Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 357 - 350 Genius 1

Chapter 357: Chapter 350 Genius 1

In another part of the dense forest.

Three young men and women, all dressed in the same green robes, clutching special weapons that looked like hooks, were fleeing, continuously looking back.

Trees and rocks flew past them at a high speed, they were already running fast, but their faces were still pale, like frightened birds.

"Are they still behind us?"

The man in front, his eyes filled with vigilance, looked back and asked.

"I don’t know, but why are all the undead creatures that were here today gone?" another woman said anxiously.

"Not sure, could it have something to do with those people behind us?" another woman whispered.

"It’s unlikely, the undead creatures here have always been around since ancient times, unaffected even by major events. The Forest of the Living Dead isn’t called that for nothing." The man scanned the surroundings warily, "There must be some other accident that drew all the undead creatures somewhere else."

"What do we do now?"

"Run deeper into the forest!"

A glint of fierceness flashed in the man’s eyes.

Suddenly his expression changed, he quickly pulled the two women down with him.

"Silence!"

A disc-like layer of red and blue, resembling the Taiji, emanated from his body, with a pair of black dragon eyes in the center slowly lighting up.

Whoosh!

Whoosh whoosh!!

Several white streaks of light shot overhead. Within the light, a bald man, his body gleaming with golden light and a small silver fish swimming beside him, rapidly passed by.

"Miss Rongyan, the general has ordered that you obediently comply and return with this old servant. Otherwise, if we accidentally kill Mr. Wang, wouldn’t you be the most heartbroken?" The golden bald man said with a smile, his eyes sweeping below like that of a hawk.

The green-robed girl lying in the grass bit her lip, a look of anger and disgust in her eyes. But glancing at the young man beside her, her eyes also showed deep concern.

"Don’t worry." The man squeezed her hand tightly. "It’s okay, we have the Ice-Fire Taiji Diagram, we’ll surely escape!"

"Yu Rong’s cultivation is the strongest under my father’s command... Wang..." Miss Rongyan started softly, then trailed off.

The two had met by chance and fell in love.

Unaware of each other’s identities, they spent time together, fighting demons and exorcising spirits, standing together through life and death, until they were at the point of entrusting their lives to one another.

But fate played a cruel hand when Miss Rongyan’s father, King of the Vast Sea, intended to politically marry her to the son of another Honorary King.

And Wang Peng was just an ordinary hermit’s Disciple, living in seclusion in the mountains with no powerful background, his strength only recently reaching the Intent Level.

"Don’t worry, it’s fine... with my master’s Ice-Fire Taiji Diagram, it will be okay..." Wang Peng kept reassuring the two women.

He turned his head towards the other woman.

"Miss Qiuling, since we’ve reached this place, you should hurry and leave; if the people from the royal house discover you, you’ll be implicated by us."

The other girl shook her head decisively.

"I helped you two escape not just for my sister’s sake but also for my own. I can indeed leave by myself, but that wouldn’t allow me to avoid being tracked later."

"But if... if we are caught."

Miss Rongyan said worriedly.

"Yan’er, this is my own choice." Qiuling said firmly.

Upon hearing this, Rongyan fell silent and nodded without saying anything more.

The golden bald man floating above flitted around for a while, but seemed to find nothing and finally flew away.

Several other streaks of light followed him. Within the beams, it was possible to perceive several white-robed figures with masked faces, silent, simply obeying his commands.

"Let’s go!"

Wang Peng got to his feet, leading the two women as they ran deeper into the Forest of the Living Dead.

After running for several hours, upon reaching the very depths of the forest, they found that the undead creatures that should have been scattered throughout the forest were all clustered in the darkest places of the deep forest, forming large groups, completely ignoring the three people who approached from behind and to the side.

"Usually, as soon as these undead creatures smell the scent of the living, they would come running." Rongyan whispered.

"There must be some unusual occurrence!" Qiuling took out a small disc from her sleeve, full of intricate symbols and patterns.

"I’ll check."

Just as she was about to begin, her expression suddenly changed, and she looked back.

"Oh no! That old monster has caught up with us!"

"Run!" Wang Peng pulled Rongyan, taking large strides towards the mass of undead creatures. Without any hesitation.

Both women knew this was their only chance to shake off that old man and charged into the group of undead creatures without a second thought.

"Yan’er, are you scared?" Wang Peng held Rongyan’s hand tightly, the two staying close together, leaping lightly as if soaring through the air, weightless.

"With Wang by my side, Yan’er fears nothing." Rongyan looked up at him, her eyes filled with tenderness and a resolve to abandon all else.

"You two, even at a time like this, you still have the mood to indulge in love." Qiu Qiuling said helplessly from a slightly lagging position.

"It’s precisely because it’s a tense moment that mistakes are more likely to occur." Wang Peng laughed, "Being calm in the face of danger, staying tranquil and clear-minded, that’s the absolute rule my master taught me!"

