Chapter 59: The Final Encounter

Ji Siyu was alone, cautiously picking her way through the dense trees.

Every rustle of the leaves made her heart race; she both hoped it was Chen Chuan and feared it was a lethal Demonic Beast.

The inner torment she felt was far more taxing than her physical exhaustion.

Right then.

Boom!

An earth-shattering explosion erupted without warning from deep within the mountains, sounding as if thunder from the Nine Heavens had detonated right beside her ears.

The ground trembled slightly, and a mushroom cloud of fire rose into the distant sky.

A violent shockwave carrying dust and wood splinters swept over her, causing Ji Siyu’s dress to flap loudly and making her nearly lose her footing.

She snapped her head up and looked toward the source of the explosion, her beautiful eyes filled with horror.

The power of that explosion was far beyond her imagination.

However, amidst her terror, an unbidden intuition surged through her heart like an electric current.

Chen Chuan!

He was here!

This intuition came with such force and certainty that it instantly overwhelmed her fear of the terrifying explosion.

It was as if an invisible thread tied her and Chen Chuan together, and at this moment, it was violently tugging at her Soul.

"It’s him, it must be him!"

Ji Siyu murmured to herself, a brilliant light suddenly bursting from her eyes.

It was the light of obsession.

Danger?

She knew it had to be extremely dangerous there.

But her obsession with seeing Chen Chuan was like a rapidly growing vine, tightly strangling her reason and even surpassing her concern for her own life.

Without the slightest hesitation, she gritted her teeth and began to stealthily but firmly advance toward the sound of the explosion.

However, before she could get close, a roar filled with violent energy erupted from her front-left.

Immediately after, a massive Demonic Beast that looked like a leopard but was covered in rock-like scales charged out, its eyes blood-red.

Disturbed by the terrifying explosion earlier, it was in a state of extreme agitation and was fleeing toward the outskirts of the mountains in a panic, happening to run straight into Ji Siyu.

"A Fifth-Rank Rock-Armored Leopard!"

Ji Siyu’s pupils constricted, and her face instantly turned pale.

A Fifth-Rank Demonic Beast possessed strength equivalent to a human Cultivator in the Mountain Sea Realm; it was not something she, having just stepped into the Furnace Realm, could contend with.

The Rock-Armored Leopard clearly noticed the tiny human blocking its escape route. In its frenzy, it immediately targeted Ji Siyu as an outlet for its fear.

It gave a low growl and pounced with the speed of lightning, bringing a foul wind with it.

Escape!

That was the only thought in Ji Siyu’s mind.

Her figure retreated rapidly, her internal Qi surging as she fled quickly through the trees.

However, the gap in their strength was too vast.

The Rock-Armored Leopard’s speed far exceeded her imagination. In just a few breaths, its massive shadow loomed over her.

Its sharp claws swiped down with a piercing whistle that tore through the air.

"Nine Heavens Frost, Condense Ice into a Sword!"

With no way to dodge, a flash of determination crossed Ji Siyu’s eyes. She gave a sharp cry, and the Qi in her body erupted without reservation.

The surrounding temperature plummeted, and countless ice crystals condensed in the air.

She raised her hand and swung her sword, meeting the beast’s claws with an ice-blue sword energy that carried a bone-chilling cold.

Clang!

The sound of clashing metal rang out.

The sword energy successfully left a bone-deep white mark on the beast’s paw, even freezing part of the flesh, but it ultimately failed to sever it.

The Rock-Armored Leopard roared in pain, its rage intensifying as its attacks followed one after another like a violent storm.

Ji Siyu did her best to execute the Moves of the Nine Heavens Frost Sword Scripture one by one.

Frost Sword Qi crisscrossed, establishing a frost Domain around her.

This Cultivation Technique was indeed powerful and profound; every attack carried a frigid force that froze blood and corroded Meridians.

If she were facing an opponent of the same rank, they would have already fallen to her sword.

Unfortunately, she was facing a Fifth-Rank Demonic Beast with thick hide and strength far superior to her own.

Most of her attacks could only leave shallow marks, making it difficult to deal a fatal blow.

