Chapter 51: Decisive Action

Just as Chen Ping was racing forward at full speed with Lin Xiaoyu, desperate to return to Qingyun Sect…

A deep sense of foreboding suddenly washed over him.

The feeling came without the slightest warning, yet it was so intense his very soul trembled.

His Grand Dao Divine Eyes activated on their own, a violet-gold light suffusing his gaze as he swept the surroundings.

Nothing.

White clouds drifted lazily across the sky, mountains and rivers stretching endlessly beneath them. Everything seemed peaceful, perfectly ordinary.

But that sensation of being watched, that looming sense of danger like a hidden blade at his back, refused to fade.

—

Chen Ping’s heart sank.

The enemy had destroyed their own grand formation without hesitation, detonated four Divine Ability experts in a suicide strike. They almost certainly had other pieces waiting in the shadows.

He was still too green.

In front of old foxes like these, he and Lin Xiaoyu were nothing more than raw recruits fresh out of training.

These people had spent centuries perfecting their schemes. Every move they made came with backup plans buried beneath backup plans.

—

The moment this realization hit, Chen Ping did not hesitate.

He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood^[1]!

The blood dissolved into crimson mist and instantly fused back into his body.

At the same time, the violet-gold sphere of light deep within his dantian began spinning madly. Vast quantities of primordial source energy were forcibly ignited.

Burning his essence blood.

Burning the Grand Dao Primordial Source.

This was a desperate, life-burning gambit.

But he had no other choice.

—

“Master!”

Lin Xiaoyu sensed something was wrong and cried out in alarm.

Chen Ping did not answer.

He simply held her hand in a death grip. His other hand tore violently through the empty air!

Grand Dao Evasion Technique: Void Chapter.

With his source energy burning, this divine ability was pushed to its absolute limit!

A pitch-black fissure split open in the void.

Chen Ping pulled Lin Xiaoyu through and plunged straight into it!

—

The instant their figures vanished.

A massive blood-red palm materialized out of thin air in the sky!

The palm blotted out the heavens, radiating an aura of apocalyptic destruction as it slammed down toward the closing void rift.

BOOM!!!

The palm struck the rift’s edge. A shockwave of terrifying force erupted outward, instantly scattering the clouds across a hundred-li radius.

From within the rift came a muffled grunt.

That was Chen Ping’s voice.

But he clenched his jaw, pouring every last ounce of strength into shielding Lin Xiaoyu in his arms.

In the final moment before the void sealed shut, the residual force of that palm crashed solidly against his back.

Pfft—

Blood sprayed from his mouth, and Chen Ping’s vision went black.

But he did not stop.

He held onto Lin Xiaoyu with everything he had and tore through the void in a frenzy.

—

Within the void.

A figure slowly emerged.

It was a middle-aged man in a blood-red robe, his features cold and sinister, the aura around him as vast and unfathomable as an abyss.

He stood at the spot where Chen Ping and Lin Xiaoyu had disappeared, looking down at the palm he had struck with.

A faint trace of violet-gold light was fading across its surface.

That was something Chen Ping had left behind.

“What an uncanny movement technique…”

He murmured, brows furrowing slightly.

“At the Qi Refining stage… and he escaped from my grasp…”

He was silent for a moment. A trace of gravity flickered through his eyes.

“Those two must die.”

As his words faded, his figure slowly dispersed into the void.

—

Three thousand li away.

A barren mountain.

The void suddenly split open, and two figures stumbled out.

Chen Ping hit the ground on one knee, gasping for breath.

His face was as pale as paper.

His back, already a mangled mess of blood and flesh, was now wounded even more severely.

That residual force had torn a gash across his back so deep the bone was visible, nearly exposing the organs beneath.

His aura had weakened to the brink of collapse.

Lin Xiaoyu collapsed beside him, completely at a loss.

“Master… Master…”

She reached out with trembling hands, wanting to help him but too afraid to touch him.

Chen Ping lifted his head and forced out a weak smile.

“It’s nothing… not dead yet…”

The words had barely left his lips.

Pfft!

Another mouthful of blood came up.

This time, the blood was mixed with tiny fragments of internal organs.

Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes instantly went red.

“Master!”

She lunged forward, trying to hold him up.

Chen Ping just waved his hand, gesturing for her to stay back.

He drew a deep breath, and the Grand Dao Divine Scripture churned frantically inside him.

