Farewell for Now

All at once, two more had died. Even the calmest person could no longer keep it together.

If there had only been one, it would have been manageable. But now another had appeared—who knew whether there were more...

After a moment of silence, intense spiritual energy fluctuations suddenly erupted from the crowd. At last, someone could no longer care about anything else, lost their composure, and unleashed their full power...

Spiritual light bloomed, a halo enveloping the cultivator's entire body. Just as he was about to fly with a weapon and escape through the air, he had barely risen the height of a person when the spiritual light around him silently dissipated into nothingness.

Flying was forbidden here! The sudden change left the cultivator utterly horrified. Only then did he remember that they had been unable to fly when entering as well...

Before he could fall from the air, a monster in the seemingly half-zhang-wide puddle turned into a Black Shadow. With one bite, it shattered his protective True Essence, dragged his body into the puddle, and vanished in an instant.

Another cultivator beside him brought out a Tortoise Shell Magical Artifact and suspended it above his head. Streams of azure spiritual light descended, shielding him within them.

Yet the monster burst from the puddle and casually took a bite out of the spiritual light. The light immediately dimmed by more than half, while the Tortoise Shell above his head swayed precariously, as though it could fall at any moment.

"Do not bring out Magical Artifacts, and do not circulate your True Essence! Conceal your spiritual energy fluctuations! This monster has no eyes, ears, or nose—it identifies us through spiritual energy fluctuations!" A furious roar exploded from the crowd.

Steward Qiu's face was grim, Killing Intent churning in his eyes, his chest heaving violently. After that roar, he looked around and saw that every person who had died belonged to Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce.

Meanwhile, all the disciples of Boundless Dao Academy were sprinting madly ahead without stopping in the slightest. Moreover, all ten-odd disciples had concealed their spiritual energy fluctuations, relying solely on their physical strength to race through the swamp.

Especially that Qi Nourishing pretty boy at the front of the group. No one knew what method he had cultivated, but he did not emit the slightest spiritual energy fluctuation. Yet he was even faster than the others, strolling along as though in a leisurely courtyard as he moved, utterly relaxed and at ease.

By now, how could Steward Qiu not realize that they had been made to take the fall? "Go!" With a furious shout, Steward Qiu concealed his True Essence and broke into a run, his molars grinding with creaks. Had he known this would happen, he would have ruthlessly killed Qin Youde earlier, even if it meant falling out with Boundless Dao Academy...

Within the swamp, the Foundation Establishment cultivators were in a wretched state. None of them dared use True Essence. Instead, they did their utmost to conceal it and could only move with physical strength.

In any case, even if they used True Essence, being targeted by those monsters meant nine chances of death out of ten. It was better to proceed like this.

After traveling for a while, they could still vaguely sense grim killing intent drifting through the surroundings. Ripples occasionally surfaced in the puddles around them, and no one knew how those monsters moved silently through every little puddle.

Gurgle, gurgle...

A string of bubbles rose from a small puddle. A cultivator passing beside it shuddered all over. Resisting the urge to use True Essence or a Magical Artifact, he instead took out a Wind Travel Talisman and slapped it onto himself.

Then...

There was no then...

The instant the Wind Travel Talisman activated, three monsters burst from several nearby puddles at once. In the blink of an eye, that Unlucky Egg was torn apart, each of the three monsters carrying off a piece before sinking into the puddles and disappearing.

Steward Qiu glanced over from the corner of his eye, his heart bleeding. Another one from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce...

As everyone concealed their True Essence, the monsters' senses seemed to grow increasingly sharp. Half an incense stick ago, they had still chased after Magical Artifacts. Now, simply activating a talisman could instantly draw three monsters to attack.

And most importantly, even without using talismans, the monsters had not stopped hunting.

Watching Qin Yang sprint merrily ahead, Steward Qiu grew angrier the more he thought about it. If not for this fellow deliberately setting them up and making them serve as cushions in the rear, how could Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce have suffered such heavy losses?

Yet for some reason, this fellow was clearly only at Qi Nourishing, but he ran thirty percent faster than numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators. After running for so long, his face was not red, his breath was not ragged, and he had not even broken a sweat.

The disturbances surfacing from the little puddles around them were also becoming more frequent. There were likely more than just three monsters...

"Split up!" Steward Qiu growled. He practically crushed his molars. If this continued, they would truly be taking the fall for Boundless Dao Academy to the bitter end.

If they split up, everyone still had a sliver of hope of surviving. Of course, the main point was to make Boundless Dao Academy bear the burden themselves.

They had not even seen so much as a hair here, yet they had already suffered losses. If they found some treasure later, but their losses were too great, they would no longer have the strength to contend with Boundless Dao Academy...

Qin Yang was racing ahead joyfully when he saw the people from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce scatter behind him and speed off in three directions.

Qin Yang could not help smiling. These fellows had gotten smarter. They knew that if everyone stayed together, they would be the ones taking the lightning strikes at the rear. Spreading out would lessen their losses somewhat...

"Spread out!" Seeing the group behind them scatter, Bai Yutang also gave a low shout. The disciples of Boundless Dao Academy immediately dispersed as well.

Qin Yang's heart stirred. Secretly checking his high-definition map to confirm his position, he immediately left the crowd as well and ran along the route marked on the map.

After everyone had run for so long, they had long since lost their sense of direction. A deviation by the slightest fraction at the start could lead to an error of a thousand miles later; a tiny shift in direction ahead meant a difference of dozens of li farther on.

“Senior brother Qin, wait for me.” Zhang Zhengyi stepped on his own left foot with his right, once again using that strange movement technique as he chased after him in a mad dash, drenched in sweat.

However, after calling out those words, Zhang Zhengyi caught sight of Steward Qiu behind them from the corner of his eye. His eyes immediately rolled, and he subtly adjusted his direction, chasing after Bai Yutang instead...

Qin Yang had initially wondered why Zhang Zhengyi had not followed him. But after sprinting for some distance and seeing those who had scattered grow farther and farther away, with only Steward Qiu still following behind him, Qin Yang's face darkened.

That little bastard Zhang Zhengyi must have noticed long ago.

As for that old bastard Steward Qiu, the only reason he was following him was to seize an opportunity to kill him.

"Steward Qiu, why are you chasing me?" Qin Yang turned back and bared his teeth at Steward Qiu, while his speed abruptly increased by thirty percent.

"Damn it, little bastard! If you've got the guts, stop running!" Steward Qiu's eyes nearly bulged out. What was going on with this little bastard? He was already so fast, and he could go even faster?

Watching Qin Yang pull farther and farther away, Steward Qiu gritted his teeth and chased after him, but could not catch up no matter what. Yet he did not dare use True Essence or anything else, afraid of drawing those monsters over.

"Steward Qiu, farewell for now."

Qin Yang's voice drifted over from afar. Before long, he was only a tiny black speck, vanishing into the thin mist.

"Little bastard, just you wait! The next time I see you, if I don't skin you, pull out your tendons, and light you as a human lantern, I'll take your surname!" Steward Qiu roared furiously, his face so dark it seemed ready to drip black water. Yet he did not dare go all out in pursuit and could only race through the swamp with physical strength.

Elsewhere, Qin Yang sprinted at full speed. Before long, there was no sign of anyone else.

Just as he was about to leave the swamp not far ahead, he caught sight of a figure entering the swamp from the opposite side...