Chapter 62: Flee
Yuan Ming faced the howling wind blades and without hesitation, quickly chanted an incantation and pressed his hands down.
With a loud rumble, two thick wooden spikes emerged from the ground and collided with the two wind blades.
There was a crisp sound!
The wooden spikes were easily cut in half, but the two wind blades also changed direction and slashed into the stone walls on both sides of the cave, making a "PU PU" cutting sound.
After the sound, deep marks about a foot long were left on the originally hard as iron stone walls.
If Yuan Ming hadn’t been prepared for protection, he would have been cut into pieces by the two wind blades without even having time to react.
"The kid reacts quickly." Kun Tu sneered, a green light flashed in his hand, and the surrounding air flow surged violently, obviously preparing to use a more powerful method.
Yuan Ming remained calm and made a gesture towards the sky.
About seven or eight zhang above the cave, there was a cliff with a large stone measuring several zhang in diameter lying on the edge. The rocks on the cliff had already cracked due to wind and sun, and half of the large stone began to tilt downwards, ready to slide off at any moment.
A green light flashed at the bottom of the large stone, and two thick wooden spikes emerged, forcefully propping up the large stone.BOOM!
The large stone slid down from the cliff, rolling and smashing towards Kun Tu and the others at the entrance of the cave. Nearby rocks and soil were also brought along, pouring down with a rumble.
Yuan Ming chose to live here partly because it was secluded, and partly because of the loose large stone above. He had only prepared for precaution, but unexpectedly, it came in handy today.
Kun Tu and the others saw the fierce momentum of the giant stone and soil, and hurriedly dodged to the side.
With a loud bang, the large stone fell to the ground, raising a large cloud of dust.
Yuan Ming had been waiting for this moment and shot out from the cave, swiftly heading towards a distant place.
Seeing this, Kun Tu angrily shouted and pounced forward.
He flipped his hands and a black flag appeared, about a zhang in size. A blood-red skull pattern was embroidered on it, and in an instant, a strong gloomy wind blew around, filled with a strong ghostly aura.
Yuan Ming’s pupils contracted, shouting "Watch out for hidden weapons!" He waved his arm and two gray-black beads shot out, directly aiming for Kun Tu’s face.
Kun Tu’s face showed a mocking smile as he waved the flag in his hand. With a flash of blood, the blood-red skull pattern on the flag seemed to come alive, opening its mouth and spitting out.
A gust of wind-like Yin energy shot out, carrying a sharp and chilling intent. Wherever it passed, grass, trees, and stones were all cut off, and even the hard ground was marked with a deep groove, blocking the gray-black beads.
"No!" Hu Huo, who was on the other side, saw the gray-black beads clearly and hurriedly shouted to stop.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The Yin wind accurately hit the beads.
With a muffled sound, a large cloud of gray-black smoke suddenly appeared out of thin air, instantly engulfing a large area nearby.
Kun Tu suddenly felt his vision go dark, unable to see anything for a moment.
Yuan Ming used the Shadowless Step technique and shot forward like an arrow towards the dense forest.
Although Kun Tu couldn’t see, he could still hear the movement. He poured his mana into the flag, and little sparks of light appeared on the flag, condensing into a blood-colored light blade about a zhang in size in front of the flag in the blink of an eye.
"GO!" He flicked his wrist, and the blood-colored light blade immediately turned into a blood-colored line, shooting towards Yuan Ming.
Elder Hu Huo and the one-eyed woman also heard Yuan Ming’s escape and simultaneously launched their attacks.
Elder Hu Huo’s sleeve rolled up, revealing a black tube-like object in his hand. Without doing anything visible, the black tube shook violently, emitting a low rumbling sound.
A burst of black light shot out, turning into countless black needles, densely packed and shooting towards Yuan Ming.
The one-eyed woman waved her arm, and a long whip with spikes shot out. Against the wind, it extended far beyond its original length of about a zhang, lashing towards Yuan Ming’s back.
There was a strong wind behind Yuan Ming, his expression changed slightly, and his footsteps immediately shifted, his figure suddenly becoming blurry as he swiftly moved two zhang to the side.
The long whip of the one-eyed woman and the black flying needles of Elder Hu Huo missed, but Kun Tu’s blood-colored light blade, like a blood-sucking leech, changed direction and continued to strike at Yuan Ming.
With a loud explosion, the blood-colored light blade appeared out of thin air three feet behind Yuan Ming, turning into an afterimage and slashing down.
Yuan Ming’s expression changed drastically. It was too late to dodge, so he gritted his teeth and waved his right hand.
A green shadow flashed, and a green incense burner appeared in his hand. He held the sides of the incense burner with both hands, blocking it in front of the blood-colored light blade.
With a loud clang!
Yuan Ming’s whole body shook, and he was sent flying, his hands bursting open.
The green incense burner was also shaken away and fell to the ground nearby, but it was intact without any damage, and there was no trace of a white mark.
Yuan Ming flew out about four or five zhang away and crashed heavily into the nearby dense forest.
Fortunately, he had already used the Fur Coat Technique to transform, so he was tough and unharmed. The wounds on his hands were only superficial, and he immediately flipped over and jumped up, fleeing towards the distance in the dense forest.
While running, Yuan Ming raised his hand and the incense burner on the ground in the distance suddenly became illusory, turning into a wisp of green light and entering the mark of the incense burner on his right arm.
Just as Yuan Ming’s figure disappeared, Kun Tu and the others chased out from the gray-black smoke, their faces looking very grim."Where did that kid escape to?" Kun Tu looked at the one-eyed woman.
"There!" The one-eyed woman seemed to be skilled in tracking. After a brief observation of the ground, she immediately pointed out the direction Yuan Ming had fled.
