The fierce battle had been raging for half a day, the two Sixth Grade Open Heaven cultivators fighting to a standstill, when someone suddenly stepped forward and reported: "Third Mountain Lord, Fourth Mountain Lord — there seems to be unusual activity near the volcanic crater!"
Geng Qing heard the report and focused his gaze toward the distance. After a moment, he said knowingly, "It's Lan Youruo's two Fifth Grade followers. The magma beneath the crater is churning — there must be hidden passages connected to it. Those two have realized things are going badly and are trying to flee… Hmm? Who's that third person?"
Zhou Ya was also looking in that direction. After a brief thought, she said, "It should be that kid who injured Second Brother before. Looks like Second Brother didn't go easy on him — it's been almost a month and he's still unconscious. And now in their escape, he has to be carried on someone's back."
Geng Qing nodded. "That's most likely him. Fourth Sister, leave those three to you. If you can capture them, it'll surely shake Lan Youruo's composure, and that should make things easier for Second Brother."
Zhou Ya hesitated. "But if I leave, what about Second Brother's side…"
Geng Qing smiled. "Don't worry, Fourth Sister. With me watching over him, Second Brother will be fine. When the time is right, I'll join forces with him myself."
Only then did Zhou Ya nod. "Then I'm heading out."
She shot a meaningful glance to her left and right, and over a dozen people immediately followed as she soared through the air, pursuing in the direction the Chef and the others had fled.
A hundred li ahead, the Chef was carrying Yang Kai on his back, his feet a blur of speed, while the Accountant brought up the rear gripping a golden abacus. Glancing back, he saw numerous figures closing in behind them, streaks of light darting through the sky, and his face went pale. "Chef, run faster! They're coming!"
Just as Geng Qing had said, the magma beneath the volcanic crater was connected by a network of hidden passages. The Landlady and her group had been living here for nearly a year and had mapped every inch of the surrounding terrain, precisely as a safeguard against the day they might be cornered.
The Landlady had gone out through one exit and was already locked in combat the moment she emerged. The Chef and the Accountant had sensed trouble immediately and grabbed Yang Kai, slipping out through another passage.
Despite their efforts to remain undetected, someone had spotted traces of their movement. Now with their pursuers closing in, the two could only push themselves to the limit and run.
Both were only Fifth Grade Open Heaven cultivators, and they were burdened with Yang Kai, who was dead weight. Zhou Ya, a Sixth Grade Open Heaven, was leading the pursuit personally, with over a dozen subordinates at her side. The gap in strength was insurmountable — if it came to a direct fight, they wouldn't stand a chance.
The only hope of survival was to keep running. At the same time, they silently prayed that the Landlady's situation would remain safe.
After fleeing for a while, the Accountant's face had gone deathly pale. "Chef, I don't think we can outrun them. That woman's speed is too fast."
The gap between Sixth Grade and Fifth Grade Open Heaven was only one grade, but the difference in actual power was vast. A normal Sixth Grade could handle three to five Fifth Grade cultivators attacking simultaneously with ease, and their flying speed would be notably superior as well.
Zhou Ya was fully committed to the chase. Despite the Chef and the Accountant giving everything they had, they simply couldn't shake her off.
Watching the distance between them shrink by the moment, the Chef suddenly grabbed Yang Kai from his back and tossed him to the Accountant. "Take him and go! I'll hold her off!"
The Accountant caught Yang Kai without a shred of hesitation. Gritting his teeth, he hefted Yang Kai onto his shoulder and surged forward with all his might. Now was no time for hand-wringing — every second they delayed, the worse their situation would become.
Behind them, the Chef took a massive breath, and his body swelled dramatically, transforming into a towering giant several dozen zhang tall, a colossus whose head seemed to pierce the heavens. The apron tied around his waist flapped dramatically in the wind, and the enormous character for "butcher" emblazoned across his chest radiated fierce authority.
In his left hand he gripped a cleaver, in his right a chopping board. His expression was stern, his bearing commanding.
He hurled the chopping board behind him, and it swelled with the wind, expanding as if it meant to encompass the entire sky. Zhou Ya and her pursuers, caught off guard, all landed upon its surface and were immediately bound by a mysterious force that froze them in place.
The Chef raised his cleaver high and bellowed through gritted teeth: "I am the blade and the board — you are the fish and the meat!"
"Cleave, cleave, cleave!"
The cleaver descended, and the air between heaven and earth erupted in a chaos of blade light. In that instant, the world had become his kitchen, and within this cosmic kitchen, he was master of all.
Zhou Ya was stunned. She had never imagined that a Fifth Grade Open Heaven cultivator could unleash such ferocious divine ability. This level of power was far beyond what any ordinary Fifth Grade could muster. Even as a Sixth Grade cultivator, standing upon that chopping board sent a chill of horror through her — as if she really was about to be hacked into countless pieces.
She dared not let her guard down. With a sharp cry, she channeled her World Force and launched one secret technique after another, each more devastating than the last, as the rumbling barrage crashed toward the Chef.
The dozen-odd Mid-Grade Open Heaven cultivators she had brought along were not idle either. Each deployed their own secret techniques and Artifacts, pouring their full strength into the assault. In an instant, the World Force between heaven and earth became a churning tempest.
In barely three breaths of time, the Chef's titanic form lurched backward, blood spraying from his mouth. He shrank like a deflating balloon, rapidly returning to his normal size, and the chopping board that had blanketed the world reverted to its original form, which he retrieved.
The blade light dissipated and the World Force settled. Zhou Ya looked up to see the Chef spitting blood while simultaneously sprinting away at astonishing speed, his portly frame moving with a nimbleness that defied all logic. Her face flushed red with fury, and she roared: "After him! Don't let him get away!"
She had led a personal chase as a Sixth Grade Open Heaven cultivator, and a Fifth Grade had managed to hold her off. Even if it had lasted only a handful of breaths, it was humiliating enough — and she had over a dozen subordinates with her, no less.
Meanwhile, the situation on the Landlady's side was equally dire. Yun Feibai's repeated assaults had failed to break through, and his pride was beginning to show cracks. Seeing this, Geng Qing immediately intervened to support him.
With two Xuan Yang Mountain Mountain Lords fighting together, even a Seventh Grade Open Heaven cultivator could be engaged in battle.
Yet to their shock, Lan Youruo was still holding her own!