Chapter 280 - Mysterious Murderer (2/2)

Xiao Chen, deeply frustrated in the first place, couldn’t help smiling when he saw how Zhiluan feigned seriousness. “You Leopard Cat Spirit, will you die if you don’t boast?”

That rubbed Zhiluan the wrong way. He put down the wine up and whined, “Since when am I boasting? Had that monkey not make a mess of the Banquet of Immortality Peaches and cause the Immortal Wood to fall in the Human World… Forget it. What would a little human like you know?”

“Immortal Wood? There’s an Undying Nation in the Great Desolate where they feed on Immortal Wood. Could it be that the legendary Undying Tree fell from the Heavenly Palace?”

“Huh! I didn’t think you’d know a thing or two!”

“Tsk.” Xiao Chen shook his head with a snort and ignored him. When he saw Huangfu Xin’er downing the wine without touching the food, he said, “Xin’er, are you not going to eat something?”

Huangfu Xin’er put down the cup in her hand and said, after a long time, “Do you treat her this way too?”

“What?” Xiao Chen was stunned. Perhaps he himself didn’t notice that this was how he treated everyone around him and lacked the kind of gentleness reserved for a special someone.

“Nothing.”

Xiao Chen smiled. “When we return…” Before he could finish his sentence, he felt an incredibly powerful disturbance coming from the southwest direction. He hastily pulled Huangfu Xin’er up and into the air. A loud explosion resounded and a ravine appeared in the place where they previously sat.

Twigs and branches splashed across the forest. Several wooden houses collapsed under the powerful Sword Qi and ten or so diners either died or suffered injuries. No one knew what happened. By the time they recovered their senses, they could only see seven men in black robes coming out of the forest.

“Meow! What’s going on?!” Zhiluan was so frightened that he unfolded his wings and flew into the air.

Placing Huangfu Xin’er behind him, he stared coldly at the black-robed men who had appeared out of nowhere. Their murderous aura was too thick for them to be ordinary assassins.

“Who are you people?”

Without saying anything, the seven men attacked with incredible sharp killer moves at a lightning-fast speed. In an instant, half of the little forest was ruined. Those who survived the earlier attack had long fled to safety.

Huangfu Xin’er began summoning her True Energy when she saw how ferocious and unrelenting these men’s attacks but Xiao Chen pressed down on her wrist to stop her. “You’re still injured. Stay put!” he said as he took out the Blood Lotus Demon Blade at the same time. He swung his blade, producing a blood-red radiance that expanded more than a hundred feet, and forced the seven black-robed men to step backward.

Unfortunately, the men had such great teamwork that they were able to attack almost immediately. Xiao Chen sent Huangfu Xin’er flying backward. Seeing this, Zhiluan instantly grabbed her and flew upward.

“Take her away!” Xiao Chen yelled.

He immediately summoned all of his True Energy and unleashed the Dragon Slay in its entirety, causing the earth to quake so hard that it felt like the world was collapsing. However, as great as his move was, the seven men easily neutralized the threat with their teamwork.

Xiao Chen couldn’t help feeling stunned. Every one of the men had strength close to the peak of the Core Forming Realm. They were completely different from the assassins who worked purely for money that he met at the Thousand Summits Mountain. These men must be from a certain formidable faction similar to the Hidden Fragrance Wafting Under the Moon.

“I’ll ask you again! Who exactly are you people?” Xiao Chen stared coldly at them as he emanated an overpowering murderous aura. The clear sky became filled with dark clouds in an instant.

“We’re people who will take your life!” the leader of the black-robed men retorted as he struck Xiao Chen with a palm attack. His palm strength evolved into a purple Qi in midair and swirled like a tornado charging at Xiao Chen with overwhelming force. Unable to withstand the pressure, boulders and trees nearby were reduced into fine powder.

When Xiao Chen blocked the attack with his blade, he felt his arm sinking from the force. To his surprise, it almost felt as if he was too weak to resist the attack. The other six black-robed men took advantage of the moment to attack him in unison.

Facing one overpowering palm attack after another, Xiao Chen was forced into a dire situation. He couldn’t help taking backward steps in retreat. Huangfu Xin’er, who saw everything from a distance, cried, “Leopard Cat Spirit! Put me down!”

“No way! Those men are too powerful! You’d be useless even if you go! If something happens to you, that kid will surely have my head!”

“I’ll say this again! Put me down!”

Her voice was so cold that anyone who heard her would feel a chill run down their back. However, Zhiluan ignored her. Clenching his teeth, he carried her northward. Seeing this, two of the group of black-robed men chased after them, leaving five to deal with Xiao Chen.