After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

The two were led out through a hidden door, and once outside, they mustered all their strength and ran.

At the main entrance, several shadowy figures who had been guarding for most of the hour gradually became anxious.

I guessed that the person must have found another way to escape.

One of the men in black robes stared at the tightly closed door, his teeth clenched.

Run? Can you even escape?

A sinister glint flashed in the black-robed man's eyes.

He bit his fingertip, and a drop of blood condensed into a thin line in the air, winding away.

He just planted a curse mark on that man; as long as he remains in the black market, he won't be able to escape.

At the same time, Lin Zhixu and Luo Yiyan walked briskly forward.

The token's time limit is approaching; they must find the exit within half an hour.

Lin Zhixu suddenly felt a chill, like being targeted by a venomous snake, creep up his spine.

Almost instinctively, he grabbed Luo Yiyan's arm and pulled her to the side.

Almost simultaneously, a sharp palm strike grazed the back of Luo Yiyan's head, shattering the wall beside him.

Luo Yiyan felt a sudden pang of fear; if that palm strike had landed on him, he might have died instantly.

"Don't stop, run!" Lin Zhixu whispered, pulling Luo Yiyan along as they plunged into the crowd without looking back.

Under the dim sky of the ghost market, shadowy figures lurked, and everyone who brushed past could be an informant watching them.

And those eyes lurking in the shadows, it was hard to tell whether they were aimed at the Azure Glazed Branch or just the usual malice of this godforsaken place.

As they turned a corner past a stall selling monster bones, the two nearly knocked over the goods, and a series of rude curses came from behind them.

Lin Zhixu's eyes quickly swept across the surroundings.

The pale paper lanterns swayed overhead, making every alleyway look as if it were coated with wax, creating a ghostly atmosphere, making it impossible to tell which way we came from.

He mentally memorized every corner he had just turned, but the alleyways of the ghost market seemed alive, each turn different from the last.

His heart was pounding faster and faster, but the chilling feeling of being targeted by a venomous snake on his back never disappeared; instead, it seemed to be getting closer and closer.

Luo Yiyan, breathless, said intermittently, "The token... the token lit up!"

The character "ghost" on the token was flashing coldly, a sign that the deadline was approaching.

Lin Zhixu's heart tightened, and he quickened his pace.

Suddenly, a faint ray of light appeared not far away.

The two were overjoyed; the exit was just ahead.

Just as the two were about to rush into the light, a dark shadow descended from the sky and landed right at the exit, blocking it completely.

The newcomer was dressed in a black robe, tall and thin, with a faint black mist swirling around him.

They must have used some kind of disguise to make their face unclear.

Lin Zhixu stopped, took a half step back without making a sound, and gestured to Luo Yiyan with his hands behind his back.

Luo Yiyan understood and gripped the token in her sleeve tightly.

"You little brat," the black-robed man said in a hoarse voice, "you'd better hand over the stuff if you know what's good for you."

The two recognized the voice; it was the person who had been competing with them last in the Black Building.

Sure enough, he hadn't given up. Sometime during the day, he cast a tracking spell on them and followed them all the way here.

Lin Zhixu sneered, "You can't beat me at the auction, so now you're planning to rob me outright?"

The man in black sneered, "So what? The black market is a dog-eat-dog world. If I could steal it, that's my skill. It's just a pity that you two are going to lose your lives here."

Lin Zhixu raised his hand: "It doesn't have to be that bad. I presume you wouldn't want to start a bloodbath. If I'm willing to hand over the item to you, would you spare us both?"

The man in black robes' eyes flashed, he paused for a moment, and slowly said, "If you two know what's good for you and hand over the item, I might let you go."

Lin Zhixu's eyes darkened; it seemed this person wasn't planning to let them go.

He pretended to reach into his robes to take the Azure Glazed Branch, but in the instant the black-robed man's gaze shifted slightly, he suddenly flung out an explosive talisman.

The talisman exploded, scattering smoke, dust, and fragments of stone.

Amidst the flying bricks, he used the dust and smoke as cover and dashed to the other side of the alley.

Luo Yiyan and he ran in opposite directions in perfect unison.

If the two of them escape separately, at least one of them will be able to get away.

The man in black reacted extremely quickly, condensing black mist into a shield in front of him. The shockwave from the explosion forced him back half a step, but it did not harm him in the slightest.

The man in black robes angrily waved away the gray mist in front of him, and the spiritual power at his fingertips transformed into two chains, one chasing after Lin Zhixu and the other heading straight for Luo Yiyan.

He dodged the spiritual energy that was chasing after him by turning to the side.

However, Luo Yiyan was unable to completely dodge the other attack, which grazed his face and knocked his mask off.

Just as the man in black was about to continue his pursuit of Lin Zhixu, his gaze swept over Luo Yiyan's exposed face, and his body suddenly froze.

With both old and new grudges surging up, the man in black robes abandoned Lin Zhixu almost without thinking and turned to chase after Luo Yiyan.

Lin Zhixu ran for a while and realized that there was no longer any chasing behind him. When he looked back, his heart sank.

He cursed under his breath, wondering if it was that damned plot twist acting up again.

Logically speaking, he was the one who stepped forward from beginning to end, and the Azure Glazed Branch was also on him. There was no way that the man in black robes should have abandoned him to chase after Luo Yiyan.

The system popped up at the opportune moment: "[I told you, you can't avoid the plot. Even if you manage to circumvent it temporarily, it will always find a way to tie it up somewhere else.]"

Lin Zhixu had already run back as fast as he could, asking irritably, "Who is that person? He clearly wanted the Azure Glazed Branch so badly, why was he chasing after Luo Yiyan? Does he have a grudge against Luo Yiyan?"

The system replied: "You know this person; he's Chu Yuxiu's father. Chu Yuxiu had his arm cut off by Luo Yiyan and is now waiting for the Azure Glazed Branch to return and save his life."

The person who outbid him and snatched the medicinal herbs was none other than the enemy who had cut off his son's arm. Tell me, wouldn't you hate him?

Lin Zhixu cursed and quickened his pace.

Elder Chu's cultivation level was far superior to Luo Yiyan's, and catching up with him would be effortless.

Before Luo Yiyan could run more than a few steps, the palm wind behind him whistled towards him.

Elder Chu showed no mercy; every move was aimed at killing.

With a slap on Luo Yiyan's shoulder, he flew out, crashed into the alley wall, and rolled to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

If he hadn't been carrying many life-saving magical artifacts, that palm strike would have killed him.

Luo Yiyan gritted her teeth and rolled over to her feet, not even bothering to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth. She flung out a protective talisman, barely managing to block the second palm strike that followed.

The talisman exploded, and he was jolted back several steps by the shockwave. His legs gave way, and he knelt on one knee, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the stone slab in front of him.

His protective magical artifacts were shattered one after another, and his injuries multiplied.

He was about to give up.

Elder Chu raised his hand and summoned a long whip formed from spiritual energy, his face ashen: "Today is your death day."

Luo Yiyan raised her head, her eyes showing no fear. "Who are you? Why are you determined to kill me? What have I done to offend you?"

Elder Chu sneered, "Since you're about to die, I'll let you die knowing the truth. Do you still remember that you severed my son Chu Yuxiu's arm, which has never been repaired?"

Luo Yiyan was shocked: "You're his father, Elder Chu? But he clearly injured me first. I was just retaliating. He was outmatched, so who can he blame!"