"Want to run?"
Lan An sneered coldly. The Eight Desolation Heaven-Defying Flame blazed behind his back. Speed Transformation activated, and the Mysterious Shadow Leisure Step erupted as he pursued like a madman.
"Haha! Though you rely on Dragon Force to overpower me, chasing me down? You're daydreaming!"
The brocade-robed youth arrogantly shouted. The fiery red cloud beneath his feet rapidly expanded, streaking across the sky like a meteor. His speed was terrifyingly extreme.
He had already seen through Lan An's movement technique. Though it was excellent and reached Spirit-Rank Extreme-Quality, it couldn't compare to his Fire Cloud Riding Technique—an Extreme-Rank High-Quality body technique. Even with the Eight Desolation Heaven-Defying Flame assisting, Lan An couldn't close the gap.
Moreover, his cultivation remained superior.
The brocade-robed youth realized this, and so did Lan An. Even combining Mysterious Shadow Leisure Step with Fire Law Thousand Miles, he could only chase the youth's shadow. The distance between them grew wider by the moment.
Speed Transformation had once been one of Lan An's most powerful trump cards, allowing him to seize countless advantages in battles. But as he faced increasingly stronger enemies, its role had gradually weakened.
Though unwilling, Lan An had to admit: Techniques, martial skills, and movement arts below True-Rank were slowly falling behind his progress.
He needed to carefully select and upgrade—otherwise, he would stagnate.
"Soul Hook!"
Soul Force rapidly condensed in his hands. Lan An flung out a chain-like tendril. The hook pierced through space in an instant, reaching the brocade-robed youth's back and viciously latching onto his soul.
"What the hell?!" The brocade-robed youth jolted. Feeling his soul being pulled, his body slowed.
As expected of a True Immortal powerhouse—his reaction was lightning-fast. Forcing his soul to stabilize, three types of Immortal Force erupted, savagely snapping the soul chain.
But in that brief moment, Lan An had closed the distance. Standing above the youth's head, his hand transformed into a dragon claw and swooped down…
"Damn it! Could this guy be the illegitimate child of some Dragon Race member?" The brocade-robed youth's face turned extremely ugly. Unwilling to give up, he unleashed an Eight Desolation Palm.
The result was the same. Before True Dragon Force, the Eight Desolation Palm couldn't hold for long. It was easily pierced. The dragon claw continued smashing toward his head, forcing him into panic. The Fire Cloud beneath him expanded again, doubling his speed and successfully escaping the lethal strike.
This was already the maximum speed of Fire Cloud Riding. But one had to admit—Extreme-Rank High-Quality movement techniques were indeed excellent, repeatedly saving their master.
"If I can escape the stone palace, I'll join forces with Old Yi to kill him!" The brocade-robed youth thought venomously.
ROAR…
Unfortunately, everything was just wishful thinking on his part. When Lan An's eyes unconsciously flashed with killing intent, a dragon roar shook the stone palace. Far away, the five Bone Dragons once again prostrated in terror, trembling all over.
Lan An's hands turned into countless complex afterimages. The phantom of a majestic black dragon with purple patterns coiled around him…
ROAR ROAR ROAR…
Continuous dragon roars echoed from within his body. The frenzied killing intent from the Frenzied Slaughter Star Metal fused into it. Wherever the dragon phantom passed, space collapsed layer by layer.
Reverse Dragon Force madly converged into his palms. Lan An's face turned icy as he roared:
"Dragon-Slaying Second Palm – Explosive Dragon Palm!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…
The Reverse Dragon phantom became frenzied. Following his will, it bared fangs and claws, shattering space, intent on tearing its enemy to pieces.
"Impossible to resist… this palm absolutely cannot be resisted!"
Looking at the endless colossal Reverse Dragon phantom of Explosive Dragon Palm, the brocade-robed youth's face paled. An extreme sense of danger surged within him.
He knew that even if he unleashed Three Immortals Annihilation again, it would be futile. A flash of cunning appeared in his eyes.
"If you want to chase me to the ends of the earth, don't blame me!"
Feigning madness, he formed two Eight Desolation Palms, making a show of resistance.
ROAR…
The two Eight Desolation Palms were like thin paper before the Reverse Dragon's assault. The colossal dragon body met almost no resistance and pounced toward the brocade-robed youth.
"My life is over!"
The brocade-robed youth's face filled with terror. Lan An narrowed his eyes and shouted:
"Explode!"
Explosive Dragon Palm—upon contact with the target, the dragon phantom would automatically detonate, burying the enemy inside. Even the soul couldn't escape being torn to shreds.
