Di Choufei was always standing at the limits of those mounds, waiting for Chi Xiaoye to show up. His sword brows slowly rose, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He already saw the movements in the wilderness by the shore, seeing Lin Xi and Chi Xiaoye, but Lin Xi and Chi Xiaoye couldn’t see him.

It wasn’t because of a difference of cultivation, but rather because of the especially meticulous Brass Hawkeye in his hands.

Because of the extremely strict requirements in the curvature of the crystal sheet, only the very best of Yunqin’s craftsmen could make those normal Brass Hawkeyes. Meanwhile, the two sheets of crystals in the Brass Hawkeye in his hands were even more so polished from ‘Frozen Soul Crystal’, their degree of transparency far greater than ordinary crystal sheets, moreover increasing the sharpness of the edges of objects in its line of sight, making some fine movements become even more clear.

What made Di Choufei feel a bit of irony was that this Brass Hawkeye that posed extreme importance for Yunqin’s great battles in the last fifty years was left behind by Green Luan Academy’s Principal Zhang. Meanwhile, he was using this to watch Lin Xi, preparing to use this to deal with Green Luan Academy’s heaven’s choice, this extremely important Windstalker.

Only, while facing Lin Xi who was already getting closer and closer, he didn’t feel too many feelings of excitement or accomplishment.

He was definitely a young expert who had the qualifications to feel pride. Not only was he the one with the fastest cultivation advancement speed among Immortal Academy’s elite students during these past few years, he also possessed extremely sharp intuition towards the grasp of the greater situation, as well as the commanding and dispatching of soldiers, someone naturally suited to serving as a general. In his entire life, regardless of whether it was when facing cultivators alone or if he was fighting a war with an army, he had never lost once, so he was naturally someone like Helan Yuexi. However, among the cultivators of the younger generation, the spot he occupied had long exceeded Helan Yuexi’s by a lot.

That was why when he heard that Lin Xi might become one of his greatest future rivals, apart from being like Helan Yuexi, having a natural ‘one mountain cannot hold two tigers’ mentality, he also felt even more displeased emotions… He only received the admiration and praise of some of Yunqin’s highest figures after accumulating so many contributions and astonishing performances, thus possibly becoming the chosen one of one of this world’s greatest authoritative figures, what did Lin Xi have?

“Regardless of how lacking you are, I will still face you head-on, and then kill you.”

As he watched Lin Xi who was getting closer and closer, Di Choufei released an inward laugh of mockery. The aura on his body shook slightly, a bit of fine dust scattering from his body. His body was untainted by a speck of dust, like a jade tree that faced the wind.

The distant Lin Xi’s hair and face were covered in filth like a beggar.

However, right at this time, what made Di Choufei’s brows suddenly frown was that he saw Lin Xi quickly walk into the riverbed, no longer tending to his previous careful stance, crazily running towards the distant riverbed.

He didn’t understand why Lin Xi would make these types of movements at this time, but he already understood extremely clearly that in this type of distance, even if Lin Xi noticed their existence, he definitely wouldn’t be able to escape the Black Dragon Army’s pursuit.

That was why he only watched with a frown and waited.

He saw Lin Xi stop and then turn around towards where he and Huang Huoxiao were, using his greatest voice to shout out.

Because they were far away, the voice was already a bit indistinct, but both him and Huang Huoxiao still heard every single word clearly.

“Di Choufei, stop hiding over there already, your mommy is calling for you to go home for dinner!”

The coldness and arrogance on Di Choufei’s face immediately vanished, what replaced it was a paleness of disbelief.

How did you know I was here?

Why are you able to shout out my name?

This sentence alone already produced countless possibilities that crashed down on Di Choufei’s heart like endless thunder. His emotions surged, to the extent where he couldn't’ even control his own power. Wisps of soul force rushed out of his body like fine yellow daffodils, appearing exceptionally dazzling in this dark world.

Right at this time, the mud lake in front of him also released thunderous noise.

…

Lin Xi saw the vague radiance by the lakeside, knowing that Di Choufei heard the words he screamed out, also knowing that his words left an extremely great impact on Di Choufei’s mood.

“What a pity it is that I can’t see your current expression… what a pity it is that you don’t know who Gu Junpeng is, or else it would be even more brilliant.”

Only, Lin Xi still wasn’t completely satisfied, a bit regretful as he said this to himself with a sigh.

Chi Xiaoye had no way of knowing the meaning behind these shouted words filled with information from another world, she didn’t even hear the words Lin Xi muttered to himself. She also saw that brilliance by the muddy lakeside only high level cultivators could notice. She knew that in that area of cave barbarians, there was no way this type of cultivator can exist.

