Tianming was the biggest goal of his trip.
"You dare steal the treasure from my hand? Do you have the ability?" Dongyang Fengchen smiled strangely.
Right then, Tianming sped up with his Celestial Wings and silently approached the heavenly pattern formation. Without so much as a word, he tore the formation with his dark arm, grabbed the dagger, and tossed it into his spatial ring. The entire process was seamless.
Since Dongyang Fengchen was nearby, he would be able to kill Tianming if the Hallucination Tome failed. In the face of this formidable opponent, Tianming was erring on the side of caution. As soon as he obtained the treasure, Tianming immediately fled toward the entrance where Ye Lingfeng was waiting.
"Tianming, you can't escape from me." A strange laughter echoed throughout the underground palace. Screams suddenly pierced the air.
"Ahh!!!”
"Your Highness!”
It was the voice of Dongyang Fengchen’s three attendants. Their miserable cries sounded as if they had been stabbed.
"Argh...."
"Your Highness…”
Then, they breathed their last.
Tianming sped up. To get rid of Dongyang Fengcheng, he had to return to the passage before the effects of the Hallucination Tome dissipated. At this time, countless black spikes came for him.
The black spikes that were as fine as hair originated from Dongyang Fengchen’s lifebound beast. This was similar to Ying Huo’s Skyscorch Featherblast. However, the number of these spikes far exceeded Ying Huo’s ability; they were dense, explosive, and flying in all directions.
"In order to kill me, Dongyang Fengchen used these spikes, regardless of his attendants’ lives. Those three unlucky bastards were most likely to die first."
Tianming had to admit that Dongyang Fengchen was definitely the most cruel opponent he had ever met. Even Lin Xiaoting wasn't so cruel as to kill his own people, much less Yuwen Shendu, Yueling Long, and Jun Niancang.
More spikes shot toward Tianming; he urgently had to escape. Meanwhile, Feiling couldn’t use Spatial Wall, for fear it would expose their position. However, there were so many spikes that they covered the entire room, basically forming a carpet of spikes that suppressed the Hallucination Tome.
Ultimately, Tianming failed to dodge one in time and received a spike to the leg. As soon as it entered his flesh, it instantly rushed into Tianming's body like a poisonous insect. Tens of thousands of black spikes flew toward him, as if locking on to his position.
"A little bug like you wants to escape? Tianming, I’m only playing with you because I think better of you. Otherwise, what qualification does a child like you have to be my opponent?" Dongyang Fengchen’s eerie laughter gradually approached.
Tianming used a Mountshield Tome to block the spikes and managed to dart into the passage. Then, he turned around and threw out an Oceanspirit Tome, pouring out surging seawater. But soon, Tianming knew that Dongyang Fengchen broke through the waves and entered the passage.
"Little Feng still has a Hallucination Tome!"
As long as he joined up with Ye Lingfeng and used the Hallucination Tome, getting rid of Dongyang Fengchen wouldn’t be a problem. After all, the passages were ever-changing; so long as there was a fork in the road, it might confuse Dongyang Fengchen.
"Little Feng!"
Tianming had finally returned to Ye Lingfeng’s position, but the young man was gone!
"Did he run?"
He had previously given Ye Lingfeng a Hallucination Tome to save his life if he wasn’t there. Now that he needed it to get rid of Dongyang Fengchen, Ye Lingfeng had actually escaped without him.
"No, Little Feng would never leave me alone!" Tianming was aware of this. But more importantly, Dongyang Fengchen was just behind him, and he had no way of escaping. There was no time to wonder why Ye Lingfeng had suddenly disappeared. All Tianming could do was run.
"That’s not good." Noticing the physical discomfort, Tianming looked down and saw his skin turning black.
The black spike split into nine poisonmists that wrought havoc in Tianming’s body.
"It looks like Nineshades Poison. It’s the most poisonous toxin of the hydra," said Feiling.
“It’s alright. The Prime Tower is suppressing and slowly removing it."
However, before the Nineshades Poison dissipated, it still had a great influence on Tianming. His flesh began rotting, his bones decaying, and his entire body was weak. He began slowing down.
"Tianming, you don't have to run. Now that you’ve been poisoned by the Nineshades poison, only death awaits. Additionally, the poison gives me your exact position. Even if you escape to the ends of the earth, you can't escape from me." Dongyang Fengchen’s eerie voice sounded from the empty passage behind Tianming.
"I know you must be afraid. There’s no need to hide. Anyone will react the same before death. Keep struggling, then. I’d like to see a so-called ‘exceptional genius’ fight against fate. It’s dangerous when young people are so reckless and arrogant.” There was a trace of calculation in his laughter.
This time, he was shooting fish in a barrel, and everything was under his control. As he got closer and closer to the Nineshades Poison, Tianming seemed to lose speed. Finally, Tianming came to a stop.
