Sleep

Several hours later.

A battered, bloodied figure suddenly burst out from underground.

It was Lin Yaodong.

Underground Soul Beasts were dozens of times more dangerous than those aboveground. If he had not been trying to escape the Gale Falcon's pursuit, Lin Yaodong would never have gone back down there.

It was simply too dangerous. Being underground already hindered his ability to fight, and battles broke out so frequently.

He did not know whether it was because of the strong scent on his body or because the underground Soul Beasts rejected creatures from aboveground.

Lin Yaodong had barely been in the underground caverns for a few minutes before he was besieged by all kinds of Soul Beasts. As soon as he finished fighting one group, another came, and none of them feared death, unlike the Soul Beasts aboveground.

Among the Soul Beasts aboveground, the weak were prey to the strong, and ranks were strictly observed.

Low-level Soul Beasts would never dare bare their teeth at high-level ones, but underground Soul Beasts were different. As long as they were alive, they fought to the death, caring nothing for whether their opponents were higher-level than them.

If not for that, Lin Yaodong would not have suffered such severe injuries.

Because so many Soul Beasts had tangled with him, Lin Yaodong had encountered Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old twice in the space of a few hours. He had even used his second Soul Skill, Excitement, four times before escaping underground.

Even now, Lin Yaodong felt a little tempted to use his second Soul Skill, Excitement. That powerful, exhilarating sensation was simply too wonderful.

But reason triumphed over desire.

After all, every use of Excitement now came at the cost of his vitality.

After another few hours, Lin Yaodong was drawing ever closer to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

His earlier journey underground had not brought him any closer to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Instead, he had ended up a little farther from his destination.

The benefit, however, was that he had shaken off the eighty-thousand-year-old Gale Falcon.

Just as Lin Yaodong was a dozen or so li from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, a falcon's cry made his expression change drastically on the spot.

Screech~

His face changed drastically, Lin Yaodong's mind raced, and he thought for two seconds.

Run!

Run as fast as possible! Now he could only pit his speed against the beast's. Even if Lin Yaodong wanted to burrow underground, there was nowhere for him to do it.

Second Soul Skill: Excitement.

After forcibly using Excitement for the fifth time, even with Lin Yaodong's vigorous vitality, he still felt a hollow weakness.

But an instant later, strength filled his entire body.

Lin Yaodong's speed increased another notch.

At this speed, I'll reach my destination in about ten minutes.

But twice!

I can only use Excitement twice more in succession at most.

The amount of vitality consumed each time he forcibly used Excitement was different.

If the vitality consumed the first time was one unit, then what he had just consumed was at least ten units.

And the vitality consumed increased with each forced use of Excitement. The next time would consume even more.

In just a few minutes, the Gale Falcon caught up with Lin Yaodong.

Damn it, this beast flies too fast. I can't outrun him at all.

Screech~

Seeing his opponent attack, Lin Yaodong twisted his body into a position no ordinary person could manage, forcibly changing direction. Even so, the Gale Falcon's feathers still slashed across him.

They left several wounds on his back, deep enough to expose bone.

Lin Yaodong could not help letting out a muffled groan.

Lin Yaodong did not dare stop. No matter how badly he was hurt, he had to run. If he dared turn around and draw his blade against his opponent, he would surely die.

The only things he could do now were run or dodge.

He ran and dodged. Only a few li remained to his destination. As long as he held on, he could survive.

A journey of only a few minutes took Lin Yaodong more than ten, and he had to keep dodging the Gale Falcon's attacks along the way.

Even so, there were many attacks he failed to evade completely. He now had dozens of wounds on his body, and there was no telling how much blood he had lost. His blood was scattered all along the way.

If not for the Gale Falcon's oppressive presence, quite a few Soul Beasts would probably have gathered here by now.

He had even used Excitement for the sixth time. If he had not remained in that state, he would never have been able to dodge his opponent's attacks.

Now he had only one use left, but perhaps he would no longer need it.

He had arrived.

The poisonous miasma lay a hundred meters ahead, and his big brother had set up quite a few formations inside it. As long as he entered the miasma, the Gale Falcon would no longer be able to do anything to him, and he could complete his trial.

I will follow big brother forever!

At this final step before the threshold, the Gale Falcon seemed to sense it too. If this despicable human entered the poisonous miasma, the falcon would never be able to kill him.

So at that moment, it disregarded its own injuries and forcibly used its trump card again.

The feathers all over the Gale Falcon's body suddenly grew sharper, and currents of air kept gathering around it, as if something terrifying were in the making.

Lin Yaodong had been in a sorry state all the way, but the Gale Falcon was no better off. It had already suffered considerable injuries in its earlier fight with the Titan Python and had used its finishing moves, yet it still had not beaten that thick-skinned glutton.

If not for its poor condition, the Gale Falcon would have taken Lin Yaodong down long ago. Why would it have needed to force the use of its own ability?

Lin Yaodong could naturally sense the Gale Falcon's current state, but he had no choice. All he could do was flee, running as fast as possible and getting inside the formation before the Gale Falcon's killing move arrived.

The moment before Lin Yaodong stepped into the poisonous miasma, the Gale Falcon launched its attack.

A hurricane appeared beside the Gale Falcon in an instant, growing larger and moving with tremendous speed. Dozens of the Gale Falcon's feathers were hidden within it like blades.

Everywhere the hurricane passed looked as though it had been scraped by countless blades, revealing countless gashes.

In an instant, the hurricane engulfed Lin Yaodong.

"Ahh~"

Lin Yaodong let out a howl of pain.

Dozens of wounds deep enough to expose bone appeared on Lin Yaodong's body in an instant, and pieces of debris were lodged in him. The worst was a branch as thick as the mouth of a bowl, embedded in his belly.

Lin Yaodong endured the pain and limped into the poisonous miasma.

After the Gale Falcon unleashed that strike, the luster of its feathers dimmed considerably. Clearly, it had not come through the attack unscathed either. Unable to finish Lin Yaodong off in time, it could only watch helplessly as he limped into the poisonous miasma.

Upon entering the formation within the poisonous miasma, Lin Yaodong finally could not hold on any longer. He fell to the ground, and the branch in his belly injured him a second time.

After letting out a weak, muffled groan, Lin Yaodong made no further movement. He was simply too weak. He was so tired and sleepy that he could no longer keep his eyes open. All he wanted now was to sleep.

Sleep. Once I'm asleep, everything will pass, and I won't have to suffer anymore...