Chapter 1610: Blocking the Exit
"Chase!" Qi Yunlei roared, and a group of figures stepped forward simultaneously. However, Mu Yi, a mid-rank Martial Emperor, was also extremely fast. With Lin Feng constantly detonating array talismans, the distance between them actually kept widening.
At this moment, Qi Yunlei was undoubtedly one of the most anxious people. To ensure absolute success in capturing Lin Feng this time, he had invited the Azure Emperor Mountain. That day, after Qi Emperor revealed that Mu En was Lin Feng, he glanced at Lin Feng's original appearance transmitted to him by Qi Emperor's divine thought and was shocked to discover that Mu En—that is, Lin Feng—was actually the person the Imperial Palace was looking for.
This matter was too significant, so he personally went to Azure Emperor Mountain to invite Ni Chen. He had already been cautious enough, but that Mu Yi had actually schemed against Ni Chen, hiding a powerful attack in the token that kept Ni Chen occupied. In that brief moment, Mu Yi took Lin Feng and activated the array talismans to escape.
At this moment, Mu Yi and Lin Feng were frantic. Mu Yi knew that a single token wouldn't work on Ni Chen for long, and the explosive power wouldn't trap him for much time either. They had to shake off their pursuers before Ni Chen caught up, or else once he arrived, they would have no chance left.
"Don't be stingy with the array talismans," Mu Yi said to Lin Feng. The fierce wind whipped against their bodies, and Lin Feng felt a pain like being cut by knives. He understood that this was no time to hoard the talismans. To save their lives, he shattered one array talisman after another, continuously accelerating their speed. The talismans he had been carving over this period were finally proving their worth.
"Here!" Lin Feng pulled Mu Yi and stepped toward a certain direction. With a thunderous explosion, they landed in a ruined area. The moment their feet stomped down, all the debris burst apart. At the same time, light suddenly flared up, and void power enveloped their bodies, causing their figures to vanish from the spot.
"Teleportation formation." The pursuers' expressions tightened. Then they sensed fluctuations in the distance and shouted, "Over there!"
But by then, Lin Feng and Mu Yi had already stepped onto another formation, disappearing once more. After several such instances, Ni Chen's figure had already caught up. His robe was slightly disheveled, his hair somewhat messy, and his face was cold and grim.
"Where are they?" Ni Chen roared. Before him, the group stood in the void, exchanging glances. They had lost them. Lin Feng had set up a chain of formations, and after several jumps, they could no longer lock onto Mu Yi and Lin Feng.
"They should be in that direction," Qi Yunxiao pointed to a certain spot. Ni Chen had no time to blame them and immediately chased in that direction. However, at that moment, a figure in a black robe with an ordinary face and faint wind essence fluctuations was walking toward them, passing right before their eyes. But no one noticed him. All their attention was focused on chasing Lin Feng. Who would pay attention to a passerby?
Not long after, Ni Chen's figure returned to this spot, his face slightly purple. He couldn't find them. With so many experts deployed to surround a single Venerable Martial Realm cultivator—including Azure Emperor Mountain's martial cultivators and even himself personally—they had let him slip away right under their noses. Leaving aside Lin Feng's escape, how would others view them? Disgrace. Utter disgrace.
"Great Zhou Immortal Palace, block all exits from the Nine Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortress Region. Not even an ant may leave. At the same time, immediately order the Nine Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses, including Great Zhou Immortal Palace, to close the passages to the buffer zone. After one day, strictly check and release people. Today, only allow entry to the buffer zone; no one may leave it."
Ni Chen said coldly. They were still in this buffer zone. By closing all passageways, they could catch the turtle in the jar. Even if Lin Feng had powerful disguise skills, they would trap him here and check everyone one by one until they found him. Azure Emperor Mountain couldn't afford this loss. Moreover, this was a chance to curry favor with the Wuji Palace. How could they give it up?
