An eternal moment

Time continued to pass as they moved and did their best to not be discovered by any groups of people that they could not trust. But as time moved on, Liang Chen's brows started to furrow more and more. And one day, while he was rubbing his chin, Yan Ling couldn't stand it any longer, questioning him.

"What are you mulling about?"

Liang Chen continued to rub his chin for a bit longer, sweeping the dried bones and withered trees around them for a bit before he told her about his thoughts.

"Don't you find it strange? The trial was to survive the hunt for seven days, but now it's already been five days, and we haven't encountered any living beings other than the people who entered the trial with us. So what exactly is the hunt? Are we hunting something, or is something hunting us and we have just been so lucky that we haven't been found?"

Five days of almost continuous travel, yet they hadn't encountered any other living beings that might be the hunters of this trial. Could the third trial really be this easy, could this land of death really be that empty? Yan Ling also found it suspicious, but she only gave a light shrug of her shoulders, not too bothered by it.

"Maybe you're just overthinking it? You are guiding us quite excellently after all."

With Liang Chen acting as the guide, they hadn't encountered a single danger, not even suffering any wounds. He always discovered people ahead of time, giving the both of them ample time to hide. Wasn't it possible that they had simply managed to avoid the hunter thanks to his sharp instincts?

In the end, his thoughts were only running in circles and taking him nowhere, so Liang Chen could only give a light nod and give a vague response.

"Hmm, maybe."

The two continued to move through the danger zone, and Liang Chen started to slowly realize where they were going. At first, they were moving in a rather roundabout way, so he thought they were moving in a circle around the land of death. But now he noticed that the trees were becoming more and more sparse, with bones of all shapes and sizes taking their place.

Liang Chen had seen the edge of this particular land of death, so he knew that there were mostly trees around the edge, with a few bones here and there. Now that the trees were growing sparser, he guessed that they were likely heading deeper into the land of death.

Were the depths of this danger zone safer than the outskirts? Or were his instincts wrong? There was no one who could answer his question, as very little information was known about this land of death, so even Yan Ling knew next to nothing.

As what Liang Chen assumed to be the dawn of the sixth day arrived, Liang Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression distorting slightly. He turned towards the right, gazing past Yan Ling and into the distance. He gave a loud shout and grabbed onto Yan Ling's wrist, quickly running for a hiding spot.

"Several people are coming!"

He could sense a large group of people heading in their direction. The group was moving rapidly, so it was clear that they were running from something, something that Liang Chen was not yet able to sense.

Yan Ling didn't say anything, allowing Liang Chen to drag her to a hiding spot within a massive bone that was filled with holes and paths that they could move through. From their hiding spot, they were able to observe a large area, cautiously scanning the area as they waited for the group of people to enter their sights.

A group consisting of over 10 people quickly entered their sights, running at full speed. They were clad in the robes of the five sects, but none of them were trying to fight each other, focusing completely on running. Spotting Yan Ying running at the front of the group, Yan Ling jumped out from the hiding spot, calling out to him and waving her arm.

"Big Brother!"

Liang Chen also came out from the hiding spot, but his expression was far from pretty, his face pale from shock. Yan Ying immediately spotted Liang Chen and Yan Ling, joy filling his face.

"Little Chen, Ling'er?"

But shortly after joy filled his face, it quickly vanished, replaced with worry and nervousness. He quickly waved his arms, pointing into the distance and shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Quickly turn and run! Head straight until you reach a large circle of bones, the others are already there!"

Yan Ling wasn't able to understand why her brother wanted them to met up with the others, why couldn't they just wait here for Yan Ying and then meet up with the others together?

"Huh, but wh-!"

Before Yan Ling got to shout out her question, the pale-faced Liang Chen had grabbed onto her wrist, let out a quick order, and then forcefully pulled her along as he started to run with all his might.

"Don't talk, run!"

Yan Ling looked utterly confused as she started to run with her own strength, turning towards Liang Chen and waiting for an explanation. Liang Chen glanced behind him, at Yan Ying and the others that were quickly catching up.

"Something very dangerous is chasing them. Since he said that the others are waiting by the circle of bones, it seems like they might be luring that thing there on purpose."

He couldn't see anything chasing them, but his instincts were screaming at him to flee as fast as he could. Their screaming was even worse than it was the first time he laid eyes on this land of death, so it was clear that was chasing Yan Ying and the others was an utterly horrifying being. Was this the hunter who was supposed to have chased them for these seven days?

Yan Ling didn't ask any more questions, completely trusting Liang Chen's words, putting all her strength into her legs as she dashed at full speed. The two ran in a straight line, the area that Yan Ying had told them about appearing in front of them after a short while.

