Ke Yeluo was already heavily injured, and after teleporting twice, he had very little magical essence left. When he attempted to ambush Guo Xingyue, he didn't expect that not only did Guo Xingyue evade the attack, but he also suddenly shifted from defense to offense. Realizing he couldn't dodge again, Ke Yeluo saw the deadly sword flowers speeding toward his chest, too fast to avoid. In a panic, he let out a loud shout and violently spewed a mouthful of blood, using the last of his strength to teleport once more in an attempt to escape Guo Xingyue's sword strikes. However, he was a moment too late and was pierced multiple times by Guo Xingyue's sword, blood gushing out. Fortunately, as a demon cultivator with a strong physique, although he was further injured, he managed to escape a more severe fate. The blood that sprayed from Ke Yeluo formed clusters of blood droplets in the vacuum of space, floating around in a bizarre display.
Guo Xingyue calmly calculated Ke Yeluo's teleportation trajectory and followed suit. Just as he emerged from his teleportation, he was greeted by a vast asteroid belt. This asteroid belt was enormous, stretching across the horizon, seemingly endless from any direction. The asteroids varied in size; some were stationary, others drifted about, and some even charged through the asteroid field at high speeds. With his high level of array mastery, Guo Xingyue quickly realized that this asteroid belt was, in fact, a formation—a powerful one at that. He couldn't help but wonder: who had set up such a formidable array here? What was its purpose? While hesitating for a moment, Ke Yeluo's desperate figure had already vanished into the asteroid belt.
Guo Xingyue's spiritual awareness had already locked onto Ke Yeluo. Seeing him disappear into the asteroid belt, he chuckled coldly and followed closely behind. To his surprise, a narrow passageway appeared within the asteroid belt, seemingly carved out by someone with great magical power. Ke Yeluo was racing through this passage, and Guo Xingyue, not daring to lag behind, quickly stepped onto his flying sword and pursued.
Ke Yeluo was gravely injured; although he was fleeing desperately, his speed was not very fast. Guo Xingyue's flying sword was a treasure-grade artifact, and in no time, he had closed the distance to Ke Yeluo. At this point, Ke Yeluo's magical essence was nearly depleted, and he could only push himself forward, too fearful to turn back and retaliate. Fortunately, the asteroid formation was not very long. Just as Guo Xingyue prepared to strike, Ke Yeluo had already flown out of the asteroid formation.
As Guo Xingyue rushed out after Ke Yeluo, he found himself surrounded. Directly facing him was a tall, handsome "young man" with golden hair and blue eyes. Despite his youthful appearance, this man was at the late Integration stage, exuding a powerful aura that made Guo Xingyue feel uncomfortable. Standing beside this "young man" was Hao Chiping, who had fled earlier. Ke Yeluo bowed respectfully to the "young man" and said, "Senior brother, I…"
The man smiled slightly and waved his hand, interrupting Ke Yeluo, saying, "I know everything. Second Junior Brother, go heal yourself. Leave this to me." Ke Yeluo nodded and shot Guo Xingyue a fierce glare before leaving.
The "young man" smiled at Guo Xingyue and said, "I am Roland. May I ask how to address you?"
Guo Xingyue had released his spiritual awareness to survey the surroundings as soon as he found himself surrounded. There were not many people in the encirclement—only six—but each was an expert. The lowest cultivation level among them was at the early Integration stage. Besides Roland, who was at the late Integration stage, the two individuals behind Guo Xingyue were both mid Integration stage cultivators, while the other three were on par with Hao Chiping, all at the early Integration stage. Given that Guo Xingyue was injured and his true essence had been significantly depleted, even if he were at full strength, he could only handle one of the early Integration demon cultivators. Right now, he had no time to set up a formation or rely on one to escape.
Though Guo Xingyue felt anxious, he maintained his composure. Seeing Roland's inquiry, he smiled and replied, "I am Guo Xingyue, chasing a ruthless criminal who indiscriminately kills innocents. You are too kind to have so many experts here to greet me; I'm truly flattered." Roland laughed without anger, saying, "Interesting, even facing death, you still have a sharp tongue." With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Go! Kill him!"
The gathered demon cultivators unleashed their magical weapons, attacking Guo Xingyue. Each of these demon cultivators was a formidable expert; even in a one-on-one confrontation, Guo Xingyue would struggle to contend with them, let alone facing so many at once. When outnumbered, escape was one of the assassin's creeds, and Guo Xingyue had no desire to play the hero. He had already calculated his options in his mind: the asteroid formation lay behind him, and apart from the passageway, there was no other route to take. Randomly dashing through the formation would be tantamount to seeking death. The passage was sealed off by two mid Integration stage demon cultivators, making it impossible to break through. Even attempting to use teleportation would likely fail against the asteroid formation. His only chance of survival was to teleport forward, using his powerful spiritual awareness to shake off his pursuers. Seeing the demon cultivators unleashing their magical artifacts for an assault, he quickly concentrated his spiral true essence and prepared to teleport away.
Among the demon cultivators, Roland was the strongest. He wielded a black flying sword, also a treasure-grade magical weapon. Realizing Guo Xingyue's intent to escape via teleportation, he laughed heartily and executed a hand seal. The black sword suddenly accelerated, shooting toward Guo Xingyue just before he could activate his teleportation. At that moment, Guo Xingyue was fully engaged in his teleportation and unable to evade the strike. Seeing the sword heading for his dantian at high speed, clearly intending to kill him in one blow, he had no choice but to slightly shift his body to avoid the critical area.
In an instant, Guo Xingyue vanished, but a torrential rain of blood fell in the spot where he had been. Roland retracted his flying sword and smiled at the gathered experts, saying, "This kid is already heavily injured; he won't escape far. Everyone spread out and take your subordinates to search everywhere; we must not let him get away!"
Just as Guo Xingyue emerged from teleportation, he discovered that his injuries were severe. Roland's sword had grazed his nascent soul, piercing him completely. While the external wounds were manageable, the magical essence contained within Roland's sword had not only shaken his nascent soul but also left a dark black magical essence coating it, continuously eroding his true essence. Fortunately, the true essence within his body contained electric energy, which was countering the encroachment of the dark magical essence. Guo Xingyue quickly took a Returning Essence Pill from his storage bracelet, temporarily replenishing some true essence, and flew toward a nearby planet.