His flesh and blood were black, and each breath was laborious. It seemed the Prime Tower was having trouble with this poison, so it could only be slowly dispersed.
Fortunately, he persisted, making it to his goal. Before his eyes was a Divine Tomb Formation. When following the ant trail earlier, he had noticed the Divine Tomb Formation and remembered its location.
At the time, he thought he could flee there if he encountered any trouble. Ye Lingfeng’s sudden disappearance with the Hallucination Tome had upset his plan, but fortunately, the Divine Tomb Formation was still there.
Leaning against the formation, Tianming began breaking into it with his left arm. Since the Nineshades Poison couldn’t infect that arm, breaking the formation wasn’t an issue, but it would take some time.
The footsteps behind him seemed to accelerate. Dongyang Fengchen rushed out of the darkness, the black half of his face appearing from the shadows. Upon noticing the motionless Tianming, he assumed the former had given up on escaping. Dongyang Fengchen threw his head back in laughter. Judging from the color of Tianming's skin, he was poisoned and would perish even without Dongyang Fengchen’s intervention.
"Does fear taste good? Are you still going to shout the words ‘Nineshades Clan’?" Lips curling in a smirk, Dongyang Fengchen approached Tianming.
"The Nineshades Clan must die." Tianming gritted his teeth, staring fixedly at Dongyang Fengchen.
"You're a brave one." Dongyang Fengchen was now standing ten meters away from him. Having assumed that Tianming’s death was a sure thing, Dongyang Fengchen eased up. Looking him up and down, Dongyang Fengchen chuckled, "You're really interesting. I’ve killed many people, but never a genius more astonishing than I am. You’ve given me a wonderful experience and enriched my life."
"Are you hoping to see me beg for mercy?" Tianming asked. Eyes red, Tianming was filled with hatred for the crown prince.
"That’s not it. I'm just worried I’ll hurt my dear Ling’er if I attack you. I’ll wait for her to leave your body once you die from the poison," smiled Dongyang Fengchen.
"Your dear?" Tianming wasn’t aware Dongyang Fengchen had seen Feiling.
"Surprised?" he asked.
"A little,” Tianming replied.
"It's nothing. This is how the Theocrats are. We like the most talented and beautiful girls. It runs in the clan. In fact, I don't even like women. I want them solely for birthing my offspring so my descendents flourish." Dongyang Fengchen grinned.
"Oh?"
Was there a clan more shameless and disgusting than this? Their philosophy and powerful means were beyond incorrigible; had this become the mark of their clan?
"I don't have to deliberately torture you. Just wait a while. If you can hold on, you’ll be able to watch how I play with your girl and enjoy her many postures. You’ll probably die entertained. Oh, I forgot to mention: I’m very gifted in that respect," Dongyang Fengchen laughed.
"Very well." Tianming's eyes were completely crimson. “Dongyang Fengchen, to be honest, I rarely ever hate someone to this extent. You’re a special one to have opened my eyes and shown me just how low one can get." The murderous intent in Tianming's eyes was enough to kill this guy ten thousand times over.
"So?"
"So I’ll share with you some wisdom," said Tianming.
"What wisdom?"
"The villain died of too many words."
Dongyang Fengchen stared blankly for a moment. The next moment, Tianming disappeared completely from before his eyes.
"You!” His expression turned ugly. Running after Tianming, Dongyang Fengchen slammed so hard into the heavenly pattern formation that even his nose was crooked. The power of the formation sent Dongyang Fengchen flying. He crashed into a wall, then smacked to the ground, his internal organs bleeding. At that moment, Dongyang Fengchen’s face was dark. Like a beast, he let out a low roar.
"You tricked me? Very well then." He smiled sinisterly, cracking his fist.
In the dead silence, a cold voice sounded, "I’m going to kill you."
Dongyang Fengchen looked up in surprise, only to see a stunning girl dressed in blue emerge from the ripples on the formation where Tianming had disappeared.
"Jiang Feiling?” Dongyang Fengchen stared blankly.
……
Tianming pounded the ground.
"Big Brother, are you all right?" asked Feiling.
"I’m fine. The poison has begun dissipating. There’s some damage to my body, but I’ll recover in two or three days," said Tianming.
This time, they had managed to escape. However, Tianming was furious. Dongyang Fengchen had become the person he most wanted to kill, besides Lin Xiaoting and Mu Qingqing. On top of that, he wanted to torture him to death.
"If I get the chance, you’ll wish you were dead!"
Tianming was usually an easygoing young man, but when provoked, he was no different from a wildbeast. He rose to his feet.
"Big Brother, look ahead...." Feiling’s voice trembled and sounded hoarse.
"Hmm?" Tianming raised his head.