Chapter 190: Dead?

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Dead?

Zong Ziqi had vanished.

After Young Master Ghost used the Soul-Calling Banner to recall all the ghosts, the three of them discovered that the spot where Zong Ziqi had been standing was completely empty.

There was no trace of him.

Not even a skeleton, a scrap of flesh, or the tiniest piece of bodily tissue remained.

Young Master Yellow Springs clicked his tongue in amazement.

"This Soul-Calling Banner truly is a superior Magical Treasure. That Zong Ziqi was wiped out without a single trace."

Young Master Ghost, however, felt that something was off.

He raised the Soul-Calling Banner, immersed his Divine Sense within it, and began to search for Zong Ziqi’s soul.

A long time passed before Young Master Ghost withdrew his Divine Sense, his face ashen.

"I’m afraid we have a problem."

"What is it?" Wuji Fairy was confused.

’Isn’t he already dead?’

’How could there be any more trouble?’

"I suspect he’s escaped. I searched the Soul-Calling Banner for a long time, but I couldn’t find Zong Ziqi’s soul anywhere."

"Escaped?!" Both Young Master Yellow Springs and Wuji Fairy were incredibly shocked.

They had gone to so much trouble to force Zong Ziqi into a desperate situation.

The man could barely even stand steadily.

And now you’re telling us he escaped in that condition?!

’Seriously? Is this for real?!’

If that was true, how would they ever manage to corner Zong Ziqi like this again?

"After him! He can’t have gotten far in that broken state. We have to find him, or we’re in for a world of hurt!" With an ugly expression, Young Master Ghost flicked his Soul-Calling Banner, shot into the air, and flew straight ahead.

Young Master Yellow Springs and Wuji Fairy exchanged a look, understood each other’s intentions, and nodded. They then split up, heading in two different directions to search.

...

After leaving, Jiang Xu just kept running, never stopping for a moment.

He even directly upgraded his Light Body Spell to the Perfect level.

He was terrified that the three Demon Cultivators would realize something was wrong and give chase.

Once the Light Body Spell reached the Perfect level, just like before, a feather-light, almost ethereal Magic Seed appeared in Jiang Xu’s Dantian.

Jiang Xu looked inward at his Dantian and immediately saw a strange stream of white qi floating within the Magic Seed, occasionally circling around it.

When his Divine Sense touched this Seed of Lightweight Body, Jiang Xu instantly guided the white stream of qi out and wrapped it around his own body.

His steps became increasingly light, as if he were treading on air, his body hovering just above the ground.

The white stream of qi seemed to generate a tremendous propulsive force.

With just a light tap of his toes, Jiang Xu’s figure would fly more than ten meters away.

He didn’t even need to touch the ground.

He only needed to step on the air, and the white stream of qi would carry Jiang Xu forward at High Speed.

Previously, when Jiang Xu moved at such high speeds, air resistance would consume half his strength, preventing him from getting any faster.

But now, under the guidance of the white stream of qi, all the air seemed to part for him. All resistance vanished, allowing Jiang Xu’s speed to increase even further.

’This kind of speed is what I’d call a real escape. Before, it was just a leisurely stroll by comparison.’

Now, both his dashing speed and the Concealment of his movements had taken a qualitative leap forward.

The surrounding environment changed rapidly. Forests, streams, and cliffs flashed past him. Even Jiang Xu himself had no idea how far he had run.

After all, he had just upgraded his Light Body Spell and hadn’t actually tested his new speed.

The only thing Jiang Xu was sure of was that he was now very, very far from his starting point.

"You bastard, you made me take such a huge risk! Thank goodness they couldn’t see through my Concealing Breath Spell. Otherwise, forget saving you, I wouldn’t have even known how to escape myself."

In truth, it wasn’t a complete gamble for Jiang Xu.

His Spiritual Eye Technique had been able to see through the three of them, so Jiang Xu had gambled that they didn’t possess any outstanding abilities in that regard.

Clearly, Jiang Xu’s gamble had paid off.

"I’ve run so far. They probably can’t catch up now, right?"

Jiang Xu wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead.

Now that his Light Body Spell was at the Perfect level, even sprinting at this speed didn’t leave him feeling the slightest bit tired. It was as easy and carefree as taking a walk.

"Hey, are you dead? Don’t tell me I went through all this trouble just to save a corpse." Jiang Xu shook Zong Ziqi.

Although Zong Ziqi felt as if his body had fallen apart, he managed to force his eyes open and look at Jiang Xu.

"Is this Hell? Brother Jiang, why am I seeing you here?" Zong Ziqi said weakly.

"Give me a break. If I died, I’d go to heaven."

"Heaven...? What’s that? The Celestial Court?"

Jiang Xu knew he’d misspoken, but he didn’t dwell on it.

He looked at Zong Ziqi’s injuries; they were serious.

Jiang Xu looked down at Zong Ziqi with a grave expression, sweeping his Divine Sense over the man’s body. His heart sank.

Zong Ziqi’s skin was as pale as paper. There were no obvious cuts or bloodstains—he had few external wounds—but internal injuries ravaged his entire body.

Zong Ziqi’s body was like a skyscraper on the verge of collapse. It looked intact on the surface, but its internal structure had suffered catastrophic damage.

After a careful examination, Jiang Xu discovered that Zong Ziqi’s organs had sustained severe impact. His Life Force was draining away as if being unspooled, and his bodily functions were in a state of rapid, uncontrolled decline. Zong Ziqi had completely overdrawn his body’s limits; he was now in a state of unstoppable collapse.

This was far beyond what the few Elixirs or Spirit Medicines Jiang Xu had on hand could solve.

Looking at Zong Ziqi’s tightly shut eyes and face twisted in pain, Jiang Xu felt a sense of powerlessness.

He took out several high-quality Healing Elixirs from his Storage Bag, but they had no effect on Zong Ziqi’s injuries whatsoever.

"Brother Jiang, it seems you really aren’t dead. That’s wonderful, ahaha... COUGH COUGH COUGH!" Zong Ziqi first managed a weak laugh, then suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs.

"Alright, stop talking. Let me think of a way to save you." Jiang Xu racked his brain and began rummaging through his Storage Bag.

"Don’t waste your energy. I know my own body. There’s no cure for overexertion this severe. Unless... unless I could find another Tier Three Treasure Medicine. But even if I did, my body couldn’t withstand its immense medicinal power now."

As he finished speaking, Zong Ziqi spat out another large mouthful of blood, his face turning ashen-white as paper.

"When did you become so talkative?" Jiang Xu was exasperated. ’Why is his personality changing now that he’s at death’s door?’