Seeking One's Own Death

Neither of them expected that this greenhorn they had just met would run with such astonishing speed, one that was in no way inferior to the White Sable, which was known for its agility.

"Miss, what should we do?"

"Follow him..." The two women did not hesitate, each channeling their spirit power and giving chase behind Sanbao.

After crossing two mountain peaks, the White Sable's speed had slowed down significantly, and Sanbao was equally exhausted. The distance between the two sides had not changed much; the White Sable could not shake off Sanbao, and Sanbao could not catch up to it.

After activating the Nine-Turn Golden Body, his speed had indeed increased by a large margin, but the drain on his spirit power was equally rapid. Without the support of spirit power, Sanbao naturally could not maintain his pace.

Just then, the White Sable suddenly changed direction and bolted up a mountain peak. Sanbao was stunned, thinking to himself that the White Sable was clearly courting death; once trapped on the summit, wouldn't it become a turtle in a jar?

In the distance, the two women finally caught up slowly.

"I'll go up first, you two follow," Sanbao shouted from afar as he chased toward the summit.

The mountain was covered in dense shrubs and rugged terrain, which had little effect on the small-bodied White Sable, but the impact on Sanbao was obvious. By the time he reached the middle of the slope, the White Sable had vanished without a trace.

However, given the White Sable's stamina, it definitely could not have run far; it must have hidden somewhere nearby.

"Hiding is useless. In my eyes, you have nowhere to conceal yourself," Sanbao couldn't help but slow his pace, regulating his spirit power while searching.

After that burst of sprinting, eighty or ninety percent of the spirit power in Sanbao's body was depleted, and he could only approach the summit slowly.

"You had better tell me! Otherwise..."

"Senior Brother, I really don't know!"

The faint voices drifting from the summit made Sanbao pause. He thought: There are actually people on this desolate mountain, and it seems there is more than one.

Perhaps due to his innate bloodline, Sanbao discovered that as he grew older, not only was his physical body far stronger than other Spirit Cultivators of the same rank, but his eyesight and hearing were also far superior to ordinary people.

At this moment, Sanbao was still at least several kilometers away from the summit, yet he could hear the voices coming from the top, which was quite miraculous.

"Junior Brother, if you don't confess now, don't blame your Senior Brother for being ruthless..."

Listening intently, the voices became clearer. Are they going to kill someone? Sanbao ignored the White Sable and quietly crept toward the summit.

"Senior Brother Zhao, if you insist on being unreasonable, I will have to resist with my life!"

Whoosh, whoosh...

When Sanbao quietly poked his head out from behind a scorched rock, the two men on the summit were locked in a life-or-death struggle. One of them was in a critical situation, his figure retreating step by step.

"Wang Liang..."

Sanbao never imagined that among the two fighting, one of them was Wang Liang, an entry-level disciple of the same rank whom he knew.

Though they hadn't seen each other for only a few months, Wang Liang's arm had not only fully recovered, but he had also successfully advanced to the Spirit General realm. Sanbao thought to himself that the man truly possessed high innate talent.

Even so, between the two combatants, Wang Liang was at a distinct disadvantage because his opponent was a young man who was a three-star Spirit General. If it weren't for the fact that the opponent had some reservations about Wang Liang, he would likely have been dead already.

"Junior Brother Wang, I'll ask you one last time. If you still won't talk, I'll have to kill you. You can't hide it from me; the secret is right here near the summit. After I kill you, I'll find it sooner or later..."

"Fine, Senior Brother Zhao, stop for a moment, and I'll tell you. But you must swear that you will never tell anyone else this secret!" Wang Liang was wounded in several places and dared not resist any longer.

"That's more like it. I swear, I will never tell anyone about tonight's events, or may I suffer a miserable death~" The man immediately withdrew his sword and stood still, his expression softening.

"The secret is in that small pond. Every full moon, a strange beast comes to bathe. After it finishes, the water turns milky white and smells pleasant. I felt it might be beneficial, so every time the beast left, I would soak in the water. My hand was healed by this pool, and my cultivation has improved by leaps and bounds. Senior Brother, you must never tell anyone else this secret..."

As Wang Liang spoke, he quietly increased the distance between himself and the man, coincidentally ending up with his back to the rock where Sanbao was eavesdropping.

Although he really didn't want to tell anyone the secret, being cornered on the summit meant that not speaking would lead to certain death. To survive, Wang Liang had no other choice.

"Don't worry, I will absolutely not tell anyone. However, I am worried that you might talk. To keep this secret, go to hell!" After learning the secret, the first thing the man did was to silence the witness. His gleaming longsword transformed into a streak of white light, slashing rapidly toward Wang Liang.

Sanbao sighed inwardly at Wang Liang's lack of judgment. If he hadn't revealed the secret, he might have had a sliver of a chance; by revealing it, he was certainly doomed.

"Clack."

A flying stone suddenly struck from the shadows toward the sword-wielding man, forcing him to withdraw his blade to protect himself.

"Who's there?"

