Chapter 274 - Assassins (1/2)

Chapter 274 AssassinsStartled, Xiao Chen looked at him. “You… You’re still alive?”

“Meow! I’ll still live long and well after you die!” Zhiluan was hopping mad.

Xiao Chen shook his head with great force, trying to recall what happened that day. One-dot Red and Su Zimu still crushed their jade notes in the end, but Zuoqiu Yang refused to let him go and used a terrifyingly powerful move to strike him. Huangfu Xin’er unexpectedly ran over and took the hit for him. Then, the skies and ground collapsed and he lost his consciousness.

“Xin’er! Xin’er!”

He abruptly rose to his feet and used all of his strength to yell for Huangfu Xin’er. However, he couldn’t even see the shadow of a person in all these snow.

“Meow! Don’t yell, kid! You’ll cause an avalanche!” Zhiluan was so frightened that he wanted to take flight but tried as he might, he couldn’t unfold his wings.

“Avalanche…” Xiao Chen sat on the ground helplessly. If he wasn’t mistaken, the forest had experienced a spatial collapse that day. Were it not for Evernight and Su Xiaomei working together to protect him then, he would be dead now.

But Xin’er was a mere mortal. How could she endure the lacerating force of the spatial collapse? A searing pain stabbed his heart as he recalled memories of Huangfu Xin’er. Regardless of all their misunderstandings, their times in the Skygale Sect of the Skygale Sect were sincere.

He collapsed on the ground with his head facing the skies and allowed the snow-laden wind to hit him on the face. He muttered, “She could’ve left. She could’ve left…”

A long while later, he suddenly stood up. “I must find her! I must! Even if I die, I must find her!”

Behind him, Zhiluan was so cold that he was shivering. “Where will you find her in this cold, snowy land? I’m freezing. Let’s quickly find a way to leave this place.”

Xiao Chen scanned his surroundings and found nothing but boundless snow mountains in sight. Just as he was about to unfold Phoenix’s Wings, he noticed he couldn’t use vital force at all. He couldn’t even lift his flying sword. Even though Evernight and Su Xiaomei had protected him, his True Energy had been greatly depleted that day. Right now, he was no different than a regular Foundation Building Realm cultivator.

He probed the Nine-heaven Jade Pendant and the Frigid Jade Pendant with his Divine Sense but received no reply. Evernight and Su Xiaomei must have sunken into a deep sleep after exhausting their Soul Power.

“Hey, Leopard Cat Spirit! You can fly, can’t you?”

“Nonsense! If I can fly, do you think I wouldn’t be flying?” Zhiluan then muttered to himself, “Do you think I’ll stick around with a burden like you…”

Xiao Chen looked at him in anger. He pointed to himself. “I’m a burden? Who’s the one who hovered my head, asking to be rescued? Who’s the one who came to me when the skies and ground were collapsing?”

Zhiluan’s face reddened and he coughed once. “This great one won’t debate you on this for now.”

Xiao Chen shook his head. “Tsk. This young master doesn’t have time to entertain you.” He then walked over to one side, all while yelling, “Xin’er! Xin’er!”

Zhiluan was so terrified that all the hair on his body was standing on their end. “Meow! You’ll really cause an avalanche at this rate!”

Just like that, the human and the cat walked through the snow for a good four hours. No matter how they tried, they still couldn’t find a way out of the snowy mountains. Xiao Chen continued to yell for Huangfu Xin’er along the way. Zhiluan had long turned pale from fright.

“Meow! Consider this as me begging you! If you keep yelling, you’ll attract monsters even if not an avalanche!”

Xiao Chen spun around to glance at him. “What are you scared of? Aren’t you a thousand-year-old monster?”

Zhiluan was so angry that he jumped. “Get this straight! This great one is a Lingzhi Immortal… Achoo!” He sneezed and a string of snot hung from his nostrils. The snot swiftly froze into an icicle that he couldn’t shake off.

“Disgusting.” Seeing that he was going to remove the frozen snow with his paw, Xiao Chen took out the Fire-heart Jade that Huangfu Xin’er once gave him. He couldn’t help feeling upset looking at the jade in his hand. Then, he tossed it to Zhiluan. “Here, wear this if you’re cold.”

Without a word of protest, Zhiluan wore the jade around his neck and finally felt much warmer. He was thinking about what to say when Xiao Chen suddenly indicated for him to be quiet.

Zhiluan shivered in fright and immediately hid behind one of Xiao Chen’s legs.

Even though Xiao Chen had lost most of his powers, his Divine Sense remained sharp and not even the tiniest sounds would escape his attention. He heard the sound of several people’s footsteps coming in their direction.

He immediately grabbed Zhiluan and ran using his Immortal-override Steps, leaving no footsteps in the snow. They hid behind a huge pile of snow in the distance. He knew that the Daoist League of the Five Continents would surely send a search-and-rescue team seeing as some time had passed, but these people were full of murderous aura. They looked more like assassins who traded lives for money all year round.