Translator: CinderTL
Chi Qi's heart raced with alarm and suspicion as his Divine Sense probed the lake's depths. He finally noticed a Corpse Coffin resting on the lakebed's edge.
The coffin lay open, revealing a Fourth-Tier Peak Corpse Puppet standing within.
The surging Corpse Qi emanated from the puppet's body.
Suddenly, a massive tentacle surged through the water. Though still several miles away, it lashed out violently at the Corpse Puppet.
The already turbulent lake water erupted into even greater fury.
The surging currents coalesced into a colossal wall of water, crushing down upon the Corpse Puppet.
Even a Fourth-Tier Peak Corpse Puppet, normally formidable, proved as fragile as an infant before this watery onslaught, torn to shreds by the relentless force.
Chi Qi's heart jolted with realization.
The Corpse Puppet had been left by that Divine Transformation Stage junior, deliberately provoking the lake's demon beast.
Instantly, Chi Qi shot skyward, attempting to evade the aquatic monster.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Several splashes erupted as five enormous tentacles burst from the water, piercing the air like colossal spears aimed directly at Chi Qi.
Chi Qi stared in disbelief. His ascent couldn't match the tentacles' lightning-fast extension.
Left with no choice, he summoned a shield to brace for the impending assault.
Simultaneously, he drew his bow and fired an arrow at one of the tentacles.
Thwack!
The arrow, swift as lightning and razor-sharp, pierced straight through the tentacle, leaving a gaping, basin-sized wound.
However, this did not frighten the demon beast in the water; instead, it enraged it further.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Four thunderous roars erupted.
Four tentacles lashed through the air, creating four powerful gusts of wind that surged toward Chi Qi with overwhelming force.
Chi Qi was engulfed by these four gusts, feeling as if four colossal forces were relentlessly battering him from all directions.
He staggered, struggling to maintain his balance, and his speed plummeted.
Seizing the opportunity, the injured tentacle lunged forward, striking him with a vicious lash.
Crash!
A deafening impact reverberated through the air.
The tentacle, like a massive whip wielded by a deity, slammed heavily against Chi Qi's shield.
The shield, struck with the force of a towering mountain, was instantly wrenched from his grasp and slammed violently into his chest.
Chi Qi's chest caved inward, several ribs shattering under the impact. He coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
Man and shield were hurled backward together, crashing into the ground near the lake like a meteor.
Enduring the excruciating pain, Chi Qi desperately channeled his Spiritual Power. Just as he was about to crash, he managed to counteract the momentum and regain control of his body.
Without a moment's hesitation, he summoned his escape light and fled.
After fleeing several hundred miles and confirming that the demon beast posed no immediate threat, he detoured downstream, fleeing at top speed.
Enraged by the enemy's escape, the demon beast thrashed its massive tentacles wildly in the water, unleashing towering waves that crashed against the shore.
Sensing the violent fluctuations of Spiritual Qi behind him, Song Wen knew his plan had succeeded: Chi Qi was now locked in fierce combat with the demon beast.
He had secretly left a strand of Spiritual Power within the Corpse Puppet, set to detonate naturally after ten breaths, triggering the Corpse Qi within the puppet's body.
Song Wen had no interest in the outcome of their battle; he needed to seize this opportunity to escape as far as possible.
Suddenly, he noticed a group of demon beasts drinking by the riverbank.
These creatures were Galloping Horse Beasts, with bovine heads and equine bodies, each over three meters long. Though of low intelligence, they were renowned for their exceptional speed.
This herd of over a hundred Third-Tier Galloping Horse Beasts was naturally timid, approaching the river cautiously as if fearing aquatic predators might ambush them from the depths.
Song Wen's eyes lit up slightly.
He stealthily approached the shore and spat out the Shadow King Gu.
The Shadow King Gu drifted in the water like a grain of sand, swallowed in a single gulp by the largest Galloping Horse Beast.
Seeing this, Song Wen abruptly unleashed a chain of Spiritual Power, ensnaring another Galloping Horse Beast and dragging it into the river.
The sudden commotion sent the remaining Galloping Horse Beasts into a panic. They frantically scrambled away, their hooves kicking up clouds of dust as they fled with lightning speed.
The herd moved with such incredible velocity that only fleeting afterimages remained visible as they streaked across the ground.
After the herd had fled several hundred zhang, Song Wen finally released his grip on the Galloping Horse Beast. He flipped upright, crouching low over its back.
The beast, still terrified, pawed wildly at the ground and bolted after the fleeing herd.
Song Wen deliberately controlled the beast's speed through the strength of his grip, keeping it far behind the herd but close enough not to lose sight of them.
The Galloping Horse Beast that had been infested by the Shadow King Gu was the herd's Alpha Beast, leading the charge at the forefront.
After galloping for dozens of li without detecting any danger, the Alpha Beast began to slow. The Shadow King Gu suddenly jolted violently within its abdomen, causing the beast to roar in pain and surge forward once more.
After nearly two hundred li of relentless pursuit, Song Wen suddenly spotted a tree hollow ahead.
It was a pit left by the decayed roots of a colossal, fallen tree, the rotting remnants still visible within.
With brute force, Song Wen forcibly steered his Galloping Horse Beast toward the hollow.
As the beast raced past the hollow, Song Wen flipped off its back and plunged into the pit.
The hollow was only about six to nine meters deep, teeming with low-level poisonous insects that posed no threat to Song Wen.
Upon landing at the bottom, Song Wen channeled his brute strength and slammed his palm against the pit wall.
The ground trembled slightly, and the surrounding earth collapsed inward, burying Song Wen completely.
Immediately afterward, Song Wen suppressed all traces of his aura, adjusted his breathing to internal circulation, and curled up motionless, like a stone buried beneath the earth.
Thanks to his extraordinary control over his physical aura, as long as he didn't use his Spiritual Power and cause his aura to leak, Chi Qi would have no chance of discovering him unless he dug open the tree hollow.
Moreover, since emerging from the river, Song Wen had been clinging to the back of the Galloping Horse Beast. Chi Qi's pupil techniques couldn't detect the traces he left through the miasma; at most, they would find the tracks left by the herd.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Shadow King Gu struck the Galloping Horse Beast leader's internal organs again, forcing it to continue its frenzied gallop. Then, the Shadow King Gu stealthily slipped off its back, dropping into the mud like a grain of millet in the cycle of reincarnation, and was trampled over by the herd. Once the beasts had moved far away, it quietly returned to Song Wen's body.
After a hundred and ten breaths, a thunderous roar echoed from the river channel, growing louder as it approached, then gradually fading into the distance. Simultaneously, violent tremors shook the ground continuously.
This was Chi Qi, who had been tracking Song Wen but failed to find any traces of him. Mistakenly believing Song Wen had used some method to hide at the bottom of the river channel, he was now sweeping the riverbed upstream, attempting to force Song Wen out.
(End of the Chapter)
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