After the Immortal Disappeared

Rock Wolf Luu Xin’s tone was filled with self-reproach. After all, Dong Rui was the great enemy of the entire Rock Wolf Race. He had finally managed to catch the guy, only to let him get away!

Hee Lingchuan looked at him. His face was covered in long, thin cuts, one of which even slashed across his right eye, nearly blinding him. Blood Pearls trickled down his jowls, but he didn’t have time to lick them away.

Hee Lingchuan had no choice but to comfort his companion. "If this man were really so easy to catch, he wouldn’t be a wanted criminal in multiple nations." Judging from their two encounters, Dong Rui was exceptionally cunning. He would flee the instant an attack failed, never getting entangled with his target, regardless of whether it looked like he still had a chance.

Such a cautious person was difficult to capture.

It was said that Dong Rui didn’t have many Demon Puppets, and each one required meticulous refinement. He had already lost a Werewolf, so this Ghost Ape was likely his most powerful weapon now. He couldn’t afford to lose it under any circumstances.

That was why Dong Rui had sent his bird to follow them, trying to find a way to retrieve the Ghost Ape.

Under these circumstances, Hee Lingchuan ordered his men to pursue them relentlessly.

Dong Rui tried to descend to pick up the ape, but Shan Youjun drew his bow and fired. The arrow grazed the giant bird’s wing, scaring it into a rapid ascent.

Hee Lingchuan shot him a glare. "Lousy shot!"

It wasn’t that Shan Youjun’s aim was poor; the Strange Bird’s Spiritual Sense was simply too powerful. It had twisted its body at the last second to dodge.

He rubbed his nose and drew two more arrows, preparing to succeed next time.

But after that scare, the giant bird refused to fly down again.

As for why Hee Lingchuan didn’t use the Floating Life Blade’s "One-Throw Must-Hit" special ability, the reason was simple: the distance between him and Dong Rui exceeded ten zhang...

The two sides remained at a stalemate as they galloped for another ten-plus li.

The Ghost Ape could no longer keep going. Hee Lingchuan and his men could hear its ragged breathing, HUFF... HUFF... like a broken bellows. Hee Chunhua’s Guards had previously wounded its lungs with the Ghost Eye Bow. With every exhale, it coughed up a spray of bloody mist.

If this continued, it would become Hee Lingchuan’s biggest prize of the year.

Just then, Dong Rui suddenly blew on a bamboo flute. The sound was exceptionally shrill, carrying far into the dark night sky.

The Ghost Ape heard it too. It suddenly threw its head back, let out a great roar, and accelerated once more!

This was squeezing out the very last of its life force.

The Rock Wolf suddenly said, "This is bad. I smell vegetation and running water!"

’Up ahead?’ Hee Lingchuan immediately urged everyone to speed up.

But it was too late. The Giant Ape suddenly leaped forward as it ran, its body shrinking rapidly in mid-air, and then—

It fell!

Hee Lingchuan pursued for a few more steps before pulling to an abrupt halt. The Bo Beast let out a long neigh, NEIGHHH, and reared up on its hind legs.

Three more steps and they would have plunged off the cliff.

The other riders also hastily reined in their mounts.

Sprawled before them was a pitch-black chasm in the earth!

The flat plains ended here. The chasm was over a hundred zhang wide, and as for its depth...

It was too dark to see clearly. Hee Lingchuan dismounted and kicked a rock the size of an ostrich egg over the edge.

CLATTER, CLATTER, CLATTER. It was the sound of the rock tumbling through branches and leaves.

Hee Lingchuan focused his hearing and thought he could even make out the sound of water.

It seemed there was a mountain stream at the bottom, with trees on the cliffside and water below.

The Ghost Ape had jumped straight down, disappearing into the darkness. The giant bird in the sky circled once, then dove straight down as well, clearly intending to meet it at the bottom of the ravine.

Dong Rui, after all, was flying high and could see far, allowing him to prepare in advance. Hee Lingchuan and his men were more than a step behind in that regard.

’Is this it? Is this where our pursuit ends?’

Unwilling to give up, he didn’t waste any time. He took out a Hooked Rope and said to Shan Youjun, "Get your gear. You’re with me."

With that, he leaped off the cliff!

Of course, he wouldn’t repeat the mistake of being forced off a cliff by the Ghost Eye Bow at Immortal Spirit Lake. As he fell, he threw out the Hooked Rope, caught a branch on the cliffside, and swung away.

Shan Youjun followed suit. The others didn’t have Hooked Ropes, nor had they trained in this skill. Not wanting to just stand there and stare helplessly, they found a coil of rope and lowered it down, preparing to help the two men back up later...

There were few large trees at the bottom of the ravine, but there were dozens of smaller ones, followed by dense jungle and mossy ground.

Hee Lingchuan landed after two swings. It was even darker at the bottom of the ravine than on the surface. Trying to swing again with the Hooked Rope would risk him crashing into a tree. Besides, the smaller trees likely couldn’t support his weight.

He quickly met up with Shan Youjun, and together they ran in the direction the Giant Ape had fallen.

The ravine floor was a forest of strange rocks, but it was dark and dim, making it difficult to traverse.

Neither of them had heard the sound of the giant bird ascending, so Dong Rui should—or perhaps, might—still be here.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Shan Youjun whispered to him, "Look up."

Hee Lingchuan followed his gaze and saw a large, protruding rock on the cliff face ahead. Dong Rui was crouched on top of it, the giant bird perched beside him.

From their angle, Dong Rui was bandaging something, completely engrossed in his work.

It wasn’t hard to guess that it was probably the shrunken Ghost Ape. It had been seriously injured, then pursued for dozens of li, forcing it to exhaust its life potential. By the time Dong Rui recovered it, it was gravely wounded and near death, in urgent need of immediate medical attention.

