In a clearing deep within the forest, three figures stood locked in a tense standoff. The suffocating pressure made the two youths' hearts pound wildly, their breath coming in ragged gasps. Hiding behind Mu Chen, Tang Qian'er looked at Xue Tu; his smiling face was dripping with sinister malice.
Mu Chen remained highly vigilant, his gaze locked onto the man before him as spiritual energy surged within his body. Facing Xue Tu, he sensed an exceptionally dangerous aura—a level of peril that far exceeded what he had experienced the day before when fleeing from the Huo Ling Yuan Wang.
Whether in terms of raw strength or cunning, Xue Tu was undoubtedly far superior to the Huo Ling Yuan Wang. That beast had merely been fortunate, surviving a desperate situation to unexpectedly break through to the late-stage Spirit Wheel Realm. The Xue Tu before him, however, seemed to have already taken a step into the Spirit Manifestation Realm.
"Kid, I don't have time to waste staring at you. You have ten seconds to decide. Hand her over, and you live."
Xue Tu grinned savagely, his voice dripping with mockery.
"You dare touch us? Aren't you afraid the two Spirit Manifestation Realm instructors from our Bei Ling Academy will hunt you down?" Mu Chen asked slowly.
"Tick-tock... time is almost up."
Xue Tu bared his teeth in a grin. They were dazzlingly white, yet the sight of them sent a cold shiver down one's spine.
Mu Chen took a deep breath. He tilted his head slightly to look at Tang Qian'er, then suddenly grabbed her wrist, making a motion as if to fling her toward Xue Tu.
"Quite sensible of you."
Seeing this, the grin on Xue Tu's face widened with satisfaction.
Mu Chen clenched his fist and stepped forward. Suddenly, he spun around and struck Tang Qian'er's shoulder with his palm, the powerful force sending her flying deep into the forest.
"If you don't want to be a drag, run, quickly!"
The moment he pushed her away, his voice was softly transmitted into her ear.
As she flew back into the forest, Tang Qian'er's beautiful eyes welled with tears as she stared at the youth's slender yet straight back. Forcing down her reluctance to leave him behind, she closed her eyes, let out a choked sob, and turned to flee.
"You let her run?"
Xue Tu watched the sudden turn of events with a cold gaze. "Two mere Spirit Movement Realm brats—do you really think you can escape my grasp?"
"Kid, since you want to play hero, I'll show you a fate worse than death!"
Xue Tu cackled. His body shot forward like a bolt of lightning, but instead of attacking Mu Chen, he lunged in the direction Tang Qian'er had fled.
Seeing this, Mu Chen also charged forward fiercely. However, Xue Tu completely ignored his advance.
Just as the bandit was disdainfully ignoring him, Mu Chen suddenly clenched his hand. A brilliant light erupted from his palm as he bellowed, "Spirit Breaking Pearl!"
"The Spirit Breaking Pearl?!"
Hearing the name of the item, Xue Tu shuddered. Although Mu Chen's own strength was negligible, if he truly possessed a Spirit Breaking Pearl, it would be an entirely different story. If he were hit by a Spirit Breaking Pearl, he would undoubtedly be severely injured. With pursuers closing in on him, Xue Tu could not afford to take such a risk.
Xue Tu glanced over, his rushing figure coming to an abrupt halt. A streak of black light shot toward him like a sharp blade. In a panic, the bandit hastily unleashed his vast spiritual energy, wrapping his body in a defensive barrier.
"Thwack!"
The stream of darkness hit his body and shattered. But the anticipated violent spiritual energy was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was only a pungent, foul, fishy smell, and some sticky substance splattered all over Xue Tu.
This sudden, strange turn of events startled Xue Tu for a moment. Then he stared wide-eyed at the bloodstains on his body. Strangely, this blood was thick and sticky, with a very strong and pungent fishy smell. It was splattered all over his head, neck, and clothes, making him, who was already smelly, even more foul-smelling now.
