Chen Ming had no way to explain himself now and felt so stifled he could die. Who knew that damned Spirit Beast Mountain would betray us? It completely slipped my mind. I actually forgot about Spirit Beast Mountain's betrayal.
Yet with only two more peaks between him and the Five Elements Sect, Chen Ming was frantic! His origins in Spirit Beast Mountain were his greatest problem. Once he returned to the Five Elements Sect, he would die without a doubt.
Even Li Fengling, who had always been closest to him, had reacted like this upon learning that he had originally belonged to Spirit Beast Mountain. What would those who barely knew him do? The outcome was all too easy to imagine.
Just then, a gleam of sword energy shot toward them from a peak ahead and below. The chain Li Fengling held was severed in an instant, and Chen Ming began to fall.
Li Fengling was about to descend on her sword to catch him when another flash of sword light hurtled toward her.
Her expression darkened. She instantly took out her lightning whip, lashed it downward, and curled it around the falling Chen Ming, hauling him up to shield her.
Chen Ming wanted nothing more than to unleash a torrent of curses. She was actually using him as a human shield! Facing the oncoming sword light, he could only muster all his magical power to protect his entire body. Though he could not break free of the chains, he could at least offer some resistance to the strike.
Clang, clang, clang!
The sword light struck Chen Ming squarely. The chains around him were cut apart, and even the Patterned Talismans on his body were mostly sliced through. He could move freely now, though taking the blow head-on had left him slightly injured.
Chen Ming instantly flung out his azure-glint sword, turned, and fled. He did not even wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing Chen Ming suddenly break free of his restraints and escape, Li Fengling was about to pursue him on her sword when another streak of sword light shot up from below.
Li Fengling flicked her lightning whip and scattered the sword radiance. Yet that brief delay was enough-when she turned to look, Chen Ming was nowhere to be seen.
Her face flushed crimson, and fury blazed within her. She immediately flew toward the peak from which the attacks had come, but when she reached its summit, she found nothing.
Whoever had launched the attacks had turned and left as soon as they released that final streak of sword radiance.
Chen Ming ducked and dodged from place to place, glancing behind him as he fled, terrified that Li Fengling would catch up again. Her cultivation was one minor realm above his, and she was far faster than him.
Without realizing it, however, he arrived at the Ten Thousand Swords Manor, where he had watched two Golden Core cultivators fighting that day. Seeing that Li Fengling had not pursued him, he stopped.
"Oh! Isn't this Fellow Daoist Chen? What brings you here?"
A voice suddenly rang out. Chen Ming looked back and saw Liao Kongchen flying toward him on his sword, the corners of his mouth lifted in a teasing smile.
"So it's Fellow Daoist Liao. How come you have so much free time today? Is Blackstone Market closed, or have you lost everything again?"
Seeing who it was, Chen Ming smiled and teased him in return.
"What can I do? My luck's been a little poor lately. How about lending me some Spirit Stones, Fellow Daoist Chen?"
Liao Kongchen stopped before Chen Ming with a smile. Unbothered by the teasing, he made his request directly.
"Here!"
Chen Ming gave a knowing smile, took a pouch of Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag, and tossed it to Liao Kongchen.
"How generous, Fellow Daoist Chen! I'll definitely pay you back when I win. I'll be off, then!"
Liao Kongchen caught the pouch and opened it for a look. There were at least a thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones inside. Smiling, he flew off toward Blackstone Market on his sword.
"Looks like I can't stay here anymore!"
Watching Liao Kongchen leave, then looking around at the deserted surroundings, Chen Ming could not help shaking his head with a soft sigh.
Chen Ming rose on his sword and headed east. For now, he could only take things one step at a time.
Meanwhile, after returning to the Five Elements Sect, Li Fengling suddenly felt lost. She no longer knew whether she should report Chen Ming's situation to the Sect. A clear tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
As her anger settled and reason returned, Li Fengling's heart was in turmoil. A sudden ache rose within her, and she did not know whether what she had done was right or wrong.
"Junior Sister Fengling, what's wrong? Did something happen? Didn't Junior Brother Chen go out with you? Why have you come back alone?"
Li Mei saw that Li Fengling had returned and was standing in a daze beside the banyan tree in front of Chen Ming's house, looking as though she wanted to cry. She hurried over to ask what had happened.
"Senior Sister Meimei, can I ask you something? If one day you discovered that Senior Brother Tang You belonged to the Demon Sect, what would you do?"
Li Fengling wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and sniffled. Only after she felt a little better did she turn to ask Li Mei.
"Silly girl, what on earth happened to you?"
Li Mei stepped forward and wrapped both arms around Li Fengling, speaking gently.
"What do we cultivate for? To live forever. But how many people in this world can achieve that? Even those who reach the Golden Core realm are few and far between, and after reaching it, most find it difficult to advance any further. A Golden Core cultivator only has a lifespan of a thousand years."
"That only gives us somewhat longer lives than ordinary people. Cultivation is about keeping your heart free and your thoughts unburdened. Why get caught up in righteousness or evil? What matters is what your own heart tells you. The so-called righteous and evil sides of the cultivation world are merely schools with two different philosophies competing for cultivation resources."
Li Mei spoke softly into Li Fengling's ear.
"What happened? Where's Junior Brother Chen?"
Li Mei suddenly asked again.
Meanwhile, Chen Ming stopped upon reaching a mountain range. He had no idea where he was. Earlier, he had been so focused on escaping that he had paid no attention to his direction, running blindly on nothing but the instinct to survive.
But now, looking at this mountain, a strange feeling suddenly arose within him-as though something unseen had been guiding him, leading him here.
A little later, he spotted a cave ahead. The dense forest suddenly opened up here, revealing a relatively flat clearing.
At the far end of the clearing stood a steep rock face, several dozen zhang high. Its surface was covered in thick moss and vines, making it look as though no one had been here in a very long time.
At the base of the rock face, close to the ground, was a pitch-black opening.
Chen Ming's heart gave a sudden thump. He quickened his pace and walked toward the opening. Only when he drew closer did he see that this cave was much larger than the one he had found halfway up the mountain.
The entrance was roughly two zhang wide and a little over one zhang high. Its shape was irregular, looking both naturally formed and as though someone had worked on it.
Weeds and shrubs grew thickly around the entrance, almost concealing it completely. Unless someone deliberately approached, they would never discover that a cave was there.
Chen Ming activated the Fireball Technique. A single fireball instantly ignited the weeds and shrubs, and he used the Sword Control Technique to clear a patch of ground so the flames would not spread across the entire mountain.
Watching the sun slowly sink in the west, Chen Ming sat cross-legged beside the fire and began cultivating with the Heaven and Earth Art. Yet the moment he activated the Heaven and Earth Art, he sensed some kind of resonance coming from inside the cave abode.