Chapter 15: Escaping Danger

Jiu Shixiong also looked very disheveled, but his state was much better than that of Zhou Ding and Sikong Qing; his hair was merely messy and his clothes somewhat tattered, but he was completely uninjured.

Upon learning that Xu Chen's Divine Sense could see more than ten zhang away, Jiu Shixiong was also stunned, his mouth hanging open for a long time before he could close it. Once he came to his senses, he grabbed Xu Chen's arm tightly and said anxiously, "Since Junior Brother can see, then hurry and go find Junior Sister Zhao. I heard the sounds of fighting over there just a moment ago."

Xu Chen did not dare to delay, so he proceeded in the direction pointed out by Jiu Shixiong, and the three of them grabbed onto each other's clothes in a line, following Xu Chen as he stumbled forward.

This time it went even more smoothly; the four of them traveled twenty zhang through the maze-like fissures when suddenly, a strong white light erupted from a fissure not far away, followed by the roars of a Demon Beast and a woman's cry of alarm, then several violent sounds of impact and fighting.

This time, not only did Xu Chen see it, but Jiu Shixiong and Zhou Ding also saw it clearly.

And Xu Chen also knew that this must be Thirteenth Senior Sister Zhao Xuan activating that Protective Spirit Talisman; it seemed she had reached a point where she could no longer resist.

"Hurry to the rescue!"

Before Xu Chen could even move, Jiu Shixiong's figure flickered, turning into a blurred shadow in a few steps as he lunged toward the fissure where the white light was.

This Protective Talisman was very powerful; unless a cultivator at the True Essence Late Stage struck it with full force to shatter it completely, as long as the user had enough vital energy, it could last at least several dozen breaths. Therefore, seeing Jiu Shixiong go to the rescue, Xu Chen did not rush forward to join the fray, but instead hurried to bring Zhou Ding along, jogging behind him.

By the time Xu Chen saw the two of them, the Demon Beast had already fled, and the radiance of the Protective Talisman was rapidly fading.

Fortunately, although Zhao Xuan looked disheveled and her Daoist robe was torn in several places, she was not injured.

Seeing Xu Chen, Zhao Xuan was both angry and anxious, stamping her foot as she said, "Why did Little Junior Brother come in? Don't you remember our instructions?"

Before Xu Chen could explain, Jiu Shixiong quickly said, "Junior Sister, you blame Little Junior Brother wrongly. If not for him, we would still be unable to reunite; his Divine Sense can actually see more than ten zhang deep in these fissures."

Zhao Xuan was instantly stunned as well, her small mouth hanging open for a long time. Once she regained her senses, she said with pleasant surprise, "Junior Brother can really see that far?"

Xu Chen nodded and said, "That is indeed the case."

After saying this, he quickly used Divine Sense Transmission: "This matter is complicated, and I don't know what is going on either. Senior Sister, please don't ask too much for now; we will talk about everything after we get out."

Zhao Xuan understood Xu Chen's meaning—he did not want to reveal too many secrets in front of the Five Thunder Sect—so she stopped asking and pointed in another direction, saying, "I became separated from Valley Master Song in that direction two quarters of an hour ago. The distance should not exceed fifty zhang. Since Junior Brother can see, hurry and lead us there to search."

At this moment, the time limit for the Protective Talisman Zhao Xuan had activated had expired, and once the spiritual light vanished completely, the cave plunged back into darkness.

Except for Xu Chen, the whole group had almost become blind again.

So, the group continued to hold onto each other in a line, following him forward.

This time they walked for quite a while, winding through the web-like, maze-like fissures and holes for over a hundred zhang before Xu Chen finally sensed Song Qingshi's location. However, the situation was not good; he had many wounds on his body, and his Magic Treasure was lost and nowhere to be found. The only good thing was that he was still clear-headed, walking and stopping on his own in the dark, complex tunnels, and occasionally pressing his ear against the cave wall to listen, appearing to still be in control of his emotions.

Upon being found by Xu Chen and the others, Song Qingshi was overjoyed and expressed his endless gratitude repeatedly.

