Chapter 2248 Betrayal

Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan quickly headed back to where Ao Feng and the rest were.

Due to his disguise, the raging phantasmagoric spirits did not recognize him as an intruder and attack him. Soon enough, he arrived back at the mountain forest.

He was still thinking of how delighted Ao Feng would be after relaying his intentions to the latter when he suddenly felt shockwaves diffusing from the area ahead of him.

Dashing forward, he saw that Ao Feng, as a golden dragon, was currently brawling with a ferocious tiger.

“Ao Feng, it has only been a few days since we last met, but why does it seem like you have weakened a lot? If the others saw you in your current state, they would probably laugh their teeth out!” the tiger roared in laughter.

Two forces clashed relentlessly against one another like fireworks in the sky, causing brilliant flashes of light to appear here and there.

“A Conferred God King of the Sky of Adamant Gold?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

The ferocious tiger was likely a Conferred God King of the Sky of Adamant Gold, but it was just a little weird how they suddenly came to blows with one another.

“You b*stard!” Ao Feng roared as he activated a secret art that caused his entire body to glow scarlet.

Once again, he dashed furiously toward the tiger.

Boom boom boom!

Under the collision of the two blows, dimension rifts appeared all around the area.

“Zhang shi…” Luo Qiqi called out as she walked over to Zhang Xuan’s side.

She knew that he had something to do earlier, so she had chosen to leave the mountain stream together with Ao Feng earlier so as to not slow him down.

“What’s going on? Why would the two of them suddenly fight one another?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“Shortly after we came out earlier, Conferred God King Hu Xiao of the Sky of Adamant Gold suddenly stopped us. I reckon that he probably knows that about the Condensed Earth Essence as well, so he intentionally camped outside to snatch it from the wounded Ao Feng,” Luo Qiqi told him.

“I see…” Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

What all cultivators had to be most wary of in the Flooding Sea were not the natural traps nor the spatial turbulence but… their peers!

There were plenty of people who would lie in ambush, waiting for someone else to brave danger to obtain the treasure they wanted before assaulting them and stealing the fruit of their labor.

It seemed like that was exactly what the Conferred God King known as Hu Xiao was doing.

“If not for Ao Feng’s injuries, he should have been more than a match for Hu Xiao, but in his current state, things don’t seem to look too optimistic…” Luo Qiqi shook her head.

If not for Ao Feng sustaining severe injuries from the relentless attacks from the phantasmagoric spirits earlier, no matter how formidable Hu Xiao was, he would only be equal to him at the very most. Unfortunately, Ao Feng was not in a good condition, so the result of the duel was determined right from the very start.

Boom!

A deafening sonic boom exploded in the air, and Ao Feng plummeted from the sky. His massive body was filled with wounds, and golden blood flowed profusely from his body, creating huge craters beneath him.

Zhang Xuan hesitated for a brief moment before he began collecting the dragon blood that was leaking all over the area.

The blood of a Conferred God King Pureblooded Dragon should be able to sell for a decent price.

Hu Xiao transmogrified into a middle-aged man as he demanded with a wintry voice, “Hand over the Condensed Earth Essence!”

Ao Feng gritted his teeth indignantly.

“You know how many Conferred God Kings died in the previous Flood of Spiritual Energy. Don’t push your luck!” Hu Xiao harrumphed as he took a step forward toward Ao Feng.

Knowing that the other party would not hesitate to make a move against him over the Condensed Earth Essence, Ao Feng could only reluctantly hand a jade container over.

Hu Xiao caught the jade container and pried open its lid to check the contents. A moment later, he asked with a deep frown, “Why is it so small?”

Given how many phantasmagoric spirits there were around the mountain stream, the Condensed Earth Essence should have been a decent size. It was unimaginable that it would only be the size of a mere bean!

“The energy probably leaked out earlier while I was breaking the barrier around it. It was already this big when I first laid my hands on it,” Ao Feng replied, not revealing what had happened with Zhang Xuan earlier.

