Chapter 300

282. Chapter 282: The Path Is Treacherous (Ally Master Bonus: I Am Zifen)

Li Yi and Lin Yue were both decisive people who disliked delays; after quickly gathering and preparing their gear, they immediately got in the car and set off.

The distance from Tianchang City to Tianhan City was not far—just over three hundred kilometers—driving would take only two or three hours.

"What's that smell?"

As soon as they hit the highway, Li Yi caught a strange, foul odor—putrid and nauseating.

"It's a mixture of feces and urine from powerful creatures," Lin Yue said. "Cities spray it along the highway edges via water trucks to drive away nearby ferocious beasts and even some transcendent beings."

"I see."

Li Yi immediately rolled up the window: "If it's this effective, why not spray it along the city defense lines? Then no creature would dare enter."

Lin Yue laughed. "If we did that, the highways would all be overrun. Once the ferocious beasts and transcendent beings realize they've been tricked, do you think this stuff would still work? We only use it on highways to ensure intercity travel remains functional—but even then, the chance of vehicles being attacked is still high."

"But don't worry—the state deploys powerful Evolved Ones to patrol the highways constantly. Any ferocious beasts or transcendent beings near the road are killed, to send a message: the highway is dangerous, stay away. Still, under current conditions, many routes between cities remain paralyzed. Keeping the main arteries safe is already a victory."

As she spoke, Lin Yue pointed ahead: "Look—there's the patrol vehicle."

Li Yi looked and saw an armored vehicle slowly cruising ahead, armed with transcendent-tier heavy weapons capable of easily killing ferocious beasts and repelling transcendent entities.

"City security falls under the Investigation Bureau's jurisdiction," Lin Yue sighed. "If a disaster exceeds their capacity, they request aid, and the Golden Academy sends top experts. Maintaining order is already a miracle—but only as long as the situation doesn't worsen. If it does, and another large-scale Heaven Collapse occurs, cities will fall one after another."

"Under these circumstances, cross-realm travel seems the wisest choice. Even if we survive the second Heaven Collapse, there will be a third, a fourth. Some estimate the universe's energy in our world is still rising, meaning our disasters haven't peaked—and this trend will last at least a century."

"Cut losses early or fight to the end? Clearly, most choose to cut losses."

"A century-long Heaven Collapse?" Li Yi's scalp prickled. "That's utterly despairing. But Lin Lin Jie, how do you know this? Isn't it all classified?"

"To us, yes. But for top Evolved Ones, it's not. My teacher is a cultivator beyond the Soul Realm. He knows many major events. Even high-ranking officials consult him for strategy and advice. Sometimes when I'm free, I return to Tianhan City to attend his lectures."

Li Yi said, "Having a teacher like that is truly beneficial—you can understand the big picture."

As they talked, the car continued along the highway.

After leaving Tianchang City, the surroundings became forests and wastelands. No buildings were visible nearby. Even distant villages were now ruins, mostly destroyed, turned into havens for animals and plants. Human traces had nearly vanished in six years.

This wilderness looked calm, but every sight within view was a danger zone.

Danger zones weren't just near cities—the fallen lands beyond were far more terrifying. Anything could happen here. Any bizarre, impossible thing might appear. Since the Heaven Collapse, humanity had become utterly alien to nature, understanding less than one-tenth of it.

"What's that?"

Suddenly,

Li Yi spotted a blazing red mass darting through the distant forest, leaving scorched earth in its wake, igniting dense woods in an instant.

The fiery sphere moved swiftly, leaping over mountains and ridges as if walking on flat ground.

"A transcendent being? No—wrong. It's a mythic creature. Its fire isn't real fire—it's an energy field formed by overwhelming cosmic energy." Lin Yue's eyes widened sharply. "Hurry, drive past this stretch. Don't look at it. If it notices us, we're dead."

Li Yi slammed the accelerator. The car surged forward at maximum speed.

He was an Evolved One with extraordinary reflexes—he could handle the high speed without losing control.

But he was curious. His pupils narrowed into vertical slits, trying to discern the truth behind the distant blaze.

