Chapter 77

Ying Hou's expression changed, and he hurriedly looked up, only to see Long Chen had already run several hundred feet into the mountains.

"Grass"

Ying Hou, who always maintained his composure, shouted the name of an unusual plant for the first time, his eyes filled with rage. He had been tricked.

It turned out that Long Chen realized his all-out attack had failed to seriously injure Ying Hou, and he discovered that he was no match for a Yi Jin realm expert.

After making a fierce threat, he turned and ran, stirring up a cloud of dust with his sword. Perhaps fleeing was the best way to fight.

However, when Long Chen discovered that Ah Man had not run with him but was standing there foolishly, he was almost driven to the point of spitting blood.

He had given Ah Man a meaningful look earlier, indicating that he should escape if there was a chance, but Ah Man had not understood.

But now that he had run, he absolutely could not turn back. He believed that Ying Hou's target was him, and as long as he ran, Ah Man would be safe.

Sure enough, just as Long Chen had run several hundred feet, Ying Hou roared and charged towards him.

"If you want to kill my brother Long, you come back here!"

Suddenly, Ah Man roared, and his skin emitted a red glow. At the same time, a wild and violent force surged within him, as if an ancient beast had awakened.

Just as Ying Hou was about to chase Long Chen, a giant axe whistled through the air and struck down at him, making him shudder.

What surprised him was that Ah Man's attack had suddenly become much stronger. The axe had not even reached him, but the whistling wind already made it hard for him to breathe, and his strength had increased by more than double.

"Boom"

Ying Hou did not block the attack directly. The sword in his hand was not the original precious sword, and he did not dare to block it. As a result, Ah Man's axe struck the ground with terrifying force, causing the earth to tremble and rocks to fly, creating a large pit in the ground.

"Brother Long, you run, I'll hold him off!"

Ah Man, missing his target, swung his axe again at Ying Hou while shouting.

Long Chen, who was running, was both surprised, angry, and moved. He was surprised by the terrifying power Ah Man had unleashed.

He was angry that Ah Man was blocking him, as he had intended to lure Ying Hou to chase him.

He was moved that Ah Man was risking his life to protect him, even though Ah Man was somewhat stupid and even a bit foolish, he trusted Long Chen completely, even at the cost of his own life.

Long Chen wanted to cry and curse, but he was also anxious. He did not dare to stop, as that would be equivalent to telling Ying Hou that he would not abandon Ah Man, exposing his weakness, and both of them would die.

The original plan was for him to lure Ying Hou away so that Ah Man could escape, but Ah Man had not understood his intention and had created a big mess.

"Boom"

Ying Hou dodged Ah Man's three attacks in a row, but he did not expect Ah Man's strength to be so extraordinary. In the end, he could not dodge the last attack and had to block it, resulting in him being pushed back four or five steps.

"Looking for death"

Ying Hou was furious. Today, he had repeatedly failed to kill Long Chen, and as a Yi Jin realm expert, he could not deal with two small Qi Gathering realm boys.

Most importantly, Long Chen's attack had left him with serious internal injuries. Although he looked fine on the surface, it was only because he had suppressed them.

Now, with Ah Man blocking him, he did not want to use too much force, as he was afraid it would aggravate his injuries. However, seeing Long Chen getting farther and farther away, he became anxious.

If he could not get rid of this big guy, Long Chen would really escape, which he could not bear. Seeing Ah Man's attack coming, his veins bulged, and he swung his sword with all his might.

"Bang"

Ah Man suddenly felt an overwhelming force, and he was pushed back more than twenty feet before he could stabilize himself. Although Ying Hou was not a strength-type expert, his strength had increased significantly after entering the Yi Jin realm.

Although he had pushed Ah Man back with one sword strike, Ying Hou was not in good shape either. His chest ached, a result of his injuries being aggravated.

Long Chen's sword strike had been too fierce, not only damaging his internal organs but also causing a great shock to his dantian, making it difficult for him to circulate his spiritual energy.

After another fierce strike, he almost could not suppress his injuries. After pushing Ah Man back with one sword strike, he started to chase Long Chen, as killing Long Chen was the top priority.

"Where are you going?"

What almost drove Ying Hou to madness was that Ah Man, who had been pushed back, was not seriously injured and attacked him again.

Ah Man was like a human monster, with a physical strength that was terrifying. He had managed to block a strike from a Yi Jin realm expert with his bare body.

Seeing that he could not get rid of Ah Man, Ying Hou's eyes turned cold. He shouted and blocked Ah Man's giant axe with his sword, then thrust his sword directly at Ah Man's heart.

Clearly, Ying Hou was furious and wanted to get rid of this troublesome guy. However, when his sword struck Ah Man's body, it felt like stabbing a piece of dry leather. The tip of the sword slipped, and the force was strangely reduced by more than half.

