A Bloody Moonlit Escape

Guluo let out two cold laughs, then abruptly launched himself at Xiao Chen. At this point, words were useless. Zhao Lin'er followed close behind. Flight had proven futile; only by enduring the corrosive corpse aura and killing Xiao Chen could they find a way out.

Two swords crossed, slashing toward Xiao Chen's chest and abdomen. At the same time, the man wielding the flame blade charged forward, the blazing long knife hacking at Xiao Chen's neck.

Xiao Chen's own long sword erupted in a dazzling radiance. With a wide, sweeping stance, he smashed through the attacks of the three. Simultaneously, the three skeletons transformed into streaks of white light and surged forward, engaging the three experts ahead.

It was clear that Zhao Lin'er and Guluo, wreathed in corpse miasma, had their battle strength greatly diminished. Even with their combined force, they were losing ground.

Sword light soared through the forest. Xiao Chen spun, sweeping his blade in a reverse arc as a blinding beam of sword-light licked past Zhao Lin'er's nape. Strands of black hair drifted through the air—the Royal Celestial Maiden's tresses had been severed at the neck. If she had been a fraction slower, her head would have fallen.

Zhao Lin'er broke out in a cold sweat, her body trembling. Born into royalty, she had never tasted such an experience—being sent to the brink of death by a blade's edge.

Guluo, too, was shaken. In his eyes, Xiao Chen was a man of iron resolve, one who showed no mercy even to such a peerless beauty. A man like that would stop at nothing. Guluo had once thought of negotiating at a critical moment, offering Xiao Chen immense benefits. Now, he thoroughly abandoned that notion.

As Guluo and Zhao Lin'er stood aghast, Xiao Chen's long sword shattered the flame blade. A supremely brilliant edge slashed diagonally, cleaving the blade-wielding man from shoulder to hip. Blood sprayed in all directions. Two halves of a corpse toppled onto the blood-soaked forest floor.

Watching Xiao Chen approach with his dripping iron sword, and the three skeletons circling behind to cut off escape, Guluo's expression flickered between dark and bright. Zhao Lin'er frowned deeply but had no plan. Her city-toppling beauty could no longer remain calm and composed.

"Enough. Everything ends here." Xiao Chen's voice was utterly calm as he spoke, but it sent a chill through Guluo and Zhao Lin'er.

"Whoo—" "Roar—"

Just then, a series of sharp ape cries rang out from the distance. The terrain was elevated here, and they could clearly see a dozen agile beast-shadows leaping across the treetops, as if borne on clouds and mist. With a single touch on a branch, they would fly eight or nine meters—incredibly swift. They rushed toward this spot.

Zhao Lin'er's face changed instantly. She recognized them: a dozen giant apes, the ones that had once protected Xiao Chen—and one of which she had killed just days ago.

The battleground was not far from the apes' territory; the sounds of combat had roused them.

Within moments, the dozen giant apes had charged into the area. Each stood about three meters tall, covered in black fur that looked terrifying under the moonlight. They surrounded the group, standing like a forest of towering stone tablets.

At the center, the four-meter-tall four-armed blood-red ape had fur that gleamed with an eerie red light under the moon. The light in its eyes shot forth like cold bolts of lightning, fixed on Zhao Lin'er with murderous intent.

Xiao Chen summoned the three skeletons to his side. With the arrival of the vengeful giant apes, the outcome was already decided without his need to act.

But suddenly, a blinding radiance erupted within the forest. A web of lightning interwove, spreading like a giant net over the dozen strange apes. In that instant, all but the blood-red ape were struck down, convulsing on the ground and unable to move. Even the blood-red ape staggered, its steps unsteady.

A dramatic turn left everyone momentarily at a loss.

And at that moment, a pure white, jade-smooth celestial horse, shimmering with faint light, transformed into a streak of silver radiance and rushed to Zhao Lin'er's side. It bore her away into the distance in a flash.

The reversal was too sudden!

The blood-red ape let out a furious roar that split the moonlight like a thunderclap. Its body crackled and spat electric sparks as it broke free of paralysis. Then, as if possessed, it leaped after the little unicorn sacred beast.

After half a quarter of an hour, the convulsing giant apes also recovered and chased after without a backward glance.

All of this happened in an instant!

Now only Guluo stood alone. Yet he showed no despair; instead, a faint smile tugged at his lips.

A premonition of trouble seized Xiao Chen. He left an afterimage in place and shot forward.

But he was too late. Guluo unrolled a scroll that carried him aloft, floating into the sky!

"I always thought this was a useless scroll, but today I have to use it to save my life." Guluo spoke with irrepressible chagrin and fury, glaring savagely at Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen asked coldly, "Why didn't you flee earlier?"

"Because it can only carry one person! I suspected that little unicorn sacred beast might appear. Using the scroll to run away alone would have been unseemly. Of course, if the little unicorn had not come, I would have fled at the moment of life or death. Ha, what happened now just confirms my guess, doesn't it? Leaving now is perfectly timed." Guluo's gaze was dark and predatory as he fixed his eyes on Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen showed no anger. He only said coldly, "You are playing with fire—not just now, but from the very start." As he spoke, he traced his hand through the air a few times several meters away. Brilliant beams shot out, condensing into a giant invisible hand that swept up the long swords lying beside the corpses.

Then he leaped into the air, landing on the crown of a giant tree, closing the distance to Guluo.

Guluo cried out in alarm and urged the flying scroll onward, hurtling into the distance. Xiao Chen left an afterimage on the high treetop, then sprang to the crown of an even larger tree. In this way, he skimmed across the canopy as a blur of light, chasing for several dozen meters until he reached the tallest ancient tree in the area.

He had closed the distance significantly. His body radiated a blazing luminescence, as if boiling with sheer speed. Light danced on his skin like roaring flames. At that moment, he hurled the first sword with all his might!

The sword was infused with the purest primal energy, turning ordinary iron into divine metal. It shot forth like a rainbow, cutting through the tranquil night sky.

"Pfft!"

Blood sprayed in the air, scattering great drops. Guluo let out a piercing scream. The sword had pierced his right arm—and severed it. The severed limb plummeted, and a rain of blood scattered through the night.