Morning arrived quietly.
A pale layer of sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, scattering across the forest floor in broken patches of gold. The mist that had gathered during the night was slowly dissipating, leaving behind beads of moisture clinging to the leaves and branches, while somewhere in the distance, the occasional cry of a bird broke the silence.
Su Yang opened his eyes.
He had already been awake for some time.
After spending the night cultivating, his exhausted body had recovered considerably, although the fatigue from yesterday's escape had not completely disappeared. His muscles still carried a faint soreness, and his Qi-Blood circulated slightly slower than usual, but compared to when he had collapsed beside the forest road, he was in considerably better condition.
He stood and stretched his body.
Crack! Crack!
Several joints popped in succession.
Tu Bing had already finished preparing their things.
Although his complexion was still somewhat pale, the color had returned to his face, and unlike yesterday, he could now walk on his own. The injuries he had suffered were serious, but the treatment Su Yang had provided, combined with his own formidable vitality as a True Essence martial artist, had allowed him to recover enough to travel.
"We should leave," Su Yang said.
Tu Bing nodded.
Neither of them suggested returning to the official road.
That would be courting death.
After what had happened in Anping County, they had no idea how many people were searching for them. The assassins had appeared almost immediately after they entered the county, the county yamen had clearly been involved, and the Xuan Gang expert who had been commanding everything had personally taken action.
If they returned to the official road, they might as well hang a sign around their necks announcing their location.
So they continued deeper through the forest.
The terrain became increasingly difficult.
Large roots twisted across the ground like enormous serpents, forcing them to constantly adjust their steps. At times, they had to squeeze between trees, while at other times they had to climb over fallen trunks that were several meters long.
Yet neither complained.
Compared to being surrounded by assassins, this was nothing.
As they walked, Su Yang occasionally glanced toward Tu Bing.
The man was still carrying the appearance of a young escort, with a somewhat delicate face and slender build. If not for the fact that Su Yang had personally watched him survive several dangerous situations, he would have found it difficult to believe that this seemingly weak person possessed True Essence cultivation.
"Can you keep up?" Su Yang asked.
"I'm fine."
Tu Bing's voice was somewhat hoarse.
"Good."
Su Yang nodded and continued forward.
For a while, everything seemed normal.
Too normal.
After walking for nearly half an hour, Su Yang suddenly slowed.
Tu Bing noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
Su Yang didn't answer.
He stood there silently, his eyes sweeping across the forest.
Something was wrong.
He couldn't immediately identify what it was, but the sensation had been gradually growing stronger.
The forest was too quiet.
They had already been walking through this region for some time, yet they had encountered almost no fierce beasts.
That wasn't normal.
Even ordinary forests of this size would have numerous beasts occupying different territories. Once humans entered their territory, they would usually hear growls, roars, or the sound of creatures moving through the vegetation.
Yet now...
Nothing.
Su Yang's expression became serious.
He looked toward the branches above.
Not a single bird.
His gaze moved toward the distant trees.
No movement.
The silence wasn't the peaceful silence of an ordinary forest.
It was the silence of animals hiding.
As though everything in the surrounding area had sensed something terrifying approaching.
"Don't move."
Tu Bing immediately stopped.
Su Yang narrowed his eyes.
"Something is wrong."
"What?"
"There are too few beasts."
Tu Bing was stunned.
Su Yang continued quietly.
"Yesterday we heard them constantly."
"Even this morning, there were several sounds nearby."
"But now..."
He slowly turned his head.
"Nothing."
Tu Bing's expression also became solemn.
He was a martial artist and naturally understood what this meant.
There were only two possibilities.
Either they had entered an area where there were unusually few creatures...
Or something powerful had caused the surrounding creatures to flee.
Su Yang preferred the first explanation.
Unfortunately, his instincts told him otherwise.
He suddenly looked toward the sky.
"Listen."
Tu Bing raised his head.
At first, he heard nothing.
Then—
Caw!
A sharp cry suddenly echoed through the forest.
A flock of birds burst from the trees in the distance.
Then another flock.
Then another.
Hundreds of birds suddenly emerged from the canopy, flying frantically toward the opposite direction.
Their wings beat desperately as though something horrifying was chasing them from behind.
