A Night of Desperation

Chapter 394: Battlefield Six

"...." Zuo Yunfeng was rendered speechless, fell silent for a moment, and finally nodded.

"Very well! Since the Taoist friend has warmly invited me, I shall go and see. If it’s as good as you say, joining the Spirit Alliance won’t be a problem!" he said earnestly.

"You will not regret it!" Yu Hong nodded with a smile.

He turned around and stretched out his hand.

"Please follow me!"

Zuo Yunfeng nodded and walked in the direction he pointed.

With one hand behind his back, he quickly formed hand signs, quietly starting to activate the Spiritual Domain.

The distance between the two grew closer and closer...

Suddenly, Zuo Yunfeng’s temples pulsed vigorously, as if signaling something.

"Right, the one who just fought with me is still behind. I’ll go back and call him over. If the Spirit Alliance is as good as you say, I think he’d also be willing to come along."

"That’s good, I’ll go with you," Yu Hong nodded.

"No need, there are some private matters between us, not suitable for a third person to hear, this is a disgrace in my family, I apologize," sighed Zuo Yunfeng.

"Is that so? Well then, I shall wait here for news from you," Yu Hong, hearing this and finding it reasonable, nodded in agreement.

Then, Zuo Yunfeng widened the gap again and quickly walked back in the direction he came from.

After walking more than ten meters, he glanced sideways and saw Yu Hong standing still, which greatly relieved him.

How could he possibly go back to ask Ku Chan?

With this departure, it was naturally urgent to run away first, circling around to head towards Night Pool from another direction.

Amidst the crunching footsteps,

Zuo Yunfeng gradually disappeared into the Gray Mist Mountain Forest until Yu Hong was no longer visible behind him.

He silently let out a sigh of relief.

His current state could be described as the worst since he began his cultivation journey. His strength had been consecutively challenged by Cai Jing Taoist, Long Qingzi, numerous Black Giants, and a breakthrough battle with Ku Chan. Now only one fifth of his Dao Breath, naturally restored, remained, which was barely enough for one use of Spiritual Domain, lasting only two minutes before being completely exhausted.

’I still need to find a place to take medicine to restore Dao Breath and stabilize my injuries before proceeding. Otherwise, if another emergency arises... with my current strength...’ As Zuo Yunfeng thought of the recent tension and threat alerts, a deep sense of frustration rose in his heart.

Snap!

Suddenly, a large hand grabbed his wrist from behind.

"You move too slowly, Taoist friend. Let me take you there," Yu Hong’s voice sounded alarmingly close from behind.

The cold, firm grip, like a clamp, tightly pinched Zuo Yunfeng’s wrist.

His expression changed drastically, and he quickly chanted the True Word. A burst of Black Light exploded around him, transforming into a black Spiritual Domain and surged backward.

Boom!!!

A loud explosion erupted.

The black Spiritual Domain collided head-on with a burst of purple-red firelight from the front.

In an instant, the two violently clashed and canceled each other out.

Feeling the impending doom, Zuo Yunfeng tried to free his right hand, but his wrist was immobile. A fierce light flashed in his eyes as he drew the Short Sword from his waist.

Swoosh!

He instantly sliced off his right hand from the forearm.

Blood splattered, and was immediately contained by a Passive Technique.

He retreated rapidly, leaving behind ripples of black Magic waves sealing off the surrounding light and line of sight, disappearing tens of meters from the spot in the blink of an eye.

Enduring the severe pain, Zuo Yunfengdidn’t look back, turning instead towards the direction where he sensed the most creatures.

This series of actions was executed swiftly and fluidly, with extreme speed acknowledged even among Magicians for his mastery of Body Technique.

Combined with the strengthening of the Passive Technique, even at his peak, these decisions would have confounded himself.

Moreover...

Zzzt!

Zuo Yunfeng suddenly came to a halt, his gaze fixed ahead.

Cold sweat slowly seeped from his temples.

Right ahead, in the mountain forest,

A large, burly figure silently awaited there, holding a piece of severed arm in hand — the very one he had ruthlessly cut off himself.

"Keep running." Yu Hong scrutinized the severed limb. "Why stop now?"

"Zuo Yunfeng, you’ve met your day too! Hahaha!! Laughable!" A black bird cackled loudly from a branch above, unmistakably Long Qingzi who had split and possessed another body.

Pfft!

Suddenly, a purple-red stream of light struck him from the sky.

The purple light exploded, and the black bird screamed in agony, its black feathers bursting apart, losing many more feathers.

Yu Hong lowered his hand and turned to look at Zuo Yunfeng.

"The great and top-ranking First Mage of the world has now fallen to such a state, why bother, why suffer?"

"Youngster, you are too young to understand watching oneself age day by day, walking towards death, that feeling of powerlessness and fear..."

Zuo Yunfeng was no longer pretending, he straightened his spine, his voice low.

His words undeniably acknowledged his identity.

And this also allowed Yu Hong to firmly ascertain that he indeed was the once universally eminent Heavenly Master, Zuo Yunfeng.

"I don’t understand, but I have experienced it—every day, constantly facing the possibility of death. Every second, every minute, worrying about when fear and danger might suddenly strike. Unable to sleep, living in constant fear. That deep-seated anxiety has ingrained in me a habit of light sleeping," Yu Hong said calmly.

"Where... do you come from?" Zuo Yunfeng suddenly asked.

"From a place far, far away, extremely dangerous," Yu Hong replied. "I originally came here in search of hope, but now it seems there is only a slim chance of survival left..."

"....You’ve been emphasizing repeatedly that the Spirit Disaster Black Disaster is an apocalypse-level cataclysm because you’ve personally experienced it?" Zuo Yunfeng’s words made Yu Hong slightly startle.

