Chapter 217
Chapter 217: Heaven Always Leaves a Path
Wang Jie’s finger struck Yue Bai’s left shoulder. Yue Bai relied on his starforce shield and Armor Technique and didn’t care at first, yet the strike shattered the phantom shields protecting his body. The fingertip pierced his flesh, numbing half his body. Due to inertia, Yue Bai’s left arm swept through the thunder pattern and struck Wang Jie fiercely, sending him flying.
Wang Jie’s body was thrown far away like a falling star.
Yue Bai shuddered and lowered his gaze to see blood on his left shoulder. [I’m injured?]
To think that he had been wounded by someone only at the Star Breaking Realm—such a person absolutely could not be allowed to live.
Gripping his shield tightly, Yue Bai soared into the sky.
Inside Wang Jie, a storm raged. His vision blurred, barely able to keep himself conscious.
Seeing Yue Bai charging toward him, Wang Jie quickly stepped onto the Sword Step technique to escape.
Yue Bai violently smashed his shield downward.
Heaven and earth collided. The devastating starforce obliterated the ground beneath, and everyone nearby was crushed beneath this blow, their fates uncertain.
Wang Jie took the heaviest hit, his head roaring loudly. He clearly heard the cracking sound of his Locking Star Armor shattering.
This armor, forged from seventh-grade materials, could usually withstand an attack from even a Hundred Star Realm expert. But Yue Bai’s repeated blows were too much, and now it finally broke.
Fortunately, he still had the Cloud Silk Robe beneath.
Yet external defenses could never shield him completely from internal injury.
In an instant, Wang Jie’s Guardian Qi scattered. His body was smashed through the planet’s crust, plummeting into the void of space.
Surrounded by endless darkness, his consciousness dimmed.
Yue Bai stared down at the shattered land. [Is he dead? Even if he is, I must find his body.]
Just as he was about to dive down, a cold blade flashed from afar. Yue Bai hurriedly raised his shield to block but was pushed several steps back. He glanced toward the source.
“I wondered why I couldn’t find you. What, bullying my little friend here?” A man approached from afar, gripping a long saber, staring coldly at Yue Bai.
Yue Bai narrowed his eyes. “Wu Jiang? Didn’t you leave already?”
“Who said I left? Oh, seems we really do have a spy among us,” Wu Jiang said coldly, his eyes growing sharp. “Otherwise, how could you appear so openly? Yue Bai, your time has come.” He raised his saber and attacked.
Yue Bai grimaced, realizing Wu Jiang had never actually left.
They had fought multiple times without a clear winner. He thought Wu Jiang had departed, leaving him free to dominate the battlefield. But it was all false.
[Curses. I wonder if that Lock Force cultivator is dead or not.]
Since he was wounded, fighting Wu Jiang now would leave him at a disadvantage. Thinking this, he hastily retreated.
Wu Jiang, astonished, called out, “You’re wounded? Who injured you?”
Yue Bai did not reply, intent only on escaping.
Wu Jiang chased after him, eyes locked on Yue Bai’s back. [Hmm? Is that—a card? What is that?] He watched curiously until the card vanished entirely.
Below, the shattered lands blocked all vision as Wang Jie continued falling. Struggling to keep conscious, he whipped out his long lash, hoping to latch onto another landmass, but the whip was too short.
After several futile attempts, he had no choice but to use fragments of debris as leverage to escape the void.
“This way!” someone shouted from a drifting planet fragment ahead.
Wang Jie looked up, seeing someone unfamiliar.
The man’s face was pale, clearly injured. His eyes stared intently, giving Wang Jie a discomforting feeling, a dark aura surrounding him.
“Throw me the whip. I’ll catch you,” said the stranger.
Wang Jie studied him, uncertain of friend or foe.
“If you hesitate longer, your enemy will catch up, and you’re finished. I’m from Black White Heaven. I saw your fight with that Shield Mountain cultivator. I decided to save you. Take it or leave it.”
Wang Jie threw the whip, warning, “Be careful, it has barbs.”
The man caught it cautiously, avoiding the barbs, and Force fully pulled Wang Jie toward him.
