Riding a Serpent to Escape Alive

Yu Mingfei slowly turned his face slightly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hulking figure steadily closing in from not far behind.

What else could it be but the Great Strength Vajra Bear?

"Kid, what a coincidence. We meet again!"

As he ran wildly, a cruel smile appeared on Zhao Wuji's bear-like face.

He truly had not expected that after changing directions, he would actually catch up to Yu Mingfei again.

Thinking it over carefully, the Titan Giant Ape had already left. The only things pursuing Yu Mingfei and Shrek's seven were the Soul Beast Tide.

And without the Titan Giant Ape driving it, the Soul Beast Tide would not deliberately target any one person or group.

Therefore, Shrek's seven no longer had any need to attack Yu Mingfei.

But they had already made a move once.

If the opportunity arose, and as long as his group could escape alive,

Zhao Wuji would not mind letting Yu Mingfei die on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

He had roamed the Soul Master world for decades. He understood the principle of uprooting weeds and eliminating their roots.

Yu Mingfei did not respond and simply kept running.

He no longer had the energy to do anything extra.

The Soul Beast Tide grew more and more intense, and Shrek's seven were drawing closer and closer to Yu Mingfei.

Flying Soul Beasts had already spread in every direction ahead of the land-based Soul Beasts.

Xun Crows, Lightning Falcons, Sharp-tailed Swifts...

Flock after flock of birds swept over Yu Mingfei and Shrek's seven.

From time to time, a few Roe Deer Soul Beasts would dart out from some unknown corner and flee alongside the Great Strength Vajra Bear.

Behind Yu Mingfei, the sound of bear paws pounding the ground grew closer and closer.

Yet Zhao Wuji did not attack immediately.

Even the six Shrek students on his back remained silent.

Ning Rongrong's Soul Power had already been exhausted. She gulped down Oscar's sausages, and only after a long while could she use a Soul Skill to enhance Zhao Wuji once.

As for Oscar, he had been completely drained dry. He could not produce even a single sausage.

Something seemed to have happened deep within the forest.

From the tremors beneath his feet, Yu Mingfei could clearly sense that the originally chaotic, complicated, yet unified vibrations were gradually splitting into several distinct parts.

This meant—

The Soul Beast Tide... split apart?

It was as if to confirm Yu Mingfei's thought.

Behind Zhao Wuji, the Soul Beast groups that had originally been far away had somehow split up, scattering in several directions.

One group of Soul Beasts charged straight at them.

Freed from the constraints of the larger herd, this smaller group instead surged forward at a much faster speed.

Yu Mingfei had reached his limit. After that previous burst, it was already fortunate that he could still maintain Thunder Breath.

Zhao Wuji, meanwhile, carried six people and one serpent, and none of his seven Soul Skills provided any speed enhancement.

Ning Rongrong had also drained all her Soul Power and could not use the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to accelerate him.

This smaller splinter of Soul Beasts was about to catch them.

The leading wolf-type Soul Beasts were all at the Thousand-Year Level. Catching the scent of Yu Mingfei and the Shrek group, they immediately became so excited that drool streamed from their mouths.

They drew closer and closer.

Tang San suddenly stood up on Zhao Wuji's shoulder. With a flick of his hand at his waist, a black box over a foot long appeared in his hand.

Click—

A dull burst of mechanical noise rang out. Without anyone seeing how Tang San operated it, sixteen dark shadows suddenly shot from the front of the black box in his hand.

Under Tang San's precise control, the sixteen shadows split into three groups, shooting through the wolves' eyes and instantly piercing the brains of the leading wolf-type Soul Beasts.

Those Thousand-Year Soul Beasts died instantly.

The charging Soul Beasts slowed slightly, but the ones behind them mercilessly trampled the wolf corpses and resumed their pursuit.

Beside Tang San, the Shrek students who had been tense at the approaching Beast Tide all sucked in a cold breath.

"Tang San, this treasure of yours..." Dai Mubai stared in stunned disbelief, unable to even speak properly.

Standing right beside Tang San, he understood the power of that little black box better than anyone.