After the group exchanged words in a hubbub, they realized that after Song Qingshi and Zhao Xuan were separated, they had headed in completely opposite directions, and because the situation in the fissures was too complex, they had only drifted further apart.

Song Qingshi had made it to this point because he had heard faint cries for help nearby a short while ago, but the sound had vanished completely soon after, and he had lost his sense of direction entirely.

If his guess was correct, the person calling for help should be the last one yet to be found, the Third Valley Master of Wild Wolf Valley, Sun Haoqian.

And the distance should not be too far.

So Xu Chen led the even longer line of people to continue searching deep in the fissures. After a quarter of an hour, he saw Sun Haoqian, but he had already become a corpse.

"Why did Daoist Friend Xu stop?" Song Qingshi, standing behind Xu Chen, couldn't help but ask.

Xu Chen sighed and said, "Daoist Friend Sun has been found, but he is already dead!"

The group fell into a moment of silence. After a long while, Song Qingshi sighed and said, "I had already anticipated this; it seems we were one step too late."

Zhou Ding couldn't help but say, "How can this be blamed on Daoist Friend Xu?"

Song Qingshi quickly explained, "How would I dare to blame Daoist Friend Xu? If not for Daoist Friend Xu today, we would all have lost our lives here, and even the two Daoist Friends from the Taiyuan Sect would have been implicated and trapped here. I only blame myself for being too careless at the time; otherwise, how could this have happened?"

Jiu Shixiong was a bit impatient and said, "Now is not the time to talk about this. Getting out is the right thing to do. Since Daoist Friend Sun has been found, let's take the body out; it is the least we can do for an acquaintance."

Song Qingshi quickly said, "Then I will trouble Daoist Friend Xu to help!"

Xu Chen did not decline. He led the group around two forks and arrived in front of Sun Haoqian's corpse. Just as he was about to bend down to pick up the body, a faint blue light flashed deep in his brow, and a sense of impending danger arose. He roared and retreated, using his arms to push the group behind him away. At the same time, he saw a puff of black smoke erupt from Sun Haoqian's nose and mouth, which in the blink of an eye transformed in mid-air into a giant, bat-like Demon Beast.

"Buzz~~"

The Demon Bat's wings vibrated, and it suddenly lunged at Xu Chen.

Although Xu Chen reacted quickly, he had indeed never experienced such a crisis and was momentarily flustered. In his panic, he didn't have time to deploy his Flying Sword and could only hack down with it as if it were an ordinary weapon. But as the Flying Sword pierced the Demon Bat's body, the bat disintegrated into a mass of black mist and drilled into his brow.

Oh no!

Xu Chen was instantly even more panicked.

He had never encountered such a bizarre Demon Beast, but it was already too late to resist. He only felt a sharp pain and dizziness in his brow, and he saw the phantom of a giant bat appear in his Sea of Consciousness.

"Woo~~"

The black bat that appeared in his Sea of Consciousness let out a hiss, but upon seeing the Jade Bead quietly floating and emitting a soft blue light, it became extremely terrified. While trembling violently, it disintegrated into a puff of black smoke and prepared to flee, but the Jade Bead suddenly flashed. As a sky-covering blue light swept past, Xu Chen discovered that there was no longer any sign of the bat in his Sea of Consciousness.

Meanwhile, in the tunnel, a giant black bat rolled off Xu Chen's face and fell to the ground with a *thud*. It soon fell apart and began to collapse, and within a few breaths, it vanished into black mist, leaving behind only a black bead the size of a thumb on the ground.

The group, having been suddenly pushed away by Xu Chen's roar, was in a state of chaos.

"Little Junior Brother, what happened?"

Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan exclaimed almost simultaneously, gripping their Flying Swords tightly but not daring to strike, because they could see nothing.

It all happened in the blink of an eye; the entire process lasted less than a few breaths. Thus, Xu Chen quickly regained his composure, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and feigned calm, saying, "Everyone, don't panic. It was a Demon Beast lurking on Daoist Friend Sun; it has already fled!"

"Phew~"

Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.

"We must not stay here for long. Let's go!"

