Desperate Flight

The three enormous birds had cultivated into spirits. Their massive bodies were comparable to the Asura Warship itself. With their wings spread wide, they looked down from above, casting a vast shadow. Their piercing cries were like sharp arrows that could lance through the sky...

The Asura Warship reacted swiftly. Three secondary cannons on each side began charging, while the barrel of the main cannon emitted an intense crimson glow, causing the surrounding temperature to soar.

However, the demon spirits were clearly no slower to react, and compared to the Asura Warship, they were far more maneuverable. The three great birds spread their wings, stirring the energy of heaven and earth. Terrifying hurricanes transformed into wind blades that filled the sky. Thousands upon thousands of wind blades whirled around the Asura Warship like a colossal meat grinder, slicing madly at it and sending dense ripples surging across its defensive barrier.

Scorching flames became a gigantic fire dragon that lunged straight at the Asura Warship. Savage lightning suddenly erupted, and more than a dozen bolts as thick as water barrels crashed down from the sky.

Faced with the combined assault of the three demon spirits, the Asura Warship's defensive barrier warped to its very limit, seeming ready to shatter at any moment. Everyone's heart leaped into their throat.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

Yet at that moment, the cannon barrels aboard the Asura Warship also unleashed powerful spells in retaliation. Massive fireballs streaked through the air in blazing arcs. Although the three great birds were huge, their agility utterly defied their size, and they nimbly evaded the attacks. Only one secondary cannon blast struck one of the birds, making it cry out mournfully as blood rained down. It was clearly badly wounded, but it did not fall, and still seemed capable of fighting.

The main cannon missed, striking a nearby mountaintop instead. The violent explosion directly blasted the entire peak apart. Stone fragments flew everywhere, turning into a rain of rock. Seeing the might of a spell attack for the first time, Zhuge Xiang's eyes widened. So this is a spell? It can blow away an entire mountain peak?

The Asura Warship and the three demon birds engaged in a fierce aerial clash of spells. Even with the warship's high-speed movement, it could not shake them off. The battle had lasted barely a dozen minutes before reaching a white-hot stage. Under the attacks of the three great birds, the Asura Warship's defensive barrier was finally broken. Yet its massive main cannon successfully blasted two of the demon birds to death.

"Great! Only one is left. We can definitely blast it to death!" Niu Geng said excitedly as he watched the birds struck by the huge fireballs plummet from the sky. The other disciples were likewise filled with anticipation. Only one great bird remained. If they could kill it, this crisis would be over.

"Everyone, flee for your lives. We have already informed the sect, and someone will surely come to rescue you soon. Until then, all you need to do is survive," the person in charge said gravely as everyone's hopes rose. When they asked why he did not press the advantage and kill the last demon spirit in one go, the answer they received plunged them all into despair.

The Asura Warship was not on a battlefield, so it had not carried many spirit stones. After fighting this long, they were nearly depleted. Activating the energy of the last remaining spirit stones, they triggered the final formation aboard the Asura Warship. A dazzling formation lit up, enveloping every disciple on the warship. Immediately, everyone felt their bodies become much lighter.

"Hurry and jump down. This is the Lightness Technique prepared by the Asura Warship for disciples abandoning ship to escape. It will let you land safely." As he spoke, the person in charge glanced below the warship. Fortunately, during the high-speed battle, they had left the monster beasts on the ground far behind. Jumping now still gave them a sliver of hope.

Abandon ship and flee? They would not fall to their deaths, but this was already deep within the Endless Mountain Range! Forget possible demon spirits—even a single Two-Star Monster Beast would be enough to kill them all, wouldn't it? Yet the person in charge wore an indifferent expression. The Asura Warship was preparing to perish together with the final demon spirit. Anyone unwilling to jump could stay behind...

Everyone was seized by panic. Staying meant death, but jumping meant nine chances of death out of ten. They had finally comprehended Qi Energy and could become official disciples of the Asura Sect, yet before they had even seen what the headquarters looked like, they were going to die. Many people fell into chaos—some screamed, some cursed, and some wept bitterly...

