Clear Water River

"Kid, stop!"

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle's thick limbs swung like four wheels. Wherever its hill-like body passed, mud flew everywhere, sending countless lesser demons flying.

The gale it kicked up surged endlessly toward Ye Xiaofan.

Joy rose in Ye Xiaofan's heart. His Wind Shadow Steps had originally evolved from the Wind God Steps, fused with numerous movement techniques into a top-grade movement art.

He had always excelled at riding the wind.

For some unknown reason, only the faintest breeze blew through the entire Thorn Swamp tonight, barely enough to press down the grass tips.

This had kept his movement technique from reaching its limits.

Now that he had the gale stirred up by the Thorn Crocodile Turtle, it was simply like divine aid.

Borrowing that gale, Ye Xiaofan's speed instantly increased by thirty percent.

With several leaps, he broke free of the demons' encirclement.

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle was so furious that it howled wildly, yet there was nothing it could do.

Tie Wuqing's beautiful eyes shone with repeated flashes of amazement.

"What movement technique are you cultivating? You can still move this fast while carrying me?"

Even with Ye Xiaofan carrying her, he was around ten percent faster than she was when using her movement technique at full strength.

Though it was somewhat presumptuous, Tie Wuqing could not stop herself from asking.

"Top-grade."

Ye Xiaofan spat out two words.

"So that's how it is."

Tie Wuqing nodded. The wind howled past her ears, while the heavy footsteps of the Thorn Crocodile Turtle continued to thunder behind them.

At that moment, Tie Wuqing involuntarily pressed her face against Ye Xiaofan's back. Lying on his back made her feel so safe.

She had only ever felt this way in her mother's embrace.

Since her mother's death, she had not felt so at ease for nearly ten years, even with a demon that could take her life at any moment pursuing them behind.

Thinking of her mother, Tie Wuqing's beautiful eyes dimmed.

She had founded the Iron Hand Gang, gathered resources, and cultivated bitterly day and night all so that one day, she could avenge her mother.

But her enemy was simply too powerful. She did not know whether she would be able to wash away her hatred with blood in this lifetime.

Feeling Ye Xiaofan's steady heartbeat, Tie Wuqing murmured softly.

"Ye Xiaofan, thank you!"

"What?"

Tie Wuqing's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. Even Ye Xiaofan, whose five senses were sharp, failed to hear her clearly for a moment.

"I said, aren't you tired?"

Tie Wuqing revealed the side a young girl ought to have, unconsciously puffing out her cheeks as she called loudly.

Ye Xiaofan shook his head. "I can ride the wind. That big fool behind us still doesn't know that the gale he's stirring up is helping me tremendously."

Beneath the starry sky,

A young man carried a delicate woman across the marshland in repeated leaps, leaving behind streak after streak of eerie blood-colored afterimages.

Behind them,

A small mountain with four wheels roared in fury.

Time passed, and at some point, the yellowing crescent moon stood proudly above the western mountains.

Fine beads of sweat covered Ye Xiaofan's forehead. Though his Qi and blood were as abundant as those of a Ninth Level Body Refinement expert, carrying Tie Wuqing caused his Qi and blood to be consumed at double the rate.

Fortunately, he could cultivate simply by breathing. Only by continuously swallowing Blood Qi Pills along the way to replenish himself could he maintain full speed.

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle behind them still pursued them relentlessly.

However, its speed was gradually slowing. Though it was not obvious, Ye Xiaofan could clearly sense it from the gale blowing toward him.

High in the air, the gray hawk that had been tracking them for an entire day had vanished at some point.

Suddenly, a black shadow stretching for an unknown number of miles appeared on the horizon.

It was the outline of a mountain range beneath the night sky.

They were about to escape the Thorn Swamp.

"Gang Leader Tie, we're about to escape the Thorn Swamp."

Ye Xiaofan's tone became lighter.

Tie Wuqing raised her head for a look, then turned back to look behind them.

At once, the pretty face beneath her faceless mask turned pale as paper.

"Ye Xiaofan, put me down."

As Tie Wuqing spoke, she began to struggle.

"I'll put you down once we reach the forest."

"No!"

A trace of urgency entered Tie Wuqing's voice.

Ye Xiaofan frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled, and turned back to look.

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle was getting farther and farther away from him.

There was no problem.

"Gang Leader Tie—"

The instant he turned around, a black meteor in the distant sky behind them was hurtling toward them.

The moment Ye Xiaofan saw that black meteor, his heart jolted.

He thought of the evil thing!

"Gang Leader Tie, hold on tight."

Without waiting for Tie Wuqing's response, Ye Xiaofan took three Blood Qi Pills from his clothes and swallowed them. He immediately used the secret art recorded in the Breathing Technique—Blood Burning.

The Qi and blood within his body boiled like boiling water.