“Leaked out?” Hu Xiao frowned. He kept the Condensed Earth Essence into his storage ring before directing his eyes back to Ao Feng. “Since that’s the case, I’ll just take something of yours in order to make up for it then!”

With a flick of his finger, the storage ring on Ao Feng’s finger immediately flew into Hu Xiao’s grasp.

He tapped on it lightly to clear away the Soul Imprint before taking a look at the items within. His lips crept up in delight as he remarked, “Not bad. You have done well this time. It looks like you have been working hard since entering the Flooding Sea. I’ll be taking all of this!”

Since he was already there to rob Ao Feng, there was no reason for him to leave anything behind for the latter.

While the items inside Ao Feng’s storage ring could not begin to compare to the Condensed Earth Essence, it was still highly beneficial for Conferred God Kings.

“You…”

Seeing how all his possessions were taken away by the other party, Ao Feng gritted his teeth furiously, but he could not say a word.

This was simply how the Flood of Spiritual Energy was. If one lowered one’s guard for a moment, a plunderer would appear to snatch one’s items.

If he fought with Hu Xiao over this, there was a good chance that the latter might just kill him!

So, he had no choice but to tolerate it!

As long as he was alive, he could always earn those cultivation resources back.

After snatching Ao Feng’s items, Hu Xiao turned his gaze toward the other God Kings in the group. “The same goes for the rest of you. Hand over your stuff! I might still hesitate a little before Ao Feng due to the backing of the Sky of Cloud Dragon, but I can’t say that the same goes for the rest of you. If you don’t wish to die, you’d better make a move fast.”

His voice was laced with threat.

The Sky of Cloud Dragon was known to be excessively protective of their kind, and Ao Feng was a Conferred God King on top of that. As long as Ao Feng was willing to obediently hand his stuff over, there was no reason for Hu Xiao to risk killing Ao Feng only to have the Cloud Dragon Monarch exact vengeance on him!

However, the other God Kings did not have the same backing as Ao Feng.

Even if he killed a couple of God Kings, there would be no one to fault him for his actions!

Facing the pressure from Hu Xiao, the injured God Kings glared at him indignantly, but there was nothing he could do.

They might have tried to escape if they were not injured, but in their current state, there was no way they could outrun a Conferred God King.

If they did not hand over their possession, there was a good chance that the other party would do them all in!

God Kings might be highly respected figures in the Firmament, but in the Flooding Sea, they were nothing at all.

“Here…”

“I have only collected these…”

Soon, the God Kings had handed over all the storage rings with them.

Looking at their harvest, Hu Xiao nodded in contentment. Just as he was about to continue speaking, a God King suddenly gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and said, “Conferred God King Hu Xiao, I am willing to serve you if you could return my treasures. I can tell what happened in the mountain stream that caused the Condensed Earth Essence to disappear…”

“You wish to become my follower? That’s not completely out of the question, but that depends on whether the news you have to offer is worth your life and the treasures you have,” Hu Xiao said nonchalantly.

“You will be pleased with what I have to offer…” the God King said with a glint in his eyes before pointing toward Zhang Xuan. “It was that fellow. He was the one who reached the Condensed Earth Essence first, and it was the size of a palm when he entered. However, shortly after he entered, the Condensed Earth Essence grew smaller and smaller till it reached its current size. I believe that he’s the culprit behind the disappearance of the Condensed Earth Essence!”

That fellow possessed the strength to deal with the phantasmagoric spirits, but he had watched idly as they got injured, and he had even run to the light barrier to steal the Condensed Earth Essence.

To be honest, he had been extremely annoyed and dissatisfied with the young man for some time.

Through this, not only would he be able to teach the young man a lesson, he would also be able to keep his treasures. It would be killing two birds with one stone!

“You are the one who stole the Condensed Earth Essence?”

Hearing that the Condensed Earth Essence had actually been the size of a fist previously, Hu Xiao assessed Zhang Xuan with narrowed eyes.

If he could obtain the Condensed Earth Essence from the other party and present it to God Monarch Fumeng, he would surely be able to win the God Monarch’s favor!