At dusk on the following day, Bai Xiaochun and the others were still speeding along. Occasionally, they would make attempts to use their transmission jade slips, but never succeeded in making contact with the sect.
Thankfully, they had plenty of medicinal pills. The seven Luochen Clan cultivators Bai Xiaochun had killed had all had bags of holding. Although the resources inside weren’t at quite the same level as what was available in the Spirit Stream Sect, at a time like this, it was more than sufficient.
With medicinal pills to bolster them, Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei were in high spirits. With their injuries under control, they managed to continue on through the entire night.
Bai Xiaochun trembled in fear the entire time. The slightest breeze or rustling leaf would cause sweat to break out on his forehead. His heart felt tight, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He was also still sore from the fighting, which often left him gritting his teeth from the pain.
It wasn’t that the pain was unendurable. Actually, it didn’t measure up at all to the pain he had felt while cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique. What bothered him was the actual sight of the blood and wounds, and the fear that they might worsen and eventually become life-threatening. He couldn’t help but grimace in anxiety at the thought of it.
Back before all of this had started, Du Lingfei would definitely have mocked him for that, and thought less of him than before. But now, everything was different, and a warm look could be seen in her eyes as she continuously comforted him.
“It’s okay. Don’t be scared, Junior Brother Bai. This wound looks bad, but it’s not life-threatening.
“Don’t move, I’ll put some more medicinal ointment on it….”
Seeing Bai Xiaochun wince in pain despite the critical danger they were in caused Du Lingfei to secretly smile. Within that smile were numerous undefinable emotions.
She knew how much Bai Xiaochun feared death, and it was that knowledge that left her so moved and shaken that he had returned. In fact, she even felt as if there were a superlative bravery lurking somewhere inside of him.
That bravery could give birth to a figure with veins of steel, which was something she would never be able to forget.
With Du Lingfei constantly comforting him, Bai Xiaochun started to feel more and more pleased with himself, and was starting to get the feeling that taking such a deadly risk had definitely been the right thing to do. After all, it had resulted in the beautiful Du Lingfei treating him so warmly all of a sudden.
When Hou Yunfei saw what was happening, he looked on with smiling eyes. Considering that they were all fleeing for their lives together, it was only natural that warm feelings would develop between all of them, and that they would become closer.
“Junior Brother Bai, Junior Sister Du,” he said, his tone serious, “if we can make it back to the sect alive, then I’ll remember this kindness you’ve shown me, for the rest of my life!”
“If we can make it back…?” A look of longing appeared in Du Lingfei’s eyes, but she quickly sighed and looked over at Bai Xiaochun. Pain rose up in her heart as she realized that the chances of the three of them getting back alive… were miniscule.
Bai Xiaochun sank further into silence.
Time passed. Two days went by, during which the three of them continued along with almost no rest. Repeated attempts to use their jade slips all ended in failure.
Hou Yunfei’s injuries were becoming more serious, as were Du Lingfei’s, whose face was becoming more and more ashen. Gradually, even their mental faculties were degrading.
Hou Yunfei sighed, turned to Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei and said, “It’s too bad we can’t just hide somewhere and weather the storm, but we really need to get word back to the sect. Of course, if my calculations are correct, the Luochen Clan’s ceremony will be ending soon, and once that happens…. their Foundation Establishment expert will be coming after us. No matter how we try to hide from him, we would be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt.”
It was at this point that Bai Xiaochun’s face suddenly flickered. Grabbing Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei, he leaped into a nearby ditch and squatted down.
Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei both had very serious expressions on their faces, and they immediately ceased any chatter.
Before much time had passed, a beam of light appeared in the air up above, which was actually a blood mist. Within the mist was a Luochen Clan member in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, who was looking around carefully in all directions. However, because Bai Xiaochun had led the group into hiding, they weren’t noticed, and the Luochen Clan member proceeded along into the distance.
Bai Xiaochun’s heart was pounding as he watched the cultivator disappearing. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he almost wanted to jump out and attack the man. However, he couldn’t do that unless he was certain that he could kill him. Otherwise, other members of the Luochen Clan might show up.
“They’ve caught up….” said Du Lingfei, sighing. She looked over at Bai Xiaochun and hesitated, as if there were something she wanted to say to him. However, before she could, he grabbed her hand and started running again.
The three of them said nothing as they proceeded along. They felt as if everything were weighing down on them, crushing down onto their hearts. The shadow of death loomed over them larger than ever, threatening to consume them completely.
“There’s still hope!” Hou Yunfei suddenly said. “Although the Patriarch of the Luochen Clan is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, far beyond us in terms of cultivation, his spell formation has to have limits. The Patriarch of my Hou Clan is also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and I was once lucky enough to see a security spell formation that he set up. It could cover a distance of 5,000 kilometers, and required sealing certain spell nodes ahead of time.”
Du Lingfei’s eyes gleamed as she responded, “Elder Brother Hou, do you mean that even though the spell formation was set up ahead of time by the Luochen Clan Patriarch, even if it exceeds 5,000 kilometers, it won’t be by much?!”
“Exactly!” Hou Yunfei declared. “Therefore, the further away we get from the Luochen Clan, the greater the chances that our jade slips will work. If we can just get word back to the sect, they’ll definitely send someone to save us!”
“5,000 kilometers,” Bai Xiaochun muttered, gritting his teeth. “At our current speed, that will take eight or nine more days to reach the border….”
As they proceeded along, they were forced to hide on numerous occasions when Luochen Clan members neared. However, each time, Bai Xiaochun’s uncanny ability to sense danger kept them safe.
Considering how on guard he was, and the fact that he was pulling Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei along with him as they fled, Bai Xiaochun was getting more and more exhausted, his face more and more ashen.
Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei’s injures continued to worsen, and as a result, their speed suffered. It eventually reached the point where Bai Xiaochun was virtually carrying both of them.
Bai Xiaochun was more cautious than ever as he led them along for three days straight.
Three days of running and hiding left Bai Xiaochun more and more drained. His face was gaunt as he led the group into a valley. However, after taking only a few steps inside, his face flickered, and he pulled Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei off to the side, where they hid behind a boulder. Unfortunately, they were a bit too slow, and moments later they could hear the sound of someone whistling through the air toward them.
A beam of white light descended from midair, slamming down into the rock they were hiding behind, completely shattering it. Hou Yunfei coughed up a mouthful of blood, and Du Lingfei couldn’t prevent blood from oozing out of the corners of her mouth. A cold snort rang out through the air.