Both things happened almost at the same moment. When Han Fei Zi retreated, the red meadow under Su Ming's feet spread out rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it went past Han Fei Zi and covered the ground past her feet, covering the area of 100 feet within the mountain cave.
Han Fei Zi was within those 100 feet.
She felt her vision blur for a moment. Everything before her instantly changed. No one could know what she saw, but from the shocked look in her eyes, it was easy to guess that she must certainly be stunned.
Su Ming could remain still if he did not attack, but once he did, his strike was akin to a bolt of lightning!
He had no grudges against Han Fei Zi, but he knew that if he had not known about the danger beforehand, then when she entered the mountain cave and encountered him, he would have definitely been caught off guard and certainly killed.
This had nothing to do with strife but was a battle stemming from gains!
He Feng himself was a gigantic gain. The benefits brought by the items in Su Ming's pockets alone were enough to make a lot of people go mad with desire, and that was not counting the great treasure!
The moment Han Fei Zi was covered by the red meadow, Su Ming immediately lifted his right hand. He had already found the location of the Three Evils a long time ago, hence he swiftly slashed downwards towards the direction northwest.
The moment his right hand slashed down, Su Ming's blood veins gathered into one and rushed out of his body in an instant towards northwest before disappearing without a trace.
Yet the moment his right hand slashed downwards, killing intent appeared in Han Fei Zi's eyes, who was standing within the red meadow, and whose expression had changed. She raised her hand, and her body was immediately enveloped by clouds of mist. However, at that moment, the clouds of mist let out a loud bang, and a giant crack appeared in their center. Han Fei Zi could be clearly seen through the crack.
Although her face was hidden by the white veil, it had become pale, and shock appeared in her eyes. She knew that the white mist she casted may look ordinary, but it was actually very difficult to breach. Even the seniors in the tribe would find it hard to tear through the cloud if they did not use a powerful Berserker Art.
Yet this invisible enemy used an unknown method to do so. She could not underestimate him. It was even more shocking for her when the clouds of mist were sliced apart and a strong sense of danger came crashing forth, as if there was a formless vent coming to swallow her whole.
Han Fei Zi did not have time to cast any powerful Berserker Art. Everything happened in a heartbeat. During the moment of danger, she bit her tongue and coughed out a mouthful of blood, which turned into a blood-red statue of the God of Berserkers before her.
More accurately speaking, that statue was in the form of a woman. Her face could not be seen clearly, but the moment it appeared, a piercing light erupted forth from her body. As the light collided with Su Ming's Execution of the Three Evils, a huge crash rang in the air.
At the same time, Han Fei Zi raised her right hand and tapped the center of her brows. Immediately, a golden light shot out from her brows. As it showered down, her whole body turned gold. When the golden color appeared, she quickly retreated. With one step, she seemingly stepped on air and moved out of the 100 feet area of the red meadow that Su Ming had spread out.
However, it was clear that using the golden light to move out created a great burden on Han Fei Zi. The moment she got out, blood trickled down the corner of her lips. Yet she did not stop. She rushed out of the mountain cave.
She had already made her decision. As long as she could leave the trap laid down by her opponent in the mountain cave and regain her breathing outside, then she would definitely tear apart that person who had dared to ambush her!
But there was no chance that Su Ming would let her leave so easily. The red meadow could not lock her in, and the Execution of the Three Evils was dispersed by the female statue of the God of Berserkers, but Su Ming's attack continued.
The instant Han Fei Zi was only dozens of feet away from the entrance of the cave, about to rush out, Su Ming took one step forward and closed in on her at an incredible speed. His eyes were cold, and as he moved forward, he pointed towards Han Fei Zi with his right hand.
The moment he did so, the souls of the Wings of the Moon that surrounded him let out a howl that normal people could not hear and rushed out. They gathered together and formed a gigantic fist.
This fist was invisible, but Han Fei Zi could sense it clearly. Her eyes flashed, and she quickly drew a circle before herself with her right hand. Immediately, clouds of mist appeared out of nowhere and formed a circle that was about to clash into the fist formed by the souls of the Wings of the Moon.
However, at that moment, a cold smirk appeared on the corners of Su Ming's lips. As he rushed out, he quickly spread the Branding Art outwards. When the circumference of 1,000 feet appeared in his mind, he contracted that area towards Han Fei Zi.
This was the only attack recorded in the Branding Art, though Su Ming could not tell what its effects were. It may be his first time using it, but he had no choice but to use it at that moment.
The speed with which the branded 1,000 feet area shrank was so quick that it was done in the blink of an eye. The moment it completely covered Han Fei Zi's body, she trembled and a pained look appeared on her face.
She felt as if there were needles stabbing into her head, and due to that sudden appearance of the pain, the cloud ring before her showed signs of dissipating. Before she could forcefully stabilize it, the fist formed by the souls of the Wings of the Moon crashed into it.
A muffled bang rang in the air, and the cloud ring crumbled. The fist formed by the Wings of the Moon blasted through and crashed into Han Fei Zi's chest.
The golden light shone on Han Fei Zi's body once again. Blood trickled out of the corner of her lips, but the cold glare in her eyes became stronger. She tumbled backwards and used that force to escape from the cave.
The moment she managed that, Su Ming rushed out along with her. His figure was a blur in Han Fei Zi's eyes. This was connected to Su Ming's speed, but more importantly, it was also due to his Branding Art that was focused on her body right now.
