Chapter Eleven: Elder, Save Me!

Yet Chen Qi still had no intention of using the active power of the Soul Sanctuary. It wasn’t just that it could only be used once per world. More importantly, it was his last trump card—he feared that if he exhausted all his cards, he would lose even the will to survive.

Not far ahead was a small hill. Chen Qi’s eyes lit up as he prepared to leap down, hoping to escape the Crimson Flame Beasts in pursuit. The beasts, too, noticed this. With a furious roar from their bloodied leader, several Crimson Flame Beasts surged forward, accelerating toward Chen Qi. They meant to hunt him down on the very slope!

Chen Qi sneered, raising his blade to guard his vitals and boldly meeting the foremost beast head-on.

“Clang!”

Using the force of the collision, Chen Qi propelled himself several steps closer to the cliff’s edge. Below the precipice grew many trees; estimating the drop to be around seven or eight meters, he didn’t hesitate. Chen Qi leapt down, bending his knees and bracing himself in a diving roll to disperse the impact.

“Bang!”

He landed, sending dust billowing everywhere. Guided by instinct, he rolled a few times to absorb the fall’s force. He silently counted his health—after the heavy fall and the bleeding, he was down to just 17%.

Seeing that the Crimson Flame Beasts hadn’t immediately leapt after him, Chen Qi forced himself to his feet and ran down the hillside. Rising quickly made him stumble, almost losing his balance. Blood loss brought waves of weakness, but Chen Qi’s semi-digitized agility helped him maintain impressive speed.

Just as he was about to break free, the leader gave a command, and a dozen Crimson Flame Beasts, hell-bent on slaughter, leapt down after him.

The heavy thuds of landing behind spurred Chen Qi to run even faster, his stamina nearing its limit. Thankfully, with a constitution of 16, his wounds had finally stopped bleeding.

Sidestepping two obstructing trees, Chen Qi realized a problem: while his speed now matched the pursuing beasts, he had to dodge obstacles, whereas the beasts seemed to maneuver more easily.

“This isn’t good. If this keeps up, they’ll catch me,” Chen Qi muttered, aiming for a sparser patch of trees.

“Ouch—” His ankle twisted painfully as he stepped on a protruding stone at high speed, but he gritted his teeth and kept running.

Ten meters behind, the dust-covered beasts gave chase, their once-red fur now ashen but their resolve undimmed.

“Awooo—”

The leader let out another cry, a pale red glow rippling out. The pack’s speed increased yet again.

Chen Qi reached a grassy slope, the ground below descending in a series of terraced paths. He leapt, rolled, ran, leapt again—while the Crimson Flame Beasts mimicked his every move. From afar, it looked like a large glass marble leading a string of smaller ones, all bouncing down the mountainside.

If he could, Chen Qi would never have killed that first Crimson Flame Beast.

He finally reached the foot of the mountain, running as fast as ever yet secretly regretting his choices.

“What on earth did those damned beasts eat?” he grumbled.

Suddenly, the cry of an eagle overhead startled him, causing the beast pack behind to hesitate. Looking up, Chen Qi saw a Violet Thunder Eagle flying by, clutching a Crimson-Striped Wild Boar. The eagle’s sharp eyes swept the scene in passing, but it soon flew on. Chen Qi kept running, and the gap between him and the beasts stretched to about ten meters.

His stamina was nearly spent, but he trusted his superior constitution would let him outlast the pursuing beasts.

Just then, Chen Qi spotted a figure darting swiftly across the ravine ahead. He immediately abandoned any thought of conserving his energy and shouted skyward:

“I am a disciple of Cloudsea Sect! Senior, save me!”

The figure seemed to hear him, abruptly shifting direction and flickering closer. As the silhouette drew nearer, it became more distinct—a white-haired elder in a pale violet robe. Though Chen Qi couldn’t yet see the face clearly, he recognized the robe: the attire of a Cloudsea Sect outer elder.

Servants wore ochre yellow, outer disciples light green, and outer elders pale violet. Inner disciples wore deeper hues with ornate cloud embroidery.

Chen Qi called out again, “Elder, please save me!”

As the elder’s features came into focus, Chen Qi noticed a resemblance to Sun Ruohai in the man’s brow and eyes, a detail that made his heart sink.

Sure enough, the old man glided to a halt before Chen Qi, his gaze sweeping over him and finally fixing intently on Chen Qi’s long blade.

A resonant, aged voice sounded in Chen Qi’s ear: “Who are you? Why are you carrying my sword?”

Chen Qi’s mind raced. He quickly stalled for time: “Junior is a servant disciple of Cloudsea Sect. Please, Elder, save me from these beasts first!”

The elder chuckled, saying, “That’s easily done!”

In a flash, he appeared before the rampaging Crimson Flame Beast leader and unleashed several palm strikes. The beast pack, seeing an elder approach, was already wavering, unable to turn quickly at such speed.

Seeing the beasts trying to flee, Chen Qi tucked himself behind the elder and muttered, “Cunning creatures, quick to back down—”

His words caught in his throat, for those seemingly gentle palm prints struck the beast leader, shattering it into pieces!

Blood and entrails splattered the nearby ashen beasts, sending them fleeing in terror. The elder casually dispatched a few laggards with more palm strikes, then turned his gaze back to Chen Qi.

By now, Chen Qi had prepared his excuse, and with half-truths spoken solemnly, he declared, “Junior Chen Qi has sworn brotherhood with outer disciple Sun Ruohai. This sword was a gift from him.”

Pausing, Chen Qi added, “Junior ventured deep into the mountains at Brother Sun’s request to hunt Crimson-Striped Wild Boar, and I have already slain two.”

With that, Chen Qi produced prime cuts from the Crimson-Striped Wild Boar King from his storage pouch.

The elder showed no suspicion at the wild boar meat’s sudden appearance, but instead flew into a rage: “That scoundrel grandson of mine stole from me again! Even the sword I used in my youth, he wouldn’t leave be!”

He continued to scrutinize Chen Qi. Noticing the youth’s wounds and tattered clothing, the elder’s expression softened slightly.

“You’re not half bad, boy. A true man honors his word, and you haven’t disgraced this blade.”

Seeing the elder meant him no harm, Chen Qi seized the chance to plead, “Senior, my injuries are severe. Might you spare me some healing pills? If I ever accomplish anything, I’ll repay you handsomely!”

The elder regarded him coolly for a long moment and finally said, “You’re brimming with life, yet your skin is as thick as my grandson’s! At your age, I was nowhere near your equal!”