"You know?" He looked at him with slight surprise.

"I’ve encountered others like you before. But they all vanished. They seemed to only be able to stay here for a very short time before having to leave. If you are truly like them, why have you been able to stay here for so long?" Zuo Yunfeng, ever the foremost Heavenly Master of his time, clearly knew much about many secrets.

"I think I and the Heavenly Master would have much to discuss. But for now... let’s focus on the matter at hand." Yu Hong turned around, looking toward a dark figure slowly approaching through the forest.

The figure revealed a face marred beyond recognition, holding the Chi Xiao Sword upside-down in one hand, and cradling a headless female corpse in the other.

It was none other than Ku Chan Taoist, who had just been gravely wounded in an ambush.

"Brother Ku Chan, long time no see. You look like you could use a little help,"

Yu Hong looked at Zuo Yunfeng and Ku Chan, and also at a black bird, Long Qingzi, his expression ever more gentle.

His hands radiated purple light, now overlaid with a layer of silver halo.

"No matter how grave the vendetta between you, the situation is deteriorating. I urge everyone to prioritize the bigger picture."

"The bigger picture? Hehe, didn’t Zuo Yunfeng himself destroy the Sky Stabilizing Plate, causing this mess? And you expect him to think of the bigger picture?" Long Qingzi sharply laughed.

"! The Sky Stabilizing Plate was destroyed by him?" Yu Hong was taken aback; he had always been very eager to obtain the intact Sky Stabilizing Plate.

Learning that the treasure was inexplicably shattered, his heart ached.

And now, hearing from Long Qingzi that it was Zuo Yunfeng who had wrecked it.

His emotions surged forth.

"This man acts in unrighteous, selfish ways; aren’t you afraid that he might betray you at a critical moment with a bigger disaster?" Long Qingzi continued.

"Are you provoking me to take action?" Yu Hong turned to Long Qingzi.

"I am merely stating facts," Long Qingzi snickered.

"I am guilty, but you, Long Qingzi, for your own selfish desires, also opened far more Spirit Disaster Black Disaster gates than planned. The current situation owes much to your contribution," Zuo Yunfeng coldly retorted.

"Teacher, you’re still so shameless. If it weren’t for you..." Long Qingzi shouted sharply.

But he was only halfway through his words when a figure suddenly appeared by his side.

It was Yu Hong!

With a single grab, he seized Long Qingzi and squeezed hard with his hand.

Bang!!

Blood and flesh flew as the black bird was literally crushed to death, scattering into a mush.

From amidst the mush, a faint wave invisible to the ordinary eye shot out, heading towards the direction with the most corpses.

On the other hand, the moment Yu Hong made his move, Zuo Yunfeng immediately retreated.

But as he moved, Ku Chan also drew his sword.

The dark red flames burst out violently, sweeping towards him overwhelmingly.

"Ku Chan, you see! This person, so deep and mysterious in his identity, chooses this moment when we are both critically injured to reap everyone, he must have been scheming behind the scenes for a long time! The annihilation of Zihe Palace might very well have been his doing!" Zuo Yunfeng’s voice hurriedly transmitted as he swiftly retreated backwards, avoiding the dark red flames.

"Remember when I sent people to investigate Zihe Palace and found traces and aura left by this person. It’s very possible that this person was one of the original schemers!" Zuo Yunfeng continued as he retreated.

These words caused Ku Chan’s offense to slow down momentarily.

"I admit I’m no saint, but the matter of Zihe Palace was not my doing. If I’m lying, may thunder strike me!" Zuo Yunfeng quickly shouted, struggling to hold off the attack.

Swoosh.

Behind him, Yu Hong’s figure appeared again.

Yu Hong stretched out a massive hand of purple-red Inner Strength.

The hand, over a meter in diameter like a huge grinding wheel, bore down on Zuo Yunfeng.

As it approached, the layers of Passive Techniques covering Zuo Yunfeng shattered, and the black light scattered on the ground like lifeless flies.

He even showed a look of despair in his eyes.

Bang!!

Another burst of dark red flames fiercely erupted upwards, blocking in front of Zuo Yunfeng.

The purple-red giant hand collided head-on with the dark red flames, neutralizing each other and dissipating in the gray mist.

Neither gained any advantage.

Yu Hong’s face shifted from calm to consternation as he looked towards Ku Chan.

"Brother Ku Chan, what is this mean?" he asked.

"We haven’t clarified everything; the truth isn’t clear. You can’t kill him!" Ku Chan spoke with cold resolve.

"..." Yu Hong was truly saddened by this fool. No wonder his entire family had been annihilated. Despite his excellent talent and diligent practice, leading to strong prowess, it now seemed there was a reason he ended up in such a state.

"Brother, Zuo Yunfeng has made it clear, he’s highly suspect, definitely one of the participants! In this situation, what we should do is, without hesitation, kill one first and then investigate slowly. Better to kill wrongly than to let go." Yu Hong patiently explained.

"This time, considering your past visit to Taizhou to help, I won’t move against you," he said seriously. "But next time... if you come again, don’t blame me..."

"He’s trying to silence me!" Zuo Yunfeng hurriedly ran toward the distance, loudly transmitting his voice.

As he was about to escape, Yu Hong leaped forward, his figure turned into a stream of purple-red light, darting straight through the woods, reaching out to grab him.

At the same time, a high, strange roar exploded from behind.

Ku Chan raised the Chi Xiao Sword high, the flames on his body rising into rolling black smoke, again conjuring a huge Sun Exorcist Heavenly Venerate illusion in the sky.

With a heavy slash, the sword aimed right at the middle of Yu Hong’s outstretched arm reaching for Zuo Yunfeng.