Xu Ziqing fled through the forest while inwardly lamenting his situation.
It really was a case of rain pouring through a leaking roof. He had barely dealt with the younger one when the older one came immediately afterward. It was almost too much to bear.
By now Xu Ziqing had gained at least some experience. Sensing the ape’s aura from afar, he knew its pressure was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In that case, could it be anything other than a fourth-rank demon beast?
For a dignified fourth-rank demon beast to personally chase a little eighth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator like him could almost be considered flattering.
The wounds on his shoulder and beneath his ribs had only just stopped bleeding, but after all this exertion they split open again. The pain was still intense, yet Xu Ziqing no longer even had the energy to complain. He could only blame himself for having failed to judge people properly and ending up in such danger.
With that thought, he accelerated the circulation of spiritual power within his body, making his escape technique even faster.
Run, run, run!
Xu Ziqing’s mind held only that one word. Fortunately, he was in Shanyan Ridge, and fortunately the ridge was filled with countless ancient trees, vines, and grasses. Only because of that could his Wood-Escape Art display such effectiveness.
But he also knew even more clearly that the demon ape had already found his direction and was rushing after him without pause.
If he were caught, in his present condition he would absolutely not be a match for it.
He had to find somewhere safe to treat his injuries first.
Xu Ziqing made up his mind, but more than half the spiritual power in his body had already been spent. Now that he was continuously using the escape art, he was nearing exhaustion, and his speed inevitably dropped a little.
The instant he slowed, the demon ape, still full of strength, closed the distance by the same amount.
Bad.
Xu Ziqing forcibly swallowed the blood rising in his throat. At a thought, two spiritual pearls appeared in each hand.
If he wanted to live, he would have to compete with the demon ape in endurance and see whether he collapsed first or whether it failed to catch him.
He had no choice but to gamble on it.
Xu Ziqing split his attention in two. Half maintained the Wood-Escape Art, while the other half rapidly circulated The Great Art of Myriad Woods Heart-Planting, drawing spiritual power from the pearls and sending it racing through his meridians to continuously replenish his nearly dry dantian.
At that moment, his concentration became extraordinarily intense and his entire mind turned incomparably clear.
Pain and exhaustion seemed to vanish, leaving only cold clarity and a determination to escape alive.
Xu Ziqing had always possessed a slow, steady temperament. Never had he been as urgent and driven as he was today. He had no time to think of anything except using the trees throughout the ridge to flee, faster and farther with every moment.
Spiritual power poured continuously from the pearls in both hands, like four thin streams flowing into his palms. Under such intense absorption, however, only about one hour passed before all four pearls had been drained completely.
With a soft crack, they turned to powder.
Xu Ziqing did not stop escaping. Four more spiritual pearls appeared in his palms.
Before long, those four were drained as well, and he replaced them with four more. Again and again this repeated. He could sense the number of spiritual pearls in his storage ring dwindling. Apart from the pearls, he had many spiritual herbs capable of restoring spiritual power.
But under the present circumstances, he could not find even the slightest opening to stop and swallow any herbs.
One pursued and the other fled. Before he realized it, an entire day had passed.
Xu Ziqing still did not dare stop, while the demon ape was equally unwilling to let him go.
The sky gradually darkened.
Demon apes, like ordinary people, could not see at night. Cultivators were different. Ever since stepping onto the immortal path, night and day were nearly the same to them.
Because darkness had fallen, Xu Ziqing gained a slight advantage over the demon ape.
Yet even without sight, the ape’s sense of smell was extraordinary. It could still catch the bloodline scent coming from somewhere ahead, from the body of that immortal cultivator.
The Profound-Astral Giant Ape had not expected the cultivator to be so capable of fleeing. If this continued, it was clearly going to lose him. It threw back its head and roared, kicked off the ground, and flew into the sky.
Had it not been hidden by the darkness, one could have seen that the ape was not truly flying on its own. A mass of black wind had formed beneath its feet. This was one of the innate abilities possessed by demon beasts of the fourth rank and above, functioning similarly to a cultivator’s Wind-Riding Art.
Once it rose into the air, the Profound-Astral Giant Ape had clearly decided to end matters quickly.
Without hesitation, it opened its mouth and spat out a ball of qi as large as an alms bowl. The mass resembled an enormous projectile and shot straight toward Xu Ziqing’s hidden position.
Xu Ziqing suddenly felt wind rise behind his head. Something extremely dangerous was tearing through the air toward him. He changed direction at once and barely dodged it.
The qi ball struck less than one zhang from his side. The violent roar disrupted Xu Ziqing’s awareness, while the immense force blasted open the earth and violently knocked him out from within a giant tree.
This was nothing like Chonghua’s still-immature minor divine ability. The technique was one of the ape clan’s inherited divine abilities, passed down from ancient times through their bloodline, a killing art saturated with Geng-Metal intent.
Xu Ziqing felt his body suddenly lighten as he was exposed before the demon ape.
The ape spat out another qi ball. Xu Ziqing jolted, twisted nimbly in midair, and in the blink of an eye merged into another giant tree. His aura vanished once more.
“Hrrr!”
Enraged, the ape seized the tree with both hands, ripped it from the earth, and hurled it away.
Boom!
The sound shook the heavens.