“It’s coming… this truly is another test of the heart’s endurance. Chi Xiaoye, you have to hold on.”

Right at this time, Lin Xi instead looked at her, saying seriously.

When Lin Xi’s words fell, the sound of endless thunder erupting officially began.

The dam embankment formed naturally by mud lakes collapsed again, unknown just how much turbid water gushed out. The waters instantly began to surge like a powerful army.

Crazy winds surged, blowing Di Choufei until he felt like a butterfly spreading its wings. When he saw the power of this black flood, he suddenly understood that Lin Xi wanted to borrow this black flood to escape, his complexion immediately becoming a bit more pale.

…

The corners of Lin Xi’s clothes fluttered. As the flood approached, his clothes were also blown until they fluttered about, completely sticking to his body.

The earth in Great Desolate Swamp wasn’t sturdy at all, inside the mud lake’s water, there were only rotting dried branches and leaves and bubble-like sludge. The muddy water wasn’t thick like a mudslide, instead gushing forth like a flood. There weren’t any especially hard objects to bump into either, but the power of this flood was still not something human power could resist. Once one jumped inside, they could only be swept about at will like a piece of rotten wood, unable to control themselves at all.

With Lin Xi’s current condition, perhaps he could forcefully hold his breath, not breathing for a long time, but Chi Xiaoye’s body couldn’t do so.

The black flood arrived.

“We didn’t reach the final moment of despair… you have to remember that your life still involves the lives of many people.”

While looking at the eyes of Chi Xiaoye that had completely grown dim because of the deaths of all of those lakeside cave barbarians, as well as all because of her hope being shattered, to the extent where she didn’t even want to adjust her breath one last time, Lin Xi once again examined the rope binding her to him. He patted her shoulder, saying this to her with an extremely serious voice.

Chi Xiaoye raised her head slightly, thinking to herself absentmindedly. She didn’t understand how Lin Xi discovered Di Choufei, nor did she understand how Lin Xi didn’t fall into despair despite facing this type of situation. However, her original dispirited state, because of Lin Xi’s words, produced some changes.

“It really is quite frightening…”

Lin Xi looked at her, nodding his head again. Then, he turned around, looking at the sky reaching flood. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself and say this.

Then, just like when he jumped off the cliff back then in Three Reeds Peak, he began to run as if he was duty-bound to not turn back, bringing Chi Xiaoye with him, jumping high into the air, doing his best to stay a bit further away from the edges of the flood.

The two of them, just like two fine specks of dust, entered the black flood that erased everything.

…

Lin Xi and Chi Xiaoye truly beame like two small fish within a powerful current.

They were two little fish who were suffocating, drifting with the waves and going with the flow.

The black flood was like a great black palm, holding Lin Xi and Chi Xiaoye, toying with them at will.

Lin Xi couldn’t open his eyes at all, completely unable to sense the surrounding scenery. When he felt that he was flung high into the air again, he quickly released a breath of air, taking in a deep breath immediately after. Then, he began to cough intensely from the mud that struck his face, making him vomit fiercely.

However, he still carried Chi Xiaoye’s body steadily, his arms always raised perfectly straight, supporting Chi Xiaoye above him, doing this to try and give her a higher chance of breathing.

While coughing and vomiting intensely, Lin Xi bitterly held on. He was at a loss to everything around him, not knowing that there was a black little beast that was currently swept by this flood, coughing and vomiting like him, frantically tumbling and struggling about.

This small black beast that was swept over from the mud lakes was firmly gripping some dried branches.

Compared to Lin Xi, it knew even less about what was going on and why things were like this. It even vaguely wondered if this world really was one difficulty after another, that there were no other happy things?

It didn’t know about the existence of Lin Xi inside this flood either.

However, right at this time, it encountered Lin Xi. It was swept up by the mud, sent crashing back down and then sent up once more into Lin Xi’s body by the wave that rushed back from ashore.

It didn’t know what Lin Xi was, but it could clearly sense the wisps of warmth released from Lin Xi’s body, able to sense that Lin Xi was more firm and reliable than some of the dried branches and rotten leaves it previously clung to. This little beast who only came into contact with its mother’s ice-cold corpse and the ice-cold muddy water sensed a mysterious warmth, the first warmth in its entire life.

As such, it produced a feeling of dependence, naturally letting go of the useless dead objects, its four claws digging into Lin Xi’s clothes.

1. Gu Junpeng is an online fictional character. On July 16, 2009, online users started a post on Baidu forum titled ‘Gu Junpeng, your mommy is calling for you to go home for dinner’, this post receiving 390,617 views within five or six hours, attracting 17,000 replies, treated by internet users as an ‘internet miracle’.