The Clear Sky Sect Disciple's Request

Sunset Forest.

A group of people was racing through the forest at high speed, frequently glancing back as they ran. In their midst, they guarded a carriage.

Not far behind them, more than a dozen Spirit Beasts were rapidly closing in. The youngest among them was at least two thousand years old, and there were even two Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts. Of the dozen or so people fleeing, the strongest was only a Level 56 Spirit King.

They had never expected to encounter an attack by Spirit Beasts on their way back.

"No, if this continues, none of us will get away." The Spirit King leading the Clear Sky Sect group was extremely anxious. They simply could not shake off these Spirit Beasts.

Suddenly, the ground ahead collapsed, and a pangolin-like Spirit Beast burrowed out from underground.

"Not good, it's a five-thousand-year Armored Beast."

Armored Beasts were best at digging tunnels, and their defenses were exceptionally strong.

The enormous Armored Beast blocked their path. Two Clear Sky Sect disciples swung their large black hammers and charged at it without hesitation, battling the Armored Beast. But by then, the Spirit Beasts pursuing them from behind had already caught up.

In his desperation, the Clear Sky Sect Spirit King said to a female disciple, "Tang Lin, take Young Lady and go. We'll hold these Spirit Beasts back."

"Yes." The female disciple cupped her hands in salute, then drove the carriage away along a side path. Taking this route was a last resort; it led deeper into Sunset Forest, directly opposite to their intended route.

But now, it was the only path they could take.

The carriage sped toward the depths of Sunset Forest. Tang Lin frantically lashed the horse with her whip, hoping to make it run even faster.

However, they had not gone far before a Ghost Tiger suddenly pounced from the grass, slamming into the carriage and overturning it.

The carriage crashed heavily to the ground. Tang Lin, who had been driving, was caught off guard and sent flying into a tree.

Ignoring the pain in her body, she got to her feet and rushed to the carriage compartment. Opening the door, she found a beautiful young girl in a Silver Dress lying inside in a rather ungraceful position.

After pulling the girl out, Tang Lin shielded her behind herself and released her Martial Soul. Two yellow and one purple Spirit Rings pulsed rhythmically around her.

Not far away, the Ghost Tiger stared viciously at the two of them. In its eyes, they were prey. Tang Lin fixed her gaze on the Ghost Tiger. If she had not needed to protect the girl behind her, she would have already rushed forward to fight it.

This was Sunset Forest. Who knew how many Spirit Beasts were lurking here?

The protected girl ached all over. Unlike Spirit Masters, she did not possess a strong physique.

After observing them for a while longer and confirming there was no threat nearby, the Ghost Tiger threw its head back and let out a furious roar.

"Roar!"

Then it lunged fiercely at the two of them.

"Run!" With that, Tang Lin gripped the Clear Sky Hammer in both hands and charged forward to meet it.

Knowing she would be useless if she stayed and would only become a burden, the girl turned and continued running deeper into the forest.

Half an hour later.

Di Hong followed the traces along the way and arrived.

Before him lay corpses scattered across the ground—both Spirit Beasts and Clear Sky Sect disciples.

Then he spotted a Clear Sky Sect disciple lying beneath a tree, covered in blood. He went over to inspect him and discovered that the disciple was still alive, though barely clinging to life.

Just as Di Hong wondered whether he could save him, the disciple suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp light flashed through them as he stared fixedly at Di Hong.

"Who are you?" he demanded in a strained voice.

Di Hong replied calmly, "I'm nobody. I just happened to come across a lot of corpses and followed the trail here. Everyone is curious."

"You're people from the Clear Sky Sect, aren't you?"

Despite the sheer number of corpses, Di Hong felt no discomfort whatsoever. He did not feel nauseated in the slightest. Instead, he was strangely indifferent, as though he had seen countless corpses before. Even the thick smell of blood did not affect him.

Yet amid the blood scent permeating the air, he caught a faint fragrance.

"Yes," the man said weakly.

"Do you need me to save you?"

"No need. I won't live much longer." The man shook his head, his breathing growing weaker and weaker.

Several wounds on his body were deep enough to expose bone. The longest ran directly from his abdomen to his chest, and several parts of his body had even been pierced through.

As if he knew he was about to die, he pointed in a direction—the direction in which the carriage had fled earlier.

"I beg you, find our Young Lady and send her back to the Clear Sky Sect. The Clear Sky Sect will be forever grateful."

After saying that, before Di Hong could ask anything, he breathed his last.

With a sigh, Di Hong rose to his feet and gave the man a slight bow. He had not thought much of it before, but now he understood why those Spirit Beasts had relentlessly pursued these people.

The faint fragrance mingled with the bloody scent in the air was specifically used to lure Spirit Beasts. Someone had clearly plotted against these Clear Sky Sect people. No wonder so many Spirit Beasts had appeared on the outskirts of Sunset Forest—they had been deliberately drawn here.

Looking in the direction the carriage had fled, he still hesitated. Logically, he should not get involved in such a matter. Who knew whether there was danger ahead? So many Clear Sky Sect members had died, including a Spirit King, while he himself was merely a Level 53 Spirit King.

Sometimes, if you didn't court death, you wouldn't die.

But when he thought of the pleading look in that Clear Sky Sect disciple's eyes before his death, he felt somewhat embarrassed not to go. Besides, a favor from the Clear Sky Sect was not something to pass up. After all, it was the number one sect in the World.

Still, it seemed these people were not entirely direct descendants of the Clear Sky Sect. Some of them came from branch families.

After hesitating for a moment, he made his choice.

After activating Martial Soul Possession, he spread the crimson wings on his back and flew toward the direction the carriage had fled. Following the traces on the road and relying on his flying speed, he quickly caught up with the carriage.

Looking at the carriage below, then at the corpses of Tang Lin and a Ghost Tiger not far away, it seemed they had only recently died. They must have fought to the bitter end, perishing together.

"Too late?"

The carriage had already been destroyed, and there were only two corpses in the area—one human and one beast.

After landing, he searched around but found no useful clues. Just as he thought the person was already dead, he discovered crushed bushes in one spot, along with footprints. Most importantly, he caught that faint fragrance—the same one he had smelled before.

Following the trail, a few minutes later, he found a sachet that had fallen to the ground.

He picked up the sachet and held it to his nose, confirming that its scent had attracted the soul beasts. However, the fragrance had been mixed with other spices, making it impossible to detect without careful sniffing. Soul beasts were different—their sense of smell was far keener than that of humans. They would certainly be able to smell it.

"Roar!"

The tiger's roar shook the forest, startling flocks of birds into flight.

A tiger's roar reached his ears. Though it came from quite far away, it was exceptionally clear.

Di Hong immediately rushed toward where the roar had come from.

Inside a cave.

The young girl from earlier had hidden here. She was now in a miserable state; her fitted long dress was torn in many places, and her body was covered in scrapes.

At this point, she had nowhere left to run.