"Hurry up. Go immediately and guard the gaps. Don't let a single person through." Seeing that they hadn't reacted, Ni Chen scolded them. Only then did they start moving. That's right. They would first seize the gaps and prevent anyone from entering the nine main cities. With Ni Chen's orders, they could kill first and report later. At the same time, they would notify the Nine Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses to send their own people to guard the gaps.
"I'll immediately guard the Great Zhou Immortal Palace entrance."
"I'll go to Medicine King Immortal Palace."
"I'll go to Qi Tian Fortress." These three factions all had people present, making distribution easy. The remaining Azure Emperor Mountain martial cultivators and extra experts were assigned to guard the gaps of the other six main cities.
Lin Feng and Mu Yi had indeed changed faces again. This time, Lin Feng wasn't heading toward Great Zhou Immortal Palace or Xia Tian Fortress's main city, but toward Qi Tian Fortress's main city, hoping to catch them off guard. But when he reached the only gap between the buffer zone and Qi Tian Fortress, he found Qi Yunxiao already there, blocking many people. No one was allowed to step from the buffer zone into Qi Tian Fortress.
"So fast." Lin Feng's expression tightened. He hadn't expected them to seal off the road to Qi Tian Fortress's main city so quickly.
Over the past three days, he had carved chain teleportation formations in many uninhabited places, barely managing to gain a sliver of hope and shake off the pursuers. Of course, without Mu Yi's help, it would have been impossible. Today's situation had also caught Lin Feng off guard. He hadn't expected them to deploy such powerful forces against him.
"Have the roads to the other eight main cities been sealed too?" Lin Feng wondered. He then walked toward the gap of a nearby main city. When he arrived, he found it was indeed blocked. People were only allowed into this area, not out of it.
This made Lin Feng frown deeply. All nine main cities were sealed, trapping him in this buffer zone. Although the buffer zone was vast, if they were determined to search, they could still find him.
If Ni Chen gave the order for everyone to leave through a single gap and then carefully checked each person, they could indeed find him.
"I can only wait." Lin Feng exhaled, his expression grim. Even above him, figures kept flying through the air, seemingly searching for something, but it was clearly futile.
Time passed slowly. The people in this area were all speechless. They couldn't leave. But they didn't complain too much, since they would eventually be allowed through. Lin Feng had caused such a commotion at the Qi Tian Fortress camp that news had swept through the entire area. Everyone knew about it.
However, Qi Tian Fortress didn't threaten Lin Feng with Yuan Fei and the others again. There were several reasons. First, Lin Feng's threat—if he really left and later brought people from Yao Ye Island to massacre Qi Tian Fortress's descendants, it would be a disaster. Second, as Lin Feng had said, he probably wouldn't come out a second time. Once was enough. Third, if Qi Tian Fortress did that again, they would lose face.
That day passed amid the turmoil. The next day, orders were indeed issued. The nine main cities of the Nine Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses began to allow passage, but people had to line up to leave. Moreover, within seven days, everyone had to leave. No one was allowed to stay in this area.
Upon hearing this news, Lin Feng just smiled calmly. As expected. This method was troublesome but undoubtedly the most practical and effective. Seven days was enough to turn this area into an empty city.
Lin Feng didn't go anywhere. He just quietly stayed in a room at an inn, carving array talismans, showing remarkable patience.
At the entrance to the main city leading to Qi Tian Fortress, Ni Chen stood guard. His gaze swept over the crowd below as they were checked one by one. Now, all nine gaps had many experts, waiting for Lin Feng to appear. They certainly wouldn't assume he would only go to the main city of Great Zhou Immortal Palace. Any main city was possible.
At the other end of Buzhou Mountain, in that distant place, a huge flying beast soared through the void. Wind law power radiated from it, creating gusts of windstorms wherever it passed. On its enormous back stood a black-robed figure, a red-robed figure, a giant demon ape, and a group of various beasts. The direction they were heading was the main city of Great Zhou Immortal Palace.