Landing safely, Wang Jie coughed another mouthful of blood. Beneath his clothes, pieces of the Locking Star Armor fell away.
“We should go quickly before he follows,” Wang Jie urged.
The man replied, “Don’t worry, Wu Jiang is chasing him away.”
Wang Jie had no idea who Wu Jiang was, only saying, “Thank you for saving my life.”
“What’s your name?”
“Wang Jie.”
“Where are you from?”
Wang Jie immediately grew cautious. He took out a Revive Pill and was about to eat it, but his hand was suddenly stopped.
He stared at the stranger, alarmed.
The man Force fully held Wang Jie’s wrist down, his eyes darkly serious. “Don’t take it yet. Answer my question first. Where are you from?”
Wang Jie frowned. “Aren’t you from Black White Heaven?”
“Of course I am, but you are not.”
Wang Jie laughed bitterly. “I’ve been escaping alongside people from the Zhi Family this whole time. How could I not be from Black White Heaven? Relax. I’m from the Lock Path Interval in Black White Heaven.”
“Really?” The stranger stared coldly into Wang Jie’s eyes. “Then why do you possess Guardian Qi?”
Wang Jie’s eyes sharply narrowed as he stared back.
The stranger continued, coldly, “Your Guardian Qi is newly trained, and your qi doesn’t match your current battle strength. You must lack a complete qi cultivation method. So, from whom did you learn Guardian Qi? And why are you in Black White Heaven? Answer me.”
Wang Jie spoke with difficulty, his voice dry. “And who exactly are you?”
Suddenly, the man crouched, grabbing Wang Jie’s arm where Yue Bai had struck earlier, squeezing harshly.
Skin tore apart, flesh split open, exposing bone.
Wang Jie gritted his teeth against the pain.
“You’re not the one asking questions here. Refuse again, and I’ll kill you now,” the man threatened coldly.
Compared to the Bone Tempering Method, this pain was still bearable, but Wang Jie clearly sensed the stranger’s murderous intent.
“I’m from Corpse Sect,” Wang Jie finally answered.
Stunned, the stranger immediately released him, staring intensely. “From where?”
“Corpse Sect,” Wang Jie repeated.
Within Death Realm, Wang Jie only knew of Corpse Sect and Skeletal Clan. It certainly couldn’t be the Skeletal Clan; if they were present, Yue Bai would already be dead.
“You’re really from Corpse Sect?”
“Yes.”
“Then why have you come to Black White Heaven?”
“Bridge building.”
“Bridge building?” The stranger frowned deeply.
Wang Jie directly repeated the set of lies he’d heard from Chu Yao, saying plainly, “That’s right. My Corpse Sect sends people into all major powers, and whenever we detect signs of bridge-building, we seize them immediately. Isn’t that completely normal?”
“Then who exactly are you within the Corpse Sect? What’s your name?”
“Death Chu Yao.”
The man’s gaze bore deeply into Wang Jie as he slowly rose to his feet, “So that’s how it is.” He stretched out his hand, gripping a sharp hook and suddenly stabbing toward Wang Jie.
Wang Jie quickly raised his left arm.
The hook fiercely struck his wristguard with a deafening crash, knocking Wang Jie flying from the force of the blow.
“Impersonating the Corpse Sect? You’re courting death!”
Wang Jie crashed to the ground far away, hastily retrieving a formation book from his storage ring and throwing it forward.
Time-Space Corridor.
He had spent three hundred million starstones on this.
And now he was forced to use it.
It was useless against Yue Bai previously because the difference in strength had been too great. But this man was different—the formation book was just right.
This attacker likely also belonged to the Corpse Sect.
As the Time-Space Corridor activated, the man was instantly trapped. He felt the distortion of space and time around him, completely unable to find a way out. He had never imagined Wang Jie possessed such a powerful formation book.
After all, he had watched Wang Jie be pushed to the brink during his battle with Yue Bai and had assumed Wang Jie had no strength left.
Who would have thought he still had this hidden move?
Wang Jie quickly swallowed a revive pill and fled without hesitation.
The Time-Space Corridor wouldn’t hold for long.
He ran desperately. Between his internal injuries and his body’s numbness, he didn’t even know if he could escape.
