Jiang Nannan in Peril

Amid the forest, an exceptionally beautiful young girl backed away in terror. Tears glistened at the corners of her eyes, brought on by overwhelming grief and fear.

Having just been sent flying by a soul beast and rolled across the ground several times, her clothes were filthy and stained with blood.

Two yellow and one purple soul ring circled around the girl, revealing her identity as a Soul Elder.

Ahead of her, a Hell Demon Dog with pitch-black fur and a height of two meters stared at her viciously as it approached at an unhurried pace.

The Hell Demon Dog's mouth hung naturally open, dripping with blood, with scraps of flesh still lodged between its teeth.

The girl's face was filled with despair. Facing a ten-thousand-year Hell Demon Dog, she was practically doomed to die.

She did not stop and wait for death. Instead, she ran with all her strength, hoping to make one final struggle.

Her martial soul was the Soft Bone Rabbit, making her agile, and her speed was considered relatively fast among soul masters of the same rank.

But she was facing a Hell Demon Dog renowned for its speed, and one at the ten-thousand-year level at that. Its speed far surpassed hers.

The Hell Demon Dog quickly caught up to her. Just as it was about to bite her, she unleashed her third Soul Skill: Teleportation.

Teleportation temporarily pulled her out of danger and kept her from being bitten.

However, the maximum distance of this skill was only a few dozen meters, nowhere near enough for her to escape the crisis completely.

Very soon, the Hell Demon Dog closed in again and bit toward her slender waist.

Every muscle in the girl's body tensed as she felt death approaching. She understood that this time, she was certainly going to die.

"Mom, I'm sorry. Nannan won't be able to take care of you anymore." Before death arrived, tears streamed down the girl's face.

At the final moment of her life, the only person she could not let go of was her sick mother.

Just as the girl closed her eyes and waited for death, an arm suddenly wrapped around her slender waist, while a hand was placed on her neck.

The girl was startled, her eyes flying open almost instantly as she tried to turn and see who had touched her so intimately.

Before she could turn her head, pain shot through her neck. A wave of dizziness struck, and she immediately lost consciousness.

At the same moment the girl fainted, a collision rang out, followed by the Hell Demon Dog's shrill scream.

Jing Chen landed with an arm around the girl's waist. Seeing that he had already knocked her unconscious, he nodded in satisfaction.

He looked ahead. Yi Yi, in her battle form, was completely crushing the Hell Demon Dog, leaving it with no ability to fight back.

"Yi Yi, end the battle quickly," Jing Chen urged, unwilling to let Yi Yi's aura remain exposed for too long.

Upon hearing Jing Chen's words, Yi Yi's attacks became even fiercer. Soon, she drove the Evil God Hook into the Hell Demon Dog's heart.

The Hell Demon Dog collapsed and twitched on the ground as the energy within its body was rapidly devoured by Yi Yi.

Before long, the Hell Demon Dog died completely, and a black soul ring floated out.

Yi Yi transformed into her miniature form and lay atop Jing Chen's head. Jing Chen held the girl by the waist with one hand, carrying her as he swiftly ran toward the edge of the forest.

Yi Yi had just revealed the aura of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, so it was best for him to leave the forest as quickly as possible, lest it attract soul beasts.

Not long after Jing Chen left, two Hell Demon Dogs arrived at the spot. Blood stained the corners of their mouths as well, clearly indicating that they had just eaten.

Upon seeing the dead Hell Demon Dog, the two Hell Demon Dogs howled in grief and fury.

They sniffed desperately around the area, then followed the scent in pursuit, determined to avenge their companion.

"Yiyi! (There are soul beasts chasing us from behind.)" Yi Yi patted Jing Chen's head and pointed behind them with her little paw, warning him.

"Let's run as far as we can first. We'll decide whether to fight when they catch up," Jing Chen said, signaling for Yi Yi not to attack yet.

Jing Chen was already running at full speed, but he still could not outrun the two ten-thousand-year Hell Demon Dogs.

Left with no other choice, Jing Chen could only let Yi Yi act, and she dispatched the two soul beasts at the fastest speed possible.

Against canine soul beasts like these, Jing Chen had no intention of hiding inside the Time and Space Divine Tower.

These soul beasts had keen noses and were rather persistent. Once they smelled their target's aura vanishing here, they might keep searching the vicinity.

If that happened, he had no idea how long he would need to remain inside the Time and Space Divine Tower, which would be a waste of time.

Rather than that, it was clearly better to risk exposing Yi Yi's aura and eliminate them.

Besides, he was already at the outskirts of the forest. The chances of being discovered by Di Tian and the other fierce beasts were low, so he could act more boldly.

Over an hour later, Jing Chen successfully left the forest. After nearly a month, he breathed the outside air once again.

Although the air outside was not as fresh as that within the forest, it made him feel at ease. His tightly wound nerves finally relaxed.

After pausing briefly, he continued running, putting more and more distance between himself and the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was already nighttime. A bright moon hung overhead as Jing Chen traveled by its light.

"Put me down." The sudden weak, somewhat panicked voice made Jing Chen stop.

Jing Chen looked down at the girl. At that moment, she was also turning to look at him, panic visible on her face.

The girl struggled, and Jing Chen released the arm around her, allowing her to stand steadily.

The moment her feet touched the ground, the girl hurriedly backed away some distance and looked at Jing Chen with vigilance.

When she clearly saw Jing Chen's appearance, she froze. She had not expected the one holding her to be a child not even ten years old.

Amid her surprise, the girl secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Being held by a child younger than herself was still somewhat easier to accept.

"Focused on traveling, I hadn't even noticed she'd already woken up." As Jing Chen sized up the girl, he silently criticized himself.

If the girl had suddenly woken up earlier and stabbed him in the waist, he might not even have been able to react in time.

He had to avoid this kind of carelessness as much as possible. He could not make the same mistake again.

"Since you're awake, you can move on your own. I'll be leaving first." Jing Chen turned to go after saying that.

He had originally planned to carry the girl near Shrek City, set her down, and leave on his own.

Now that she was awake and able to walk, there was no need for him to waste that effort.

"Wait..." the girl hurriedly called out to Jing Chen, who had already turned away.

Jing Chen stopped and turned to look at her, roughly guessing what she wanted to say.

In this situation, she was most likely going to ask what had happened while she had been unconscious.

"I want to know why I was in your arms, and how I survived the Hell Demon Dog's jaws?" the girl asked.

Her mind was full of questions. She wanted to know what exactly had happened after she lost consciousness.

Jing Chen had long prepared an answer for such a question. He naturally pointed into the distance and said, "I found you over there. Seeing that you were unconscious, I rescued you out of kindness and planned to take you to Shrek City to find someone to treat you."

His words could stand up to verification, since he had set the girl down there earlier, where bloodstains could be found.

First chapter of the day. The new book sets sail—please bookmark it and vote with recommendation tickets.