Chapter 83

When Long Chen opened his eyes again, he didn’t know how long had passed, perhaps an hour, perhaps a day.

He was awakened by the drum-like noise of the howler monkeys. Looking at his body, he saw that the blood from many of his wounds had already coagulated.

Thanks to the coagulation of these wounds, otherwise he would have bled to death. He slowly stood up, but a wave of dizziness almost made him fall again.

Holding onto a nearby tree, it took him a while to feel slightly better. Looking around, he saw several howler monkeys on the treetops dozens of feet above the ground, desperately calling and shaking the branches.

Long Chen knew that something must have intruded into this forest, but he didn’t know if it was a fierce beast or a human.

However, no matter what it was, it wasn’t good news for Long Chen. He reached out and put the broadsword into his spatial ring.

Looking at his wounds, he gritted his teeth, swallowed a pill, and then tore open the wounds that had just started to heal.

Fresh blood immediately gushed out. There were still fragments of the sword inside the wounds, which contained cold iron and were extremely harmful to the body. They couldn’t stay inside for long.

Although it wasn’t the best time to remove them, if he left them inside, they would greatly hinder his movements.

Long Chen had taken a blood-stopping pill beforehand and used his qi to compress the surrounding blood vessels to minimize blood loss. Otherwise, he would have lost too much blood and wouldn’t have the strength to walk.

In a short while, Long Chen removed over a dozen sword fragments. These were left behind when the sword of the Duke of Ying shattered, and both Long Chen and the Duke of Ying had taken part of the damage.

After removing all the fragments, Long Chen felt another wave of dizziness, a sign of excessive blood loss. Seeing the howler monkeys’ calls growing louder, Long Chen knew that the targets were getting closer.

He swallowed a few pills and, dragging his exhausted body, ran down the mountain. Now that the Duke of Ying had fled, he needed to find a place to heal quickly.

In the final battle with the Duke of Ying, he had used the Heaven-Opening combat technique, which had caused his entire meridian system to crack, making it impossible to use spiritual qi. He was at his weakest now.

After walking down the mountain for several miles, a river over a dozen feet wide appeared ahead. Long Chen glanced around and saw a large fallen tree at the foot of the mountain. He threw the fallen tree into the water.

Since it had been dead for a long time, the fallen tree had a lot of buoyancy. Lying on the fallen tree, Long Chen could keep his body above the water, preventing his wounds from getting wet. Otherwise, the dirty river water would have made his wounds even more painful.

Fortunately, the river was very calm. Long Chen lay still on the fallen tree and drifted downstream for a day. Just as he was dozing off, he suddenly heard a loud roar.

Long Chen quickly paddled to the side. When he stepped onto the riverbank, he was startled to see a waterfall ahead.

The waterfall was several hundred feet high. If he had noticed it any later, he would have fallen to his death.

After getting ashore, he found himself in another dense forest. Long Chen knew he needed to find a place to heal quickly. During his journey on the river, he had created several fake landing points. If someone was looking for him, it would take a lot of time.

Now he had enough time to heal, but before he could do so, he needed to find a safe place.

Walking through the forest, he came to a canyon. The canyon wasn’t very large, with rocks on both sides. Such a place should have natural caves, which would serve as a natural shelter.

Just as he was about to step forward, Long Chen suddenly felt a sense of unease. At the same time, he heard a sound behind him and quickly lunged forward.

"Whoosh"

A massive creature flew past Long Chen. If he had been a bit slower, he would have been hit.

Long Chen rolled on the ground to avoid the attack. When he looked up, he saw a huge leopard over ten feet long staring at him intently.

"Rock Leopard"

Long Chen’s heart sank. This was a first-stage magical beast, with fur the same color as rocks, making it hard to detect when it was hiding among the rocks.

The Rock Leopard wasn’t very large, but its speed was extremely fast, and its claws and teeth were as sharp as steel.

After being injured, his spiritual senses had greatly diminished, and he couldn’t detect the danger around him. It seemed he had become too reliant on his spiritual senses.

"Whoosh"

The Rock Leopard, missing its first attack, crouched slightly, then leaped at Long Chen with incredible speed.

Ordinary leopards weren’t scary, but the Rock Leopard was as large as a bull, with sharp claws and teeth, placing it at the top of the food chain among first-stage magical beasts.

Seeing the Rock Leopard pounce, Long Chen let out a cold snort, wiped his hand over his ring, and drew the broadsword, slashing at the Rock Leopard.

"Bang"

The broadsword struck the Rock Leopard’s head, but Long Chen’s arm trembled, and he couldn’t hold onto the sword, flying backward.

"Damn, my strength is only a fraction of what it usually is."

Long Chen was shocked. He couldn’t use spiritual qi, and his physical strength was greatly reduced due to his injuries.

One slash at the Rock Leopard’s head had sent him flying, and the wounds that had just started to heal immediately burst open, blood gushing out.

"Roar"

The Rock Leopard, struck on the head by Long Chen, although weakened, still let out a painful howl. If it were an ordinary beast, it would have fled in pain after such a heavy blow.

