The Immortal Emperor Returns

Chapter 286 My Lord, Someone’s Stealing Your Loot!

The ominous croaking of birds and cries of ferocious beasts echoed against the backdrop of a dimly-lit sky.

A group of ten was rushing toward Dongling City.

“Make haste, guys! We’re reaching the city soon!” Chen Quan urged.

The Tianlong Fort had accumulated a hefty fortune over its centuries-long history, and a quarter of that wealth was with him now. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

The Fort’s fortune consisted of not only money but spiritual herbs, exotic flowers, and peculiar fruits as well. These objects were far more precious than mere money.

“Damn that Chu the Devil for forcing us to abandon our century-old homeland!” one of them cursed.

“If Chu the Devil ever falls to my hands one day, I swear I’ll make him experience all the torment in the world.”

“Old Ding, you left in such hurry. What happened to the lover you were looking for?”

A dangerous glint flashed in the eyes of a grim-faced middle-aged man in the group. He reached out and made a slashing gesture at his neck.

“You actually killed her?”

“She’s just a woman. I can find one anywhere. She knows too much, and I would never let other men enjoy a woman that I’ve once bedded.”

“Shut up! I don’t want you attracting beasts here with your noise!” Chen Quan cried.

Beasts were getting more and more terrifying. Several Beast Lords had even been born, and they were on par with Human King Realm warriors. If they were in the same rank as their human opponent, they might even come out stronger.

Chen Quan held a high position in the Tianlong Fort and had the trust of Long Feiyang. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been entrusted with a quarter of the Fort’s wealth. After receiving a scolding from him, everyone closed their mouths and continued their journey in silence.

“Argh...” Suddenly, Wu Ming staggered as if his foot was caught against a stone and slammed his head straight onto Ding Quan’s back, nearly knocking him away.

Ding Quan faltered before regaining balance. He turned around and looked at Wu Ming coldly. “What are you doing?”

Wu Ming scrunched his neck and laughed with embarrassment. “Sorry, I was running too fast that I accidentally slipped on a rock.”

Ding Quan appeared gloomy, and a murderous look crossed his eyes as he said solemnly, “You’d better watch out. Keep your freaking eyes wide open and watch your steps. If you do this again, don’t blame me for breaking your neck.”

Wu Ming’s expression darkened as well. Ding Quan’s cultivation was a grade higher, and his time at the Tianlong Fort was also longer. Ding Quan often bullied and insulted him as well. It just so happened that he had been thinking of ways to slow these guys down. This was the perfect opportunity.

“Ding Quan, who the hell do you think you are? We’re both members of the Tianlong Fort. The rules forbid members from killing each other. Are you trying to insult our Fort Master?” Wu Ming yelled, his neck stretched tautly.

Ding Quan was surprised. This wasn’t his first-time bullying Wu Ming. No matter how he bullied Wu Ming, this pushover would just retreat with a smiling face. He had never seen Wu Ming arguing with him.

“Do you have a death wish?” He was enraged. He had always been cruel, but this time, Wu Ming had embarrassed him by confronting him in front of so many people.

“I do have a death wish! As soon as we lost our ancestral land, you stopped showing our Fort Master any respect and ignored his rules! Are you trying to rebel?” Wu Ming refused to back down.

Ding Quan’s face turned ashen. When he saw Chen Quan looking at him with scrutiny, his heart jumped and he had to forcibly suppress his anger. He stared at Wu Ming and said, “I’ll remember this and settle with you later.”

Wu Ming started to panic. He didn’t expect the hot-tempered Ding Quan to restrain himself. “My Lord, I don’t know what I can do if you still don’t show up. If I keep provoking Ding Quan, they’ll notice that something’s wrong with me.”

“Stop arguing and go,” Chen Quan said.

The group started running again.

Wu Ming was beside himself with worry. It would be much harder for them if the group were to enter the city. Chen Quan was a cunning person. If Chen Quan caught a plane, leave on a helicopter, or transfer the items in his hands as soon as he entered the city, there wasn’t any point for Chu Xun to chase after him anymore.

Boom!

Suddenly, the ground exploded and sent dirt flying everywhere. In a moment of inattention, Wu Ming fell and rolled over.

The others were shocked as well and had to retreat in varying states of despair.

When Wu Ming got up from the ground and turned to look, all he saw was a huge head poking out of the ground. The head had a mouth full of sharp teeth and a pair of scarlet eyes. It was a pangolin.

Soon, the ground began shaking and cracks started appearing. The pangolin then crawled out of the ground.

“Dear God!” Wu Ming’s eyes widened. The pangolin, with a body covered in white scales, was more than ten meters long. It was terrifyingly and ridiculously big. Even scarier was its ferocious aura that frightened even a first-grade Human King like him. This creature was surely a Beast Lord, and one with a significant cultivation.

The pangolin opened its mouth, revealing its row of snow-white teeth that looked like falling daggers. Its aura was absolutely sinister. It seemed that few would be able to survive its bite.

Chen Quan gestured for everyone to gather.

Wu Ming had no choice but to roll over to the bush on the side of the road. The pangolin probably didn’t notice him at all, but now that Chen Quan had summoned him, he could only reluctantly get up and join the group.

Swoosh!

Ding Guan’s unsheathed sword gave off a dangerous glint. His eyes looked fierce when he attacked at a lightning-fast speed, slashing at the pangolin.

Clink!

Sparks flew everywhere. However, even if Ding Guan had given it his all, he couldn’t slash open the pangolin’s scales.

Not only was his attack completely useless, but he had also even managed to anger the pangolin.

The pangolin was nearly five meters tall and its every leg was as thick as a stone pillar. Ding Guan, who was standing right in front of the creature, wasn’t even as tall as its leg joints.

