A gust of strong wind rolled up countless sand, turning into a roiling sandstorm and pressed forward. Shielding himself with the Banner of Chiyou, Xiang Yu turned into a blood mist as he flew slowly amidst the sandstorm towards the newly built Yuaya City. All his attention was focused on the city and the barracks around it, so he did not notice that Wu Qi was standing on top of the mountain, dozens of miles above his head, looking down straight at him.
Frowning at Xiang Yu, Wu Qi grinned sarcastically. 'Great minds think alike... It seems that everyone has their eyes on Pangu Continent!'
After taking a few deep breaths, he made a wisp of chaotic energy swirl about his face to dissolve the little bit of Buddha power that remained in his cheekbones. Then, he transformed himself into a breeze, blended into the sandstorm, and flew carefully forward at a distance of fewer than three miles behind Xiang Yu.
Wu Qi thought that it was all quite strange. What was Xiang Yu doing here? When did he come to Pangu Continent? How many people did he bring? And, did he bring that woman whom Wu Qi would never forget?
The sandstorm soon engulfed the entire city. The yells of military officers rang out from all over the barracks, and strong soldiers came out of the tent, slapping long iron stakes into the ground with their palms to reinforce the tents. The wind whipped the tens with dust and sands, and the air was filled with the sound of the tent flapping and the rubbing of iron stakes against the ground.
Wu Qi snuck into the barrack with Xiang Yu and watched him approach a soldier from behind, who was reinforcing the tent, and kill the latter by breaking his neck. Then, he changed into the soldier's clothes and armor, and began to wander about the barrack.
Xiang Yu was an expert in the art of war, so he was very familiar with the operation of the barracks. As the sandstorm raged, soldiers rarely left their tents. Coupled with his bizarre Fiend technique, which allowed him to move easily through the wind without being noticed, he had made an easy walk around the barracks and even the new city.
It seemed that he did not find the person he was looking for, as Xiang Yu shook his head in displeasure. Covering his aura with the Banner of Chiyou, he snuck out of the barracks. But, as soon as he stepped out of the barracks, a sneer suddenly echoed out of the Supreme Tower in the sky. "Have you seen enough? If so, stay now!"
Accompanied by a strange screech, a stream of black smoke shot down from the tower, and a large, bony hand leaped out of it. Emanating a suffocating pressure, the hand flew straight towards Xiang Yu. With a cold grunt, his body suddenly expanded to a few hundred feet tall; then he raised his fist and punched towards the approaching hand.
A loud boom rang out as a few sparks flew from the bony hand, while Xiang Yu grunted with blood gushing and spraying out of his fist. A wisp of black smoke seeped into his arm from his wounded fist, and soon, his fist and arm became dark, as the black smoke continued to spread to his body along the arm. Sharp squeaks kept coming out of his arm, as if countless rats were hiding in it and gnawing at his flesh and blood.
Xiang Yu staggered backward for dozens of steps and knocked down a watchtower in front of the barrack. The watchtower, which was a thousand feet tall, was smashed to pieces. Led by a junior military officer, five soldiers leaped down from the tower, and five blades and a sword were thrust towards his back amidst six beams of light.
Wu Qi shook his head. Xiang Yu was still so impulsive! Did he think that he could mess around in someone else's barracks just with the Banner of Chiyou? The army stationed here was the imperial army from Liangzhu, and under the direct command of the present Human Emperor! Even the weakest soldier here had at least the strength to fight a body cultivator of Heaven Immortal realm! Xiang Yu had only just stepped into the realm of Heaven Immortal. How could he have the nerve to come here and mess things up?
While sighing, Wu Qi made a dash as he silently slit through the void and appeared behind Xiang Yu. As he appeared, he pointed his finger forward, and the Starshark turned into a silver-blue halo at once to envelop all six soldiers. Thousands of tiny, sesame-like starlight beams spun rapidly amidst the halo, penetrating the soldiers' bodies. In just the blink of an eye, the bodies of six soldiers were smashed to pieces.
Then, he grabbed Xiang Yu and stomped on the ground with his right foot. In the next moment, he had taken Xiang Yu hundreds of millions of miles away.
After taking eighteen consecutive steps and crossing three provinces, Wu Qi suddenly felt that someone was sighing right next to him. Then, an old, cold voice pierced into his ears like a needle, "It's not easy for someone to practice Kuafu Step to this level! Which King's subordinate are you? Hehe… If you challenge me again next time, the punishment will not be as simple as this!"
Two muffled explosions erupted in the air as both Wu Qi and Xiang Yu were attacked at the same time. The blow pierced Wu Qi's back, broke his spine, and opened up a fist-sized bloody hole in his chest. On the other side, blood spurted out of Xiang Yu's abdomen and forehead—his dantian and spiritual ocean were severely injured, causing him to lose most of his energy and almost turn into a mortal.