Su Yang's face changed.
"Here it comes."
The two immediately became alert.
Tu Bing instinctively reached toward his clothes.
Su Yang lowered his body slightly, his Qi-Blood beginning to circulate.
The sound hadn't reached them yet.
But whatever was coming...
It was powerful enough to frighten the creatures of the forest.
And that meant it wasn't something they could afford to underestimate.
A faint tremor suddenly traveled through the earth.
Thump.
Su Yang's pupils contracted.
Another tremor.
Thump!
Leaves fell from several branches.
Tu Bing swallowed.
"What is that?"
Su Yang stared toward the direction from which the sound was approaching.
"I don't know."
"But get ready."
The tremors became increasingly frequent.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Something enormous was moving through the forest.
Several trees suddenly shook violently.
Then—
Boom!
A massive tree was knocked down.
The trunk crashed through the vegetation, crushing branches beneath it.
A gigantic figure slowly emerged from behind the trees.
Su Yang's expression changed.
It was a bear.
But calling it a bear was almost an insult to the creature.
Its body was more than three meters tall even when standing on all fours, its shoulders were broad enough to resemble a small hill, and its thick brown fur seemed to absorb the sunlight. Its claws were several inches long, each one sharp enough to tear through ordinary steel.
Most terrifying of all...
Its eyes were filled with fury.
"Earth Bear..."
Tu Bing's voice became tense.
Su Yang's heart sank.
He had encountered information about this type of fierce beast before.
Earth Bears possessed terrifying physical strength and an affinity with earth-type energy. Their bodies were naturally suited for close combat, and their defensive abilities were astonishing.
This one was clearly not an ordinary beast.
A Rank Two Earth Bear!
Su Yang immediately understood why the surrounding creatures had fled.
Rank Two fierce beasts were equivalent to martial artists in the True Essence realm.
And this Earth Bear's body was naturally stronger than most human martial artists of the same realm.
But there was something else.
Su Yang noticed that the Earth Bear wasn't looking at them.
Its gaze was fixed farther behind them.
His heart skipped.
"We need to leave."
"What?"
"Now."
Su Yang grabbed Tu Bing's arm.
But before they could move—
A cold voice suddenly came from behind.
"So this is where you've been hiding."
Su Yang's face immediately turned ugly.
He knew that voice.
The next moment, a figure descended from the trees.
The man wore black robes, his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent.
Xuan Gang!
The expert who had been pursuing them since Anping County had finally caught up.
He landed several dozen meters away.
His eyes immediately locked onto Su Yang.
"Running quite far."
Su Yang's expression became grim.
He had deliberately taken complicated paths through the forest, erased his tracks whenever possible, and avoided the official roads.
Yet this man had still found them.
A Xuan Gang expert was indeed terrifying.
The man glanced at Tu Bing.
Then at Su Yang.
"You've caused quite a bit of trouble."
Su Yang didn't answer.
His muscles tightened.
He had already prepared himself for another desperate escape.
The Xuan Gang expert took one step forward.
"I'll give you one opportunity."
"Hand over the package."
Su Yang's eyes narrowed.
"I don't have it."
The man's expression became cold.
"Do you think I'm a fool?"
"I genuinely don't have it."
Su Yang said calmly.
"Then I'll search your corpse."
The moment his voice fell, the Xuan Gang expert moved.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet exploded.
His body crossed dozens of meters in an instant.
Su Yang's pupils contracted.
Fast!
Far too fast!
He immediately pushed Tu Bing aside.
At the same time, he gathered his Qi-Blood into his arms.
The Xuan Gang expert's palm descended.
Boom!
Su Yang crossed both arms in front of his chest.
A violent force erupted.
His feet slid backward, carving two deep lines into the soil.
His arms went numb.
His Qi-Blood churned violently.
Su Yang gritted his teeth.
"So this is Xuan Gang..."
The gap was enormous.
A True Essence martial artist's Qi could barely resist Xuan Gang.
The opponent's Gang Qi wasn't merely stronger.
It possessed a terrifying penetrating quality.
Even though Su Yang had blocked the palm, a strand of Gang Qi had still entered his body through his arms, causing his internal organs to tremble.
