Chapter 344: 257: Survival in Desperate Situations_2

Chapter 344: Chapter 257: Survival in Desperate Situations_2

Fu Yue, seeing the situation, quickly retreated several steps with a three-layer Jinxiu Talisman Plate in his hand, looking at Iron Pan Master with an alert and uneasy expression.

At this moment, Iron Pan Master turned his head to look at Wei Yong’an and Zhao Sheng. Their complexions were also very unsightly.

As the atmosphere in the great hall began to grow strange, Wei Yong’an deliberately coughed and, with reproach, said, “Taoist Tie Pan, what are you doing!”

“Brother Wei, let you and I first eliminate the rest of these small fries. Then, how about we split the treasures here equally between us?” Iron Pan Master proposed calmly.

“This…” Wei Yong’an hesitated upon hearing these words, but his face revealed an expression of intense temptation.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng felt a tightness in his heart. With a slight movement of his sleeve, a three-inch war halberd had already slipped into his palm, ready to be activated at any moment.

...

“Hmm?! Something’s not right!”

Just at this critical juncture, Iron Pan Master suddenly exclaimed in shock.

The next second, the once majestic and massive Coiled Dragon visibly weakened and dimmed under everyone’s gaze,

its body rapidly shrinking from seventy to eighty feet to thirty to forty feet, then ten to twenty feet, and finally, amid a wretched, sorrowful cry, it turned into a dim and weak Spiritual Body that fled back to Iron Pan Master, reverting to a Coiling Dragon Tattoo on his body.

At that moment, the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator suddenly shouted in surprise, “My Spiritual Power is being sucked away by something?!”

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

Reminded by him, Zhao Sheng suddenly realized that the Spiritual Energy from the outside world was completely absent, having become a state of Spiritual Energy vacuum.

Meanwhile, the Spiritual Power in the meridians of his Dantian was being extracted at an extremely abnormal rate.

At this moment, the entire palace seemed to have become a “Black Hole” of Spiritual Power; any Spiritual Power that escaped into the air would instantly vanish without a trace.

Alarmed, Zhao Sheng immediately started to perform exercises to try to slow down the rate of Spiritual Power extraction, but after switching through more than a dozen methods, the results were not very effective.

Meanwhile, the other survivors—Iron Pan Master, Wei Yong’an, Fu Yue, and that Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator—all attempted to seal their meridians and block their orifices in a bid to delay the loss of Spiritual Power, but in the end, all of their complexions were poor.

And indeed, how could a Great Array personally arranged by the Great Chi Jian, comparable to a True Monarch, be deciphered by a group of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Cultivators.

In fact, the Five Directions Five Elements Sealing God Array was intended for the Blood God’s Son and the Outer Heaven Demon. Zhao Sheng and the others were merely caught in the crossfire by mistake.

Boom!

At that moment, Wei Yong’an suddenly threw a green Fireball the size of a human head.

As soon as the green Fireball flew out two feet, it rapidly twisted and shrank under everyone’s gaze, turning into a wisp of green smoke in the blink of an eye.

“Now that there are only the five of us left in the hall, we’re all sensible people. Let me speak frankly,”

Wei Yong’an had barely started speaking when Zhao Sheng suddenly stepped forward and interjected, “Senior Wei, I believe that the most urgent matter right now is how to escape from here. What do you think, Mr. Fu?”

After he finished, Zhao Sheng gave Fu Yue a meaningful glance,

Fu Yue understood the hint and quickly responded, “What Taoist Yang Qing says is very true. This place is too dangerous; it’s not advisable to stay long. Furthermore, before escaping from here, we must join forces and cooperate.”

“What you say makes sense. If Senior Iron Pan intends to be utterly ruthless, even if we die, we won’t make it easy for you.”

The Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator who spoke suddenly pulled back and was about to stand together with Zhao Sheng and Fu Yue.

Thump, thump, thump!

Just then, a series of muffled thuds erupted in the great hall. Two faint shadows swiftly crossed and separated, settling back down to the ground from midair at a distance from each other.

The Iron Pan Master’s face was ashen, his chest and abdomen now bearing a deep fist imprint.

On the other side, Zhao Sheng retreated three steps with a red flush on his face, a shocked expression flashing across his visage, but also a glimmer of joy.

In that split second, the two had exchanged eighteen punches and seven kicks in a head-on confrontation. He had sustained some internal injuries from the impact of True Yuan, but he had also landed a heavy punch on his opponent.

What delighted him was that Zhao Sheng found his own strength and speed seemed to be almost on par with Iron Pan Master.

Just in terms of physical strength, the two were nearly equal.

But in terms of reaction speed, he was clearly more than a match for Iron Pan Master.

