The moonlight was hazy.
Not far away, atop a tall, lush ancient tree, a little white horse that seemed carved from mutton-fat jade blinked its large, bright black eyes and curiously studied the people before it.
"By the Evil King's grace! This... this is actually a young Unicorn Sacred Beast!"
Looking at the extraordinary little white Pegasus before her, Liu Yue was overcome with excitement. Even the twin peaks on her chest rose and fell with the violent fluctuations of her emotions.
Wang Zifeng was equally astonished. He said to Liu Yue, "I'd long heard that this island was unfathomably mysterious. I never expected to encounter a Unicorn Sacred Beast at its edge. They say these sacred beasts are drawn to pure maidens. Junior Sister, why don't you give it a try?"
"Mm! I'll try!"
Liu Yue nodded, reined in the seductive expression on her face, and put on a dignified, innocent look.
She rose to her feet and walked gracefully toward Little Pegasus.
"Senior Sister, wait!"
Lu Jun suddenly grabbed Liu Yue's hand.
"Junior Brother, what is it?"
Seeing Lu Jun seize her hand, Liu Yue immediately frowned and asked.
"Senior Sister, do you really want to tame this Unicorn Sacred Beast?"
Looking at his senior sister Liu Yue's dignified and holy expression, Lu Jun seemed to gather a great deal of courage before asking.
"Of course I do!"
Liu Yue looked at Lu Jun strangely, as though she were looking at a fool.
A young Unicorn Sacred Beast! Having one was equivalent to possessing the key to the gates of becoming a powerhouse. Who wouldn't want it?
"If that's the case, Senior Sister, take this!"
As though relieved of some burden, Lu Jun took out a dark yellow short rod covered in black patterns and handed it to Liu Yue.
"This is the secret treasure my father gave me before he left: the Heaven Binding Net!"
"When you press this button, a net will spring out and trap the enemy. This net is woven from divine silkworm threads. It fears neither blazing fire nor bitter cold, and is incomparably tough!"
"I was originally planning to use it when capturing the Accompanying Dragon King, but I know my own limits. Even if I caught one, I probably couldn't keep it. I might as well give it to you now, Senior Sister, so you can capture this Unicorn Sacred Beast!"
After briefly explaining how to use the Heaven Binding Net, the effeminate scholar Lu Jun handed it to his senior sister, Liu Yue.
"Then thank you, Junior Brother."
Liu Yue thanked Lu Jun with a somewhat strange look in her eyes, then prepared to turn around and approach Little Pegasus again.
She did not know whether she should thank this junior brother for his help or laugh at his naivety.
She knew how Lu Jun felt about her, but she had no intention of responding. She was an ambitious woman.
Although Lu Jun treated her well, he could not give her what she wanted!
"Wait, Junior Sister! If we didn't have the Heaven Binding Net and were merely trying our luck, that would be one thing. But now that we have it, even if this is only a young Unicorn Sacred Beast, what if it struggles after being trapped and accidentally injures you? Why not let Brother Xiao take your place?"
Wang Zifeng, who had been standing nearby, suddenly spoke.
"Senior Brother is so thoughtful!"
Liu Yue immediately let out a coquettish laugh, then tossed the Heaven Binding Net in her hand to Xiao Chen.
"Then I'll have to thank Brother Xiao!"
While Liu Yue smiled sweetly at Xiao Chen, one jade-like hand lightly brushed across Bai He's body.
The threat in her gesture could not have been more obvious!
"Brother Xiao, please proceed," Wang Zifeng sneered as well.
"I'll keep an eye on him. Junior Sister, make sure the sacred beast doesn't get away. As for Lu Jun, stay here and watch this little fellow!"
Wang Zifeng coldly watched Xiao Chen slowly step forward as he quietly spoke to Liu Yue and Lu Jun.
"Wang Zifeng! You make it sound nice enough, but why should I listen to you? What right do you have to order me around?"
Hearing Wang Zifeng's words, the effeminate scholar Lu Jun felt insulted and could not help sneering.
"Oh, Junior Brother Lu, just think of it as helping Senior Sister, all right?!"
Seeing that Lu Jun and Wang Zifeng were about to clash again, Liu Yue hurriedly put on a pleading expression and shook Lu Jun's arm repeatedly.
"Remember this! I'm not listening to you. I'm helping Senior Sister!"
"Childish. Ridiculous."
The sinister Wang Zifeng mocked him inwardly.
If this fellow did not have a father who was an inner sect elder, with that intellect and temperament, he would probably have been devoured in the demonic sect long ago, bones and all!
Watching the three scheme against one another, Bai He could not help curling his lips inwardly.
They were all acting as though he did not exist. Just wait—they would soon learn who the boss really was!
Although he had no true qi in his body, in his dragonified state, he could still unleash the strength of the Second Heaven of the Mortal Shedding Realm.
With the element of surprise, it was enough to severely wound or even kill one person. But he had to wait for an opportunity!
As Xiao Chen slowly walked toward Little Pegasus, Wang Zifeng and Liu Yue stepped forward. One blocked Xiao Chen's retreat, while the other cut off one of Little Pegasus's escape routes.
Xiao Chen held the short rod containing the Heaven Binding Net as he slowly approached Little Pegasus, while secretly glancing at the two behind him from the corner of his eye.
He was not worried about Bai He's safety, because he knew Bai He's true strength.
But he had to find a way to deal with the two behind him—at the very least, cripple one of them and render him unable to fight.
Only then could he and Bai He escape smoothly together. Otherwise, if three people chased the two of them, one of them would certainly be caught.
As for the Sailors, they were somewhat troublesome, but their strength was too low to hinder their escape. They could basically be ignored.
