Wolf Sprint

In the blink of an eye, Li Qingfeng had climbed the high wall.

The Soul Banner in his hand shrank to three feet, blocking the flying sword's thrust.

Borrowing the force, he leaped again, flipping most of his body over the wall of the small courtyard.

Li Qingfeng did not dare slacken in the slightest. The moment he landed, he clasped his head and rolled forward, then sprang several yards away.

The young man snorted coldly. "Trying to run?"

Spiritual power surged. With Eagle Leap, he bounded from the Black Armor Soldier's shoulder like a dragonfly skimming the water, flipping out of the small courtyard in a few rises and falls and biting at Li Qingfeng's heels.

The young immortal master did not remain idle. He activated the wooden sword that had transformed into spiritual light.

His right hand shifted through hand seals as sword incantations murmured from his lips.

"Go."

The black wooden sword drew an arc through the air and once more shot toward Li Qingfeng's head.

Li Qingfeng could only barely fend it off. Though he shielded his vital points with the Soul Banner, stray sword light still cut him.

In the midst of pursuit and flight, the two had already drawn close to the towering Prefecture City.

The Prefecture City could not stop a Qi Refiner.

Even one merely at the early stage of Qi Refinement could not be stopped.

"Buzz."

The Soul Banner stirred once more.

Holding the three-foot Soul Banner, Li Qingfeng inspected the spiritual power in his dantian. Only the last six wisps remained.

It was not enough to use Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts even once.

Even if he released the Main Soul fiend, it could only hold the enemy back for three breaths.

Li Qingfeng's Spirit Official Dharma Eye could only determine that this young immortal master was very powerful, but he had never confirmed the Main Soul fiend's strength.

If the Main Soul fiend could not hold him back, then this final gamble would be a choice to throw away his life.

Seeing his spiritual power continuing to dwindle, Li Qingfeng decided he could no longer sit still and await death.

No matter what, he would trust the Main Soul fiend.

Ghost Brother was a powerhouse.

Being caught meant death. Dying in battle also meant death. Rather than wait for death, he might as well strike first.

Even death would be worthwhile.

"I'm risking it all!"

Li Qingfeng roared and violently swung the three-foot Soul Banner in his hand.

The Red-Haired Fiend crawled out of the Soul Banner.

Yet what left Li Qingfeng dumbfounded was that the fiend did not attack the pursuer. Instead, he grabbed Li Qingfeng by the collar and opened his blood-filled maw.

At that moment, Li Qingfeng was still completely stunned. He had not expected the Main Soul fiend to turn on him the instant he appeared.

"My life is over."

"Perhaps... dying like this is for the best." Li Qingfeng did not resist, his face ashen.

Yet what surprised Li Qingfeng even more was that the Main Soul fiend did not bite him.

A damaged spirit talisman emerged from the Main Soul fiend's mouth.

With a smack, it stuck to Li Qingfeng's forehead.

Then the Main Soul fiend planted himself in a bow stance, his body like a fully drawn bow beneath a full moon.

He suddenly struck.

And fiercely hurled Li Qingfeng away.

Li Qingfeng's last two wisps of spiritual power poured into the talisman. Amid flashing light, his figure vanished into the vast night like a meteor streaking across the heavens.

Tu Shan Jun turned to look at the young immortal master rushing after him.

He had only two breaths left.

The young immortal master shouted in furious rebuke, "What a vicious fiend!"

He had nearly caught the Black-Cloaked Man just now, yet he had not expected this fiend to use some unknown object to increase the Black-Cloaked Man's speed two or threefold.

And now the fiend was blocking his path.

The longer he delayed here, the slimmer his chances of catching that man became.

"Let me cut you down." The immortal master formed hand seals.

Reciting the incantation, he drove the spirit sword straight toward Tu Shan Jun's head.

Tu Shan Jun watched it all with an unchanged expression.

Without holding back, he charged straight ahead.

The flying sword mercilessly pierced through Tu Shan Jun's head.

Yet in that final instant, Tu Shan Jun also viciously slammed his ghost claw against the young immortal master.

The young immortal master's eyes widened. He too had not expected this Red-Haired Fiend to be so unyielding, enduring the dharma sword just to give him one blow.

With a bang.

The young immortal master flew backward, blood spilling from his mouth.

At the same time, Tu Shan Jun's ghostly body dispersed into black mist and vanished from where he stood.

The immortal master scrambled to his feet in a sorry state, staggering two steps.

He spat out bloody phlegm.

His ribs were broken, and he had lost the Black-Cloaked Man's trail. He could only helplessly abandon the pursuit.