Xu Chen still had lingering fears and did not dare to stay behind to act like a master.

If it were the same kind of octopus-like Demon Beast as before, it would be easier to deal with, but this Demon Beast that could drill into the Sea of Consciousness could not be judged by common sense; it could actually hide on a person's body.

If the Jade Bead hadn't suddenly unleashed its power to finish off the Demon Bat just now, he would likely be as dead and stiff as Sun Haoqian.

And among this group, only he had the mysterious Jade Bead. If the Demon Bat had attacked someone else instead of him, there would likely be one more corpse.

Therefore, Xu Chen carefully used his Divine Sense to check Sun Haoqian's corpse again. Finding no further danger, he picked it up, placed it on Jiu Shixiong's shoulder, and led the line of people to start looking for a way out.

At this time, except for Xu Chen and Eldest Senior Brother, almost everyone had exhausted their vital energy. Zhao Xuan had even used up the precious Spirit Talisman she had obtained from Xu Chen, which showed how great the cost of this trip had been.

The group didn't say much, following Xu Chen as they walked continuously through the pitch-black fissures that were like a spiderweb maze. Slowly, their Divine Sense perception became stronger and clearer, from a few feet to one zhang, then two zhang. By the time their Divine Sense expanded to a distance of three or four zhang, everyone no longer needed to hold onto each other and could clearly judge the direction to go on their own.

After all, the entire fissure generally sloped downward into the depths of the mountain.

Therefore, once they had a relatively clear Divine Sense perception, they could make accurate choices regarding the terrain and direction.

After a full hour, the group finally walked from the depths of the fissure to the cave entrance.

Looking at the barren mountain ridge and the howling, churning Black Wind before them, everyone felt the excitement and joy of having survived a disaster, and one by one they sat on the ground panting as if they were completely exhausted.

If not for Xu Chen suddenly displaying great might today, this group might not have had a single person come out alive.

Jiu Shixiong said with lingering fear: "The name Evil Land is truly well-deserved; we almost lost our lives there!"

The group nodded along with faces full of lingering fear and shared apprehension, and Zhao Xuan said: "A sudden change has occurred in Black Wind Ridge, it is not a place to stay for long; we should leave this place first before discussing anything else."

Zhou Ding said with a bitter face: "Right now my vital energy is exhausted, and my Magic Treasure and medicinal pills are all lost; I fear it will be difficult even if I want to leave."

Jiu Shixiong was silent for a moment, then took a bottle of Small Yuan Pill from his pocket, poured out three pills, and handed them to Zhou Ding, Sikong Qing, and Song Qingshi respectively, saying:

"We indeed cannot stay here; the three Daoist Friends should first use the medicinal pills to stabilize your vital energy, and we can slowly recuperate once we are safe."

"Many thanks, many thanks!" The three took the medicinal pills and thanked him repeatedly, then each swallowed a pill, sat cross-legged, and began to circulate their energy.

Among the three, Sikong Qing had the most severe injuries, but they were merely flesh wounds; she was now completely conscious, and for a cultivator, as long as the Meridians, dantian, and Soul have not suffered heavy damage, it is not considered a serious injury, and they will recover quickly with just rest and recuperation.

Vital energy is almost the reliance for the strength of a cultivator in the Refining Essence into Qi stage; a cultivator without vital energy is actually perhaps not even as good as a mortal martial arts expert, though of course, the strength of a cultivator is not something mortals can understand; once at a life-threatening juncture, a cultivator has plenty of ways to put an ordinary mortal to death, and even when encountering a cultivator of the same realm, they can still self-destruct their dantian before death to heavily injure their opponent or even perish together.

After about a quarter of an hour, the three finished circulating their energy through a small cycle and opened their eyes one after another, so the group did not delay any longer; Jiu Shixiong took Zhou Ding, Zhao Xuan took Sikong Qing, Song Qingshi took the corpse of Sun Haoqian, and Xu Chen flew on his sword himself, and the group rose into the air, turning into four streaks of Escape Light and heading toward the direction of Wild Wolf Valley.