Free Web NovelChapter 497: Chapter 494: Tragic Gu Peng
The Master of the Doomed Mountain Range had made it very clear: Cultivators below the Void Realm could enter the Desperate Mountain Range to search for treasure.
This meant that a large batch of Void Realm Cultivators would rush over.
He Jinbo possessed the protection of the Void Spirit Flash Flame, which might have made him invincible within the Vajra Realm, but when faced with Void Realm Cultivators, his only option was to flee.
As the companion sub-flame of the Earth-Level Fire Seed of Void Spirit Flame, the Void Spirit Flash Flame could allow He Jinbo to perform Instant Teleportation for short periods, but the cost was immense.
With his Mid-stage Vajra Realm Cultivation, he couldn’t possibly use it more than a few times.
Thus, Qin Xueyun, who was by his side, would surely be plunged into crisis.
Gu Peng was a grounded person, accustomed to thinking things through before acting.
He knew, of course, how tempting the quest announced by the Master of the Doomed Mountain Range was, but he was even more aware that this quest would surely be accompanied by enormous risks.
One wrong step, and the price would be the lives of all three of them.
Gu Peng didn’t want anything to happen to Qin Xueyun, but it was obvious that compared to him, she was more willing to trust He Jinbo, the one who possessed the Void Spirit Flash Flame.
"Xue Yun, are you really determined to continue?" Gu Peng asked again, not ready to give up.
Qin Xueyun’s expression grew cold; in her eyes, Gu Peng’s words and actions were far too fussy.
If not for the fact that they had grown up together, she would have wanted to tell Gu Peng to scram.
"Brother Gu, my mind is made up," Qin Xueyun said in a cold voice, taking a deep breath.
Gu Peng might have been a nice guy, but he wasn’t stupid; he could detect a shift in Qin Xueyun’s tone.
Just then, He Jinbo’s voice, sent via transmission, sounded in his ear.
"I’m telling you, Gu Peng, can’t you see? Xue Yun doesn’t like you at all. Look at yourself—timid as a mouse, always hesitating, without a shred of manliness. What kind of girl would be interested in someone like you? Xue Yun is mine, so you’d better give up on her now."
Rage flared in Gu Peng’s heart.
’Timid as a mouse? Always second-guessing?’
’You’re the ones who are blinded by greed and acting recklessly, aren’t you!’
’You think you’re invincible just because you have the Void Spirit Flash Flame?’
’Don’t you know that plenty of Immortals have fallen in this very Desperate Mountain Range!’
Gu Peng was seething with anger.
He wasn’t angry because He Jinbo looked down on and mocked him, but because Qin Xueyun didn’t believe in him.
Just then, darkness suddenly enveloped the three of them. A rustling sound reached their ears, and the air filled with a pungent, bloody stench.
"Not good! It’s an Abyssal Demon! Move!"
Gu Peng shouted, erupting with his full Cultivation as he tackled Qin Xueyun to the ground in the same instant.
SWOOSH!
A claw trailing black smoke shot out from the darkness, swiping through the spot where Qin Xueyun had just been standing.
Although Gu Peng reacted quickly and tackled Qin Xueyun in time, he was unable to evade the attack himself. The claw left five bloody marks across his back.
A highly corrosive Energy flowed from the wounds, continuously eating away at his flesh. The cuts deepened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Gu Peng took out a dagger and, without any hesitation, swung it backhanded, carving a large chunk of flesh from his back, wound and all.
HISSS!
In the span of a single breath, the corrosive Energy reduced the severed piece of flesh to a pool of viscous gore.
After cutting away the flesh, Gu Peng crushed an Elixir and applied it to the wound, then swallowed another Elixir.
Then he pulled Qin Xueyun up and dodged aside.
The whole sequence of actions was performed in one smooth motion, as if he had practiced it countless times.
As for He Jinbo, upon detecting the danger, he had immediately activated the Void Spirit Flash Flame and used Instant Teleportation to appear over ten zhang away.
The very same claw did not manage to harm him in the slightest.
Having just escaped the Ghost Gate, Qin Xueyun hugged Gu Peng tightly, her body trembling. She couldn’t calm her racing heart for a long time.
Despite her earlier talk about seizing this opportunity and trying to leap over the dragon gate, this was actually the first time she had ever done something so dangerous. It was also her first time in the Desperate Mountain Range. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so easily persuaded by He Jinbo to stay behind and venture deeper in.
"Xue Yun, are you okay?" Gu Peng asked with concern, ignoring the pain in his back as he checked her condition.
Feeling the warmth from Gu Peng, Qin Xueyun shook her head and gradually calmed down.
