9.Escape!
"You little beast, today I want to see who can save you."
Zhang Tie took the Xuantie Bow and put a feathered arrow on it, laughing wildly.
The group of He Cheng scattered around, blocking Ye Changkong's way out.
"There is no enmity between us, right?" Ye Changkong said, his expression darkening. "But one of my senior brothers from the inner sect has been watching you, and he does not want to interfere in the affairs of the outer sect, so he has left it for me to take care of."
Among these people, only Zhang Tie and Huang Wei posed the greatest threat to him.
If it had only been Zhang Tie alone, he would not be afraid, as he could simply run away or fight Zhang Tie and escape. But adding Huang Wei into the mix was a different story altogether. Huang Wei was the number one scatterer among the outer sects, ranked even higher than Zhang Tie. He was an expert in archery and extremely dangerous in the mountainous terrain.
"This guy is Chu Yifan's minion again!" Ye Changkong bit his teeth fiercely, seeing through their plan.
The bowstring vibrated, and the arrow flew out at Ye Changkong.
However, Zhang Tie's archery was not at the same level as that of Huang Wei. The arrow's speed, strength, and accuracy were all far inferior, missing its mark by a small margin as Ye Changkong deftly sidestepped it.
"These things are really boring; my fists are better."
Zhang Tie scoffed and threw the Xuantie Bow to Huang Wei.
"I wouldn't say that; it's simply that you cannot use it properly," Huang Wei replied and sneered. "We should focus on the task at hand."
"Don't worry, little beast, I won't let you die so easily. I will take you to meet my clan brother and break your bones in front of him," Zhang Tie said, approaching Ye Changkong with an evil expression. As he walked, he cracked his knuckles, producing a cacophony of snapping sounds.
Ye Changkong's face paled at the thought of the clan brother. If it were only Zhang Tie, he could still run away. But with Huang Wei added to the mix, his chances of escape were slim.
"Please, please don't come closer…" What was once arrogance on He Cheng's expression fell into a deep fear.
He is no longer brave enough to face Ye Changkong's fists after the punch in front of The Archives. He had intended to ridicule Ye Changkong today by following Zhang Tie and Huang Wei, but he had not expected to be Ye Changkong's breakthrough point.
"Get out of the way!"
Anger and spiritual power mixed, forming a powerful force that gathered in his fist, crashing into He Cheng's chest.
Ye Changkong's speed was so fast that He Cheng had no chance to react and could only take the hit. He was knocked out, blood spurting from his mouth, his chest caved in. In an instant, he was dead.
The opening in the blockade allowed Ye Changkong to escape. He ran as fast as he could towards the dense forest. Just as he had gained some distance, Zhang Tie caught up and punched Ye Changkong in the back.
Feeling the imminent danger from behind, Ye Changkong quickly turned around and threw out a punch.
However, because he had turned too hastily, he had lost his balance and failed to deliver the full force of his blow. His arm was struck by a strong force, and he felt a sharp pain. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string.
"I have to run away."
Ye Changkong forced himself to swallow the blood that had surged up his throat, and he used all his strength to unleash his Clear Wind Step movement technique before landing on the ground.
A strong gust of wind rushed out from him at once, controlled by Ye Changkong. It not only helped him resist the impact force of Zhang Tie's fist, but also carried his body forward.
With a hard push of his foot on the ground upon landing, he immediately rushed into the jungle. He then went back and forth among the towering ancient trees, trying to get rid of Zhang Tie and the others who were chasing him.
At the same time, he took out the bloody ginseng from his arms and directly stuffed it into his mouth, regardless of the extremely pungent odor and potent medicine power.
Within a few breaths, the medicinal power contained in the entire ginseng had completely melted away, burning in every inch of Ye Changkong's blood, flesh, and tendons.
Ye Changkong could only feel his blood burning like fire, and his whole body was congested and ached all over.
The power of the ginseng increased his speed again.
