Meanwhile, Chu Hongluan chased the mysterious man into the woods, speeding up and speeding up, until she belatedly realized that no matter how fast she chased, the mysterious man's figure always kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far from her.
Chu Hongluan stopped in her tracks.
Damn it, it's an illusion array again!
Isn't that annoying!
"Oh? You noticed that already?"
This was an extremely old voice.
It features built-in surround sound and heavy reverb effects.
"So it was you, old Deng."
Chu Hongluan recognized his voice; it was the Beast Taming Sect patriarch who had previously been in charge of opening the secret realm.
"You have no manners, kid!"
The Beast Taming Sect's patriarch hadn't expected Chu Hongluan to start with an insult. He was so angry that his face twitched, and it took him a long time to maintain his "noble and aloof" demeanor before managing to utter those words.
After all, he was a dignified Transcending Tribulation Realm cultivator. Wherever he went, he was treated with deference and respect. Even kneeling and kowtowing were commonplace for him! For thousands of years, he had never encountered anyone who dared to give him the cold shoulder, let alone someone who would openly curse at him.
"Politeness? We're both at the Tribulation Transcending Realm, yet you don't even have the courage to confront me head-on. You only dare to bark like a dog outside the illusion array. Does such a coward deserve my respect?"
"you!!!"
The patriarch of the Beast Taming Sect trembled with rage, clenching his teeth repeatedly. Finally, he forced himself to calm down and sneered, "Don't think I'll fall for your provocation. You're just trying to provoke me into dispelling the illusion array, aren't you? Don't waste your time."
Chu Hongluan couldn't help but chuckle: "Old Deng, you're really good at making yourself look dramatic. Goading? You're not good enough for that."
Indeed, she had no skill in formations and could not break through the illusion array before her.
But does that mean we can't kill people without breaking the formation?
Chu Hongluan drew her sword, unleashing a hundred sweeping and vertical slashes! The terrifying, densely packed sword light swept out in all directions!
An illusion array is ultimately just an illusion array; it does not have the ability to distort space.
Therefore, from the moment the Beast Taming Sect Master spoke up, revealing that he was watching nearby, he had already been at a disadvantage.
The sound of clothes fluttering, the rustling of toes touching the ground, and—a muffled groan from being struck by a blade.
I've found you.
Chu Hongluan's red lips curled into a smile, and almost simultaneously she abruptly stepped back and turned to the right, unleashing several more slashes in the direction from which the sound came! Each slash was more terrifying than the last!
Amidst the frantic scrambling and dodging, a crisp snapping sound rang out.
Something broke.
The illusion array disappeared, and the somewhat disheveled figure of the Beast Taming Sect's patriarch appeared three zhang away.
Six feet away from his feet, a formation plate was shattered into pieces by the flash of the blade.
Chu Hongluan raised an eyebrow: "I overestimated you. I thought that since you were an elder, you would know some advanced tricks. I didn't expect you to be just like those good-for-nothing juniors under you, trying to fool me with array plates made by others!"
The patriarch of the Beast Taming Sect sneered: "I do not have much skill in formations, but recently I have been studying a particular formation, and I am glad to be able to put it to use today."
As he spoke, he moved a few steps to the side, revealing a small spirit-gathering array behind him, where the fiery red phoenix egg lay quietly.
But what made Chu Hongluan's expression change drastically was that ordinary spirit-gathering arrays use spirit stones and spirit jade to gather spiritual energy. But the spirit-gathering array in front of her... used a demonic core.
It's gathering demonic energy!
And the wilderness is precisely where demonic energy is most concentrated!
He wanted to directly use demonic energy to corrupt the phoenix egg and demonize the young phoenix before it hatched!
"If I weren't afraid that your sword intent would harm my precious egg and ruin the formation I painstakingly set up, do you think you could hurt me with your blind, groping, random slashing?"
Seeing the black mist gradually swirling around the phoenix egg, Chu Hongluan knew that it was a sign that the phoenix egg had begun to be demonized.
She doesn't have much time left.
We must destroy this spirit-gathering array!
Chu Hongluan didn't reply, and swung her sword heavily again!
The patriarch of the Beast Taming Sect swept his hand horizontally, his palm spiritual power surging, clashing with the sword light. After a stalemate of two breaths, they both dissipated.
"Young man, don't blame me for not giving you a chance. I haven't had time to form a contract with this phoenix egg yet. As long as you can kill me before the phoenix egg is completely demonized, the egg is yours."
Chu Hongluan's eyes sharpened, and she rushed out!
A swift, deadly strike aimed straight at his face!
This time, however, the Beast Taming Sect's patriarch remained motionless, only revealing an extremely eerie smile on his lips.
An alarm bell rang in Chu Hongluan's mind.
What did she overlook?!
not good!
The reason why the patriarch of the Beast Taming Sect did not immediately contract the phoenix egg was because he already had a contracted beast!
The moment that thought arose, several ferocious vines pierced her body!
Her spiritual energy drained away like a flood, along with her blood, which was sucked away by the demonic vines. Chu Hongluan's sword hovered a finger's width in front of the Beast Taming Sect's patriarch, unable to advance any further.
Fresh blood seeped from the wound, dripping and drizzling, most of it not even having a chance to fall into the weeds before being greedily swept away and absorbed by the vine branches.
Chu Hongluan's hand holding the knife trembled slightly. It took a lot of effort to pull the knife back instead of letting it slip from her hand and smash it to the ground.
Looking down at his chest, which was almost riddled with stabs, he was speechless with emotion.
That's really sneaky.
Who would have thought? Old Deng's contracted beast was actually a sentient being—the Ten-Thousand-Year Demon Vine.
Peak of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.
A demonic vine at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending Realm!!!
That's why he chose the forest as the battlefield.
The forest was already entwined with all sorts of magical vines, and if a sentient one were to infiltrate it, even Chu Hongluan wouldn't be able to detect it immediately.
but......
Chu Hongluan frowned.
Something's not right. She felt that her injuries weren't as serious as she had imagined, and the pain wasn't even very intense.
Mo Teng has been absorbing both spiritual energy and life essence. This old bastard has been preparing for so long, wasn't it all for this all-out attack? Logically speaking, this attack should have instantly rendered her unable to move!
But now...
Chu Hongluan checked her body and found that she had less than 40% of her spiritual energy left. She moved her left hand fingers; they were fine. She was a little weak from the loss of her essence and blood, but she could still move them.
"See, I gave you a chance."
The old patriarch of the Beast Taming Sect widened his smile, becoming somewhat distorted: "Once this phoenix egg is truly demonized, I will take it back and find a place where no one can find it to hatch it. When the demonic phoenix is born, I will kill the demonic vine and take its demonic core. After contracting with the demonic phoenix, I will enable it to ascend to the heavens in one step!"
He threw his head back and laughed wildly, becoming increasingly maniacal: "At that time, I will be the Phoenix Lord, reigning supreme over the world! A hundred years later, I will ascend to godhood! The Beast Taming Sect will still be the overlord of this realm! Standing tall for ten thousand years!"
"Pfft."
The Beast Taming Sect's patriarch's face instantly darkened. His old eyes narrowed as he stared intently at Chu Hongluan, his gaze terrifyingly sinister.
"why are you laughing?"
"You're thinking way too far ahead," Chu Hongluan smiled slightly. "How can you be so sure that the phoenix egg will be successfully demonized?"
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