But magical beasts were different. The blow had only fueled its ferocity, and it ignored the blood on its head, roaring and pouncing at Long Chen again.

Long Chen rolled on the ground to avoid the Rock Leopard’s mouth and kicked it in the abdomen.

The Rock Leopard was thrown back, but its thick skin and flesh meant that Long Chen’s kick didn’t hurt it.

"Whoosh"

The Rock Leopard, just as it stood up, pounced at Long Chen again. Long Chen was anxious. If he could strike the Rock Leopard with his sword again, he could definitely kill it.

However, the broadsword had been knocked away and was now over thirty feet away. Normally, such a distance would be nothing to him.

But with the Rock Leopard’s pursuit and his weakened state from excessive blood loss, the thirty feet seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

"Rip"

His body was weak, and his reactions were slower than usual. Although he avoided the Rock Leopard’s teeth, he couldn’t avoid its sharp claws, which tore open his chest, blood gushing out.

"Bang"

Long Chen kicked the Rock Leopard away again, but after this kick, he felt a darkness in his vision, unable to see anything.

He sighed, realizing that he was about to faint from excessive blood loss. He never thought he would die in the mouth of a beast.

Hearing the wind, Long Chen even felt the bloody mouth of the Rock Leopard about to close on his throat.

"Thud"

A sound came, and Long Chen felt a warm liquid flow down his throat.

Then he heard a distant voice, like a woman’s, and he fell into endless darkness.

In the darkness, Long Chen felt his body floating, as if rising or falling, sinking into the endless darkness.

"You should awaken, you have many missions waiting for you to complete."

"You should become stronger, you have many enemies waiting for you to slaughter."

"Your destiny is to overturn the heavens and the earth. All the gods and demons are only fit to crawl at your feet, Long Chen, wake up."

In the endless darkness, a voice echoed in Long Chen’s mind, a call from the depths of his soul.

Long Chen heard it, wanting to speak but unable to open his mouth, wanting to open his eyes but unable to do so.

The voice seemed to come from another world, or from the past or future, beyond his reach.

After memorizing the three sentences, Long Chen fell into a deep coma, vaguely feeling a gentle hand caressing his face, as gentle as a mother’s.

...

The Fourth Prince’s face was extremely grim as he looked at the Duke of Ying, who was lying in bed, his body black and emitting a foul odor. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

A Muscle Transformation Realm expert chasing a Qi Gathering Realm youth had ended up like this. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, who would believe it?

When his subordinates reported that the Duke of Ying was seriously injured, he initially thought the Duke of Ying had encountered a terrifying magical beast.

But seeing the Duke of Ying in such a state, the young face of Long Chen flashed in his mind.

For some reason, thinking of that face made him feel uneasy. The most crucial part of his plan had failed.

Although he had never underestimated Long Chen, he never thought Long Chen could escape from the Duke of Ying and even make the Duke of Ying look so miserable.

"I’m sorry, I was careless," the Duke of Ying said, ashamed. A Muscle Transformation Realm expert chasing a Qi Gathering Realm youth and almost losing his life was a disgrace.

The Fourth Prince shook his head. "I know your character; you’re not careless. This failure only means we underestimated Long Chen. I also have responsibility."

The Fourth Prince was very good at winning people over, which was why he had managed to recruit top experts like the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Wu.

With one sentence, he absolved the Duke of Ying of blame and made him feel much better. This was the Fourth Prince’s skill.

Since the incident had already happened, getting angry wouldn’t help. It would only affect the Duke of Ying. It was better to accept the facts.

Moreover, from the Duke of Ying’s injuries, it was clear that he wasn’t careless. His claim of carelessness was just an excuse.

Thinking of this, the Fourth Prince felt uneasy. Considering Long Chen’s decisive character, his expression darkened.

But thinking of the white-clad man by his side, he felt reassured. Although Long Chen had escaped, it didn’t significantly affect his plans.

He touched the memory jade in his hand, which recorded the entire process of Long Chen and Ah Man killing Xia Changfeng. With this, he could achieve his entire plan.

Long Chen’s escape made him restless, but he had a way to deal with Long Chen. Looking at the Duke of Ying, he said:

"Rest and heal. Master Wei Cang will come to treat you tomorrow, and you’ll recover quickly."

"Thank you, Your Highness," the Duke of Ying hurriedly thanked him. Although his poison was temporarily suppressed, it hadn’t been removed. Long Chen’s poison pills were too terrifying.

They had sought help from the Alchemist Guild, and Master Yun Qi had even come, but after seeing the Duke of Ying’s injuries, Master Yun Qi had coldly said he was powerless.

At that moment, the Duke of Ying knew that Master Yun Qi had probably seen something and refused to save him.

Hearing that Master Wei Cang would come, the Duke of Ying finally felt relieved. He would definitely save him.

After returning from the Duke of Ying’s place, the Fourth Prince paced back and forth in his room. After a while, he wrote a few words and had a guard deliver them.

Looking at the dark sky, the Fourth Prince sighed. Although Long Chen had escaped, the plan must continue.