bookbashuk Chapter 72 Falling off a cliff
Chapter 72 Falling off a cliff
Zhao Fan didn't know how far he had staggered away. His lungs felt like broken bellows, and every breath was filled with the heavy smell of blood and a burning pain.
The spiritual light of the Cloud-Stepping Boots had long since been extinguished. Only an unyielding will and the breath forcibly kept afloat by the pills supported this battered body as it stumbled and staggered through the dark mountain forest.
The spirit stone in his palm had long since turned to dust. He took out two more and, ignoring the stinging pain in his meridians, continued to squeeze out the spiritual energy from them to replenish his nearly depleted dantian.
The effects of the blood-clotting pill were slowly taking hold, barely stopping the massive bleeding from the terrible wounds on his ribs and back. However, the internal organ tremors and meridian damage would not be able to recover in a short time.
The numbness in my left arm had spread to my shoulder, and the wound on my right leg had reopened due to the intense running. Every time my foot landed, I felt excruciating pain.
There was no sound of pursuers behind him, but Zhao Fan dared not relax for a moment. The white-robed scholar's surprised and uncertain eyes and his decisive escape were like a sharp sword hanging over his head, and he didn't know when it would fall again.
He had to get as far away from that killing field as possible and find a completely secluded place to catch his breath.
Just as he passed through a patch of low bushes, and faintly heard the babbling of a stream ahead, seemingly indicating a change in terrain, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps and suppressed breathing came from the woods to his side!
Zhao Fan's heart skipped a beat. He instantly held his breath, enduring the excruciating pain as he shrank behind a thick, ancient tree, revealing only one eye as he warily peered ahead.
On the moonlit forest path, a figure was stumbling and running wildly toward him!
The man also appeared to be a young man, dressed in black clothes that were seven or eight parts similar to his own. His hair was disheveled, and he wore a black mask. In the dim light, at first glance, he looked seven or eight parts similar to his own disheveled appearance!
Especially their desperate escape posture and staggering steps, they were exactly the same!
About thirty feet behind the brown-clad youth, shouts and the sound of air being torn apart were rapidly approaching!
"You little bastard, stop right there!"
"Damn, you're pretty fast! Let's see how long you can last!"
"Hand over the stuff, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse!"
Four or five figures flashed among the trees, relentlessly pursuing them. Judging from their clothing and their undisguised ferocity, they were clearly another group of cultivators!
Judging from their appearance, they may not be the same group as that group, but those who commit murder and robbery in this desolate wilderness are all cut from the same cloth!
Zhao Fan's heart sank to the bottom instantly; what he feared most had come to pass!
With unidentified fellow sufferers ahead and pursuers behind, Zhao Fan was critically injured and on the verge of death, his spiritual energy nearly exhausted. In this desperate situation, Zhao Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.
The young man in black had obviously also seen a figure moving behind the ancient tree ahead, especially when the moonlight swept over where Zhao Fan was hiding, vaguely illuminating Zhao Fan's figure leaning against the tree, panting.
His eyes lit up, and he immediately rushed towards Zhao Fan's direction.
Whoever this person is, if they can block the pursuers behind them for even a moment, they may be able to escape alive.
The pursuers were closing in quickly, and the sound of their hurried footsteps grew louder and louder.
We can't stay here any longer!
Zhao Fan cursed inwardly, knowing he couldn't hide it any longer.
He took a deep breath and suddenly darted out from behind the tree. Instead of following the original path, he staggered towards a slope that looked more lush and rugged than the one where the brown-clad youth had come from!
He had to change direction immediately and get rid of this unexpected surprise!
However, when the brown-clad youth saw Zhao Fan move, a glint flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly changed direction, no longer rushing straight towards the stream, but instead flanking Zhao Fan from the side!
His movements seemed more agile than Zhao Fan's at this moment, and he even seemed to be blocking Zhao Fan's path and forcing him to walk with him!
"You bastard!"
Zhao Fan was both shocked and furious. This guy was definitely up to no good!
He wanted to speed up, but his severely injured body and nearly depleted spiritual energy left him with the will but not the strength.
The spells of the pursuers were getting closer and closer, the sound of them tearing through the air sharp and piercing.
The two engaged in a bizarre chase, one pursuing and the other fleeing, one blocking and the other charging, as they traversed the dark and steep mountain slopes.
Zhao Fan was seriously injured and his steps were unsteady. He almost tripped several times. The young man in brown seemed to be in slightly better condition, but he was also panting heavily and his face was bloodless.
"There's a cliff ahead! Be careful!"
The young man in brown suddenly hissed a reminder, whether he meant it sincerely or not was unclear.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Fan felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't have time to pay attention to the unusual tone in the man's voice. As he rushed forward, he focused his gaze and saw that the moonlight ahead was swallowed by a thick shadow. The forest ended at what seemed to be the edge of a cliff with a steep drop in elevation, and the young man was standing on the edge of the cliff.
The night wind blew from that direction, carrying damp moisture and hollow echoes.
However, just as he subconsciously tried to turn, his foot stepped on a loose stone or slippery moss. His severely injured and weakened body was already in a very poor balance, and he could no longer control himself, so he suddenly lunged forward!
"not good!"
Before Zhao Fan could even process this thought, he was already tumbling and crashing down the steep slope like a rolling gourd!
He tried to grab onto the vines or rocks nearby, but his left arm was numb and weak, and his right shoulder was in excruciating pain, making it impossible for him to put any weight on it.
The young man didn't expect Zhao Fan to be unable to brake in time. He was hit on the back by Zhao Fan, and the two of them fell off the cliff together.
A dizzying sensation followed, and violent impacts came from all parts of his body, making Zhao Fan's already serious injuries even worse. His consciousness rapidly blurred amidst the rolling and impacts.
His last sensation was that his body seemed to pass through a layer of cold, wet, water-like curtain, followed by an endless feeling of weightlessness and the deafening roar of rushing water in his ears!
A bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped my entire body, and a tremendous impact pressed in from all directions.
My mouth, nose, eyes, and ears were instantly filled with the rushing water, making it impossible to breathe or see. All I could hear was the roaring sound of the water and the endless darkness.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Fan regained a faint sense of awareness.
The first sensation is coldness, followed by pain—a sharp, bone-deep ache.
He struggled to open his eyes, but felt as if his eyelids weighed a ton, and all he could hear was a continuous roar, the deafening sound of a waterfall crashing into a deep pool.
He tried to move his finger, and a piercing pain immediately shot through him, almost causing him to faint again.
The spiritual energy in his body was almost depleted, and his meridians were like parched and cracked earth. Every attempt by the weak spiritual energy to flow brought excruciating pain.
Fortunately, he is not dead yet, but his body is temporarily unable to move.
He gritted his teeth and endured the pain, barely managing to move his head. Immediately, a clear and pleasant voice rang in his ears.
"Don't move, I'm applying medicine to you."