Glaring resentfully in the direction where Tu Shan Jun had vanished, the young immortal master shouted angrily, "Damned Demon Cultivator, damned fiend!"

"Damn it!"

Li Qingfeng was as light as a swallow.

His speed had clearly increased two or threefold, and in the blink of an eye, he had thrown off that young immortal master.

Most importantly, the spiritual power consumption was not great. A single wisp of spiritual power was enough to sustain the talisman's operation.

The spirit talisman had been made to save one's life at critical moments, so it did not require much spiritual power to activate.

Li Qingfeng ran tirelessly onward.

At such a life-or-death moment, there was no room for any other thoughts.

Staying alive was what mattered most.

He forced his way through thorns, crossed forests, and scaled mountain after mountain.

At last, he found a ruined temple deep in the mountains.

After fleeing for several hours, his spiritual power exhausted, Li Qingfeng finally had a place to rest. His mind relaxed considerably.

His body, too, could not help collapsing onto the floor of the ruined temple.

Dazed and heavy-headed, he actually fell asleep.

The night passed without words or dreams.

Li Qingfeng jolted awake and widened his eyes. He realized there was a grave problem.

In the past, whenever he fell asleep, he would enter the cultivation cliff atop the mountain.

But this time, he had slept peacefully through the night.

A peaceful sleep was a fine thing for ordinary people, but Li Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat, carrying a faint sense of ill omen.

"Ghost Brother?"

Unconsciously clenching his fists, Li Qingfeng looked at the Soul Banner in his hand.

He immediately realized why he had felt such an ominous premonition.

The Main Soul fiend had stayed behind to cover his retreat.

The moment he thought of the Main Soul fiend still remaining there, Li Qingfeng sprang to his feet.

Though he had stumbled onto the path of cultivation on his own, the Main Soul fiend had helped him greatly. At the crucial moment, he had even left behind the spirit talisman and allowed Li Qingfeng to escape with his life.

He could not abandon Ghost Brother and leave alone.

Li Qingfeng carefully put away the damaged spirit talisman and returned once more to the place of battle.

He watched from afar.

The ground was a complete mess. The young cultivator from last night was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Ghost Brother.

An inexplicable panic rose in Li Qingfeng's heart.

It was a deep, restless unease rising from the bottom of his heart.

Though Ghost Brother was the Main Soul fiend, their relationship had been both master and friend.

Now, it seemed that he had likely met with disaster.

Li Qingfeng gripped the Soul Banner tightly.

"No. You're so strong. How could you possibly die?"

Li Qingfeng had seen only one powerhouse in his life, and that was Ghost Brother.

With a turn of his hand, he had suppressed the Mountain Goblin; with one palm strike, he had killed Zhang Gui.

Before the Main Soul fiend, Li Qingfeng could not even last half a move.

Others might die, but how could such a powerhouse possibly die?

But he knew this was merely his refusal to believe.

He refused to believe that the Main Soul fiend was dead.

Li Qingfeng forcibly held back his grief.

He clenched his teeth tight.

Yet tears still flowed down against his wishes.

"Drip, drip."

They fell upon the banner's surface.

They dampened the Soul Banner's black fabric.

The Soul Banner, which had once concealed its cold gleam, was now veiled in a layer of gray.

Li Qingfeng's eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth. "If I do not avenge this, I, Li Qingfeng, swear I am no man!"

He gazed toward the Prefecture City.

He could not return yet.

The young immortal master's eyes had flickered with spiritual light, the mark of the Spirit Official Dharma Eye.

Once Li Qingfeng returned, a thorough investigation would certainly reveal his identity as a Qi Refiner.

Then many people would be implicated.

In a place as large as the Prefecture City, many people died every day. The disappearance of one scholar would not draw anyone's notice.

As long as he did not expose himself, everything could still be managed.

Li Qingfeng turned and left.

He did not even dare leave Ghost Brother a grave.

He was afraid.

Afraid of leaving traces that others could follow.

Until he had slain his enemies, he would never leave behind his name.

Returning to the ruined temple, Li Qingfeng tore his inner garment into strips and bandaged his wounds.

Once he felt hungry, he spent the morning restoring his spiritual power.

Eight wisps of spiritual power were enough to survive.

Li Qingfeng caught two wild rabbits in the mountains.

He drilled wood to make fire.

He lit a campfire in this nameless ruined temple.

Fortunately, it was still late spring, and the weather was not harsh.

Supported by spiritual power, his wounds healed quickly.

The unsalted rabbit meat was not difficult to eat. After finishing both rabbits, Li Qingfeng began meditating to restore his vitality.

He could not stop. There were still many things he had to do.