The person in charge merely watched the disciples' reactions with cold eyes. Then he gave the order for the Asura Warship to ram into that enormous demon spirit, pouring all its remaining energy into the propulsion system.

"Let's go." Amid the terror and unease, someone stepped forward and became the first to leap from the Asura Warship. It was Lu Yuling. After she jumped, Hua Nongying beside her followed.

"We're going too..." Zhuge Xiang said to Niu Geng beside him. With the effects of the Lightness Technique still active, Zhuge Xiang and Niu Geng also jumped from the Asura Warship. No one had wanted such a crisis to happen, but now that it had, blaming heaven and earth was useless. The only thing they could do was survive.

People were like this—once someone took the first step, others followed. After Lu Yuling, Zhuge Xiang, and the others jumped, disciples began leaping down one after another. Staying aboard the Asura Warship meant certain death, while jumping down might offer a thread of life...

More and more disciples jumped. Of the five thousand-plus disciples, aside from a small number unwilling to leave, all of them leaped down. They fell like dumplings dropped into a pot, but with the Lightness Technique on them, landing was no worse than jumping from a height of around three meters—an impact they could endure.

Boom...

A violent explosion rang out. Zhuge Xiang looked up. Above him, the huge Asura Warship shot forward at terrifying speed and crashed viciously into the demon bird. In an instant, the entire warship shattered to pieces. The massive bird also let out a shriek as flesh and blood flew everywhere, and for a time, a rain of bloody flesh and wreckage fell from the sky...

"Let's go. Those monster beasts behind us are about to catch up," Zhuge Xiang said to Niu Geng, quickly withdrawing his gaze.

Though the high-speed flight had left the monster beasts on the ground far behind, they would clearly pursue them this way. The person in charge had been right. Right now, they had only one task: survive for as long as possible before the sect's rescue arrived.

The two hurried toward the sect headquarters. Eight thousand li was clearly too far to run, but this direction would take them closest to the sect, while behind them lay the direction from which the monster beasts were pursuing.

The Asura Warship and the final demon spirit had perished together. The sight of a hundred-zhang warship and a hundred-zhang giant bird being smashed to pieces was truly shocking, leaving many disciples dumbfounded. For a moment, they even forgot to flee. Yet a small number of quicker-witted people remained calm. Like Zhuge Xiang, they hurried away into the distance.

With countless monster beasts chasing behind them, sometimes all it took was running faster than everyone else. Those behind would naturally help block the monster beasts' path.

Qi Energy flowed into the soles of their feet as Zhuge Xiang and Niu Geng ran for their lives. Five thousand people fleeing together was quite a spectacular sight. Zhuge Xiang and Niu Geng had no thoughts left in their minds, only a single conviction: run. Run quickly. At the very least, run faster than everyone else...

They had been fleeing for only about half an hour when waves of screams and roars could be heard in the distance. Judging by the sound, they were only some ten-odd li away. Clearly, the disciples at the rear had already been caught by the monster beasts...

"Zhuge Xiang, I can't go on. I've used up too much Qi Energy. Let's find somewhere to hide and rest..." Niu Geng panted as he ran. Half an hour of all-out sprinting had consumed an enormous amount of both his stamina and Qi Energy.

Zhuge Xiang himself was also gasping for breath. On the Character Interface, his Qi Energy had already been depleted by seventy to eighty percent. Standing atop a small hill in the Endless Mountain Range, Zhuge Xiang carefully surveyed the area, then pointed toward a forest roughly ten li away. "Let's escape into that forest first, then find somewhere to rest."

In his battle against Lu Yuling, Zhuge Xiang had gone all out and used nearly everything he had. But reaching into his robes, he took out two Qi Recovery Pills. He had obtained these pills while training before the Grand Tournament, and had never used them. It seemed today was the perfect time.

Each of the two Qi Recovery Pills could restore 100 MP. After Zhuge Xiang and Niu Geng each swallowed one, they could feel the Qi Energy within them recovering at an extremely rapid rate. They broke into a sprint, gritted their teeth, and fled toward the forest...

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