22: Chapter 22 Is it okay if we just leave like this?

Gu Changming's gaze swept quickly across his surroundings; the tall trees and interlacing branches instantly formed a path in his mind.

Above, the Storm Hawk's gaze had already locked onto him, its wings vibrating slightly as a new round of wind blades began to condense.

However, Gu Changming didn't give it the chance. He exerted sudden force, and after a few steps of run-up, he leaped into the air, his foot kicking off a rough tree trunk to propel himself upward, skillfully jumping onto the lowest thick branch.

Then, without the slightest pause, his figure flashed continuously through the dense foliage, climbing rapidly up the trunk like an ape.

In the blink of an eye, he stood steadily at the top of the canopy, dozens of meters above the ground.

Below, hiding behind cover, Ye Qing and the other two watched with trepidation.

They hadn't expected Gu Changming to charge up like that at all.

The Storm Hawk clearly hadn't expected Gu Changming to dare to approach such a height of his own accord either.

It let out a sharp cry and flapped its wings violently; the dozen or so wind blades that had just formed whistled toward Gu Changming at the top of the canopy!

Just as the wind blades were about to strike, Gu Changming kicked off the top of the canopy with both feet, his whole body like an arrow released from a bow, actively lunging toward the massive Storm Hawk in the air!

The wind blades grazed past behind him, shredding the canopy below.

The Storm Hawk reacted quickly, its huge wings flapping violently to create a strong airflow, attempting to pull away.

Man and hawk crossed in the air, the distance between them instantly widening.

"It's over, he can't reach!" Ye Qing frowned; from her position, she could clearly see that the distance between Gu Changming and the Storm Hawk was already quite far.

Next, Gu Changming would likely run out of momentum, and his body would begin to fall.

And the Storm Hawk certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity; it would definitely attack as Gu Changming fell.

At that time, Gu Changming would have no leverage in the air and might very well be killed directly...

However, just as she was worrying.

Gu Changming's figure stalled at the very moment he was about to fall.

His body seemed to be pushed forward suddenly by an invisible force!

His whole body accelerated forward in a short dash in a manner that defied common sense!

It was precisely this short sprint that brought him right above the Storm Hawk!

Gu Changming flipped his wrist and gripped the hilt of his Tang Dao tightly with both hands. Using the combined force of his fall and forward dash, he thrust the tip of the blade downward, stabbing hard into the center of the Storm Hawk's back!

Puchi!

The blade pierced accurately into feathers and flesh.

The Storm Hawk let out a cry of pain and anger, its form surging violently again, twisting, expanding, and constantly changing its shape.

Its form twisted unstably, its flight ability lost instantly, and it plummeted toward the ground with Gu Changming on its back!

During the fall, Gu Changming's arm muscles tightened as he mercilessly pulled the blade out and stabbed it back in repeatedly!

Blood splattered in the air.

Bang!

With a heavy thud, a massive figure crashed completely to the ground.

By now, it was no longer in the form of a hawk.

Appearing before everyone was a Giant boar-like demonic beast, nearly four meters long and over two and a half meters high at the shoulder. It was covered in thick, rock-like fur, and the bristles on its back were like steel needles.

But at this moment, the giant beast looked wretched; its thick fur was covered in cuts of varying depths, and blood was constantly seeping out.

Gu Changming was currently entangled on its body, the Tang Dao in his hand seemingly possessed of a mind of its own as it repeatedly stabbed at the relatively fragile connection between its neck and belly.

Puff! The blade sank in.

In pain, the creature swung its body even more frantically, trying to shake Gu Changming off.

But Gu Changming clung to it like a maggot on a bone.

Blood quickly stained a large area of the ground.

The demonic beast's painful roars, mixed with the muffled sound of the blade entering flesh, clearly reached the bushes not far away.

Wang Dongxin and the other two watched dumbfounded, not even daring to breathe.

Their eyes held both horror at the monster's ability to change shape and the shock of Gu Changming's relentless life-and-death struggle.

Feeling that Gu Changming's attacks hadn't ceased for a moment, the creature let out another roar, and its form began to change again.

Only this time, its massive body shrank rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In the blink of an eye, the giant beast that was like a small hill disappeared, replaced by a crimson-furred fox only the size of a head.

As soon as it hit the ground, it turned its head and opened its mouth, spitting out a fist-sized Energy ball shimmering with unstable light toward Gu Changming!

The Energy ball was close at hand, and Gu Changming had to sidestep to avoid it.

Boom!

The Energy ball landed behind him, exploding into a huge crater.

In the brief interval while Gu Changming dodged, the Crimson fox lunged, its movements lightning-fast. With a whoosh, it dove into the dense bushes and fled rapidly toward the depths of the forest without looking back!

Gu Changming's eyes sharpened, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately set off in pursuit!

"Xiao Gu, don't chase it!" Seeing this, Wang Dongxin hurriedly shouted, "Let it run! We should take the chance to escape too!"

Li Haoxing shared the same view. "The situation ahead is unknown; there might be some kind of danger!"

However, their shouts failed to make Gu Changming stop.

Gu Changming didn't even look back; his figure flickered a few times among the trees and quickly disappeared into the depths of the jungle.

Looking at the mess on the ground, Li Haoxing swallowed and spoke tentatively.

"Brother Wang, Sister Ye Qing... that thing is a bit eerie. Should we... should we leave first?"

That demonic beast was indeed somewhat beyond their understanding; the safest way now was to leave quickly.

Wang Dongxin had a hesitant expression on his face, finding it difficult to decide for a moment.

Beside him, Ye Qing spoke up, "He just saved us. Now he's chasing after it alone, and the situation is unknown. Do you think it's okay for us to just run away like this?"

Just as Li Haoxing had said, they didn't know if there were ambushes or dangers ahead. If Gu Changming fell into a trap, they might still be able to provide some help if they followed.

But if they just ran away, they would truly be abandoning their teammate.

After speaking, she didn't wait for Wang Dongxin and Li Haoxing to respond; she set off and quickly followed in the direction Gu Changming had left.

Left where they were, Wang Dongxin and Li Haoxing looked at each other.

...

Following the trampled grass and the occasionally broken small branches along the path, Ye Qing quickened her pace to keep up.

The deeper she went, the more profound the forest became, and the light dimmed.

She had now stepped into the edge of the secret realm's Inner perimeter, but Ye Qing didn't hesitate much; after only a brief pause, she followed firmly again.

After walking a bit further, the traces on the ground became increasingly blurred, almost impossible to identify.

Just as Ye Qing stopped and looked up somewhat anxiously, a clear whistle suddenly sounded.

Ye Qing jerked her head around, identified the direction the sound came from, immediately pushed aside the dense foliage in front of her, and walked over quickly.

Pushing aside the last clump of bushes, the scene before her made her stop in her tracks.

She saw Gu Changming kneeling on the ground, his knee firmly pressing down on a struggling, blurry-shaped thing, with the Tang Dao in his hand held against the other's neck.