Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Escape, Part Two

“Why don’t you join forces with my Seventy-Three Sect today and confront Zhuge Huang together? If you agree to cooperate, the Seventy-Three Sect promises never to attack you again!”

Li Ju stopped in his tracks.

“Master Li Ju, if you intervene today, the Seventy-Three Sect will surely protect you from the demonic cult!”

Seeing a flicker of hesitation in Li Ju’s expression, Ling Yuan seized the opportunity to press on.

“Hahaha, the idea that your Seventy-Three Sect can protect someone from my cult is the biggest joke I’ve ever heard,” Zhuge Huang laughed heartily upon hearing Ling Yuan’s words. Without a scratch on his body, he swung his blade and carved a deep gash across the chest of one of the Seventy-Three Sect’s minor warriors.

“If it weren’t for the hideouts your rats scurry into, how could my cult allow your Seventy-Three Sect to continue their lineage to this day?”

“Elder, remember this: in this world, the only ones who can truly protect others from my demonic cult are members of my cult itself!” Zhuge Huang’s final words were laden with meaning.

Li Ju exhaled deeply, glancing at the Long Soul Slash in his hand, then at the four combatants tangled beside him. After a moment of contemplation, he made a resolute decision.

With a flash, Li Ju’s appearance shifted as his demonic form fully awakened. He pushed off the ground, his figure vanishing in an instant.

He fled.

The battle between Zhuge Huang and the three from the Seventy-Three Sect momentarily paused before erupting again with renewed ferocity.

Li Ju sprinted at breakneck speed toward the horizon. Now that his demonic form was activated, his velocity had reached an unparalleled peak. The landscape blurred swiftly past his eyes.

Weighing the strength of the four fighters on the battlefield against his own, he realized that no matter which side emerged victorious, it wouldn’t bode well for him.

As for Ling Yuan’s promise that they wouldn’t attack him further — such words were only empty noise.

“First, I’ll escape to the Giant Stone Valley,” Li Ju thought.

Although he had anticipated Zhuge Huang’s pursuit, he hadn’t expected the wielder of the Shadow Demon Blade to be so formidable, nor that the Seventy-Three Sect would have tracked him down.

Under the current circumstances, returning to Chen Kingdom was impossible. That place was the stronghold of both the Seventy-Three Sect and the demonic cult—returning would be walking into a trap. He had no choice but to continue fleeing toward the Western Wuguo.

“And I still need to obtain the Shadow Demon Blade…” Li Ju’s thoughts returned to the cult’s most powerful divine weapon.

Though its might was tempting, what attracted him most was that it appeared as an objective in his mission list.

“Mission objectives: 1. Kill Elder Zhuge (0/1)
2. Acquire the pseudo-divine weapon—Shadow Demon Blade (0/1)
3. Enter the Land of Fading Light (0/1)
4. ??? (Unlocks upon meeting certain conditions)”

At last, he had a clear goal before him.

“To get the Shadow DemonI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.