A Narrow Escape from Rakshasa, the Hall Master's Personal Instruction

The instant the Rakshasa Gate Master took the punch, his body exploded into a cloud of black smoke.

Liu Qingcang's punch had struck empty air, blasting countless flying stones in every direction.

"Not good, he's trying to escape!"

Liu Qingluo cried out beside him.

Amid the dust, the black banner wrapped around a head trailing its spine and shot into the sky!

In the blink of an eye, it fled deep into the mountains and forests, leaving behind a shrill curse.

"Bastard! Liu Qingcang, since you insist on remaining stubbornly unrepentant, tell those walking under your banner to watch their backs, lest they become lonely men with no kin left someday!"

"We'll meet again!"

The voice was as piercing as a night owl's screech, and that head vanished into the night wind in the blink of an eye.

The horrifying sight drained Liu Qingluo's face of color. She clutched tightly at Liu Qingcang's robe hem.

"Godfather, what exactly was he...?"

Liu Qingcang raised a hand to cut her off. "Don't ask. Leave first."

As he spoke, the qi and blood around him abruptly withdrew, and all color vanished from his face.

His joints cracked loudly as the three inches of height he had forcibly gained slowly shrank back down.

When he stood straight again, he had returned to the lean, middle-aged man in green robes. Even his temples seemed to have turned a few shades whiter.

Liu Qingluo saw that his old wounds had been aggravated and did not dare say more. She stepped forward to support him, only to be gently pushed away.

"Don't mind me. Go check on that boy."

Only then did Liu Qingluo remember that Chen Mu had been injured. With a startled cry of chagrin, she hurried over.

Chen Mu was half-kneeling in the mud, propped up by his saber, his face alternating between green and white.

The Yin Jade had absorbed most of the ghostly qi, but a stream of Baleful Poison had still burrowed into his organs and was rampaging through his meridians.

Even the Bone-Strengthening Pill could not suppress it. It felt as though a dozen icy snakes were burrowing through his body.

"How are you? I have pills here..."

As Liu Qingluo spoke, she took a small jade bottle from her robes. Chen Mu glimpsed it from the corner of his eye and saw that it contained Blood-Qi Pills, leaving him speechless.

"I'm fine. Let me regulate my breathing for a moment."

He raised a hand to ward her off, sat cross-legged, and began circulating his qi and blood to digest the Bone-Strengthening Pill's medicinal power.

By then, Liu Qingcang had steadied his own qi and blood and suppressed his old wounds. He came over to inspect Chen Mu's condition.

After one glance, his brows knitted tightly, and he barked:

"Boy, Baleful Poison has entered your body! Yin qi is concentrated here. This is no place to heal!"

"Bear with the pain. Come back with me first!"

Without another word, he grabbed Chen Mu's left shoulder with one hand and lifted him up, while snatching Liu Qingluo by the back of her collar with the other.

"Go!"

As his words fell, he sprang forward with the two of them and shot into the dense forest.

Caught off guard, Chen Mu was already airborne, his vision filled with densely packed shadows of trees.

His shoulder felt as though a giant python had wrapped around it until it could not move. Chen Mu's bones creaked, and the biting wind kept him from opening his eyes.

He had not expected Liu Qingcang to act the instant he said he would. The qi and blood he had been circulating had only completed half a cycle and nearly collapsed into a backward rush.

But immediately after, a stream of scorching true qi flowed from Liu Qingcang's palm.

That true qi was domineering and vast, carrying the searing heat of a blazing sun. It entered his meridians through the Jianjing acupoint in his shoulder and suppressed Chen Mu's chaotic qi and blood.

Nor was that all. Under its guidance, the qi and blood throughout Chen Mu's body began to boil.

The yin qi and Baleful Poison running wild within him were suppressed by more than half in an instant.

Chen Mu's chest loosened, and he finally managed to draw half a breath, regaining the strength to speak.

Remembering that Qin Tieya was still trapped in Clear River Village, he immediately spoke up to remind him.

"Hall Master, Senior Brother Qin is still in Clear River Village..."

Before he could finish, a towering figure with surging qi and blood charged out from the forest ahead.

"Master?! This disciple arrived too late!"

It was Qin Tieya, drenched in blood from head to toe, striding toward them with the ferocity still lingering in his eyes.

Chen Mu swept his gaze over him. This fellow actually had no obvious external wounds.

This guy had actually fought his way out of a pile of a hundred corpses?

Chen Mu swallowed the rest of his words, thoroughly shocked.

Yet Liu Qingcang seemed to have expected this all along. He tossed Liu Qingluo over to him.

"Go to High Person Dian. Return to the city at once."

Qin Tieya caught Liu Qingluo one-handed and followed without another word, striding away at a sprint.

Half an hour later, on the northern official road outside Everlasting Prosperity Town.

Several horses bore more than a dozen people as they galloped along. Many unconscious disciples lay slumped over the horses' backs, Liu Meng among them.

Several others were deeply afflicted by Corpse Venom and tied to their horses with straw ropes. With every jolt, the bluish-black discoloration over their bodies deepened.

Chen Mu was already able to ride by himself.

The stream of true qi Liu Qingcang had given him had temporarily suppressed the Baleful Poison. Though his face remained pale, his breathing was at least steady.

Along the way, Liu Qingcang had learned his name. He had merely said, "Return first," and nothing more.

Chen Mu was in no hurry to claim credit either.

He knew that someone of Liu Qingcang's standing would not owe a favor to a junior.

Just as he was thinking this, his horse suddenly jolted, and a wave of agonizing pain surged through his chest again.

Chen Mu's face abruptly turned green. He swayed twice on horseback and nearly fell off.

"Master! Junior Brother Chen may not hold on until we return to the city!"

Qin Tieya reined his horse around.

Chen Mu himself felt that he could not hold on much longer.

His heart pounded as though it were about to leap from his throat, while darkness repeatedly washed over his vision.

He forcibly kept himself from collapsing, gritted his teeth, and took out another Bone-Strengthening Pill, stuffing it into his mouth.

"I'm fine..."

Sweat rolled down his forehead. Unable to endure any longer, he reined in his horse, dismounted, and sat cross-legged on the ground to regulate his breathing.

Liu Qingluo dismounted and helped steady him, her gaze anxious but helpless.

When Liu Qingcang came over, he placed a palm against Chen Mu's back.

After a moment, his eyes flickered slightly, surprise rising in his heart.

There was something deeply strange about this boy.

The Baleful Poison in his body had actually been neutralized by more than half on its own!

He had originally intended to use his cultivation to help Chen Mu force out the poison, but now it seemed that a few more cycles of breathing regulation would stabilize him.

"Forget it. Find somewhere to settle down first. We'll return to the city after dawn."

Liu Qingcang watched Chen Mu for a moment, then suddenly withdrew his hand and gave Qin Tieya his instructions.

Before long, they found an abandoned Buddhist temple beside the official road.

Qin Tieya led the others in clearing out the main hall, lit several bonfires, then caught a wild rabbit and roasted it over the fire.

Chen Mu continued regulating his breathing for another half hour before finally suppressing the Baleful Poison raging within him.

He slowly opened his eyes. His complexion had improved somewhat, but fear still lingered in his heart.

That had been close!

This time, he had truly been too reckless.

The Rakshasa Gate Master had been reduced to a single head and yet could still fly through the air and flee.

A casually cast dragon of Killing Intent had nearly destroyed his meridians and dantian.

Had the Yin Jade not absorbed most of it, he would have been crippled even if he did not die today.

Chen Mu realized that he knew far too little about this world.

He silently warned himself that he must never act so rashly again.

He also needed to find ways to broaden his knowledge and experience.

Otherwise, if he encountered similar sinister and uncanny methods again, he might not be as fortunate as he had been today, nor be able to preserve his life.

"Boy, come here."

By the bonfire, Liu Qingcang noticed that Chen Mu had opened his eyes and called out to him.

Chen Mu immediately composed himself and rose. After stepping forward, he cupped his fists and said, "Many thanks to the Hall Master for lending a hand to save me earlier."

Liu Qingcang could not help laughing when he heard that. "You brat, are you trying to prod me with those words?"

After laughing, he wiped the smile from his face and fixed Chen Mu with a pair of tiger-like eyes.

"Tell me, did you know what level of strength the Rakshasa Gate Master possessed, yet still dared to act?"

The question left Chen Mu speechless. He could only answer honestly, "This disciple did not."

"But since this disciple has joined the martial hall, I ought to slay demons and eliminate evil. Why should I fear his ghostly tricks?"

With a turn of thought, he began speaking prettily again.

Naturally, Liu Qingcang could hear that Chen Mu was fobbing him off, but he did not hold it against him. Instead, he suddenly changed the subject.

"Forget it. I, Liu Qingcang, have traveled the martial world for decades and have never owed a favor to a junior."

"Speak. What do you want? So long as I can do it, there is nothing I will refuse."

As soon as those words were spoken, all the disciples around them stopped what they were doing and stared at Chen Mu in disbelief.

The Hall Master was an Innate Realm expert, the sky over Everlasting Prosperity Town.

He was going to grant a promise to a newly enrolled registered disciple?

What exactly had this boy done?

To earn such favor from the Hall Master?

When you encounter advertisements such as "Are you a True Person?", there is no need to pay them any mind. Simply close them; do not scan any codes or send text messages!