Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Shifting the Target

There were only seven Seven-Colored Lotuses in total, but five had been plucked in an instant, leaving only two.

It was an unexpected boon for the Liuyun Kingdom to have obtained one of them. The two of them were resolute individuals and knew at once they should quit while they were ahead and avoid the brunt of the conflict.

"You!"

Seeing this, the Black Netherworld Profound Beast flew into a flustered rage, roaring furiously at the Little Purple Mink.

WHOOSH!

The Little Purple Mink scoffed. With a flicker of its body, it vanished into thin air, disappearing to an unknown location.

Seeing that the last two lotuses were also about to be plucked, Black Netherworld and the other beasts cast aside their anger and scrambled for them.

BOOM!

A great battle erupted. At this moment, facing the Seven-Colored Lotuses that could unconditionally raise one’s rank by a full tier, every human and Demon Beast went into a frenzy, attacking with wild abandon.

Screams echoed endlessly as large numbers of low-tier Demon Beasts and human Martial Artists fell, creating rivers of blood.

"Disciples of the Liuyun Kingdom, all of you, fall back!"

"Disciples of the Celestial Gold Kingdom, retreat!"

"Disciples of the Shizhen Kingdom, do not join the fray!"

A series of roars echoed as the chairmen of the various kingdoms’ Soul Master Towers saw their disciples continuously falling and hurriedly issued their commands.

In such a massive free-for-all, even genius disciples who were merely Tier Three Earth Martial Artists were completely useless. Joining the battle was simply a death sentence.

Although these disciples were incredibly envious of the Seven-Colored Lotuses, faced with this terrifying scene, they could only sigh helplessly and fall back.

However, they didn’t completely give up hope. Instead, they began searching for the Little Purple Mink.

That Little Purple Mink had snatched four lotuses in one go. Finding it would be far more profitable than staying here to fight over the remaining two.

"Haha!"

Inside the molten cavern, the Demon Beasts’ forces were, after all, a little stronger than the humans’. With a wild laugh, Black Netherworld risked grievous injury to instantly pluck one of the final two lotuses.

"There’s only one Seven-Colored Lotus left!"

"One more, dammit!"

"Don’t hold back, everyone!"

Seeing that they hadn’t obtained a single lotus after all their painstaking efforts, Zuo Yi Alliance and the others were filled with shock and fury. They stopped holding back and revealed their trump cards one by one.

BOOM!

All kinds of Profound Soldiers, Soul Soldiers, and even Profound Treasures materialized, madly bearing down on the ranks of Demon Beasts.

Thanks to the all-out assault from Zuo Yi Alliance and his people, an opening was immediately blasted through the Demon Beast ranks, revealing the final Seven-Colored Lotus before them.

"Detestable humans!"

Black Netherworld had obtained a Seven-Colored Lotus, but Red Flame and White Elephant had not. The two great Profound Beasts were burning with anxiety. They hastily summoned the Demon Beasts under their command and launched a death-defying charge.

"Everyone, hold off these Demon Beasts first! Otherwise, we’ll suffer heavy casualties from this wave!"

"Zuo Yi Alliance is right! Hold them back!"

Zuo Yi Alliance and Xuu Xin Hua hurriedly spoke up, but a cunning glint flashed in both their eyes at the same time.

"Hold them back!"

Seeing the terrifying power of the Demon Beasts’ charge, Zhu Tianlan’s expression changed drastically. Shouting a grave order to the others, he took a position at the very front of the formation.

Here, the Demon Beasts already surpassed the human Martial Artists in both number and strength. If everyone scattered to fight over the Seven-Colored Lotus, this death-defying charge from so many Tier Five Demon Beasts would undoubtedly cause many of them to fall.

As the strongest Soul Refiner in the Thirteen Nations Alliance, Zhu Tianlan could not allow that to happen.

Even Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen, who had already withdrawn, were providing support from the rear.

BOOM!

The two forces clashed in an instant.

WHOOSH!

At this critical moment, Zuo Yi Alliance and Xuu Xin Hua, who had been at the forefront, both shot backward abruptly.

Without the resistance from these two Martial Sects, the human Martial Artists’ formation was instantly weakened and showed signs of crumbling.

"Zuo Yi Alliance! Xuu Xin Hua! What are you two doing?!"

Zhu Tianlan and the other experts roared furiously.

"We’ll get the Seven-Colored Lotus first! That way, everyone’s efforts these past few days will mean something. We absolutely cannot let this last lotus fall into the hands of the Profound Beasts!"

Zuo Yi Alliance and Xuu Xin Hua declared grandly as they charged madly for the Seven-Colored Lotus. Inwardly, they were smug. ’These idiots only know how to fight the Demon Beasts. Perfect. They can hold them off and buy me some time.’

Zhu Tianlan and the others were seething with rage. ’Those two are using us to block the Demon Beasts while they go snatch the Seven-Colored Lotus! They’re utterly shameless!’

SWISH! SWISH!

Zuo Yi Alliance and Xuu Xin Hua reached the Seven-Colored Lotus at nearly the same time. They exchanged a look, and a menacing glint flashed in their eyes.

"Chairman Zuo Yi Alliance, there’s only one Seven-Colored Lotus left. How about we both make a move, and it belongs to whoever gets it first?"

"Agreed."

The moment the words left their mouths, Xuu Xin Hua, the one who made the proposal, didn’t reach for the Seven-Colored Lotus. Instead, he suddenly thrust a palm at Zuo Yi Alliance.

However, what Xuu Xin Hua hadn’t expected was that at the very instant he struck, Zuo Yi Alliance also landed a palm strike on his chest.

