The space around them shook harder and harder.
SWOOSH!
Zhang Ruochen, who was badly hurt, suddenly stood tall. He stared at Cao Lin, waved his arm and struck towards Cao Lin.
It seemed like he was striking in void space without unleashing any power.
However, a two-meter-long crack appeared in the space in front of Cao Lin.
The ground was broken. The crack unleashed a strong suction power with a purring sound. It was chaos inside.
The whole underground tunnel became a mess.
The Space Crack became the center of the entire space. It seemed that the crack wanted to swallow everything in the underground tunnel.
Looking at the split, Cao Lin’s face clouded. He was lurching forward and there was no way he could elude it.
“No… How could this happen…”
TCH!
The Space Crack swallowed Cao Lin whole, leaving nothing but his scream.
Then, the crack closed up.
“I’m so fortunate the old eunuch dropped his guard… Otherwise, the Space Crack might not have hurt him.” Zhang Ruochen took a long breath.
Actually, Zhang Ruochen had planned to deal with Cao Lin by using the power of Space Crack from the beginning. But considering Cao Lin’s high speed, he knew it would be hard to kill him if he used it rashly.
So, he had to wait for an opportunity in which Cao Lin totally dropped his guard.
Only in this way, could he beat Cao Lin in one hit.
After killing Cao Lin, Zhang Ruochen was not excited at all. Because fighting with Cao Lin had exacerbated his injury.
In his current physical condition, it was hard for him to even move his fingers, never mind jumping in the underground river.
“There is a secret channel leading to the underground. Zhang Ruochen must have escaped through the channel.”
“Hurry up!”
The sound of several human voices came to Zhang Ruochen’s ears. It was obvious that the Barbarian Elephant Army had found the secret channel and was still in pursuit.
“Even killing Cao Lin didn’t help me get away.”
Zhang Ruochen bit the bullet and tried to control his body and move to the underground river not far away.
Even in his most difficult moments, he would never give up his hope.
CRACK!
There was a strange sound from the stone ladder in the distance.
A red rabbit, as big as a pig, rolled down the stone ladder quickly. It showed its big white teeth and ran very fast.
Zhang Ruochen was suddenly delighted. He hurriedly called the rabbit. “Guoguo, this way.”
Hearing Zhang Ruochen’s voice, Guoguo immediately stopped running and looked in his direction.
Guoguo’s eyes popped at the sight of Zhang Ruochen on the ground. It rushed over and uttered a little squeak as if to ask Zhang Ruochen why he was lying on the ground.
Zhang Ruochen had fed it the Spiritual Brawn of the Blackwind Python earlier without any consideration of the energy the Spiritual Brawn contained. The icy power had frozen the greedy rabbit and it had been unable to move.
Chang Qiqi hadn’t been able find it when they evacuated the villa, so he had left it there.
It had just finished digesting all the power from the spiritual brawn and traced their smell to the underground river. It didn’t expect to see Zhang Ruochen who was badly hurt.
“Hurry! Zhang Ruochen wouldn’t run far.”
“Your Excellency Cao Lin was chasing after him. He might have already caught him.”
…
Voices from above the underground channel became clearer. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived.
“Guoguo, get me out of here.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Guoguo’s wide eyes were filled with confusion. It plucked at Zhang Ruochen with great effort but couldn’t move him.
Zhang Ruochen said hastily, “If you can get me out, you will get more food than you can imagine.”
The word “food” lifted Guoguo’s spirit. It grasped Zhang Ruochen’s body and carried him. It jumped into the river with a plop. It sank to the bottom of the water and swam downstream.
After a few moments, Jin Chuan and Guo Shisan arrived at the underground riverside with some soldiers from the Barbarian Elephant Army. But they couldn’t find any trace of Zhang Ruochen or Cao Lin.
“They must have left via the river. Guo Shisan, keep chasing with our people. We can’t let Zhang Ruochen escape from us. I will go back and report our current status to the young master and the Commandery Prince.”
Jin Chuan returned through the underground channel, heading towards the six-story tower in the Death City.
At the sight of Di Yi who sat upon the top, Jin Chuan showed respect by kneeling on the ground. Cautiously he said, “Young master, Zhang Ruochen and the internal students from the School of the Martial Market have escaped.”
Jin Chuan thought Di Yi would burst into anger. He prepared to get punished.
To his surprise, Di Yi stayed calm. Coolly, he said, “I was watching when you laid siege to the student from the School of the Martial Market. He was well prepared has excellent cultivation. I won’t blame you for letting him escape. It is the information organization of the Black Market that should be responsible for this.”
Square Commandery Prince was standing beside him. He asked, “Young master, what do you mean?”
