Chapter 439 - 240: Tianchen (2)
Chapter 439: Chapter 240: Tianchen (2)
Gao Lin, who had been focused solely on Xu Yang, finally noticed the two long spears and the Black Panther he was carrying.
"Huh? How did this beast end up dead at your hands?" Gao Lin asked in surprise.
"I ran into them on the road just now. It was a fierce battle, but I managed to kill this beast and its master."
Xu Yang asked in return, "What about the other disciples? Did anyone else escape?"
At his words, Gao Lin’s face filled with grief, and he trembled all over. "I’m afraid they’re all dead. That Lotus Envoy killed two of them with a single long-range strike, and the shockwave injured everyone else. We all scattered and ran for our lives.
I heard the screams of Tian Kuan, Xiao Yu, and Hu Ze. They must be dead, too. Only Lu Chuping and I managed to escape because we were wearing Inner Armor and weren’t seriously injured by the first blow.
But he was unlucky. The Lotus Envoy, a Celestial Essence Realm expert, went after him. He’s probably dead as well.
The man riding the Black Panther chased me, but I was lucky enough to shake him off and escape with my life."
Xu Yang felt a wave of relief. ’If I had been just a few steps further along tonight, I might have been the one to die.’
"Senior Brother, to survive a great disaster means good fortune is sure to follow," Xu Yang said, clasping his hands in respect.
Gao Lin gave a bitter smile. "What good fortune? I burned more than ten years of my Life Energy just to escape. My vitality is depleted. Barring a miracle, my Cultivation will never advance in this lifetime."
Escaping from a Celestial Essence Strong Person is never simple. He had to burn his Life Energy immediately, and it was only with the protection of his Half-Spirit Soldier Level Inner Armor that he even had a chance. He’d survived, but his path forward was all but severed. His chance to break through to the Celestial Essence Realm was gone.
He was alive, but in some ways, it was worse than being dead. With his path to the Celestial Essence Realm cut off, he would never have the chance to become the next Elder Huoyun.
Xu Yang looked closer and saw that more wrinkles had appeared on Gao Lin’s face. His skin was dull and lusterless.
He had previously thought it was just from his injuries, but now he realized it was from burning his Life Energy.
"Senior Brother, being alive is better than being dead. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope. Perhaps Master has a way to help you," Xu Yang said comfortingly.
If they could find a Spirit Medicine that specialized in extending one’s lifespan, Gao Lin’s burned Life Energy could be replenished. However, such a Spirit Medicine was far rarer and more precious than any other.
"Master..."
Gao Lin shook his head inwardly. ’Forget whether Elder Huoyun can even find such a Spirit Medicine. Even if he did, he probably wouldn’t give it to me. No one knows Elder Huoyun better than I do.’
The two ran for a while longer. Before they reached the cave, a sharp eagle’s cry echoed through the mountains.
They looked up to see the Peak Master of Beast King Peak standing on the back of a giant eagle, his figure soaring into the sky.
"Peak Master Lu!" Gao Lin roared with all his might.
The Peak Master of Beast King Peak was named Lu Tianchen. It seemed he had dealt with the Blood Lotus Sect’s Lotus Envoy and was about to leave.
He didn’t know if Lu Tianchen could hear him from so far away, but he had to shout just in case.
Unexpectedly, Lu Tianchen actually heard him. Two giant eagles circled in the air and flew toward them.
A few moments later, the two giant eagles were hovering above them.
Only then did Xu Yang realize that Lu Tianchen’s mount was far larger than the Cyan-Scaled Eagle he had killed, and its aura was much more astonishing.
A figure as straight as a spear stepped off the eagle’s back and floated gently to the ground.
Xu Yang reined in his Heart Spirit, not daring to try and sense just how powerful a figure like this truly was.
Lu Tianchen had rugged features, and both his clothes and his bearing had a touch of wildness. He seemed like a fiercely untamable person.
His thick, flourishing long hair was simply tied back with a stalk of grass, giving him a very casual look.
"We disciples greet Peak Master Lu!" Xu Yang and Gao Lin said in unison, clasping their hands.
Lu Tianchen smiled and nodded. "I didn’t expect two of you to survive. Not bad."
He hadn’t thought anyone would survive an encounter with a Celestial Essence Strong Person.
His gaze focused on Xu Yang. Gao Lin’s aura was weak and listless, his vitality depleted. With his experience, he could tell at a glance that Gao Lin had used a Blood Burning Skill to escape.
