Where is this...
Amidst the haze, Shen Qingzhu slowly opened his eyes.
In the darkness, he was carried on the back of a chubby figure, moving forward little by little. The person beneath him was panting heavily, his body trembling uncontrollably from exhaustion.
"Fatty?" Shen Qingzhu frowned, his voice hoarse and weak.
Baili Pangpang grinned and said irritably, "I'm telling you, you ungrateful bastard, I saved your life and carried you for almost half an hour, and the first thing you say is 'fatty'?"
Shen Qingzhu remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Baili Tuming..."
"That's right."
"Li Liang and Deng Wei..."
"Don't worry, they've all been taken back. Wen Qingqing is treating them; their lives are not in danger."
Shen Qingzhu remained silent for a long while before slowly saying, "Thank you..."
"Thank me my ass. They're my comrades too. Saving them is only natural. Don't act like they owe me a huge favor," Baili Pangpang muttered.
"Where is this?"
"I don't know, the mountain seems to have turned over, this looks like some kind of cave," Baili Pangpang said breathlessly. "But this cave is huge and incredibly complex, I've been walking for so long and still haven't found my way out."
Shen Qingzhu frowned slightly. "Put me down. I can walk by myself."
"It would be a miracle if you could even walk," Baili Pangpang said with a pained expression. "Just half an hour ago, you almost kicked the bucket. If I hadn't used the [Resurrection Jade] to keep you alive, you'd be chatting with the King of Hell right now."
"[Returning Heaven Jade]?" Shen Qingzhu was taken aback. He reached into his chest and his fingertips quickly touched a warm, thin piece of jade.
"This is a true treasure. It comes with the [Return to Heaven] skill, which is based on the Forbidden Realm Sequence 040. As long as you have a breath left, it can save you from the brink of death and nourish your soul. The most important thing is that it can allow a person to ignore rank and block one Soul attack."
Baili Pangpang said with a pained expression, "Ignore rank! Do you know what that means? Even if a god comes to kill you, it can still save your soul from the god's grasp!"
"This [Returning Heaven Jade] is unique to our Baili family in the entire Great Xia Dynasty. My father usually protects it like a treasure. This time, when I went out to train alone, he gave it to me to save my life..."
"Damn it, the more I think about it, the more I feel cheated. You can overlook the favors I did for saving Li Liang and Deng Wei, but you owe me a huge favor for this [Returning Heaven Jade], let me tell you. If you don't save me in the future, I'll be crying in my sleep ten or eight times over."
Baili Pangpang became more and more distressed as he spoke, seemingly forgetting even his physical exhaustion.
Shen Qingzhu stroked the warm jade on his chest in a daze. After a long silence, a resolute look appeared in his eyes, and she slowly spoke:
"Thank you... I will definitely repay this favor."
Baili Pangpang didn't say anything more, but silently carried Shen Qingzhu on his back, moving forward little by little...
After an unknown amount of time, faint footsteps could be heard coming from the cave ahead.
Baili Pangpang and Shen Qingzhu held their breath and hid behind a protruding rock.
A faint light emanated from the cave ahead. Zhuang Qi, holding a lighter in one hand and a hunting knife on his shoulder in the other, was moving toward the place where the two were hiding with a furrowed brow.
Behind him followed a man dressed entirely in silver.
These were the two "Chuan" Realm experts who had previously chased after Lin Qiye.
"What kind of hellhole is this... How did we end up here when we were perfectly fine in the mountains?" Zhuang Qi said coldly. "We've lost the head we were about to get. In this godforsaken place, I wonder if we'll ever find that kid again."
"It should be an earth dragon," the silver-clad man behind him said.
"Earth dragon?"
"A powerful mystery, generally existing only in famous mountains or ancient deep mountains, with realms ranging from 'Chuan' to 'Klein'. Earth dragons have appeared several times in history, making them relatively common."
"Legend has it that when an earth dragon rises from its slumber, it carries the creatures it once carried to its underground cave dwelling. This particular rise only covered a few surrounding mountain peaks, suggesting that this earth dragon had not yet reached the 'limitless' level."
"Isn't it said that it only appears in famous mountains or ancient, deep mountains? Where did this earth dragon come from in this little-known Jinan Mountain?"
"Have no idea."
"..."
As the two walked forward while talking, the silver-clad man suddenly stopped, his brows furrowing slightly as he sniffed the air.
"There's a bloody smell, very close," he said.
Zhuang Qi narrowed his eyes, and the hunting knife in his hand instantly shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments, which surged forward into the narrow passage like a swarm of locusts!
Baili Pangpang felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that he and Shen Qingzhu had been exposed. Without saying a word, he carried Shen Qingzhu on his back and ran wildly in the opposite direction, while the [Yaoguang] on his chest transformed into a golden shield behind him.
Zhuang Qi's blades struck the golden shield, rapidly cutting through its surface, causing it to dim at a visible speed.
Baili Pangpang's stamina was already at its limit, and he was also carrying Shen Qingzhu on his back. Although he had used all his strength, he was still running very slowly...
Bang—!
The golden shield eventually shattered into specks of golden light, and at the same time, the silver man standing behind Zhuang Qi instantly transformed into a cheetah, rushing towards the two fleeing individuals with lightning speed.
He was moving so fast that he swept past the winding cave in the blink of an eye and approached Baili Pangpang's back.
Shen Qingzhu, standing behind Baili Pangpang, narrowed his eyes and a resolute look appeared in them. He tried to loosen his grip on Baili Pangpang's neck and jump down to shield him from the enemies behind him, but Baili Pangpang's hands gripped his body like iron clamps, refusing to let him down.
"Put me down, or we'll all die!" Shen Qingzhu roared.
"Shut up, you little brat!" Baili Pangpang gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, a crazed look on his face, as he reached into his pocket...
Boom—!!
Just then, the top of the cave behind the two suddenly exploded, and a figure fell from above, landing precisely on the head of the speeding silver man as if it had been calculated!
Clang—!
The straight sword is drawn from its sheath.
The deep blue blade drew an arc in mid-air, the black military coat tumbled half a circle in mid-air, and slashed towards the back of the silver man's neck with lightning speed!
The silver-clad man's pupils contracted, and suddenly a pair of metal wings sprouted from his back, crossing over to block the blade of the straight sword!
The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the figure, using the recoil, floated lightly forward, landing steadily between Baili Pangpang and his companion and the silver-clad man.
Tiny pebbles fell from the hole above. Amidst the billowing dust, Lin Qiye, clad in a black military overcoat and wielding a straight knife, slowly opened his eyes. His golden eyes shone like the sun in the dark cave.