Chapter 23

Although the injury to his chest from Gu Fei's sneak attack was severe, Ning Cheng's speed continued to increase under his strong will to survive. He didn't care if his foundation was being damaged; he only knew that he had to run as fast as possible. At the same time, the true qi in his body was circulating at its maximum, and he made sure not to let another drop of blood fall.

...

Gu Yiming stopped when he saw a large pool of blood on the ground. Clearly, the two had fought here, and a piece of torn clothing lay on the ground. The clothing was covered in blood, but it wasn't Gu Fei's; it was Ning Cheng's.

Gu Yiming nodded in satisfaction and looked in the direction where the blood trail disappeared. He knew that the blood trail didn't extend because Ning Cheng had suddenly escaped, but because his brother Gu Fei wanted to toy with Ning Cheng, making him taste the fear of imminent death while running.

Understanding this, Gu Yiming stopped running and slowly followed the blood trail, not even checking the surroundings. With Gu Yiming's cultivation, if he had been more careful, he would have discovered that Ning Cheng had gone in another direction, but he didn't consider this. For a mere First Stage Qi Gathering cultivator like Ning Cheng, it would be strange if he could change direction under the hands of a Third Stage Qi Gathering cultivator like Gu Fei.

Ning Cheng pushed his speed to the limit, but he also became increasingly dizzy. After a while, black spots began to appear in his vision. Ning Cheng knew he had reached his limit. He was very clear that he was not yet safe and that Gu Yiming would definitely find him; it was just a matter of time.

"Thud." Ning Cheng stumbled and was finally tripped by a stone, falling into a long ditch by the roadside. The cold water in the ditch immediately woke him up. He quickly grabbed the wild grass by the roadside, trying to climb out and continue running, but he was already at the end of his strength. He couldn't muster the strength to climb out and fell back into the water after a slight effort.

The strong will to survive made Ning Cheng grab the wild grass by the ditch again. Just as he was about to climb out of the ditch, a large snake, over ten feet long, quickly swam towards him.

Seeing the snake's green eyes, Ning Cheng felt a sense of despair. This had nothing to do with his will; no matter how much he wanted to survive, he couldn't be faster than the snake.

Just as the snake was about to swallow Ning Cheng, a willow branch swept over, hitting the snake and sending it flying. The snake, realizing the person who had hit it was extremely powerful, quickly turned and disappeared.

Ning Cheng let out a sigh of relief and then saw a young nun in a dark blue robe. The nun was incredibly beautiful, with a few incense scars on her head, and she was also a Third Stage Qi Gathering cultivator. She was staring at Ning Cheng with large eyes, hesitating for a moment before timidly asking, "Are you okay?"

Ning Cheng looked at the young nun with some frustration and said, "Little Master, do I look okay?"

Hearing Ning Cheng call her "Little Master," the young nun's face turned bright red, and she quickly pulled Ning Cheng up. Stuttering, she said, "I'm not a master, please ask me..."

Ning Cheng didn't have time to argue with the young nun about whether she was a master or not. He immediately said, "Please help me. Take me away from here; someone wants to kill me."

"Why?" The young nun's curiosity clearly exceeded Ning Cheng's expectations.

Ning Cheng wanted to say that now wasn't the time to ask why, but he knew the more he said, the more he would have to explain. So, he weakly said, "I saw a few late-stage Qi Gathering bandits trying to kidnap a nun as a concubine. After I saved the nun, the bandits started chasing me. They'll be here soon..."

"What is a concubine?"

"It's like taking someone as a secondary wife."

This time, the young nun understood clearly. A few late-stage Qi Gathering bandits were trying to kidnap a nun as a concubine, and she was a nun. Realizing this, the young nun didn't have time to ask more questions and quickly carried Ning Cheng away, not even caring that he was drenched in water.

Ning Cheng felt relieved and gathered his strength to say, "Those bandits are in league with Cang Le City. The farther and more remote you go, the better..."

After saying this, Ning Cheng finally passed out in relief.

...

Gu Yiming stopped, sensing something was wrong. He had walked a long distance without seeing any blood or other traces.

He turned back and bent down to examine where the blood trail ended. Suddenly, a bad feeling rose in his heart. The blood trail ended abruptly, as if it had vanished into thin air.

Gu Yiming felt a sense of panic. He quickly turned back, walked to the bloodstained area, and carefully examined the torn clothing Ning Cheng had dropped. After looking around for a long time, he closed his eyes and pondered for a while before suddenly opening them and choosing another direction to pursue.

