Chapter 124: The Chase

Watching Gu Changqing charge toward the neatly arranged phalanx of Qichao Awakened, Yan Hao gritted his teeth and commanded, "Let's go!"

They could no longer afford to be involved in this chaos. Although he did not approve of Wei Hong’s methods, he knew that while Gu Changqing’s madness was his own business, they could not afford to be dragged down with him. Whether they were from Chongming or the Guards, and regardless of their reluctance, they had no choice but to follow Yan Hao’s orders; he was the only Level 6 Awakened left here to take charge.

The Chongming Awakened glanced coldly at the Guards, their eyes filled with mockery. In the past, given the typical behavior of the Guards, such an insult would have triggered an immediate explosion. Yet now, the Guards acted as if they hadn't heard a thing, many wearing expressions of shame, confusion, and hesitation. Even though Gu Changqing had killed several of their Level 6 peers, they found it impossible to hate him. The conduct of Wei Hong and the others had left them feeling disillusioned and ashamed. In contrast, Gu Changqing, despite his arrogant and domineering nature—having beaten members of both Chongming and the Guards alike—remained consistent even when facing Qichao.

...

Gu Changqing sent a river of blood surging toward the Awakened phalanx. Countless shards of ice and wind whipped into a tornado, attempting to freeze the Blood Prison. Ice-type abilities were, after all, a natural counter to blood. However, in the blink of an eye, even the tornado was stained crimson, and the Blood Prison showed no signs of freezing.

"Move! Don't let that blood touch you!" shouted the Level 6 Awakened pursuing him from behind. They had seen the power of this blood river firsthand; it could melt and consume a person in seconds.

But it was too late. The blood river swept up several physical-enhancement Awakened, crashed into the rear ranks, and engulfed a dozen long-range specialists. Others hesitated for a fleeting moment, watching the Level 6 Awakened currently clutched in Gu Changqing’s grip.

"Attack!" a Level 6 Awakened roared.

Instantly, a deluge of flames, lightning, and psychic arrows rained down upon Gu Changqing. He grinned, tightening his grip to shatter the spine of the captive Awakened, allowing the Blood Prison to bore directly into the wound. The red light flickering around Gu Changqing’s body vanished after a few pulses; the Tortoise-Snake Bagua Lamp could not withstand such a concentrated barrage from so many Level 4 and 5 Awakened. However, he seized this opportunity to charge directly into their formation.

The front-line physical-enhancement Awakened raised their shields, but Gu Changqing punched through, driving both their shields and their arms deep into their chests. He activated a Green Wood Profound Light Talisman, crashing into the crowd and carving a bloody path. The rear ranks, composed entirely of elemental Awakened, stood no chance against him at close range; one punch was enough to blow half a body apart.

"Scatter!"

Following the order, the Qichao Awakened instantly fanned out into small squads. Viewed from above, one could see that even in this chaos, the Qichao ranks remained remarkably disciplined—a testament to their terrifying training. The blood river, still carrying a dozen victims, surged toward the inner combat zone—not targeting the Qichao Awakened, but the two Bodhisattvas in the distance!

When Gu Changqing caught sight of the two Bodhisattvas, his eyes lit up. A single glance told him they were similar to the Bodhisattvas formed by the Phantom Monk’s condensed willpower. To him, these were far more valuable than consuming a few Awakened. They were his true objective; otherwise, he would have spent his time hunting down Li Gongfu and the last remaining Level 6 Awakened of the Guards.

"Stop him!" the Qichao commander shouted as the blood river swept forward, watching as the trapped Awakened were reduced to white bones in seconds. He had seen the carnage outside; even if he didn't know Gu Changqing’s exact intent, he knew he couldn't let him succeed. Especially now that three of the seven Level 7 monsters had been downed, leaving only four.

Five or six elemental Awakened immediately turned, unleashing a torrent of fire and lightning at Gu Changqing. His speed increased further, darting like an arrow, but instead of pushing forward, he dove into a squad of a dozen Awakened. Sure enough, seeing Gu Changqing use the Level 4 and 5 Awakened as human shields, the fire and lightning paused for a split second.