"Are you messing with me, brat?"
Xue Tu’s lips trembled, his eyes reddened with rage as he glared wildly at Mu Chen.
Mu Chen swiftly retreated and fled.
"You brat, throwing this at me and running off, trying to help her escape, huh? I won’t bother chasing you!"
Although Mu Chen’s trick infuriated Xue Tu to the point of boiling rage, he was a bandit after all, cruel and cunning in his methods. He let out a long, mocking laugh at Mu Chen.
"Bastard, want this?"
Mu Chen hadn’t expected the bandit to suppress his anger and still prioritize chasing Tang Tian’er. However, he didn’t panic. He merely smiled and took out a round, jade-colored object. A rich, dense spiritual energy emanated from it.
"A Jade Spirit Fruit?!"
When Xue Tu saw the Jade Spirit Fruit, his eyes lit up, revealing a look of covetous greed. He had already reached the peak of the Spirit Wheel Stage, just one step away from advancing to the Divine Soul Stage. If he could use that Jade Spirit Fruit, he could undoubtedly risk everything to break through his bottleneck. At that point, how could people like Liu Ming possibly threaten him anymore!
Only then could he truly escape his predicament, like a fish caught in a trap.
"You truly are a strange kid. Now I’m interested in you."
Xue Tu smirked, his eyes sinister, and he lunged at Mu Chen. Breaking through to the Divine Soul Stage was indeed far more valuable than a mere beauty.
Mu Chen had long anticipated such a reaction. He quickly urged spiritual energy to envelop his legs, increasing his speed to the maximum as he frantically ran deeper into the forest.
At Tang Tian’er’s speed, returning to the camp to inform Master Mo would surely take some time. He absolutely had to stay alive until Master Mo arrived with reinforcements, escaping the clutches of the bandit Xue Tu, who had already reached the peak of the late Spirit Wheel Stage.
With that level of strength, Xue Tu could kill him with effortless ease.
"Kid, do you really think you can escape? For a little girl, you’d use your life to lure me away. Hahaha, honestly, I admire you for that. Alright then, hand over the Jade Spirit Fruit. I’ll only cripple your arms and legs, and let you keep your dog’s life. Do you hear me?"
Xue Tu chased after the silhouette of the desperately fleeing youth, his sinister, strange voice cackling as he spoke threats and persuasive words, aiming to disturb Mu Chen’s mind.
"Fleeing like a rat and still playing tricks, you should worry about yourself."
Mu Chen didn’t turn his head, merely letting out a cold laugh as he spoke loudly.
"You don’t know what’s good for you..."
Xue Tu’s eyes turned icy cold. His spiritual energy surged forth, and his speed increased even further, steadily closing the distance with Mu Chen.
Mu Chen felt the cold, murderous aura closing in right behind him. A hint of worry flickered in his heart; he had still underestimated this bandit’s true strength.
However, at this very moment, even a slight lapse would likely mean truly losing his life to that brigand.
Mu Chen gritted his teeth and let out a low growl. Spiritual energy suddenly circulated at high speed through his meridians, as if it too recognized that its master was in peril. Deep within his body, strange black spots abruptly appeared, spreading throughout his entire form.
The black spots appeared continuously. If he had time to observe at this moment, he would surely discover that they vaguely formed the shape of a mysterious tower.
*Whoosh!*
Mu Chen, of course, was in no mood to observe these changes. He only felt the spiritual energy in his body suddenly become more vigorous, and his fleeing speed increased dramatically, momentarily pulling him a distance away from Xue Tu.
“What the hell? How did this kid’s speed suddenly become so fast?”
Xue Tu looked on with uncertainty and alarm, his face twisted in a grimace. He poured more spiritual energy into his movements and quickly gave chase. After all, he was a powerful expert nearly at the Divine Soul Stage, with superior vision. He could see that Mu Chen's sudden burst of speed was clearly a short-lived one and couldn't be maintained for long.