There was a circle of humongous bones only a short distance in front of them, the curved bones stretching at least 200 meters into the air. They were lying in such a formation that it seemed like a massive monster had coiled up there as it was waiting for death. Had such a beast died of natural causes or was there something that had been able to kill such a massive monster?

Now was not the time to think about that, so Liang Chen quickly tossed away the thought, dragging Yan Ling after him as he entered the circle of bones. He could spot people hiding behind all the bones, their bodies tense and nervous. Liang Chen ran straight past these people, heading to the very back of the bone circle where there was no one else, the safest place in the upcoming mayhem. He pushed Yan Ling towards one of the thinner but more complete bones, shouting at her as he jumped behind a different bone that was around 20 meters away from hers.

"Quick, hide behind the bone!"

In a rare moment of obedience, Yan Ling didn't retort, obediently making herself as small as possible and hiding behind the bone that Liang Chen had pushed her towards. Yan Ying and his group reached the circle of bones shortly after Liang Chen and Yan Ling, the earth trembling slightly as they entered the circle of bones. The moment the earth started to tremble, the leaders of each group stepped forward, letting out loud shouts that sounded like thunder.

"It's coming out, prepare to attack!"

The people who had been hiding in the area all stepped forward, their faces grim and determined. The earth continued to tremble, the shaking growing stronger and stronger with each passing second until finally, the ashen earth burst open.

Large chunks of earth and buried bones were thrown throughout the air, a massive Demonic beast bursting out from the ground, releasing a strange sound that seemed to be a mixture of hissing and roaring.

The Demonic beast that burst out from the ground looked like a massive serpent with a triangular head, its entire body covered in pitch black scales, its eyes strangely white in color. Liang Chen could see that the snake had four limbs, two front legs and two hind legs, but they were so small that there was no way the serpent could actually use them.

The serpent was massive in size, but when Liang Chen compared it to the bones that they were currently hiding behind, he had to admit that this snake was not large enough to leave behind bones like this. Had there been other Demonic beasts like this serpent here?

Yan Ying and most of the others that had jumped out from their hiding spots wasted no time after the snake appeared, each of them launching their own attacks. A myriad of colors filled the sky and earth as attacks of all kinds of elements were thrown out, completely covering the serpent.

The ones with the strangest attacks were the people from the Fiendgod sect. Their bodies twisted and contorted, changing both size and shape. Some of them grew extra arms, some grew several meters taller, some had skin that suddenly turned as tough as metal, or arms and fingers that turned as sharp as weapons. Just how did one cultivate their body to let it become like this?

The first volley of attacks landed on the beast, the sound of scales cracking ringing out through the area. Liang Chen was completely dumbfounded as he saw the result. All those mighty attacks had landed on it, and yet they had only been able to crack some of its scales?! Guo Huashi and the other group leaders didn't seem too surprised at the result, quickly calling out their next order.

"Second volley!"

The ones that hadn't launched their attacks the moment the snake appeared stepped forward, launching the attacks that they had kept ready for this very moment. The sky and earth was once again lit up by a myriad of colors, the ashen earth cracking and shattering under the pressure and might of those attacks.

The attacks struck the cracked scales of the serpent, fully shattering the scales and finally drawing blood. The blood of the serpent was completely black in color, and the moment it hit the ground, the ashen earth started to dry up and wither away, the land itself dying wherever the blood splashed.

The two volleys of attacks had shattered several scales and caused the serpent to bleed, but the wounds weren't too large, far from fatal. Xuan Bao clicked his tongue loudly, pulling a three-meter-long greatsword that was light red in color from his interspatial. He pointed the weapon at the cracked scales, letting out a loud shout.

"Tch, so that wasn't enough to kill it. Prepare for the actual battle, don't stay too close to it for too long, lest its deathly aura erodes your lifeforce!"

The rest of the people that were standing in the area let out loud shouts of war, drawing their weapons and raising them high. They were certain that if they could kill this serpent, they would get an excellent grade on this trial, probably getting great rewards. Of course, first, they had to actually kill the monster.

The bow-users moved to the back, focusing on aiming their attacks on the already shattered scales and open wounds, while the people who fought with either their bodies or more close range weapons took turns rushing up to the serpent and attacking it. Liang Chen couldn't see it, according to Xuan Bao, the entire beast released an aura that eroded lifeforce, lowering peoples lifespan and bringing them closer to death.

Liang Chen and Yan Ling didn't participate in the battle, not even with ranged attacks, still hiding at the very back of the bone circle. Liang Chen was quietly observing the battle, but Yan Ling seemed somewhat antsy and worried, turning towards the somewhat distant Liang Chen.

"Should we get involved?"

It didn't feel quite right to her that they were just hiding here in the back while the others were fighting such a fierce battle. Liang Chen shook his head, stating the uncomfortable truth.