"Chase after me!" Zhang Tie yelled in anger as he watched Ye Changkong gradually getting away.
The other outer sect disciples finally realized what was happening and shouted towards the direction of Ye Changkong's escape.
Only Huang Wei stood still, pulling his bowstring taut, and aiming at Ye Changkong's constantly moving figure.
Swish! Swish!
An arc-like silver arrow shot out like a meteor, piercing through Ye Changkong's right shoulder.
The blood that had been suppressed at his throat surged up and sprayed out of his mouth due to the intense pain.
However, with just a slight stumble, he endured the excruciating pain and ran desperately.
Taking advantage of the blocking view of the ancient trees, his figure disappeared from Zhang Tie's and the others' sight within a few leaps.
"Waste! All of you are a bunch of useless people!" Zhang Tie shouted in frustration, watching Ye Changkong disappear.
The other outer sect disciples were too frightened to say anything, all lowering their heads.
"This kid is just like a slippery mudfish, running away so fast," said Huang Wei somewhat displeased. "But even if he escapes, he won't be able to survive. He took my arrow. If he doesn't die, he will be severely injured."
Ahead was the depths of Qingfeng Beast Mountain, where there were few people and many ferocious beasts prowling around.
It was an area where advanced fierce beasts lurked, let alone the top-tier fierce beasts, which could crush ordinary sixfold martial artists at the Circulating Pulse Realm.
Ye Changkong was already a crippled man with only one level of the Circulating Pulse Realm. In the dangerous depths of Qingfeng Beast Mountain, it was impossible for him to survive.
"Zhang Tie, are you going to stay here to guard or go back to the sect?" asked Huang Wei as he put away his black-iron bow. Ye Changkong was already considered a dead man in his mind, and there was no need to waste time here.
"Why are you in such a hurry to return to the sect?"
Without killing Ye Changkong on the spot, Zhang Tie was somewhat irritated. "I'll stay here. First, I can gain some experience here, and second, if that little beast survives and comes out, I can catch him right away."
"Fine, fine, it's up to you to stay. I won't accompany you." Huang Wei replied irritably and left immediately.
As for the other outer sect disciples by Zhang Tie's side, they dared not disobey his orders and could only follow behind him with bitter faces.
...
In the depths of Qingfeng Beast Mountain, there were few people, and ferocious beasts ran rampant.
As night fell, the forest was pitch-black, and one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face.
A fire wolf that was burning with flames suddenly appeared. It seemed to have smelled the smell of flesh and blood and leaped like a red lightning bolt toward it.
Its body was huge and healthy, even bigger than an adult wild buffalo. Despite this, it landed silently and lightly, stopping in front of a pile of debris.
These remains seemed to have just been chewed by other fierce beasts and were covered in fragments of flesh and blood, emitting a pungent smell of blood.
The fire wolf sniffed at the debris, and a disappointed expression seemed to flash across its green eyes. With reluctance, it left the place.
After a long time passed since the fire wolf left, a disheveled figure crawled out from beneath the pile of debris.
"That was close. I almost got caught."
Ye Changkong collapsed on the ground, taking a deep breath.
He could see that the remains under his feet were only the size of a millstone, having been completely devoured by fierce beasts.
"I must find a safe place; otherwise, I won't be able to make it through tonight."
Ye Changkong stood up and walked forward with extreme caution, not daring to linger for even a moment. Even the slightest rustling of leaves caused him to crouch down and hide.
"At last, I'm safe!"
He found a small cave, with an entrance only half a person's height, but it was relatively spacious inside.
Instead of going into the cave, he used all his strength to drag a few pieces of rock over.
By blocking the entrance with these rocks, he could rest and recover safely within the cave.
"What is this..."
Just as Ye Changkong was about to seal the last piece of rock in the entrance of the cave, he suddenly saw a spiritual light shoot across the sky at an incredible speed in the direction where he was.
(To be continued...).