Chapter 1643: High-Speed Breakthrough

“Lord, put me down! I will stay and block them!”

Kong Qianchi, whom he was carrying, only saw a blur before realizing they were already inside the city gate tunnel. He was shocked and shouted desperately.

Zhao Haiyang’s wandering thoughts were instantly interrupted. The gates were right in front of him, and the guards outside had finally reacted. In their panic, they began to activate the gate’s formation, and the massive doors began to swing shut.

Zhao Haiyang had no time to deal with Kong Qianchi. He put all his strength into dashing through the tunnel to break through the gate.

The azure-robed man was close behind, his face dark with rage. Despite having the intelligence beforehand, he had actually let the target run. Furthermore, the casualties at the Prosperity Inn were immense, which made his blood boil. The powers behind the inn would certainly not let this go easily, and he would have to bear some of the responsibility.

Seeing the elder enter the tunnel while the gates were closing and the array was flickering to life, the man in azure knew the target would escape in the next moment.

A look of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He no longer cared if his attack would catch the surrounding soldiers in the crossfire.

He grabbed the blue-faced, fanged ghost beside him and tapped its chest. A large gash split open on the ghost’s chest, and a grey heart shot out, hurtling forward like a projectile.

Inside the tunnel, Zhao Haiyang’s face twisted. This strike from the azure-robed man carried the power of a mid-stage Void Refining attack.

Worse still, three other powerful auras were converging on his location, only slightly slower than the man in azure. Those were the other Void Refining cultivators in the city. Their reactions were a bit slower, but they had arrived. Fortunately, he didn’t sense the suffocating pressure of a Body Integration expert yet.

Zhao Haiyang prayed that the Body Integration expert mentioned in the intelligence was only here occasionally and happened to be absent today.

The three approaching Void Refining cultivators were also furious. They had heard the explosion and immediately released their Divine Sense to see what was happening. By the time they manifested in the air, the target was already at the gate, and the azure-robed man was making his desperate move.

Zhao Haiyang knew he was on the brink of life and death. If he were trapped inside, he would surely die.

“Hmph!”

Despite the peril, he remained composed. With a cold snort, a broad-bladed greatsword appeared in his hand, and he thrust it backward like a bolt of lightning.

“Thud!”

A muffled sound echoed as a massive burst of blinding black light erupted behind him. Several screams cut short as the inner gate guards were vaporized by the shockwave.

Zhao Haiyang felt as if his sword had struck a mountain. His blur-like figure jerked to a halt, and he was knocked out of his stealth.

Facing the desperate strike of the man in azure, Zhao Haiyang did not dodge. Instead, he steeled his heart and allowed the force to hit him, using it to propel himself toward the gate.

A muffled groan came from the azure-robed man behind him, followed by a series of heavy coughs. Zhao Haiyang, meanwhile, shot toward the gate at an even greater speed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

To ensure he wasn’t bogged down, he had allowed a portion of the force to hit him. Though he gained momentum, his internal organs were rattled by the blow.

However, such an injury was nothing to him. He could recover quickly with pills.

“Dammit!”

The man in azure swayed as he came to a halt, his momentum momentarily broken. He let out a frustrated roar. His full-powered strike had failed to stop the man and had instead helped him move faster. The target was already at the edge of the array; it was too late to stop him.

Zhao Haiyang, spinning like a drill with his sword, slammed toward the gate. The guards were desperately powering the array, but the doors were still leaving a small gap. The gates and array that usually seemed fast to operate were agonizingly slow today.

In a flash, Zhao Haiyang reached the closing doors. Seeing the gap, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes. He didn’t know where things had gone wrong, but he would find out once he returned.

The terrified faces of the guards grew larger in his vision. He knew the array couldn’t stop him now. He just had to worry about the pursuit once he was out. Whether he could survive the flight back was uncertain, but he had confidence in his ability to hide and evade.

“What are you doing…”

Suddenly, Zhao Haiyang’s face went pale. He looked down at the Kong Qianchi he was carrying, only to see a blinding white light. Kong Qianchi was suddenly self-detonating his physical body.

