Xu Chuan did not delay further. He picked up the God-Slaying Blade from the ground and fled again.
He understood that this place was not safe to linger. More people would soon be pursuing him.
When Li Annan and his men arrived at the scene, they found nothing but corpses.
Li Annan looked in the direction Xu Chuan had fled and said, "He intends to enter the inner regions of the Dark Soul Mountain Range. Hurry, don't let him succeed!"
With that, they transformed into streams of light and chased after Xu Chuan.
"Not good!"
Xu Chuan glanced back and was instantly struck with panic. A Divine Ability realm cultivator and several Mortal Transformation realm cultivators were rapidly approaching from behind.
This made him accelerate again, abandoning any pretense of concealment as he rushed forward. He knew that only by reaching the inner regions of the mountain range could he have a sliver of hope for survival. In his current state, facing a Divine Ability realm expert would mean certain death.
"Are these people insane, chasing me relentlessly!"
Xu Chuan gritted his teeth and once again took out the God-Slaying Blade, preparing to fight back with all his might. He had many contingencies, and he was sure he wouldn't die.
As he thought this, Li Annan caught up to him. Li Annan's Divine Ability realm aura erupted completely, like a ferocious god unleashing an overwhelming killing intent. Xu Chuan endured this pressure with all his might, refusing to bow his head.
"Boy, you've been running around for long enough. It's time for you to die!"
As soon as Li Annan spoke, he extended his palm and pressed it down towards Xu Chuan. The mere aura emanating from his palm made Xu Chuan's physical body creak, as if it were about to explode at any moment.
The Great Sun Primordial Energy flowed through his body, yet it was still difficult to resist this palm strike. Blood erupted from Xu Chuan's entire body like a fountain, leaving him in a dreadful state. At this moment, Xu Chuan had completely transformed into a bloodied figure.
"I don't care who you are. One day, I will personally twist your head off and hang it on the city gate of Lin'an County, for the millions of people in this city to gaze upon day and night!"
Blood seeped from Xu Chuan's orifices, and he roared out his words.
"You won't have the chance!"
Li Annan said with a cold tone. His eyes flashed with desire as he looked at the God-Slaying Blade in Xu Chuan's hand. As for Xu Chuan's threat, he didn't even bother to consider it, as if killing Xu Chuan were as easy as crushing an ant. He was already at the ninth level of the Divine Ability realm, the most powerful cultivator in Lin'an County. He had come for the Heaven-grade treasure blade and the spirit crystals. As long as he could obtain them, he was one hundred percent confident of breaking through to the Nirvana realm, or even the Samsara realm.
With that, he abruptly pressed his palm down. Xu Chuan instantly faced a life-or-death crisis, and the sensation of death descended upon him. Yet, even in this state, Xu Chuan had no intention of begging for mercy. He gritted his teeth and resisted the pressure.
"You forced my hand. Die!"
Xu Chuan reached out, took out the talisman that Situ Lin had given him earlier from his storage ring, and threw it towards Li Annan. The talisman exploded instantly, and in the next moment, a terrifying blade energy burst forth from it, rushing towards Li Annan. It directly shattered his palm imprint on the way and continued towards him without losing momentum.
At this moment, another contingency of Xu Chuan's protector was activated. A formation emerged from him, enveloping him. Seeing the rapidly approaching blade energy, Li Annan's expression changed drastically. He felt an intense sense of danger from this blade energy, as if it would kill him directly if it struck him. Not daring to be careless, he quickly grabbed a subordinate next to him and threw him towards the incoming blade energy.
"No, my lord..."
The subordinate who was thrown out was instantly thrown into a panic and cried out anxiously. However, before he could finish speaking, the blade energy disintegrated him into dust, causing no obstruction whatsoever.
Li Annan finally panicked. He fled wildly into the distance, throwing his subordinates out to block the blade energy as he ran. But it was all useless. The blade energy seemed to have locked onto him, relentlessly pursuing him. In the end, he had thrown out all his subordinates, but it still couldn't obstruct the blade light. Meanwhile, Xu Chuan was directly teleported thousands of miles away by the formation, nearing the core of the Dark Soul Mountain Range.
"Boom!"
As he rushed into the inner regions, a dazzling white light illuminated the entire night sky, followed by a powerful gust of wind. The surrounding thousand miles were flattened. The blade energy swept through, shattering everything in its path; even the air couldn't escape the terrifying blade energy, creating a vacuum. As for Li Annan, who was struck head-on by the blade energy, not even a speck of him remained; he was vaporized. All the pursuers within this radius also perished. In one blow, half of Lin'an County's martial force was annihilated!
Xu Chuan looked back at the scene and secretly clicked his tongue. His master's strike was truly terrifying. Was this the true power of the Tongtian realm? Only now did Xu Chuan slightly relax, his nerves no longer stretched so taut. But he dared not stay in one place for too long; there were other pursuers thousands of miles away. And once the news of the Heaven-grade weapon and spirit crystals spread, even more people would hunt him. He couldn't guarantee that these people would give up their pursuit just because Li Annan was dead.
After an unknown period of fleeing, Xu Chuan gradually grew exhausted. No matter how monstrous his talent, he couldn't withstand continuous battles without a moment to breathe. Moreover, he was severely injured. The previous treatment had only slightly alleviated his injuries; it was a temporary fix. He was solely sustained by his unyielding spirit. Now that this spirit had waned, even without pursuers, he couldn't hold on.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood spurted from Xu Chuan's mouth, and then he began to stagger, looking as if he would collapse at any moment.
"Huh, there are signs of life ahead!"
Xu Chuan vaguely saw traces of people ahead. His heart leaped with joy, and he hurried towards them. He needed to find a place to heal his injuries quickly, otherwise, he would suffer severe aftereffects.
"Swoosh!"
Just as Xu Chuan was about to approach the thatched hut ahead, an arrow shot towards him. Xu Chuan dodged, evading the incoming arrow. This was all he could manage at the moment.
"Who are you, and what are you doing at my dwelling!?"
Along with the voice, Xu Chuan saw a young woman in a smoky Luo skirt, looking heroic and spirited. The girl had her bow drawn, and her frosty gaze was fixed on Xu Chuan, as if she would shoot him with an arrow if he didn't provide a satisfactory explanation. For a moment, Xu Chuan was stunned, oblivious to his precarious situation. Then, he reacted, "Girl, don't be impulsive. I didn't mean to intrude..." Xu Chuan quickly recounted the events and explained that he just wanted to find a place to heal. The girl then lowered her bow, but her face remained vigilant.