Meanwhile, Yue Bai felt something strange.
Wu Jiang was chasing him from behind, yet here he was, inexplicably compelled to expose three secret admirers?
What was this?
Secret admirers? Why should he care who admired whom secretly? Why would he even expose them? Matters of silly love affairs had never entered his thoughts.
Yet now, he strangely felt he must reveal these admirers.
What in the world?
Was this one of Wu Jiang’s tricks?
Fleeing across the battlefield was arduous. He had to evade pursuit from behind while staying vigilant on all sides. Everywhere he looked, enemies waited.
Wang Jie felt his body weakening rapidly, the enemy’s presence closing in from behind. The Time-Space Corridor was a scam—three hundred million starstones, and yet it barely held the enemy. He coughed bitterly.
Fortunately, the enemy wasn’t yet in the Wandering Star Realm, otherwise, escape would be impossible.
Behind him, Cang Wu stared fixedly at Wang Jie’s back. [You won’t get away. Now that you know I’m from Death Realm, how could I possibly let you escape?] He suspected Wang Jie was a spy placed within Death Realm by Black White Heaven.
Since Death Realm could embed spies in other powers, those powers could naturally do the same in return.
He had worked painstakingly to infiltrate Black White Heaven and must never be exposed.
This man had to die.
Closer and closer he drew.
With no other option, Wang Jie swallowed a Shift Pill, a gift from Xing Xue’s Great Elder.
Thirty meters.
It could only shift him thirty meters, but those were thirty lifesaving meters.
Then, swiftly, he consumed a Swift Movement Pill.
Cang Wu chased doggedly. How could this man run so fast?
Not long afterward, clutching his left arm, Wang Jie abruptly halted after crossing a mountain ridge.
Unexpectedly, behind the mountain stood a group of people, all staring at him intently the moment he appeared.
Wang Jie turned pale. These people had carefully concealed their presences, and with his injuries and his full attention behind him, he hadn’t sensed them at all.
“What are you just standing there for? Quickly, come here—don’t let them discover us,” a voice scolded, pulling everyone’s gazes.
Wang Jie looked at the speaker, his eyes widening in shock. [Yan… Yan Xiao Nian?]
Indeed, it was Yan Xiao Nian who had scolded him, glaring sternly at Wang Jie, “Quickly now! I told you to scout the area, not to bring enemies right to us.”
“Hurry up and get down here!”
“Fool.”
“Idiot.”
“He’s wounded—someone quickly help him down.”
Immediately, someone leaped onto the ridge, assisting Wang Jie down. Wang Jie was completely bewildered.
Far in the distance, Cang Wu came to a halt. Seeing Wang Jie captured by Third Nebula people, he exhaled deeply. [He’s finished. Captured by Third Nebula, there’s absolutely no way he’ll return.]
He carefully concealed himself and slowly retreated.
Behind the mountain, Wang Jie was thrown unceremoniously in front of Yan Xiao Nian.
Yan Xiao Nian quickly supported him, gently guiding him into a corner.
Wang Jie stayed silent, and upon reaching the corner, spat out a mouthful of blood.
Yan Xiao Nian anxiously pulled out a medicinal pill—a Restoration Pill. Wang Jie shook his head, “No need. I’ve already taken one.”
“How are you here?”
“How are you here?” Both asked simultaneously.
Yan Xiao Nian glanced cautiously around, then lowered her voice, “I’m here on orders from Ornate Jade Gate, sent to the Star Cloud Battlefield. But you? Why are you here? After our sect fell, where did you go?”
Wang Jie exhaled deeply. After steadying himself a bit, he began, “I was taken by Xing Xue’s Great Elder…”
He briefly recounted some of his experiences but spoke little about his time in Black White Heaven. He merely mentioned that, due to his status as a Lock Force cultivator, he had been sent to the battlefield.
Both were deeply relieved by this unexpected reunion.
Wang Jie had never imagined he would encounter Yan Xiao Nian here. Without her presence, he would surely have perished. Perhaps fate was unwilling to let him die yet.
This hidden place was the secret outpost where Yan Xiao Nian and her companions waited for summons from a Hundred Star Realm expert to join the battle.