Baotian gritted his teeth. In this instant, they weren't many think he was sure of, for instance how had Zhenyun found them, or how many people were with him, but there was one thing he was sure of:
"We are not leaving without Hanchen's talent secured! In that case, let us just cripple his limbs and render him unconscious, and we'll escape with him on Ye Mu's back, now!"
Without waiting for his companions' reactions, Baotian rushed forward. He must gain this talent, he must have it! Only this way could he go against fate!
"Senior Ba? Are you alright?" Hanchen asked as he saw him approach.
'Damn it!' Baotian thought as he saw him, in almost perfect shape despite having just gone through the tribulation.
In the first place, a Qi Building tribulation wasn't that hard to overcome: even if he was young, Hanchen was an Earthly talent with over a decade of real situation experience, high-level treasures stolen from the Liu clan, and likely excellent healing pills from their treasury, as well, to recover from the tribulation.
Of course he would be unscathed!
Containing his frustration, Baotian went to him:
"Junior, junior, we are in deep trouble!" he exclaimed. "Righteous cultivators, they are here! Ye Mu was watching for new arrivants while you were passing your tribulation and he discovered a Nascent Soul level righteous cultivator entering the village, Liu Zhenyun! We don't know how many came along with him, but either way, it's bad news!"
The joy of the young man's successful advancement quickly disappeared from his face. Even if cultivators' spells weren't a viable option near the Martial Devouring Mountains, where using one would cause the mountains to seal them, Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators fundamentally had much stronger bodies than normal ones. And as a sword cultivator, in a situation where spells and advanced moves were unusable, someone like Liu Zhenyun, the most talented of the six geniuses who was also rumored to have a heaven-defying talent, was simply undefeatable!
"So what is it that you plan to do, senior?" he asked.
Baotian clenched his teeth internally. In the current situation, immediate refinement wasn't an option anymore…
"It seems that both of us are at odds with righteous clans" he replied. "Let's group together to increase our chances of survival, and cross the mountains to try and lose them, alright?"
Hanchen seemed to hesitate. Baotian knew what he was thinking: with his Shadow Embodying True Physic, wouldn't he have more chances to escape on his own?
"Great idea, senior" Hanchen replied.
A fortunate thing, truly, that he valued his connections enough to take risks for them. A chance for Baotian, that was.
As Zi Moyan and Ye Mu caught up to them, the four of them started to move toward the mountains. Hanchen quickly saluted the kids that came to see him for the last time and got away, along with the other two human cultivators. Ye Mu, on his side, was shortly stopped by a little girl:
"Senior fox, where are you, sir Hanchen and the others going?" she asked. "Will you come back?"
He recognized her, she was one of the kids that watched him conjure a bird with his leaves, a while ago. Forcing a smile, he gently patted her hair with his paw:
"We simply have to resume our journey, to reach the next step in our cultivation" he said. "Do not worry, if fate wants it, we will surely meet again"
Maybe it would prove to be a lie, maybe it would prove to be true, but either way, the Spirit Beast had no choice but to go, catching up to the other three.
"Alright, let's speed up!" Baotian shouted.
The four of them, as fast as they could get, began their course through the mountain. Curiously, despite his superior physical capabilities, Liu Zhenyun's presence behind them didn't seem like it was about to bridge the distance between them. Matter of fact, at the rate things were going, it seemed as if they would be able to escape through the gap between two mountains, and then lose him.
But as they crossed between two of the gigantic peaks, and successfully escaped the range of the Martial devouring Mountains, reality caught up first, as a gigantic barrier array was revealed in front of them, completely blocking their path.
"Damn it, it was a trap!" Zi Moyan exclaimed.
The reason why Liu Zhenyun had not tried catching up to them was because he was trying to lead them in this trap instead!
"We need to run, but we can't escape without breaking the barrier and, by the time we're done, he'll have caught up to us!" Hanchen shouted.
He was particularly nervous, as it had become known that he was the one who had plundered the Liu clan's treasury. If Liu Zhenyun put his hands on him, he didn't doubt that the outcome wouldn't be sweet for him.
"It's alright, it's alright, we still have a chance!" Baotian exclaimed, unwilling to let himself die. "Judging from the fact we did not get surrounded yet, there are not too many people that were waiting to ambush us, and considering this fact, it's suspicious that such a large barrier, one that completely blocks the view, could be erected by a small number of people. What we need to do is find them, and kill them quickly before Zhenyun arrives, so we can escape! His spells, including flying, are restricted, so he'll take some time to join! Quick, there is no time to lose, let's start searchi-"
"That won't be necessary" a soft, pleasant woman's voice said, interrupting him.