This sudden turn of events was something Zhao Haiyang could never have anticipated. He had risked his life to save his loyal subordinate, so why would the man suddenly blow himself up?

Moreover, in the instant the white light erupted, he heard Kong Qianchi’s voice in his ear.

“Mu Guyue says you can go die!”

The clone had stayed behind for this very moment. Even if Zhao Haiyang had put him in a storage space, he would have self-detonated. The delay caused would have been enough; the timing now was just better.

Zhao Haiyang had no time to process those words. A self-detonation of a Spirit Transformation cultivator could heavily wound or even kill him if he didn’t defend himself.

In that instant of life and death, Zhao Haiyang abandoned all else. He turned all his power inward to crush the man in his hand, trying to snuff out the detonation.

This was an instinctive reaction that bypassed his conscious thought. A ring of golden power instantly wrapped around the surging white sphere of light.

“Wring!”

In his frantic struggle, he poured his entire cultivation into his hand. The terrifying power of the white light was actually suppressed by his superior golden energy.

However, a dull thud still echoed, and the entire gate tunnel shook violently.

The guards outside the gate had no idea what was happening. They only felt a terrifying pressure erupt from the tunnel while they were still trying to close the array. The entire city wall shook as if by an earthquake.

But in that split second, the gates slammed shut, the array fully formed, and the wall stabilized.

“Boom!”

Though Zhao Haiyang had suppressed the detonation, his momentum carried him forward, and he slammed into the invisible membrane of the array. Another burst of blinding light flashed as he was sent tumbling backward into the tunnel!

Zhao Haiyang’s head was spinning. He used his magic power to steady himself in the air.

“Mu Guyue… Mu Guyue wants me… to die!”

As he muttered, he realized one thing: the Kong Qianchi he had just “saved” wasn’t a person at all. Although the self-detonation was suppressed, no blood or flesh remained. The white light had only contained pure magical power.

He wasn’t stupid; in fact, he was a man of deep scheming. In this moment, he realized he had been played.

Kong Qianchi was likely already dead, and the Min Bufu who had appeared was probably fake as well. Even when he was surrounded by enemies earlier, he had remained calm, but now his face turned deathly pale.

The man in azure reappeared in his vision, and three other powerful auras burst into the tunnel…

“Who is it!”

Zhao Haiyang let out a sky-rending roar. He knew he was finished. Trapped inside the city, he had no hope left. His peerless confidence had turned into rage. It wasn’t that his skills were inferior, but he had never expected his most trusted subordinates would be the source of his downfall!

The array of a border city, once fully activated, was difficult even for a Body Integration expert to break in one blow.

Then, a series of earth-shaking explosions echoed within the tunnel…

At that moment, four thousand li (TN: 1 li is approx. 0.5km) south of Ghost Sound City, Mu Guyue—still disguised as Min Bufu—and another Kong Qianchi were sitting cross-legged in a forest.

After leaving the city and moving away from the crowds, they had flickered to this location.

The plan was a “Borrowed Knife to Kill” scheme. They lured Zhao Haiyang into the city, knowing the two of them would find excuses to leave his side. Zhao Haiyang wouldn’t dare use his Divine Sense to probe the city freely, so once they were out of his sight, Li Yan had quickly manifested a clone.

The clone walked back to a spot where Zhao Haiyang could see him. Zhao Haiyang wouldn’t suspect the clone’s authenticity after seeing the familiar face.

After that, Mu Guyue and Li Yan exited the city one after another. Since they had records from their entry, leaving was easy.

They were fairly certain Zhao Haiyang would die, but they weren’t going to wait around to see the result. Ghost Sound City would likely conduct a massive search afterward.

Li Yan, who was sensing his clone, suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“What happened?” Mu Guyue asked, her heart tightening.

Li Yan shook his head with a smile and wiped the blood from his lips.

“It’s nothing. That Zhao Haiyang is truly powerful. Even while pinned down, his reactions were faster than expected. He almost escaped the city. His instincts and strength are top-tier among Void Refining cultivators. I had to lose a clone to keep him inside!”