"Duke of Jin!!!"
The ten guards knelt down in unison. Their resolute faces revealed little emotion, but their excitement was palpable.
"I told you I'd be fine."
Fan Li emerged from the pile of arrows as if walking out of a dense thicket of reeds.
"You're really not dead?!" Lu Fubao exclaimed in surprise. "How is that possible? Even ordinary Earth-grade protective treasures wouldn't be able to withstand the power and density of that rain of arrows."
As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed that Fan Li was covered head to toe in high-quality spiritual treasures, from his clothes and shoes to his belt and jade pendant! Most notably, he was wearing an exaggerated number of ten protective rings on his hands.
When did he put them on?
He clearly wasn't wearing them before!
Did he secretly change his equipment when he saw the Ming army blocking their path?
Clang!
The protective ring on Fan Li's right index finger suddenly snapped in two and fell to the ground.
Even though only a portion of the thousands of Golden Core level arrows had hit him, their combined power was immense.
An Earth-grade, ninth-rank protective ring, just a step away from Heaven-grade quality, could only withstand one strike.
"Let's stop wasting time and turn back," Fan Li said with a wry smile.
Surrounded on three sides, their only escape route was behind them.
"But..." Lu Fubao hesitated.
They had fled to this place to escape the pursuit of a Great Vehicle Realm expert. Now, if they turned back, it would be like being trapped between two forces, with nowhere to go eventually.
"We need to buy time and wait for reinforcements." Fan Li only uttered eight words before turning and fleeing back the way they came.
"Chase them!" Zhang Juzheng looked at the direction Fan Li and his group were escaping and wasn't surprised.
Although it was a desperate struggle, it was better than sitting and waiting for death.
What if a miracle happened?
If it were him, he would have made the same decision as Fan Li.
"Southwest!"
Fan Li, who had been running with all his might, suddenly changed direction. To the southwest was a dense forest he had noticed on their way here. Compared to the open plains, this was a true hiding place.
Wanli's five thousand elite troops wouldn't be able to make a splash in this vast, ocean-like forest.
Even the mysterious Sage Ruler Archery would find it difficult to shoot a third arrow at Fan Li hidden within the dense woods.
"Your Highness, Fan Li has fled into the forest!" Zhang Juzheng realized the situation was turning unfavorable.
Fan Li had given up on escaping to Peng City, the capital of Chu, and instead plunged into the deep mountains and forests.
Zhang Juzheng admired Fan Li's quick thinking and prioritization of survival, something he himself wouldn't have done.
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Any ordinary person would have preferred to believe that Sage Ruler Archery had been repelled rather than hiding in the treacherous mountains. After all, mountains were also synonymous with poverty and hardship.
Once you entered them and lost contact with the outside world, you wouldn't dare to come out easily.
"Chase them!"
"Continue the pursuit!"
"I want to see Fan Li's corpse!"
Crown Prince Wanli was equally determined. He wouldn't give up on such a rare opportunity.
Originally, after regaining consciousness, he had planned to return to the Great Ming and face Emperor Jiajing's anger and reprimands.
However, Sage Ruler Jin De had sent a message using the pages of her "Book of Feminine Virtues," requesting the Great Ming to set up an ambush near Mount Yunmeng.
The message promised that the Pure Land would find a way to lure away the experts around Fan Li, and urged Crown Prince Wanli to ambush Fan Li, who would only be accompanied by his guards.
"The women from the Pure Land have fulfilled their part! Why can't I do the same?"
"Listen up, all troops! Capture Fan Li, dead or alive! The one who claims the head will be rewarded with a city and allowed to have a son and a daughter marry into the Zhu family of the imperial clan!
The rest of the army will also be heavily rewarded! If Fan Li escapes, the entire army will be punished, and nine generations of their families will be demoted to slave status!"
Heavy rewards and punishments indeed boosted morale.
Fan Li could clearly feel the pressure increasing. The Ming soldiers at the front were almost within reach of his guards!
