Chapter 28 : One Man
The first elder who had a fairly built stature came up and shut down the second elder who had spoken up earlier, "Since when have you had any lands here?", he asked, as a chance of provocation, but before he could get his reply, footsteps were heard from the cave's entrance, the waterfall's splash and and slow clacking of every step created an echo that brought an eerie feeling to the disciples who accompanied the elders.
The sound of the steps started getting louder as Tang Feng got closer to the entrance of the cave, he walked out, standing with an unshakable confidence that those who were weaker than him could feel, his sash flowing with the wind as he faced the people before him. He lifted himself off the ground, up to the point where he was standing at the same level as the others. Everybody was looking at him as if wondering if he was the cause of the heavenly tribulation.
"You brat, if you know what's good for you, just hang over the treasure", the arrogant elder of earlier burst out, wanting to claim the treasure for himself, 'A treasure that has the ability to summon a heavenly tribulation is bound to be terrifying, right? I must have it no matter what', he thought as he casted side glanced at the people besides him.
"Junior does not understand what senior means", Tang Feng said, playing dumb, "You!", the elder said, frustrated but another elder, who was the first elder and appeared older said, "Enough!", his gaze now on Tang Feng, "What is your name?", he asked calmly, taking control of the situation, "Answer to elder, I'm Luo Zeng, a worker of the celestial pavilion sect", Tang Feng calmly replied, his acting skills fully functional.
The first elder's gaze became more intense, "We sensed the presence of a heavenly treasure here and came to take a look", he explained, watching Tang Feng's reaction intently. Tang Feng understood his intention and continued to play along, "I don't know what a heavenly treasure is. I was just practicing here quietly when I heard the heavenly tribulation. I was about to go investigate what it was when the elders showed up", Tang Feng said, his head now up as he looked the first elder in the eye, erasing any suspicions.
The first elder looked at Tang Feng a little longer before closing his eyes, "Alright, since you know nothing about it, you can go", he said, but the other elder didn't agree, "What? Are you just going to let him go? What if he already has the treasure?", he interjected, not satisfied until he had searched Tang Feng for himself, "Enough, he said he doesn't know what the treasure is. You may leave", he said, as he waved Tang Feng away, silently watching, "Thank you, elder", he said, flying past them.
He passed the elder that didn't want him to leave, both of them exchanging glances. Tang Feng flashed a grin at the elder, and passed him, but just as he passed the first elder, the storage ring he was wearing blinged and the first elder was able to quickly search the ring and he felt an extraordinary energy inside, which he decided to confirm, "Stop", he said, turning around to question Tang Feng further, but Tang Feng didn't have time to wait behind and entertain them so he increased his speed and ran off, "Bastard! Chase and catch him for me!", the other elder said, furious that Tang Feng had almost fooled them all, "Yes!", all the disciples that came with them said, before chasing after Tang Feng together, but they couldn't catch up to him.
The elder grew impatient and decided to chase Tang Feng himself, almost catching up to him, but Tang Feng activated his thousand phantom art and escaped easily again, 'I can't afford to let them catch me and find out I took the heavenly dao pill', he thought as he continued his escape.
He looked back, smiling after seeing them panting and gasping from chasing after him, but his eyes went wide after discovering the first elder was no where in sight. He couldn't afford to think too hard about it and continued running, but the first elder immediately appeared before him, causing Tang Feng to switch his pace and stop, flying in another direction, but he still couldn't escape the first elder, even when he flew with his full power, The first elder only needed to take two steps to catch up with him, "Damn it!", Tang Feng said, finally stopping and letting everyone catch up to him.
Tang Feng was surrounded, and yet he wasn't afraid. The first elder released his pressure on Tang Feng, causing him to stager Abit before getting back on his feet, "Ho? A mere worker is able to withstand this? Interesting", the first elder said, intrigued by Tang Feng's resilience, "First elder, let us take care of him", the disciples who came with the elders said, not letting the chance to show off and look good in front of the elders pass them by, "Good, anybody who can take down that thief and bring me the treasure will be rewarded handsomely", the second elder said, motivating the disciples even more.
When the free cultivators heard that anyone who brings the treasure will receive a reward, they immediately joined the other disciples to attack Tang Feng. Tang Feng smiled, ready to take on a challenge anytime, "Come on", he said, rotating his shoulder, and walking towards them, "Go die for me", one of the assailants yelled as he swung his sword, Tang Feng just smiled and used the Thousand Phantom Art to appear behind half of them in an instant, leaving behind traces of the path he followed covered in lightning, when he appeared behind them, he snapped his fingers and the lightning path became visible as well as the attacks he landed on those he blew past, which caused them to fall out,
"So fast", one of them said, "Don't be afraid, let's all go together, he's just one man", another said, as they all charged at Tang Feng again, but he easily took care of each of them, swatting away their attacks like he was bored, leaving both elders stunned, "Waste, you can't even deal with one man", the second elder said, walking up to deal with Tang Feng, who just stood up after finishing up the last attacker.
He didn't want to waste his time on the second elder, so he activated his chaos core and released the aura from within, letting the second elder stop in his tracks, fidgeting as if he saw a monster. He couldn't move, 'No way, what's this thick murderous intent in the air, and how can a meagre Nascent Soul Final Stage give off such an intimidating aura?', the second elder asked himself, as he watched Tang Feng pass him, heading towards the first elder, who just watched like a host enjoying a show, his eyes holding no emotion as he and Tang Feng engaged in an intense stare off.