202: quick eyes and hands

Seeing Chen Senlin pestering her relentlessly, Red Silk’s pretty face sank. Lightning Light flickered at her fingertips, and she fiercely threw out a lightning ball!

“Bang—!”

The lightning ball exploded, blasting a scorched pit in the ground. Chen Senlin dodged clumsily, his robes flapping wildly from the aftershock.

Red Silk put her hands on her hips, her beautiful eyes filled with anger, and her red lips curled up as she cursed unceremoniously.

“Can you just get lost? You’re like an annoying fly, constantly buzzing. Isn’t it irritating?!”

Chen Senlin’s face was gloomy, and a hint of malice flashed in his eyes, but he quickly forced out a fake smile and said with feigned affection,

“Junior Sister Red Silk, aren’t I just worried about you? This Stinky Kid has only just stepped into the Dou Ling realm. How can he protect a beauty like you?”

As he spoke, he contemptuously glanced at Jiang Donghua, his tone full of mockery.

Jiang Donghua was originally too lazy to bother with him, but seeing this guy getting more and more out of line, he frowned slightly and said indifferently,

“Senior Brother Chen, if you’re truly concerned about Senior Sister, why don’t you manage yourself first? When the Yin Demon Vine ambushed us just now, why didn’t this kid show up?”

Chen Senlin was hit where it hurt, his face stiffened, and then he shouted in anger and embarrassment,

“Stinky Kid, what are you? How dare you lecture me?!”

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand, and a dark green poisonous mist spewed out from his sleeve, heading straight for Jiang Donghua’s face!

“Careful!”

Red Silk’s eyes sharpened, and Lightning Light flared at her fingertips again, but Jiang Donghua was even faster than she was.

“Whoosh—!”

Blue flames surged from his palm, roaring out like an enraged dragon, instantly incinerating the poisonous mist. The scorching heatwave even forced Chen Senlin to retreat repeatedly!

Jiang Donghua’s eyes were cold, and his tone was chilling.

“Senior Brother Chen, ambushing from behind is not an honorable tactic.”

Chen Senlin’s face was ashen, clearly not expecting his poisonous mist to be so easily dispelled. He gritted his teeth and said,

“Good! Very good! You two just wait for me!”

With that, he glared fiercely at the two of them, then turned and disappeared into the Black Mist.

Red Silk snorted dismissively.

“A good-for-nothing, daring to make threats?”

Jiang Donghua retracted his flames and said indifferently,

“He probably won’t give up easily. Be careful from now on.”

Red Silk blinked, then suddenly leaned closer to him, her red lips slightly curved, and said with a smile,

“What, Junior Brother, are you worried about me?”

Jiang Donghua glanced at her, then turned and walked forward expressionlessly.

“I just don’t want to be a burden.”

Red Silk froze, then stomped her foot in anger.

“Stinky Kid! Say that again?!”

Jiang Donghua didn’t look back, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.

This woman is indeed most interesting when she’s flustered.

Chen Senlin’s figure quietly merged with the ancient tree. The patterns on the bark twisted slightly, as if he had become one with it.

His gaze pierced through the gaps in the branches and leaves, fixed on the departing Jiang Donghua and Red Silk, his eyes flickering with sinister light.

“This kid isn’t right.”

His brows were tightly furrowed, and the unsettling feeling in his heart grew stronger.

He was clearly just a guy who had just stepped into the Dou Ling realm, but that eerie blue flame made him instinctively tremble, as if he wasn’t facing a young cultivator, but a lurking ferocious beast.

“That flame is definitely not an ordinary thing!”

He gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white.

Red Silk was a woman he had pursued for several years, and he was about to succeed, but Jiang Donghua suddenly appeared, not only possessing strange strength but also making Red Silk look at him in a new light.

“You want me to just hand her over? Dream on!”

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a sinister arc.

“Since the direct approach won’t work, then I’ll use underhanded methods!”

Chen Senlin initially tracked them confidently, but it wasn’t long before he realized something was wrong.

The Black Mist Mountain Range’s mist was denser than usual, sometimes surging like a tide, sometimes vanishing without a trace, as if alive, deliberately interfering with his perception. Even more strangely, the Red Light that had burst forth a few days ago seemed to have altered some rules within the mountain range, making the familiar paths twisted and difficult to discern.

“Damn it! Where are they?!”

He suddenly stopped, his face as dark as water.

He had clearly been able to vaguely sense Jiang Donghua and Red Silk’s aura just now, but in the blink of an eye, the two had seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

“There’s something wrong with this Black Mist!”

He cursed under his breath, the sense of unease in his heart growing stronger.

The Black Mist Mountain Range was already perilous and unpredictable, and now, after the Red Light anomaly, it was even more bizarre and unfathomable.

Unless one cultivated a special technique, possessed a secret treasure, or had extremely powerful Soul Power, it was impossible to move freely in this place.

“No wonder those powerhouses from the Inner Academy have been leaving these past few days.”

He then realized that those Inner Academy disciples stronger than him, and even elder-level figures, had all withdrawn shortly after the Red Light erupted, clearly having detected the abnormality of this place early on.

“Am I the only one foolishly chasing after them?”

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and for the first time, he felt the urge to retreat.

But just then.

“Rustle…”

A faint rustling sound came from behind him, like something slowly wriggling.

Chen Senlin’s entire body stiffened, and he slowly turned his head.

Through the Black Mist, a pair of crimson eyes vaguely appeared, staring intently at him.

“What is that?!”

His pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively took a step back, clutching the jade slip in his hand tightly.

However, before he could react, the crimson eyes suddenly closed in, and as the Black Mist churned, a gaping maw filled with sharp fangs suddenly opened.

“Roar—!”

A bloodcurdling roar echoed through the forest, and Chen Senlin’s scream was instantly drowned out.

The Black Mist returned to its calm state, as if nothing had happened.

At the same time, deep within the mountain range.

Jiang Donghua paused, frowned slightly, and looked back.

Red Silk noticed his abnormality and raised an eyebrow, asking,

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Donghua was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

“Nothing, I just feel like something has disappeared.”

Red Silk pouted.

“Who cares, it wasn’t anything good anyway.”

Jiang Donghua withdrew his gaze and said indifferently,

“Let’s go, we’re almost there.”

Their figures gradually faded into the distance, completely merging into the Black Mist.

Jiang Donghua leaned against a thick tree trunk, gently pressing his fingertips against his temples, his Soul Power spreading out like ripples.

“Tsk, this wretched place!”

He couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Originally, with his strength, walking around the outer perimeter of the Black Mist Mountain Range wouldn’t require such caution, but ever since delving into this area, he even had to lighten his breathing.

If Red Silk hadn’t reacted quickly just now, grabbing the back of his collar and leaping into the air, he would have almost stepped on the head of a sleeping Fifth-Tier Magical Beast, the Shadow Demon Ape!

That thing was comparable to a human Dou King. If it had really woken up, the two of them would probably have been chased all over the mountain.

Red Silk sat on a nearby branch with her legs crossed, playing with a strand of hair at her fingertips, her red lips slightly pursed.

“Junior Brother, how is your perception not as good as mine? If it weren’t for my quick reaction, you’d probably be half-digested in that demon ape’s belly by now~”