But as his vision neared the fire, everything around it warped under the energy field. He couldn't make out the creature inside—only a vague glimpse of crimson scales covering its body.

Li Yi withdrew his gaze, suppressing his curiosity.

Fortunately, the mythic creature merely passed by, ignoring the unremarkable car. As it raced through the forest and vanished beyond a great mountain, its passage stirred up many lurking dangers.

Li Yi saw a giant blue bird cry out, take flight, and vanish like lightning. Strange howls echoed from the dense woods—transcendent beings scattered in panic. He even spotted a colossal serpent emerging from a ravine, crushing trees under its body, carving a path through the forest.

He estimated its length at least two hundred meters.

"That mythic creature's passage has roused every hidden danger in this area."

Lin Yue said, "Good thing they're all fleeing and haven't entered the highway. Li Yi, did you see that giant serpent? It's not a python—it's a Qiu Long. The robe you're wearing is made from its hide. But that Qiu Long's power isn't simple. Without several Soul Realm experts coordinating with transcendent-tier heavy weapons, you won't kill it."

"As for that bird—I don't recognize it. But from its size, it's not an eagle. Likely a Peng—a creature existing only in legends."

"Outside the cities is terrifying." Li Yi, having traveled this highway, now understood just how dangerous his world truly was.

Holding onto the cities was already a miracle.

Restoring the old peace? He thought it impossible.

Lin Yue sighed. "Precisely because dangers keep emerging, cross-realm travel is the top choice. Who'd abandon their homeland for another world if they could hold onto it? Too bad your cross-realm mission failed. If World 36 hadn't been overrun by ghosts, it would've been the ideal choice."

"But that world is doomed too—undying ghosts, short-lived Ghost Masters, ordinary people with no cultivation. Just thinking about it is despairing."

Li Yi nodded in deep agreement.

That's why he'd begun laying plans for the Four Seas and Eight Provinces. Though unsuitable for Evolved cultivation, it was ideal for martial training. Once the ghost and spirit problem was solved, it could serve as a solid fallback.

As they talked, they safely passed through this dangerous stretch.

No more transcendent or mythic creatures appeared nearby. Their tense nerves eased somewhat.

Another hour passed.

Ahead, the silhouette of a city emerged.

"We're almost at Tianhan City," Lin Yue said.

Li Yi said, "By the way, I brought you a gift for your teacher. He'll like it."

"You're too kind," Lin Yue replied. "My teacher is a kind man. No need for gifts. Just tell him about World 36. He's deeply interested in other worlds' cultures and cultivation."

"Cultivation isn't just fighting," Li Yi smiled. "It's also human relations."

But then his expression changed—he spotted a woman standing beside the highway. Slender, fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged. She waved at him. Beside her stood a wrecked car—clearly trying to hitch a ride to Tianhan City.

"Someone trying to hitchhike here?" Li Yi asked, wary. "Lin Lin Jie, something feels off."

He found the woman too beautiful.

Beautiful—unnaturally so.

Lin Yue's face turned pale. "Don't stop. Drive straight through. If she tries to block you, hit her. We're still in the danger zone. What are the odds of encountering a woman this beautiful hitchhiking here?"

Li Yi's expression hardened. His caution had been right.

But the woman on the roadside refused to give up. She jumped into the middle of the road, waving wildly, trying to stop Li Yi's car.

Yet Li Yi remained calm, showing no sign of stopping. He stomped the accelerator and drove straight into her.

But strangely, the woman wasn't hurt. Instead, she instantly dissolved into smoke, vanishing from the rearview mirror.

"Lin Lin Jie, did you see that? The woman turned to smoke and disappeared?" Li Yi exclaimed, unsettled.

Then he noticed—the wrecked car beside the road was gone. The guardrail was intact.

It felt like an illusion.

"I saw it," Lin Yue frowned. "It wasn't an illusion. Something nearby cast a spell to deceive us. Lucky we didn't fall for it. Last time I came, this didn't happen. Now I've run into it—and we're still close to Tianhan City. One slip, and you're trapped."

Li Yi said nothing. He kept watching the rearview mirror—and saw a fleeting shadow dart past the scene. Small, furred, with a tail.

Like a... fox?