Fortunately, having taken the seven storage pouches from the Fallen Chen clansmen that Bai Xiaochun had killed, they had enough pills to sustain them. Although it couldn’t be compared to when they were in the Spirit River Sect, at times like these, having something is better than nothing.

Under the sustenance of the pills, both Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei looked vigorous as they suppressed their injuries and ran alongside Bai Xiaochun in the darkness of the night.

Throughout the journey, Bai Xiaochun could feel his heart thumping worriedly against his chest; any blow of the wind or movement of the grass would make him break out in cold sweat. As he was constantly on the edge, his eyes were bloodshot. The pain that occasionally ran through his body caused him to clench his teeth in agony.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle the pain, in fact, if he were to compare it with when he was cultivating the Unending Longevity Technique, it was far weaker. However, the pain from the Unending Longevity Technique was for the sake of cultivation, but now, when he looked at the unrecognisable mess of blood and flesh all over his body, he could only worry whether the injuries would worsen and whether or not they were life-threatening. As these thoughts ran through his mind, his expression turned gloomy and sour.

If this was before, Du Lingfei would have definitely looked down on Bai Xiaochun with contempt, but currently, her attitude was the exact opposite. She looked at Bai Xiaochun with a gentle gaze as she stood by his side and continuously consoled him.

“It’s okay, don’t be scared Junior Brother Bai, although these injuries look serious, in fact they are not life-threatening.”

“Stay still, I will apply some ointment for you…”

Seeing Bai Xiaochun clench his teeth in pain, Du Lingfei covered her mouth and chuckled softly. Despite their dangerous circumstances, Du Lingfei still smiled towards Bai Xiaochun, and somehow, vague emotions hid behind it.

She knew that Bai Xiaochun was scared of death, however, the more she learned about this characteristic of his, the more touched she felt when she recalled the moment Bai Xiaochun had turned back to save them. She felt that the Bai Xiaochun standing before her possessed a courage that far exceeded that of any normal person.

And this courage, which had materialised into that bloody iron silhouette, left an unforgettable memory in her heart.

Under the consolation of Du Lingfei, Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but feel joy rise from the bottom of his heart. He silently thought that putting his life on the line this time around wasn’t so bad after all if he could enjoy the gentle treatment from a beauty like Du Lingfei.

When Hou Yunfei looked at this scene, his gaze revealed a hint of happiness. Throughout this escape, they had to constantly depend and count on each other for survival. Having the opportunity to feel this rare sense of warmth, their relationship had definitely gotten much closer.

“If we could return back to the sect, Junior Brother Bai, Junior Sister Du, this favor, I will never forget it for my entire life!” Hou Yunfei said in a serious tone.

“If we could return back to the sect…” Du Lingfei’s gaze shone with anticipation but she sighted soon after. Turning to glance at Bai Xiaochun, a bitter feeling rose from the bottom of her heart; she understood, that the possibility of them returning alive...was slim.

Bai Xiaochun similarly fell into silence.

Time passed by and in the blink of an eye, two days had flown by. The trio had been on the run without rest, and throughout the journey, they would often take out the communication jade slip to test it out, but alas, it had never worked.

Hou Yunfei’s injuries were worsening and Du Lingfei’s face was also getting paler. The fatigue coupled with the injuries had caused the two of them to be mentally exhausted as well.

“A pity we don’t have the time to hide from them. We also need to report back to the sect as soon as possible. According to my estimation, the Fallen Chen Clan’s ritual should be finishing soon, and once it is completed…that Foundation Establishment patriarch will personally take action. Once that happens, regardless of how well we hide, we will undoubtedly die.” Hou Yunfei softly sighed as he explained to Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei.

Suddenly, Bai Xiaochun’s expression suddenly changed. He quickly pulled Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei along with him, sprinted down to a col and hastily crouched down.

Both Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei’s expressions changed as they immediately fell silent.

