If struck by such a spirit-filled spear, even the current Wu Tao would have no chance of survival.
In normal circumstances, he would have retaliated long ago.
However, at this very moment, he was desperately fleeing and had no time to fight back.
Fortunately, Wu Tao was no longer the insignificant Wu Meng of the past.
With a thought, a flash of blue light emanated from the jade pendant at his waist, manifesting a blue shield that appeared between Wu Tao and the bone spear.
"Bang!"
The unstoppable bone spear was forcefully blocked outside the shield, inflicting no harm whatsoever on Wu Tao, who was mere inches away.
A surprised exclamation sounded from behind, originating from Zheng Qianqiu.
Zheng Qianqiu was well aware of the power of the bone spear's strike. Though seemingly simple and unpretentious, this move was one of his ultimate skills.
Such an attack would make even a normal Core Formation stage cultivator hesitate to receive it directly.
Yet, when aimed at this detestable junior before him, it proved entirely ineffective.
"What treasure is this that emits such a protective aura?"
Such a question arose in the mind of Zheng Qianqiu, a cultivator in the early Core Formation stage.
A shield of this intensity was certainly not something a mere Foundation Establishment junior could unleash. It was likely that he was relying on some treasure to achieve this.
A treasure of this caliber was already enough to stir his greed.
...
If Zheng Qianqiu knew that this treasure was selected by Wu Tao as a defensive artifact after he achieved third place in the grand competition, his surprise would have been far greater.
...
After all, Zheng Qianqiu was a seasoned expert. After a brief moment of surprise, he let out a cold laugh and taunted, "Junior, do not think this will stop me."
As he spoke, he did not cease his movements. Before his words even finished, his six arms simultaneously struck out with a palm strike.
Six spectral palm prints, imbued with ghostly energy, once again slammed into the shield.
With a "boom," the shield rippled slightly before shattering and dissipating instantly.
Zheng Qianqiu, indeed a Core Formation stage cultivator, broke the shield in an instant with his full power.
...
Meanwhile.
"Sword Light Flowing Stream!"
Sensing the dire situation, Wu Tao, at the cost of a mouthful of vital blood, propelled his speed to its absolute limit.
"Years Pass Like a Stream!"
...
"Stay where you are!"
Seeing Wu Tao about to escape Zheng Qianqiu's sight, Zheng Qianqiu patted his storage bag and, at the critical moment, deployed another magical artifact.
The dark ghost silk rope whistled through the air, reaching Wu Tao in mere seconds.
"Hmph!"
Wu Tao gripped his sword, Chuxi, and faced it from afar.
A sword's hum suddenly resounded.
A heaven-shattering sword qi abruptly appeared, directly repelling the dark ghost silk rope.
Behind him, faint ghostly energy billowed, accompanied by shouts of rage.
Wu Tao's entire body erupted in golden light, and then his form began to blur. The next moment, the golden light transformed into an exceptionally fine strand of silk.
With a few flashes, it shot towards the distance, its speed so incredible that it vanished without a trace in the span of a single breath, leaving no sign of its passage.
...
"What kind of escape technique is this brat using? How can he be so fast? That son of a..."
Zheng Qianqiu stood rooted to the spot, hopping with rage and cursing as he watched Wu Tao completely disappear.
After a long while, Zheng Qianqiu, having calmed down, began to sense something was amiss.
"With this kid's Foundation Establishment cultivation, how could he possibly employ such a swift escape technique?"
"He didn't actually go far; it's just that neither his eyesight nor his divine sense can detect him."
"Yes... yes, that must be it..."
"It seems I'll have to find someone from the Cui family to help me search."
Zheng Qianqiu said, his expression extremely grim.
...
At this time, Wu Tao had hidden himself in a mountain cave. Although he was unsure how long he could hold out, it appeared to be well concealed.
Wu Tao held up a luminous stone, examining his surroundings, and reached this conclusion.
Fearing that Zheng Qianqiu might use some secret technique to track him, Wu Tao used a Binding Talisman to seal the cave entrance.
Seeing that the mountain cave was reasonably hidden, Wu Tao decided to stay here for a while to heal his injuries and recover his energy.
...
While Wu Tao felt fortunate, he was also puzzled.
Why was he ambushed so soon after entering Yanzhou, and by a Core Formation stage cultivator at that?
Could it be the machinations of the Song family head, Song Daoyi? Wu Tao felt this guess was highly likely.
...
Discovering that the mountain cave was quite deep, Wu Tao proceeded directly towards its interior.
Here, Wu Tao found a long-distance teleportation array from ancient times. Such arrays could transmit over vast distances.
...
Coincidentally, Wu Tao was currently worried about how to evade Zheng Qianqiu's pursuit. Now, he could use this teleportation array to escape to a safe place.
With this thought, Wu Tao placed several mid-grade spirit stones around the teleportation array one by one.
