Qingxuang had no idea how long he had spent running. Soon, fatigue began to creep up his bones and joints. He began to feel the strain of the constant manoeuvring, footwork and speed. His heart felt like it could tear out of his chest at any moment. His lungs felt like they forgot to contract and expand at certain times, forcing him to even feel dizzy at certain intervals.
The plan was simple. He was going to divert the attention of the Scarlet Eyed Tiger from himself to the warriors out there. Some of them might sustain injuries from battling it, absolutely. But he was betting on the three strong cultivators within the carriage to help him end the tiger, so he wasn't really worried.
Jumping onto a large branch, he tore it from its socket after flipping into mid air, and sent it crashing into the Scarlet Eyed Tiger with pinpoint accuracy.
CRASH!
The branch lodged in between the tiger's fore legs, which capitalized on its momentum to send it stumbling into the ground.
ROAR!!!
The Scarlet Eyed Tiger was beyond furious. With a loud roar, its body began to exude a reddish demonic hue. Its body was like an arrow that had been shot from a bowstring with incredible force, and it charged after him with murderous ferocity.
Meanwhile, Qingxuan could only laugh. He was finally heading into the clearing where the carriage was located. Just a mile more to cross and he'd finally be able to shake off the Scarlet Eyed Tiger from his tail.
But what he failed to account for, was the extent to which the Tiger's ferocity run, or how deep its murderous intent towards him was.
The moment he flipped off that tree, his peripheral vision caught wind of the Scarlet Eyed Tiger who had also leapt into mid air, with its jaws wide open, wanting to catch him airborne.
With the two trees being almost 50m apart, Qingxuan had to apply the Sky Trace Phantom Steps footwork to manoeuvre in midair, but that was the trap. The tiger's eyes shone with intelligent ferocity. It instinctively knew this was where it could get him.
The two nearly clashed mid air. Qingxuan's mind raced, and his heart thumped within his chest. Adrenaline coursed within his veins, and his perception sped up many times. Rather than continue with his skip to the other tree, he grabbed a long vine as a temporary measure to swing out of the Scarlet Eyed Tiger's range.
As he swung, he felt the tiger's whisker touch his back. That was how close it was to grabbing him. But the Tiger was unrelenting. Seeing as it could not grab Qingxuan with its feet, it stretched out its huge paws as it began to fall and tore out grooves of his flesh before he could swing away.
"Arghh!!"
Qingxuan let out a loud cry. The cuts were deep to the bone. But he held on. His hands tightened around the vines as he swung away, the tiger still chasing blindly.
Leaping into mid air, he grabbed another vine and swung with all his might, sending him flying high into the sky…
Meanwhile, back at the clearing, the young maiden in the blue battle robes stood calmly beside the young master as they prepared to head into the mountain range.
The guards themselves strapped blades to their waists and picked up spears and arrows, ready for the hunt.
That was until…
ROAAARRR!!!
They all heard the loud roar. "What?!! Junior sister Lingshan, do you feel that?!" The young master stood there calmly, fanning himself lightly. That was indeed the Scarlet Eyed Tiger's roar. There was no mistaking it. Here, he was going to prove that he was worthy of her, by killing the beast and offering it to her. He could just imagine marrying her and having her on their night of consummation.
She was his greatest desire and not even all the modesty in the world could hide that.
Thinking up to this point, he smiled and unsheathed a thin blade at his waist. The maiden remained silent. They could feel the aura of the tiger grow closer and closer. It was heading towards them.
SOU!!
As the tension peaked, time seemed to slow down, when an object soared out of the thick canopy of leaves into the sky, forcing them to lift their eyes to the sky.
"What is that?!"
"Is that a bird?!"
"No you idiot?! It's a human. A boy!!"
Qingxuan soared through the air above the clearing, letting go of the vine that propelled him into such height. Everyone below stared momentarily, forgetting the incoming doom.
Airborne, Qingxuan felt like letting himself go for a moment. He felt light, as if he was resting on clouds. But.. He slapped himself back into reality and unleashed the footwork of the Sky Trace Phantom Steps.
With that, he flipped himself forcefully, spinning over the crowd of warriors who were simply dumbstruck at what he was doing.
"I'm definitely going to break a bone or two.." The spin helped him stabilise himself mid air and slow down his descent, but ultimately a fall from such heights would hurt anyone, enhanced or not.
To further mitigate the damage, he curled himself into a ball, folding his legs into his bosom and wrapped his arms around his head.
BANG!!!
He crashed into the ground heavily, skipped across the rocky surface, like a pebble on a lake, until he crashed into a tree and several plants.
The Scarlet Eyed Tiger pounced into the clearing not long after he had appeared. The young master and the guards mobilized instantly. Martial Techniques were unleashed immediately.
"Azure Sky sword Art!" The young master turned into a ghastly blur, like a cloud. His sword turned into multiple after images, and then released a sword beam that tore a groove into the earth, and struck the Scarlet Eyed Tiger.
ROAAARR!!
A long gash opened across the tiger's torso, sending blood spurting into the air. A guttural scream tore from its throat, as its already red eyes, turned bloody. With a lounge, it knocked back several of the guards with a swipe of the it's paw and the leapt into the forest in one go.
"Don't let it escape! Go!!" The young master executed a set of intricate footwork and chased after it, while the guards followed suit, their spears and blades raised high as they chased after..
Meanwhile..
"Cough!"
Qingxuan coughed blood, as his bones rattled while trying to rise back to his feet. The damage he had sustained was too great. An ordinary person would've been dead by now from all the internal injuries.
As he tried pushing himself to his feet, he heard footsteps walking close to him and then he paused.
His vision activated and then he spotted her. A face carved by divinity, skin like snow, hair like wool. An angel in human form. He lifted his eyes to meet hers and right in that moment, time seemed to freeze.
The young maiden froze instantly, as Qingxuan's gaze met hers. Instinctively she felt a surge deep within her. A tuning, as if something within her was reacting to Qingxuan's unnatural eyes.
"T..those eyes!" Her words caught up in her throat, and her breathing became hurried. She was always calm and coolheaded, never reacting more than needed, but for the first time, something threw her off balance and it was Qingxuan's godly eyes.
Qingxuan quickly closed them and forced himself to his feet, ignoring the bone rattling pain in his joints.
He turned around, limping, when he heard her speak. "If you leave like this you won't make it back to wherever you came from.." Her voice quivered, as if she was trying to calm herself, but the trembling of an ancient power within her core, as it had just met the most terrifying entity in the cosmos was unable to keep her calm.
"Here.. It isn't much but it'll heal you quickly. .." She touched the ring on her finger and magically produced a pouch and then threw it over.
Qingxuan watched her intently without even turning. He could see the minute expressions on her face. The emotions. Joy, shock, expectation.
There was no contempt, no hatred, no fear, just wonder and amazement. He caught the pouch with one hand without needing to turn around.
"Please tell me your name.." She voiced out, watching him intently. Qingxuan opened his eyes and looked to the side. And instantly, she felt that strange aura blanket her entire being. For the first time since years, she felt it trembling. The divine physique of hers that would not respond to her call no matter how many times she begged. It trembled.
His lips opened and closed, but a sudden disturbance forced him to retreat instantly.
"What's with all the fuss?!!" The fat old man stormed out of the carriage in annoyance.
She turned to him and turned around and he was gone. Disappeared. The old man rushed to her and patted her shoulder and saw her turn around with tears.
"Grandpa Su. That boy. His eyes! It made my bloodline tremble…."
Her voice broke down..
"What?!!" The old man roared out in disbelief and his mouth gaped.