"Almost there!"
"Just a little bit further!"
The forest was only a hundred steps away, but the Crown Prince's elite troops were closing in.
"The five of us will stay behind to cover the Lord!"
Suddenly, the five strongest among the ten guards shouted in unison and stopped.
Unlike the survival-of-the-fittest situation during the Yin-Yang Eight Gates Formation, in the most difficult battles, the strongest soldiers of the Imperial Guards always took the lead.
Fan Li didn't even have time to stop them!
The five stopped, turned around, and charged back towards the enemy. In an instant, over ten Golden Core realm soldiers were slain!
However, the five were quickly surrounded by hundreds of the Crown Prince's elite troops.
"Ah! Fan Li... they..." Lu Fubao had never witnessed such a scene and was at a loss for what to do.
"Run! Keep running! Don't let their sacrifice be in vain!" Fan Li's eyes were bloodshot as he roared and continued sprinting forward!
Behind him, the five thousand Ming soldiers only paused for a few seconds before surging forward like a giant wave, continuing to pursue Fan Li and his group.
However, those few seconds were enough to create a miracle. Fan Li, Lu Fubao, and the remaining five guards finally escaped into the forest. Deep within the forest, a continuous mountain range led to the south of Mount Yunmeng.
"A bunch of useless trash!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Crown Prince Wanli roared and leaped high into the air. "Great Ming, the sun and moon shine eternally!" He raised his right hand above his head, his clenched fist enveloped in a crimson light!
The "Sun and Moon Profound Scripture" was a secret cultivation technique passed down through the imperial family of the Great Ming.
Crown Prince Wanli couldn't perform the true "Sun and Moon Shine Eternally" technique, but he could still harness the power of the scorching sun.
With a single punch downwards, it was as if a red sun had fallen from the sky!
A massive explosion accompanied by a wave of heat erupted. There wasn't even a process of burning; a hundred-meter radius of the forest was instantly incinerated into ashes.
Beyond that hundred-meter radius, the trees remained lush and green, seemingly unaffected.
Zhang Juzheng praised inwardly, "To have mastered half of the 'Sun and Moon Profound Scripture' at such a young age. No one among his peers in the imperial family can match him. No wonder he was appointed Crown Prince by His Majesty!"
"Oh my god! Wanli is so strong!" Lu Fubao exclaimed. "He's so young, yet he already has Unity Realm cultivation?"
This attack from Crown Prince Wanli had no specific target; he was simply guessing their approximate location.
Fan Li and the others narrowly avoided it. They had witnessed the power of the "Sun and Moon Profound Scripture" and knew they couldn't withstand even a single strike!
"Do you have any way to deal with him?" Fan Li asked.
Lu Fubao smiled wryly. "If I had enough time to set up a formation, I might be able to severely injure him. But we don't have time now."
Hearing this, Fan Li wasn't disappointed. In fact, he was surprised. "Are you sure? With your Nascent Soul cultivation, you can severely injure a Unity Realm expert?"
Between the Nascent Soul and Unity Realm, there was still the Divine Transformation realm.
Lu Fubao being able to cross two major realms and severely injure Wanli with a formation was hard for Fan Li to believe.
"It's true! You don't understand formations, so why do you doubt me? It's a shame we don't have the opportunity to set up a formation, or I would definitely open your eyes!" Lu Fubao was so angry that she stomped her feet, as if she had been greatly insulted.
Fan Li was helpless. "I'm not doubting you. I'm not good with formations, but I do know some basic knowledge. If you were fully prepared, I would absolutely believe that you could cross one major realm and severely injure a Divine Transformation expert.
As for a Unity Realm expert, I'm afraid you wouldn't even be able to break through their protective spiritual energy, right?"
Lu Fubao stomped her feet again. "You just said you only know basic knowledge! I cultivate both formations and mechanics, and I'm particularly skilled at combining the two. Don't judge me based on ordinary standards!"