But within his dantian, that violet-gold sphere of light had already dimmed by more than half.

Too much essence blood burned.

Too much source energy consumed.

And on top of that, two devastating injuries.

His current condition could not be worse.

—

“Well played…”

Chen Ping rasped.

“An empty estate as bait. Four Divine Ability Realm experts self-destructing as the first killing blow…”

“And a Grotto-Heaven Realm expert waiting in the shadows…”

“The moment we survived the detonation, the moment we broke free of the trap formation, he struck…”

“Blood Fiend… what an extravagant setup…”

Lin Xiaoyu listened. The tears would not stop.

“It’s all my fault… all my fault for insisting we come…”

Chen Ping looked at her and gently wiped the tears from her face with his hand.

“Silly girl…”

His voice was soft, so very weak.

“Your master already told you… protecting you is the most natural thing in the world…”

“Don’t cry… let your master catch his breath…”

He closed his eyes and leaned back against a boulder.

His breathing was shallow.

His face deathly pale.

Lin Xiaoyu knelt beside him, gripping his hand tightly, not daring to let go.

—

The wind swept across the barren mountain, stirring a few dead leaves.

Master and disciple, just like that, still and silent.

One gravely injured and hovering near death.

One with tears streaming down her face.

—

A long while passed.

Chen Ping suddenly opened his eyes.

“Xiaoyu.”

“Disciple is here!”

Lin Xiaoyu answered immediately.

Chen Ping looked at her, a trace of tenderness passing through his eyes.

“Remember what happened today.”

Lin Xiaoyu froze.

Chen Ping spoke slowly.

“Remember these schemes. Remember these ambushes. Remember the methods these old foxes use.”

“You will encounter more of them in the future.”

“Your master won’t always be there to protect you.”

Lin Xiaoyu nodded firmly.

“Disciple will remember!”

Chen Ping smiled.

Then he closed his eyes.

“Let’s go… back to Luoxia Peak…”

“Your master… needs to go into seclusion…”

Lin Xiaoyu supported Chen Ping, step by step, as they made their way toward the Qingyun Sect’s mountain gate.

Chen Ping’s face was pale as paper, and with every step, his brow furrowed.

The wound on his back had stopped bleeding, but the bone-deep gash remained, and every breath pulled at it with searing pain.

Lin Xiaoyu bit down hard on her lip, not daring to speak. She just supported him carefully, one step at a time.

—

Before the mountain gate.

The gate-guarding disciples spotted two figures approaching from a distance. They froze for a moment, then hurried forward to meet them.

“Peak Master Chen? Senior Sister Lin?”

When they got a clear look at Chen Ping’s condition, their faces instantly changed.

“Peak Master Chen, what… what happened to you?”

Chen Ping lifted his head and glanced at them.

“It’s nothing.”

His voice was faint, perfectly calm.

But the weakness in it was unmistakable to anyone.

The two gate disciples exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

“Go back,” Chen Ping said flatly.

“No need to escort us.”

Lin Xiaoyu supported him as they walked through the gate, step by step.

Behind them, the two gate disciples watched their retreating figures in silence for a long moment.

“Should we… report this?”

“We have to! Peak Master Chen is hurt that badly. What if something happens…”

“But he said it’s nothing…”

“Just because he says it’s nothing means it’s really nothing? Did you not see his back? That wound…”

“Fine, fine. I’ll go inform the elders. You keep watch here.”

—

Luoxia Peak.

Lin Xiaoyu helped Chen Ping into the small courtyard, pushed open the door, and gently laid him down on the bed.

Chen Ping lay on the bed and let out a long breath.

His back wound pressed against the bed, and a sharp pain shot through him. He merely furrowed his brow and made no sound.

Lin Xiaoyu stood by the bedside, at a loss.

“Master… let me go fetch an elder from the Alchemy Hall…”

“No need.” Chen Ping waved a hand.

“If they find out, it’ll just be more trouble.”

Lin Xiaoyu bit her lip, her eyes reddening again.

“But your wounds…”

“I won’t die.” Chen Ping looked at her and forced a weak smile.

“Silly girl, stop crying. If you keep this up, I’ll have survived the blast only to drown in your tears.”

Lin Xiaoyu wanted to laugh, but couldn’t.

She just hung her head, tears pattering down.

—