Yin Li gripped a spirit stone in one hand, while the other constantlystuffedd an elixir into her mouth. Her body weaved and dodged through the mountain forest like a nimble swallow.
No trace of joy appeared on her face; instead, her expression was solemn, her lips pressed tightly together.
Due to the excessive speed of her spiritual energy circulation, her meridians were already experiencing tearing pain. Yet, she dared not stop, for if she did, she had no idea what would happen.
"Moo!"
An enraged beastly roar sounded in Yin Li's ears. Immediately, her sea of consciousness was assaulted by a tearing pain. Her eyes dimmed, and blood began to seep from her ears.
It was a great demon!
A thought she was unwilling to believe flashed through Yin Li's mind.
On the Jiuzhou Continent, only demonic beasts at the Nascent Soul stage or above could be called great demons.
Among the beast horde, she had seen many demonic beasts with noble bloodlines. Due to her low cultivation, she couldn't discern their cultivation levels at all.
But now she knew: there was at least one great demon at the Out of Body stage, or even the Soul Transformation stage!
One must realize that Elder Chi Yu, who had accompanied them, was only a cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage.
What to do? Had that great demon discovered her?
Yin Li's heart was in a panic, yet the speed of her spiritual energy absorption grew even faster.
She couldn't give up.
She had to deliver the Soul Revival Demonic Fruit to her senior brother.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
A massive sound accompanied by violent tremors. Yin Li could feel the surging demonic energy behind her, and a sense of despair quietly crept into her heart.
The great demon was pursuing her.
She could no longer escape.
"Moo!"
Another earth-shattering beastly roar.
Yin Li was swept by the immense sound wave, then violently slammed against a tree trunk.
"Pfft!"
Yin Li clutched her chest. As she struggled to prop herself up, blood seeped from all seven orifices, and her sea of consciousness was filled with a cacophony of buzzing.
She shook her head, the world still a blur of sound.
Her face was filled with bitterness. She had been too overconfident.
As the great demon drew nearer, pebbles on the ground leaped ceaselessly from the force of the vibrations.
Yin Li's narrow, phoenix-like eyes fell upon the pebbles, but her mind was focused on hoping her senior brother could escape this place safely.
"Junior Sister Yin!"
Yin Li started, then gave a wry smile.
She was too heavily injured; she was hallucinating, actually hearing her senior brother's voice.
"Junior Sister Yin!"
"Junior Sister Yin!"
As her senior brother's voice grew clearer, Yin Li looked in the direction of the sound with astonishment, and then saw a dark silhouette rapidly approaching her.
The blood in her eyes made her vision unclear. She raised a hand to wipe away the blood streaks at the corners of her eyes and peered intently.
It was truly her senior brother!
Xiong Zhuangzhuang looked at the blood-covered Yin Li, his teeth grinding.
Junior Sister Yin had suffered because of him!
He arrived beside Junior Sister Yin, and without bothering to check her injuries, he scooped her up and turned to flee.
"Senior Brother."
Yin Li lay in Xiong Zhuangzhuang's arms, a faint blush appearing on her pale cheeks.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang said in a deep voice, "Junior Sister Yin, don't speak yet. Rest well."
Yin Li responded softly, then, as if remembering something, exclaimed excitedly, "Senior Brother, there's a great demon behind us. We..."
"Don't worry," Xiong Zhuangzhuang's expression remained unchanged. "I will definitely get you out of here."
Yin Li gazed at Xiong Zhuangzhuang's taut jaw, her lips curving slightly upwards. The fatigue from her injuries spread through her body, causing her consciousness to blur.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang moved with incredible speed, his eyes harboring an unresolvable anxiety.
He had already guessed who the pursuing demonic beast was.
The overlord of this territory, the Soul Transformation stage Golden Horned Azure Ox.
While he currently had the upper hand, he knew that with the power of a Soul Transformation stage demonic beast, the Golden Horned Azure Ox would catch up before long.
All he could do now was to stall for time.
If only Elder Chi Yu were here...
"Moo!"
The roar of the Golden Horned Azure Ox echoed once more.
It struck Xiong Zhuangzhuang's sea of consciousness like a heavy drum, causing him to falter and nearly fall.
After steadying himself, he continued to run forward, his heart sinking.
The Golden Horned Azure Ox had caught up!
He could already smell the terrifying demonic aura emanating from it.
He wasn't confident he could withstand the next attack.
Would he and Junior Sister Yin truly die here?
The next moment, Xiong Zhuangzhuang's eyes widened as he stared at the scene before him in shock.
"Xiong Zhuangzhuang, hurry up and get on."
Xu Yi stood at the prow of the divine flying boat, anxiously waving towards Xiong Zhuangzhuang.
Lu Zaiye stood beside Xu Yi, nodding his acknowledgment to Xiong Zhuangzhuang.
A look of extreme joy appeared on Xiong Zhuangzhuang's face, and he leaped onto the divine flying boat without hesitation.
"Xu..."
"Don't speak!"
Xu Yi cut him off as Xiong Zhuangzhuang began to speak, her expression grave as she activated the formation on the divine flying boat.
*Whoosh!*
The divine flying boat transformed into a streak of light, rapidly accelerating towards the Yangshen Trench.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang, despite being shouted at by Xu Yi, did not get angry. Instead, he looked at Lu Zaiye with confusion, questioning with his eyes why Xu Yi was so irate.
Lu Zaiye recalled Xu Yi's determined expression as she produced the divine flying boat, vowing to face death, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Little Ancestor Master had indeed not disappointed him.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang was even more astonished.
In the time he had known Lu Zaiye, he had never seen him smile.
Both of them were acting strangely today.
Thinking that these two were actually willing to risk such great danger to save them, Xiong Zhuangzhuang's gratitude was immeasurable.
He already owed Xu Dao You several lives and didn't know how he would ever repay her.
Xu Yi, while replacing the rapidly consumed spirit stones in the formation, cursed herself inwardly.
She had clearly intended to protect herself, yet she had still gotten involved in this mess.
After Xiong Zhuangzhuang had left, Xu Yi felt a sense of unease. In the end, she had turned back.
Of course, her willingness to return was also after careful consideration.
The most powerful great demon in this vicinity was that Soul Transformation stage Golden Horned Azure Ox. Moreover, it was massive and not agile in its movements.
And she happened to possess a divine flying boat corresponding to the Soul Transformation stage. As long as they weren't caught by the Golden Horned Azure Ox, she believed she could rescue them safely.
And now, the situation seemed to be unfolding as she had predicted.
With the divine flying boat at full power, the oppressive feeling from the Golden Horned Azure Ox was gradually dissipating, and soon they would be able to outrun it.
Lu Zaiye was also explaining this to Xiong Zhuangzhuang.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He carefully laid Yin Li down and checked her internal condition with his spiritual sense, then withdrew his hand with a somber expression.
Yin Li's meridians and internal organs had all suffered injuries to varying degrees.
Even more serious was that her sea of consciousness had been shaken, causing her to be in a dazed state.
He only had the external wound medicine that Xu Yi had given him; it was useless for internal injuries.
He looked at Xu Yi with difficulty. She should have the elixirs Yin Li needed.
However, it was difficult for him to ask.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang wore an expression of shame.
Xu Yi, however, did not notice Xiong Zhuangzhuang's gaze at all.
At this moment, she dared not relax her focus and was fully controlling the divine flying boat.
Only when they were out of the Yangshen Trench could she truly feel at ease.
As the distance to the Yangshen Trench grew closer, a dark silhouette descended from the sky and violently crashed into the divine flying boat.