Rolling Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke erupted from Ye Xiaofan's body, like a blazing inferno.

The next moment,

Ye Xiaofan took one step and crossed one hundred and fifty feet in an instant.

His speed surged by another twenty percent.

"Ye Xiaofan, you—"

For a moment, Tie Wuqing did not know what to say.

Burning one's Qi and blood would damage the meridians within the body and greatly affect one's future attempt to break through to the Qi Condensation stage.

At that moment, the violent wind screamed without end.

Even with Qi and blood protecting his body, Ye Xiaofan could no longer hear anything else.

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle despaired.

In its eyes, Ye Xiaofan had become a tiny black dot.

"Roar!"

A furious roar filled with unwillingness and despair burst from the Thorn Crocodile Turtle's mouth. If it failed to capture Ye Xiaofan, the terrifying punishment of the Venerable One awaited it.

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle's expression turned savage, and it immediately began burning its Qi and blood.

But,

Its fury, its burning of Qi and blood, was ultimately a moon reflected in water.

Ye Xiaofan carried Tie Wuqing out of its sight.

The black hawk carried the County Lord over the battlefield where the fighting had just taken place, looking down at the demon corpses scattered across the ground.

The County Lord's face remained expressionless, but his pupils gradually vanished.

Revealing the fury in his heart.

Not long after,

The black hawk caught up to the gray hawk that had long since been left behind.

"Where are they?"

"M-my lord, I... I couldn't keep up. Lord Thorn Crocodile Turtle is still following them."

"Trash!"

The black hawk opened its beak and sprayed out a mouthful of black Qi and blood, instantly piercing through the gray hawk.

Sensing the increasingly violent aura of the Venerable One standing on its back, the black hawk trembled inwardly and desperately burned the less than fifty percent of Qi and blood it had left.

Threads of black blood continuously squeezed out from its pores.

Half an incense stick later,

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle's mountain-like body appeared in the black hawk's sight. The black hawk looked around, yet did not see the people the Venerable One wanted.

A sense of dread immediately rose within the black hawk. Before it could make another move, it felt its back sink.

Then its entire body fell uncontrollably downward like a meteor.

Looking again at the Venerable One, he was plummeting at extreme speed. In just a few breaths, he landed on the Thorn Crocodile Turtle's back.

"Where are the people I want?"

The Thorn Crocodile Turtle's four limbs bent, cold sweat pouring down its forehead. Trembling, it said, "Venerable One, they are in the forest ahead."

"Useless thing."

The County Lord stomped heavily on the Thorn Crocodile Turtle's back, dragging out a blurred afterimage as he chased in the direction Ye Xiaofan had vanished.

Meanwhile, the Thorn Crocodile Turtle's limbs sank deep into the swamp. Its eyes bulged abruptly, black blood seeped from the corners of its mouth, and its pupils rapidly scattered.

In a single breath, it lost all signs of life.

At the same time, the black hawk crashed heavily beside the Thorn Crocodile Turtle.

It blasted out a pit over thirty feet deep.

After quite a while, the black hawk painfully crawled out of the pit, blood at the corner of its mouth and feathers in complete disarray.

Clearly, the Venerable One had not intended to take its life.

The black hawk had kept its life.

"Ye Xiaofan, run northeast. The Clear Water River is there. We can use the river to hide ourselves and escape downstream."

Tie Wuqing suddenly leaned close to Ye Xiaofan's ear and shouted.

Ye Xiaofan nodded, twisting his body as he darted northeast. Wherever he passed, grass and trees bowed their heads, while dead leaves danced through the air.

Though there was nothing behind them, a cultivator's sixth sense continued issuing warnings.

Ye Xiaofan knew that a danger he could not face head-on was about to arrive.

After racing wildly for a while,

A cliff suddenly appeared ahead. Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Xiaofan carried Tie Wuqing and jumped down.

Because he could already hear the roaring river below.

"Gang Leader Tie, conceal your aura and take a breath."

After reminding Tie Wuqing, Ye Xiaofan withdrew his Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke. Using his movement technique and borrowing the river wind, he plunged rapidly toward the river.

While still in midair, Tie Wuqing climbed down from Ye Xiaofan's back.

Splash!

In order to conceal their auras, neither of them used Qi and blood. The icy river water instantly soaked them through.

Both were geniuses who had cultivated Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke. Their bodies were powerful, and relying solely on physical strength, they shot through the water like arrows released from the bowstring.

Elsewhere,

Only the time it took to drink a cup of tea after Ye Xiaofan and Tie Wuqing jumped into the river, the County Lord raced across the treetops and arrived at the cliff's edge.

His gray eyes, devoid of pupils, stared fixedly at the surging river.

Then he jumped down without hesitation.

Ye Xiaofan was his opportunity to strengthen his origin. He could not give up so easily.

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