Little Pegasus, as though carved from the finest mutton-fat jade, radiated a faint glow as it stood atop the tree and curiously watched Xiao Chen slowly approach.
Was this strange creature coming to bring it something tasty again?
As Xiao Chen slowly approached Little Pegasus, he silently circulated the Heavenly Tablet Mystic Skill within him and condensed a mass of silver-white moonlight in his left hand.
Xiao Chen cautiously placed his left hand, which held the moonlight, where Liu Yue and Wang Zifeng could not see it. Then he secretly gave Little Pegasus a look, gesturing with his eyes toward Wang Zifeng behind him, then toward Liu Yue nearby, before the moonlight in his hand slowly dissipated.
What he meant was that if those two remained, there would be no more moonlight to enjoy in the future!
But Xiao Chen had no idea whether Little Pegasus could understand him, and he was deeply uneasy.
Little Pegasus, seemingly carved from white jade, watched the mass of silver-white moonlight slowly disperse from Xiao Chen's hand. Its black gemstone-like eyes blinked as it looked at Xiao Chen, then at Liu Yue and Wang Zifeng, wearing an expression of partial understanding.
As he drew closer and closer to Little Pegasus, Xiao Chen slowly raised the short rod in his hand. Yet Little Pegasus still made no movement.
Looks like I'll have to rely on myself after all!
Xiao Chen could not help sighing inwardly. He had hoped Little Pegasus would lend him a hand, but it seemed not to understand his meaning.
However, the situation suddenly took a turn!
Although he had failed to gain Little Pegasus's aid, heaven favored them at just the right moment. A dark cloud suddenly drifted over from the distant sky, covering the moon and plunging the surroundings into darkness.
"Perfect!"
Xiao Chen's eyes lit up. He instantly turned and pressed the button on the short rod toward Wang Zifeng behind him. With a bang, a huge silver-white net sprang out and enveloped Wang Zifeng.
"What is this?!"
Wang Zifeng instinctively raised his arms before him.
The instant he pressed the button on the Heaven Binding Net, Xiao Chen had already charged forward.
Almost the very next second after the great silver-white net enveloped Wang Zifeng, Xiao Chen arrived before him!
Xiao Chen's fingers came together like a blade, and he instantly thrust his right hand into Wang Zifeng's left chest, where the heart lay.
"Ah!"
A tearing pain instantly made the sinister Wang Zifeng scream.
But by a martial artist's instinct, he still managed to circulate the Undying Heavenly Art within him in time. Under the effect of the Undying Imprint, Xiao Chen's hand blade failed to strike his heart directly and instead slid to the side.
Yet even so, Xiao Chen's hand blade tore a massive wound across Wang Zifeng's right chest, and blood erupted in a spray.
In the face of mortal danger, Wang Zifeng forcibly endured the searing pain in his chest and escaped Xiao Chen's attack range.
Xiao Chen knew he could no longer kill Wang Zifeng, so he instantly transformed into a blur and rushed into the dense forest.
"Ah!"
Another scream rang out, almost simultaneously with Wang Zifeng's cry.
Liu Yue turned to look and saw a humanoid monster, its entire body covered in silver scales and sharp bone spines, inexplicably appearing before Lu Jun, who had been standing not far away watching Bai He.
One sharp right claw of the humanoid monster had already pierced directly through Lu Jun's chest, and a large amount of blood sprayed from Lu Jun's mouth.
"Senior... Senior Sister! Save me!"
The effeminate scholar Lu Jun looked pleadingly toward Liu Yue in the distance. Unfortunately, Bai He had already completely crushed his heart. He was beyond saving!
"See? I said I'd kill you, and I definitely killed you!"
Bai He flashed Liu Yue a cruel smile, then swung the blade-sharp bone spines on his arms, instantly severing the heads of several Sailors standing nearby in stunned silence. He then turned and plunged into the dense Primeval Forest.
"Junior Brother!"
Liu Yue hurriedly ran forward and lifted up Lu Jun, who had already fallen to the ground, but unfortunately, he was completely dead.
"Junior Sister, hurry... hurry and take people after them! Don't let them escape!"
Wang Zifeng, who was coughing up blood nearby, glared in the direction Xiao Chen and Bai He had fled and viciously spoke to Liu Yue.
"You, you, and all of you, come with me now!"
Liu Yue set down Lu Jun's corpse and rose to her feet. Her once-seductive face was now filled with murderous fury.
Their momentary carelessness had led to this outcome, leaving her utterly enraged.
"It's pitch-black out here, and we're all weak. I'm afraid we won't be much help!"
Bearded Face, the leader of the Sailors, swallowed as he looked at the dark forest around them.
"Hmph! Since you're so afraid of death, I'll send you straight to see Yan now, so you won't be lonely on the road to Yellow Springs!"
Liu Yue gave a cold, murderous laugh.
"We'll go! We'll go!"
Cold sweat covered Bearded Face's face. With Liu Yue pressing closer step by step, he could only submit and lead his men into the forest.
If the ship were still here, we probably wouldn't be in such a miserable state, would we? Sure enough, once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dogs are cooked!
Bearded Face could not help bitterly smiling inwardly.
"Hmph!"
Watching the figures of the Sailors disappear into the forest, Liu Yue snorted. She then circulated her true qi and leaped into the air, vanishing into the forest as she pursued Bai He.
The night had grown deep. Beside Small Lake, Wang Zifeng was still desperately circulating the Undying Heavenly Art, trying to repair the massive wound in his chest that was gushing blood madly.
After healing for some time, it finally began to take effect. The wound in Wang Zifeng's chest gradually stopped bleeding.
But then, a figure seemed to flash before his eyes. Wang Zifeng looked up, and his pupils instantly contracted.
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