He immediately circulated his Qi-Blood and expelled it.
The Xuan Gang expert looked surprised.
"You actually blocked it?"
Su Yang didn't answer.
His gaze suddenly shifted toward the Earth Bear.
Something had changed.
The enormous beast had become increasingly agitated.
The Xuan Gang expert didn't notice.
His attention was entirely focused on Su Yang.
He raised his hand again.
"Let's see how many strikes you can endure."
Gang Qi surged around his palm.
The surrounding air seemed to distort.
Su Yang's expression became solemn.
He couldn't fight this man.
Even with his powerful foundation, the difference between True Essence and Xuan Gang was simply too large.
He needed an opportunity.
A single opportunity to escape.
The Xuan Gang expert stepped forward.
But then—
A low growl echoed through the forest.
"Roar..."
The sound wasn't loud.
Yet the entire forest seemed to tremble.
The Xuan Gang expert frowned.
"What?"
The Earth Bear slowly turned around.
Its eyes were blood-red.
The Xuan Gang expert finally noticed something behind it.
A small cub.
An Earth Bear cub was lying beneath a fallen tree.
Blood covered its tiny body.
The previous exchange had sent a strand of Gang Qi into the surrounding area, and one of the trees he had shattered had collapsed directly onto the cub.
The Xuan Gang expert's expression remained indifferent.
He glanced at the injured cub.
Then he looked away.
"Just a beast."
Su Yang's pupils contracted.
The Earth Bear's roar suddenly became deafening.
"ROAR!"
Boom!
A terrifying pressure erupted.
The earth beneath its feet cracked.
The Xuan Gang expert's expression finally changed.
The Earth Bear charged.
Its enormous body moved with astonishing speed, and every step caused the earth to shake.
The Xuan Gang expert snorted.
"A mere Rank Two beast dares—"
He raised his palm.
Gang Qi surged.
A terrifying palm strike shot forward.
Boom!
The Earth Bear slammed its paw into the Gang Qi.
The collision created a violent shockwave.
Trees were uprooted.
Leaves scattered into the sky.
The Xuan Gang expert was forced backward several steps.
His expression finally became serious.
Su Yang stared at the scene.
The Earth Bear wasn't attacking randomly.
It was enraged.
Its cub had been injured.
And the person responsible was the Xuan Gang expert.
The beast roared again and charged.
The Xuan Gang expert's eyes turned cold.
"Since you want to die..."
His body suddenly rose into the air.
Gang Qi gathered around his arm like a dark river.
He descended with a palm.
The Earth Bear raised both paws.
Boom!
The collision shook the forest.
Su Yang's heart pounded.
This was their chance.
But before he could move, the Xuan Gang expert suddenly broke away from the Earth Bear and turned toward them.
His killing intent surged.
"Don't think I'll forget about you."
Su Yang's expression changed.
The man vanished.
Tu Bing immediately reached into his clothes.
His fingers grasped something cold.
A talisman.
His eyes flickered.
This was the only trump card he had left.
But he knew the problem.
His current Spirit Dao cultivation was only at the Gathering Thoughts realm.
He couldn't properly activate a talisman of this level.
At most...
He could force it.
And the price would be severe.
The Xuan Gang expert was already approaching Su Yang.
Su Yang clenched his fists.
The Earth Bear was roaring behind them.
The distance between the expert and Su Yang rapidly shrank.
Tu Bing's expression became resolute.
He pinched the talisman between his fingers.
A faint thread of spiritual energy emerged from his body.
His face instantly became pale.
"Su Yang!"
Su Yang turned.
"Run!"
Tu Bing raised the talisman.
Lightning suddenly erupted from the yellow paper.
Crackling arcs of electricity danced across the forest.
The Xuan Gang expert's pupils contracted.
"What?!"
Tu Bing gritted his teeth.
The talisman burned rapidly in his hand.
Then—
A terrifying bolt of lightning erupted from it and shot toward the Xuan Gang expert.
"Lightning Talisman!"
The expert's expression changed completely.
Tu Bing's body trembled violently as blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Even though he couldn't truly activate it with his current cultivation...
He had forced it open.
And for the sake of their lives—
He had no choice.