Temporary stability

Liu Ping's heart raced violently, the shadow in his spiritual sense gripping his throat like a vice, making it hard for him to breathe.

It's here!

The ancient deity had sensed the heroic spirit card on him.

It had finally discovered Andrea.

—It's coming!

This was the unique spiritual sense of Cultivators, which provided vague premonitions of danger based on one's innate talent.

Liu Ping lowered his eyelids, maintaining steady breaths while quickly brainstorming a solution.

 cultivation-type methods could not stop the monster's Tracking at all.

Neither could the cards.

"How long until the hidden space-time appears?" Liu Ping asked.

The location of the hidden space-time was not fixed.

The small town would randomly form a reasonable link with a certain plot, thus appearing in the cultivation world.

If the plot they entered was extremely far from this death world, perhaps they could avoid the monster.

In the void, a line of burning small characters gradually appeared:

[In twenty minutes, the hidden space-time will appear.]

Twenty minutes!

Liu Ping looked around.

Could these people hold off for twenty minutes?

No, they could hold for half a minute!

Liu Ping fell silent for a moment, suddenly looking towards Andrea.

He saw the little girl's face pale, trembling, with a hint of despair in her eyes.

—She felt it too!

Clearly, she had run out of options as well.

Liu Ping transmitted a message: "Listen to me, I have a way that can temporarily prevent it from finding you—there's about fifteen minutes."

"It's useless, the Hibernators it finds nearby have never escaped its hunting" The little girl shook her head.

"No, my method works, and it has been verified," Liu Ping insisted.

"Really fifteen minutes? I can feel it. the hidden plot is about to arrive, so that should be enough!"

Andrea showed a look of realization and spoke quickly.

The night grew increasingly dense.

On the ground, monsters occasionally emerged from deep within the earth, emitting terrified howls as they fled into the wilderness.

It felt like an apocalypse—

Before its arrival, everything gradually filled with a suffocating sensation.

The commotion on the city wall gradually subsided.

"Why did those monsters run away? Is there really no one who can face that guy?" the team leader murmured in despair.

Then a cry came from the city wall:

"Oh my god, it's that monster—"

Liu Ping looked over.

Despite the towering walls several meters high, he could still see the other's majestic and towering figure, like a mountain.

The Ancient Deity, Creeping Lord of Nightmares.

It seemed to descend from the clouds into the world, walking with steps that shook the earth, heading toward the small town.

"All units prepare—"

The team leader shouted.

Everyone drew their weapons, pointing them at the monster from a distance.

Liu Ping gazed into the void.

"There are 19 minutes until the hidden time-space appears."

19 minutes.

—The monster must not reach the small town, otherwise, even if it spares him, it will be enraged by the attacks of this combat team.

At that time, the small town would still be destroyed.

"Come closer to me" Liu Ping communicated.

The little girl flew over, floating in mid-air, gently wrapping her arms around Liu Ping's neck, hiding behind him as she looked at the monster.

A rabbit also lay on his shoulder, motionless, staring intently at the ancient god.

In the darkness.

The monster walked from the distant wilderness, producing a sound that reverberated all around:

"Flame, you are the power that destroys everything, yet you crawl at my feet—"

The little girl suddenly screamed, "Liu Ping! If you're going to do something, this is your last chance; otherwise, we will all die here!"

"Activate 'A Man Without a Role'" Liu Ping silently chanted.

In the void, lines of burning small text quickly appeared:

[You have activated 'A Man Without a Role.']

[Due to your soul link with the Crimson Lord Andrea, who has become your spirit, you are regarded as a whole.]

[Andrea is covered by 'A Person Without a Role.']

[This mysterious technique is considered a joint activation by both of you.]

Almost in an instant—

The monster, resembling a devil king, froze in place.

At its feet, the river of flames and molten lava that had been surging gradually turned into a stream, finally disappearing.

The monster hesitated and took a step, but did not continue toward the small town.

It seemed to be somewhat indecisive.

The team leader keenly noticed this.

"Everyone, remain silent! No one is allowed to fire without my command! Violators will be shot on the spot!"

He shouted hoarsely into the communicator.

The crowd, seasoned veterans, naturally understood that they should not provoke the monster in the current situation.

For a moment, the entire dark wilderness was silent.

People held their breath, quietly waiting for the monster's decision.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

The monster looked down at Dark Mist Town.

It slowly opened its mouth and spat a mass of sticky flames onto the ground.

Boom—

The earth was burned through, and molten lava surged from the ground into the sky.

"What a waste of time..."

The monster let out a low, disdainful mumble.

It turned around and retreated step by step into the depths of darkness.

After a while.

The rhythmic vibrations of the earth became faint, gradually becoming imperceptible.

The monster had left.

Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Damn... to snatch a life back from the eyes of an S-rank monster... I could brag about it for a lifetime..."

Wang Meng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke softly.

His gaze met Liu Ping's.

"There was no way to escape just now, but now there's a chance—hurry and escape while you can. After all, you're not one of Lady Agony's subordinates; you don't have to hold your ground here" Liu Ping said sincerely.

"Don't underestimate me, I am a chivalrous hero, always standing up for justice. In times like this, we should face the difficulties together" Wang Meng declared earnestly.

Liu Ping sighed, "In about fifteen minutes, that guy will come back again. You've done enough already, there's no need to throw your life away."

"Are you sure it will come back?"

"Sure."

"Farewell."

Boom, boom, boom—

The motorcycle roared to life, quickly passing through the city gate and racing towards the wilderness on the other side.

People watched Wang Meng leave, and no one said much.

After all, he had done enough, there was really no need for him to die here.

Liu Ping gazed into the void and said, "We have a quarter of an hour. After that, we still need to wait four minutes for the hidden space-time to appear—these four minutes are crucial. If it doesn't come back, everything will be fine."

"What if it comes back?" Andrea asked.

"Then it depends on whether our combat team can hold out for four minutes. I'll go check their equipment right away" Liu Ping replied.

"I didn't expect it to be like this" the little girl sighed.

"What did you envision when you helped me break the plot?" Liu Ping asked.

"I thought that after breaking the plot, we could find some kind of opportunity—I guessed that the cultivation world must have something special hidden in the Eternal Night by Lady Agony, but I didn't expect that guy to show up" the little girl said.

She seemed to remember something and casually said, "Once you know my true name, it will surely bring endless calamities. both you and I will encounter extremely dangerous things."

"But since I am already your spirit card, you might as well call my true name often, it will strengthen the connection between us."

"Andrea? That's the first time I've heard such a name, it's too long. According to the customs of my world, you need to have a way for me to address you easily" Liu Ping said.

"Hey, I'm in the world of death... this is the first time I've told someone my name, and you actually want me to have another way to be called?" the little girl replied with a hint of suppressed anger in her voice.

"It takes too long to say 'Andrea,' which is inconvenient for battle" Liu Ping said.

"Fine, you don't have to call me by my name. you can call me Crimson, that's my title" Andriya compromised.

"How about calling you Little Red?" Liu Ping probed.

"I will kill you," Andria glared at him.