A Desperate Flight

Time passed quickly, and another month or so went by.

During that month and more, Lin Yaodong first surveyed the Soul Beasts in the nearby core region, getting a rough idea of how many Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old lived there.

Some of them were on good terms with the Gale Falcon, some were on bad terms with her, but more were neutral, the sort who would live out their days without ever dealing with her.

The only Soul Beasts Lin Yaodong could use were those on bad terms with the Gale Falcon. The Soul Beast core region was not a place humans could easily enter.

Even if someone was lucky enough to hunt down a Soul Beast here, they might not get its Soul Ring, because other Soul Beasts were likely to come and see what had happened.

If it was a fight between Soul Beasts, the others would withdraw. If it was a human hunting a Soul Beast, the others would gang up and attack.

Of course, this was what Soul Beasts on relatively good terms with one another, or those that were neutral, would do.

So Lin Yaodong had to choose a sworn enemy of the Gale Falcon. Diverting the trouble to just any Soul Beast wouldn't work. If things went badly, he might end up with more than one Gale Falcon hunting him down: a dozen or more Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old could come after him.

In that case, Lin Yaodong would almost certainly die without an intact corpse.

After that, Lin Yaodong placed plenty of supplies and traps in the buffer zone. He had planned seven escape routes through it in all.

Lin Yaodong knew perfectly well that once he got the item, the Gale Falcon would hunt him down, and she wouldn't stop until one of them was dead.

Lin Yaodong knew his big brother's way of doing things well. Since he had said it was extremely dangerous and could get someone killed, Lin Yaodong had to prepare for the worst in everything.

The Gale Falcon might pursue him all the way from the core region to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well on the outskirts. She might only give up when he reached his big brother's training ground.

Although he didn't know what his big brother would do, he first had to prepare for the very worst. Even if he succeeded in diverting the trouble in the core region, it wouldn't hold the Gale Falcon up for long.

Lin Yaodong would also have to choose his escape route according to how things unfolded.

First, he had to choose a route through the buffer zone, then choose another suitable route back to his big brother's training ground according to the circumstances. Along the way, he also had to lay false trails and hold his pursuer up. Only then might he make it back to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well alive.

Lin Yaodong let out a long breath. Once he took this step, there would be no turning back.

Live or die!

Lin Yaodong lay in wait for several days before finally getting a chance to sneak into the nest when the Gale Falcon went out to forage.

He quickly finished searching the nest.

There were quite a few skeletons left by Soul Beasts here, as well as human remains. There were also some gold coins, weapons, and the like.

Lin Yaodong had no intention of spending time on those things. The most precious items in the Gale Falcon's nest were undoubtedly her eggs.

There were three in all, and beside one of them, Lin Yaodong found the thing his big brother had left behind.

Was this what big brother wanted me to bring back?

A playing card?

Lin Yaodong didn't act rashly. Given his big brother's character, if he touched it directly, he would probably fall into another trap.

When he took the card, the real deadly move would probably reveal itself.

After thinking it over, Lin Yaodong shook his head.

I don't have a choice, do I?

Besides, no one knew when the Gale Falcon would return. The longer he waited, the greater the danger.

Lin Yaodong made a snap decision and carefully pried at the card with a stick.

The moment the stick touched the card, something unexpected happened.

One of the three eggs was sucked into the card, while another burst on the spot, splattering Lin Yaodong all over.

Lin Yaodong's heart jolted. This is bad.

His expression shifted. Of the three eggs, one had been absorbed by the card and another had exploded.

Lin Yaodong knew full well that if the Gale Falcon found out, she would probably kill him.

As for the last remaining egg, Lin Yaodong took it without hesitation.

He was dead whether he took it or not, so of course he was going to take it. It might even prove useful for something else.

The moment the card was activated, Chen Mo, nearly a thousand li away, suddenly opened his eyes in the middle of his seated cultivation.

Chen Mo said, "Has it begun? I hope you can survive."

With that, Chen Mo closed his eyes again and resumed his seated cultivation, taking a pill to improve his cultivation from time to time.

At the same time, the Gale Falcon, who was out foraging, felt a pang in her heart. It was as if she were about to lose something, and she felt terribly sad.

In an instant, she understood: someone had slipped into her nest and destroyed her eggs.

The Gale Falcon's heart filled with grief, but anger soon replaced it.

Whoever it is, I'll tear him to pieces.

The Gale Falcon suddenly let out a long cry: "Kree~ kee~"

Then she flew back to her nest as fast as she could.

By the time the Gale Falcon returned, the place was deserted. Lin Yaodong had long since fled, leaving nothing but devastation behind.

At the sight of eggshell fragments and egg liquid everywhere, the Gale Falcon's eyes blazed with fury.

"Kree~"

After letting out a mournful cry, she swiftly followed the scent in pursuit of Lin Yaodong.

Lin Yaodong was sprinting at full speed.

Lin Yaodong thought, Almost there, just a little farther. The Titan Python's territory is up ahead. Once I get there, it might be able to hold the Gale Falcon up for a while.