She looked at the uninjured He Jinbo in the distance, then at the blood-covered Gu Peng, and her heart couldn’t help but tremble.
He Jinbo had repeatedly promised to protect her, but when danger drew near, he was the first to flee.
And the one who was truly willing to risk his life for her was, of all people, Gu Peng, whom she had looked down on.
’How laughable!’
THUMP THUMP THUMP!
Before Qin Xueyun could think any more, three Abyssal Demons appeared at once, forming a triangle around Gu Peng and the others.
"Damn it, these three monsters are much stronger than the one before. They’ve already reached the Void Realm! We’re no match for them!" Gu Peng’s expression turned ugly.
"I don’t think so!" He Jinbo said nonchalantly. "These monsters have a natural Dark Attribute. My Void Spirit Flash Flame is their bane!"
As he spoke, he looked at Qin Xueyun and said, "Xue Yun, the situation just now was an emergency. I was going to use Instant Teleportation to take you with me, but Gu Peng made his move first. Come here now. Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, these monsters won’t be a problem."
Qin Xueyun said nothing, her head bowed in deep thought.
Seeing this, Gu Peng frowned. "Xue Yun, you’re not still falling for his lies, are you?"
Qin Xueyun was silent. No one but her knew what she was thinking.
The three Abyssal Demons paid them no mind. They let out a roar and pounced.
’We’re finished!’ Gu Peng thought grimly.
Abyssal Demons had powerful physiques and were extremely fast. Even a human Cultivator of the same level would not necessarily be able to withstand their attacks.
Gu Peng and the others only had Vajra Realm Cultivation, a whole Great Realm lower than the Abyssal Demons. In terms of combat power, they weren’t even in the same league. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
They had been lucky to survive the first round of attacks.
"Brother He, save me!" Qin Xueyun suddenly lifted her head and screamed.
"Hmph, mere Demons! Get lost!" He Jinbo roared. An orange-red blaze erupted from his body, wrapping him in flames. He looked like a fire god descending to the mortal world, an incredibly imposing sight.
A searing heatwave radiated out from He Jinbo, instantly dispelling the darkness.
The three Abyssal Demons felt a strong sense of discomfort and simultaneously halted their charge.
The feeling of danger made them instinctively retreat a short distance.
Seeing this, Qin Xueyun unhesitatingly broke free from Gu Peng’s arms and moved toward He Jinbo.
Gu Peng let out a bitter laugh. The blood on his body had yet to dry, and his heart felt as if it had been stabbed with a thick needle.
The three Abyssal Demons glanced at one another and realized that aside from releasing heat, He Jinbo wasn’t taking any other action.
He didn’t seem to pose any threat to them.
ROAR!
The Abyssal Demons let out a low roar, their thirst for slaughter quickly gaining the upper hand.
They attacked again.
By now, He Jinbo was overflowing with confidence. With a wave of his hand, he condensed the power of the Void Spirit Flash Flame into a ring of fire that flew toward the Abyssal Demons.
The Abyssal Demons flashed past, easily dodging the ring of fire. Their target was He Jinbo and Qin Xueyun.
"They dodged it?" He Jinbo was shocked.
Only then did he realize things were not going well.
The Void Spirit Flash Flame could indeed counter the Abyssal Demons, but only if it could hit them.
But his attacks simply couldn’t keep up with the Abyssal Demons.
Once the Abyssal Demons got close, they could take their lives in an instant.
"Get back!"
Although Qin Xueyun’s actions had wounded Gu Peng’s heart, he had no time to worry about that now. There was only one thought in his mind: ’No matter what, I can’t let anything happen to her!’
Hearing Gu Peng’s warning, Qin Xueyun quickly looked to He Jinbo for help, hoping he would use Instant Teleportation to take her away.
Who would have thought that in the moment she turned, He Jinbo would disappear from where he stood, having once again fled on his own.
The Abyssal Demon was already upon her.
"No, I don’t want to die!" With no combat experience, Qin Xueyun froze on the spot, her mind a complete blank.
Gu Peng watched in horror, his eyes nearly splitting. Forget the fact that he wasn’t fast enough to get to Qin Xueyun before the Abyssal Demon, even if he could, he had no way of stopping it.
Just as it seemed Qin Xueyun was about to die at the hands of the Abyssal Demon, a piercing, air-splitting sound rang out.
A jet-black kitchen cleaver descended from the sky and spun in a circle among the Abyssal Demons.
The Life Auras of the three Abyssal Demons were extinguished in an instant. As they continued to charge forward, their bodies exploded, turning to ash on the ground.
