This time, Lu Tianzi no longer bothered to hide his presence, instead focusing on escaping as fast as he could.

After all, there was no longer any point in trying to hide.

Even if he was able to hide his presence, Lu Tianzi had no means to hide Nanlan Qianxue from Chiren's perception. Unless he abandoned the unconscious Nanlan Qianxue, Chiren would always be able to track him down.

With his speed, Lu Tianzi was able to cover much of the forest in just a short span of time, and not even Chiren would be able to catch up to him easily. After an hour or so, Lu Tianzi had long left the burning area of the forest behind.

Whoosh-!

Lu Tianzi stepped into an empty cave and gently laid Nanlan Qianxue down in the deepest end.

He then fed Nanlan Qianxue a recovery pill before taking one himself. Lu Tianzi had plenty of pills after taking the spatial rings off so many others, and there was simply no need for him to save on their usage.

Thankfully, Nanlan Qianxue's injuries were lighter than it looked. Just a single recovery pill was more than enough to ensure that she would awaken soon.

Still, looking at Nanlan Qianxue who remained completely motionless, Lu Tianzi could not help but let out a sigh.

He was not exactly a saint, but Lu Tianzi still knew the basic propriety of repaying kindness with gratitude.

Even though he did not exactly ask Nanlan Qianxue for help, it was still a fact that the latter had risked her life to come help him. Thus, as long as there was a chance for Lu Tianzi to save her, even if it would put him at a slight disadvantage, Lu Tianzi definitely would not leave her to die.

That was one of the reasons why Lu Tianzi had revealed himself to rescue Nanlan Qianxue from Chiren.

Apart from that, there was another reason why Lu Tianzi had been willing to reveal himself in such a manner, and that was Lu Tianzi's belief that he might not necessarily lose to Chiren in a direct confrontation!

Of course, that did not mean Lu Tianzi was absolutely confident that he would be able to emerge victorious.

While he believed that the odds were in his favour, there was always the chance of Chiren hiding something up his sleeves. Thus, he had tried to expend as much of Chiren's Essence energy as possible.

Every bit expended meant a greater shot at victory for Lu Tianzi.

At this point, Lu Tianzi promptly turned around and headed back to the entrance of the cave.

"You have arrived," Lu Tianzi commented coldly as he looked upwards.

"Naturally," Chiren answered while descending from the skies, landing on the ground not far away from the cave entrance. "I can't help but admire your sentimental side. Even knowing that it will result in your death, you still chose to stick with your little lover. Then again, her looks are really quite extraordinary. I can almost understand why you are reluctant to leave her to die. You don't have to worry. After getting rid of you, I won't mind helping you take good care of her!"

"You got a few things wrong there," Lu Tianzi replied calmly, unaffected by Chiren's taunts. "First, she is not my lover. She is just a sect mate and a friend. And secondly, I am certainly not intending to die here."

"Oh? Could it be that you actually think you can win?" Chiren narrowed his eyes.

This time, Lu Tianzi did not reply.

Instead, he drew the Torrential Sabre and the Sword of Ivory Rock.

Standing upright with a blade in each hand, his figure exuded an air of heroism as he faced his opponent.

"Hah, a meaningless struggle," Chiren sneered. "Though I guess this makes things much easier for me!"

All along, Chiren had been worried that Lu Tianzi could slip away from his grasps, just like how Lu Tianzi had escaped from his ally before. Thus, he had spent most of his energy trying to cut off Lu Tianzi's escape routes, trapping him in place.

Now that Lu Tianzi had chosen to stand his ground to face him directly, Chiren could finally go all out without reservations!

The illusory form of a fireball shimmered into existence behind Chiren.

"Just die." Chiren's palms burst into flames and struck forth, sending a condensed ball of fire towards Lu Tianzi.

This was the same attack that he had used against the armoured giant summoned by Nanlan Qianxue's offensive talisman earlier.

Lu Tianzi did not attempt to take on the ball of fire head on.

Instead, he moved to dodge, pushing the Flowing River Silent Strides to its limit.

It seemed as though Lu Tianzi had gotten away, yet with a flick of his fingers, Chiren made the ball of fire change directions, swerving towards the dodging Lu Tianzi.

"Tch!" Lu Tianzi clicked his tongue in frustration.

With that, he would no longer be able to completely evade the ball of fire. His stellar movement technique meant that he would only be grazed by the very edges of the fireball, but that was dangerous enough.

Lu Tianzi drove the Slaughter Essence in his inner world, slashing out towards the incoming fireball.

Returning Wraith Sword!

Sword light flashed, concentrated on the very edges of the fireball.

Slash-!

The sword light fizzled into nothingness, but not before taking out a small portion of the fireball. The remaining portion of the ball of fire flew past Lu Tianzi, missing him by barely an inch.

Bang-!

There was an intense explosion as the ball of fire slammed into the ground near him, lighting up the entire area like the birth of a star and sending powerful shockwaves in all directions.

Lu Tianzi leapt away immediately.

At the same time, he directly the second wave of sword light from the Returning Wraith Sword, slashing out towards the source of the explosion so as to mitigate as much of the impact as possible.

