76: Chapter 76: Say the harshest words, escape the fastest.

Zhao Ruoan flicked his hand casually, flinging away the lingering blood droplets on the sword blade.

"You..."

The sole surviving male Protector's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he was somewhat at a loss for words.

Below, the thirteen aggressively menacing Spirit Sea Realm cult members also all stopped their hands, looking like they had seen a ghost one by one.

Qiuyin and Xiamo also stopped, gazing in a daze at Zhao Ruoan's back.

That desperate determination from just now had transformed into a nearly fanatical adoration.

Young Lord... was actually this strong!

"Now, it's your turn."

Zhao Ruoan's voice sounded once more.

"Will you do it yourself, or shall I help you?"

That male Protector was jolted awake by these words, a wave of extreme humiliation and fear rushing to his heart.

He abruptly bit the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain restoring some clarity to him.

"Arrogant fool! Do you think that by killing my third sister, you've won for sure!"

He let out a roar akin to madness, his whole body's spiritual energy gushing out without reservation, his Aura being three parts more formidable than before.

"Today, either you die or I perish!"

He put on a posture of risking his life.

Those thirteen Spirit Sea Realm cult members reignited hope in their eyes.

Qiuyin and Xiamo's hearts leapt to their throats again, breaking out in a cold sweat for Zhao Ruoan.

Then.

Under the expectant gazes of everyone.

This monstrously imposing Lord Protector suddenly twisted his figure, transforming into a streak of black light, and without even turning his head toward the distant horizon... fled.

That speed was more than double compared to when he came.

The entire scene was, for a moment, extremely awkward.

Everyone was stunned.

Even Zhao Ruoan was somewhat speechless.

"Want to run?"

His figure flickered, clouds and mist rising beneath his feet, and his entire person transformed into a wisp of blue smoke, chasing after at an even faster speed.

The two of them, one chasing and one fleeing, were a hundred zhang away in the blink of an eye.

"Mortal World is like a dream."

Zhao Ruoan's voice came from afar.

An intangible Sword Intent crossed space, directly forming an illusionary realm in front of that Protector.

"A single thought empties all."

Another flash of sword light followed closely behind, sealing off his retreat from behind.

Pincer attack from front and back, with no path to the heavens.

That Protector was scared out of his wits, knowing that he absolutely could not block these two sword strikes.

At this critical juncture, he suddenly screamed towards the battlefield below: "Zhao Ruoan! Your two little maidservants are still down below! Are you not going to save them!"

He wanted to use Qiuyin and Xiamo's safety to force Zhao Ruoan to fall back to defend, striving for a sliver of survival for himself.

This shout successfully caused Zhao Ruoan's pursuit to slow down slightly.

But something even more unexpected to him happened.

Those thirteen loyal subordinates of his were all dumbfounded upon hearing these words.

What the heck?

The Protector is selling us out?

The next second, this group of black-robed cult members no longer had a shred of Battle Intent, scattering like birds and beasts, frantically fleeing in all directions, as clean and crisp as could be.

The scene completely spiraled out of control.

"Want to run! It's not that easy!"

Qiuyin and Xiamo reacted, immediately splitting up to pursue.

But there were many opponents, solely intent on fleeing, so they could only intercept two or three people.

Xiamo was chasing the fastest runner, but Qiuyin grabbed her.

"Stop chasing, there are too many people!"

Qiuyin's mind spun extremely fast, "Just capture a live one!"

She gave up on those with high cultivation, her figure turning, and directly pounced towards a Cultivator lagging at the back with a weaker Aura.

After a few moves, she successfully knocked him to the ground, binding him tightly with ropes.

High in the air.

Zhao Ruoan looked at that group of cult members below flying in all directions when disaster struck, and gained a new understanding of this so-called Nether Cult.

A tray of loose sand, strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

Just this?

He no longer paid attention to the farce below, refocusing his attention on the Protector before him.

Seeing that his strategy had failed and instead led to the complete collapse of his army, that Protector's mentality completely crumbled.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

He frantically waved his poison-quenched short blade, slash after slash of dark green Saber Qi hacking towards Zhao Ruoan.

Zhao Ruoan couldn't even be bothered to use his sword, merely executing the Cloud Tracking Step, strolling leisurely amidst the dense blade light.

Countless afterimages intertwined, and the opponent simply could not lock onto his true form.

All attacks missed completely.

"Is this all your ability?"

Zhao Ruoan's voice sounded in his ear like a ghost.

That Protector's whole body stiffened.

A fist wrapped in dark golden tiger patterns rapidly magnified before his eyes.

He hastily raised his arm to block.

Crack!

A crisp sound of bone fracturing rang out.

His entire arm twisted and deformed at a bizarre angle.

The sharp pain caused him to let out a miserable scream.

Zhao Ruoan's attack did not stop; a whip kick followed closely behind, hitting him square in the chest.

Bang!

The protective Spiritual Qi shattered.

His entire body plummeted like a cannonball, smashing a large pit into a small hill below.

The dust settled.

That Protector struggled to crawl out of the pit, disheveled, coughing up blood continuously, wretched to the extreme.

He knew that he had completely lost the ability to contend.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes, and he abruptly activated a secret technique that overdrew his life, his speed soaring, while simultaneously pulling a Medicinal Pill from his bosom, wanting to stuff it into his mouth.

As long as he could escape, as long as he could survive!

A streak of black sword light was faster than his movement.

Pfft.

That right hand of his holding the Medicinal Pill was severed at the wrist.

"Ah!"

He let out a shrill, miserable howl.

Before he could even react, Zhao Ruoan's fist had already arrived.

This time, the target was his Dantian.

Boom!

A muffled sound.

That Protector was struck as if by lightning, his entire body bowing into a shrimp, his majestic Spiritual Qi rapidly dissipating.

Zhao Ruoan stepped forward, stomping a foot on his chest, looking down from above.

"Now, we can have a good chat."

"Who sent you? Where is the Nether Cult's stronghold? Who is your chess piece in the Qingxuan Sect?"

That Protector collapsed on the ground, feeling his empty Dantian, a bizarre smile suddenly appearing on his face.

"Hehe... Want to know?"

"Go down and ask King Yama!"

The spiritual energy within his body went on a reverse rampage at this moment.

A destructive Aura abruptly erupted.

Self-detonation!

Zhao Ruoan's scalp tingled, the crisis warning brought by the System ringing frantically in his mind.

He released his foot without hesitation, his figure retreating rapidly.

Rumble——!

A small mushroom cloud rose from the valley.

The violent energy shockwave flattened a radius of several hundred meters into a wasteland.

Even though he retreated fast enough, Zhao Ruoan was still swept by the aftermath, his entire person flying backward, a sweetness rising in his throat as he spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood.

His internal organs suffered not-so-light shocks.

"Damn it, what a madman."

He steadied his figure, wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at the large pit blown into nothingness, speechless for a moment.

The Storage Ring and all clues had turned into ashes in this self-detonation.

He pacified his churning Qi and blood, turning and flying back to Qiuyin and Xiamo's side.

"Young Lord, you're injured!"

Seeing the blood stain at the corner of his mouth, the two maidservants hurriedly surrounded him, full of worry.

"It's fine, minor injury."

Zhao Ruoan waved his hand.

"Young Lord, we caught a live one!"

Qiuyin pointed at the black-robed cult member who was tied up like a zongzi and trembling with fright, speaking as if claiming credit.

Zhao Ruoan looked at that captive, his previously somewhat depressed mood finally improving quite a bit.

Fortunately, the clues weren't completely cut off.