Chapter 492: Cheating

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Miao Wanhong was eliminated, and the Flame Flag he guarded was taken away; it was almost inevitable. However, Mo Shiyi and his group did not react to the news of Miao Wanhong’s elimination.

At this moment, two consecutive messages had completely shattered the mentality of Mo Shiyi’s group. In this Flag Capture Battle, the most crucial element was the flag itself. But now, the flag had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

Even though they had gained a significant advantage by eliminating Yu Shoucheng from the opposing team at the beginning, all those advantages had vanished.

“Stop them, intercept them!”

Mo Shiyi’s face contorted with determination as he pushed his speed to the extreme, charging forward as if his life depended on it. In fact, when the fluctuations of the battle had reached them earlier, they had received a warning from Miao Wanhong at the same time.

However, they hadn’t expected Miao Wanhong to be eliminated so quickly!

But they hadn’t lost entirely yet. As long as they intercepted the enemy before they could return the Flame Flag, they hadn’t lost. Perhaps, if they could take advantage of the chaos, they might even turn the situation around by killing one of their opponents on the spot.

On the other side, Qin Haishan and his two companions were also taken aback by the news from the Haiyue Cave.

However, soon after, enormous delight appeared on their faces. Chen Fei had actually found the location of the enemy’s flag and, single-handedly, had captured it.

“Go, protect Chen Fei!” Qin Haishan’s eyes sparkled with dazzling brilliance as he charged forward based on the guidance of the linked jade.

Tong Zhongqiu and Zhao Tianxuan followed closely behind, their hearts filled with excitement. With the flag in their possession, they had practically won half the battle. The next step would depend on each side’s abilities, who was stronger.

“The flag is over there.”

After rushing forward for a few moments, Mo Shiyi suddenly sensed the soaring aura of the Flame Flag. Mo Shiyi and his group felt a slight relief; there was still a considerable distance from the center of the opposing camp.

With the Flame Flag as a marker, they could track the enemy’s movements no matter where they went. They hadn’t lost yet, and the situation hadn’t reached its worst!

Just as Mo Shiyi and his group were thinking this, the overwhelming aura of the Flame Flag suddenly disappeared as if it had been forcibly erased.

Mo Shiyi and his companions involuntarily widened their eyes. How could the aura of the Flame Flag vanish like that?

The aura of the Flame Flag was so intense, how had the enemy managed to erase it? Had they set up a formation to conceal it? But that would be like trapping oneself. Even if it was a formation, it should have left traces.

Mo Shiyi quickly ruled out that possibility.

But if it wasn’t a formation, how had the enemy cleanly and thoroughly erased the aura of the flag? This was too unbelievable!

Previously, Mo Shiyi and his group had speculated that the aura of the flag in the hands of Qin Haishan and the others had been concealed by a treasure, which is why they couldn’t locate them. However, it had only been a guess. But now, the enemy was right in front of them, putting on such a performance.

“Go around and intercept them from all four directions! If we engage in combat, delay them until the others arrive!”

Mo Shiyi made the worst-case scenario preparations in his mind, feeling extremely agitated but helpless at the same time.

Mo Shiyi and his group each rushed to a different location, encompassing all possible escape routes for the enemy.

This increased their chances of intercepting the enemy, but it came with a drawback – the individual strength of each of them was too weak. If they engaged in combat, they could only try to harass the enemy and buy time for the others to arrive.

If the aura of the Flame Flag hadn’t disappeared, they wouldn’t have had to go through this trouble. They could have just followed the aura of the flag.

However, the sudden disappearance of the Flame Flag’s aura forced them to resort to this method to increase their chances of intercepting the flag.

Hu Yanwu’s figure turned into a blur as he pounced towards the southeast corner, gripping his sword tightly, his eyes filled with seriousness.

If they ended up in actual combat later, he would be facing four opponents alone. To say he wasn’t nervous would be a lie. After all, no matter how much they could harass the enemy, the four opponents on the other side were genuinely in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

A momentary lapse in concentration would undoubtedly result in severe injuries, and if they couldn’t hold onto the enemy, the Third Grade Secret Realm would no longer concern them.

This was a Third Grade Secret Realm, which, for Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, not only allowed the sect’s strength to grow significantly but also provided a portion of the resources they needed.

Of course, because the resources in the Third Grade Secret Realm were divided equally among the five sects, it was challenging to be entirely self-sufficient, but it was still better than nothing, right?

Various thoughts raced through Hu Yanwu’s mind, and suddenly, he saw a figure ahead, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was Chen Fei from the opposing camp.

“Only one person?”

Hu Yanwu couldn’t help but be startled. He had subconsciously assumed that the four from the other side had also split up, but he immediately dismissed that thought.

There was no reason for them to separate voluntarily since they would have the greatest advantage by acting together after the Flame Flag’s aura disappeared.

Unless… the Flame Flag had been taken by Chen Fei alone?

But Miao Wanhong had broken through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm decades ago, and his cultivation had progressed further. No matter how you looked at it, he should be much stronger than Chen Fei.

With so little information to go on, Hu Yanwu couldn’t determine the exact situation, but since he had run into Chen Fei here, he had no reason to let him go-

However, Hu Yanwu hesitated for a moment and didn’t give Mo Shiyi and his group a warning. He was worried that the enemy might have indeed split their forces.

Hu Yanwu saw Chen Fei, and naturally, Chen Fei saw him as well. Due to the Star Gazing Art, Chen Fei had sensed Hu Yanwu’s presence earlier.

Nevertheless, Chen Fei continued to approach in this direction. It was closer to his camp’s center, and taking a detour would only increase the chances of unexpected situations.

Most importantly, there was only one person on the opposing side, giving Chen Fei no reason to avoid confrontation.