In the dense forest, two figures, one chasing, one fleeing, flashed past, leaving behind a whirlwind that sent dry leaves and branches scattering.
At their maximum fleeing speed, Mu Chen and Xue Tu quickly approached the deeper parts of the forest. Xue Tu recognized this area and felt a prick of apprehension. There were many troublesome spiritual beasts here, and unforeseen dangers could arise at any moment.
“Brat, I'm done playing with you!”
Xue Tu gritted his teeth and roared, ignoring the massive drain on his spiritual energy. He forcefully stomped his foot, his body skimming the ground as he shot forward like a hunting cheetah. His hands also slapped the ground, and spiritual energy vaguely coalesced into a black leopard, flashing like a phantom, streaking towards Mu Chen with incredible speed.
“Die for me!”
The sudden surge in speed allowed Xue Tu to appear behind Mu Chen a mere ten seconds later, unleashing a ferocious punch brimming with spiritual energy.
An attack of this magnitude was enough to kill someone at the Spiritual Movement Stage!
Mu Chen immediately sensed the terrifying attack coming from behind him. If he were to meet this powerful strike head-on, he would instantly suffer severe injuries.
With a wild look in his eyes, he glanced towards the deeper forest, calculating his position, then suddenly spun around forcefully and opened his palm. A black shadow appeared, and a mysterious black page suddenly materialized.
“Boom!”
The mysterious black page appeared in Mu Chen's palm, blocking Xue Tu's powerful punch.
“Bang!”
The violent spiritual energy erupted. Mu Chen was struck as if by a sledgehammer, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The black page flew back into his body, and his own body shot away like a kite with a broken string, hurtling into the deeper forest.
Xue Tu looked on in stunned disbelief as Mu Chen was sent flying. He had expected to kill him with that one punch, but it hadn't gone as planned. Nevertheless, his speed didn't slacken. He quickly advanced into the deeper forest, his cold eyes fixed on Mu Chen, who lay sprawled at the base of a large tree.
“Still running?”
Xue Tu, panting heavily, stared coldly at Mu Chen, who lay motionless on the ground.
“I'm not running anymore…”
Facing his malicious smile, Mu Chen wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled faintly, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
“…instead, it's your turn to run for your life, you mongrel.”
Hearing his words, Xue Tu's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He was about to retort with a curse when suddenly, a furious roar echoed from the depths of the forest. The bandit flinched, looking back in that direction, only to see a silver shadow streaking forward like a bolt of lightning. The beast's ferocious spiritual energy was terrifyingly powerful; it created a whirlwind that flattened even large trees in its wake.
“A Silver-Horned Dragon Leopard?”
Xue Tu saw the majestic spiritual beast, and his face turned ashen. He shot a venomous glare at Mu Chen:
“You venomous brat, do you want to die with me? But you're still too green. I'll be leaving first, letting it play with you. Let's see how you fare in its belly, ha ha ha.”
However, when Mu Chen heard his words, the mocking smile at the corner of his lips deepened.
“That blood on you belongs to its cub. Do you think it will spare you?”
Hearing Mu Chen reveal his hand, Xue Tu involuntarily looked down at his body, covered in thick, congealed blood, his expression drastically changing. Only now did he understand that this seemingly naive youth had, from the very beginning, led him to put his head in a noose…
He had loudly pretended it was a Spirit-Shattering Pearl, but it was actually a bottle of fresh blood saved from yesterday—a deep scheme devised even before his escape. Truly vicious!
Looking at the youth's mocking face, Xue Tu felt a chill run down his spine. Such a deep and dangerous plot—could a reckless youth possibly devise this?
Mu Chen looked at Xue Tu's drastically changed expression, baring his teeth in a sneer. Then he looked at the huge, terrifying shadow of the Silver-Horned Dragon Leopard, its overwhelming murderous intent drawing closer and closer, and let out a soft breath.
“Brother Dragon Leopard, this time I'll have to rely on you again. Lend me your fangs and claws for one more meal!”