BOOM…
A section of the stone palace space collapsed. Smoke and dust filled the air. Lan An descended. His White Moon Soul-Seizing Eyes activated to the limit, sweeping the entire area, searching for the brocade-robed youth's corpse.
Very quickly, he spotted a tattered brocade robe, a few long strands of hair lying motionless on the ground, and faint scattered pieces of flesh around them.
"Dead?" Lan An muttered. He couldn't smell even the slightest trace of blood.
After refining the Reverse Dragon Bloodline, his senses had reached a terrifying level—including his sense of smell.
"Haha, your doomsday has arrived!"
Suddenly, near the stone palace's grand entrance, the brocade-robed youth laughed sinisterly. He was about to step into the teleportation formation to escape.
From beginning to end, he had been deceiving Lan An. The one destroyed by Explosive Dragon Palm was his life-saving trump card—a puppet at Extreme-Rank Low-Quality, usable only once. It could make the puppet's master instantly flee thousands of miles away while the puppet itself stayed behind to die in their place.
One had to admit—the brocade-robed youth had many tricks. From movement techniques to martial skills to life-saving methods, everything was flawless. Truly worthy of coming from the Immortal Realm.
But with just that, escaping Lan An's pursuit? It was laughable…
"Dragon-Slaying Third Palm – Void Dragon Palm!"
One of Lan An's hands suddenly struck empty space.
Reverse Dragon Force erupted. A Reverse Dragon phantom coiled through the horizon, then easily vanished into the void.
At the same moment, at the location of the palace's exit formation, the Reverse Dragon phantom pierced through space and appeared before the stunned opponent. The colossal body smashed straight into the figure riding the Fire Cloud.
Imagine a Reverse Dragon phantom baring fangs and claws piercing through your body before vanishing into the sky—what kind of scene would that be?
Puff…
For the first time, the brocade-robed youth spat out a large mouthful of blood. His body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, moving farther and farther from the exit formation.
Void Dragon Palm—this palm could send a Reverse Dragon phantom through the void, appearing anywhere within the range of the user's power.
The Eighteen Dragon-Slaying Palms—each palm designed to counter and suppress orthodox dragons. The weakest was Yi-Rank Extreme-Quality. Using it against the brocade-robed youth was like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.
One palm was enough to gravely injure him. Not to mention his Immortal Force was already nearly depleted, unable to replenish in time.
This was Manhuang Star—even Spiritual Qi was scarce, let alone Immortal Qi for recovery.
He never dreamed that a casual trip to a low-level planet would force him to use high-grade martial skills so many times.
"For what you did to her, repay it a thousandfold!"
Lan An coldly looked down at the dying brocade-robed youth. Killing intent flashed in his eyes as he sneered.
"Want to kill me? Go to the Immortal Realm and find me, haha!" The brocade-robed youth suddenly burst into wild laughter. Though lying flat on the ground, his eyes held no fear—only provocation as he looked at Lan An.
"Who gave you the guts?"
Seeing this, Lan An's anger surged. Emperor Flame and Tribulation Lightning enveloped the brocade-robed youth's body, beginning to burn fiercely.
Normally, Fire and Lightning wouldn't be too threatening to him. But now, gravely injured, his body was tortured. His face twisted in agony, skin peeling grotesquely.
But this man lived up to his True Immortal title. From beginning to end, he didn't even groan once. Only with eyes like a dead man did he coldly look at Lan An and say:
"Little brat, don't be arrogant. This time, you only killed one of my clones. My true body is still in the Immortal Realm. If you're capable, come find me there, hahaha! And don't worry—you'll probably die on the way before you even reach me!"
BOOM…
With that said, ignoring Lan An's darkening expression, the brocade-robed youth's body exploded completely—self-detonating.
He knew that falling into the hands of an enemy like Lan An would mean a fate worse than death. He chose to self-destruct, leaving behind a naked threat.
At that moment, a mysterious mole suddenly flew out from the explosion and attached itself to Lan An's back, instantly giving him a chill.
Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully completing the Epic Mission – Suppress Immortal Force. Rewards: One Weapon Summon, One Physique Summon!
Lan An had no time to care about the System notification. He focused and asked Jin'er:
"He really was just a clone?"
"Correct. The True Immortal Early Stage was only one of his clones. If his true body had been here, Young Master would likely already be dead!" Jin'er didn't hesitate to strike a blow.
