Chapter 29: Li Niansheng is Missing, Fleeing Ten Thousand Miles
Chapter 29 – Li Niansheng is Missing, Fleeing Ten Thousand Miles
Thud!
Chen Changsheng collapsed weakly onto the dirt. Beside him lay Yixiu, his face carrying the pallor of a fresh corpse.
After sensing the overwhelming might of Perfected Master Yuhua, the monk had spammed a secret technique six consecutive times, successfully teleporting the two of them six thousand miles away.
A technique that burned essence blood and lifespan was something even a healthy Yixiu could barely withstand.
To forcefully cast it six times while critically injured meant the only difference between Yixiu and a dead man was a single, ragged breath.
Yet, even with six thousand miles between them and danger, Chen Changsheng didn’t feel safe.
Dragging the half-dead monk by the collar, he immediately initiated the Blood Escape technique.
Twelve consecutive Blood Escapes. That was his absolute limit. One more, and he would drop dead on the spot.
He tossed out a handful of Formation flags to cover their tracks, then violently shoved a fistful of Pills into Yixiu’s mouth.
Having spent his last ounce of strength securing the perimeter, Chen Changsheng’s vision blackened as he finally lost consciousness.
Just before slipping under, a single pragmatic thought crossed his mind.
If he catches up now, he can just kill me. If I run any further, I’ll do the job for him.
…
Meanwhile, outside the capital of the Night Moon Country.
A sharp breeze whipped through the air.
Perfected Master Yuhua materialized at the exact spot Chen Changsheng had stood moments before.
His terrifying Divine Sense unfurled, instantly blanketing a radius of a thousand miles.
After a sweeping search, the corner of Yuhua’s mouth twitched in annoyance.
He had to admit, his martial grand-nephew was absurdly good at running away.
Though this body was merely an avatar, its strength was on par with any ordinary Soul Formation cultivator.
Moreover, he was intimately familiar with the spiritual signatures of both Yixiu and Chen Changsheng.
If they were within five thousand miles, he was absolutely confident he could pinpoint them. And even if they breached that limit…
…he possessed methods to track them up to ten thousand miles away.
Yet now, after exhausting every tracking method at his disposal, the air remained completely devoid of Chen Changsheng’s aura.
Which meant that in less than two hours, the bastard had fled well over ten thousand miles.
Perfected Master Yuhua let out a cold, sharp laugh. “My dear grand-disciple, you’d best hide yourself well.”
“If I find you, I’m afraid your pathetic little life will be forfeit.”
With a flick of his sleeves, he turned and vanished back toward the Night Moon Country.
His main body was currently dealing with a massive headache; this avatar couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.
…
“Changsheng, can we please stop running?”
Yixiu lay flat on the flying sword, utterly drained. Chen Changsheng, having recovered just a sliver of spiritual energy, was dragging him through the sky once again.
Watching Chen Changsheng’s borderline paranoid persistence, Yixiu was rendered entirely speechless.
“Perfected Master Yuhua is only at Soul Formation Perfection. He hasn’t transcended the realm. We’re over ten thousand miles away, there’s no way he can catch us.”
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng’s expression didn’t change. He simply poured more Spiritual Power into the sword, increasing their speed.
“Caution keeps the coffin empty. God knows if that old monster has some obscure tracking technique.”
“Just to be absolutely sure, we’re flying another ten thousand miles.”
“Shut up and heal. Once you can stand, it’s your turn to drive.”
Yixiu rolled his eyes so hard it hurt, then finally closed them to focus on digesting the medicinal efficacy of the Pills.
A century had passed, and his old friend was just as neurotically cautious as the day they met.
Now that they were reunited, Yixiu had a mountain of questions to ask him.
Why had Chen Changsheng vanished without a word back then? Why did Martial Aunt Niansheng know him?
More importantly, how did a mortal with zero aptitude for cultivation reach the Golden Core realm, suddenly displaying such terrifying potential?
The questions swirled in his mind, but they would have to wait until they were well and truly out of danger.
…
A month passed in a flash. True to his word, Chen Changsheng hadn’t stopped until they crossed another twenty thousand miles.
“Can we stop now?”
“We are a full thirty thousand miles from the Night Moon Country. Even if Yuhua were an actual deity, he wouldn’t be able to sniff us out.”
With a heavy sigh, Yixiu and Chen Changsheng slowly descended, touching down on a desolate mountain peak.
Chen Changsheng scanned the unfamiliar horizon, finally giving a curt nod. “This should do. There’s an entire imperial dynasty between us and the Night Moon Country now.”
“Even if he wants to drag us back, it won’t be a walk in the park.”
“If you say we’re safe, then we’re finally safe.” Yixiu slumped onto a rock.
“By the way, back then, why did you—”
“Where’s Li Niansheng?”
Chen Changsheng cut him off cleanly, his tone flat.
Yixiu flinched. His gaze instantly shifted away, suddenly finding the dirt extremely interesting.
“Ah… Martial Aunt, she… she’s gone.”
“Gone?”
Chen Changsheng stared at him. “What does ‘gone’ mean? If you told me she got herself slaughtered, I could accept that.”
“But what do you mean by gone? She went into that forbidden land with you.”
“How does a living, breathing person just misplace themselves?”
Yixiu grimaced, his expression twisted in guilt. “When the Sect first learned of Perfected Master Yuhua’s treason,”
“they dispatched Martial Aunt and me to uncover the secrets of the forbidden land, hoping to turn the tide of the war.”
“After entering the forbidden land, we followed the clues provided by Shangqing Temple and quickly uncovered the Night Moon Country’s secret.”
“But right as we tried to seal that ominous energy, we tripped an alarm.”
“Wanyan Aguduo rallied two Soul Formation ancestors to box us in. The ancestors from the Heavenly Buddha Temple and the Linglong Sect charged in to bail us out.”
“It wasn’t enough. We were trapped. In the end, our two ancestors detonated their foundations, sacrificing themselves to forcefully suppress the majority of that power.”
Chen Changsheng frowned, his patience thinning.
“I didn’t ask for a history lesson on the forbidden land. I asked if Li Niansheng is dead or alive.”
“With the ancestors dead, we were sitting ducks,” Yixiu explained frantically.
“I thought my Dao was going to be extinguished right there. But out of nowhere, Martial Aunt uncovered a fractured ancient teleportation Formation inside a Bronze Ancient Hall.”
“It was barely holding together, but after some hasty patch jobs, it had enough juice for one last ride.”
“And then?”
“Don’t try to feed me some heroic bullshit about staying behind to cover her retreat.”
“Of course not! Do I look like I want to die?”
“But I told you, the Formation was busted. The spatial tunnel collapsed, and I fell out halfway through the jump.”
“With no other options, I wedged myself into a crack in the seal. Whenever they tried to dig me out, I threatened to detonate my core and blow the rest of the seal to hell with me.”
“That suicide bluff is the only reason I’m still breathing.”
“Where did the Bronze Ancient Hall’s Formation lead?”
“I have no idea. The runic structure of ancient Formations is way above my paygrade.”
“But based on the spatial distortion… she was thrown at least a hundred thousand miles away.”