BANG! Both men were sent flying backward, spitting mouthfuls of blood.

"So you planned to take it all for yourself from the start."

"Hmph. The feeling’s mutual."

In that single instant, both men had acted on the exact same idea: to grievously injure their opponent and gain the upper hand.

With a cold snort, the two of them ignored the blood at the corners of their mouths and charged ferociously toward the Seven-Colored Lotus.

Just as they were about to touch the Seven-Colored Lotus, a streak of light flashed past from the side and instantly snatched it away.

What?

The two men were stunned, having never anticipated this outcome. They whipped their heads around to see that the one who had taken the Seven-Colored Lotus was none other than Ye Fanxing, a genius disciple from the Dongsheng Kingdom.

Beside Ye Fanxing were Zhou Liang and Bai Qi.

’When did those three get here?’

Zuo Yi Alliance and Xuu Xin Hua’s expressions turned incredibly grim. They never imagined all their painstaking scheming would only serve to benefit someone else.

But in just a moment, Zuo Yi Alliance’s expression returned to normal. He narrowed his eyes and said with a faint smile, "Ye Fanxing, you’ve done well, snatching a Seven-Colored Lotus for our Dongsheng Kingdom. Very good. When we return to the kingdom, I will be sure to reward you handsomely. Now, give the Seven-Colored Lotus to me."

Zuo Yi Alliance spoke as he walked slowly toward Ye Fanxing.

"My apologies, Chairman Zuo Yi Alliance, but I plan on keeping this Seven-Colored Lotus for myself."

Ye Fanxing paid Zuo Yi Alliance no mind, directly placing the Seven-Colored Lotus into his Storage Ring.

Zuo Yi Alliance’s gaze darkened, and his expression turned grim. "Ye Fanxing, what is the meaning of this? I’m only doing this for your own good. The Seven-Colored Lotus is incredibly important, and everyone here is eyeing it like a hungry tiger. It’s not safe for you to keep it."

"I’m only asking for it to keep it safe for you. Once we leave the Floating Light Secret Realm, it will naturally be returned to your hands."

"Or do you not trust me?"

Zuo Yi Alliance continued to advance, his tone calm and unhurried.

"Ye Fanxing, Chairman Zuo Yi Alliance is right. With your level of strength, keeping the Seven-Colored Lotus on you is probably quite dangerous. It could even lead to your death. You’d be better off handing it over for now."

Xuu Xin Hua also spoke up calmly as he circled around behind Ye Fanxing and his companions.

"Thank you both for your kind intentions. However, while my strength may not be great, I have some confidence that I can hold onto this Seven-Colored Lotus."

"So, you’re not planning to take out the Seven-Colored Lotus?"

Zuo Yi Alliance’s face fell.

Ye Fanxing smiled in feigned surprise. "Chairman Zuo Yi Alliance, I seem to recall you saying that any treasure found here belongs to whoever gets their hands on it, correct?"

Zuo Yi Alliance’s eyes darkened, and a murderous intent suddenly flared in his heart.

He had indeed said those words, but that was back when they were still outside the cavern. At the time, Ye Fanxing wasn’t even with the group. ’How could he know about this?’

He understood at once. The whole time, Ye Fanxing—a disciple of his own Dongsheng Kingdom—had been hiding nearby, only revealing himself at the last possible moment to snatch the Seven-Colored Lotus that should have belonged to him.

’This kid is a real backstabbing wolf.’

Murderous intent surged in Zuo Yi Alliance’s heart. He shot a look at Xuu Xin Hua. The moment he received the signal, Xuu Xin Hua attacked, aiming straight for Ye Fanxing and the Seven-Colored Lotus.

"Chairman Xuu Xin Hua, what are you doing? How dare you attack a disciple of my Dongsheng Kingdom for a Seven-Colored Lotus! Stop this instant!"

Zuo Yi Alliance was inwardly delighted. While roaring furiously, he charged toward Xuu Xin Hua, seemingly to stop him, but his true focus was on the Seven-Colored Lotus in Ye Fanxing’s possession.

"Hmph." Ye Fanxing sneered, already prepared. The instant Xuu Xin Hua moved, Ye Fanxing shot backward, simultaneously throwing out a streak of black light. With a loud BOOM, flames erupted and smoke billowed out. By the time it cleared, Ye Fanxing was already outside the range of their attacks.

"As the esteemed chairmen of a kingdom’s Soul Master Tower, you’re trying to rob a junior like me. You two are a complete disgrace to all Soul Refiners."

"You’re courting death!"

Murderous intent surged in Xuu Xin Hua’s eyes.

The theft of the final Seven-Colored Lotus also brought the battle between the Demon Beasts and Zhu Tianlan’s group to a halt.

One by one, the Profound Beasts and Demon Beasts quickly moved to surround Ye Fanxing and his group.

"Human, hand over the Seven-Colored Lotus!"

Red Flame and White Elephant roared, their gazes icy cold.

Ye Fanxing scoffed. "You Profound Beasts are truly foolish. We only managed to get a single Seven-Colored Lotus. Even if you kill us, how are you going to divide one lotus? That Little Purple Mink, on the other hand, snatched four of them for itself. You’re not chasing it, but you’re coming after us? Aren’t you penny-wise and pound-foolish?"

"If I were you, I’d be looking for that Little Purple Mink. Four Seven-Colored Lotuses are enough for plenty of you to share."

Ye Fanxing’s words gave the great Profound Beasts pause.

"President, there’s a cave here."

"There seems to be a faint Fire Element energy wafting out of this cave, doesn’t there?"