"Forget it... whether you're telling the truth or not, I'll swallow this loss. The mountains are high and the rivers run long; if fate allows, we'll meet again." He Qianshan's eyes darted about. Leaving those words behind, he flung out his arms, suddenly transformed into feathers, and flew into the night sky.
Fu Donglai watched him leave, then his expression suddenly changed. Black light flashed overhead, and nearly a hundred black steel spikes fell from the sky, shooting toward Shen Luo and the other two at incredible speed.
"Hah!"
With an explosive shout, Fu Donglai thrust out both arms, striking at the air above with Fierce Tiger Emerges from the Cave.
Illusory light blazed around him. The phantom of a striped tiger, a full thousand feet long, rose from the ground, smashed all the black steel spikes apart, and unleashed a sky-shaking roar toward the heavens.
"Fellow Daoist He, care to try again?" Fu Donglai asked, looking up at the sky.
A cold snort sounded high above, and only then did He Qianshan vanish completely into the distance.
Fu Donglai slowly withdrew his imposing aura. After glancing around, he hurried to Shen Luo's side and helped him up.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, are you all right?"
"It's nothing... cough, cough..." Shen Luo coughed softly several times, blood continually seeping from the corners of his mouth.
With Fu Donglai's support, Shen Luo slowly sat up. He raised a hand to wipe the blood from his lips and said with a wan smile, "I never imagined you would end up saving my life, Brother Fu."
"I wouldn't call it that. I just happened to be passing by. But how did you end up in such a state, Brother Shen?" Fu Donglai asked, shaking his head.
Shen Luo glanced at Zhao Tong, whose suffering