Chapter 173: Escape_1
Qian Hong had never felt such humiliation in his entire life.
As the Family Head of the Qian Family, he was always respected and held in high esteem; his demeanor was commanding. But now, he was forced to clear a path through an Earth Fire Formation for a group of Qi Refinement disciples, ending up disheveled and in a wretched state.
This appearance seemed to display his incompetence, causing him to feel utterly disgraced!
Qian Zhongxuan also felt humiliated, but because Qian Hong was right beside him, looking even more humiliated, he suddenly felt not so humiliated anymore.
Qian Hong coughed, forcefully swallowing the fresh blood that surged up his throat, and angrily said to the cultivators of the Qian Family behind him:
“What are you waiting for? Chase them now!”
Hearing this, the Qian Family cultivators finally set off in pursuit.
Qian Hong just heaved a sigh of relief when he suddenly felt an overpowering strength coming from behind. A chill ran down his spine, and he turned around to clash palms forcefully.
When the spiritual power of two Foundation Establishment cultivators collided, it instantly created a tumultuous shockwave. Qian Hong’s arm went numb; the opponent’s spiritual power had penetrated his palm, causing a piercing pain.
Qian Hong staggered backward four or five steps before coming to a stop.
The Qian Family cultivators sensing the disturbance, stopped in their tracks and looked towards Qian Hong.
Qian Hong shouted fiercely, “Go after the Monster Hunter! Cut off the Spirit Stones! Don’t let them escape!”
The Qian Family cultivators paused for a moment before getting up and crossing the mountain trail, continuing the chase.
Qian Hong’s gaze was icy as he looked at the person who had ambushed him and said, “Yu Changlin, you’re shameless to the extreme, resorting to a sneak attack!”
“What sneak attack?” Elder Yu looked genuinely puzzled. “I just wanted to tap your shoulder and greet you, but instead, you hit me with a palm strike. Judging others by your own wicked standards. It’s you who are truly shameless.”
“You wouldn’t think to single-handedly take down two of our Qian Family’s Foundation Building cultivators, would you?” Qian Hong said coldly.
Qian Zhongxuan also stood beside Qian Hong, vigilant.
“What nonsense,” Elder Yu said with an ambiguous smile. “We all agreed that those in Foundation Establishment would not intervene. I am a man who keeps his word and won’t breach the agreement.”
Qian Hong saw through Elder Yu’s intentions and scoffed:
“Even if you hold back both of us Foundation Building cultivators, once my Qian Family cultivators catch up with you, you won’t be able to escape even if you had wings.”
“Well, that remains to be seen,” Elder Yu said with a smile that was not quite a smile. “Let’s talk about it when you catch up.”
Meanwhile, not far ahead, Mo Hua was directing about a dozen Monster Hunters to set up a first-grade Earth Fire Formation.
Mo Hua hadn’t used up all of the Earth Fire Formation at once, keeping some in reserve.
Always keep an ace up your sleeve—that’s what Elder Yu taught him.
The Earth Fire Formation they had just set up had blocked the Qian Family’s main forces and had worn down the condition of the Qian Family’s Foundation Building cultivators, allowing Elder Yu to hold them off more easily.
The current Earth Fire Formation was meant to intimidate them, to deter them from advancing recklessly and to delay their progress.
After experiencing the earlier Earth Fire Formation, the Qian Family cultivators became aware of its power.
And a first-grade Earth Fire Formation that could injure Foundation Building cultivators was enough to chill the courage of these Qi Refinement Realm cultivators from the Qian Family.
More than a dozen Monster Hunters tasked with covering the retreat were laying Earth Fire Formations along the Qian Family’s inevitable path as they withdrew.
Using the Water Passing Step, Mo Hua ran about, surveying the terrain and looking for suitable places to bury the formation, with Mo Shan closely following him.
The pursuing Qian Family cultivators soon triggered another Earth Fire Formation.
Flames erupted, spiritual power surged, and amid the explosion, came the cries of the cultivators.
How could there still be Earth Fire Formations?
The Qian Family cultivators were both suspicious and fearful as they stopped in their tracks.
A few leading cultivators either chided or tempted the others with some words, and the group hesitantly continued forward.
But they hadn’t gone far when another explosion sounded.
The Qian Family cultivators halted again in fear and confusion. After a pause to rally their spirits, they continued the pursuit, but it wasn’t long before they triggered yet another Earth Fire Formation.
And so, along the way, with flames suddenly flaring up, the Qian Family cultivators didn’t suffer many injuries, but the torment they endured in their hearts was excruciating.
After all, no one knew where the next explosion would occur, or who the next victim would be.
With hesitation in their hearts, their steps inevitably slowed down.
Every step was taken with trepidation, and with each step completed, there was a sense of relief from having narrowly escaped disaster.
Gradually, all the Qian Family cultivators developed a fear of the Earth Fire Formation, and their pace slowed considerably.
Qian Zhuang and a few others tried to motivate or threaten them, but it was all in vain.
So they continued on, stopping and going, their progress slow.
By the time the Qian Family cultivators finally caught a distant glimpse of the Monster Hunters’ large group, the Monster Hunters had already left Big Black Mountain with their storage bags and boxes full of Spirit Stones.
By the time the Qian Family cultivators emerged from Big Black Mountain, the Monster Hunters had successively entered Tongxian City.
Mo Hua followed at the end of the Monster Hunters’ team, entering the city last.
In front of him was the grand entrance to Tongxian City, and behind him the Qian Family cultivators hurriedly pursued with a fierce momentum.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief. After such a long and chaotic battle and standoff, they had finally successfully harvested the spiritual mines and shaken off the pursuit of the Qian Family, escaping to safety.