Wu Qi was scared out of his wits. He had taken eighteen consecutive steps, but the horrible figure hiding in the Supreme Tower still managed to find him and Xiang Yu, giving them a warning and a small reprimand. Fortunately, Wu Qi was using the Kuafu Step, a divine ability of the human race, which made the mighty Supreme Oracle mistakenly think that he was part of some power in Great Yu Imperial Clan, therefore sparing their lives.
He could only wonder if he had taken Xiang Yu away with an innate escape art, and then the Supreme Oracle had found him using the divine ability of Immortals, would they have been wiped out by this mighty expert straight away?
Even so, the attack had almost shattered his soul; his spine was broken, and his body had almost exploded into pieces. With just a little more power, the Supreme Oracle would have killed him by destroying his soul or body.
This was the power of a Supreme Oracle!
Wu Qi stumbled forward, coughed out a mouthful of blood, and then fell heavily to the ground. Xiang Yu's situation was even worse. His dantian and forehead were both badly wounded; his eyes were rolling, and he was bleeding from all orifices. The energy in his body had gone out of control, and was creeping under his skins like countless worms, making him look really ugly.
While trembling, Wu Qi sat up and began to silently exercise the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture to heal his injuries, ignoring Xiang Yu's condition. Soon, a purple rune, which looked as if it were made of crystal, appeared in front of him; then, an immeasurable amount of purple mist, invisible to both eyes and divine sense, began to pour out from beneath the ground and rush into his body. His crushed spine was rapidly regenerating, and the bones were reforming in his messy flesh one after another at a rate visible to naked eyes.
Two hours later, Wu Qi sprung to his feet. The restoration of his fleshly body had been completed, and he could not help but marvel at the incredible power of the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture. After flexing his arms and legs, he went to the dying Xiang Yu and shoved a few life-saving pills into his mouth.
Xiang Yu's body trembled slightly as he struggled out of his coma. Then, he coughed fiercely, spitting a few clots of blood out of his throat. Before he could see Wu Qi's face, he said in a low voice, "I'm Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu. Thank you for saving my life! I'll definitely repay you if there is a chance in the future!"
He lifted his head as he spoke, and immediately recognized Wu Qi's face, although it was somewhat distorted by the injury.
"Wu Qi, Great Yan's Duke of Tianyun?" Xiang Yu was struck dumb, and he asked that word by word. His tone became extremely cold, and his words felt like they had been frozen in ice for thousands of years. Wu Qi could not help but shudder.
"It has been a long time, Hegemon-King of Western Chu!" Wu Qi greeted him with a cupped fist and a smile.
After letting out a few deep, strange laughs, Xiang Yu suddenly sprung up in the air, and when he reached ten feet high, he had a black spear in his hand. With a roar of tiger, the spear thrust towards Wu Qi's throat, and at the same time, a purple lightning shot out of the spearhead toward his body.
Wu Qi stood still before Xiang Yu, his hands clasped behind his back.
The lightning landed precisely on Wu Qi's body, ripped his clothes, and crashed into his skin, before breaking into countless tiny arcs and darting in all directions. The next moment, the black spear touched his throat and its shaft bent drastically, while the red-eyed Xiang Yu howled and kept pushing it forward.
Abruptly, the spear broke and shattered, and the backlash knocked Xiang Yu back for hundreds of feet. With both hands mangled by the broken shaft, he dropped heavily to one knee.
"Despicable worm!" Xiang Yu bellowed, pointing a finger at Wu Qi, "I'll peel off your skin, pluck out your tendons, eat your flesh, and use your soul as a wick! I'll make you suffer eternally!"
Ao Buzun wriggled up to Wu Qi's shoulder. He gave Wu Qi a glance, then Xiang Yu, and finally judged professionally, "There can only be two explanations... Either you have killed his father, or you have taken his wife. Mm, you are not as old as he, so certainly not because you killed his father. You must have had seduced his wife, hadn't you? Aye, you better kill him now, then take his wife and make his children call you father. How amazing will that be?"
Wu Qi nearly coughed out a mouthful of blood. He gave Ao Buzun a grumpy glare, grabbed the disgusting little black dragon, and stuffed him into his sleeve.
He heaved a sigh and said, "I am not to be blamed for that incident!"
Xiang Yu's eyes grew wide, his finger pointing at Wu Qi. As he was about to curse again, he suddenly froze and ground his teeth.
He ground so hard that a few of his teeth were broken. He then said coldly, "Don't let me see you again. Otherwise, even if you are several thousand times stronger than me, I'll still kill you!"
Taking a deep breath, Xiang Yu slowly rose to his feet and stared at Wu Qi with his bloodshot eyes. After a long moment, he suddenly turned into a beam of blood light and flew into the sky, disappearing without a trace in just the blink of an eye.
Wu Qi looked shockingly at the departing Xiang Yu and murmured, "This not like him. This is definitely not his style!"
Before his voice could fade, a black figure suddenly appeared out of the void behind him, and at the same time, a tiny bright speck was flying silently towards the back of his head.