"Are you saying you’re that kind of genius who relaxes more the more dangerous it gets?" Qiuling said incredulously.

"I never said I was a genius," Wang Peng glanced back over his shoulder. A faint golden light was already emerging above the woods; obviously, the bald man was catching up with his followers.

"This old fellow really has a way to find us! He must have done something to us."

Wang Peng, with the two girls in tow, blended into a large group of the living dead.

These living dead were shuffling towards a certain direction. They showed no appetite for attacking the living humans as they used to, only pushing forward relentlessly.

All three of them showed a hint of curiosity in their eyes at this sight.

They held onto the talisman paper prepared for defense but did not throw it out.

"There must be something strange about these living dead," Qiuling whispered.

"For now, let’s just blend in with this group and see what that old freak can do to find us," Rongyan murmured.

Wang Peng had no objections.

The trio stuck close to a three-meter-tall, plump living dead, hiding behind him as they shuffled into the depths of the dense forest.

After moving forward for a while, the golden light from the old monster indeed lost track of the three. However, it could obviously pinpoint their vicinity as beams of golden light flew above their heads constantly, showing no intention of leaving.

"Damn!"

Qiuling covered her nose; to her left was a female living dead with an arm broken off, a large hole in her belly, and a long trail of intestines dragging behind as she wandered forward aimlessly, limping with her intestines on the ground, emitting an unbearable stench.

"Why won’t that old guy leave! This place stinks too much!"

Wang Peng and Rongyan could only smile bitterly, the stench in the midst of this group of living dead was even fouler than a latrine, and the three of them couldn’t use their spells lest the old monster with the golden light above senses the fluctuations of spiritual energy and locates them more easily.

"Don’t worry...." Wang Peng handed her a small piece of white cloth, wet with clean water.

"Cover your nostrils."

Qiuling snatched the cloth in almost desperation, covering her nose and feeling much relieved.

Woooo....

Suddenly, a series of faint roars came from the front of the living dead group.

It seemed as if the entire group became slightly restless. All the living dead were starting to squeeze more tightly together, moving forward faster towards what was ahead.

The tall, three-plus-meter living dead also sped up towards the direction of the commotion, increasing its pace even further.

The three of them could not help but be carried forward by the swarm of the living dead.

After an unknown duration, they were surprised to find that all the living dead in front of them had stopped at one spot, no longer moving forward.

It was just a large open space ahead, yet not a single living dead moved forward, all of them agitated but standing still.

It was as if there was an invisible wall firmly stopping the living dead, preventing them from advancing any further.

"Miss, did you think hiding within these living dead would allow you to avoid me?" The golden light from the bald man’s voice came from afar once again.

Urgency flickered in Wang Peng’s eyes, yet his face remained composed.

"While that old man hasn’t caught up yet, let’s not worry about these living dead and just break through. The Taiji Diagram is highly concealable, and if we can find a place with strong interference, we might be able to shake him off."

"Is that possible?" Qiuling asked in a low voice, frowning.

"No problem, just buy me a little time and I can use that," Wang Peng said firmly.

"I trust Wang Lang," Rongyan had no objections.

Qiuling gave the two of them a look.

"I hope you’re right. Otherwise, if you’re wrong, we’ll all suffer."

Wang Peng nodded, taking the lead and dashing out. An Ice-Fire Taiji Diagram disc in red and blue rose up, slowly rotating above his head.

As expected, the living dead didn’t react; they remained motionless, as if something was blocking them, preventing any advance.

Seeing no danger, Wang Peng’s heart leaped with joy, and he quickly turned back, calling to the two women.

"Come on!"

The two hurriedly followed, and all three ran towards the deepest part of the forest ahead.

They hadn’t run far when suddenly there came a sound of crackling flames from ahead.

"Someone!!"

Wang Peng’s expression changed slightly, and he gestured for the two women to stop. He went forward alone, slowly advancing to scout things out ahead.

After walking a distance and up a slope, he could see the place where the bonfire was burning from afar. But, strangely, there seemed to be no people there.

"Huh...?" Suddenly, he heard a somewhat astonished male voice coming from beside his ear.

The voice was so close it seemed just within arm’s reach, causing his body to tremble and goosebumps to cover his skin. He quickly leaped to the side.

"Who’s there?!"

Wang Peng had never thought that with the Taiji Diagram cloaking him, someone could still discover him, and that too without a sound, so close!

After jumping to the side, he quickly looked back to his original spot, only to see a young man and woman, looking like a master and servant, standing not far from where he was.

The man was enveloped in a black robe, long silky hair draped over his shoulders, with handsome features and a slightly pale complexion, like a delicate young master who seldom ventured outside.

The woman was distractingly beautiful, but from her dress and posture, she appeared to be some sort of personal guard to the young master.