relief and worry.

He was relieved that his Thunder Pearl attack had injured the Black Fire Vulture Crow, causing it to fall behind. Now, he only had to deal with the thin, black-robed elder, reducing the threat by half.

However, he was also worried because the elder was also a Jin Dan cultivator, and his evasion technique was not slow. It wouldn't be easy for Chu Ning to handle him.

Fortunately, although the elder's evasion technique was fast, Chu Ning had already put a considerable distance between them.

Whether or not this distance would be enough for him to reach Pinghu Island was another question.

As Chu Ning continued to fly forward, he held another Thunder Pearl in his hand, his eyes gleaming with determination.

If the elder managed to get too close, he would have no choice but to show him the full power of the Thunder Pearl.

Indeed, the Thunder Pearl that Chu Ning had used earlier was the one he had experimented with in the cave, and the one he held now was the true, more powerful Thunder Pearl.

Chu Ning and the thin, black-robed elder chased each other through the sky, like two shooting stars.

In a short while, they had covered nearly a hundred li, and the elder had once again closed the distance to within a thousand zhang of Chu Ning.

His spiritual sense locked onto Chu Ning, ready to strike.

Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat as he felt the elder's spiritual sense lock onto him.

His own spiritual sense was strong, but it fell just short of reaching a thousand zhang.

In terms of pure spiritual sense strength, Chu Ning was far inferior to the thin, black-robed elder.

As they continued to fly, the elder gradually crept closer, entering the two-hundred-zhang range behind Chu Ning.

Without waiting any longer, the elder waved his hand, and the Soul-Calling Banner appeared.

He waved the banner, and a thick cloud of black mist emerged, condensing into a ghostly figure that sped towards Chu Ning.

This ghostly figure was even faster than the black-robed elder, closing the distance in the blink of an eye to within ten zhang of Chu Ning.

Just then, a tiger-shaped puppet appeared behind Chu Ning and sprayed a stream of fire at the black ghostly figure.

However, the attack seemed to have no effect, as the ghostly figure passed through the fire and rushed towards Chu Ning's back.

At that moment, an invisible shield appeared around Chu Ning, causing the black ghostly figure to bounce off harmlessly.

"Hmm?" The thin, black-robed elder, who was chasing from a distance, narrowed his eyes, his expression filled with surprise and suspicion.

"This kid has more treasures on him!" The thin, black-robed elder immediately realized, his face filled with astonishment.

This was completely beyond his expectations and only served to pique his curiosity about Chu Ning further.

With a wave of his hand, the elder recalled the ghostly figure, but instead of returning to the Soul-Calling Banner, it enveloped him.

In the next moment, the thin, black-robed elder was cloaked in the ghostly figure, and his speed abruptly increased, matching the velocity of the shadow earlier.

In the blink of an eye, he had closed the distance and was within a hundred zhang behind Chu Ning.

Seeing this, Chu Ning's expression changed slightly. He now had a deeper sense of wariness towards these Nascent Soul cultivators, realizing that their capabilities far exceeded those of ordinary cultivators.

"I'm almost within a hundred li of Pinghu Island. It's time to make my move!" Chu Ning thought to himself. With a flick of his wrist, he infused spiritual power into the Lei Ming Pearl and locked onto the thin, black-robed elder, sending it hurtling towards his opponent.

"He really does have one of those things?" The thin, black-robed elder's face twisted in surprise as he saw the Lei Ming Pearl shooting towards him.

However, at that moment, he was enveloped by the black ghostly mist, and with a ghostly flicker, he effortlessly dodged the Lei Ming Pearl, which was known for its incredible speed.

In the next instant, he appeared fifty zhang behind Chu Ning.

Chu Ning was taken aback and quickly controlled the Lei Ming Pearl to change its course, while simultaneously activating all his defensive measures.

He activated the Double Fire Ring Mother Ring, causing fiery flames to dance around him in a dazzling display.

At the same time, he activated two mid-grade, upper-quality defensive talismanic shields around his body.

Over the years, while Chu Ning had less time to craft talismans compared to before, he never stopped his research in talismans. By now, he was capable of crafting mid-grade, upper-quality talismans.

Without hesitation, he activated them all to ensure his safety.

At the same time, he reached into his storage bag and summoned two more puppets.

Along with the tiger-shaped puppet, they formed a defensive line behind him and launched attacks on the thin, black-robed elder.

Chu Ning knew that apart from the Lei Ming Pearl, the rest of his means would have limited effect on the elder.

Therefore, he didn't intend to attack the elder directly but rather focused on stalling for time and defense.

The thin, black-robed elder was astonished by Chu Ning's endless stream of tricks.

However, he remained unfazed by the attacks of the three mid-stage Foundation Establishment puppets. Without even batting an eye, he waved his hands like a ghost, sending streams of spells towards the puppets.

The puppets were immediately sent flying backward.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chu Ning quickly increased the distance between them to over a hundred zhang.

He didn't order the puppets to attack again but instead recalled them into his storage bag.

In the next moment, a dark black light shot out from his hand.

Locking onto the thin, black-robed elder with his soul sense, Chu Ning unleashed the Wheel of Reincarnation's divine light.

"Hmm?" The well-traveled thin, black-robed elder's eyes narrowed in surprise and suspicion as he witnessed the Wheel of Reincarnation's light. Even though his face was shrouded by the ghostly figure, his expression turned solemn.

He waved the Soul-Calling Banner in his hand, and another ghostly figure flew out to meet the Wheel of Reincarnation's light.

However, under the impact of the Wheel of Reincarnation's light, the ghostly figure quickly dissipated into nothingness.

The Wheel of Reincarnation's light then broke through the ghostly figure shrouding the elder and struck him directly.

Although the attack had been weakened twice, the thin, black-robed elder still felt his soul shake upon being hit by the Wheel of Reincarnation's light.

"Who exactly is this brat? How can his soul sense attacks be so powerful?" The thin, black-robed elder was truly shocked by Chu Ning.

Up ahead, Chu Ning's heart also skipped a beat as he gained a deeper understanding of the power of Nascent Soul cultivators.

Previously, when he had used the Wheel of Reincarnation's light, even late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators like Liu Yishan and Song Li had suffered severe injuries with no exceptions.

Chu Ning had then seized the opportunity to finish them off.

However, the thin, black-robed elder had blocked the attack head-on and didn't seem to be injured at all.

Nevertheless, a determined look flashed across Chu Ning's face.

"Blast!"

With a low shout, Chu Ning used his soul sense to stimulate the spiritual power in the Lei Ming Pearl and detonated it!

Taking advantage of the thin, black-robed elder's focus on blocking the Wheel of Reincarnation's light, Chu Ning had maneuvered the Lei Ming Pearl to a position just five zhang behind the elder.

Without waiting any longer, as he knew that further delay would only make it harder to get close to the elder, Chu Ning detonated the Lei Ming Pearl.

However, a five-zhang range was more than enough for the Lei Ming Pearl to unleash a devastating attack.

As Chu Ning roared, the Lei Ming Pearl exploded!

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a thicker arc of lightning, more powerful than the previous one, struck the thin, black-robed elder!

Even the thin, black-robed elder's face paled as he felt the might of the lightning.

"This power... It seems even stronger than the previous pearl!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end