The words hit like a thunderclap. The teahouse fell into a stunned silence.

Fang Bubai killed Mo Tianren? Panic and disbelief flashed through Fang Bubai's mind. When did he kill-

Oh wait. Relief quickly washed over him as he realized they were talking about someone else.

However, the real urgency of the situation seemed to abruptly hit Bubai, and he stood up. This was not a spectacle he could afford to witness. Even the aftermath of a Golden Core fight was beyond his capacity to endure!

BOOM! The entire teahouse quivered, and Bubai steadied himself. A thunderous voice echoed, seemingly spreading throughout the entire city. "Old Devil Ma Pei! Don't bully people too much!"

"Hahaha! Why didn't you say that when you blocked me and let that junior kill my disciple and escape?! Do you really think this old man has no temper?"

"Even if you are angry, you can't fight in Ling City! This is an agreement between Golden Cores of the Cloud Sword Sect!"

"So what if I fight here? See what those hypocrites can do to me!"

BOOM! "Old Devil, stop for me!"

Observing the terrified waiter crawling away, Bubai muttered, "No way."

Without further hesitation, he rushed out, leaping through the teahouse window to avoid the crowd at the entrance. His narrowed eyes focused on the sky above Ling City, where two small figures hovered, flickering back and forth while exchanging blows and kicks, stepping on air as if defying gravity.

Flying without the aid of artifacts – that was the hallmark of Golden Core cultivators!

Suddenly, an enormous illusory fist materialized behind one of the combatants, completely dwarfing a human in size. Moments later, the fist surged forward, its force seemingly distorting the air! "King. Kong. Fist!"

In response, a vast sea of red demonic Qi erupted from the other man in a black robe, forming a thick protective barrier in front of him. The fist crashed into the red sea, dispersing a part of it, but the sea managed to absorb the rest of the impact.

"Is this the famous King Kong fist? What a weak fist! Hahaha!" The old devil's laughter echoed, taunting.

At the same time, the dispersed red sea swiftly re-condensed. "Chen Kong, try my Sea of Temptations!"

Ominously, the red sea surged toward Chen Kong like a tsunami. Using his punches to defend himself, the illusory shadows of the smaller versions of the King Kong Fist left afterimages in the air, attempting to keep the red tsunami at bay!

But Chen Kong was at a disadvantage, finding himself barely able to halt the relentless advance and could only worry about himself.

As for the rest… The red sea spilled over, crashing into Ling City below!

"Bloody hell!" Bubai exclaimed, turning away and sprinting at full speed for the first time ever.

Due to being unfamiliar with his new strength, he almost stumbled, struggling to maintain balance, but quickly regained his footing, rushing away from the screams echoing behind him.

Peering back, he saw the red bloody mist devouring some unfortunate cultivators and mortals who failed to escape in time. Within moments, these panicking human displayed faces of ecstasy, standing or wandering like idiots.

However, Bubai's eyes narrowed as he witnessed their skin and flesh visibly melting away. Yet, they still seemed to be in the throes of drowning in pleasure, blissfully unaware of their imminent demise…

What a horrifying technique!

Suppressing his fear, Bubai heightened his focus, darting down streets and avoiding any path touched by the red mist. That was something beyond his capability to confront!

Running and rushing, he soon realized the vague red mist was spreading ahead, sealing off all routes in front of him. It was a dead end!

Glancing behind and witnessing the red sea flooding the streets and flowing towards him, Bubai gritted his teeth and stomped his foot.

Thump! With a powerful leap, he almost crashed through a nearby building due to his uncontrolled strength. Gripping onto the walls, almost embedding his fingers into it, he pulled himself onto the tiled rooftops.

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Turning back and watching the red sea wash the streets below, its faint red mist gradually rising into the air, a cold drop of sweat rolled down Bubai's face before he hopped up, running away, leaping from rooftop to rooftop like many other cultivators and martial artists.

Glancing up into the skies, Bubai happened to see the streaks of cultivators safely escaping the city on their artifacts and swords. He couldn't help but envy these foundation establishment cultivators at this moment.

"It seems someone like you does have some strength to be so well-known amongst loose cultivators. Hahaha! But do you think this is the end?" The old devil's voice resonated through the air. "Return!"

With his command, the sea of bloody mist in Ling City surged upward like a torrent. The rapidly escaping Qi caused an air current that almost knocked Bubai off the roof, but he managed to dig his hands and feet through the roof, barely anchoring himself. Moments later, the mist torrent vanished from Ling City as if it had never been there.

However, Bubai still didn’t run because his instincts tingled with an ominous feeling.

