Encounter on the Road

Even with someone in tow, Lin Cheng's speed was nothing short of blistering.

In the span of a few breaths, he had already surged forward a great distance, drawing ever closer to Beast Taming Mountain.

Suddenly, Lin Cheng's eyes flickered, and he came to an abrupt halt.

Elder Zhang Feng, who had been tossed about until his face was deathly pale throughout the journey, let out a heavy sigh of relief upon seeing the senior finally stop.

Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Lin Cheng staring fixedly in a certain direction.

He frowned slightly.

Did I just sense a trace of my disciple's aura? Could it be an illusion?

He hurriedly checked the formation disk, only to find that the red dot on it was still a significant distance away, leaving his mind momentarily blank.

What is going on?

Unable to make sense of the situation, Lin Cheng decided to go and take a look just to be safe; what if Meng Tangtang had managed to escape on her own?

If that were truly the case.

Then there would be no need to make the trip to Beast Taming Mountain.

Even if it wasn't her, it wouldn't delay him for long.

He had to check it out regardless. With that thought, Lin Cheng took Elder Zhang Feng and vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving behind a slowly dissipating afterimage.

His aura, however, was already flashing rapidly in a specific direction like a bolt of lightning.

"Damn it! Those traitors are catching up; we're in grave danger!"

A ragged, gasping voice rang out through the forest. A young woman dressed in the attire of Beast Taming Mountain was leading several fellow disciples as they scrambled to hide and flee.

Behind them, a series of figures were in hot pursuit.

They were on the verge of being overtaken.

Their bodies were stained with blood, and every one of them looked deathly pale, clearly pushed to their absolute limits.

The glances they occasionally cast behind them were filled with an inescapable terror and hatred!

"Senior Sister Liu, since we can't escape, why don't we just stay and fight these beastly traitors to the death!"

A lean, young-looking boy with bloodshot eyes roared in a low, gritted-toned voice.

A closer look revealed that his back was drenched in crimson, and one of his arms was missing entirely; he was clearly on the verge of collapse.

"Junior Brother Zhang!"

Seeing the boy's fading vitality, Liu Yanran felt a pang of heartache, yet she gritted her teeth and said, "Hold on a little longer!"

"We cannot give up!"

"The fellow daoists from Jingyun Sect sacrificed their lives to get us out—what was it for? Even if not for ourselves, we must think of them! Besides, we promised Junior Sister Meng that we would deliver the message to Jingyun Sect; we cannot die like this!"

Liu Yanran's willow-leaf brows arched as she spoke with bitter resentment.

Before they left, Junior Sister Meng of Jingyun Sect had given her a personal token and told her to find a senior at the Jingyun Sect's Library Pavilion to seek help.

Although she didn't understand why she should go to a place like the Library Pavilion instead of seeking out the higher-ups of Jingyun Sect, the situation was dire. Liu Yanran didn't have time to overthink it; she only wanted to deliver the token to the Jingyun Sect's leadership.

She hoped they would have a chance to reach Jingyun Sect alive.

In her heart, Liu Yanran was already somewhat desperate, but looking at the terrified faces of her junior brothers and sisters, she felt that as the head disciple of Beast Taming Mountain, she could not fall here.

Otherwise, who would avenge their master and the others?

Liu Yanran had been an orphan since she was small, lonely and destitute. It was her master who had picked her up and cared for her like a granddaughter. She had long since viewed him as her closest kin and Beast Taming Mountain as her home.

But now, because of the traitors.

Beast Taming Mountain existed in name only!

Their innate ancestor had died in battle, his head hung before the mountain gate.

The sect's guardian spirit beast had been severely wounded and imprisoned, used as a living pool of spirit blood, suffering torture day and night.

The elders had been slaughtered one after another, and the disciples had suffered heavy casualties.

All of this was because of that traitor, Zhou Chen, who had colluded with the Yinyang Sect and joined forces with the foreign races!

Every time she thought of Zhou Chen's seemingly harmless face, Liu Yanran's teeth would ache with hatred; she wished she could tear him apart with her bare hands!

Zhou Chen was her fellow junior brother.

He usually wore the mask of a righteous gentleman. She feared that even her master had never expected that the disciple she took such pride in would harbor such wolfish ambitions.

Now that the truth was out, her master's regret must be so deep it would haunt her even in death.

"Deliver the message?"