In less than half an incense stick's time, he stopped again and stared at a lake by the roadside. A moment later, he leaped into the lake and grabbed a charred corpse.

The moment he grabbed the corpse, he clearly understood that it was not Ning Cheng's but his brother Gu Fei's.

Gu Yiming's eyes turned red, and a terrifying and fierce killing intent surged in his heart.

"Plunk." Gu Yiming, forgetting he was in the lake, fell into it due to his anger.

However, he quickly leaped out of the lake and roared, "Ning Cheng, I, Gu Yiming, swear that I will not rest until I eat you alive..."

He couldn't believe this outcome. His Third Stage Qi Gathering brother Gu Fei had been killed by Ning Cheng. This was impossible. Ning Cheng must have had help; otherwise, even with a sneak attack, he couldn't have killed a Third Stage Qi Gathering cultivator like Gu Fei.

Whether or not Ning Cheng could have killed Gu Fei, Gu Fei was already dead.

...

When Ning Cheng woke up, he heard the screech of a night owl, followed by several other unknown sounds, making the environment seem eerie and terrifying. It was pitch black around him, and he could only feel the cold and hardness.

Where am I? Am I dead and in hell? Ning Cheng reached out and touched the hard and cold stones around him.

"Are you awake?" Just as Ning Cheng was wondering if he was dead, the young nun's voice came from beside him. The young nun was right there.

At this moment, Ning Cheng smelled a faint fragrance and immediately felt relieved. "Thank you, Little Master. I didn't expect a nun to like wearing perfume."

The last sentence was to lighten the mood and make him feel the joy of still being alive. Ning Cheng didn't want to die. He longed to return to Earth after death, but he knew that was self-deception. Even if he had been reborn here, it might have been due to that yellow light. Ning Cheng didn't want to take the risk of being reborn somewhere after death.

"I don't wear perfume..." the young nun's timid voice came again.

Ning Cheng suddenly realized that he had occasionally detected this fragrance on Tian Muwan, who also didn't like wearing perfume. This was clearly a natural body scent. Thinking of this, Ning Cheng quickly changed the subject. "Little Master, I hear night owls and various wild animals outside. Are we in a forest? Is it the Da'an Forest?"

"My name is An Yi, not Little Master." After saying her name, An Yi explained, "This isn't the Da'an Forest. It's over a month's journey by beast cart from here, so it's still far away."

After talking to Ning Cheng for a few moments, An Yi's expression and tone became more natural, and she no longer seemed timid.

Ning Cheng felt that his injuries had improved significantly and knew that An Yi must have treated him. He then said, "An Yi, my name is Ning Cheng. Thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you, I would definitely be dead. I lied about the bandits trying to kidnap a nun; I apologize."

An Yi smiled slightly. "I know. I was too foolish and didn't understand the urgency of the situation. I shouldn't have asked questions then; we should have escaped immediately."

"Is there any food?" Since leaving the cultivation tower, Ning Cheng had been in a state of high tension. After running for a long time, he was already very hungry. Now that he was safe, he immediately felt extremely hungry.

An Yi took out two wheat cakes and handed them to Ning Cheng. "I have a few cakes left. You can eat them."

Ning Cheng quickly ate the two cakes and took a sip of water from An Yi's water flask before sighing and asking, "An Yi, where are you from? How did you end up here?"

Hearing Ning Cheng's question, An Yi's eyes immediately dimmed, and even though Ning Cheng couldn't see her, he could sense the change in her demeanor.

"If it's inconvenient to talk about, you don't have to. Everyone has things they can't talk about. I'm the same. I once saved someone. A few students were on a field trip in the mountains when a flash flood occurred. I saved a girl, and we became friends, but I didn't tell her many things about myself, and she didn't tell me many things either. This is normal and shouldn't be taken to heart." Ning Cheng already knew that An Yi was very honest and innocent. He wondered how she had survived alone in such a place.

An Yi blinked her large eyes and asked, "Ning Cheng, what is a field trip?"

"A field trip... It's when people have nothing to do and do something impractical. Or, it's an excuse to go somewhere for fun." Ning Cheng took a while to find the right words.

"That's not what I'm doing. I've always been with my master. My master is going to pass away. I want to find some herbs to help my master live a few more years." An Yi's tone became dim again when she mentioned her master.

Ning Cheng didn't find this strange. The young nun was also a Third Stage Qi Gathering cultivator, so it would be strange if she didn't have a master.

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