“Again!”

At a bellow, Iron Pan Master’s figure swelled in size, his arms and fists suddenly covered by a pair of dark black arm armors.

Boom!

His figure flashed, and he darted towards Zhao Sheng, moving so swiftly that the naked eye couldn’t see his shape clearly.

Ting, ting, ting!

A vast expanse of spirit light scattered along with a shower of sparks.

With a series of loud booms, Zhao Sheng gripped his Heavenly Square Halberd with both hands, chopping and slashing horizontally and vertically, the halberd light as imposing as a mountain, and he fought Iron Pan Master to a standstill.

For a time, the palace was filled with lingering images of their confrontation.

Moments later, the two of them quickly separated, each retreating to a corner of the palace.

“Iron Pan Senior, thank you for holding back!” Zhao Sheng’s confidence surged, and he said, panting slightly, as he grasped his halberd.

“Hmph!” Iron Pan Master snorted coldly, his muscles bulging suddenly, and a mysterious black light appeared slowly on the surface of his body.

Seeing this scene, Fu Yue and the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator grew fearful and quickly moved behind Zhao Sheng.

In contrast, Wei Yong’an’s expression darkened, and he looked at Zhao Sheng with added gravity.

To withstand a Body Refining Golden Core with just the strength of Foundation Establishment, although not gaining the upper hand, was also not falling behind.

Such occurrences were quite rare in the Central Continent Cultivation World.

Legends of surpassing one’s level to battle an enemy such as this typically only appeared in the anecdotes of supremely talented individuals.

Seeing that Iron Pan Master was about to make a move again, Zhao Sheng’s expression grew serious, and he quickly said, “Senior, are you trying to force the three of us over to Senior Wei’s side?”

With that, Zhao Sheng took a slight step towards Wei Yong’an, and Fu Yue hurriedly followed.

Iron Pan Master’s movements slowed upon seeing this, but his intent to kill grew even stronger.

However, he hesitated for a moment and ultimately did not act.

From the exchange they had just now, he could tell that Zhao Sheng’s physique was extraordinarily strong, his reactions too fast and too agile; he wouldn’t be able to defeat him in a short period.

Zhao Sheng was very clear about the current situation, nearly as if he could see through it.

Among the five of them, Iron Pan Master, a Loose Cultivator, was the most intent on killing, evidently harboring thoughts of monopolizing the treasure.

Wei Yong’an, both a Golden Core Master and an Array Master, was relatively weaker in terms of raw strength.

He was old and calculated, planning schemes, and although he also intended to monopolize the treasure, he did not resort to blatant aggression as Iron Pan Master did.

Zhao Sheng was most wary of Wei Yong’an, as he was unable to see through him and was extremely cautious of him.

“Senior Wei, the situation is not clear at the moment, and infighting is the worst strategy. The priority should be to find a way out of this hall. Haven’t you noticed that the speed of Spiritual Power dissipating is getting faster and faster?” Zhao Sheng said.

“That’s right! If we keep delaying like this, we’ll all be drained into mummified corpses. The replenishing speed of Elixir Pills and Spirit Stones is far from matching the consumption of Spiritual Power!” Fu Yue immediately chimed in.

“Senior Wei, since you are an expert in formations, do you have a method to break this Soul Absorption Array?” Zhao Sheng asked.

As soon as Zhao Sheng finished speaking, Wei Yong’an’s expression turned grave, weighing his thoughts for a moment, he soon abandoned the idea that had just come to mind.

Zhao Sheng had made a good point; Wei Yong’an simply had no way to break the array quickly.

Given years or even decades, he might be able to decipher it bit by bit, but obviously, there was no time for that now.

Therefore, Wei Yong’an aimed for the next best thing and turned his head to say to Iron Pan Master, “Taoist Tie Pan, let’s not act hastily! The young friend just now made sense. It’s not suitable to remain here; leaving as soon as possible is the best plan.”

Seeing the two sides seemingly willing to join forces, Iron Pan Master’s expression became even darker.

At that moment, Zhao Sheng seized the opportunity to speak out loudly, “Seniors, let me say one thing. If virtue does not match one’s position, disaster will ensue! Treasures like the Chi Demon Banner and True Dragon Skeleton truly aren’t things we should be eyeing.

We three just want to survive.

I have a proposition; Mr. Fu and I will only take a portion of the deceased’s belongings, and we won’t touch any of the rest. What do you two seniors think?”

By now, the situation in the hall was clear; although Zhao Sheng’s group of three was the weakest, with Zhao Sheng there, they barely counted as one side.

At this moment, the situation of three powers balanced against each other was established, and no one could hope to monopolize all the treasures for a while.