Someone heard these words and couldn't help but speak with a bitter, hollow tone.

They were all severely wounded, and even their head disciple, Liu Yanran, was in a poor state, having exhausted nearly all her strength.

With pursuers closing in step by step, even if the enemy didn't kill them, whether they could leave the territory of Beast Taming Mountain alive was a question in itself.

Where could they even send word?

Hearing this, the fellow disciples all felt a sense of despair.

Just then, the mocking and murderous shouts of the pursuers rang out from behind, causing everyone's faces to turn pale and their bodies to tremble.

"Senior Sister Liu, you cannot escape. Surrender now, and if you please me, I might just spare your lives."

The voice sounded refined and elegant, quite pleasant to the ear.

Yet, the members of Beast Taming Mountain all shivered in unison, their eyes filled with terror.

"Zhou Chen! You are dreaming! Betraying your sect and colluding with outsiders—you will meet a wretched end!"

This was a familiar voice that Liu Yanran would never forget, even in death; it was etched into her very bones. Her cold voice, laced with boiling killing intent, made the surrounding air turn slightly frigid.

"Senior Sister, this is called knowing the times makes one a hero."

"Besides, wouldn't it be better to obediently be my woman? You acting like this makes things very difficult for your Junior Brother."

"If Master were to find out, she would surely be heartbroken, sigh..."

Zhou Chen's voice came again, seemingly carrying a hint of a sigh and reluctance.

However, he placed heavy emphasis on the words "Senior Sister," "Junior Brother," and "Master."

"You beast! You still have the face to mention Master? If she hadn't taken you in, you would have long since starved or frozen to death in that little mountain village!"

"Master treated you as her own, yet you repay her kindness with enmity!"

Watching Liu Yanran grow increasingly exasperated, a sickly smile appeared on his face. The contrast with his gentle, spring-breeze tone was enough to make one's blood run cold.

Before they knew it, their path of retreat had been completely sealed off, and figures appeared in rapid succession, surrounding Liu Yanran and the others.

"Oh no!"

Discovering their path was blocked, the few from Beast Taming Mountain were instantly thrown into a panic.

Liu Yanran cursed herself for being careless. She hadn't expected to fall for it, letting Zhou Chen's words provoke her and distract her focus.

But even if that hadn't happened, with their heavy injuries, they wouldn't have been able to escape for long; the outcome would have been much the same.

Now, the most important thing was to find a way to break out.

Even if they couldn't truly escape, they could not fall into Zhou Chen's hands, or their fate would surely be worse than death.

"Senior Sister, why have you stopped running?"

"Or have you finally come to your senses and intend to return with your Junior Brother to serve me obediently? That truly makes me happy."

Zhou Chen walked out from the crowd with a face full of smiles. His Eighth-Grade cultivation was no weaker than that of an elder from a major sect, and with the hundreds of elite guards surrounding them, the expressions of Liu Yanran and her group grew increasingly grim.

"Everyone, prepare to fight for your lives!"

Liu Yanran did not respond to Zhou Chen. She simply took a deep breath and instructed her fellow disciples.

The others tightened their gazes and slowly gripped their weapons.

I am sorry, Junior Sister Meng. It is my incompetence; I have failed the Jingyun Sect, and I fear this message will never reach them... Liu Yanran thought to herself.

Just as both sides were poised for battle, the very moment they were about to clash, a series of shrill, miserable cries from spirit beasts erupted in the distance.

The sound traveled from far to near.

At first, it was just scattered noises, but in the blink of an eye, it felt as if it were right before them.

The screams merged into a single, continuous, and overlapping chorus!

In that very instant!

The earth shook and the mountains swayed for dozens of miles around!

Whoosh!

The hundreds of people present, including both sides, all froze in their tracks and whipped their heads around.

They saw that from a certain direction, a terrifying, tangible aura was hurtling toward them at high speed.

Accompanying it was a surging beast tide, a terrifying deluge that seemed to connect the earth to the sky.

Even though everyone present hailed from major sects and possessed extraordinary vision and experience, they had never seen such a terrifying spectacle in their entire lives.

Their souls were instantly shaken with terror. No one cared about the pursuit or their grudges anymore; with perfect, silent synchronization, they all scattered like birds and beasts!

Survival was all that mattered!

"Run!!!"

"Run! Quickly, hurry, hurry!!!"

Someone shouted, and the scene, already in chaos, turned into a total catastrophe.