“Chase him, don't let that brat escape.”
“Over there!”
“Quick, quick!”
“…”
Xiong Zhuangzhuang clutched the wound on his waist, which was bleeding profusely. He moved with agility, as if completely unaffected. However, his increasingly pale face truly reflected his current state.
He had been attacked.
The assailants must have been watching him for a long time. Taking advantage of his lapse in attention, several people ganged up to ambush him, causing him to lose his advantage.
Now, all he could do was hope to shake them off and find a sliver of a chance to survive.
But he also knew that his hope was slim.
His waist had been cut by a sharp blade coated with a special agent that prevented the wound from healing. What was even worse was that his wound medicine had run out.
He had originally planned to go to the plains outside the Ten Thousand Monster Ridge in a few days to purchase some. Now, he didn't know if he would even have that opportunity.
If only Xiong Da were here…
Xiong Zhuangzhuang thought of his contracted spirit beast, his thick eyebrows knitting into a frown.
He could not die. If he died, Xiong Da would not be able to live either.
Even for Xiong Da’s sake, he had to survive.
A surge of strength suddenly welled up from deep within his body, increasing his speed by a few more notches.
“Roar!”
Xiong Zhuangzhuang looked at the tiger with a fierce gaze blocking his path, a sense of despair filling his heart.
A tiger blocking the way in front, and pursuers behind.
He could not escape.
Since that was the case, he would take some people down with him even if he died.
A ruthless glint flashed in Xiong Zhuangzhuang’s eyes. He tore off a strip of his clothes to bandage his waist, clenched his fists, and let out a low roar, his fighting spirit gradually climbing to its peak.
Just as he was preparing to fight the tiger to the death, a large net suddenly unfurled before him, trapping the ferocious beast.
The speed was so great that neither the man nor the tiger had time to react.
“收！”
The net contracted inwards. The once majestic tiger let out a yelp, collapsing limply, and was eventually dragged away by the net.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang froze for a moment before snapping back to reality. He followed the direction the net had moved and saw a male and a female cultivator slowly appear in his vision, with a blood-red horse behind them.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang first recognized the origin of the horse, then the aura of the two people.
It was them!
The ones who had ambushed him near the stream.
His pupils constricted, and he eyed the two with caution.
Unexpectedly, the two completely ignored him. The female cultivator efficiently killed the tiger, retrieved the net-like magical artifact, and then stored the beast's corpse. Afterward, she began to converse quietly with the male cultivator.
He vaguely heard words like “still a bit short” and “not quite right,” and for some reason, he felt a quiet sense of relief.
“There!”
“Found him!”
His relaxed mind suddenly tensed. He turned around and watched as the pursuers appeared one by one.
One, two, three… six, a total of six people, including three Nascent Soul cultivators at the same level as him.
A bitter smile touched his lips.
“Run, why aren't you running anymore!”
“Damn it, you made me waste so much time.”
“Big brother, let’s finish him quickly and get out of here.”
Someone noticed Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye in the distance and quietly reminded the leader.
The leading figure glanced casually in their direction, his eyes widening, his breathing suddenly quickening.
A Four-Winged Blood Horse!
This was a mount that many cultivators on the Kyushu Continent dreamed of possessing.
As soon as it appeared, it would surely be fought over by countless people—a rare demonic beast.
Such a treasure appearing before him meant it was fated to be his.
He immediately signaled to his companions, shifting their focus to the two cultivators.
That brat was already injured and no threat. As long as he killed these two, this Four-Winged Blood Horse would be his.
His eyes darted around, and he called out to the two, “Friends, I wish to make a deal with you.”
Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye glanced at him before looking away again, completely ignoring him.
It was Xiong Zhuangzhuang who saw the ill intentions of the group and wanted to warn the two. However, he was afraid of being discovered by the other side, and his heart was filled with anxiety.
“Hey, this isn’t very polite of you,” the leading figure’s tone was laced with threat.
Xu Yi was still discussing with Lu Zaiye the shortcomings of the net-like magical artifact she had recently refined to subdue demonic beasts.
The net that had subdued the tiger earlier was refined by Xu Yi from the branches of an ancient thousand-year-old tree in the Ten Thousand Monster Ridge. Perhaps due to the haste, the artifact had several obvious flaws.
Xu Yi was not entirely satisfied.
However, Lu Zaiye had the exact same thoughts.
Following formations and alchemy, Xu Yi had once again displayed her talent in artifact refining before him.
This magical artifact, from material selection to refining, took only two days to complete and was classified as Grade Four.
Even though he was not skilled in artifact refining, he knew this was an astonishing achievement.
And this junior ancestor was still not satisfied.
He didn’t know whether to praise his junior ancestor for her strict standards or to advise her not to underestimate herself.
Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, completely disregarding the shouting stranger in the distance.
“Damn it, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.”
The leading cultivator was finally angered by their indifference. He spat, his eyes flashing with venomous coldness.
“Black Panther, you go deal with that injured brat. The rest of you, follow me to kill those two.”
Five against two.
He felt he had a high chance of winning.
“Attack.”
He raised his hand and lunged at the two first.
“Be careful!”
As the man raised his hand, Xiong Zhuangzhuang sensed something was wrong and let out a roar.
This shout further aggravated the wound on his waist, contorting his face.
“Ridiculous, you can barely save yourself, yet you want to save others.”
Black Panther took out a cleaver and swung it at Xiong Zhuangzhuang, not forgetting to taunt him.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang, already injured and with limited mobility, fell into a disadvantage after a few exchanges. He sustained several more blade wounds, one of which came within a fist's length of his chest.
Meanwhile, Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye finally deigned to look at the approaching group.
“That person isn’t with them. You help him, I’ll handle the rest.”
Seeing Xiong Zhuangzhuang narrowly escape death several times, Xu Yi confirmed this was not a trap set by him, and thus made her decision.
Xu Yi was so cautious because they had encountered a similar situation before.
They had encountered a frail cultivator who was also being pursued. Seeing that the cultivator was covered in blood, Xu Yi thought that saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda, so she stepped in to help drive away the pursuers.
Who knew that the cultivator was working with those people and intended to poison them while she and Lu Zaiye were resting, but Lu Zaiye saw through it.
In the end, she turned their own trick against them, forcing all the poison into their mouths, and watched them die in agony.
This incident also taught Xu Yi that being kind was not an easy feat.
Because you never knew if the other party was a pure and kind sheep or a wolf in sheep's clothing.
From then on, Xu Yi stopped meddling in others’ affairs.
That was why they had been so indifferent just now.
Because they didn’t know if this was another carefully orchestrated deception.
But now she knew.
Then they could make their move.