Not long after, out of the blue, a prismatic beam streaked across the sky; the prismatic beam was a cloud of bloody mist, and within the mist was an eight level Qi Condensation Chen clansman who was currently gazing below, scouting the ground. However, as Bai Xiaochun and the others had hid themselves in time, this Chen clansman did not stay for long and flew off into the distance.

Bai Xiaochun’s heart pounded nervously as he looked at the fading figure in the distance. The blood-filled veins in his eyes grew more obvious; he knew that he couldn’t take any action right now unless he could instantly kill the person. Otherwise, before long the other clansmen would certainly appear.

“They have caught up to us…” Du Lingfei sighed deep in her heart. She looked at Bai Xiaochun and hesitated for a moment, she was just about to open her mouth when Bai Xiaochun suddenly grabbed her hand and dashed away.

Along the way, the three of them were quieter than they had ever been; an invisible pressure weighed on their hearts and spread in the atmosphere, causing an unsettling feeling to rise in their hearts, as if the shadow of death was extending its hand closer and closer towards them, threatening to crush the three of them.

“We still have hope!” Hou Yunfei suddenly said.

“Though the Fallen Chen Clan’s patriarch is a Foundation Establishment cultivator and is much stronger than us, it is impossible for his formation array to be boundless. Our Hou family’s patriarch is also a Foundation Establishment cultivator and I was fortunate to witness him set up a formation array. Setting up a formation array that can cover an area of 10 000 li still requires one to lay down some nodes first.”

(ED note: One li is 576 meters, or 630 yards)

“ Senior Brother Hou is saying that even if the Fallen Chen Clan’s patriarch had made prior preparations, it wouldn’t exceed over 10 000 li!” Du Lingfei’s eyes brightened as she immediately replied.

“That’s right, hence the further we are from the Fallen Chen Clan, the higher the chance of us succeeding to contact the sect with the jade slip. And as long as we manage to send the news back to the sect, we would be saved!” Hou Yunfei said firmly.

“A radius of 10 000 li, according to our current speed, we would roughly need ** days……” Bai Xiaochun muttered as he gritted his teeth and continued running.

(ED note: the author himself wrote ** )

Throughout the journey, they were either running or hiding; they had encountered the Fallen Chen clansmen numerous times, however, they had always managed to avoid them thanks to Bai Xiaochun’s extraordinary sense of danger.

This constant tension coupled with the continuous running during which Bai Xiaochun still pulled Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei along, caused his fatigue to build-up and his expression to pale even further.

As for Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei, their injuries only worsened as time passed, their speed slowly decreased until Bai Xiaochun was practically the only thing moving them forward.

Bai Xiaochun moved with even more caution, his character was to always seek safety and stability; his personality was meticulous, and with his keen danger sense, he had managed to keep them alive for three days in the state of high alert.

During these three days, the three of them hid and concealed themselves; Bai Xiaochun looked haggard and was exhausted beyond what words could describe. As they entered a mountain valley, before taking more than a few steps, Bai Xiaochun suddenly felt his heart leap and instantly grabbed Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei and hid together with them behind a large boulder. However, they were slower by a beat as a whistling sound sounded from above. Bai Xiaochun quickly pushed the other two without any hesitation and hastily backed away.

With a loud crash, a beam of white light instantaneously descended from the sky, smashing the boulder, showering the surroundings with rubble. Hou Yunfei coughed out blood and similarly, some blood also seeped out from the corners of Du Lingfei’s mouth. At this moment, a cold snort echoed from the sky above.

“So this is where you are hiding!”

A disciple of the seventh level of Qi Condensation appeared before them as he stood on a bloody mist and held a piece of mirror in his left hand. He immediately slapped his storage pouch with his right hand and retrieved a piece of jade slip, preparing to send out a signal.

“Don’t let him send out the signal!” Hou Yunfei said anxiously as Du Lingfei, with a deathly pale face, tried to use her flying sword with great difficulty

At this moment, the retreating Bai Xiaochun, with his face pale, his body trembling and bloodshot eyes, gritted his teeth and stomped on the ground mid-retreat; his right leg trembled as he gathered all of his strength and with a loud bang, the ground below cracked open as his body shot off of the ground and flew with a such speed that he seemed like a prismatic beam.