The pangolin raised its massive front legs to stomp on him. It wanted to trample and crush the mere ant that dared to provoke it.

Ding Quan’s expression changed. He immediately retreated.

Boom!

The pangolin’s stomp caused an explosion on the ground and the impact directly sent Ding Quan flying.

“Nice stomp! A fine stomp indeed! Stomp until he cries! Stomp that bastard to death!” Wu Ming rejoiced on the inside.

What he was truly happy about was the fact that the pangolin had solved his problem. He had been wondering how he should delay these people.

Chen Quan’s eyes appeared grim. He felt that this pangolin was a powerful opponent.

“We’ll attack together and kill it quickly!”

As soon as he spoke, he made the first attack and displayed the entirety of his fifth-grade Human King Realm power. A palm print traveled through the air and struck hard on the body of the pangolin.

Boom!

The pangolin’s scales exploded and blood burst out. It had failed to stop Chen Quan’s attack.

Roar!

The pangolin was in so much pain that it started to go berserk. It opened its huge mouth of interlacing sharp teeth and tried to bite Chen Quan.

Chen Quan dodged the attack, and a tree by the road—a tree wide enough to be hugged by two men—was snapped in half.

The pangolin’s bite was terrifying.

By then, the ten or so other members of the group had made their attacks. Inner Breath of all sorts surged as they bombarded the pangolin simultaneously.

The pangolin went mad and started rampaging. The group was so busy dodging the creature that dust was flying everywhere, stones were crushed, and ancient trees tumbled.

The pangolin’s defense was far too strong. Chen Quan was the only one who could damage it. The rest couldn’t even harm it.

Boom!

One of them happened to be swept by the pangolin’s tail and was sent flying and screaming. The flesh on his back was lacerated.

Boom!

Blood spilled everywhere as Chen Quan once again injured the pangolin with his fist signet.

“Attack where it’s injured!” he yelled.

The pangolin was no more than a massive armed tank with sharp claws, a fearsome bite, and a sweeping tail. It had cleared 100 meters of its surroundings, leaving behind not even a large rock on the ground.

Following Chen Quan’s order, the group started attacking the pangolin’s injured spot.

The pangolin was furious and violent, but it was no match for so many enemies. Blood kept bursting out its body. Eventually, it turned its head and fled into the dense jungle, running down countless ancient trees along the way and trampling countless rocks. It disappeared into the depth of the mountains in a puff of dust.

Chen Quan and his group were left in a pathetic state, with several injured in varying degrees of severity. They couldn’t help cursing their bad luck.

“Let’s get out of here quickly,” Chen Quan said.

The pangolin had put them through hell. If more showed up, they would probably die here.

“Argh... My Lord, why are you still not here?” Wu Ming felt truly helpless.

The group was about to leave when they heard someone saying out of nowhere, “Stay here. Don’t go anywhere.”

As soon as the voice reached the group’s ears, they saw two people walking out from behind an ancient tree. Their robes and face coverings were both black.

“Broken Souls Cult.” Chen Quan’s body immediately tightened. He didn’t even notice when these two started hiding behind the tree. Moreover, their attire was unmistakably that of the Broken Souls Cult.

“After hearing about the relocation of the Tianlong Fort, our Sect Master has sent us here to help,” one of the black-robed men said, his voice hoarse.

Chen Quan was on full alert. He clasped his fist and said, “Thank you, but we don’t need your help. Please return! Our Fort Master will definitely make a personal visit to thank your Sect Master in the future!”

The appearance of the members of the Broken Souls Cult at this time couldn’t be as simple as they had claimed.

“We’re already here. How should we explain ourselves if we just go back like this? We heard that you’ve been traveling with quite the cargo, Brother Chen. We’re just trying to share your burden.”

Chen Quan’s heart lurched. He immediately understood their intentions. “As you can see, we’re traveling with just the clothes on our backs. We didn’t bring anything else.”

The black-robed man sneered. “Your ring looks pretty nice, Brother Chen. Mind letting me have a look?”

Chen Quan’s heart sank, knowing that these two had figured out their situation. He immediately said with force, “Tianlong Fort and the Broken Souls Cult are allies! This is against the rules, isn’t it?”

“Since we’re allies, all the more reason to share.” The black-robed man’s voice suddenly turned sharp. “Brother Chen, I advise you to hand the ring over. Don’t force us to fight. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if we hurt our relationship.”

The most disappointed person was Wu Ming. When he heard the voice, he thought it was Chu Xun. He was greatly disappointed when he saw that it was two members of the Broken Souls Cult instead.

“My Lord, can you come here soon? Someone’s stealing your loot!” he quipped under his breath.

“Do you two really intend to do this?” Chen Quan asked sharply.

“It seems that you don’t plan on handing the ring over, Brother Chen. We have no choice but to do it ourselves then.”

As soon as the words rang in the air, the two black-robed men lunged at Chen Quan at the same time.

“Broken Souls Sect! After today, we’ll inform our Fort Master to annul our alliance with you!” Chen Quan shouted, and took the initiative to launch the first attack. He thrust his palm at the men, sending sand and stone flying everywhere.

But what frightened him was that his opponent didn’t use his Inner Breath at all and shattered his attack with a purely physical fist. His opponent came close to him and swung his fist. A loud thud resounded when the opponent’s fist hit his chest and caused a dent in his chest. He flew out, coughing up blood.

He was horrified. This man was outrageously powerful!

What happened next made him widen his eyes. Like a pair of tigers storming into a flock of sheep, the two men rushed into the crowd and ruthlessly killed his subordinates one by one.

Wu Ming was so frightened that he yelped. He didn’t want to die! He opened his mouth and yelled, “My Lord...”

Bang!

An iron fist hit his head, stopping him from yelling. He fell straight down, his breath completely gone.