The little girl stood firmly in front of Xie Zhuo. Her eyes were wide open, unblinking, making her appear extremely eerie.
With her appearance, I heard more and more footsteps approaching us, rustling sounds that made the fog of the Undying City somewhat noisy.
“Get up…”
Xie Zhuo’s tone became commanding, just like when he would normally say “the ground is cold,” “don’t eat spicy food,” or “don’t run around.”
In the past, I would have scoffed at such commands, but now, despite the discomfort in my body, I quickly stood up and instinctively took a few steps to stand behind him.
In just a moment, the entrance to the alley and the surrounding walls were crowded with strange people. Some peered down from the walls, others crouched at the alley entrance, examining us with one eye.
“Why have they gathered here?” I asked Xie Zhuo softly.
Without looking at me, Xie Zhuo wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me tightly against him. “They want to transfer malevolent energy into you.”
I was stunned, suddenly remembering the strange, face-changing person from my dream who had said out of nowhere, “will give you more.” Did they want to… give me more malevolent energy?
Why were they so determined to turn me into a malevolent spirit?
Before I had time to think, the little girl in front of us suddenly moved. “Big sister, join us.”
As she spoke, her figure flickered like a ghost, suddenly lunging straight toward me.
Xie Zhuo didn’t waste words with her either. He raised his sword and slashed. I saw a flash of silver light, and the little girl let out a piercing scream that transformed into a beast-like howl at the end. Her arm flew off and dissolved into black smoke in the fog.
That howl was like a signal. All the malevolent spirits who had surrounded us began to move!
They surged forward. Xie Zhuo held me tightly against him, wielding his sword with one hand, not using any spiritual energy. I heard only shrieks and the sound of flesh tearing near my ears.
In an instant, Xie Zhuo had carried me out of the alley, leaving many malevolent spirits behind.
In this critical moment, Xie Zhuo practically tucked me under his arm as he ran. After covering some distance, he threw me onto his back. “Hold tight…”
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, my legs clamped firmly around his waist, securing myself on his back. I had no concern for how this position looked; I could only frantically look back.
Through the violent jolting, I saw at least hundreds of people chasing us through the fog.
First hunted by the immortals at Kunlun, now hunted by malevolent spirits here—we truly weren’t welcome anywhere!
But unlike at Kunlun, the malevolent spirits here all had human forms, regardless of their appearance. Each one ran with large strides, chasing after us. To an unknowing observer, this scene might have looked like a marketplace brawl.
“They aren’t using spiritual techniques either!”
After entering the snow barrier, Xie Zhuo had said that spiritual energy should be saved for more critical moments. It seemed that this Undying City not only imprisoned malevolent spirits but also sealed away spiritual techniques, preventing both cultivators and malevolent spirits from using them. Everyone in the city fought hand-to-hand!
“Put me down,” I told Xie Zhuo through the jolting. “When it comes to physical combat, I can fight too!”
“No fighting. Our goal is to make progress.”
“Even without spiritual techniques, I can still run!”
“Your legs are shorter. You’re not as fast as I.”
I…
I was speechless…
I wanted to refute him, but what he said was true. My legs weren’t as long as his!
I never would have imagined that in a place like the Undying City, our first escape would turn into a footrace!?
While I was still marveling at this absurdity, I suddenly heard the sound of something cutting through the air in the fog ahead.
“Watch out!”
Just as I finished speaking, an arrow pierced through the fog, coming straight at us! Xie Zhuo slightly tilted his face, precisely dodging the arrow. The feathered arrow whistled past and struck a malevolent spirit that was about to pounce on us from behind Xie Zhuo!
The arrow went through the malevolent spirit’s head. It fell to the ground and quickly dissolved into black smoke, which was immediately dispersed by the frantically pursuing malevolent spirits behind.
Xie Zhuo didn’t stop, continuing to run forward. I looked toward the fog ahead and saw a point of light appear within it.
The light didn’t stay in one place but raced toward Xie Zhuo and me at great speed. Through the foggy air, I could even hear the sound of hoofbeats!
As it drew closer, a large black horse burst through the fog. On its back was a figure wielding a spear and carrying a longbow, dressed in black armor.
He swept his weapon across the ground, its blade grinding against the broken, uneven flagstones, sending sparks flying in all directions. The light I had seen earlier came from this!
What kind of divine weapon was this?
Just as this question arose in my mind, another followed: “Is this a malevolent spirit?”
My question went unanswered, and all I got was the sound of the armored general galloping past. Riding his horse and gripping his spear, he charged into the growing number of malevolent spirits behind Xie Zhuo and me!
Xie Zhuo and the armored figure passed each other, shoulder to shoulder, as if neither had seen the other, completely ignoring each other.
Xie Zhuo didn’t slow down at all, continuing to carry me forward into the fog ahead. The black-armored general plunged into the crowd of malevolent spirits and began to kill them. In an instant, under the horse’s hooves and at the tip of the spear, there was nothing but the black smoke of shredded malevolent spirits.
But the malevolent spirits, like Xie Zhuo, didn’t linger to fight. While a few were detained, most circled the black-armored general and continued pursuing us.
At the same time, more and more sounds of arrows cutting through the air came from all directions.
I turned to look and saw countless arrows shooting from different places and angles in the fog surrounding us, from atop broken walls and ruins. Without exception, all the arrows were aimed at the malevolent spirits following us.
“These are…”
“Cultivators in the Undying City.”
My lips moved, but for a moment, I didn’t know how to describe the feeling in my heart.