Meanwhile, every claw strike and bite from the Rock-Armored Leopard put her life in grave danger.

Pfft!

Unable to dodge in time, the Rock-Armored Leopard’s tail swept across her back like a steel whip.

Ji Siyu felt a sweetness in her throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her body flew like a broken kite, smashing into an ancient tree before rolling to the ground.

Agonizing pain instantly spread through her body; it felt as if her bones had been shattered.

She struggled to crawl up, but she felt as if her internal organs had been displaced, and the flow of her Qi was sluggish and blocked.

Blood stained her plain-colored dress, making her look incredibly wretched.

The Rock-Armored Leopard approached step by step, its crimson beastly pupils glittering with cruelty and hunger.

Looking at the approaching bloody maw and smelling the nauseating stench, Ji Siyu strangely felt little fear of death.

What surfaced in her eyes was an unshakeable regret.

"In the end, I still couldn’t find you."

"I so want... I so want to see you one more time, to have you forgive me... so we can still..."

Tears mixed with blood slid from the corners of her eyes.

She closed her eyes, no longer making any futile struggle.

The final image fixed in her mind was the sight of Chen Chuan’s departing back.

Endless regret became the last thing she felt before her consciousness began to sink.

At that critical moment!

A figure, like a ghost or a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, appeared between her and the Rock-Armored Leopard at a speed that exceeded the limits of her vision.

The figure wasn’t particularly tall, yet it carried a sense of stability and power that seemed capable of propping up the heavens and earth.

He used no weapon, simply throwing out a basic punch.

There seemed to be no spiritual light shining on his fist, yet it contained a Physical Body strength that was terrifying to the extreme.

The air in front of him let out a low sonic boom.

Bang!

A muffled sound rang out, like the beating of a giant drum.

The incredibly fierce Fifth-Rank Rock-Armored Leopard’s massive head instantly developed a huge hole, with brains and blood spraying out backward.

Its massive body even maintained its pouncing posture, but it had already lost all life, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Everything happened too fast; from the figure’s appearance to the beast’s death, it was but a flash of lightning.

The expected pain did not arrive. Instead, she heard the thud of a heavy object falling and smelled a thick scent of blood.

Ji Siyu’s long eyelashes fluttered. With confusion and the daze of a survivor, she slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing to enter her vision was that back—turned away from her, slightly thin but as upright as a pine tree.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, happening to fall on the man’s profile, outlining the silhouette she had been dreaming of.

Chen Chuan!

It really was Chen Chuan!

Ji Siyu’s mind went blank for a moment, as if she had been stunned by this sudden, massive impact.

She widened her beautiful eyes, staring blankly at that face which looked somewhat cold under the moonlight, yet was incredibly real.

Is it a hallucination?

Is this a final vision before death?

But the smell of blood in the air, the corpse of the Rock-Armored Leopard on the ground, and the pain coming from her body all told her that this was real.

It was him!

In the final moment, like a Heavenly God descending to earth, he had killed the Demonic Beast with a single punch and saved her.

After the massive shock came a surge of emotions like a bursting flood.

All sorts of feelings instantly demolished all her defenses.

Tears surged out without warning, sliding down her blood-stained cheeks and washing away trails of blood.

She even forgot the pain in her body, simply staring at Chen Chuan in a daze.

That pitiable appearance was like glass that had been shattered and then pieced back together, so fragile it was heartbreaking.

"Chen... Chen Chuan."

She choked out, her voice hoarse and trembling, barely able to speak a complete sentence.

Chen Chuan slowly turned around.

When he saw the disheveled, blood-covered Ji Siyu,

His brow furrowed tightly, and a clear look of anger appeared on his face.

"Ji Siyu." Chen Chuan’s voice carried a hint of coldness and confusion. "What are you doing here?"

He stepped forward quickly and squatted down, his gaze sweeping over her injuries.

His frown deepened, and his tone carried undisguised reproach:

"With only a Second Level of the Furnace Realm cultivation, you dare to enter the Intermediate area of the Demon Beast Mountain Range alone? Are you looking for death?"

Ordinarily, hearing such a severe scolding, the proud Ji Siyu might have felt embarrassed or angry.