"No. We won't be able to wound it, we will just get in the way. Let's just hide here and wait."

The two of them were simply too weak compared to everyone else who was fighting. Liang Chen was confident that even if he used the attack that had killed Liu Daning, he would only be able to leave a very minor wound on the serpent. And the price for that minor wound would be him likely falling unconscious again. It was more likely that them entering the fray would distract Yan Ying and the others from the Storm Wolf sect.

It wasn't nice to hear it, but Yan Ling realized that Liang Chen's word were the truth, so she could only put on a bitter smile and continue to observe the battle from her hiding spot.

The battle continued to drag on, with the attacking people routinely jumping back and having someone else take over for them, allowing them a brief moment of rest to restore their energy and prepare for their next attacks.

The serpent was stronger than any one of the people in the group, but it was completely alone, a disadvantage that slowly became crippling. The countless attacks that landed on it started to show an effect as time passed on, more and more scales shattering, black blood staining the earth.

Of course, the beast wasn't the only one who suffered. Liang Chen watched as several people were either torn apart by the maw of the serpent or crushed beneath its thick body. Some were even hit by the drops of blood, their bodies quickly withering away and turning into bleached bones that joined the others.

The serpent started to bleed more and more, and it swiftly realized that the odds were stacked against it. It let out another loud sound that was a mix between a roar and hiss, pushing forward and creating a small opening in the people that surrounded it. It suffered a few more wounds to create the opening, but now it had a clear path to escape, rapidly slithering away. Li Delan quickly let out a loud shout, recklessly launching attacks at it.

"It's trying to flee, stop it!"

The serpent ignored the attacks, continuing its wild flight. Upon seeing the direction that the serpent was fleeing, Yan Ying felt his entire body turn cold, all blood draining from his face as he let out a desperate shout.

"No, Ling'er!"

The serpent was fleeing towards the back of the bone circle, and directly in its path was the bone that Yan Ling was hiding behind. Yan Ling had been observing the battle from her hiding spot, and as the serpent started fleeing, she just so happened to meet its eyes.

Her entire body froze up from that short moment of eye contact, a feeling of despair and fear washing over her. She knew that she had to flee, to dodge as fast as she could, but no matter how much she tried to move her body, it only resulted in some slight trembling, a strange energy snatching away the control she had over her body.

Compared to the massive serpent, Yan Ling was so very small, so very insignificant. There was no reason for it to change its course to avoid her, it simply opened its maw, which was filled with razor-sharp teeth, aiming to charge directly over her and swallow her up as it moved.

Liang Chen thought that since he had pushed her behind one of the more complete bones, that she would be a bit safer, but he had completely underestimated the strength of the serpent. The bone was pushed aside like it was nothing, leaving Yan Ling's frozen and terrified body right in the open, the serpent right in front of her.

Liang Chen was witness to all of this as it happened, and when he saw what was going to happen, his entire body felt icy cold. After spending so much time with Yan Ying and his sister, Liang Chen could tell that the both of them truly cared for him, and in turn, he cared for them. Yan Ling liked to gloat and tease him, but that was simply because she used it to hide the fear and pain she felt on the inside.

Was she going to die here? Was he going to have to watch helplessly once more as someone he cared for was robbed from him by the cruel world? Once again, Liang Chen was reminded of the words that he had been told by a bandit.

A person dies, and the world keeps on turning, it's all just a roll of the dice. Yan Ling simply had a bad roll of the dice, resulting in her ending up directly in the path that the serpent chose to flee. She had a bad roll of the dice, and now she was going to die. And then the world would keep on turning as if nothing had happened. The words rang out within his head, causing Liang Chen to loudly curse inside his own mind. Don't fuck with me!

He had already decided, he would not let his fate be reliant on the roll of a dice! He would grab hold of his fate, he would move it as he wished! And he sure as fuck wasn't going to let someone he cared about die in front of him, only able to helplessly watch!

And at that moment, there was a thump in his chest, a low and nearly unnoticeable thump. And then, then the world turned silent and slowed down, as if time halted to a crawl and allowed that one moment to last an eternity.

Liang Chen's eyes were strangely calm, golden lightning coiling around his body, a sense of power filling every inch of his being. He shot forward far faster than he had ever moved before, arriving next to the frozen Yan Ling within the blink of an eye. The maw of the serpent was so close, only a few centimeters away from swallowing her. Yan Ling seemed to notice Liang Chen, her eyes slowly turning towards him, horror filling them. But in response to her horror, Liang Chen simply let out a light laugh and gave her a calm, nearly cheeky smirk.

"You shouldn't freeze up like that."

And then he pushed her away with all his might, taking her place in front of the open maw of the serpent, and time seemed to start again, that jaw of the serpent clamping down on him and causing the world to turn dark.