# 523
**Chapter 523: Not Your Home Turf**
From luring Yang Letong away with bait, to possessing Zhao Kun, knocking out Qi Xiaoyu, washing Yang Letong away, punching through the floor, and taking out the remaining three members of Team 007—his movements flowed like water, without a single pause.
It was as if this scene had been rehearsed countless times in his mind.
Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun stood to the side, looking up at the dust cloud ahead of him, the corner of his mouth curling slightly.
“Looks like you won’t be catching me.”
From the smoke, Han Qing stepped out, her face dark and stormy. Purple-red patterns flowed across her skin, radiating a terrifying aura—as if she intended to burn down the entire building along with the Peeping Phantom before her.
“‘Infinity’ against ‘Infinity’—what makes you think you can win?” Han Qing asked coldly.
Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun chuckled softly and pointed to his chest.
“Do you want him to die?”
Han Qing’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re threatening me?”
“That’s right. I’m threatening you.” He lifted the brim of his hat slightly, the crimson eye narrowing. “I’ve already seen it—your blade never did end up stained with his blood…
And this place won’t be reduced to ash by your violet flames.
So yes, my threat worked.”
“Put away your fire. Once I leave here, I’ll let him go.” He adjusted his top hat and spoke calmly.
Han Qing’s grip on her blade tightened, her knuckles turning white. Her eyes burned with fury as she stared at Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun.
After a long moment, she slowly released the hilt.
The destructive violet flames gradually died out.
“Next time, you die.”
“Heh… let’s hope there is a next time.”
Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun smiled, strolled unhurriedly to the window, and prepared to leap down.
Just then, a white figure burst through the wall, flashing down from the rooftop and straight into his body.
She was too fast, and completely silent. Even Han Qing, who had been watching Zhao Kun closely, didn’t catch what it was.
The moment the white shadow entered his body, Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun shuddered. He whipped his head around and sprinted toward a window on the opposite side!
“How is this possible?” the crimson-black shadow clinging to him exclaimed in shock as he ran. “What is this thing? How did it bypass my mental defenses and seize control of this body? Why didn’t I foresee your arrival?”
Whoosh—!
He reached the window, vaulted out with a powerful kick against the frame!
A fat figure riding a golden sword beam shot in from afar, catching Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun mid-air and lifting him up.
“Nice work, Jiang Er!”
He chuckled, his golden sword beam tearing through the air as he dove toward a construction site across the street.
Han Qing rushed to the window, watching the figure speed away. A flicker of worry—and a trace of hope—crossed her eyes.
After a long while, she exhaled.
“Let’s hope… you succeed.”
…
Baili Pangpang, riding 【Yaoguang】, flew over the leveled construction site. Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun leapt from the sword beam.
Boom—!!
A thick trunk erupted from the ground, shooting skyward like a pillar supporting the heavens. Dense branches spread from it, weaving into a massive wooden cage in mid-air.
Ancient Tree Demon!
Zhao Kun landed in the center of the cage. Ghost Jiang Er automatically ejected herself, returning control of the body to Zhao Kun—but the cage was completely sealed. No way out.
He lifted his hat brim, the crimson eye scanning the surroundings, brows knitting tight.
He… saw nothing.
His 【Peeping Eye】 could only spy on the past, present, and future of inanimate objects. This wooden prison was part of the living tree demon—not “dead” at all.
Within his field of view, nothing existed that he could use to calculate a future.
This was not his home turf.
“So this was the trap…” Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun muttered, then shook his head. “Too bad. A bunch of wood can’t hold me.”
He flicked his fingers. Fire hydrants along the street burst open; high-pressure water shot skyward like white dragons, converging from every direction.
“Freeze.”
On the ground, a youth wearing a Tang Monk mask and carrying a black coffin spoke calmly.
Frigid frost exploded outward from him. Icy vines burst from the earth, piercing the rising water columns and freezing them in an instant into towering pillars of frost.
The crimson eye in Zhao Kun’s forehead flashed. The moment he saw the water, he foresaw it being frozen. He clenched his outstretched hand; several high-pressure water blades slashed toward the wooden cage.
This living prison blinded him—he had to break out and return to a normal battlefield.
But when the water blades struck the wood, the sound was of metal on metal.
Clang—!!
With a teeth-grating scrape, the blades shattered, failing to leave even a scratch.
Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun froze.
What kind of wood is this?
No… it’s not the wood.
It’s…
He looked up toward the top of the cage.
There, a girl in a deep-blue Hanfu sat perched, silky black hair cascading to her waist. A red Boy Sage mask smiled on her face; her palm rested gently on the wood, emitting a soft glow.
【Immortality】.
The instant he saw her, Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun’s pupils shrank.
“You’re not escaping today.”
A voice drifted lazily from inside the cage.
He turned. A figure wearing a Sun Wukong mask now stood at the cage’s center.
Darkness shrouded him; his hands were empty, no weapon in sight. His aura was deep and eerie.
Crimson-Eye Zhao Kun stared at the Sun Wukong mask for a long moment. The crimson eye between his brows flickered, replaying fragments of the mask’s past like a film—until he glimpsed the face behind it.
“So it’s you.” A smile tugged at Zhao Kun’s lips.
“At last… I’ve found you.”