Ye Mo's body trembled.
"A rank 3 beast has the power to kill Inner Core Realm cultivators. This is not something I can go against right now."
In front of absolute strength, no tricks and no amount of planning can change anything.
Facing rank 3 beasts, without talking of him, even if there were a thousand Qi Gathering Realm cultivators, it wouldn't change anything.
"Go!" Ye Mo turned around and prepared to leave.
He knew his own limits, being able to ascertain the situation properly and let go when it's necessary is the number one criterion to roam the world.
At this moment, he instantly discarded his goal of the pure iridescent iron cave and chose to flee.
However, to his dismay, he realized he couldn't take even one step. It was like his nerves lost the connection to his body.
His qi froze as well, and he couldn't manipulate it properly.
All he could feel was an intense bloodlust surrounding him. It was like he was a small bird trapped in the mouth of a crocodile, only able to wait for death as he was dragged into water depths.
He looked behind and saw the beast advancing towards him. With each step, dozens of meters would be crossed as it was steadily nearing him.
"It's targeting me! If I don't move now, it will kill me." Ye Mo gritted his teeth.
He struggled, but to no avail. He could barely budge.
"Move."
Ye Mo sweated profusely, and his body shook continually as he slowly raised his arms, the mobility of his fingers returning.
"Move!"
With sheer will, he placed his hands on his face as he breathed roughly.
"Move!!!"
Through pure survival instinct, Ye Mo ruthlessly clawed at his face. His nails dug into his skin, and dark red blood flowed down continuously as his face from under his eyes to the bottom of his chin was ripped apart.
His flesh was laid naked, and in one place you could see a part of the lower jawbone.
The pain stimulated him, and he finally broke free from his torpor.
Tap!
Regaining control of his body, he didn't waste an instant and tapped on the ground with his foot, darting away surrounded by wind currents.
His disfigured appearance along with his somber expression made him look extremely tragic.
Ye Mo was ruthless to his enemies but even more ruthless to himself!
Under the pressure of life and death, he took the most direct decision and mangled himself. His face burned him, and he was in constant pain but this radical act immediately bore its fruits as Ye Mo regained his mobility.
His sufferings accentuated as he ran away. At his speed, the slightest breeze that brushed his face gave him indescribable agony. Fortunately, Wind Flow made the wind follow his movements rather than pressuring him, otherwise, running would become an act of self-harm on par with ripping his face.
This was a cruel land full of uncertainty where anyone could meet their demise at any moment. Only by adapting to circumstances could one increase his chances of survival.
Ye Mo raced with unprecedented speed as the edge of his vision grew blurred. The trees flashed and disappeared in an instant, while at the same time, the stinging pain of his injuries increased with each second that passed.
Bam Bam Bam...
He could hear the loud steps of the beast pursuing him relentlessly and the ground shaking each time, accentuating the pressure on his shoulders.
When he shot a glance back, he saw an enormous form pressing forward but couldn't make out the details as the environment was plunged in darkness and the beast stood too far away.
The trees standing in its way were crushed and fell at the sides in a cloud of smoke and dirt but couldn't conceal the beast's terrifying stature.
"It's toying with me. A rank 3 beast, even the slowest of them, could easily catch up to me, but it plays with its food instead, prolonging its pleasure."
After the initial shock and the paralysis of his body, Ye Mo regained his usual disposition as he thought calmly of the situation.
"I won't be able to leave the jungle before it catches up to me. Even if I could, chances are it will just rush and kill me if I get too close to the border. Shadow Walk is of no use either here, it's only the first phase of a mid-tier Yellow Class battle skill, after all. Although it's convenient, it can't conceal me from the senses of such a foe."
He racked his brain thinking of a solution as he considered all his options.
Beasts were naturally born with a powerful body and would usually require the teamwork of five cultivators with skills complementing each other to deal with it safely. However, they had one clear weakness that could be used, and that was their lack of wisdom.
With this, even weaker teams could still use kiting tactics and, with good coordination, would be able to overcome this danger.
But the heavens were fair, and the same way humans would start frail but gain unbound power through cultivation, the spirit of beasts grew as well with each rank.
Compared to ordinary blood beasts that mostly reacted by instinct, rank 3 ones could already take leading roles and give simple commands.
"I heard there are rank 6 beasts with wisdom no less than humans who can easily understand and react to everything we say. There are even legends about powerful ones that can freely converse with us."
I'm lucky it's a solitary beast that doesn't rule a pack, but at the same time it seems like quite the sadistic one. Since I met this rank 3 beast here, then maybe... There are no other choices, this is my only chance."
Ye Mo's eyes shone with determination. He suddenly made a curve and rather than following his own steps, he circled around the first mountain and ran towards the east instead.
The beast was slowly but surely shortening the distance between them. Originally, they were separated by dozens of kilometers, but now only half remained.
Now that it was closer, Ye Mo could make out a humanoid figure with an imposing aura.
Still, good things don't last, and soon the beast growled as it started coming faster and faster.
"Shit! Does it want to finish this already?" Ye Mo felt a pressing urge in his heart.
He was very fast, crossing great distances in an instant, but it was far from enough. At the end of the day Wind Flow was just a low-tier battle skill while he was only at the 5th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm and couldn't surpass common sense.
For Inner Core Realm cultivators and rank 3 beasts, it was the same as looking at a toddler making his first steps.
