Meanwhile, the Black Demon Lightnings surged forward like gigantic black dragons roaring with fury, hot on Xiao Jietian's heels!
Wherever they passed, lightning bolts splashed wildly in all directions. Space shattered inch by inch, collapsing into primordial nothingness. Even other lightning bolts in their path were instantly annihilated by the terrifying power of the Black Demon Lightning.
"Damn it! After chasing me for a whole year without success, why are they suddenly coming after me now?"
Xiao Jietian was utterly bewildered. He couldn't understand why the Black Demon Lightnings had suddenly gone berserk, as if he had killed their fathers.
He shifted his steps repeatedly, dodging the occasional lightning blasts fired from behind.
These Black Demon Lightnings clearly possessed a trace of intelligence.
"Why do they seem to be following some kind of command? Could it be that thing's doing?" The more Xiao Jietian thought about it, the more suspicious he became. "Is it because I ate too much of its 'food'?"
Just as Xiao Jietian emerged from the depths of the Lightning Pool and reached the boundary between the inner and outer regions, he suddenly sensed a fluctuation in the distant void. An old man's figure then appeared, heading straight into the Lightning Pool.
The old man wore a purple-blue robe and had a full head of white hair. He looked advanced in age, yet his face was full of vigor and showed no signs of frailty.
Xiao Jietian sensed the man's aura—Advanced Half-Saint.
An Advanced Half-Saint old man with formidable lightning-attributed Dou Qi. After taking another look at his face, Xiao Jietian roughly guessed who he was.
His eyes darted around as a thought quickly flashed through his mind.
He subtly changed direction and headed straight toward the old man.
The old man also sensed Xiao Jietian's aura. Although he couldn't determine the young man's exact realm, he could feel a faint sense of threat. The other party's cultivation was clearly not low.
Most importantly, the young man was terrifyingly young. Upon seeing his face, the old man felt a vague sense of familiarity, though he couldn't quite recall where he had seen him before.
Xiao Jietian was a man of swift action. He immediately increased his speed and rushed toward the old man. After all, he respected the elderly and cherished the young—he definitely had to warn the senior about the danger ahead.
With a benevolent expression, he shouted, "Fellow Daoist, there's danger ahead! Run quickly!"
"Friend, what's wrong with you? Danger? What danger? Why should I run?" Mang Tianchi was completely bewildered by the sudden warning and turned to look at Xiao Jietian in confusion.
Xiao Jietian dashed past him, pointed behind, and urged, "Look back! Look back! There's danger!"
"Are you kidding me? This old man has weathered all kinds of storms. There's no danger that can make me flee."
The old man looked in the direction Xiao Jietian had pointed.
With just one glance, the Advanced Half-Saint's expression froze completely, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks.
It was the kind of sight that could make one's soul explode if stared at for too long.
Dozens of massive black dragons formed a destructive torrent. Even the entire void wailed and trembled under their crushing force.
And these terrifying dark dragons were surging toward the two of them with ferocious momentum. They were already dangerously close!
"I... I'll fuck your motherfucker!!!"
The old man's previously calm and composed demeanor shattered in an instant.
A chill shot from the base of his spine straight to the top of his head, scaring him out of his wits. He couldn't hold back anymore and let out a furious curse at Xiao Jietian.
Black Demon Lightning was equivalent in power to a low-level Dou Saint. Although they lacked full intelligence and were usually easy to handle individually, he was only an Advanced Half-Saint. A few might be manageable, but dozens? If he didn't get beaten to a pulp, it would be a miracle.
Lightning flashed beneath his feet as he shot out of the Lightning Pool at maximum speed, quickly catching up to Xiao Jietian.
Running side by side, the old man cursed nonstop, spit flying everywhere. "What the hell did you do in there to anger both heaven and earth?! How did you attract all these things?! Damn it! You little bastard! Scoundrel! May you be hacked into a thousand pieces!"
"I don't know either," Xiao Jietian replied helplessly. "I was just cultivating peacefully inside, and then they suddenly started chasing me."
"Cultivating would cause this?" Mang Tianchi nearly choked, his voice cracking. "Looking at them, I'd sooner believe you screwed their wives!"
"Forget it. This old man will go on ahead. You can play with them slowly." The space in front of the old man twisted, and he vanished, reappearing a thousand meters ahead of Xiao Jietian.
Xiao Jietian also increased his speed. With a single step, he appeared right behind the old man once more.
"Damn you, kid! Don't come over here!!"
Seeing Xiao Jietian following him, the old man couldn't help but curse loudly. Despite his words, he didn't dare slow down in the slightest.
"Senior, I don't want to either, but this is the shortest way out," Xiao Jietian said with a dry laugh, shrugging helplessly. "As the saying goes, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Senior, I'll head out first. You hurry and catch up, otherwise it'll be very dangerous."
A flash of light appeared beneath Xiao Jietian's feet. His body twisted, and he reappeared more than two thousand meters ahead.
"!!!"
The old man watched Xiao Jietian pull further and further away, then glanced back at the roaring black dragons of lightning behind him. Their dark electric glow illuminated the surrounding space like the arrival of doomsday.
Was this the legendary situation where whoever ran slower would end up covering the rear?
Was this old man the one covering the rear now?
The old man was so exasperated that his hair nearly stood on end.
Just then, a tiny silver lightning bolt suddenly darted out in panic.
*Crack!*
The sound of lightning striking flesh rang out.
"What the fuck?! Are you kidding me?!!"
The old man shrieked. He unleashed his full power, twisting the void once more. This time, he reappeared roughly fifteen hundred meters ahead.
Xiao Jietian ran wildly and quickly reached the exit of the Lightning Pool.
After leaving the Lightning Pool, he didn't stop. He continued sprinting for several thousand meters before finally coming to a halt.
Listening to the rumbling sounds still echoing from inside, Xiao Jietian glanced back at the edge of the Lightning Pool and muttered, "I wonder if that old senior managed to escape safely. With his strength, he should be fine, though he'll probably be a bit disheveled. I really feel quite guilty."
"Are you kidding me? Just those few dozen puny Black Demon Lightnings can make me disheveled?" A grumbling voice suddenly came from the nearby void. "If I weren't worried about completely agitating the Lightning Pool, I would have punched them one by one until they were gone."
The old man then stepped out from the distorted space.
However, when he appeared this time, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and a hint of shame and annoyance flashed in his eyes.
"Senior's strength is truly formidable. I am very envious," Xiao Jietian said, cupping his hands slightly in respect.