Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 571 - 514: Pursuit

Within the dense, dark clouds, hundreds of Thunder Pythons and Electric Snakes leaped intermittently, converging to a single point in the blink of an eye.

BOOM—

A twisted, violent thunderbolt struck downwards, landing squarely on Ghost Shovel’s head.

The dazzling light forced everyone present to squint, none daring to look directly at the majesty of the Sky Dome.

After several breaths, the intense light of the lightning finally dissipated.

Pale-faced and kneeling on one knee, Sui Yi slowly rose. She still tightly clutched He Fanshuang’s longsword, completely unaware that the web of her hand between thumb and forefinger was steadily bleeding.

Not far ahead, Ghost Shovel stood with his head held high. From his face to his hands and feet, all exposed skin was charred black, reminiscent of charcoal left after a raging furnace fire. Electric light flickered on the surface of the chopper in his hand, crackling and buzzing.

CRACK. CRACK.

Accompanied by a series of fine, dense sounds, flakes of charred material fell from Ghost Shovel’s body under the astonished and disbelieving gazes of Sui Yi and He Siping. He raised a hand to his face and, as if tearing off old skin, peeled away the carbonized layer to reveal pale flesh streaked with blood vessels.

"Is this your trump card? The Thunder Strike Technique of the Cloud Patrol Realm?" Ghost Shovel said slowly. The huge mouth on his abdomen split open, a thick tongue darting out to lick the residual electrical current off the chopper. "Impressive power. A pity you used it on the wrong target."

He smirked, twisted his neck, and bellowed, "Devouring Heaven! Earth Devouring!"

BUZZ—

His abdominal mouth gaped to its limit, creating a powerful suction that instantly swept up surrounding rubble, dry branches, and fallen leaves, funneling them into the maw. Ghost Shovel’s stomach was like a bottomless pit, absorbing everything.

Among the Turkic Caravan members previously trapped by He Siping’s Mud Swamp Technique, those closest to Ghost Shovel had their skin and muscles torn from their bodies by the violent suction, leaving only bloody skeletons.

He Siping and Sui Yi, at the center of Devouring Heaven and Earth, were the first to be hit by the suction. He Siping used the Mud Rope Technique to firmly bind his limbs, anchoring himself in place as he desperately resisted. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed another technique, stirring waves in the mud swamp to push the Turkic Caravan far behind them.

Sui Yi thrust her longsword into the earth, simultaneously straining to transform her body into sword light in an attempt to flee. However, the suction was too strong, and the distance between her and Ghost Shovel continued to shrink.

Far above in the Thunder Cloud, Shen Tuyu diverted a fraction of his attention, sweeping his fingers toward Tongluo City. His Sword Qi crossed the vast distance, intercepting the space between Sui Yi and Ghost Shovel. This temporarily hindered the spread of the suction force, allowing Sui Yi to escape further away.

"You dare get distracted at a time like this?!" Yuan Sou, seeing his opponent’s divided attention, roared furiously. He stabbed his sword toward Shen Tuyu’s face, the sharp Sword Qi leaving a deep gash.

Shen Tuyu repelled Yuan Sou with a burst of Green Cloud Sword Qi. Without time to wipe the blood dripping from his cheek, he plunged back into the fierce battle.

The 15 minutes were almost up.

Shen Tuyu’s face remained expressionless, but an undeniable anxiety welled in his heart. He could sense, in some ethereal way, that Cultivators from the Turkic tribes and Taihao Mountain were rapidly converging on Tongluo City, many of them formidable experts. Yuan Sou’s Sword Study Cultivation was no less than his own; determining a victor in a short time would be difficult. As a member of the Candle Cloud Sword Sect, he could repel Yuan Sou and use Body Sword Light to escape thousands of miles before an encirclement formed.

But what about He Siping and the others below?

Moreover, this time they bore the crucial mission of treating the Khan and ending the war...

"You stay here. I’ll go help," He Fanshuang pursed her lips, placing Li Ang in a corner of an alley yet untouched by the battle.

PAK.

Li Ang grabbed He Fanshuang’s sleeve. Clutching his chest, he slowly stood up from the ground and said to her with utmost seriousness, "Do you believe me?"

He Fanshuang’s brow furrowed slightly. "If I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t have put on the bridal veil on the train that day."

"Good."

Li Ang stepped out of the alley and onto the main street, raising the Radiant Crossbow and pulling the trigger at Ghost Shovel.

BANG!

An energy sphere burst forth. Ghost Shovel didn’t move; his arm shot up, crushing the sphere out of thin air. He turned his head to look at Li Ang, the pale muscles on his face slowly regenerating, making him resemble a demon stepping out of a painting.

"Hey!" Li Ang lowered the Radiant Crossbow, flipped Ghost Shovel the middle finger, and shouted, "See you in hell!"

His shout was extremely loud. With his early-stage Cloud Patrol Cultivation, the vulgar phrase echoed through half of Tongluo City, causing everyone, including He Siping and Sui Yi, to pause for a moment.

"Heh, guess I cursed," Li Ang grinned. The next second, he activated an arbitrary gate and vanished.

In a dense forest ten miles from Tongluo City, Li Ang’s figure materialized. He leaned against a tree trunk to steady his breath, his gaze sharp as he fired the Radiant Crossbow into the sky.

SWOOSH—

The energy sphere soared high, exploding amongst the clouds and scattering a rain of light across the sky.

"They should be able to see this, right?" Li Ang slung the Radiant Crossbow back onto his back, then pushed off the ground, taking flight with the aid of the wind. He fled towards the northwest of Tongluo City, the direction of the Turkic Royal Court.

Time is running out.

Li Ang squinted, feeling the wind whistle past his ears as he rapidly considered his next move.

Shen Tuyu and Yuan Sou are at an impasse. He Siping and Sui Yi can barely hold back Ghost Shovel—who is not only a Martial Arts Grandmaster but also fused with an Alien Demon.

Even if He Fanshuang, also at the Cloud Patrol Realm, could help, they had to consider Ya Jiu of unknown Cultivation lurking in Tongluo City. Recalling their previous encounters, Ya Jiu’s realm was definitely no lower than Sui Yi’s.

With this stalemate, Cultivators from Taihao Mountain and the Turkic tribes are on their way. Sneaking into the Royal Court as initially planned to cure the Khan is no longer possible.

Even worse, if the withdrawal is too late, everyone’s life will be in danger.

Zhao Ming must have planted a spy among Yu Country’s high ranks, learned of our team’s mission, and deliberately intercepted us in Tongluo City to prevent us from treating the Khan, using this opportunity to escalate the war.

Assuming they have such power, why not just kill the Khan directly? Or leak the information to that Turkic Prime Minister and let him do it?

There could be many reasons. Perhaps they couldn’t infiltrate the Turkic high command, or maybe the Khan’s encampment was guarded by people from Taihao Mountain, and Zhao Ming’s agents had no chance to act.

No matter the reason, the only way to safeguard He Fanshuang and the others, and even retain a glimmer of hope for completing the mission, is for me to use the arbitrary gate and leave Tongluo City.

This mission revolves around me; only I can treat the Khan. Yuan Sou, Ghost Shovel, and Ya Jiu all know this.

They won’t risk letting me reach the Turkic Royal Court and heal the Khan. They will undoubtedly do everything possible to stop me.

Which means...

Li Ang glanced back. Behind him, trees in the dense forest were snapping one by one, sending countless splinters and wood chips flying.

Somehow, Ghost Shovel had already caught up.