"Damn it! Killing him here—won't his true body know? If he brings Immortal Realm powerhouses down, how can we resist?" Lan An frowned tightly, worry rising in his heart.
"Young Master, rest assured. The universe is vast and endless. His true body doesn't have the qualifications to sense what just happened. At most, he'll only know one of his clones died!" Jin'er said without concern.
"Then that's fine for now. What's this creepy mole that just appeared?" Lan An asked, remembering the other matter before he could relax.
"That's the clone's final trick before death. In the future, if you get close to his true body, he'll use this mole to know you're the one who killed his clone and come for revenge!" Jin'er explained.
Lan An took a deep breath and couldn't help but sigh: "As expected of an Immortal Realm genius—even a random one is this troublesome!"
Sending a clone to a low-level planet to seek opportunities, then leaving a tracking mark on the enemy upon death—Immortal Realm geniuses had methods far beyond what powerhouses on low-level planets could match.
Dan Mengji, hidden in the storage ring, also sighed inwardly. Just one clone had forced them into such a difficult battle. This only strengthened her resolve to quickly forge a new body and increase her strength to help him.
Aside from combat power, she could also refine pills for the Rear Palace.
No wonder Lan An searched for half a day and found no storage ring on the brocade-robed youth—he was only a clone. There was no need to carry one.
"Is there a way to remove this mole?" Lan An asked silently. He didn't want to be in such a passive position.
"Currently, there's no way to remove it—unless Young Master's cultivation surpasses the true body of the brocade-robed youth!" Jin'er gave the answer.
Lan An fell silent and didn't ask further. The true body was in the Immortal Realm. Surpassing him was still far away.
Setting the mole aside for now, Lan An thought for a moment and commanded:
"Proceed with the Weapon Summon!"
The Heavy Sword had already been laid to rest honorably. The silver spear Silver Fang gifted by Ai Xin had never been used. He wanted to take this chance to find something handy.
Ding! Beginning Weapon Summon. Countdown: 5 4 3 2 1
Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully summoning Yellow-Rank Weapon – Crimson Fall Sword!
The voice came as fast as a machine gun. Lan An was instantly dumbfounded.
What the hell?
Did I hear wrong?
Treasure ranks from low to high: Yellow, Mysterious, Earth, Heaven, Spirit, True, Extreme…
Now summoning a Yellow-Rank weapon? With a 5-second countdown?
Hadn't the System long since looked down on Yellow-Rank items? Why did this name suddenly appear?
"Jin'er? Is the System broken? If it's broken, I'm not upgrading!" Lan An held back the urge to curse, gritting his teeth.
Crimson Fall Sword—the name sounded majestic, domineering, and intimate. Yet now it was Yellow-Rank?
"Young Master, don't underestimate it yet. Take it out and see first!" Jin'er said calmly, her voice tinged with excitement.
Lan An felt something strange. From her tone, the little girl seemed thrilled. Could there be something he didn't understand?
Without another word, with a thought, Lan An took out the weapon.
KENG…
A sword chant echoed through the space. The blade heavily pressed against the ground…
It was an extremely heavy greatsword, entirely dark crimson like blood. Countless eerie vein-like patterns flowed across its body. Nearly nine chi long, the hilt was perfectly ergonomic and pure crimson…
Compared to Lan An's Heavy Sword, it was one and a half times larger. The difference was that the Heavy Sword was crude and heavy, while this greatsword had a sharp, sickle-like edge—glancing at it sent chills down the spine.
Lan An's eyes shone as he circled the sword. He had never seen a weapon with such a majestic and intimidating form…
Unfortunately, the aura on the sword was still only Yellow-Rank. If used in battle, it probably wouldn't withstand even one strike before shattering.
"Crimson Fall Sword—just the name alone is enough for me to claim you as my own!" Lan An murmured, then flicked a drop of blood onto the blade.
HUM HUM HUM…
In that instant, a mutation occurred…
Lan An and Dan Mengji stared wide-eyed, jaws dropped…
The Crimson Fall Sword suddenly floated into the air. Then, countless blinding crimson lights burst from its body, dazzling to the extreme.
Very quickly, when the light faded, the Crimson Fall Sword had completely vanished. In its place stood a little girl about five or six years old—porcelain skin, jade-carved features. She wore crimson clothes, had crimson hair, crimson lips—only her skin was snow-white. Adorable beyond description…
The little girl suddenly rubbed her exquisite closed eyes with small hands. She looked at Lan An with a radiant smile, revealing tiny white milk teeth, and said in a spoiled, coquettish tone:
"Daddy, Hong'er is hungry!"