Just when the Chen clansman was about the send the signal, Bai Xiaochun arrived in front of him. The Chen clansman’s expression immediately changed as he retreated quickly, unable to send a signal. With a gesture, the mirror in his left hand suddenly flashed and numerous beams of white light flew out of it towards Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun eyes filled with ferocity as he did not even bother to dodge, letting those beams of white light to freely land on his body as he continued to charge forward. While the clansman was shocked, Bai Xiaochun arrived in front of him. As black light flashed on the two fingers of Bai Xiaochun’s right hand, he grabbed onto the neck of Chen clansman and mercilessly clamped on it.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

With a crackle, the eyes of the clansman at the seventh level of Qi Condensation glazed; fresh blood spurted out of his mouth as his last breath left his body. Between the time he found the trio and died, he hadn’t had the chance to send out a signal even once.

Simultaneously, blood also seeped out from the corners of Bai Xiaochun’s mouth. Grabbing the storage pouch of the other party in one hand, he returned back to Du Lingfei. Before he could even reach her, his body buckled as if it was on the brink of collapse. Biting onto his tongue, Bai Xiaochun forced himself to concentrate.

“Go!” He quickly grabbed onto both Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei.

“Let go of me!” Hou Yunfei suddenly shouted.

“Both of you leave, your speed would be much faster without me.” Hou Yunfei gazed towards Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei as he said with determination.

“Junior Brother Bai, you go…” Du Lingfei meaningfully looked at Bai Xiaochun. Hou Yunfei’s words were exactly the ones that she wanted to say days ago, and now she took the chance to say them as well.

“Shut up! Even someone like me who is terrified of dying is already putting his life on the line, you guys can’t let my effort to leave together be in vain!” Bai Xiaochun screamed angrily, cutting off the words of Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei. He pulled both of them and dashed away without speaking another word. Both of them similarly fell silent and did not continue to speak. Deep down in their hearts, Bai Xiaochun’s moving words had left an inerasable mark upon them

Bai Xiaochun moved even more cautiously from then on - he constantly changed directions and avoided the Chen clansmen hunting them multiple times. Three days later, when the sun was about to set, a lightning streaked across the sky. Ominous clouds gathered and raindrops fell. The bean-sized water drops rained endlessly onto the earth, drowning the area to instantly be filled with drizzling sounds.

As a cold chill spread in the air, Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei felt their bodies shiver uncontrollably. Aggravated by this cold chill, their faces paled even further. Anxiety surfaced on Bai Xiaochun’s face; he knew that the both of them would not be able to make it through the cold. Quickly, he found a mountain cave and lighted a fire.

After blocking out the light from it, Bai Xiaochun sat cross-legged and gazed at the two of them.

Crackling sounds softly rounded from the bonfire as it emanated a comforting warmth that gradually chased away the chill in the surrounding air. Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei’s expressions slowly improved, though they were still pale white.

Within the cave, the three of them stared silently at the fire, as a wave of fatigue washed over them from the depths of their hearts.

“Three more days, then we would be out of the 10 000 li area. Hahaha, when we return back to the sect and tell them of our achievements, what do you think the sect will reward us with?” Bai Xiaochun chuckled as he broke the silence.

Du Lingfei looked at Bai Xiaochun with a gentle look.

Hou Yunfei felt like laughing, however, when he opened his mouth, fresh blood flew out of his mouth as he immediately became paler, and his body swayed as if it was about to collapse any moment.

Throughout these few days of escaping, all of their pills had been used up.

Bai Xiaochun immediately stood up and was just about to walk over to check on Hou Yunfei when his expression suddenly changed. With a quick wave of his sleeve, he shielded both Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei behind him as the rocks covering the entrance got blasted from outside.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9th guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Xin

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch