Chapter 153 Abduction

"What is going on here, Deacon Wang?" Zhang Yi asked.

Wang Changsheng had already led the group away from the vicinity of the God of War Mountain, but Zhang Yi still could not help asking. He had not received an explanation from Wang Changsheng earlier, but now that they were safe, he felt compelled to ask.

"It is not an alliance with the He family!" Wang Changsheng said in a deep voice. "Given the relationship between the He family and the Corpse Refining Sect, the He family could never agree to an alliance, nor would our Corpse Refining Sect!"

"It is simply that we share a common enemy. Once we deal with the enemy, we will resolve the issues between the Corpse Refining Sect and the He family!" Wang Changsheng said solemnly.

Through Wang Changsheng's explanation, Zhang Yi and the others finally understood what was happening.

"What should we do now?" Zhang Yi asked.

"Wait!"

Wang Changsheng said, "Right now, we wait for Chen Yuan and Jin Gang. Only when they bring back the results can I determine our next step."

A solemn expression appeared on Wang Changsheng's face.

If Chen Yuan and Jin Gang could eliminate the cultivators of the He family, then whatever happened inside the God of War Tomb would basically be decided by the Corpse Refining Sect. Once Chen Yuan and Jin Gang failed, the situation for the Corpse Refining Sect would become rather troublesome.

Caiyun was not dead, and now the He family had emerged victorious. Even if Chen Yuan and Jin Gang managed to escape, it would drive Cloud Palace Peak and the He family to join forces. The Corpse Refining Sect could not possibly withstand an alliance between Cloud Palace Peak and the He family.

Of course, the premise of an alliance between the He family and Cloud Palace Peak was that Caiyun could swallow her pride, especially since the He family had just allied with the Corpse Refining Sect to slaughter many cultivators of Cloud Palace Peak.

There were too many uncontrollable factors, and Wang Changsheng dared not be certain whether Caiyun and the He family would choose to ally.

Boom!

Just as Wang Changsheng was pondering, the sound of an explosion reached his ears.

Immediately afterward, Wang Changsheng felt a massive force directly blast him into the air.

When Wang Changsheng regained his wits, his entire body had been smashed into the ground by this immense force, creating a huge, deep crater.

If not for his cultivation of the Fire Phoenix Formula, this explosive power alone would have been more than enough to overwhelm him.

"Who goes there?"

Zhang Yi, possessing the highest cultivation among them, reacted instantly. He crawled out of the crater with a wary expression on his face, his artifact coffin already summoned.

Once the Corpse Refining Sect disciples recovered their senses, they immediately formed a circle around Wang Changsheng, protecting him in the center.

Such a sudden explosion, accompanied by violent fluctuations, must have been an attack by enemies. However, it remained unclear which faction these enemies belonged to.

"Could Cloud Palace Peak have tracked us down?" A puzzled expression crossed Wang Changsheng's face.

Only Cloud Palace Peak would possess the strength to track down the fleeing Wang Changsheng and his companions in such a short time and launch an ambush.

After all, the Cloud Palace Peak cultivators they had wiped out earlier were only a fraction of their forces!

Upon seeing two figures materialize in mid-air, Wang Changsheng instantly realized that these were definitely not cultivators from Cloud Palace Peak.

"It's you?!"

Catching sight of one of the cultivators dressed in grey robes, Wang Changsheng felt an immediate sense of familiarity. After a moment of thought, he recognized him instantly.

This was precisely the same cultivator who had persuaded Wang Changsheng to board the cloud boat back when he was traveling from Chengtian Realm to Shentian Realm!

"Wang Changsheng!"

The grey-robed cultivator looked at Wang Changsheng with a mixture of amusement and nostalgia. "I thought you would surely die in the Corpse Refining Sect. I never expected those rats to let you survive. Not only that, but in just a few short years, you've managed to make quite a name for yourself and live quite comfortably!"

The grey-robed cultivator found it incredible. He had originally assumed that entering the Corpse Refining Sect meant certain death for Wang Changsheng. To his surprise, not only had Wang Changsheng survived, but he had even risen to the position of a deacon within the sect. When he first heard the news, he had found it utterly baffling.

"Who on earth are you?" Wang Changsheng asked solemnly.

"Deacon Wang, be careful! I cannot see through the cultivation of either of these two," Zhang Yi said in a deep voice. "Furthermore, I cannot sense even a sliver of their aura, which means these two are at least at the late Golden Core stage!"

"Late Golden Core stage?" Wang Changsheng was immediately startled.

"Who I am is none of your concern!" the grey-robed cultivator said. "Well, renowned Deacon Wang, care to take a trip with us?"

"What exactly do you want?" Zhang Cunzhong asked at this moment.

Bang!

No sooner had Zhang Cunzhong finished speaking than a muffled thud echoed out. Immediately afterward, everyone watched as Zhang Cunzhong was sent flying backward through the air.

"Cunzhong!"

"Senior Brother Zhang!"

"I'll go check on him!"

...

Zhang Yi rushed over to Zhang Cunzhong, lifting him up, only to discover that Zhang Cunzhong had merely been injured and was not dead.

"What on earth do you people want?" Wang Changsheng demanded sternly.

Since these individuals had resorted to direct attacks, Wang Changsheng could not fathom their motives. More importantly, apart from that single journey on the cloud boat, he had had no other interactions with them.

Wang Changsheng simply could not understand why these two had come looking for him.

"Wang Changsheng, come with us. If your answers satisfy us, I can guarantee your safety!" the grey-robed cultivator said. "And don't pin your hopes on these Corpse Refining Sect disciples. Even if that Chen Yuan and Jin Gang were here together, they couldn't protect you."

The grey-robed cultivator could see that Wang Changsheng was merely stalling for time. However, given the cultivation levels of the two grey-robed men, the arrival of Chen Yuan and Jin Gang would change nothing.

Hearing this, a contemplative expression appeared on Wang Changsheng's face.

"Fine, I will go with you. But you must guarantee the safety of these Corpse Refining Sect disciples!" Wang Changsheng said resolutely.

"No, I can only guarantee that we will not kill them!" the grey-robed cultivator replied coldly.

"That's not good enough!" Wang Changsheng snapped. "You must guarantee that they return to the Corpse Refining Sect safe and sound!"

Boom!

The moment Wang Changsheng finished speaking, a muffled blast echoed out. Following that, Wang Changsheng watched as all the surrounding Corpse Refining Sect disciples, save for himself, were blasted backward. They coughed up blood, their faces turning deathly pale, clearly having suffered heavy injuries.

"Wang Changsheng, you have no choice, and you have no room for negotiation!" the grey-robed cultivator said darkly. "We reasoned with you out of a desire to avoid a falling out, but do you really think you are somebody important?"

Hearing these words, Wang Changsheng's expression turned grim.

In Shentian Realm, Wang Changsheng had never considered himself anyone important, for his strength was simply too low. In the cultivation world, raw power was the only foundation for speaking with confidence. Just like now, the two grey-robed cultivators used their overwhelming strength to leave Wang Changsheng utterly powerless.

Under such circumstances, no amount of scheming was of any use. Only absolute strength could shatter all methods!

This was precisely why Wang Changsheng had decided to go with them: the gap in strength was simply too vast.

"Deacon Wang, do... don't go with them!"

Zhang Yi, who had been the first to be attacked, regained consciousness and said intermittently. "Our Corpse Refining Sect is... is never afraid of trouble. Whatever you do... do not go with them!"

Having said this, Zhang Yi lost consciousness once more.

Wang Changsheng's expression grew even more unsightly.

If he had a choice, Wang Changsheng naturally would not want to accompany these two. He had no inkling of what they wanted from him, and facing such formidable cultivators, he possessed zero means of self-preservation.

Yet, what choice did he have if he refused?

By now, all the Corpse Refining Sect disciples had been heavily injured and knocked to the ground. Facing the two intruders, Wang Changsheng had no capacity to resist whatsoever. Even if he fought back, it would be entirely futile!

"Very well, I will go with you," Wang Changsheng said in a deep voice.

"A wise choice!" the grey-robed cultivator smiled. "If I had to drag you away by force, it wouldn't have been nearly this pleasant!"

With that, the grey-robed cultivator instantly appeared beside Wang Changsheng, grabbed him by the shoulder, and shot up into the sky, carrying him away.

Scarcely half an incense stick of time after Wang Changsheng was taken away, Chen Yuan and Jin Gang arrived, following the trail left behind by Zhang Yi.

"What happened here?" Chen Yuan's expression turned ugly as he saw Zhang Yi and the others lying on the ground. "Could Cloud Palace Peak or He Feng have tracked us down?"

"No," Jin Gang said grimly.

"If Cloud Palace Peak or He Feng had found them, they would all be dead by now."

This time, they had slaughtered dozens of Golden Core cultivators from Cloud Palace Peak, as well as two eighth-layer Golden Core cultivators from the He family. If He Feng or Cloud Palace Peak had truly caught up, Zhang Yi and the others would not have even left corpses behind. Having suffered such heavy losses, neither Cloud Palace Peak nor the He family would have shown mercy!

Chen Yuan immediately moved to revive Zhang Yi and the others.

"Save him, quickly go save Deacon Wang!" Zhang Yi gasped as he regained consciousness. "Deacon Wang has been captured!"

Chen Yuan's brows furrowed deeply. "What on earth happened?"

"Did Cloud Palace Peak or He Feng give chase?" Jin Gang immediately asked.

"No, it wasn't them!" Zhang Yi replied weakly. "I don't know who those people were, but they were definitely not cultivators from Cloud Palace Peak or the He family!"

"Their sole objective was to capture Deacon Wang!" Zhang Cunzhong interjected at that moment. "According to that grey-robed cultivator, it seemed they had some matters they wished to question Deacon Wang about!"

"Therefore, they shouldn't kill Deacon Wang; they likely only abducted him. Hurry, go rescue him!"

Hearing Zhang Cunzhong's words, Chen Yuan fell into deep thought before saying solemnly, "Heal your injuries first!"

Shortly after, Chen Yuan led Zhang Cunzhong and the others to a more secluded location. After setting up protective arrays, Chen Yuan and Jin Gang exchanged grave looks.

"Senior Brother Chen, what do you think?" Jin Gang asked in a deep, booming voice. "You know I'm not one for thinking. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it!"

"I don't know what to do either!" Chen Yuan said with a heavy expression. "Deacon Wang was the one making all the plans. Now that he has been captured, I have no idea how to proceed!"

"Should we go and search for him first?" Jin Gang suggested gruffly.

"How are we supposed to search?" Chen Yuan countered. "I checked the area just now; Deacon Wang didn't leave behind a single trace. We haven't the slightest clue where he was taken!"