Dashing Student
Chapter 808 - 808: The Road to Escape

At the same time.

Inside a secluded cave dwelling.

The cave dwelling was dark and chilly, and the ice crystals accumulating on the stone walls refracted an ominous cold light.

Master Xuanming's gaunt figure stood by the window, his murky eyes piercing through the layers of night, locking onto the fleeting streak across the eastern sky.

"Trying to escape?"

His dry lips trembled slightly, his voice hoarse like sand grinding against stone.

His twig-like fingers swiftly formed seals before his chest, and eerie blue light glimmered at his fingertips.

A wisp of black mist seeped from his sleeve, coagulating in the void into a sinister snake-shaped mark, with crimson runes faintly visible within.

"Go!"

With a low shout, the snake-shaped mark silently pierced through the stone wall, merging into the boundless night like a malignant bone-attaching growth.

A hundred miles away, Chen Nan, racing onward, suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, but he dismissed it as the night wind passing by, unaware he had been marked with a tracking spell.

Master Xuanming slowly turned, the wide dark robe flapping loudly in the eerie wind.

His cold gaze swept over the three disciples kneeling on the ground, and the temperature in the cave dwelling suddenly dropped even further.

"Chen Nan went east." His every word seemed squeezed out between clenched teeth: "Remember, alive."

The third disciple Liu Tong straightened up, a confident smile appearing on his handsome face: "Rest assured, Master, it's just a Foundation Establishment Stage Third Layer ant, I will definitely bring him back unharmed."

The fourth disciple Hu Chuan pulled back his lips, revealing a mouthful of jagged yellow teeth.

His thick fingers snapped loudly, the veins bulging on his arms like writhing earthworms: "Just a mere Foundation Establishment Third Layer, I will make sure he dies by the third watch, and never survives to the fifth."

Zhao Kai, however, was staring at a crack on the ground, his voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "Two elder brothers, this child managed to snatch the token from the Mystic Yin Python's mouth, I'm afraid..."

"Enough!"

Master Xuanming flicked his sleeve, and the overwhelming Nascent Soul Power surged forth like a tide.

The three only felt darkness before their eyes, and upon reopening them, they were already outside the mountain gate.

In the mist, the light barrier of the Mountain Protection Array slowly closed behind them, emitting a low hum.

Liu Tong adjusted the collar of his white silk robe, his slender fingers lightly brushing over the exquisite patterns on the sword sheath: "Fourth brother, your Blood Saber is too conspicuous."

Hu Chuan dismissively licked the blade, not even noticing as the tip of his tongue was cut, letting the blood flow down the corner of his mouth: "I just love seeing the prey scared to death."

Zhao Kai whispered: "Two elder brothers, let us hurry and chase Chen Nan to complete the task assigned by Master!"

---

The Instant Teleportation Talisman whisked him a hundred miles away, and while the blue smoke from the burnt talisman paper still swirled at his fingertips, Chen Nan felt darkness before his eyes, reopening them to find himself in a misty small woodland.

The damp scent of earth mingled with the fresh aroma of pine needles filled his nostrils, and the moonlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting a mottled shadow on the ground.

In the distance, a few dim yellow lights flickered outside the mountain forest, likely from a village.

"It's good to ask for directions first."

He subconsciously pressed on the aching wound between his ribs, the feeling of humiliation from being forced out of the Yuantian Sect gnawing at his heart like a poisonous snake, leaving his already exhausted body and mind even more weary.

For now, he just wanted to find a place to rest and let the chaotic True Qi within him settle.

Of course, he had other plans.

Having not stayed long in the small world, staying idle was not an option; only by joining a sect could he gain resource support.

Since joining the Yuantian Sect did not work out, he would have to join another sect.

"To not seek revenge is unjust; Master Xuanming, Zhao Kai, you just wait! One day, I will have you torn to pieces!"

Chen Nan gritted his teeth, dragging his heavy steps toward the village, his boot soles crushing dry leaves with a soft sound.

Night winds brushed his cheeks, bringing a chill that reminded him of Nie Xiaoyu's gentle smile and Lin Qingzhu's soft hair grazing his neck.

The village was small in scale, low earthen walls forming an irregular circle, with a dozen thatched roofs glistening silver-grey under the moonlight.

Upon hearing footsteps, several elderly people drawing water by the ancient well at the village entrance raised their heads warily, their cloudy eyes full of vigilance.

The eldest among them leaned on a yew cane and stepped forward, squeezing out a slight smile on his wrinkled face: "I'm the village head here, may I ask what business brings an immortal here at this late hour?"

Chen Nan clasped his fists in salute, politely asking: "I have fallen on hard times and wish to stay for one night, may I ask for a small convenience?"

The village head rubbed his age-spotted hand on the cane a few times, ultimately nodding: "Ah, it's not easy for young folks traveling far."

He turned tremblingly to lead the way, closing the creaky courtyard door: "We only have a few elderly here, not of much use."

"Young people and children don't want to live in these mountain valleys, and we old folks enjoy the quiet." The village head opened a vacant thatched hut with dust dancing in the moonlight: "If the immortal rests well, please leave tomorrow."

Chen Nan naturally understood the implicit meaning in the village head's words.

Though the elder's eyes were cloudy, they were extraordinarily sharp, having already seen through his identity as a cultivator and noticed the bloodstains on him, fearing they might bring disaster to the village.

"Rest assured, old sir, I shall leave at dawn." He barely managed a smile, while thinking: having used the Instant Teleportation Talisman to flee over a hundred miles, Master Xuanming couldn't possibly catch up so soon.

That night, Chen Nan was arranged in a vacant tile house, the rough earth walls still bearing remnants of New Year's paintings left by the previous owners.

The village head's family offered their treasured cured meat and home-brewed rice wine to host him.

The meat slices were thin enough to be translucent, and dregs of rice floated in the unfiltered wine, clearly showing that ordinary people in the small world did not live well.

Yet the elderly in the village were exceptionally hospitable.

Upon hearing of a young immortal's visit, seven or eight white-haired old folks crowded into the small house, their cloudy eyes sparking with long-lost enthusiasm.

"The immortal is awfully handsome," a toothless old woman grinned: "My granddaughter works as a maidservant in a wealthy family in town, she's quite lovely. Would you care for an introduction?"

Chen Nan quickly waved his hand to decline.

The elderly laughed even more heartily at that, their wrinkles filled with kindness.

Finally sending away all the senior folks, the moon hung mid-sky.

Chen Nan carefully wrapped up the barely touched food to send back, and discreetly placed a few ingots of silver at the village head's pillow.

Returning to the room, he sat cross-legged on the hard wooden bed, beginning the circulation of his Qi, adjusting his breath to heal injuries.

At midnight, when the moon was dark and the wind high.

The originally tranquil night sky was suddenly torn open by a dazzling streak, as a completely black shuttle-like craft soared like a meteor across the sky, descending with a sharp air-breaking sound onto the empty ground outside the village.

The shuttle's hatch opened, and Zhao Kai and his brothers stepped out amidst the swirling dust.