Flee

Li Zian seemed alone, moving across the darkness rapidly in a random direction.

'I have no way of telling which direction I'm going in. It's best if I find a village or a town and work my way to the sect form there.'

Although he seemed alone, moving through the shadows along with him were twenty Golden Core Realm cultivators, completely hidden and unnoticeable.

"Young master, we're being followed."

Li Zian turned around, noticing two lights shooting across the sky towards him.

"Protect the young master!" A shadow yelled.

The Li family guards leapt out of the darkness, casting their techniques.

Each of them used the same technique that fired out red waves of sharp, sinister qi from their blades.

The torrents of qi soared at the two advancing enemies, who simply broke through them and landed on the ground.

Li Zian cast his divine sense towards the two cultivators, and his head began to sting as he sensed their qi fluctuations.

"Original Infant Realm!" He gasped.

The several Li family guards glanced at each other with hesitation, but then charged forwards.

"We're all at the peak of the Golden Core Realm! There's not much of a difference between us and them!" One yelled with confidence.

However they knew the difference. They would be crushed.

And they were. The two enemies appeared ethereal-like as they stepped closer.

The one on the left was draped in a long black and green cloak that hid all his features. A giant snake, twenty metres long slithered behind him.

The one on the right wore a white and black robe with a yin-yang symbol sewn onto his left shoulder, and ten swords hovering behind his back.

One of his swords flew forwards, and instantly cut ten of the Li family guards to pieces.

A second sword flew out, slaying another four.

The remaining six guards each threw a talisman onto the ground that then exploded, sending debris up into the sky and releasing smoke everywhere.

The two cultivators coughed, and the sword cultivator waved his sleeve, blowing away all the smoke.

"They got away," the snake cultivator sneered.

"I know, brother. But don't worry, we'll catch up soon."

Li Zian was being carried by one of the guards through the shadows in a random direction, trying to get as far away as possible.

He could feel the wind whipping against his face and was forced to shut his eyes.

Eventually they stopped, and Li Zian was put down on the ground.

Suddenly the Li family guards surrounded him.

"Create the formation!" One yelled.

They each slammed their palms onto the ground, and blue inscriptions and symbols appeared beneath Li Zian's feet. These strange letters and symbols were like those found in the arrays back at the villa.

"Shadow Being Formation, manifest!" They each yelled.

Suddenly black, wispy tendrils of energy burst out from the formation on the ground, wrapping around Li Zian. He resisted at first, but felt that the tendrils weren't harming him, but trying to help him.

So, he allowed the shadows to wrap around him and completely envelop his body.

"What… Is this?" He asked, completely distorted by the shadows.

"This is the Shadow Being Formation. It will hide your presence from the enemies," one of them explained to him.

"I see… Let's go, then."

He turned around but noticed the Li family guards remaining where they were.

"We'll only drag you down- they can still sense us. Run, while you can," a guard told him.

"But you're the last guards of the Li family. I need you!" He yelled desperately.

"Go, now!" A guard ordered.

He had never been ordered by the guards before- they wouldn't dare to, but this was too important of a situation. Li Zian hesitated and then nodded, turning around and running.

Shortly after he heard cries, and the noise of metal cutting flesh. He ran onwards, far away from his pursuers.

He noticed that he made no noise when running- this formation was extremely useful. He continued running, when suddenly a blade smashed into the ground next to him.

He stopped, turning around to discover the two cultivators approaching.

'I was discovered? But how?!'

"He's not here," The snake cultivator snarled.

"I was sure I could sense him here…" The sword cultivator furrowed his brows and spread his divine sense, discovering nothing.

"You're getting old, Feng Chang," Sneered the snake cultivator.

"At least I'm not as old as you, Feng Cai."

"We need to hurry up. Ancestor won't be happy with us if we don't find the second young master of the Li family by sunrise," Feng Cai sighed.

"If he manages to live, then it'll be dangerous for us. There's no doubt he'll seek revenge."

Feng Chang's sword returned to behind him, and the two transformed into balls of light, shooting off into the night sky.

Li Zian exhaled sharply, breathing once again. 'That was too close… I don't know how long the formation's effects will last on me. I need to get to the sect fast.'

He sprinted across the night without a single moment's rest. All he knew was that he was heading west, since that's the wall they leapt over.

He had no clue which direction the Skyward sect was in, nor if there was any civilization nearby at all. And he was all alone now.

Although it was dark, thanks to his enhanced senses he could still see perfectly in the night.

He was thankful for his cultivation and quickened his pace.

He moved across the wilderness, and eventually entered a dense forest. He sprinted past trees, stumbling over roots and through vines.

He was confident he would be safe and began to slow down.

When he went to take a step forward, he stepped on a rock and tripped.

His body twisted forwards and he rolled across the ground.

He slowly came to a stop, and then felt his leg move over a ledge.

"A cliff?" He asked aloud to the silence of the woods.

His body rolled off the edge, and he fell off the cliff through the night.

Memories rushed through his head- falling through the building with Qian Ning to his death. That mysterious being in the void. Starting a new life, finding new hope, loneliness, resolve, and then loss. And now, it seemed he would be dying once more.

'Will I be able to reincarnate again this time? Hah, I doubt it. I guess this is really the end.'

Nihilistic thoughts rushed through his head, and he hit something below. His consciousness immediately vanished, and he stopped moving.