Chapter 74: Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain’s 10-li Forbidden Line

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain’s 10-li Forbidden Line

Since she had not yet reached the Golden Core Realm, Yun Xi couldn’t fly through the air unaided. To fly, she had to rely on the Sword Control Technique.

The Sword Control Technique was a Magic Technique that used True Qi to control a Long Sword.

Riding a sword was, in essence, augmenting a Body Technique with the Sword Control Technique. By controlling a flying Long Sword with True Qi, a cultivator could use it to assist their Lightweight Body Technique, thereby achieving flight.

As such, its speed couldn’t possibly compare to the true, unassisted flight of a Golden Core Realm expert.

Now, it was Yun Xi’s turn to carry the incredibly weak Chu Fan on her back. Standing on her Flying Sword, she flew at top speed toward Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

The eighty-li journey took them nearly a full hour.

Fortunately, their pursuers hadn’t caught up. They had reached the edge of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

"Now that we’re at Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, don’t use your sword to fly," Chu Fan said.

Yun Xi obediently landed. Supporting Chu Fan by the arm, she helped him into the dense, thorny mountain forest.

After an hour of rest, Chu Fan’s Spiritual Power had recovered some. The earlier dizziness was gone, but his body remained weak.

"Chu Fan, do you know? If you hadn’t come today, I never would have completed the wedding ceremony with Shui Yuntian. I was prepared to meet you in the Yellow Springs. When I heard your voice, I was just... stunned. I was so happy, but also terrified."

"Silly girl, have I ever broken a promise to you? Yun Xi, you have to remember this: no matter what happens in the future, don’t speak so lightly of life and death. You must believe that miracles can happen. And even if I really were to die, you have to keep living a good life. Live on for my hopes, and for our dreams."

"No!" Tears instantly streamed down Yun Xi’s face. She choked out, "I’m just like you now. We have no one left but each other. If I don’t have you in my life, what meaning is there to my existence?"

"There, there, don’t cry. I was just talking. Think about it—this time, everyone was saying I was dead. If you had believed those rumors and done something... what would I have done, left all by myself?"

A wave of fear washed over Yun Xi as she listened. If Chu Fan had been just a moment later, his words might have become reality.

"Okay. From now on, no matter what happens, I’ll wait for you to come back. I’ll wait as long as it takes."

"Mm. That’s a good girl."

The thorny jungle may have slowed their steps, but it could not slow their confident pursuit of freedom and a future together.

"Someone’s catching up."

They had ventured less than two li into the jungle when Chu Fan’s Spiritual Power sensed their pursuers arriving at the forest’s edge.

"Don’t move. Hold your breath," Chu Fan whispered. "See that tree up ahead? We’ll hide in the bushes beside it for a moment."

Usually, for small, everyday matters, he would follow Yun Xi’s lead. But in a life-or-death crisis like this, Yun Xi would always defer to Chu Fan.

At the edge of the jungle, several dozen people landed. The weakest among them were at the Nascent Soul Realm.

"We were clearly tracking their auras, so how did the trail suddenly go cold?" an old man in a deep blue robe muttered in confusion.

"Elder Di, this is the territory of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. Are you absolutely certain they came in here?"

"Our Mixed Element Sect specializes in tracking. If Elder Di says they’re here, then they’re here."

No one argued. After a short discussion, they decided to split into groups of three and spread out to search the jungle.

To prevent any single Sect from taking all the credit, each group of three was made up of members from different Sects.

These Martial Artists, their Cultivation far surpassing that of Chu Fan and Yun Xi, had no idea that their every word and move was being monitored by Chu Fan’s Spiritual Power.

Hiding in the bushes, Chu Fan took the Scroll from his ring.

"Yun Xi, I’m going to study this Scroll to recover my Spiritual Power. If anyone comes near, be sure to wake me."

Having said this, he opened the Scroll and fixed his gaze upon it.

’From the moment Chu Fan had appeared today, everything about him seemed different. Only his personality, his looks, and his feelings for her remained the same.’

’Recovering Spiritual Power by studying a Scroll?’

Yun Xi knew what Spiritual Power was, but she didn’t understand why it would need to be recovered, let alone how one could do so by studying a Scroll.

’And why did she need to wake him if someone passed by?’

The moment Chu Fan poured his Divine Thought into the Scroll, Yun Xi thought she understood.

Because while Chu Fan maintained his posture—holding the open Scroll with one hand, his eyes staring at it—she could no longer sense any trace of a life force from him.

Though Yun Xi didn’t fully understand, she held her breath and vigilantly watched their surroundings for the slightest disturbance.

About half an hour later, three people passed by a little over thirty yards away. Yun Xi gently tapped Chu Fan’s arm, and he snapped out of his trance as if his soul had just returned to his body.

Yun Xi stared at Chu Fan, her expression a mixture of shock and uncertainty.

’She was growing more and more curious about what exactly Chu Fan had been through these past six months.’

He was still physically weak, but his Spiritual Power was already completely restored. It had even improved slightly, reaching a higher Realm.

’With my Spiritual Power restored, I at least have one more ace up my sleeve to stay alive.’

’This Scroll really is a treasure.’

He put the Scroll away and carefully extended his consciousness, sensing six groups of people within a five-li radius, all searching deeper into Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

Only after all six groups had moved beyond the range of his senses did Chu Fan and Yun Xi emerge from the bushes and cautiously venture deeper into the forest.

Thanks to his powerful Spiritual Power, they were able to hide in advance whenever enemies entered the range of his perception. Thus, they managed to travel ten li into the jungle without being discovered.

But just as Chu Fan breathed a sigh of relief, a Falcon suddenly dove from above, its sharp talons reaching for his head.

The Falcon was so fast that by the time Chu Fan noticed it, it was already right on top of him.

At the critical moment, Yun Xi decisively drew her Sword.

A single, brilliant slash cut through the sky!

A beam of Sword Qi shot out, catching the Falcon by surprise. It frantically flapped its wings to dodge.

"A Level 3," Chu Fan muttered, instantly judging the beast’s rank from how it dodged the Sword Qi. "We haven’t even reached the forbidden zone, and we’re already running into a Third Level Profound Beast?"

If he were in good condition, he wouldn’t be afraid of a mere Level 3 Profound Beast. But in his current state, he was weaker than an ordinary person, and Yun Xi, with her Heartbeat Realm Late Stage Cultivation, was no match for it.

Furthermore, if Yun Xi’s fight with the Falcon dragged on, it would certainly attract their pursuers.

However, his Lion Seal Divine Techniques were a life-saving trump card that he couldn’t use lightly. Besides, they created such a massive commotion that using them would likely alert everyone within a ten-li radius.

By now, Yun Xi and the Falcon were locked in combat.

Yun Xi was quite proficient with the Lingyun Jinghong Sword technique. While she couldn’t defeat the Third Level Profound Beast, she wouldn’t be easily beaten either.

Just then, however, Chu Fan sensed nearly a hundred people rushing toward them.

Among them were seventeen or eighteen disciples from the Lingyun Sect.

Chu Fan immediately made an assessment. ’These aren’t the pursuers from before. Could they be disciples from the Six Sects and Eight Gates, here in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain for training?’

Instantly, a new plan formed in Chu Fan’s mind.

"Hurry! That feathered beast is over there!"

Soon, voices carried through the woods. After the shout, the group quickened their pace and arrived moments later.

When the Lingyun Sect disciples saw Yun Xi fighting the Falcon, with Chu Fan standing beside her, they all froze in astonishment before exclaiming, "Chu Fan! Yun Xi! What are you two doing here?"