But even that was not enough.

The resultant shockwave completely overwhelmed the returning sword light, slamming right into Lu Tianzi. Even after putting up his Slaughter Essence as a guard, Lu Tianzi was still knocked off his feet and sent flying through the air.

"Argh!"

Lu Tianzi groaned in pain from the impact. Even so, he managed to land on his feet not far away, coming to a sliding stop.

"Your strength truly surprises me," Chiren smiled confidently. "To think that you actually managed to get away relatively unscathed from that. I cannot imagine how terrifying you will become if given time to grow. I must admit that this time round, General Longming really made the right decision to nip this problem in the bud."

General Longming?

Lu Tianzi frowned.

It seemed that the opposing camp had placed an unexpectedly heavy emphasis on the battle below the Origin Core realm.

"I have no idea who this General Longming is, but are you not afraid that an all out massacre will break out between the two kingdoms?" Lu Tianzi questioned while deliberately flashing his communication ring to the other party.

"Hahaha! You might be a rare talent, but you really do overestimate your own value!" Chiren laughed. "Even the Scarlet Moon Army would be hesitant to let things come to such a state. After all, what benefits can they get from taking revenge for a dead subordinate? As long as we don't do anything overboard in front of the masses, your own superiors will probably try to hide this situation, as long as we give them some sort of concession. Perhaps one or two pieces of treasure will do the trick!"

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While Chiren was speaking, Lu Tianzi had already sent a message to Elder Mingxin, telling her of the current situation and how Chiren had acted against him.

"I am sorry, Tianzi. I have my hands tied here as well. But don't worry, I will head over as soon as possible. Try not to engage him, and stall for as long as you can." Elder Mingxin's message came from the other end.

"Understood," Lu Tianzi nodded before turning his attention back to Chiren.

Chiren had definitely noticed that Lu Tianzi was sending a message, yet he simply stood there and watched on calmly. This made Lu Tianzi even more uncomfortable. To Lu Tianzi, Chiren's inaction was testament to his level of confidence.

The other party had probably planned this out long ago, and it would be difficult for Lu Tianzi to find an alternative solution.

There was no other choice.

He had to fight.

"How is it? Given up yet?" Chiren let out a triumphant smirk.

Lu Tianzi did not answer, only letting out a deep breath as he tried to calm his mind.

This would be his first all out fight in a while, and he had to make sure that everything went as he planned.

Otherwise, no matter if he won or lost, the consequences would be disastrous as long as Chiren survived!

"Still wasting your energy?" Chiren sneered as he felt Lu Tianzi driving his Slaughter Essence. "Since you insist on being stubborn, let me show you the difference between the two of us!"

Chiren similarly drove the Slaughter Essence in his body as his Origin Totem glowed brightly behind him.

Yes, he might have already expended a huge amount of Essence energy, and Lu Tianzi might be an unprecedentedly monstrous genius.

But that changed nothing.

Over his long life, Chiren had fought his fair share of battles, and his vast experience gave him absolute confidence in emerging victorious.

After all, the difference between their respective cultivation levels was not something that could be bridged this easily!

Unfortunately, even his vast experience was not enough to prepare him for what he was about to face.

In the very next moment, Chiren froze, shocked beyond words.

This..

What is this..?

Right there, standing before his eyes, was someone who was supposed to be a demon.

But at this very moment, apart from the aura of a demon's Slaughter Essence, Chiren could also sense the unmistakable aura of a human's Spiritual Essence coming from this person.

He actually cultivated in both the Slaughter Essence and Spiritual Essence systems?

How could such a thing be possible?

"What the hell are you?" Chiren blurted out cautiously, his thoughts racing in his mind as he tried to make sense of the sight before him.

"Am I not just a problem that you are trying to nip in the bud? Since when have my life or identity ever mattered to you?" Lu Tianzi answered coldly, at the same time pulling out a small treasure bell from his spatial ring.

"If you answer my question, perhaps I will let your little lover to live." Chiren readied himself for battle. That treasure bell was yet another unknown item that he had to figure out.

Ding-a-ling-!

World Origin Energy gathered in the surroundings, materialising into the shape of a giant bell.

This giant bell fell to the ground heavily, caging the both of them within. Just like the previous time, the inner walls of the giant bell started to glow, lighting up the space within.

"I already said that she is not my lover," Lu Tianzi hung the Isolation Chime Bell by his belt. "In any case, one of us will be dying here, so what is the point in knowing?"

"An isolated space?" Chiren looked around at the inner walls of the giant bell before feeling anger well up within him. "How arrogant, are you worried that I will escape?"

This whole time, it had been Chiren worrying about Lu Tianzi escaping.

Since when did their roles become reversed?

Yet at the same time, he could not help but feel a strong sense of unease when facing the youngster before him.

This was unease that had resulted from the unknown.

A person who was able to summon forth Essence energy of both the Slaughter Essence and Spiritual Essence systems, just what would he be capable of?

Chiren did not have to wonder for long.

At this moment, Lu Tianzi dashed forth, driving both his Spiritual Essence and Slaughter Essence as he slashed out with the Sword of Ivory Rock.

Returning Sword Slash!