Wang Yu kept moving through the great trees. At times, he used both hands and feet, bounding between them like a wild wolf; at others, he caught a branch with one arm and swung onward, as nimble as an ape.
Suddenly, he stopped. Sensing something, he glanced toward the woods ahead, then formed a hand seal. A few wisps of white cloud appeared around him, and he abruptly vanished among the branches.
Before long, hurried footsteps came from the woods ahead.
A woman in brocade bearing the emblem of the Setting Sun Palace stumbled out of the dense woods. Gusts of rank wind followed her, and some terrifying beasts seemed to be pursuing her relentlessly.
The woman looked no more than eighteen or nineteen, with delicate features and a pitifully lovely face. As soon as she emerged from the woods, she sniffed the air and seemed to notice something. Overjoyed, she called loudly for help:
"Is a senior brother from any of the Three Sects here? I am Chu Zhen'er of the Setting Sun Sect. Several powerful demon snakes are chasing me. Please, senior brother, lend me a hand! I stole a thousand-year-old stalk of auspicious cloud grass from their nest. It can aid in Foundation Establishment, and I am willing to offer it to you in gratitude for saving my life."
As she spoke, the brocade-clad woman hastily took a jade case from inside her robes, opened it, and tossed it onto the ground nearby.
Inside the jade case lay a small, emerald-green blade of grass wreathed in mist. One glance was enough to see that it was extraordinary.
Just then, hissing came from the woods behind her, and three strange snakes, each seven or eight feet long, darted out.
One was pitch-black, with a triangular head.
One was