Kun Tu patted the spirit beast bag at his waist, and a two-zhang long blue giant wolf appeared. It was the spirit beast he had used during the trial, and he leaped up with the one-eyed woman, chasing after Yuan Ming.
Elder Hu Huo also summoned a green falcon and leaped up, following closely behind them.
At this moment, Yuan Ming had already left the valley. The transformed white ape moved swiftly through the mountains and headed towards the west.
However, whether it was Kun Tu’s blue wolf or Elder Hu Huo’s green falcon, they were both fierce beasts known for their speed. The sound of their pursuit quickly reached Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming felt anxious, but he had no immediate solution and could only run with all his might.
Just then, the sound of rushing water came, and a not-so-narrow river appeared ahead.
Seeing this, Yuan Ming immediately ran towards the river.
At that moment, Kun Tu’s voice came from the dense forest behind him, "Yuan Ming, let’s see where you can escape to!"
As the voice fell, the wind rose, and Kun Tu rode on the blue wolf, leaping several zhangs and pouncing towards Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming turned his head and his eyes narrowed. His right ape arm suddenly grew thicker, and he grabbed a handful of gravel, fiercely throwing it backwards. Then, he continued running forward.
The blue wolf opened its mouth and a gust of wind surged out, shattering the gravel with dozens of cyan wind blades.
Kun Tu took advantage of the opportunity to wave his large flag and pointed it towards Yuan Ming in the air.
The skull pattern on the black flag lit up, and the top of the flag emitted a flashing light, shooting out more than ten blood-colored light arrows. Although they were not as powerful as the previous blood-colored light blades, their speed surpassed them. They whistled towards Yuan Ming’s back.
Yuan Ming’s figure lowered, sticking close to the ground and rolling forward, barely avoiding the attack of those blood arrows. However, his right arm was still scratched, and blood gushed out.
But he had finally reached the riverside and flipped over, diving into the rushing water with a "plop," disappearing.
Almost at the same time, Kun Tu flew and landed on the riverside, cursing under his breath. His eyes stared at the river, continuing to channel his mana into the black flag.
The gloomy aura on the flag became stronger and stronger, and the top of it surged with blood light. With the hindered movement in the water, and with the speed of the blood arrows, as long as Yuan Ming showed his head, he would not be able to escape Kun Tu’s thunderous strike.
Elder Hu Huo also arrived at the riverside, staring at the river as well.
But no matter how long they waited, there was no sign of Yuan Ming resurfacing. It was as if he had completely disappeared.
The three of them sensed that something was wrong and quickly dispersed, each searching a different area of the river. However, they still couldn’t find any trace of Yuan Ming.
"Hu Huo, could it be that Yuan Ming knows some kind of water avoidance spell? I don’t remember you mentioning it before." Kun Tu looked at Elder Hu Huo.
"Based on what I know, no one in the Toad Valley has ever sold such a spell. Besides, the cultivation requirements for the Water Avoidance Spell are very high, and it’s not something that someone at the Qi Refining Fourth or Fifth Layer can cultivate." Elder Hu Huo shook his head.
"Then where did Yuan Ming go?" Kun Tu asked in a deep voice.
Yuan Ming was just a beast slave. He had thought that he could easily capture such a small character with a wave of his hand, but unexpectedly, Yuan Ming had escaped from his grasp multiple times, leaving him with a belly full of anger.
"Kun Tu, calm down. I will let the green falcon search nearby." Elder Hu Huo seemed to be quite wary of Kun Tu as he tried to console him with kind words before summoning the green falcon.
He jumped onto the back of the green falcon and placed his hand on its head, a faint white light appearing in his palm as he muttered something under his breath.
After a few breaths, the green falcon soared into the sky and flew towards the lower part of the river.
"You also go and find Yuan Ming. We must not let him escape." Kun Tu said to the one-eyed woman.
The one-eyed woman agreed and began searching in the opposite direction.
Kun Tu stood in place, scanning the surrounding river surface with his gaze.
At this moment, Yuan Ming was hiding underwater, sticking close to the ground and swimming downstream.
He had already changed his beast skin technique to the Black Toad Beast Skin, transforming into the form of a black toad.
The beast soul within the Black Toad Beast Skin had been greatly enhanced by the incense burner, allowing him to hold his breath underwater for a much longer time. He had been lurking underwater for half an hour without any problems.
"Elder Hu Huo and Kun Tu have conspired against me. I can no longer stay in the Ten Thousand Mountains, but the poison in my body is still unresolved. I won’t be able to survive for long even if I leave now." Yuan Ming was in a dilemma.
"Forget it, there’s still a month before the poison takes effect. Let’s overcome the current difficulties first." He couldn’t make up his mind, so he stopped thinking about it and continued moving forward.
Half an hour later, Yuan Ming’s breath-holding reached its limit. He emerged from the river and, seeing no one around, dashed into the forest on the riverbank.
Although he didn’t see any trace of Elder Hu Huo and the others, he didn’t dare to be careless and quickly fled towards a distant place.
As the three of them chased and fled, the sky gradually darkened.
In the dim forest, the sounds of insects and beast roars occasionally echoed. Yuan Ming stood on a branch of an old tree, supporting himself with one hand on the trunk. He breathed slightly and looked nervous, constantly scanning his surroundings.
Although he had narrowly escaped earlier, the current situation was still not optimistic.
During their previous confrontation in the cave, he had been limited by the terrain and hadn’t realized how strong Kun Tu was. It was only when they met again just now that he finally experienced the gap between them.Moreover, with Elder Hu Huo assisting from the side, if they were to be caught up again, they would likely be in a dire situation, teetering on the brink of life and death.