"Chirp"

The sword pierced Ah Man's skin but only went in two inches before it could not penetrate any further, as it was blocked by Ah Man's bones.

Ying Hou was shocked. It was the first time he had encountered such a situation. Even with a monster's body, he could easily pierce it with his cultivation, but Ah Man had blocked it.

"Roar"

Ah Man ignored the sword in his chest and swung his giant axe at Ying Hou with all his might.

Ying Hou tried several times but could not pierce Ah Man's bones. Seeing Ah Man's axe coming, he had to retreat to avoid it.

At this moment, Ying Hou glanced into the distance and became anxious. Long Chen had already run several miles and was about to enter the forest.

If Long Chen entered the forest, with the cover of the forest, his chances of escaping would greatly increase.

Seeing that Ah Man was still纠缠不放, Ying Hou gritted his teeth, held his sword with both hands, and a red glow appeared on the sword.

"Rock Splitting Slash"

"Boom"

Ah Man's giant axe was knocked away, and he was thrown several dozen feet away, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The strange red glow on his body gradually disappeared, and his breath became weak.

Ying Hou was forced to use a ground-level combat technique to knock Ah Man away, but he also spat out a mouthful of blood, as this strike made his internal injuries harder to suppress.

He quickly took a pill from his ring and swallowed it. It was a high-grade second-level healing pill that Ying Hou had cherished for many years.

For someone of his cultivation, lower-grade healing pills were almost ineffective, and high-grade pills were very rare, so swallowing this pill made him very upset.

Looking at Ah Man lying on the ground, Ying Hou hesitated. He wanted to finish off Ah Man, as this person was a monster, and once he grew up, he would be terrifying.

However, seeing Long Chen about to enter the forest, Ying Hou gritted his teeth, weighed his options, and decided to abandon Ah Man and chase after Long Chen.

Ah Man, seeing Ying Hou chase after Long Chen, became very anxious. He quickly grabbed his axe, got up, and started to run.

However, after just two steps, he felt dizzy.

"Thud"

Ah Man fell to the ground, his face pale, and his hands trembling, a sign of exhaustion.

He punched the ground in frustration and could only watch as Ying Hou's figure disappeared into the depths of the valley.

...

Long Chen ran madly, watching Ah Man's battle. Seeing Ah Man stubbornly holding off Ying Hou, Long Chen became very anxious.

He was afraid that if he angered Ying Hou, Ying Hou might ignore him and kill Ah Man, which would make him regret it for the rest of his life.

However, based on his understanding of Ying Hou, he believed that Ying Hou, being so calculating, would not lose his cool due to anger.

When he was about to enter the forest, he saw that Ying Hou had indeed abandoned Ah Man and was chasing him, which made him feel much more relieved. He ran with all his might.

Once in the forest, it suddenly became dark, with countless towering trees blocking the sky, making it hard for sunlight to penetrate.

Long Chen quickly adapted to the light and ran forward as fast as he could, trying not to step on the wild grass on the ground.

The wild grass would leave very obvious traces, so Long Chen tried to jump on stones or fallen trees. This way, when Ying Hou lost his trail, he would have to follow the footprints, giving him a significant advantage.

The most important part was the initial distance into the forest. He had to run as fast as possible, and then, when Ying Hou entered the forest, he would have to move more quietly to avoid being tracked by the sound.

Fortunately, Long Chen had an advantage as a Dan cultivator. His soul power was exceptionally strong, allowing him to sense the opponent from a distance. Although he could not directly observe, he could still estimate the general distance with some confidence.

After running for more than ten miles, Long Chen suddenly stopped, held his breath, and stood still, as he felt that Ying Hou should have just entered the forest.

At the same time, Long Chen closed his eyes and entered a state of emptiness, as if he were a rock in the forest, completely isolating his aura.

In this state, Long Chen could "see" Ying Hou just entering the forest. Indeed, once in the forest, Ying Hou immediately stopped and listened carefully.

For a full incense stick's time, Ying Hou heard no sound, and everything was eerily quiet when he first entered the forest.

However, after a quarter of an hour, some insects began to chirp, making the forest lively.

The chirping of the insects made Ying Hou's face increasingly grim. He did not expect Long Chen to be so cunning, knowing how to use this method to evade his pursuit.

A faint smile appeared on Long Chen's lips. This meant that his chances of survival had increased significantly.

Although the distance between them was only ten miles, in the dense forest, this distance was already very safe, and it would become even safer as time passed.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

After three hours, Ying Hou could no longer bear it. He stared at the footprints on the ground and began to move deeper into the forest.

As Ying Hou moved, the forest became quiet again, and Long Chen's eyes, which had been closed, instantly opened.

"Hehe, Ying Hou, I can't beat you, but I'll play