Taking advantage of the distraction, Sanbao grabbed Wang Liang.

"Run!"

"Sanbao, why is it you?"

"Don't talk, just run."

Wang Liang had already been planning to escape, and with Sanbao pulling him, his speed increased even further. The two of them rushed down the mountain slope in a flash.

Caught off guard by the sneak attack, the man was quite surprised. After a brief pause, upon discovering that the newcomer was merely a lowly Spirit Scholar, he sneered, and his figure turned into a streak of light, chasing rapidly after the two.

"Miss, do you think that kid slipped away halfway, or did he catch the White Sable and run off? We haven't seen him for a while, and he hasn't even called out to us."

To return to the other side of the story, the two women at the foot of the mountain were craning their necks in anticipation, but they had yet to receive any signal from Sanbao.

"No, he will definitely come back to find me!" the woman in light-colored clothing said with full confidence.

"Senior Sister, I'm here!" Just then, Sanbao, who had rushed down from the summit, let out a loud shout.

The voice drifted far down to the foot of the mountain, reaching the ears of the two women.

"Quick, go up!" The two women assumed Sanbao had caught or discovered the White Sable and flew upward.

"Let's see where you can run now."

The man surnamed Zhao was extremely fast, following closely behind Sanbao and the other. Hearing Sanbao call out to his companions, his heart tightened. He hadn't expected there to be others. To keep this secret, he had to kill this person first; as for Wang Liang, he would have to deal with that later.

After all, if this secret reached the ears of the elders or even the sect leader, there would be nothing left for him. Thinking of this, the man surnamed Zhao felt a deep hatred for Sanbao's appearance.

"Go to hell!" When the two were just over ten meters apart, the man surnamed Zhao leaped into the air, his sword chasing after Sanbao like a silver snake, thrusting toward his back.

"Go!" Sanbao shoved Wang Liang to the side, instantly activating his Nine-Turn Golden Body, and darted toward a small pine tree nearby.

Snap.

The pine tree was snapped in half at the waist, and half of Sanbao's sleeve was shredded by the sword's edge, leaving his arm marked with white and red.

"See where you can run now. Swimming Fish Sword..." After the first strike, the man surnamed Zhao's momentum surged. He unleashed the mid-grade Spirit Skill Swimming Fish Sword Technique, which rained down upon Sanbao like layers of giant waves.

Swish, swish...

Sanbao was struck by two more swords, but they only grazed him, causing only superficial wounds. At this moment, the Nine-Turn Golden Body played a massive role; although his opponent was a three-star Spirit General, he found it difficult to kill Sanbao in such a short time.

"I'll risk it, run!"

Seizing a tiny opening in the opponent's sword light, Sanbao broke away and charged wildly down the mountain. His head felt chilly; in the chaos, even most of his hair had been shorn off.

It felt slow, but it was fast. From the moment the two rushed off the mountaintop to Sanbao's desperate escape, only a few moments had passed.

"Senior Sister, help! Someone is murdering a fellow disciple!"

The figures of the two women finally appeared within Sanbao's line of sight.

Sanbao ignored his disheveled state and charged toward them. When the man surnamed Zhao saw the two women appear, his expression darkened, thinking that the secret could not be kept after all.

However, when he saw the faces of the two women, his expression turned strange. He stopped rushing to kill Sanbao and instead followed slowly behind, perhaps realizing he could no longer kill Sanbao today.

"Two Senior Sisters, please save my life!" Seeing the man surnamed Zhao give up the chase, Sanbao finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was fortunate the two women had appeared, otherwise, he would have been in real danger today.

"Junior Brother, come over here," the woman in light-colored clothing smiled repeatedly and beckoned to Sanbao.

"Okay."

Sanbao was overjoyed and rushed toward the two women. The woman in light-colored clothing was all smiles, but the maid beside her wore a strange expression.

Pfft...

A long sword pierced deeply into Sanbao's chest. Sanbao fell to the ground, clutching the wound, looking at the woman in light-colored clothing with an expression of utter disbelief.

Sanbao could never have imagined that this woman who had made his heart flutter would suddenly turn on him.

"I'm sorry, you offended Brother Hong, so I had to do this." The woman's expression showed a hint of guilt, but she quickly steadied herself and smiled at the man surnamed Zhao, who was rushing down the mountain.

"Haha, haha! Thank you, Mei'er, for clearing the way today. Kid, you brought this upon yourself," a hearty laugh came from behind. Sanbao realized in an instant that the two were in league with each other.

"Brother Hong, what's going on? I've captured him for you! How are you going to thank me?" the woman called Mei'er said, still smiling. Unlike when she spoke to Sanbao, her tone now carried a hint of intimacy.

Sanbao could never have imagined that he had just escaped the dragon's pool only to fall into the tiger's den. The man and woman were clearly acquainted, and their relationship seemed extraordinary—if not close kin, then lovers.

"Good, good, good. Once I finish off this brat who sought his own death, I'll thank you however you like..." Zhao Hong let out a long howl as he descended, swinging his sword to pierce Sanbao.