Chapter 77: Separate Ways

  Seeing the puzzled look on Shui Yun's face, he continued: "The black-armored cultivator riding on the eagle's back initially thought I was intentionally showing weakness to lure him into a trap. He was so scared that he retreated far away. Later, seeing us two fleeing and hiding in this cave, he must have thought I was severely injured and didn't dare to fight me! Now, with the news of us hiding in this cave spreading among the three factions, it's likely that everyone knows about it. That's why there are so many fearless people guarding outside the cave, neither daring to come in and capture us nor afraid that we'll escape. They're all stuck at the entrance, anxious and hesitant, waiting for an opportunity to obtain the treasure!"

  A bitter smile appeared on his face, and he continued: "Unfortunately, they guessed correctly this time. I'm indeed injured, and they might really catch us two. So, for safety's sake, we'd better split up!"

  "Leave separately? No way, Daozhang's spiritual power has been greatly damaged now. Leaving separately will be even more dangerous?" Shuixin shook his head and said worriedly.

  "You little fool, don't you understand? What they want most is to capture me and snatch the treasure. As for you, it's not necessarily a matter of life and death. Think about it, if I'm caught by them but the Qiankun Hu is with you, they'll think I've hidden the treasure away. To get the Qiankun Hu, they'll definitely spare my life. At that time, I'll naturally find a way to escape. Now, take the Qiankun Hu as your own treasure and take it far away, that's helping me greatly, saving my life! If you don't agree to this, are you just going to watch me be killed by them?"

  Shuǐ Shēng felt that something was not quite right, but for the time being, he couldn't think of what it was. He rubbed his head and said: "Since I can save Daozhang's life, then fine, I'll hide the Qiankun Hu in my body, and return it to you when I see you again!"

  Having had several experiences of receiving magical treasures before, this time, Shui Sheng only used about one meal's worth of time to collect the Qian Kun Hu into his body.

  Wudao Daoren saw Shuixing put the Qiankun Hu into his body, stretched out his hand and touched Shuixing's head, saying: "This is a good kid! You must remember, if you escape with your life, just run as far as possible, don't worry about me, no matter where you run to, since you have that 'Yu Ling Pei' in your body, I will find you!"

  After a moment of contemplation, he continued: "If you're unfortunately caught by someone, just say you're a disciple of Mei Ji. Mei Ji is determined to take you in as her disciple and will definitely find a way to save your life. Don't try to show off your bravery and fight with others; as long as you don't die, you'll be able to avenge Iron Wing General and rescue Tie Xin Tang! However, remember that the secret of the treasure and the乾坤壶 within your body is something that no one can know about, not even in front of people. You can't let anyone know that you can control the treasure. With the '御灵佩' concealing it, even a Yuan Ying cultivator would only think you're at the Qi Refining stage and wouldn't suspect that you have a treasure inside you. But if you reveal this secret, both our lives will be lost!"

  Although he didn't want to see Mei Ji and the others again, seeing Wu Mu Dao Ren's sincere gaze, he nodded and said: "Dao Chang! Don't worry, I will definitely remember your words and not reveal my magical treasures in front of people!"

  Wumeng Dao's ugly face finally revealed a hint of a smile, and then he had Shuixing take out the storage bag obtained from Ye Xian Shi.

  A flash of white light, and a pile of scattered objects fell onto the large stone: a silver hammer, a jade flute, a fist-sized silver ball, a small sword shaped like a sharp cone, seven top-grade magical instruments, over a hundred mid-to-low grade spirit stones, a dozen bottles of medicinal pellets, five bottles of medicinal pellets for demonic beasts, two white cylindrical magical instruments about five or six inches long, and four spirit beast pouches of varying sizes.

  Wumeng Daoist put away the two white cylindrical instruments, about five or six inches long, into his sleeve and said: "You are now only in the Qi-refining stage of cultivation, you can use these few instruments. This way, as long as they don't search your soul, no one will know that you have a treasure hidden inside your body. You must remember my words, if you really get caught, just admit that you're a disciple of Mei Ji!"

  Seeing Shui Sheng nodding again, he pointed to the two forks and said: "The exit of the left tunnel is in the middle of the mountain waist, it's hard for ordinary people to find it, the entrance is very narrow and hidden, you go out from the left. The right tunnel has a rapid flow like other tunnels, tell Qinglin Snake to rush out of the rapid flow at the right tunnel first, kill the monks who are ambushing outside the tunnel, and then let it escape! I will follow Qinglin Snake's body and rush out. An hour after I go out, I will blow a wolf whistle, letting them chase Qinglin Snake. When you hear the sound of the whistle, you and Hei Hu will rush out from the left fork. If there are still people outside the tunnel, don't fight with them, just escape!"

  Knowing that he was about to escape alone, Shui's heart tightened, and he nodded, summoning the Qinglin snake from his spiritual beast bag for a brief mental communication.

  Watching the green python rush towards the right fork, Wumu Dao Ren turned his head and glanced at Shui Sheng, laughing: "Little fool, if you escape smoothly, don't worry about me, just run as far as you can. No matter how far you run, I'll be able to find you!" After speaking, he flashed his body and rushed into the fork.