Otherwise, Dong Rui wouldn’t have risked stopping here.

The reason Hee Lingchuan and Shan Youjun could see so clearly was that a light source had appeared next to Dong Rui. After all, he needed light to treat his Demon Puppet. Still, the man was meticulous, having found such a spot halfway up the cliff where he could easily escape if danger arose.

The two of them got low and slowly crept forward.

The floor of the ravine was covered in blades of grass, and they stepped carefully, afraid of making a sound. Whenever the giant bird’s or Dong Rui’s gaze swept over them, they froze.

After moving like this for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the direct distance between them closed to within ten zhang.

Having gotten this close, Hee Lingchuan felt much more at ease.

At this moment, Dong Rui seemed to have finished tending to the Giant Ape’s wounds. He was taking a transparent Glazed Bottle from his robes and gently swirling the red liquid inside.

Hee Lingchuan gave Shan Youjun a meaningful look as he slowly drew his Floating Life Blade. Shan Youjun also nocked an arrow to his bow. As a man of the plains who used to hunt eagles with his bow, he would not allow this Strange Bird to escape his arrows a second time!

Perhaps because both of them had locked onto their targets, Dong Rui suddenly sensed something. His hands paused, and his gaze swept in their direction.

’Can’t wait any longer.’

Hee Lingchuan took a final moment to aim, then hurled the Floating Life Blade.

No matter how stealthy the blade was, its edge was still much brighter than an arrowhead. Seeing a flash of silver in the darkness below, Dong Rui instantly dropped to the ground without a second thought.

The large bird behind him had excellent vision. It shot out its beak and pecked, striking the flat of the blade.

With a *CLANG*, the tip of the large bird’s beak was gone.

It had dared to strike the blade’s edge, and Floating Life naturally showed it no mercy. However, the body of the blade was also knocked off course.

’The pursuers are here!’ Dong Rui shivered. He casually tossed a handful of smoke toward Hee Lingchuan’s hiding spot, then scooped up the Ghost Ape and leaped off the rock.

He and the Strange Bird had worked together for years with almost no mistakes. The bird tilted to the side, spread its wings, and caught him on its back, immediately preparing to gain altitude.

If it flew up into the sky, there would be absolutely nothing Hee Lingchuan could do.

Fortunately, the Floating Life Blade spun in the air and suddenly looped back.

Dong Rui had just looked up when he saw a cold glint flash before his eyes. He let out a strange cry and raised his staff to block—

Yes, he had just taken out his short staff, intending to teach Hee Lingchuan and his men a lesson.

But the Floating Life Blade came spinning through, slicing off the head of the staff along with his fingers!

"AHHH!" Dong Rui screamed. Something slipped from his palm and fell off the bird’s back.

At that moment, Shan Youjun’s arrow also flew, aimed straight for the Strange Bird’s wing.

The creature was incredibly alert, flipping in mid-air more nimbly than a sparrowhawk.

However, Shan Youjun had anticipated its anticipation. His second arrow arrived, piercing its bat-like wing.

The creature let out a loud "CAW!" and wobbled, gliding toward the ground ahead as if it were about to crash.

Hee Lingchuan and Shan Youjun quickly ran toward it.

But they had only taken a few steps when the Strange Bird suddenly stabilized itself, flapped its wings twice, and skimmed low to the ground before sliding behind a tree!

With the tree in the way, Shan Youjun’s bow was useless. They could only watch as it pulled up behind the tree, gradually flying higher and higher into the night sky.

Only then did the two realize that its bat-like wing could actually separate into upper and lower sections, like a butterfly’s wing. Shan Youjun had damaged the lower section, but it didn’t stop the upper section from functioning on its own. At most, it just made its flight less agile.

The creature was cunning. It knew that if it tried to fly away immediately, it would be shot down again. So, it pretended to be hit and fall, creating distance between them before flying high once more.

"Agh!" Knowing he couldn’t bring it down, Hee Lingchuan stamped his foot and sighed in frustration.

Shan Youjun’s face was flushed red, though thankfully the night was dark. "Master, I... It’s my fault. Please punish me, Master!"

After reaching the sky, the Strange Bird cawed loudly, as if mocking him relentlessly.

"If punishing you was useful, if it could bring those three back, I’d punish you severely!" Hee Lingchuan sighed. "Alright, let’s head back. My old man still needs people."

The two walked back dejectedly. As they passed the protruding rock, a thought struck Hee Lingchuan.

’Just now, when Dong Rui was hit by the Floating Life Blade’s return strike, didn’t something fall?’

He walked over to the area, took out a flint, and began searching the ground.

After a moment, Shan Youjun cried out, "Found it, found it! This is..." He picked something up and spat. "It’s Dong Rui’s severed finger."

What Hee Lingchuan was looking for was the object that had fallen from Dong Rui’s hand.

Just as he was about to turn his head, the Divine Bone Necklace around his neck suddenly grew warm.

’Huh?’

The necklace had been dormant for a long time, so long that Hee Lingchuan had almost forgotten about it. Why was it suddenly making its presence known now?

The last time it had heated up was because there was something good nearby.

Hee Lingchuan walked in circles nearby, using the change in its temperature to pinpoint the treasure’s location.

Finally, the tip of his boot seemed to touch something hard and round, which rolled twice in the grass.

’What’s this?’

He pushed aside the grass, picked the object up, and held it to the light.

"A medicine bottle."

It was the Glazed Bottle Dong Rui had taken out earlier. Before he could even uncap it, Hee Lingchuan’s Floating Life Blade had flown at him. Fortunately, the bottle was remarkably sturdy; it had landed intact without a single drop of the red liquid spilling out.

As soon as he picked up the bottle, the Divine Bone Necklace cooled down, seemingly no longer in a hurry.