CHAPTER 271: CANG CHAO!

At that moment, even the howling battlefield seemed to go silent.

This man was wearing dark robes that hid his identity; however, the peculiar feature that everyone noticed at first glance was the mask he wore. This mask, a demonic visage carved in crimson, its curved fangs glinting under the fractured moonlight.

A chill ran through every heart as everyone stopped fighting amongst themselves to look at the unidentified cultivator.

"Who are you?!" The leader of the Tian Jian Tribe, Tian Jian Kong, yelled towards the unidentified man. "Don’t you know it is forbidden for an emperor realm cultivator to intervene in this expedition?! Do you wish to defy the Empire’s decree itself?!"

The masked man didn’t reply.

He only turned his head slightly — and the air cracked.

Crackle!

Red lightning burst to life around him, wrapping his body like living serpents of destruction.

Before Tian Jian Kong could even react—

Szzzt!

The lightning shot forth, piercing through space like a divine spear.

In the blink of an eye, it struck Tian Jian Kong square in the chest.

His scream never came.

His body convulsed once, the flesh searing away in an instant before collapsing into a heap of charred ash.

A deathly silence followed.

Every cultivator — righteous or demonic — froze.

Their eyes reflected the same horror

This action of his demonstrated that he wasn’t here to play around.

He extended his hand as the floating treasure gently floated into his hands in front of Qin Feng’s desperate eyes.

"No! Don’t you dare!!"

Qin Feng howled as he began his Blood Demon Transformation, unleashing the power of the Demonic Blood Pearl.

His Blood Qi exploded outward like a scarlet storm.

His eyes began turning dark; a black-colored hue, resembling ink, began to color his eyes dark.

"Kill!"

He muttered in a low voice, his voice dripping with bloodlust.

With a flick of his finger, a crimson spike erupted from the ground, soaring toward the masked figure’s chest.

However, as if the masked man predicted it, he raised his leg before slamming it on the ground, a surge of red lightning cascaded through the ground, vaporizing the blood qi that was about to form the spike.

Qin Feng’s heart sank at this; however, he didn’t give up.

He tried again; however, this time with two spikes at the same time.

The unidentified man took to the air, trying to leave.

"No! You won’t leave without returning the treasure!!" Qin Feng howled in fury, summoning two massive spikes that shot up like crimson towers, aiming to impale the Emperor.

But the man merely flicked his wrist.

Crack!

The red lightning slashed down like a whip, tearing through both spikes effortlessly.

"W-What??" Even Qin Feng couldn’t remain unfazed at this display of power.

The man turned to glance at him as he muttered in a manly, deep voice, "It seems you wish to die!"

He raised his hand, his index and middle fingers pointing at Qin Feng. "I’ll fulfill your wish!"

Red lightning appeared around his body before concentrating at the tip of his fingers.

Shoot!

It shot directly at Qin Feng at a terrifyingly high speed, not even allowing him to dodge.

It was too fast — faster than thought.

Qin Feng barely managed to move before—

"No! Qin Feng! My friend!!"

A body collided with him, shoving him aside.

The beam struck the newcomer instead.

"Aaaaargh!!"

The air filled with the smell of burnt blood.

The lightning pierced through the man’s abdomen, leaving a gaping, sizzling hole.

Qin Feng’s vision and mind were blurry; however, realizing that someone had taken an attack that was meant for him, he undid his blood demon transformation, getting a clear view of the person whose body was gushing blood, creating a puddle below him.

As his vision cleared, his eyes widened in shock.

"H-Huan Tian?" He mumbled in bewilderment. "Why would you sacrifice yourself for me?"

He couldn’t understand why Huan Tian would save him.

He didn’t remember being close enough for him to sacrifice himself like this for Qin Feng’s sake.

Huan Tian smiled gently at his question. "Because... you are my friend—cough!"

He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"No! Lord Huan Tian!" cried Fanrong as she rushed over with other prefecture lords.

Qin Feng couldn’t help but believe this dying man as tears welled in his eyes.

He went and grasped Huan Tian’s trembling hand, "No, Huan Tian. You can’t die because of me. I have already let many people die."

As Qin Feng was about to express his sorrow for letting Huan Tian take the attack meant for him, the voice of the unidentified emperor realm cultivator jolted him awake.

"Hahaha, some fool he is." The man mocked. "Taking an attack meant for someone else."

"Stop!" Qin Feng growled. "Don’t laugh at my friend!"

Qin Feng could hold his emotions.

If Huan Tian considered him a friend to die for, he would reciprocate his feelings.

Moreover, his actions spoke louder than a thousand words.

"Oh." The man’s eyes gleamed behind the mask. "Why don’t you worry about yourself?"

Lightning surged once more, spiraling at his fingertips

However, this time Qin Feng was ready to dodge the attack.

Shoot!

As the lightning shot out of the unidentified man’s fingers, Qin Feng rolled to the side; however, before that, a colossal abyssal tide tiger appeared in the way of the trajectory.

It appeared that the tiger had come to save Qin Feng.

A roar shook the ground.

"Arrrgh!" The tiger growled in pain. "Hu Shui!"

The unidentified man laughed at this loudly: "Hahaha, Boy. It appears today isn’t the day you die. I’ll leave for today!"

He looked down at the treasure in his palm, its light reflecting against his demonic mask. His voice dropped to a menacing whisper.

"After all... I have a gift to present to my soon-to-be bride!"

And with that, he vanished — streaking into the heavens in a storm of red lightning.

"No! Stop!" Qin Feng yelled in a vain attempt to make him stay. "I’ll not let you leave."

However, the man was long gone.

Qin Feng could only look at the friend who was on the verge of dying in regret as he rushed over to his side.

"Qin Feng..." Wang Ling-Er mumbled, hesitating to approach Qin Feng when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"We should leave to inform the patriarch of what transpired here."

It was her fellow disciple of the Qing Long Sect who had joined the sect along with her.

She glanced at Qin Feng one last time before leaving with the other righteous tribe cultivators.

Tian Jian Tribe’s cultivators collected the burnt body of Tian Jian Kong and brought it back with them.

Hu Shui, on the other hand, rushed over to the tiger’s side, who had been wounded by the previous attack of the emperor realm cultivator.

Bending to look at the huge wound in the tiger’s body, she asked, "Cang Chao! Why did you come in the way of the attack?"

It was Hu Shui’s lover, Cang Chao.

"Cough!" Coughing out blood, Cang Chao answered, "I don’t know. My body moved on its own as if being controlled by someone else. Even my mouth didn’t open when I tried to shout. Grrr."

-----------------------------------

(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)