Chapter 254: Ascending to Heaven

Chapter 254 -250: Ascending to Heaven

In that moment, a flurry of thoughts raced through Chen Qingyang’s mind.

‘If I don’t save her, the Master is all but certain to die. But if I do, I’ll expose myself.’

He finally made his decision. Just as the Master was about to hit the ground, a fiery shape—her own—shot toward him.

Chen Qingyang caught her in his arms, pushing his Ten Thousand Miles in One Breath Technique to the absolute limit. In the space of a single breath, he’d crossed two hundred miles.

He breathed a small sigh of relief and glanced down. The Master was staring up at him with a strange expression. Her face was deathly pale, completely drained of color, and she looked utterly exhausted. He could feel her Qi Mechanism, faint and flickering.

‘After so many battles, I saw for myself how grievously she was injured. There probably isn’t a single intact meridian left in her body. She can barely even move.’ Chen Qingyang had no choice but to keep holding her.

‘Every other time I’ve seen her, she has been aloof and untouchable, exuding a cold, distant air. To see her lying so weakly in my arms today… it’s truly strange.’

“Heh heh, you’re quite the schemer, kid… to think you’d just scoop up such a great prize and run off with her!”

Suddenly, a black mass materialized before him. It was that persistent Yin Soul, Zhang Jiu, again.

Zhang Jiu’s sudden appearance made Chen Qingyang tense up as if facing a mortal enemy. He was no match for him to begin with, let alone while carrying an injured person.

“Hmph. Wielder of the Nine Abyss Demon Devouring Skill. Why don’t you go find your own sect mates instead of coming here to pick a fight?”

Zhang Jiu grinned, his gloomy face demonic. “You’re not wrong. But this is a Foundation Establishment Master, and such an alluring one at that… You don’t understand, Senior Brother. To me, she’s a potent tonic… Put her down and let me absorb her essence, and I’ll forgive you… After all, I’ve escaped from your hands twice now!”

Chen Qingyang could feel the woman in his arms go rigid. For a Master like her, death was surely preferable to having her essence absorbed by the Demon Sect.

He gently squeezed her with his fingertips, signaling for her to stay calm.

“Are you serious?”

Hearing his question, Zhang Jiu let out another sinister laugh. “Of course I’m lying. I don’t believe a single word you say, Senior Brother. Did you really think you could believe me?”

His words proved they understood each other perfectly.

“Heh, I knew you’d say that!”

Chen Qingyang gritted his teeth. A brilliant burst of flame erupted right in Zhang Jiu’s face. While the move was no longer enough to seriously injure him, it would still sting if he was caught off guard.

“You dare trick me!”

Zhang Jiu was furious. By the time he looked again, Chen Qingyang was already a hundred miles away. He was about to give chase when he saw three Blood Dragons lunging toward his position at incredible speed, about to be on him in an instant.

Seeing this, Zhang Jiu had no choice but to conceal himself. He was more concerned with staying hidden than with killing Chen Qingyang.

As it turned out, while talking with Zhang Jiu, Chen Qingyang had used his Conscious Fish to scout ahead. He’d noticed that two hundred miles behind them, once the dust had settled, a number of Demon Sect Masters had appeared. The Daoist Sect Masters, however, were nowhere in sight; they had likely met a grim fate.

Now that they had lost track of Yun Ci, they would surely start a massive search. Chen Qingyang had only one path to survival: break out of the Nine Dragon Dream Array and use the Tai Xu Sect’s Circulation of Stars Demon Suppression Array to hold back the Demon Sect Masters.

From his observations over the past two days, he knew they were quite wary of that array.

The Blood Dragons were incredibly fast. Chen Qingyang’s intuition told him they had already locked onto him, and in an instant, they were right overhead.

He glanced down at the Master again. Her eyelids twitched slightly. He could tell she was panicking inside.

‘I can accept death, but I absolutely cannot fall into the hands of the Demon Sect.’

“Kill me… and save yourself!” Her voice was as faint as a buzzing mosquito, utterly weak.

But Chen Qingyang acted as if he hadn’t heard her. With a low growl…

His Dantian, Spiritual Sea, meridians, and acupoints—his True Essence surged forth from them all. A searing pain, like fire scorching him from within, wracked his body. He unleashed his cultivation at the peak of the Fifth Realm, pushing the Ten Thousand Miles in One Breath Technique to its absolute limit.

He vanished in an instant, right under the noses of the Blood Dragons.

“You little rat! How dare you ruin the great plans of our Holy Sect!”

He was now locked on by the Divine Sense of a Demon Sect’s Foundation Establishment Master. Once again, the three Blood Dragons were right above him.

Chen Qingyang could see a break in the barrier of blood-red light just ahead. He was just a hair’s breadth away from breaking through.

As if sensing his intent, the three Blood Dragons charged at him with overwhelming might.

The thick stench of blood filled his nostrils, and their heavy breathing seemed to echo right over his head. The situation was so tense that Yun Ci couldn’t help but clench her fist, grabbing a handful of Chen Qingyang’s robes.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

A wave of light exploded behind them. The blast of Qi was so powerful it nearly threw Chen Qingyang from his feet. The moment the three Blood Dragons passed through the boundary of the Nine Dragon Dream Array, they were struck down by starlight from the sky.

The Foundation Establishment Master stood within the array’s boundary, shot them a single, sinister glare, and then rapidly retreated.

Ever since the Nine Dragon Dream Array had been established, the Tai Xu Sect’s Circulation of Stars Demon Suppression Array had been relentlessly attacking it. The assault was now reaching its climax, and the Demon Sect’s array could no longer hold.

The Foundation Establishment Master had no reason to risk his life. This was the ace up Chen Qingyang’s sleeve, the very reason he’d been willing to risk bringing Yun Ci out.

Leaving a Conscious Fish behind to stand guard, Chen Qingyang carried Yun Ci and plunged deep into the mountains, traveling another three hundred miles.

‘Senior Brother Lu was right after all.’ The Ten Thousand Miles in One Breath Technique really had saved his life. By now, however, his True Essence was completely depleted. He landed on a flat patch of ground and gently sat the Master down, leaning her body against a tree.

Her arms hung limply at her sides, and even her slender waist couldn’t support her weight. Chen Qingyang placed his hands on her waist again to help her sit upright.