Just then-

"Kree~"

The falcon's cry made Lin Yaodong's expression change.

Lin Yaodong thought, Damn beast, she got here so fast.

He had no idea what his big brother had done to that falcon egg.

The egg liquid splattered on him simply wouldn't wash off, and its smell was extremely strong. It could probably be smelled for several li around, to say nothing of the Gale Falcon, who had probably caught it from dozens of li away.

Lin Yaodong was so angry he wanted to curse. His big brother was deliberately trying to get him killed!

Without any hesitation, Lin Yaodong immediately used his newly acquired second Soul Skill: Excitement.

Lin Yaodong felt in exceptionally good form. His speed increased again, and he raced toward the Titan Python's nest.

Lin Yaodong didn't dare face the enraged Gale Falcon head-on. That would be courting death.

It was true that Lin Yaodong had powerful vitality, but against an eighty-thousand-year-old Gale Falcon, a glancing blow would wound him, and a direct hit would kill him. All he could do was run or hide.

Lin Yaodong soon entered the Titan Python's territory. Before he could reach its nest, the Titan Python came looking for him of its own accord.

The smell of the egg liquid was simply too strong, especially to a Soul Beast.

And especially to the Titan Python: this was a signal that dinner was served!

It smelled so good.

(=｀ェ′=)

The Titan Python's worthless tears were about to spill from the corners of its mouth.

The moment Lin Yaodong saw the Titan Python, he looked back at the sky. The Gale Falcon had arrived too.

The timing is just right!

Lin Yaodong took the falcon egg out of his Soul Tool, held it in both hands, and waited quietly for the Gale Falcon to attack.

When the Gale Falcon was still several dozen zhang away, Lin Yaodong hurled the egg toward the Titan Python with all his strength, then ran off in one direction without looking back.

As for whether the Gale Falcon would choose him or the egg, even Lin Yaodong couldn't be sure. The odds were fifty-fifty.

If the Gale Falcon ignored the egg and insisted on killing him, there would be no point struggling. He could just wait for death; he was beyond saving...

If the Gale Falcon chose the egg, then Lin Yaodong would have won his gamble. His plan to divert the trouble would have succeeded, and the Titan Python could keep the Gale Falcon occupied for quite some time.

Fortunately, Lin Yaodong had won his gamble.

The Gale Falcon wanted nothing more than to kill Lin Yaodong at once, but her child, her egg, was more important right now.

The Gale Falcon shot Lin Yaodong a hateful glance, then turned and sped toward the egg.

The Titan Python watched the falcon egg fly toward its mouth-or rather, its dinner.

The Titan Python thought, Something this good can happen?

(灬o?o灬)

The Titan Python was a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast, but thanks to its powerful bloodline, its strength was comparable to that of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Preference: fond of eating the eggs of flying Soul Beasts.

Because of this, it was the sworn enemy of countless flying Soul Beasts, and the Gale Falcon was one of them.

It wasn't as though the Titan Python had never eaten the Gale Falcon's eggs before. Naturally, it wasn't about to spit out the dinner that was about to enter its mouth.

And so the Gale Falcon and the Titan Python fought fiercely over the egg.

As for Lin Yaodong, who had started it all, he ran like the wind, covering more than ten li in just a few minutes.

Lin Yaodong had no leisure to watch a battle between two Soul Beast overlords. Staying alive was what mattered now.

But Lin Yaodong's escape wasn't going smoothly. Every so often, a few Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts would appear and block his path.

Lin Yaodong guessed that it was most likely because of the smell on him. It had to contain something that attracted Soul Beasts, or they would never appear so frequently to hunt him down.

But there was nothing he could do about it. This was also part of the test.

Several hours later, Lin Yaodong was almost out of the buffer zone, but just then, the Gale Falcon's long cry rang out again.

"Kree~"

Lin Yaodong's expression changed again. If he kept running, she would surely catch him, and then he would undoubtedly die.

Then I'll take another gamble!

Lin Yaodong immediately ran in another direction.

There should be a cave somewhere around here.

Found it, right here!

Lin Yaodong had no choice. If he stayed aboveground, he would surely die. His only option was to gamble and risk going underground.

Of course, the caves below were a confusing maze. No one knew where the passages led, and Lin Yaodong had no idea what dangers lay within. His situation might turn out worse than if he had simply died at the Gale Falcon's hands.

Lin Yaodong acted decisively. Without hesitation, he plunged straight inside.

When the Gale Falcon reached the area, she smelled that the scent disappeared into the cave. All she could do was rage helplessly, wreaking havoc in the area to vent her fury.

Lin Yaodong was having no easier a time in the underground cave. Because of the smell on him, he was frequently attacked by underground Soul Beasts.

And because he was underground, where he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, even with some lighting tools, his strength was still greatly affected. On top of that, the period of weakness from using Excitement had yet to pass, adding frost to snow for Lin Yaodong...