Whoosh!
Beneath the shade of the forest, a gray figure flitted by. The moment a spiritual beast saw him, it would jump on him with greedy eyes.
But the beast would ultimately fall to the ground lifeless with an extra fist imprint on its chest.
The seventh elder's eyes turned darker, but his speed remained the same. Unlike Zhuo Fan, his flight attracted no little amount of trouble.
Yet this only left a trail of 3rd level spiritual beasts corpses behind. He was lucky enough that he did not meet a 4th level spiritual beast, or it would have been a slightly different outcome.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, he landed in an open area. He checked for tracks, making sure nothing escaped his sight.
"He-he-he, three little brats. Want to run?" The seventh elder sneered. He stood upright and scrutinized his surroundings with a cold eye, "Will you come out yourselves, or shall I drag you out?"
His yell bathed the trees in killing intent and scared off nearby spiritual beasts.
"Ha-ha-ha, I see the seventh elder is not without his reputation. No wonder you are called Insidious Demon, finding how many we are just from a few faint signs. I am in awe!"
Zhuo Fan's laughter resounded through the air. The seventh elder frowned and paid closer attention, "Kid, you have just entered the 6th layer of Qi Condensation."
"Good ears!"
The hidden Zhuo Fan felt his heart go cold. This elder was shrewder then he'd thought, a hard opponent, but he still kept his cool.
"Seventh elder must be tired after such a long chase. And fighting here will attract 4th level spiritual beasts. It will be quite an annoyance to you. What if we strike a deal?"
"Which is?" The seventh elder snorted and his cold eyes flitted around the area.
Zhuo Fan smiled, "Seventh elder chased us for so long all for the Diamond Sand. If we give you half, are you willing to let us go?"
"You must be joking. The Diamond Sand was mine to begin with. You want to bargain with what you stole from me?" The seventh elder laughed while being shrouded in thick killing intent, "I will not only get my Diamond Sand but wring the life out of you brats!"
Then the elder rushed towards a lush tree. He struck it with his palm and made it explode, to reveal Zhuo Fan sitting on the rock behind it.
"He-he-he, brat, you knew of my sharp hearing yet still talked about conditions with me!"
The seventh elder went for another palm attack, this time targetting Zhuo Fan. But the latter was calm as ever, he even smiled, "He-he-he, I've never been afraid of revealing myself from the start!"
Zhuo Fan's hand shifted and…
Boom!
With a loud noise, from behind Zhuo Fan, a towering flame rose 50 meters high. And with a bird cry, it took the shape of a phoenix.
It spread its wings and launched two fire pillars at seventh elder!
"Array?"
The elder was startled as he didn't foresee the weak brat would know about arrays. From the look of its power, it had to be in 5th-grade.
No longer careless, he struck the pillars with his palms.
Boom!
Raging flames exploded and the elder was thrown back with burned palms.
Looking up, the elder's carefree eyes from before, sported a hint of severity now.
"I took you lightly." The seventh elder squinted, "Never imagining a 6th layer of Qi Condensation youth was a 5th-grade array master. Too bad it won't be enough to beat me!"
The seventh elder soared and made a sign.
A fiendish demonic shadow rose behind him from the twisting black tendrils of energy. Wails echoed around him and made the temperature drop.
Zhuo Fan's eyes squinted and his tone lowered, "Such a malevolent demonic method, is this from Hell Valley's inheritance?"
"He-he-he, why do the dead need to know so much?"
The seventh elder cackled and pointed. The demonic shadow rushed at Zhuo Fan with a shriek. Zhuo Fan responded with a hand sign.
The fire phoenix cried and spat flames.
Bam!
Flames and shadow collided in an anticlimactic way. When the fire touched the demon, hissing was heard as if it was met with ice.
The seventh elder looked proud of this while Zhuo Fan squinted, "Ning'er, now!"
A faint cry echoed and from another side not far from Zhuo Fan, a fierce gale hammered through the woods and exposed Xue Ningxiang sitting on a stone.
At Zhuo Fan's call, she made the hand signs he had taught her.
A chilling wind picked up and flew like a blade as it fused into the fire phoenix's attack.
The fire pillar expanded ten times in a blink and started pushing back the demonic shadow.
The seventh elder's face turned grave and made hand signs to strengthen the demonic shadow.
But with the help of Xue Ningxiang, Zhuo Fan was getting the upper hand and the seventh elder started sweating.
He never saw it coming. Another person was controlling the array!
But before he could think of a countermeasure, Zhuo Fan shouted again.
"Xie Tianyang, he's yours!"
"Ha-ha-ha, I was waiting for this! See how I splatter the brains of a Profound Heaven expert!"
Under Xie Tianyang's incessant cackling, lightning burst and revealed him sitting on the other side of Zhuo Fan and across from Xue Ningxiang.
Xie Tianyang made a hand sign and launched a 50-meter long lightning dragon. With a roar, it flashed right into the demonic shadow.
Boom!
As lightning entered the shadow, it triggered an explosion!
The demonic shadow could not overcome the multiple increases in power and was blown into black pieces, soon becoming nothing but ash.
The seventh elder spatted blood!
This defied all logic. Today, three brats hurt him! But the brats were far from done and battered him with the thunderflame gale again.
If he didn't do something now, he'd be heavenly wounded, he may even die!
The seventh elder braced himself and waved the centipede-like chain that suddenly appeared in his hand.
Boom!
The thunderflame gale attack was blown away as the elder took a few steps back. Zhuo Fan's side also shivered as each of them felt blood stagnating in their chest. It was a tie!
"4th-grade demonic treasure?" Zhuo Fan turned serious.
The seventh elder gasped and barked, "Good, well done. I've traveled the world for so long but today, three brats have reduced me to this state!"
He turned to Zhuo Fan, "I admit you're strong. If we continue, it will end with both sides dead. It's better to take your previous deal. Give me half of Diamond Sand and I will go!"
The three exchanged glances. Xue Ningxiang and Xie Tianyang didn't want to offend Hell Valley and nodded. Zhuo Fan showed an amiable smile, "Alright, let's make the deal!"
He then jumped off the stone. The seventh elder took back his weapon and flew towards Zhuo Fan.
When they were ten meters apart, suddenly both their eyes flashed with murderous intent.
"Die, brat!"
"Finish him!"
Shouting at the same time, the seventh elder revealed his demonic treasure and flung it at Zhuo Fan while the latter made hand signs.
The flames and the centipede chain clashed.
Xie Tianyang and Xue Ningxiang were startled. Even though they missed the first clash, they soon sent lightning and wind blade toward the elder.
The seventh elder couldn't dodge and had to destroy their attacks with his chain once again, but he was also forced to retreat to the skies.
Eyeing Zhuo Fan, the elder's face turned green and white from rage, "Bastard, who would believe you?"
"He-he-he, takes a demonic cultivator to know one!" Zhuo Fan smirked.
Xue Ningxiang and Xie Tianyang witnessed this in a daze.
[Who the hell are they? One is more despicable than the other. None of them is worth trusting.]
Both of them had only one thought since the beginning, kill.
[They're too damn vile, treacherous, insidious…]
[Had one of them trusted the other, then their side would have died by now.]
This thought made the two gasp and their eyes darted at Zhuo Fan. [Thank god we have one just as vile and insidious among us. Or we'd be dead for sure…]