Unlike the demon ape, which had been driven into a fury, Xu Ziqing was beginning to feel uneasy.
Only eight spiritual pearls remained. If he used them all, then even with the darkness shielding him, the ape would still be able to catch him easily. At that point, only death would await him.
What could he do?
Xu Ziqing’s throat felt unbearably dry. His dantian’s desperate hunger for spiritual power was beginning to affect his body. If this continued, he truly might not be able to hold on.
Inside his dantian, the cultivation art continued revolving at high speed.
The spiritual power drawn from the pearls had no time to stabilize before passing directly through his dantian and meridians and being expended as power for the Wood-Escape Art.
Such reckless behavior not only damaged his meridians but subjected the acupoints along them to extremely violent impacts.
Chaotically and forcibly, the spiritual power crashed onward again and again. Xu Ziqing had only six meridians left that had not been completely opened. Under this repeated, heedless battering, one meridian suddenly burst fully open.
Immediately afterward, the acupoints along another meridian began to waver. Spiritual power rushed onward, and that meridian too was forced completely open. He had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.
Because his cultivation had advanced, spiritual energy from heaven and earth gathered around Xu Ziqing in great quantities. It poured rapidly into his dantian and began repairing the meridians he had damaged earlier.
The wounds on his physical body also healed rapidly under the coursing Yi-Wood qi. Before long, more than half had already recovered.
If this had happened somewhere quiet and safe, Xu Ziqing would have been overjoyed.
But it had not.
Advancing in cultivation while fleeing for his life meant exposing himself to the demon ape all over again.
Xu Ziqing could only smile bitterly inwardly. He had no time to stabilize his new realm. He forcibly ended this excellent opportunity to heal, accepted that his injuries would remain only partially recovered, and once more concealed his aura.
Sure enough, the instant he escaped, another qi ball struck the place where he had just been and turned it into scorched earth.
The only thing worth celebrating was that the Wood-Escape Art used by an eighth-layer cultivator and by a ninth-layer cultivator were very different.
Xu Ziqing was much faster now. His dantian still held a fair amount of spiritual power, so he put away the few remaining pearls and, relying on the pitch-black night, continuously changed direction as he fled.
Gradually, he pulled some distance ahead of the demon ape.
Xu Ziqing finally gained a little room to breathe. Then a thought suddenly occurred to him. The ape could not see in the darkness, yet it was still able to track him. Could it be because of the blood scent on his body?
He had been severely injured earlier, and his green robe had been soaked in blood.
At the thought, he paused for only an instant and stripped off the bloodstained cultivator robe.
Then he did not dare delay any longer and immediately used Wood-Escape to flee in another direction.
Before long, Xu Ziqing realized that the Profound-Astral Giant Ape’s demonic qi and pressure were growing farther and farther away. Joy surged in his heart.
He had guessed correctly.
What he did not know was that this was actually only a lucky accident.
The blood scent from Xu Ziqing’s own wounds was not nearly as distinct as he imagined beneath the concealment of wood qi. The true reason the ape had been able to follow him so relentlessly was the essence blood of the Iron-Hide Giant Ape cub that Nian Hongzhi had deliberately smeared on him while killing the Bloodscale Leopard. Through the connection of bloodline, the demon ape had been able to track him like a shadow.
Xu Ziqing relaxed slightly but still did not dare stop. He fled for another two hours before finally finding a cave and quickly ducking inside.
Inside the cave, Xu Ziqing laid down a restriction and leaned weakly against the stone wall.
He had been ambushed, badly injured, lost a great deal of blood, forcibly dragged his own consciousness back, fled for an entire day and night, and violently forced his spiritual power through his body. After enduring all of that, Xu Ziqing was completely exhausted.
Moreover, because he had fled so urgently, he had become separated from Chonghua.
What he needed now was to recover as quickly as possible, find Chonghua, and leave Shanyan Ridge.
Xu Ziqing did not even know when the demon ape might find him again.
He rubbed between his brows with some force, slid down the stone wall, and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Before he could enter meditation, a white-robed phantom suddenly appeared before him.
It was Yun Lie, his friend whom he had not seen in some time.
Normally, seeing Yun Lie would only make Xu Ziqing happy. Now, however, he felt too ashamed to face him.
He had nearly lost his life because he trusted the wrong people. To have ended up in such a wretched state… for a moment, he did not even dare raise his head and meet Yun Lie’s eyes. More than anything, he did not want Yun Lie to be disappointed in him.
Then Yun Lie spoke.
“Xu Ziqing.” His voice was cold. It was also the first time he had called Xu Ziqing by his full name.
Xu Ziqing froze and looked up.
Yun Lie’s expression remained unchanged. His eyes were calm, without blame or displeasure.
Xu Ziqing composed himself, though he still looked somewhat dejected. “Brother Yun, I am ashamed.”
Yun Lie lowered his eyes, swept out his sleeve, and sat down as well.
Seeing Yun Lie do this actually made Xu Ziqing feel somewhat calmer. He opened his mouth and began speaking softly.
“Brother Yun, I never imagined there could be people in the world so shameless. We met only once, and merely because of a baseless suspicion they wanted to pull me out by the roots, even resorting to deception so despicable. For people that vile, what value do human life and reason even hold?”