Once the last spirit stone was installed, Wu Tao quickly retreated a few steps, involuntarily holding his breath.
The ancient array, built an unknown number of years ago, suddenly emitted a "humming" sound.
Then, a flash of five-colored light appeared above it, but it immediately returned to tranquility, like a fleeting glimpse of a flower.
Wu Tao's heart sank.
Could it be that the other end of the teleportation array was broken, rendering it unusable?
The next moment, the teleportation array erupted with a surge of immense spiritual power, and a dazzling beam of light shot from the center of the formation, piercing the sky.
Upon seeing this, Wu Tao was first stunned, but then he immediately recalled something, and his face turned ashen white.
Almost simultaneously, a thunderous roar echoed from above the cave, shaking the earth.
Wu Tao's expression grew even more tense, and he immediately moved to the side of the teleportation array.
However, at this moment, Wu Tao felt a sense of hesitation.
Wu Tao was truly unsure of what lay at the other end of the teleportation array.
He had originally planned to scout it out first, determine if there was any danger at the other end, and then decide whether to remain there.
But now that the long-distance teleportation array had been exposed, his journey would undoubtedly be one of no return.
While Wu Tao was deliberating, a loud "boom" startled him.
Looking up, he saw that the entire cave ceiling had been flattened by someone using an unknown artifact.
The dazzling sunlight shone down, illuminating the interior of the cave clearly.
And outside the cave, Zheng Qianqiu, accompanied by a large group of Cui family disciples, hovered in mid-air.
"Found you, brat. You can really hide." Zheng Qianqiu said to Wu Tao with a sinister grin.
...
Seeing Wu Tao remain silent, Zheng Qianqiu glanced at the teleportation array and exclaimed with surprise.
"A long-distance teleportation array!"
The Cui family disciples nearby were first stunned, but then eagerly asked.
"Senior Zheng, are you sure? Is it really that thing?"
...
"That's great, truly great..."
The voice of a leading Cui family disciple trembled slightly.
The meaning of a complete long-distance teleportation array to a large immortal cultivation family or a major power was something this Cui family disciple understood all too well.
Zheng Qianqiu chuckled and was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed, and he sternly shouted, "Not good! This brat is about to use the teleportation array. Capture him quickly!"
After saying this, Zheng Qianqiu swung his Ghost Wind Mad Pattern Staff, striking directly at Wu Tao.
He knew that there was a delay from the activation of the teleportation array to its actual teleportation.
This time was enough for him to interrupt Wu Tao's teleportation.
However, Wu Tao was no pushover.
Wu Tao, wielding the Chuxi sword, unleashed a torrent of sword qi, successfully blocking the Ghost Wind Mad Pattern Staff.
Seeing this, Zheng Qianqiu's face showed surprise, but he immediately roared with a ferocious expression, "Everyone attack together! This brat is troublesome. We must disrupt his actions immediately, or it will be too late!"
Upon hearing Zheng Qianqiu's words, the Cui family disciples seemed to awaken from a daze, and various magical artifacts were immediately unleashed, striking fiercely at Wu Tao below.
Facing the combined assault of a Core Formation stage cultivator and so many others, Wu Tao's body began to sway, showing signs of faltering.
...
At this moment, Wu Tao had already stepped into the center of the teleportation array.
The next second, Wu Tao uttered two chilling words from his mouth!
"Teleport!"
Instantly, five-colored light surged, and Wu Tao's figure vanished within the five-colored glow.
All the attacks struck empty space.
Zheng Qianqiu's face was ashen, and the Cui family disciples were dumbfounded.
A moment later, the five-colored light on the teleportation array flickered and disappeared.
Witnessing this, Zheng Qianqiu and the others were enraged!
They naturally knew that Wu Tao, who had teleported away, must have destroyed the teleportation array at the other end.
...
The other end of the teleportation array was a long-abandoned palace.
The palace was hidden deep underground, dark and silent.
In a spacious stone chamber, Wu Tao, his clothes stained with blood, continuously consumed several healing pills.
Having endured the combined assault of a Core Formation stage cultivator and so many others, Wu Tao was severely injured and required immediate healing.
...
After carefully healing for several days and managing to stabilize his injuries, Wu Tao pushed open the stone chamber door.
As Wu Tao stepped out of the stone chamber, he immediately felt something was amiss.
Why was the air here so dry, with a faint smell of sulfuric acid? This was vastly different from the air he had smelled before!
With this question in mind, Wu Tao flew his sword towards the high altitude, but the scenery that greeted his eyes immediately stunned him.
As far as the eye could see, everything was pitch black, stretching out endlessly, as if it were night.
However, there was no moon in the sky, only some bright stars.
Wu Tao was stunned for a long time before he finally came to his senses, touched his nose, and let out a wry smile.