Chapter 145: Danger From All Directions

“That’s right, the enemies on the ground won’t be able to approach us…”

Qi Ying looked up into the sky with a hint of concern. He felt as if he were able to make out an indistinct black shadow circling overhead.

Li Lin also looked up into the sky, but he chuckled nonchalantly, “They can indeed see us from the sky, but capturing a beast in the Dragon Metamorphosis Mystic Realm that can carry someone in the air is far too difficult. Spirit Martial Stage warriors can tread on air, but there are speed, altitude, and distance restrictions, so they won’t be able to close in on us either.”

“I hope you’re right…” Qi Ying sighed.

Thus, the two of them rushed deeper into the grasslands.

Qi Ying couldn’t state a reason for why he wanted to cross the plains. His instincts simply told him that there was perhaps a pleasant surprise waiting for him on the other side.

…

Atop a cliff.

“Scree!”

The Heavenly Black Feather Falcon landed on Chu Ying’s shoulder.

“Did you find them?”

A glimmer of light flashed through Chu Ying’s eyes.

“Scree!”

The black falcon let loose a loud cry of confirmation.

Chu Ying leaped up and glided down the cliff like a massive bird, soon landing among a group of white and red-robed disciples.

“We’ve tracked down Qi Ying! Everyone, come with me!”

“Yes!”

…

Qi Ying and Li Lin were both quickly traversing across the plains, and the Blood Moon Wolf Battle Spirit was also accompanying them. All of a sudden, Li Lin came to an abrupt halt.

“Howl…”

The Blood Moon Wolf Blood Moon Wolf let loose a guttural roar.

“What is it?” Qi Ying asked.

“There seem to be a few groups of people converging on us from different directions! The closest group is just over a kilometer away,” Li Lin’s replied, “We have to change direction a little to shake them off.”

“Alright.”

The two of them immediately began to set off on a zigzagging route.

After traveling for roughly another fifteen minutes, Li Lin’s stopped once again.

“What’s going on?”

“Something’s not right… They seem to be able to detect our location, and all of the groups are constantly switching directions to match the route we’re taking.”

Qi Ying’s brows furrowed upon hearing that. “So you’re saying they also have someone like you in their groups?”

“No. The ones observing are most likely in the sky!” Li Lin raised his head to look up into the sky, “They must be able to observe from an extremely high altitude, and determine our location through that… It won’t take them long before they surround us!”

Qi Ying’s expression abruptly became graver. “How many of them are there?”

Li Lin shook his head and replied, “I can’t tell the exact number, but there are at least a hundred of them! All of them are Spirit Martial Stage warriors as well…” A torn expression then appeared on Li Lin’s face as he heaved a forlorn sigh, “Young Master Qi, you saved my life, so I won’t ever betray you, but I can’t throw away my life for you. I still have parents who depend on me… Thus, we must part ways here, Young Master Qi!”

He pulled out three spatial rings which he handed to Qi Ying. “These are from the Crimson Metal Sword Faction members. I haven’t touched anything inside them, and they should all be yours anyway…”

“Forget about it.” Qi Ying pushed Li Lin’s hand aside, “Go! You don’t owe me anything!”

There was no need for Li Lin to endure a trial of life and death with him, so it made sense that he wanted to leave.

“Alright then…”

Li Lin hesitated momentarily, before turning and rushing away from Qi Ying with his Blood Moon Wolf. “All the best, Young Master Qi!”

Whoosh!

Li Lin quickly disappeared from Qi Ying’s line of sight.

Qi Ying looked up into the sky, and he saw that black falcon again.

A hint of a smile appeared on his face as he mused to himself, “No matter how many of you there are, no one can take me down!”

…

Whoosh!

Qi Ying continued to rush along the plains.

He didn’t require Li Lin’s sensory abilities anymore, as he could literally hear the rustling of feet on grass, as large masses of people converged toward him.

There really were at least a hundred of them!

However, Qi Ying was quite confident in his own speed. After reaching the Eighth Energy Martial Stage, he was a lot more powerful than he was before. Furthermore, his Feather Tread Boots further enhanced his speed, and it was proving to be quite difficult to catch him.

There was a small mountain that was about a thousand feet tall not too far away, and Qi Ying was setting that as his target.

If he could make it to the mountain, then his chances of survival would increase significantly!

Additionally, there were most likely going to be some other people on the mountain. If there were members from another powerful faction there, then the Crimson Metal Sword Faction disciples wouldn’t dare to pursue him recklessly.

He was less than ten kilometers away from that mountain, so he would get there in a short time.

However.

Thud thud!

Thud!

Violent tremors erupted from the front, as well as to his left and right sides, creating a commotion that was no less daunting than that of the people pursuing him from behind.

Qi Ying didn’t slow down, so he quickly caught sight of his new enemies.

They consisted of two groups, each of which contained several dozens of people. One group wore white robes, while the other wore crimson robes, and all of them wielded sharp swords. It was quite clear that they were disciples from the Crimson Metal Sword Faction and the White Jade Sword Sect.

Qi Ying turned to look behind him, to find that the person leading the group of pursuers was a green-robed man riding a red horse. Qi Ying had some recollection of him; he was one of Chu Bixue’s trusty subordinates, Chu Ying.

There was a large group of white and red-robed disciples accompanying Chu Ying, who were evidently also from the two aforementioned factions.

There was danger coming from all sides!

No matter which direction he fled to, there were enemies awaiting him.

Chu Ying was drawing closer and closer behind him, and he raised an arm, upon which the Heavenly Black Feather Falcon descended from the sky and settled on his shoulder.

Chu Ying appraised Qi Ying with a pair of sharp eyes, and he raised his arm once again as he issued a command to the people behind him, “Use the armor-piercing arrows to kill him!”

Whoosh!

Over a hundred warriors pulled out steel bows before nocking arrows with green fletchings, and drawing their bows to full stretch.

“Fire!”

Whoosh!

Whoosh whoosh!

Following Chu Ying’s command, over a hundred arrows fell toward Qi Ying like a swarm of locusts, and all of them were capable of piercing Dark Tier Low Rank treasured tools.