The only form of attack of this Art was very powerful. It continuously stabbed into Han Fei Zi's head and caused her pain as well as made her vision cloudy. Her face was twisted by great pain.
These two people rushed out of the crack one after the other, but Su Ming's speed was greater. Once he caught up to her, he did not say a single word, but swiftly spat out the mouthful of blood that he had kept within his mouth.
That mouthful of blood was for Su Ming's Berserker Art - Dark Blood Dust. The moment he spat it out, the blood immediately turned into a large veil of red mist that covered the area before him. With a shocking scream and piercing strength, the mist charged towards Han Fei Zi.
Han Fei Zi's expression changed. Only a few breaths had passed since she came out of the mountain cave. She had not even clearly seen her enemy's face yet, and she had already been injured multiple times. This sort of thing was unacceptable for her ego.
Su Ming's mouthful of blood rushed towards her. As Han Fei Zi retreated, she swung her right hand forward. As long as she could block this for even a moment, then she could turn the tides of the battle and wrestle back a sliver of initiative instead of remaining defensive in the battle. As long as she could do that, she could counterattack.
Nevertheless, she did not have the chance to obtain the initiative since the start. Her enemy's attacks were like a storm, and it looked as if there was no hint of it letting up; it was only growing stronger.
'If I can just get one chance!'
Han Fei Zi swung her right hand forward and mist appeared abruptly, forming a mist of five colors. The moment it crashed into the blood mist, the latter let out sizzling sounds and instantly dissipated.
Han Fei Zi was about to counterattack, but Su Ming had gone to great trouble to create this battlefield so that he could have complete initiative. He would not let her have the chance.
When he coughed out the mouthful of blood earlier, he spread out his hands and the surrounding souls of the Wings of the Moon gathered around him, enveloping him.
It may have seemed like he was alone, but he rose into the sky as if he was stepping on air. He then clenched his fist and, without making a sound, threw a punch towards Han Fei Zi, who was behind the mist formed by the Dark Blood Dust.
Not only did that punch contain all the power of Su Ming's Qi, but the formless souls of the Wings of the Moon outside his body had also turned into a giant fist that came down along with it.
That punch crushed Han Fei Zi's chance to counterattack, forcing her to defend once again. Her entire body was surrounded by clouds when Su Ming's fist collided with her.
Booming sounds echoed continuously in the air.
Su Ming's body was unclear in the sky. Each of his fists thrown was faster than the last as they rushed towards Han Fei Zi, who was completely forced into the defensive. As she resisted each attack, she retreated. The cold glare in her eyes could practically freeze the sky, but she had to withdraw.
She could feel that each punch thrown by the enemy contained two forces. One was the power of Qi, which could be ignored, but the other was a power that was both strange and terrifying.
That power did not attack her body but her soul. It caused Han Fei Zi, who was in constant pain due to the Branding Art, have the feeling as if her soul was about to be scattered.
At that moment, Su Ming threw a punch out, and the souls of the Wings of the Moon in his body moved together outward, forcing Han Fei Zi to once again retreat hundreds of feet away. Once he did so, he spoke for the first time, and his voice, which was ghastly and hoarse, echoed around them.
"He Feng, you were the one who lured her here, and you're still not attacking! How long are you going to wait?"
If He Feng could hear his words, then he would definitely call him a despicable person, but the man could not hear him.
When Han Fei Zi heard those words, panic and anger appeared on her face. She had suspected that before, and now, without any hesitation, she retreated quickly on instinct, turning into a ray of golden light to charge out.
She was of high status and did not want to take risks. The mysterious enemy that was at the level of Transcendence already made her lose her initiative and forced her into the defensive. If He Feng attacked as well, then unless she gave up on attaining completion for her blood veins and immediately chose to Transcend, she would find herself hard-pressed to win.
Su Ming did not chase after her. His face was pale and blood trickled out of his mouth. He might have obtained the initiative during this battle, but every single time his attack landed on Han Fei Zi, the golden light outside her body would absorb and reflect his attacks with a strange force, causing Su Ming to continuously be injured.
'That woman was in constant pain due to the Branding Art, and she was also shaken by the souls of the Wings of the Moon. If adding the fact that she fell into the trap and was forced into defending only, she was thrown into disarray. She retreated due to that and the shock of hearing those words I spoke regarding He Feng. But she's definitely not a simple person. She'll soon realize that it was a lie.'
Su Ming charged back to the cave and put away the two bones into his bag before grabbing He Feng's body and rushing out. He dashed deeper into the rainforest.
After the time it takes for one incense stick to burn down, a cloud of mist whistled through the sky. Han Fei Zi's face was as cold as ice on the cloud. She landed where the battle had taken place and glared into the deepness of the rainforest.
A ferocious look appeared in her eyes.
Ever since she was young, she had never suffered such a great loss. This was also the first time she had been forced to retreat, and she did not even manage to see her enemy's face. It was unacceptable for her pride.
'This person's power wasn't great, but his attacks were very strange. The level of his attacks could compare with that of Transcendence… He's also very intelligent… but no matter who you are, as long as you're around Han Mountain City, then I'll definitely find you!'
Han Fei Zi's expression gradually calmed down, but the anger she felt towards Su Ming remained in her eyes, and it did not leave even after a long time.