The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Ao Jun's face was flushed with anger. "Go back? Why should we go back? We came out for training. I'll kill anyone who mentions going back again."

The black-robed figures instantly fell silent. Given Ao Jun's status, if he really did kill them, their deaths would be in vain.

However, the leader of the hundred or so Demon Race guards, a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator named Kui Wu, was deeply concerned. This place was too close to the Guardian Array. If they ran into a Human Race Nascent Soul Cultivator, his men couldn't guarantee Ao Jun's safety.

Bracing himself, he tried to persuade him again. "Young Master, this place is too dangerous. Let's retreat a hundred li and wait for the Elder to return. It won't be too late to continue your training then!"

From where he stood, Ao Jun could still see the All Heaven Guarding Array piercing the clouds. He felt a flicker of fear himself and scowled in displeasure. "Fine, fine! We'll retreat for now!"

Meanwhile, Chen Dong used the Teleportation Talisman he had stolen from Li Zhixuan to teleport away with Liu Ling.

Liu Ling, of course, wouldn't actually attack Chen Dong. If he were truly at the Foundation Establishment Stage, it might have been a different story, but he was a Golden Core Stage cultivator. An injury to him wouldn't be so easy to heal. Besides, with the Beast Taming Contract binding them, Liu Ling couldn't attack Chen Dong even if she wanted to.

So, the two had used their contract to communicate in an instant and reached a conclusion: they had to run. The Late-stage Nascent Soul, Kui Ran, had clearly grown suspicious. If they delayed any longer, they might lose their chance to escape altogether. Their only option was to feign an attack as a cover for their getaway.

A brilliant light flashed. Chen Dong and Liu Ling instantly concealed their auras. They landed in a rugged, mountainous area. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but rocks of various sizes and sparse vegetation. The landscape was utterly barren for dozens of li, with not a single place to hide.

None of the maps Chen Dong was familiar with showed this location.

"Where are we?"

'The Teleportation Talisman should have randomly sent us a thousand li away,' Chen Dong thought. 'But the Guardian Array blocks passage to the Human Race's side, so we couldn't have crossed it. This must still be Demon Race territory.'

Liu Ling didn't recognize it at first either. She released her Divine Sense and probed the area for a long while before finally confirming. "This should be Xia Yang Ridge! There was a huge battle here two years ago. The entire landscape was ravaged by Divine Techniques, so I didn't recognize it at first."

'Xia Yang Ridge!' Chen Dong instantly got his bearings. They were over nine hundred li from the part of the Guardian Array they'd exited. Assuming the old man, Kui Ran, was in the same Realm as Feng Fu, it would take him about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn to get here. That was enough time for the two of them to hide. However, this location was extremely far from his destination, Earth Sinking Mountain. If not the complete opposite direction, it was close.

Chen Dong's heart filled with resentment. 'This damn luck is just nauseating!'

Since they had enough of a lead to shake Kui Ran, Chen Dong decided against another random teleport. With his damned luck, there was no telling where they'd end up next.

At least there were no demons around here. It would be a disaster if the next teleport not only sent them in the wrong direction but dropped them right into a Demon Race stronghold.

Chen Dong quickly found his direction. Mu Qingzhu's Void Sword Intent enveloped them both, concealing them completely. Being chased by a Nascent Soul Stage greater demon, Mu Qingzhu was quite cooperative.

The Void Sword Intent was the profound, abstruse principle of emptiness and nothingness. Mu Qingzhu's Yuqing Immortal Technique contained this very Sword Intent, and after her recent epiphany from the 'Qi of the Mysterious,' her control over it had already become much stronger than Li Zhixuan's.

When used at full power, as long as they hadn't been marked by Divine Sense, not even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator could find them. The only problem was that a full-power cast placed a heavy burden on Mu Qingzhu, who was still only a Jade Embryo. She couldn't maintain it for long.

Neither Chen Dong nor Liu Ling had been touched by Kui Ran, so it was impossible for them to have been tagged by his Divine Sense without Chen Dong noticing. Naturally, they had nothing to worry about on that front.

They also refrained from flying high by manipulating their energy, choosing instead to skim along at a low altitude. The open sky was too dangerous; there was no telling when they might run into another greater demon.

「Half an incense stick after Chen Dong and Liu Ling had left.」

A watery mist swirled as Kui Ran arrived at the spot where they had appeared. He frowned deeply. 'I actually lost them.'

He muttered to himself, "A heavily injured Liu Ling shouldn't have been able to evade my Divine Sense. Could it have been that human?"

He immediately dismissed the thought. 'Impossible. That human is only at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, no matter how you look at it. He couldn't possibly have such an ability. It must be that Liu Ling's injuries aren't as severe as they appeared. The only thing to do now is to notify the entire Demon Race to call off the previous accord and hunt for Liu Ling!'

Whether Liu Ling was being controlled by the Human Race or not, the matter was of grave importance.

He sent out several Ink-Scale Flying Books in quick succession, then turned to find Young Master Ao Jun. The message had been sent. First things first, he had to get the Young Master back to safety.

Another half an incense stick of time passed. As he was rushing back with all his might, his Divine Sense picked up something that made him freeze in disbelief. His speed instantly increased by another thirty percent.

"What happened?!"

Faced with the black flood dragon guards, more than half of whom were dead or dying, with the rest heavily injured on the ground, Kui Ran was so furious he was speechless.

He focused his senses. 'This is the aura of the Dubhe Sharp Sword, at the Nascent Soul level. Could that bastard Fu Xiao have left the array?'

His mind in turmoil, Kui Ran grabbed a nearby black flood dragon guard whose life force was fading. He transferred a stream of Demonic Power into the guard and asked with a savage expression, "What in the world happened? Where is the Young Master? Why can't I sense him anymore?!"

The guard, having caught his breath, stammered nervously, "We... on our way back... we ran into a squad from the Cyan Sky Sect. The Young Master saw that the strongest among them was only at the Golden Core Stage, so he insisted on using them for practice... We couldn't stop him. Leader Kui Wu couldn't stop him either. So... we fought. But more and more humans showed up. Human squads kept joining the fight. Even with our demonic beasts, we only managed to fight them to a standstill. Then they realized the Young Master's status was different and they all started targeting him... The Young Master... he was captured!"