Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

"Shen Kai, our enmity will not end until I have ground your face on this soil! "

"Scum, I'll find you! As soon as I break through to the soul reformation realm, I'll skin you alive! "

"I'll make that asshole regret being born!"

Various vehement exclamations were livening up the woods. With the gentle touch of sunlight flickering through the large trees and chirping birds, it created a memorable scene, especially for Han Xuhan, who took great pleasure in basking under the warmth of the sunshine and the caress of sweet, savory vengeance.

"Martial brother Xuhan, how about we get out of these ropes first?" Yuen Zhou suggested exasperatedly.

The three of them then wriggled out of the oddly sturdy ropes with the help of some of the fuming cultivators near them and stretched their limbs for a few moments to relieve their tense muscles. The teleportation had taken a huge toll on their bodies.

Right at this time, one of the sharper cultivators had finally managed to calm down and analyze their story properly. Her eyes fell on the trio of cultivators in front of her and couldn't help but narrow in suspicion. A certain notion began to take root in her mind. She voiced her suspicion immediately.

"You three, even though your explanation seems logical, I keep getting a feeling that something is off about it. For all we know, one of you could be-"

Mu Ran thumped his chest loudly and cut her off, saying, "I know our words may not appear to be quite credible right now. I can swear heavenly oaths if necessary, and so can my companions."

"Heavenly oaths?" The girl was taken aback by his brave claim.

"Of course! I can swear by the heavens that none among us are in any way cahoots with that bastard Shen Kai. We are victims of his scheme instead!"

Mu Ran's confident oath dispelled the suspicions the cultivator had in her mind. Heavenly oaths were nothing to scoff at. Even if the heavens did not immediately punish one directly for lying, the cultivator himself would be plagued by all sorts of mental demons during their breakthroughs because of their subconscious guilt.

"Ah well, now that we have been kicked out of the land of laws, we can only leave. I have sustained several hidden injuries that normal treatment cannot cure. We should head back to the sect immediately. Would any of you like to come with us for a friendly visit, perhaps?" Yuen Zhou masterfully diffused the tense squad of fuming cultivators.

The cultivators did not see any point in trying to convince them to stay, and neither were they gullible enough to visit a foreign sect without any prior preparations.

They politely bid them goodbye after a brief discussion regarding what to expect when facing Shen Kai.

Although he was supposedly at the soul reformation realm now, he still shouldn't have grasped any techniques of that level so soon. If more than a dozen cultivators at the middle and high levels of the physique transformation realm attacked him together, there was a good chance to be able to beat him.

This was the culmination of their plans.

With the matter settled, Han Xuhan and his martial siblings were just about to leave when another cultivator came tumbling out of the portal unsteadily.

"Eh? Brother Ye!" The cultivators who were acquainted with him instantly rushed forward to catch him.

The young man cut a sorry figure, with his clothes in tatters and his body sporting several bone-deep wounds. The only reason he hadn't fainted by now was due to his decent cultivation base. Even the incredible healing speed of his body had barely managed to stabilize his situation.

Mu Ran, Han Xuhan, and Yuen Zhou exchanged a glance of tacit agreement with each other. All three of them could guess the culprit behind the young man's injuries.

It seemed that Qian Yun and his legion were coming over out of the world fragment. For them to appear so fast, it seemed that Qian Yun had used a law fragment for a mass teleportation too. They could probably jump out of the portal any moment now.

Even with their collective strength, Xuhan was in no way confident of being able to face that guy.

If his guess was right, then the crimson-colored orbs had really been suppressing the super OP cultivator inside the land of laws. Since many cultivators had broken through to the second stage after creating law fragments that basically functioned as passages, how long would it take the powerful cultivator to use those passages to his own advantage? Moreover, some of the crimson orbs containing the circle of laws might have been harmed as well during the activation of passages. Their suppression of the powerful cultivator may not work anymore.

"Run! It's a powerful enemy!"

Not wasting a second more, Han Xuhan shouted at the cultivators crowding around the injured young man, after which he turned around and ran like the wind. His footsteps were accompanied by Mu Ran's and Yuen Zhou's rapid rush. Within mere seconds, their silhouettes vanished behind the bushes and trees surrounding the clearing.

The dumbstruck cultivators behind them didn't even have the time to ask them what was going on. The portal behind them suddenly spewed out tens of cultivators at the same time.

The air crackled with the spells that tore through it, screams and explosions ringing through the woods. Han Xuhan didn't need to look back to see which side was winning. Those who had managed to break into the Holy Land's depths were all outstanding fellows.