  Shuǐ shēng fàng kāi shén zhì, mò mò de tàn chá zhe wū mù dào rén de shēn yǐng xiāo shī bú jiàn, zhè cái huàn chū hēi hǔ, bǎ shí tou shàng de wù pǐn rù qù chǔ wù dài zhōng, yī biān bǎ wán zhe yī méi wǔ cùn cháng de wān dāo fǎ qì, yī biān pán suàn zhe shí guī.

  When the wolf whistle sounded from outside the cave, Shui Sheng's heart tightened, and he climbed onto Hei Hu's back. He whispered something in Hei Hu's ear, and Hei Hu carried Shui Sheng towards a fork in the path to the left. The fork was pitch black, and even with the moonlight stone in hand, Shui Sheng could only see about 20-30 feet around him. However, Hei Hu seemed to be able to see in the dark and charged forward, the wind whistling past his ears!

  The time it took to eat a meal, Shui Sheng had already seen a line of light at the entrance of the cave. Holding back Hei Hu, Shui Sheng released his spiritual sense to scan outside the cave, and indeed, there was no one outside the cave. Shui Sheng's heart felt a surge of joy, and he lightly tapped on Hei Hu's abdomen, as if they shared a telepathic connection. Hei Hu suddenly burst out of the cave entrance, dashing forward with incredible speed. Although Hei Hu couldn't fly too high, it was still able to run without touching the ground, moving through the air with ease.

  Before long, the man and the tiger had run three or four tens of li, seeing no one chasing after them, Shui's heart slowly relaxed, only to suddenly realize that he didn't know which direction to go.

  Under the Jade Cauldron Mountain, it's naturally impossible to go back. Faintly and vaguely, a thread of disgust towards the Jade Cauldron Sect emerged in Shui Sheng's heart. He often pondered in secret: if there was no Jade Cauldron Sect, perhaps he wouldn't have been separated from his brother and sister; General Tie Yi wouldn't have died tragically, and Tie Xin Tang wouldn't have been taken to the Huo Ling Sect.

  Longyang Town and Yuntai Temple don't seem safe either. As for Hanshui Village, it's even more impossible to return, what if someone finds me, wouldn't that implicate my parents?

  The world is vast, but suddenly there's nowhere to go, yet the black tiger seems to be running with a freedom it hasn't felt in ages, not thinking of anything else, just dashing forward.

  Suddenly, the black tiger slowed down abruptly and fell to the ground, shaking its head from side to side as if looking for a place to hide. Shui Sheng was astonished, but then he felt a divine consciousness sweeping through the air, startling him, and hastily jumped off the tiger's back. Unfortunately, this place was just a flat low slope, not even a deep ravine or a large rock, there was nowhere to hide, while looking around frantically, the black tiger suddenly raised its head, gazing at a mountain peak in front, the dense black fur on its back stood up, and let out a low growl.

  On the mountain peak, a snow-white flying shuttle appeared in the sky, with two people standing on it, looking down. The speed of the flying shuttle was even faster than the escape speed of the black tiger, and it was not an ordinary flying tool, but a rare flying treasure. It seems that the two people driving the flying shuttle are definitely golden elixir cultivators.

  Shui Sheng let out a soft sigh, knowing it wouldn't be easy to escape from the two Golden Core cultivators who possessed flight treasures. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a curved dagger artifact, and with a surge of spiritual energy, it transformed into a three-foot-long silver curved blade that he grasped firmly in his hand, ready for battle.

  The green-robed woman on the flying shuttle exclaimed, "Huh? Brother Lu, this black tiger doesn't seem ordinary!" The man in brocade behind her responded, "Indeed, it looks like a third-grade demonic beast. Strange, I haven't seen any of our brothers from the Ice Seal Valley have such a tiger-type spiritual beast."

  He had the "Yu Ling Pei" given by Wu Mu Dao Ren on his body, and although the two people on the flying arrow could see that he had a small amount of spiritual power fluctuations in his body, they couldn't accurately detect the depth of his magical powers. However, Hei Hu was seen through by the two at a glance!

  The two on the flying shuttle never thought that at such a far distance, Shui Sheng could clearly hear their conversation.

  The two lowered the flying shuttle's altitude and slowly came to a stop, waiting until they could see Shuǐshēng's face clearly. When they saw that Shuǐshēng was holding a silver dagger artifact in his hand, Lù Shīxiōng's eyes suddenly revealed a hint of manic excitement. He whispered: "Liǔ Yàn Shījiě, this little kid seems to be the person Zhào Kūn Shīxiōng told us to find." His voice became extremely faint, afraid that Shuǐshēng would hear him.

  The green-shirted woman's face also flashed a hint of surprise, and she replied in a low voice: "Won't be? That little boy shouldn't be with Wummu Daoist, right? Besides, look at the black tiger by his side, can a Qi-refining cultivator control such a thing?"

  "Chen Shidi's message said that Wu Mu Dao Ren has been surrounded by everyone, but there is no sign of the little boy around him. It must be this little boy who wants to escape from here!" Lu Shixiong said, looking around with his eyes scanning the surroundings carefully, as if searching for other high-level cultivators nearby.

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