Hu Yanwu saw Chen Fei charging straight towards him, squinted his eyes slightly, and the blade in his hand began to tremble slightly as his formidable aura spread in all directions.

Even though Hu Yanwu didn’t believe that Chen Fei could do anything to Miao Wanhong, he still put forth his full effort, not daring to underestimate him.

The sword style in Hu Yanwu’s hand subtly shifted forward; this was a defensive stance. Facing someone who had just broken through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm about a year ago, Hu Yanwu’s posture was undoubtedly mature and cautious.

Chen Fei’s expression remained unchanged. He blinked and appeared in front of Hu Yanwu. His mental energy surged, and he wove a formation of 108 patterns in his consciousness, melding it into a sword, which flashed through the void.

Hu Yanwu suddenly felt something unusual, and his Qi and blood energy surged in his entire body as he blocked the Mirror Image Profound Slaying Sword.

The brilliance of the Mirror Image Profound Slaying Sword dimmed slightly but still broke through the blockade of Hu Yanwu’s mental energy and entered his consciousness.

Within Hu Yanwu’s consciousness, his mental energy had already taken on the appearance of a mysterious tortoise. The sword light struck the tortoise, only leaving a crack, which was quickly repaired by Hu Yanwu.

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Hu Yanwu’s mouth. Daring to use mental techniques against a martial artist of the same level was simply audacious.

While mental techniques were ethereal, they could still be detected if one was cautious enough. Moreover, they could be intercepted by Qi, blood, and energy, even if not necessarily stopped completely, at least weakened.

Most Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators placed great importance on the security of their mental energy. For example, Hu Yanwu had intentionally cultivated a technique called “Profound Mind Art” to protect his mental energy from harm by others.

Seeing Hu Yanwu’s expression, Chen Fei couldn’t help but smile. In the next moment, dozens of Mirror Image Profound Slaying Swords soared into the sky and flew towards Hu Yanwu.

Chen Fei didn’t need to worry about his own mental energy being rebounded; he could fully utilize his mental techniques. If one strike of the Mirror Image Profound Slaying Sword didn’t work, then what about ten strikes or dozens?

Compared to other early Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, Chen Fei not only had a physical advantage but also maintained an advantage in mental energy. Even without the “Suppressing Dragon Elephant” technique, his current strength was enough to contend with someone in the first-tier Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

With the “Suppressing Dragon Elephant” technique, Chen Fei’s overall combat strength continued to rise, even comparable to a Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator at the second tier. The only area where he was relatively weaker was in terms of elemental cultivation, which gave Chen Fei a slight disadvantage.

However, compared to other newly promoted Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, Chen Fei was already much stronger.

Hu Yanwu sensed the densely packed mental attacks from the opposing side, and the smile on his lips froze. Did Chen Fei intend to go down with him?

With such an intense onslaught of mental attacks, as long as Hu Yanwu blocked thirty percent of them, Chen Fei’s mental energy would be overwhelmed and shattered. Hu Yanwu had never seen anyone use mental techniques like this before; it was simply suicidal!

“Comparing your strength to mine, you’ll be the one to suffer!”

Hu Yanwu roared, and the radiance of the tortoise in his consciousness suddenly intensified. His figure also charged directly towards Chen Fei. With the backlash on his mental energy, Hu Yanwu was certain that Chen Fei’s movements would become sluggish.

Then, it would be the moment for Hu Yanwu to kill Chen Fei.

Just as he had flown a few steps closer, the Mirror Image Profound Slaying Sword collided with Hu Yanwu’s mental energy. Hu Yanwu let out a muffled groan, and the shield in his consciousness was instantly covered in wounds.

However, those initial sword lights were all shattered at this moment.

Hu Yanwu looked up, wanting to see the effects of Chen Fei’s mental backlash, but what he saw left him in disbelief. Chen Fei’s expression hadn’t changed at all.

Hu Yanwu’s eyes widened slightly. This couldn’t be possible!

The clash of mental techniques was a mutual process, fundamentally similar to physical attacks. However, the mind was more fragile, and any slight mistake could lead to severe injuries.

Those shattered sword lights meant that Chen Fei was bound to experience backlash, but his calm demeanor now left everyone puzzled.

In the blink of an eye, the subsequent dozens of sword lights fell onto Hu Yanwu’s mental energy, almost cutting the tortoise in his consciousness into pieces.

As for the defenses of his elemental energy and blood Qi, they had been pierced through long before.

An uncontrollable and intense pain spread, distorting Hu Yanwu’s expression, while Chen Fei’s expression remained unchanged.

Hu Yanwu gritted his teeth, and his figure in mid-air wavered slightly, retreating instead of advancing. The situation had changed, and now Hu Yanwu was more concerned about preserving himself than how to kill Chen Fei.

Chen Fei was not playing by the rules; who uses mental techniques like this and still shows no sign of damage? It was like cheating!

At the same time, Hu Yanwu sent a warning signal to Mo Shiyi and his group through the linked jade. Miao Wanhong might really have been killed by Chen Fei alone!

As Hu Yanwu retreated, Chen Fei suddenly rushed to his front, his right hand forming a sword finger and pointing forward.

In the next moment, a horrifying aura emanated, sending shivers down Hu Yanwu’s spine.

The aura was so terrifying that even Hu Yanwu’s excruciating mental pain seemed to be momentarily ignored in the face of it.

Every inch of Hu Yanwu’s skin suddenly tightened from head to toe. This was an instinctual reaction of the body when facing extreme threats.

I’m going to die!

This thought flashed through Hu Yanwu’s mind subconsciously. Without any hesitation, Hu Yanwu’s figure turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared directly into the Haiyue Cave..