Chapter 45
We’re done for.
Yang Zhong stood rooted to the ground.
Specter! This is a Specter! A demonic beast of the same realm was nothing but an ant before it. Moreover, with this Specter already in the Harmonization Realm, I presume the stronger ferocious beasts were all eaten by it.
Even if such rare and scary ferocious beasts existed, I thought they would only be born in beast caves. To think we have come across one in the surroundings of the beast cave… How can we be so unlucky?! This is a ferocious beast that even teams from the Harmonization Realm would have trouble fighting against, and we are only a group of little disciples in the Inner Breath Realm … This is practically the heavens digging a hole and telling us to jump to our deaths!
“What do we do?” Yang Zhou’s voice trembled.
The young lady that thought she was done for, had already begun bawling her eyes out.
Gao Xiang gathered his spirits, trying to remain calm, and told Lu Mingshu, “I’ll stay behind to distract it! You guys run first and look for the teacher!”
“No way.” Lu Mingshu said resolutely, “We are too far away from the exit, and with your strength, you would at best, only be able to exchange a few moves with it before it catches up to us. What’s more, the teacher might not necessarily be able to subdue it either.”
A being such as this Specter— extremely strong and incomparably savage— had always been fought against with the tactic of swarming it with numbers. The teacher was but a Harmonization Realm practitioner and would not be a match for the Specter by fighting it alone.
“But …”
“There’s no need to do meaningless sacrifices. On the contrary, I’m afraid we will cause a disaster if we were to lead it back.” There are over twenty Inner Breath Realm disciples at the river bank; if we are to lead the Specter there, wouldn’t we just give it extra snacks?
“I don’t want to be eaten, I don’t want to be eaten …” the young lady cried out. Her mental state had completely collapsed.
“Shut it!” Gao Xiang felt irritated at her crying. Furthermore, he also feared that her bawling would provoke the Specter.
“Then what do you suggest we do?” Gao Xiang stared fixedly at the Specter, getting ready to attack at its slightest movement.
Lu Mingshu clamped her lips tightly, rapidly calculating in her mind. This was the most challenging plight she had ever been in since her birth. Even when she had been sent to another world by the Heavenly Wheel previously, she had never met such a difficult opponent.
“Let me draw it away,” she said resolutely.
“No way!” Gao Xiang shouted anxiously.
“You should know that, if there is anyone capable of drawing it away, that person would be me.” Lu Mingshu remained unperturbed, “I have already remembered the topography here when I looked at the map earlier. There’s a slope full of rocks to the west— a very complicated terrain. I will still have an opportunity to live if I flee towards that slope.”
Gao Xiang still wanted to add a piece of his mind, but the Specter could wait no more; its shadow flashed, pouncing towards them.
Keng! Lu Mingshu lifted her sword to block the attack before Gao Xiang could have the opportunity to do so. “Leave now!”
“I …”
“Go! Let’s go!” The young lady yelled out in the midst of crying.
Yang Zhou steeled his heart. “Let’s go!” he shouted and dashed towards the exit with the young lady on his back.
On the other side, Lu Mingshu had already exchanged two moves with the Specter and had dodged by a hair’s breadth each time.
“Leave quickly!” she shouted out.
The corners of Gao Xiang’s mouth twitched, but he finally made himself turn around. He said just one line before leaving, “Just wait, I will definitely find people to rescue you!”
Lu Mingshu blocked a few more moves, and when their silhouettes disappeared, she swung her sword at the Specter. When she saw it land on its long arm, she turned tails and ran for her life.
The Specter was very fast, and Lu Mingshu had calculated that even if she were to use the Light Body Technique, it would barely allow her to not be caught up to. She also had to control her mystic force; if mystic force were to be consumed too quickly, and she was caught before making it to the rugged slope, she would no longer be able to find a way to survive.
Such life and death moments were no stranger to her. Just like the first time she traversed and was pursued by the demonic wolf; she had come across such a crisis not just once in the past few years. She had often been sent to other worlds via the Heavenly Wheel. However, none of her opponents had been as dangerous as the Specter.
When speaking purely in terms of speed, Lu Mingshu would not be able to outrun the Specter even if she used the Light Body Technique.
Hence, she had to think of another way to increase her chances of survival.
Lu Mingshu went round an ancient tree, quickly turned, and fled in the opposite direction.
The Specter was fast, so due to the strong inertia, it couldn’t stop easily. Thus, once Lu Mingshu changed direction, she could put some distance between her and the Specter – it would never be able to react in time.
