33: survivor

Hong Yu saw everything clearly, and he couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly. When Sun Yang became ruthless, he truly didn't even recognize his own kin.

Thus, he continued, "Mu Xue, you foolish woman, have you seen Sun Yang's true colors now? If you keep following him, be careful, or you'll be the next to die! But I have to say, Sun Yang, you really are a ruthless person. It's a pity you aren't walking the Demonic Path!"

Mu Xue was also stunned by Sun Yang's actions, and her escape speed involuntarily slowed down by a few points. She couldn't understand why the usually kind and amiable Sun Yang could do such a thing.

She hesitated to speak, her tone filled with deep shock: "Senior Brother Sun, you?"

Sun Yang grabbed Mu Xue's hand and ran with all his might, while simultaneously trying everything to change the current three-point line situation between them, Hong Yu, and the Cloud-Patterned Snake.

At the same time, he spoke with deep concern, "Junior Sister Mu, you saw it too. That dog Hong Yu—as long as we change direction, he definitely will too. He clearly wants to kill us both!

I have a way to try and block the Cloud-Patterned Snake's crushing force, but my method is this soul-summoning banner in my hand. However, as you know, my soul-summoning banner is still missing a main soul; it's just a half-finished product with limited power. That's why I had no choice but to resort to this low tactic. I did this for you! If we didn't kill Wu Tie, neither of us would escape death!"

Hearing Sun Yang's explanation, Mu Xue clearly believed him to some extent. Who knows what she imagined, but after responding with a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, she let Sun Yang lead her by the hand as they continued to run.

Seeing this foolish woman's performance, Hong Yu understood that he couldn't drive a wedge between the two of them with words alone. Thus, he could only place his hopes on the Cloud-Patterned Snake, hoping it would finish off this wretched couple just as it had crushed Zhao Yuntao to death.

The Cloud-Patterned Snake did not fail his expectations. The distance between it and Sun Yang's group grew closer and closer. Its vertical pupils stared fixedly at Hong Yu, filled with rage and killing intent; it didn't even have the desire to spare a single glance at Sun Yang and Mu Xue in front of it.

As the massive serpentine body writhed, the distance was further shortened. Sun Yang could even smell the unique, fishy stench coming from the Cloud-Patterned Snake. The stench seemed to carry a potent toxin; as soon as the scent entered their nasal passages, they felt a wave of dizziness, and the circulation of their spiritual energy stagnated slightly.

Sun Yang also knew he couldn't delay any longer. The cautionary tale of Zhao Yuntao was still fresh in his mind. Thus, he gripped the soul-summoning banner tightly and chanted under his breath, "Soul, return! Death-Substitution Secret Art, activate!"

Then, his free left hand continuously formed hand seals while he simultaneously spat a mouthful of essence blood directly onto the soul-summoning banner.

The essence blood merged into the black surface of the banner in an instant. Suddenly, Wu Tie's soul flew down from the soul-summoning banner. After shifting continuously, Wu Tie's soul gradually solidified, unexpectedly becoming identical to Sun Yang, even possessing an indistinguishable aura.

At the same time, Sun Yang's figure became fainter and fainter until he vanished completely. Mu Xue disappeared along with him.

The only things remaining in place were the soul-summoning banner fluttering in the wind and Wu Tie's soul, which had transformed into "Sun Yang."

Hong Yu couldn't help but frown at the sight. He could no longer sense Sun Yang's aura. He watched as the Cloud-Patterned Snake crashed directly into Wu Tie's soul; the soul instantly shattered into pieces, turning into wisps of green smoke that drifted away with the wind.

Under this impact, several extremely deep cracks appeared on the pole of the soul-summoning banner.

Seeing that Sun Yang and the girl seemed to have escaped, Hong Yu could only let it go, no matter how unwilling he was. After all, the Cloud-Patterned Snake was still pursuing him relentlessly. Thus, he quickly pulled out a qi nurturing pill from his robes and poured it into his mouth all at once to replenish the massive deficit of spiritual energy in his body. Meanwhile, he fled rapidly toward Wolong City without looking back.

The Cloud-Patterned Snake naturally followed close behind. Less than two breaths after its massive body left the vicinity of the soul-summoning banner, Sun Yang and Mu Xue's figures revealed themselves from the spot.

However, looking at the two of them, although they had escaped death, they were heavily injured. Sun Yang, in particular, had a face as pale as golden paper, and his aura was weak.

Just as they were celebrating their narrow escape, the Cloud-Patterned Snake, for some reason, turned its head to look at them.

Perhaps dissatisfied that these two ants had played tricks in front of it, it opened its mouth in rage and blasted a mouthful of dark green breath toward the two of them before turning back to continue its pursuit of Hong Yu.

It was as if what it had just done was a trivial matter, or perhaps it was so confident in its methods that it believed Sun Yang and the girl could never survive that strike.

Therefore, it didn't pay any attention to Sun Yang's subsequent situation at all. To it, Hong Yu, who bore the grudge of killing its offspring, was the target it most wanted to kill.

As Hong Yu and the Cloud-Patterned Snake engaged in their chase, they soon disappeared from Red Stone Ridge.

A violent explosion occurred where Sun Yang and Mu Xue were hit directly by the Cloud-Patterned Snake's breath, and billowing thick smoke rose from the spot.

When the dust finally settled, Sun Yang, who was tightly wrapped by the soul-summoning banner, finally revealed himself.

However, his current state was very poor. His clothes hung from him in shreds like rags, and black blood continuously seeped from his eyes, mouth, and nose. His body was covered in wounds; much of the flesh on his arms, torso, and thighs had been corroded away by the venom. It was a tragic sight.

Mu Xue, who had been with him the whole time, had vanished without a trace. Only some scraps of clothing and jewelry that hadn't been completely corroded remained on the ground, proving that her end had been very grim.

After struggling to take out some Medicinal Pills from his Storage Pouch and swallowing them, Sun Yang didn't have time to heal. Instead, he manipulated the soul-summoning banner to call out Mu Xue's soul. Looking at the dull and vacant soul before him, Sun Yang's hand slowly stroked her face.

The madness and killing intent in his eyes could no longer be hidden, making him appear even more insane and terrifying now.

Sun Yang muttered, "Junior Sister Mu, to thank you for saving my life, I will definitely skin Hong Yu alive and extract his soul. I'll put him into the soul-summoning banner so he can never be reincarnated, and I'll let you take your revenge personally."

It turned out that at the moment the attack arrived, Sun Yang had not only used the soul-summoning banner to protect himself, but he had also inhumanly pushed Mu Xue in front of him.

At the very moment Mu Xue died in despair, he had even extracted her soul to refine the soul-summoning banner once again.

After all, when he used the death-substitution earlier, he had consumed the soul-summoning banner's main soul, Wu Tie, greatly reducing its power. So, he simply extracted Mu Xue's soul as well to allow the soul-summoning banner to exert its full power.

This was the primary reason he had survived the attack of the Foundation Establishment Stage Cloud-Patterned Snake!

After he checked the soul-summoning banner and found that although the damage was severe, its power hadn't been affected much due to the completion of the soul, Sun Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

After a brief moment of regulating his breathing, he controlled the soul-summoning banner and chased in the direction of Wolong City.

He was gambling that the Cloud-Patterned Snake would definitely catch up to Hong Yu and kill him. If he couldn't see Hong Yu die with his own eyes, this experience would surely become his Heart Demon, obstructing his thoughts and making it difficult for his cultivation to progress in the future!