Moreover, he has been using Wind Flow extensively by now, and only 11% of his qi remained in his dantian.
All in all, the end was near.
12 kilometers, 9 kilometers, 5 kilometers, 2 kilometers!
The glimmer of expectation in his heart was slowly dying down as he would soon be caught.
At this instant Ye Mo could see a light appear in the distance.
But this light grew stronger to the point the forest seemed to be on fire, and then it took off and flew high in the sky.
Among the countless stars, it looked like a miniature sun dispelling the darkness in the surroundings.
Screeeee!!!
A powerful bird cry resounded above the forest. Ye Mo felt his entire brain buzzing as the loud cry hurt his eardrums.
"Another rank 3 beast, as I thought!" Rather than being scared, Ye Mo was jubilant.
If there was one rank 3 beast in this place chasing him, then there most probably were others somewhere else in the jungle.
Thinking of this, Ye Mo changed direction and went deeper in the jungle. If he could find another one and led them to fight each other, he could use this chance to escape.
It was a very risky plan, chances were he wouldn't find any or would die before it happened, but it was his only chance.
Howl!!!
The beast howled loudly behind in defiance. The miniature sun illuminated everything below, and Ye Mo could finally see what kind of creature chased him all this time as he looked back.
Five hundred meters back, a great ape was beating its chest loudly. His body was mostly covered in black fur, but it couldn't hide its tough muscles. When standing on its legs, it was more than thirty meters tall, possessed long arms, and had a very broad back. As he roared, you could see sharp white teeth carved like knives, the canines being twice the size of the others.
"Wrathful Black Ape!" Ye Mo recognized the beast immediately.
Among all the blood beasts, the ape species was recognized as first in terms of raw strength and had nothing to envy any others in this aspect.
Ye Mo has read much about them.
The firebird swooped down and faced the ape a hundred meters above the jungle. Its whole body was covered in flames. It had small legs, indicating it mostly used flight for movement.
The flames on its head were particularly big and flickered constantly like a towering crown. The beak was very long and straight, pointing at the ape as the beast looked at him furiously.
This one, Ye Mo didn't recognize. One week wasn't enough to learn everything, so he mostly focused on the basics, inevitably there would be holes in his knowledge.
He was standing right between them, but they didn't pay any attention to him. He was simply insignificant, how could they distract themselves with this bug when a real threat was in front of them.
Using this chance, Ye Mo activated Shadow Walk.
Usually these beasts would easily notice him if they really tried even under the effect of the battle skill, but now that their attention was entirely directed to their opponent, it was as if they were truly alone.
Ye Mo was as cautious as he could and seeing that they didn't bother with him, he decided to add another layer of safety with Shadow Walk to make sure they would not pay any more attention to him and focus on each other.
They didn't notice Ye Mo making a beeline and getting as far away from them as possible.
After he was far enough to make sure they wouldn't target him, he canceled Shadow Walk and used his last forces to flee using Wind Flow battle skill so as to not be swept in their battle.
Between life and death, hope and despair, Ye Mo unearthed a part of his potential as he poured every last drop of his qi in this last run.
'How dare he have the gall to intrude my territory!' The infuriated firebird raised its head.
The beak pointed straight towards the sky, and right above it, a small ball of fire took form.
At first it was only the size of a man's fist, but it quickly enlarged until it was comparable to a small hill.
With a movement of the head, the enormous ball of fire flew towards the ape like a meteor threatening to engulf everything in its path.
Howl!
The wrathful black ape jumped high in the sky, reaching the level of the ball of fire, and smashed it with both his fists together!
At this moment, time seemed to stop.
The surrounding sound vanished, and the world was silent.
Ye Mo, who was already pretty far, could see the grasses around him rustle in slow motion.
A ladybug flying disorderly crashed against the web of a spider.
A colony of ants returning to their nest in line, carrying all kinds of dead insects and small fruits, were sent flying by the wind generated from Ye Mo's speed.
After that a blinding white light appeared.
Then...
BOOM!
At this instant, every living being in the jungle could sense the ground shaking!
In an explosion, crushed stones shot out everywhere, the collision created a strong wind pressure that immediately shot out towards all directions.
Everywhere the wind pressure reached, stones, trees, and plants were all uprooted and moved with it.
A mushroom cloud floated into the sky before dissipating while smoke and dust whirled around.
Thankfully the collision happened mid-air as the enormous destructive force instantly formed a huge round crater six hundred meters across.
Small flames burned inside while the surroundings were set ablaze.
Ye Mo, although far, was still caught up in the force of the explosion and was sent flying like a shooting star, breaking multiple trees before crashing on the mountain's base several hundred steps away.
His body slowly detached itself from the mountain's base and fell on the ground like a leaf as multiple broken rocks dropped down on him.
Ye Mo slightly opened one of his eyes when a strong nausea hit him, and he threw up a mouthful of blood.
"I can't fall unconscious right now or I'm done for." Intense sleepiness assaulted him as he thought of this.
His body had innumerable fractures, some organs were shattered, and the internal bleeding was severe.
The only way he was still alive was thanks to his resilient body. If he didn't escape as fast before the explosion, he wouldn't be in one piece anymore.
Ye Mo forced his eyes to stay open and used his unyielding will to grab a high-tier healing pill from his pouch with a trembling broken hand.
When the pill mixed with the blood in his mouth went down his throat, he fainted amidst the chaos of a great battle.