All of them felt chills, but Hanchen in particular felt his mind freeze for a second. An aura at the peak of the Core Formation realm had just arrived and, when they turned in the direction where it came from, their eyes fell on a beautiful woman, draped in silk clothes, the smile formed by her thin lips contrasting with her thin lips. At her side, his presence so insignificant in comparison that the four took a moment to register it, was Xiao Fengyu, still at the early stage Qi Building, just like Hanchen.
"We are right here" she said calmly. "And we don't intend to run, as well. Today is the day where the karmic ties between us end, my student"
Baotian understood that the situation had worsened even more, but he only understood how much in the next moment, where she turned toward him:
"And in the same way, not only your junior has karmic ties to sever with you, Zhang Baotian"
Hearing this name, Hanchen abruptly turned around, looking at him, a shocked expression on his face. But Baotian couldn't even try to say something and deceive him because, at the same time, another figure approached.
"It's over, Baotian. Just the three of us are at the very least evenly matched with your group and, in a moment, Zhenyun will join. Zhenyun's previous offer still stands, you can still choose being sealed instead of dying. So please, please, just give up"
Liu Jianhong pleaded with him. Hearing that, realizing just how desperate the situation was, Baotian still didn't panic. It wasn't that his mental strength was strong enough to endure the stress, rather that he was already past this point by now. Knowing there was virtually no chances of leaving alive, he could reason without being pressured, looking at Liu Jianhong with strange thoughts in his heart:
'Even after all of this, he's still showing mercy' he thought. 'Yet I feel no guilt for what I'm about to do, I really am a terrible person, uh?'
He took a deep breath, and then-
"YOU BASTARD, YOU TRAITOROUS MASTER!" he shouted with all the strength of his lungs. "YOU, YOU, THE ONLY REASON BACK THEN WHY LIU ZHENYUN COULD SURPASS HIS BOTTLENECK AND NOT ME IS BECAUSE PART OF MY TALENT WAS STOLEN TO STEAL HIS!"
He started to summon what seemed like disorganized spells, floating around without apparent aim.
"IT WAS YOU, RIGHT? YOU PREFERRED HIM… AND SO… and so…"
Immediately, the rage he was showing disappeared, replaced by sadness.
"I… I should have known back then… that Zhenyun's talent awakened right when mine declined, it was too coincidental right? And then, when searching… I discovered it was you… that's why, back then I slaughtered so many mortals… I was just feeling so, so betrayed… why master, why… I… trusted you"
The best lies were those that were partly true and, while the true culprit wasn't his master but instead Zhenyun and the heavens, Baotian's feelings were real for the most part, allowing a flawless performance. He looked up, his teary eyes meeting his masters:
"So why?"
Hearing this, even though he knew how dangerous his former student was, Liu Jianhong still fell for it, simply because it was in his nature, to care for his disciples no matter what:
"No, you're mistaken, Baotian" he said, taking a step toward him. "I would've never done…"
"It's a trap!" Xiao Chen shouted.
But it was already too late: in a fluid movement that he had worked on for the past three years, Baotian moved the blood orbs he had created around, creating an amplification formation and, before anyone had the time to react…
"Formation killer move: Blood Red Flame Torrent!"
Without having the time to defend properly, Liu Jianhong was mercilessly thrown crashing against the barrier by the explosion and Baotian, not willing to let him breathe, began to execute Shooting Blood Dancing Armor:
"I'll take care of him!" he screamed toward his allies. "you guys take the other two on, we need to get them before Zhenyun arrives, there is no time to lose!"
And so, before anyone got to say what they needed to say, the battle started for Zi Moyan, Ye Mu and Hanchen, who were matched against the pair from the Xiao clan. At the same time, clad in an armor of blood and mud, Baotian landed near his master. The latter, though seemingly in pain, with his side mangled, looked at his disciple not with fury, but with sadness:
"Even after everything that happened, I still hoped that the kind, mischievous disciple I once knew was still somewhere, hidden deep in there" he said. "But I know realize it was foolish hopes"
Baotian's face twisted into an hideous smile:
"But I didn't change that much, master" he replied. "For my entire life, I have been going from shenanigan to shenanigan, I have been acting like growing up was a foreign concept to me, always refusing to set my behavior straight. And all these decades, this behavior of mine, the one I showed not only to you but to everyone I have ever met, it was nothing more than a way to cope with just how bad every minute I spend breathing feels to me"
This time, his master didn't lower his guard while listening, and Baotian shook his head:
"For a long time, I wondered when I became such a sad person, whether it was when my parents died, or when I left the righteous path" he said. "But now I wonder, maybe I was always that sad, empty person hiding their true thoughts behind shenanigans to convince everyone that there's more to me than just this empty shell, even myself. Haha, who knows? Well, I certainly don't!"
Laughing madly, wearing on his face this desperate smile that he couldn't hide anymore, he rushed at Liu Jianhong, ready to fight his cherished master to death.