Bubai slowly looked up, observing the vast red sea casting a shadow above Ling City, condensing into a colossal, bloody red sword.

"Hahaha, try this! Sword of Desires!" The old devil unleashed the sword, sending it hurtling toward the out-of-breath Chen Kong.

In desperation, Chen Kong screamed, "Fellow Daoist! I agree! How much longer are you going to wait?!"

With his roar, the misty cloud in the sky abruptly parted, revealing a giant misty white sword! Formed from clouds, it descended akin to a heavenly edict! Whoosh! It crashed down, perfectly intercepted and clashed against the bloody sword!

BOOM! A shockwave explode from the point of contact, the torrent of conflicting Qi created a nova of red and white in the air!

Although Bubai wasn't the one directly facing it and was quite a distance away from the actual battlefield, the pressure from the shockwave forced him down to his knees, almost crashing through the rooftop.

Tiles peeled off the roof around him, scattering messily and cutting through the air. Bubai huddled up, protecting his face, feeling the tiles scrape his arms. However, he paid little attention to the minor injuries, just holding on for dear life!

Clink. Clink. Clink. The sounds of settling tiles reached Bubai's ears as he looked up, inspecting the scrapes on his arms. Fortunately, his strengthened physique seemed to have spared him from any deep cuts.

Without dwelling on it, Bubai swiftly turned around, bolting through the scene of devastation. Like many other survivors, he rushed through the destruction, stepping on the bones of unfortunate souls and making his way toward the edge of the city.

Along the way, he observed loose cultivators pillaging stores and even damaged official bureaus that surprisingly hadn't crumbled after the shockwave. Some were even engaged in battles over the spoils, as if they had completely forgotten about the dangers still hanging above them!

While the temptation to join in tugged at Bubai, he refused to linger and gamble on the situation.

A third party had entered the fray, and he couldn't guarantee whether the conflict would be resolved or escalate into something more dangerous. His current strength was not definitely sufficient for this stage!

Plus, his storage space was nearly full anyways, even after selling off some wares in the black market.

Finally reaching the border of the city, Bubai briefly gasped for air, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

As his tense nerves relaxed slightly, his thoughts couldn’t help but wander to the one who caused this unwarranted disaster.

“Hey, he still can’t die with this, it seems to be the rise of another genius. But this other Fang Bubai… why does he sound more and more like a proper protagonist? Well, nothing to do with me. But if I ever bump into him in the future, I should stay away, even if the chaos he causes could be an opportunity for a poor man like me...”

Glancing back at the small figures of the three golden core cultivators hovering in the air, seemingly engaged in a peaceful discussion, Bubai still dismissed any thoughts of returning to plunder.

Instead, he continued running toward the outskirts. Who knew if their discussion would break down? If he had foreseen this chaos, he would have come to the city, even if it meant staying with the demoness for a few more days! Screw you, Fang Bubai!

Ugg, it feels strange to be cursing this name…

Running across the plains and past the fields filled with panicking mortal workers, Bubai witnessed many farms littered with bloody corpses, likely robbed clean. Some even had burning fields and buildings.

Ignoring them, eventually, he reached the forest. Unlike the small wooded area he usually frequented, this forest was part of a much larger expanse, stretching over a vast territory with only a few roads cutting through, leading to various parts of the mortal country.

The Yun Feng kingdom, a mortal dynasty under the rule of the Cloud Sword Sect, covered an expansive area, dotted with humble villages and larger cities, each divided into districts, grouped by provinces.

Even so, the sheer number of districts was so abundant that even the province map needed to be divided. Bubai's original village was just one among many, and he wasn't certain which district it belonged to.

Honestly, he felt as if he had the map awareness of Christopher Columbus.

Thus, he had paid a hefty amount to obtain a map that covered his current current and neighboring districts.

Now, he aimed to take the road to Soaring Cloud City, one of the larger mortal cities located in the Xia District bordering the Xian province.

Contemplating his situation, Bubai thought, "I've already gathered the cultivation resources I need. Now that I'm on the run, I should settle down in a low-key fashion, waiting for the wanted order to circulate and the limelight to pass. Once I digested the resources I've gathered and understand my own situation… the world is vast. Where can't I go?”

It was a simple yet effective plan. Many cultivators who committed crimes followed a similar path, taking advantage of the vastness of the mortal world.

But the key was to avoid committing further crimes, attracting attention in public, and holding prominent official positions. Well, he was not foolish enough to fall into any of these traps.

Staring at the forest road ahead, Bubai's human-skin masked face contorted into an ugly smile. "Freedom, here I come!"