She fled, changed direction, then fled and changed direction once more.
The Specter gradually got used to her escaping pattern and was no longer as easy to throw off.
The Specter was still following her closely when they made a detour around an ancient tree yet again. However, this time, Lu Mingshu turned around abruptly and pierced its flesh with her sword.
Chi— The sharp tip of her sword pierced the Specter’s joint.
The Specter had just lifted its arm— when Lu Mingshu started running as fast as she could once more.
As one would expect, by striking the joint of the Specter’s leg, she was finally able to affect its speed.
By the time the Specter had its guard up once again, Lu Mingshu changed her tactics.
By changing her tactics several times, she finally rushed into the rugged slope unscathed.
Her mystic force was nearly completely depleted.
She ran while kicking the rough rocks by her feet.
She knew that with how strong the spirit of the Specter was, this illusion formation would be practically ineffective. However, at this moment, her survival rate would increase if she were to slow it down by even a tiny bit more.
Large beads of perspiration dripped off Lu Mingshu’s forehead, as she propped herself up on a giant stone gasping for breath.
I feel a little dizzy; did I used up too much energy?
She took out a very small round object from her sleeve, and with a light press, she sprung the cover of the metal shell open, revealing a refined surface.
It had an hour hand, minute hand, second hand and in addition, a magnetic needle.
It is now three twenty p.m. in the afternoon, pointing towards …
Lu Mingshu suddenly discovered something was amiss. She lifted her head to look at the sun.
Determining the points of the compass according to the Sun was one of the fundamental skills when it came to surviving in the wild. However, the direction indicated by the magnetic needle presently was not identical to the direction of the sun. Moreover, the magnetic needle was still trembling incessantly …
There is a magnetic field nearby!
As the thought flashed through her mind, she quickly act according to it.
Beasts were generally more susceptible to magnetic fields compared to humans — this was one of their innate skills. Similarly, they were easily susceptible to interference from the magnetic field as well …
The magnetic field, magnetic field …
Lu Mingshu kept repeating these words in her mind, staring hard at the compass in her hand, all the while not stopping in her footsteps. She walked towards the part of the magnetic field where the magnetic needle showed more interference.
Found it!
The magnetic needle jumped incessantly. The field was fluctuating so much, that the needle moved by a wide margin each time, consuming a large amount of her mental strength.
Watching the Specter rapidly approaching, Lu Mingshu quickly kicked one last rock from underneath her feet.
The Specter ran in head-first, but yet, its speed slowed down and it suddenly began running around in circles.
The illusion formation made by her had never achieved such an astounding effect before. It was indeed as the saying goes: ‘The bigger the pressure one faces, the more of one’s potential would be uncovered.’
Sweat droplets slid down from her forehead continuously, as she quickly set up the formation. She spared no effort in setting up a big enough formation, so she would have enough leeway to save the situation.
However, the Specter was not a being that could be easily controlled. It possessed a spirit that far surpassed ordinary ferocious beasts.
At that moment, by the riverbank, Gao Xiang was currently raging. “What is the meaning of this?”
Teacher Zuo shot a glance of indifference towards him. “I have already sent out the message, the sect will naturally send reinforcements over soon.”
Gao Xiang almost couldn’t hold himself back from pointing his finger at Teacher Zuo. “Exactly how much time would have already passed by the time the reinforcements arrive? With human life at stake, how can we take no action when we are closed? This is a failure to fulfil one’s duty!”
Teacher Zuo stated coldly, “Do not think that you can speak rudely to a teacher just because you are a disciple of Elder An! Don’t you even know to call a first-rate disciple of the sect senior brother?”
Although Gao Xiang was a direct disciple, he could only be considered a third-rate disciple before he finishes his apprenticeship. The disciples of Nine Jade Palace could be classified from first to third-rate, as well as ‘genuine successor’. A direct disciple was only showing their origin and did not signify a rank.
Hence, Teacher Zuo was not wrong. No matter how high his origin status was, Gao Xiang still had to call him senior brother before he finishes his apprenticeship.
However, Gao Xiang had always been someone that was stubborn in insisting on his own thinking, so why would he bother about what Teacher Zuo said? Gao Xiang immediately clenched his teeth into an angry smile. “What pretty words, do you think others have no idea?! Who in the sect does not know you are Zhou Yinru’s dog? You listen to Zhou Yinru’s order to avenge your private enmity through the public task, aren’t you?!”