But at this moment, listening to Chen Chuan’s angry voice,

She didn’t feel the slightest bit sad; instead, a sense of indescribable sweetness and sorrow welled up in her heart.

He was scolding her!

He was still scolding her!

This meant he wasn’t completely indifferent.

In his heart, there was at least a sliver of concern for her safety, wasn’t there?

This realization made Ji Siyu laugh through her tears.

Though tear streaks still hung on her face, that smile was like a pear blossom blooming after rain, carrying a kind of tragic beauty.

She looked at Chen Chuan, smiling foolishly as if she were hearing the most beautiful love words in the world.

Seeing her crying and laughing like a fool, Chen Chuan was also slightly stunned, and then he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

He muttered to himself, even feeling some doubt.

Was this Ji Siyu, supposedly the Reincarnation of a God Emperor, an idiot with a broken brain in her previous life?

Was this dangerous place somewhere she should be coming to?

"What exactly were you thinking?" Chen Chuan suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and asked in a heavy voice, "Running here alone to die?"

Ji Siyu stopped smiling, but the light in her eyes became even more intense.

She looked at Chen Chuan and said with absolute seriousness and a sob in her voice:

"I came to find you. Let’s make up, okay?"

Hearing that she had braved mortal danger to enter the Demon Beast Mountain Range just to find him, Chen Chuan didn’t know what to say for a moment.

He looked at the blood-covered woman before him, whose eyes were terrifyingly stubborn, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Was this woman truly stupid or just acting?

The Demon Beast Mountain Range was so vast; finding a person was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and the journey was fraught with danger.

If he hadn’t happened to encounter her this time, she would have certainly died.

He fell silent for a moment, his tone returning to its previous coldness and distance:

"The relationship between us ended the moment that slap landed in the Drunken Wind Tower."

The memory of that slap was like the sharpest dagger, stabbing deep into Ji Siyu’s heart.

It made her face turn pale with pain, and her body swayed.

She endured the piercing pain, urgently grabbing Chen Chuan’s sleeve, and pleaded with teary eyes:

"It’s my fault, it’s all my fault."

"Chen Chuan, you can hit me, scold me, do whatever you want to me. I won’t fight back, and I won’t resent you."

"I only ask that you forgive me and give me one more chance, okay?"

Seeing her humble pleading, Chen Chuan’s expression remained somewhat cold.

He forcefully pulled his sleeve back, stood up, and turned his back to her, his voice icy: "I said, I’m not interested."

Having said that, he no longer looked at her and began walking toward the outskirts of the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

Seeing that he was still going to leave, Ji Siyu became frantic.

Ignoring the sharp pain in her body, she struggled to get up from the ground.

Because the movement aggravated her wounds, she grimaced in pain once more.

But she gritted her teeth and stumbled after Chen Chuan.

Hearing the stumbling footsteps behind him, Chen Chuan paused. He didn’t turn around, his tone carrying impatience:

"Ji Siyu, what exactly do you want?"

Ji Siyu stopped and stood a few paces behind Chen Chuan, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her dress, her head lowered.

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito, carrying a pitiful quality that would make one’s heart soften:

"I... I’m scared to be alone. It’s... too dangerous here."

Her words were half true and half false.

Having just experienced a life-and-death moment, she was indeed lingering in fear.

But more than that, it was a near-instinctive dependence and a stubborn obsession that refused to let go.

Hearing her words, Chen Chuan’s body stiffened slightly, and his mouth opened.

He seemed to want to say something harsh, but in the end, those words were swallowed back down.

He thought of her dying appearance just now and the reason she had braved the mountains.

Ultimately, he just gave a secret sigh.

He said nothing and turned to continue his journey, but his pace subconsciously slowed down a bit.

Seeing his tacit approval of her following him, an imperceptible light flashed in Ji Siyu’s eyes.

She didn’t dare get too close, nor did she dare stay too far away; she just silently followed a short distance behind him.

The sunlight filtered through the treetops, lengthening their shadows as they walked one after the other in silence through the peril-filled forest.

In the quiet woods, only the sound of footsteps and their complex, indescribable heartbeats remained.