Chapter 49: Chapter Forty-Nine: Vast Wilderness

As he was startled, Pei Ye’s other hand finally gripped a stone, while the first hand still clutched the arm, which continued to slip helplessly.

Pei Ye halted his fall, exerted force, and leapt upward, carrying the body back up the slope.

He laid the man flat on the ground, ran his hands along the arm, and as soon as he touched the mouth and nose, the man weakly said: “Stop feeling me—I’m still alive.”

Pei Ye exhaled in relief, glanced around, and saw only darkness, shadows blurred and indistinct—he thought to light a fire to examine Zhu Gaoyang’s wounds.

The moment the thought arose, a pale blue flame burst to life in his hand.

Pei Ye stared in shock for a moment, then released the flame into the air, bending down to support Zhu Gaoyang.

Zhu Gaoyang’s gray robe was soaked in blood; Pei Ye helped him remove his upper garment, and under his guidance, pulled a vial of pills from his abdominal cavity—had the situation allowed, Pei Ye truly would have shoved his head inside to see what else was stored there.

After swallowing one pill, Zhu Gaoyang’s complexion improved, and his external bleeding was halted by his own qi.

“Feeling better?”

Zhu Gaoyang nodded, raised his hand, and tore off his disguise, revealing a face pale in hue, slightly gasping, yet unnaturally handsome.

This face was elegant and composed; the arrogant, wild energy of Zhang Siche had vanished entirely, replaced by calmness, even solemnity.

“Let me see you first,” he fixed his gaze on Pei Ye’s abdomen. “How do you feel now?”

Pei Ye sensed within, frowned, and said: “No sensation at all—the fluids still move normally, but the light cocoon seems to have gone dormant. Oh, and this flame—I didn’t know how to summon it before.”

“It’s hatching,” Zhu Gaoyang coughed out a mouthful of blood. “This ability to produce flame is an external leakage of its power. As hatching progresses, you’ll gradually gain other abilities—just like that Qiongqi. We can test my theory over time.”

“Hatching…”

“It shouldn’t have needed this step,” Zhu Gaoyang said. “Do you remember the pearl floating above the fire? The light cocoon provided the hatching environment; the pearl supplied vast energy—it should have completed this stage swiftly.”

“Since we didn’t use that pearl, how long will it take to hatch?”

“I don’t know. As time passes, you’ll sense its awakening yourself.”

“And after it hatches—will I turn into one of those monsters?”

“How should I know?” Zhu Gaoyang gave a faint, bitter smile. “I don’t even know what it is. It resembles a dantian seed, but which dantian seed is this bizarre?”

Pei Ye fell silent, touching his abdomen. Since the seed had burrowed in, the light cocoon within seemed to hum quietly, its writhing tentacles unlikely to reappear.

The seed now gestated within him; Pei Ye felt no strong sensation, and the seed showed no reaction to his own stimulation.

Normally, a dantian seed, barring secret methods, requires physical training and robust blood and qi to naturally trigger sprouting.

Pei Ye had long surpassed this standard—if the seed within his abdomen were ordinary, it should have already sprouted.

But it wasn’t. Rather than a plant’s seed, it resembled an animal’s egg—unresponsive to sunlight or rain, it followed its own hatching cycle.

No matter how vigorous his blood and qi, it remained indifferent; it would only break free once it had absorbed sufficient nourishment.

“What do we do?” Pei Ye asked.

“Carry on as usual,” Zhu Gaoyang sighed. “If it had brought the Qiongqi, I’d have killed it, cut out the seed, and taken it back to Immortal Platform. But since it’s you, I’ll take you back.”

“Thank you for not killing me.”

“Hah.” Zhu Gaoyang laughed, bright and warm. “I still need you to carry me.”

He collapsed on the ground, utterly motionless.

Pei Ye hoisted him onto his back, oriented himself: “Where are we?”

“Head west, toward Fenghuai County. Move as fast as you can—we don’t know when the Candle World Cult will catch up.”

“Fenghuai doesn’t have the strength to respond.”

“My companion will report my disappearance to Immortal Platform. The Divine Capital will surely send reinforcements.”

“They’ve entered the mountains to find you.” Blue veins crawled across Pei Ye’s skin as he sprinted westward.

“What?” Zhu Gaoyang frowned, sighing helplessly. “Xiao Zhi.”

“But at least the message wasn’t delayed—when will reinforcements arrive?”

“Many factors affect it—depends on how far the nearest Crane Inspector is. But frankly, a single Crane Inspector can’t stabilize this situation. If they dispatch troops from the Divine Capital, it’ll take two or three days.”

“Two or three days… what will we rely on?”

“On me,” Zhu Gaoyang chuckled weakly.

The words sounded bold, yet the speaker now lay limp on Pei Ye’s back, unable to move even a finger.

“Alright.” Pei Ye felt the boneless weight on his back and said nothing.

“Besides, we actually have another ally.”

“Who?”

“Do you know why we came here?”

“Shang Lang said it was an Immortal Hunt incarnate.”

“Hmm, you’ve seen Shang Lang’s mouth,” Zhu Gaoyang smiled. “Many misunderstand the Immortal Hunt—when they see Bixian or Qilin, or Taotie or Xiangliu, they assume divine beasts emerge like flipping a coin: either Immortal Hunt or Demon Calamity.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No. In truth, divine beasts always emerge in pairs—Immortal Hunt and Demon Calamity.”

Pei Ye felt the little Chi within his abdomen listen intently.

“This is a conclusion Immortal Platform reached decades ago. Though we don’t know why, the two emerging divine beasts always exhibit complete opposition and conflict—so profound it reaches conceptual levels: one is a Xiangshou , the other must be an Eshou ; one controls water, the other must control fire; one is benevolent, the other evil; one is calm, the other frenzied…”

“...I see.” Pei Ye was deeply shaken, but soon realized something was off: “But it doesn’t seem symmetrical—that Qiongqi controls both water and fire.”

“Precisely. That’s the anomaly of this Immortal Hunt’s manifestation,” Zhu Gaoyang sighed. “This Qiongqi grew too rapidly; its myriad strange abilities exceed those of any normal Demon Calamity. It possesses a trait none of the previous Demon Calamities had—and very likely, this trait is the core of the Candle World Cult’s scheme.”

“Then that’s… the seed in my belly?”

“Judging by what we’ve seen, it’s almost certainly.”

“So the seed came with the Qiongqi from birth?”

“Perhaps.”

Born with it, as if a close companion, yet capable of being expelled and parasitizing another—what manner of thing is this?

Pei Ye felt a strange sensation: as if the terrifying Qiongqi were merely a vessel, its sole purpose to deliver this seed into the mortal world.