Gu Changqing seized the opportunity to toss a handful of spirit stones into the Tortoise-Snake Bagua Lamp. He continued to use the lower-level Awakened as shields, making it difficult for the Qichao ranged units to attack. The blood river, however, did not stop, lunging straight for the two Eight-Armed Dual-Faced Bodhisattvas.

In mid-air, the blood river slammed into a massive wall of ice and was rapidly frozen. Yet, within a heartbeat, the ice wall itself was stained crimson. The blood river surged through again, a figure manifesting on its surface like a shooting star, piercing toward one of the Bodhisattvas. It was blocked by a physical-enhancement Awakened, but while he might have been able to stop a spear, he could not stop the entire river.

The enemy’s ice-type Awakened struck again—not just one, but several—freezing the river solid. Even as the blood corroded the ice, the layers kept thickening.

"Damn it!" Gu Changqing shifted his position constantly, pursued by three Level 6 physical-enhancement Awakened. Seeing the river frozen, he activated every attack talisman he had, aiming them all at the ice-type Awakened. Subduing Thunder Talismans, Fire Dragon Talismans, and Geng Metal Sword Light Spells erupted in the air. Amidst the chaos, the Child-Mother Yin Soul Swords emerged from the belly of a ten-meter-long fire dragon. Moving with blinding speed, they caught the enemy off guard; one Level 6 ice-type Awakened was decapitated before he could react to anything but the dragon.

The others were severely disrupted. The blood river instantly shattered the ice, and a swarm of blood-sea needles erupted, blanketing the two Eight-Armed Bodhisattvas. The Bodhisattvas didn't seem to notice, but the needles began to bore into their forms, corroding them from within.

"Zhou Yong, Du Feng..." The Qichao commander rattled off seven names before barking, "Catch him!" He was livid. A single man had been causing such havoc for so long, killing so many of his lower-level troops. His eyes were filled with cold, murderous intent. Although the two Bodhisattvas had been shattered countless times and their remaining presence was fading, the pressure on the four remaining Level 7 monsters had been halved, allowing him to spare the manpower. He had seen Gu Changqing ignite the talismans and realized the man’s immense value.

As he spoke, Gu Changqing felt his body grow heavy—clearly, the enemy had a gravity-type Awakened. However, Gu Changqing wore the Silver Silk Cloud-Stepping Boots, had a Wind-Walking Talisman active, and utilized the Weight-Change Technique of the Giant Mountain Gate; his speed still surpassed that of an ordinary Awakened. When he saw several Level 6 Awakened closing in, he changed direction, grabbed two Level 4 Awakened, threw them at his pursuers, and bolted toward the gate.

Just before reaching it, he abruptly pivoted again.

"He's stalling for time! Don't give him an opening!" the others shouted. Gu Changqing’s intent was clear to everyone.

At that moment, the pin-prick wounds inflicted by the blood-sea needles on the two Bodhisattvas had widened into nail-sized gashes. A vast amount of willpower was being devoured by the Blood Prison, and the Bodhisattvas were covered in honeycomb-like holes.

"No! Take him down now!" the Qichao commander roared upon realizing the situation.

Gu Changqing was now surrounded. Knowing he couldn't drag this out, he braced himself against several incoming attacks and threw himself at the inner courtyard wall. Beyond the wall lay a cliff, plunging at least a thousand meters down.

"See you next time!" Gu Changqing grinned, flashing a malicious smile at them before leaping into the void.

As he fell, he reached out a hand, and lines of blood flew from the bodies of the two Bodhisattvas, returning to his palm. A massive, indescribable surge of energy flooded his body.

The Qichao Awakened rushed to the wall, watching bitterly as Gu Changqing plummeted into the abyss, quickly shrinking to a mere speck. At that height, even a Level 6 physical-enhancement Awakened would be crippled upon impact. Yet, they remained unwilling to let him go; if he escaped today, they would never live it down. They found footholds and began to slide down the cliff face, grabbing at protruding rocks to slow their descent, though their speed was far slower than his.

Gu Changqing watched the jagged rocks and forest below rushing up to meet him. He took a deep breath and pushed his Weight-Change Technique to its limit. His body weight plummeted. He summoned the Child-Mother Yin Yang Swords beneath his feet to cushion the impact and steer his descent. Finally, he slammed into a massive boulder and, the moment his feet touched the ground, he darted into the distance.

There were still four hours left before he had to log off and return to Daye.