“The student from the School of the Martial Market is not just a warrior in the top 100 of the Earth Board. His power is similar to that of the top 20 warriors.”
Di Yi said with a smile, “I didn’t expect that Omen Ridge could have such a powerful master. He is indeed outstanding.”
Square Commandery Prince said with flattery, “No matter how powerful Zhang Ruochen is, he still has a long way to go compared to you, our young master. Even the top ranked warrior on the Earth Board, Bu Qianfan couldn’t withstand three movements from you, never mind Zhang Ruochen.”
Di Yi hummed coolly. In a serious tone he said, “You truly underestimate the top 20 masters of the Earth Board.”
“Do you realize that masters like Zhang Ruochen are big threats to the Black Market? I can tell you clearly, he is more of a threat than his Master Lei Jing. We must kill him before he grows up and causes trouble for us.”
“Where is the Red Wish Emissary?”
In the void space, a few wisps of red smoke came and gathered in the air, then formed into a sexy female figure.
Dressed in red, the Red Wish Emissary floated in the air. Evil smoke surrounded her body like a fantasy.
Di Yi said, “Go and help them kill Zhang Ruochen. Remember, this man must die.”
“Yes, sir.” The Red Wish Emissary responded.
After she and Jin Chuan left, Di Yi put on a thoughtful look. “Purple Wind Emissary, take my order to others. The situation has changed. Let every force in the Black Market start to prepare now. I will go to the Underwater Dragon Palace to explore tonight.”
The Purple Wind Emissary was a little worried. He said, “Young master, the Underwater Dragon Palace is too dangerous. I suggest that we send some people to search for the Life Gate of the Dragon Palace a few more times before you go there.”
“We can’t wait any longer! I have a hunch that the School of the Martial Market and the Moon Worship Demonic Sect have heard the message and will be sending masters soon.”
Di Yi continued, “Besides, I just want to go on a fishing expedition. I don’t need to break in yet.”
“I understand. I will inform all the forces to start preparations.”
After the Purple Wind Emissary finished speaking, he left.
…
The water in death reach of the Tongming River was as black as ink.
It was too cold for ordinary savage beasts to live in.
Savage beasts that could survive here were all extremely fierce creatures.
SWOOSH!
A huge bubble suddenly surged upward in the placid river.
A rabbit, carrying a man dressed in armor, appeared in the river. It shifted its eyes and looked around. Finding no enemy, it headed towards the shore.
The other side of the underground river ran into the death reach of the Tongming River.
After going ashore, they went into the wood. Zhang Ruochen took off the Flying Fish Armor and it turned into a fist-sized red iron ball.
He took some healing Pills and started to run exercises, making all efforts to defuse the power of the Bone-melting Darkcloud Palm.
A short time later, the Spiritual Fire and Genuine Qi had run nine large circles of vital energy. Most of the power from the Bone-melting Darkcloud Palm was defused.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and looked forward. The fat face of the rabbit was all he could see.
Guoguo stared at him. Seeing Zhang Ruochen waking up, its face lit up. The rabbit drew its claws, begging him for food.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, “We haven’t arrived at the safe place. Our enemies may catch us up at any time.” Zhang Ruochen smiled. “We haven’t arrived at a safe place yet. Our enemies may catch up to us at any time. Even though I defused the power of the Bone-melting Darkcloud Palm, I haven’t recovered yet. I can only unleash about a quarter of my power. If you can take me somewhere safe, I will give you lots of delicious food.”
Guoguo made a squeaking sound as if to ask him where was safe.
Indeed!
People from the Black Market had now surrounded the entire city. Where could he find a safe place?
Though Zhang Ruochen could hide in the Time and Space Spinel, any top masters who had practiced Martial Soul could follow his aura and find the Spinel.
Would he have to stay in the Time and Space Spinel for the rest of his life?
What’s more, the Time and Space Spinel was hard to break for ordinary warriors. But that was not the case when it came to the top masters of the Black Market.
At least for now, Zhang Ruochen couldn’t put his hope in the Time and Space Spinel. He had to find another safe place.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a while, then said, “The most dangerous place might be the safest one. Let’s go towards the death reach of the Tongming River and get into the water. This might be the only way for us to survive.”
Zhang Ruochen cut down an ancient tree two meters wide. He hollowed it out in the middle and made a ten-meter-long canoe.
After putting the canoe into the water, Zhang Ruochen sat at the bow and continued to heal himself.
The death reach of the Tongming River was like a wide lake, much larger than a normal river. From afar, it looked like an endless ocean.
Guoguo stood at the stern of the canoe and used a branch to row to the deep section of the Tongming River.
To get the food that Zhang Ruochen had promised it, the Greedy Rabbit spared no efforts.