Xu Yang, on the other hand, was not only completely unscathed but had also killed the Blood Lotus Sect disciple who had escaped, along with his Black Panther.
"We two disciples were just lucky!" Gao Lin said, clasping his hands.
Lu Tianchen’s gaze shifted from Xu Yang. "I deliberately spared the life of that Lotus Envoy, Li Haifeng. I’m about to track him to find the Blood Lotus Sect’s base. Do you want to come with me?"
Xu Yang and Gao Lin both felt their hearts tremble. They hastily clasped their hands and said, "We disciples will just return to the Sect on our own."
They had thought they could ride Lu Tianchen’s eagle back to the Purple Sun Sect, but it turned out he hadn’t killed the Lotus Envoy at all. He had intentionally let him go to track him to the Blood Lotus Sect’s hideout.
They didn’t dare follow such a formidable man. If something went wrong, they wouldn’t even know how they died.
"Mm," Lu Tianchen nodded.
The moment he spoke, his body shot into the sky and landed on the giant eagle’s back. The eagle flapped its wings, carrying Lu Tianchen away until he quickly vanished into the night.
The two didn’t return to their previous cave, instead finding a sheltered spot to sit down.
Xu Yang stood guard while Gao Lin entered a state of deep cultivation.
Before they knew it, the night was over.
At the crack of dawn, Xu Yang gathered some firewood. He skinned and butchered the Black Panther, setting aside valuable parts like its claws, teeth, and pelt.
When Gao Lin awoke from his meditation, there was already golden-brown Exotic Beast Meat roasting over the fire.
His complexion had improved a lot, but something like Life Energy couldn’t be judged by appearance alone.
"Senior Brother, should we return to the Sect or continue on to Camel Peak?" Xu Yang asked.
The Blood Lotus Sect was definitely involved in this matter. They knew the escorting disciples and the Zhang Brothers had fallen victim to them, but they had to go to the Camel Peak Mine themselves to see what the situation was there.
"We continue to Camel Peak," Gao Lin said in a low voice.
Although he wanted to hurry back to the Sect and find a way to restore his Life Energy, they needed to figure out what had happened at Camel Peak.
"Alright," Xu Yang nodded.
After they finished eating, he found a spot to bury the two long spears, then continued toward Camel Peak with Gao Lin.
Around noon, the faint smell of blood drifted from up ahead. When they arrived, they found it was indeed the Purple Sun Sect’s ore convoy.
But now, there wasn’t a single living person in the convoy. Even the horses had been killed. The carts were violently smashed to pieces, and various ores were scattered all over the ground.
The two continued on their way without a word. After spending another night in the mountains, a mine built within the Yunling Mountain Range came into view the next afternoon. It was the Camel Peak Mine, and its scale was indeed larger than Moon Lake’s.
There were rows upon rows of buildings, enough to house several hundred people at least.
"Something happened here, too," Gao Lin said.
Xu Yang nodded. They were very close to the mine, but they hadn’t seen any of the disciples who were supposed to be garrisoned here. The vast mine was terrifyingly quiet.
The two quickly walked into the mine. At the entrance, they saw huge marks left by Sword Qi, many destroyed areas, and dried bloodstains.
"Did those beasts massacre this place?" Gao Lin’s voice trembled.
Not counting the Purple Sun Sect disciples, the Camel Peak Mine employed over two hundred workers year-round. If this place had been massacred, it was hard to imagine the scale of the slaughter.
"I don’t think so," Xu Yang said, shaking his head.
After so many days, if several hundred people had been killed, you’d be able to smell the stench of rotting corpses from miles away. The place was empty, but there was no such smell.
He had been on garrison duty at Moon Lake before and knew that in this kind of situation, the mine tunnels were the safest place to be. The tunnels were a crisscrossing maze of forks and passages, perfect for survival.
The people from the mine had probably all hidden in the tunnels.
"Is anyone here? I am Gao Lin of Li Fire Peak!" Gao Lin shouted, but there was no response.
"Let’s head into the mine tunnels," Xu Yang said.
His five senses detected no one in the mining camp.
The two hurried deeper into the mining camp. Just as the dark entrance to a mine tunnel came into view, several people in tattered clothes emerged from within.
"Someone’s here... Someone’s finally here! Brothers, we’re saved!"
"Sirs, you’re finally here!"
"The other sirs are all dead! We’ve been hiding in the tunnels for days."
...
The men stumbled toward them, still visibly shaken and terrified.
Xu Yang’s eyes turned cold. His extraordinary senses had already detected a chilling killing intent permeating the air.