Moreover, Qian Yun and his team had a strange type of tacit understanding among themselves, almost like a singular entity. Their teamwork would easily defeat the cultivators who hadn't even seen them coming.

A few seconds later, he heard multiple voices and rushing footsteps following their trail. Not far away from him, Yuen Zhou urged hurriedly,

"Run faster! Qian Yun's side is catching up with you!"

Han Xuhan felt rather depressed. His speed was nowhere near fast enough to match up to Mu Ran or Yuen Zhou. The cultivators chasing behind them were definitely much faster than him as well. His little experiments with sprinting inside the Holy Land had proved this.

"Seems like there's only one way this is going to end," Han Xuhan muttered decisively.

Han Xuhan had collected a large number of emerald orbs as a part of his lackey duties back in the second stage. Now, it was time to put those to good use.

The vitality-stimulating law fragment he had used on Mu Ran had provided him with a reliable result.

It worked, at least partially it did. And that was all he needed.

Establishing a mental connection with the qi inside the emerald orbs right now was a difficult feat. And by the time he finished activating the fragment using the emerald power sources, his pursuers were only tens of meters away from him. From his recent experience in battles, Han Xuhan understood fully well that any second now, he would be struck by a deadly spell. Feng Jun's elemental attacks were still fresh in his mind.

So he didn't feel any heartache at the massive expenditure he was about to go through. His life was more important than money.

[ The carrier of this law fragment shall experience a temporary, exponential boost in terms of physical attributes. ]

It was a crudely made law, from what he understood. Usually, law fragments were rarely used over such vague conditions. To increase one's physical attributes was a very complicated process. Unlike the law fragments he had seen so far where the job of the law was to create a lightning strike or teleport a person, physical enhancement had way too many steps. But it wasn't as if he had the luxury to think up something better right now.

A green luster enveloped his body as soon as the law was activated. It looked like he was running through a veil of mist.

Han Xuhan felt his muscles and nerves tighten. His body underwent bizarre changes in the next moment.

A rush of strength kicked in inside him. Adrenaline pumping, muscles swelling, eyesight sharpening, lungs stabilizing, reactions getting speedier, mind adeptly figuring out better and better routes ahead through the woods...

Han Xuhan's speed increased exponentially. The loose robe he was wearing felt tight and confining. The emerald orbs inside his pocket were constantly supplying qi, which was being transformed into a stable energy through the law fragment, enhancing his body with each passing second.

Even his five senses seemed to have been improved, as well as his sensitivity toward qi fluctuations. He could feel a large amount of qi following his moments at four o'clock. The qi suddenly moved in a coordinated fashion and transformed into something else that he couldn't understand. But it was clear to him that the owner of the qi had cast a technique, now that they had almost caught up, possibly to attack him.

Instantly, Han Xuhan's body displayed superhuman agility, changing his route and diving behind a large tree to take cover.

In the next moment, the other side of the tree caught on fire soundlessly.

Han Xuhan's limbs never stopped. He crawled through a bush and zigzagged through the denser parts of the woods, using the shrubs, trees, and bushes as covers, springboards, and landing spots.

Soon, he caught up with Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou...and then outran them, effortlessly.

"Xuhan? How did you- never mind, I got it."

Mu Ran gasped as soon as he realized the buff, smokey figure overtaking him was his underling. Looking at the mist surrounding his body, Mu Ran seemed to have guessed what was happening.

Han Xuhan's speed had already reached the level of someone in the middle layers of the physique transformation realm, and it was still increasing sharply!

His mental connection to the emerald orbs told him that one of the orbs was about to be emptied soon. There were two more left.

Calculating the time, he would be able to maintain his current acceleration for five more minutes. But that would be enough. His pursuers were all normal cultivators. They didn't have any emerald orbs in their possession because Han Xuhan and co. had snatched those away during their enslavement ceremony.

After running for nearly two more minutes, Xuhan disappeared from the sight of everyone behind him.

Just as he was ready to breathe a sigh of relief after looking back, he noticed a figure ahead making his way through the woods steadily.

Was this another random cultivator who had been attracted by the portal?

The figure noticed Xuhan as well and came to a stop, waving his hands at Xuhan. But Han Xuhan had no intention to stop by and have a chat. While running past him, he gasped out a warning before vanishing off further into the woods.

"Powerful demonic cultivators are coming! Run as fast as you can!"

The figure, who turned out to be an unfamiliar young man upon closer inspection, stood still in his position, staring in the direction Xuhan had disappeared in.

He muttered to himself in a low voice.

"Wait a minute...wasn't that the voice of that hateful bastard?"