Tang San, however, fell silent.

No. The Godly Zhuge Crossbow has a limited number of bolts. There are too many Soul Beasts; it cannot do much.

He put away the Godly Zhuge Crossbow, turned to look at Yu Mingfei, who was running desperately ahead, and shook his head.

Tang San clearly understood that attacking Yu Mingfei now would be useless.

The Soul Beast Tide would not stop so easily.

Thus, neither he nor Zhao Wuji made another move.

"Ah! Another Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent!"

Clinging to the broad bear paw, Ning Rongrong suddenly cried out.

Although she was the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had been raised in luxury since childhood, she adapted quickly. Even after being chased by the Titan Giant Ape, she had soon recovered.

On the other side, Oscar reflexively raised his head and looked toward Zhao Wuji's neck.

His future third Soul Ring, the Thousand-Year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake, hung there.

They had gone through so much trouble to find that Soul Beast. Even while fleeing for their lives, Zhao Wuji had brought it along. They could not lose it.

Seeing that the snake was still there, Oscar breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he turn and follow Ning Rongrong's gaze forward.

As the birds scattered, just as Ning Rongrong had said, a slightly shorter Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was weaving through the air.

At first, he did not think much of it.

Since the Soul Beast Tide began, in less than half a day, he had seen all sorts of Soul Beasts that he had only ever encountered in books.

What was so strange about one more Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent?

Zhao Wuji even had a Thousand-Year one hanging from his neck.

But what happened next left him dumbfounded.

Ahead of the Shrek group, the pressure in Yu Mingfei's heart grew heavier and heavier.

The clamor of the beast horde, the flapping wings above his head, and his own ragged breathing like a torn bellows all left his mind in disarray.

After fleeing for so long and pushing himself to the limit, Yu Mingfei was beginning to falter.

No, I can't stop!

They all want me dead. I'll live anyway!

Patches of shadow swept over his head.

Another small flock of birds scattered.

Just then, a somewhat familiar sound reached his ears.

Yu Mingfei's eyes suddenly lit up.

He turned to look and saw a winged strange serpent flying through the air not far away.

It had a crest on its head, crimson as blood, and feathers on its tail, spread flat like a fan.

A Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake!

And it's the one I raised!

As if noticing Yu Mingfei's gaze, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent hesitated for a moment before rapidly flying closer to him.

Its tongue flickered as its tiny eyes stared fixedly at Yu Mingfei.

As for the former husband hanging from the Great Strength Vajra Bear's neck, it had probably forgotten all about him.

Yu Mingfei was overjoyed and took another deep breath.

This time, he concentrated his Soul Power in his right leg.

Thunder Breath continued, but the Acceleration Soul Skill stopped.

With the loss of the Soul Skill's enhancement, Yu Mingfei's body sank and his speed dropped sharply.

But immediately afterward, he leaped with all his strength toward the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. As Soul Power flooded through him, a rarely used Soul Skill quietly activated.

Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone Second Soul Skill, Flight!

Soul Bone energy flowed through his entire body. Under the effect of the Flight Soul Skill, he defied gravity and effortlessly dragged his heavy body into the air, leaping beneath the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.

More than ten meters away, Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at Yu Mingfei's figure as he leaped into the air.

As though some chord deep within her heart had been struck, she murmured,

"Is he... seeking death? Knowing there is no hope, is he throwing himself into a Soul Beast's mouth?

"No! He—"

Yu Mingfei's actions exceeded the imagination of everyone in Shrek.

Facing the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's open jaws,

Yu Mingfei stretched out his right hand and thrust it straight inside.

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent cooperated perfectly. Its sharp fangs pierced his arm and clamped down tightly, suspending Yu Mingfei securely in midair.

The next moment, bloody light flashed from its crimson crest as the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent beat its wings and soared.

It transformed into an afterimage and swiftly vanished into the distance.

At the final moment before disappearing, Yu Mingfei turned back, moved his lips, and left behind a stiff smile.

Tang San's Purple Demon Eyes saw it clearly.

He was saying,

"Until... we meet again."