As the Seven Fates Sect left for the core region of the Sky Empire over the next few weeks, the Star Shattering Sect did not take long before it moved in to take control over the territory that the Seven Fates Sect had left behind. Officially cementing itself as the only Domain Lord Realm power in the area now that the Seven Fates Sect had left.
Although this didn't cause any of the more powerful kingdoms around the Star Shattering Sect to surrender and give up their territory to the Star Shattering Sect, it still ended up causing the higher up of these kingdoms to feel even more nervous than before.
At this point in time, they all understood that the Star Shattering Sect was bound to target them after they had finished establishing themselves in the territory of the smaller kingdoms that had already surrendered to them.
Even if this might still take a few years, the time where they would have to surrender their territory or fight a hopeless battle with the Star Shattering Sect would inevitably come for them!
...
At the same time that things between the Star Shattering Sect and the surrounding kingdoms had calmed down following the battle between Shu Yao and the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom, Bai Ning and Hui Ying both felt a sense of relief washing over them as they spotted a large hill in the distance towering over the tall trees of the jungle.
"The path out of this place should be located somewhere on the other side of the hill over there. Haa... Finally, we will be able to get out of this place." Staring towards the hill, Hui Ying let out an exhausted sigh before a happy smile appeared on her face as she sat down and started recovering her energy for their final push towards the portal leading out of the jungle.
"..."
Seeing that Hui Ying had already sat down to recover, Bai Ning followed behind and similarly started recovering his energy in preparation for what they might encounter on the final stretch towards the portal.
The main reason why they both had decided to recover when they were already so close to the portal, was mainly due to the fact that they had escaped from a large pack of demonic wolves just a few minutes earlier.
Although the strongest among these demonic wolves had only reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, the number of them made up for their lack of strength.
To be honest, given how many wolves were in that pack, Bai Ning doubted that he would have been able to win even if he had reached the Core Formation Realm.
In a sense, they were rather lucky when escaping, as it seemed like a larger demon beast in the Core Formation Realm had appeared at the back of the pack of wolves, causing them to shift their focus from both of them towards the Core Formation Realm demon beast that had attacked the rear of the pack.
Still... The demon beast that appeared back there should be in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm. Dealing with the pack of wolves should only be a matter of time and if it continues moving in the same direction...
Thinking this, Bai Ning could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine. If the demon beast in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm really did catch up to them, there was not much they could do given the sheer difference in strength between them and a demon beast in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm.
Whoosh~!
Closing his eyes as he no longer thought about it any longer, Bai Ning focused his full attention towards recovering the qi he had used when escaping from the massive pack of wolves earlier.
Despite the fact that he was in a far better condition compared to Hui Ying and could still go on for a bit longer, he did not want to take any risks. Especially considering that the portal leading out of the jungle could be guarded by a demon beast.
Rustle~
"Hm?"
However only a few minutes after he had sat down to meditate and recover his qi, did one of the wolves that he and Hui Ying had just escaped from. Emerge from a nearby bush covered in blood.
R-Roar!
Barely able to let out a small roar in its current condition before threateningly looking towards both of them-
Thump!
The wolf demon beast collapsed dead on the ground in front of them before being able to do anything more than let out a single weak roar.
"This... Did the Core Formation Realm demon beast already deal with the pack of wolves!? Even if its in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm, it should at least take it another hour or two..."
Waking up from her meditation due to the appearance of the now dead wolf, Hui Ying fearfully muttered this to herself as she grabbed her weapon and looked towards the direction that the wolf had come from. Ready to fight the powerful demon beast that had originally helped them get rid of the pack of wolves.
"Let's go, we should leave now before it actually shows up. If we are lucky, the wolf here is not the last one left and the Core Formation Realm demon beast has not yet finished off the pack of wolf demon beasts yet..."
Seeing Hui Ying clutching on to her weapon as she looked ready to fight whatever showed up following behind the now dead wolf demon beast, Bai Ning rolled his eyes at her sudden bravery before grabbing hold of her to escape towards the large hill in the distance.
Swish-!
As long as they could make it through the portal leading out of the jungle, they would no longer have to worry about fighting the powerful Core Formation Realm demon beast. The only problem, was whether or not they could make it in time and if there really was some kind of demon beast blocking the portal out of the jungle.
...
"Hah... This is... Hah... The portal out of this jungle...?"
Standing on top of the large hill, Hui Ying barely managed to say this as she exhaustedly looked down towards a small pond of water at the other side of the hill.
Given that she had not fully managed to recover enough to use her movement technique for more than a few minutes, she had almost ended up fully exhausting all of her energy by getting to the top of the hill.
"Yes... Take some time to recover, I will scout out the situation first."
Nodding his head as he said this, Bai Ning watched as Hui Ying exhaustedly collapsed on the ground before she started focusing all of her attention towards recovering her qi.
Whoosh~!
As Hui Ying was recovering, Bai Ning didn't waste any time moving down towards the portal to see if there was any demon beasts lurking around the area that would make it difficult for them to approach.
"Hm? This is-!?"
Stopping only a short distance away from the portal located inside the pond of water, Bai Ning could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he suddenly realized that there was a massive snake coiled around the pond of water.
From a distance, the aura leaking out from this massive snake was more than enough to make Bai Ning freeze on the spot as he felt his entire body trembling all over.
Peak of the Core Formation Realm!
Even if the snake was sleeping at the moment and hadn't discovered him yet, Bai Ning was certain that it would wake up the moment he and Hui Ying tried to enter the pond of water to leave through the portal below the surface of the water... And given the strength of the massive snake, he understood that they would have no way to swim through the portal before the snake caught up to them...
pAnD Swish~
Knowing that he would have to look for another way through the portal that did not involve just charging straight into the pond and hoping that the massive snakes speed was slow enough that he and Hui Ying could make it through the portal before being swallowed by it, Bai Ning quietly mad his way back to the top of the hill where Hui Ying was still busy doing her best to recover as much qi as she could with the limited time they had left.
Rumble~!
ROOOOOOAR-!
"This... The Core Formation Realm demon beast that was busy fighting with the pack of wolf demon beasts!?"
Suddenly hearing a loud rumbling sound in the distance followed by a loud roar filled with killing intent, Bai Ning could not help narrowing his eyes as a frown appeared on his face.
Now that the powerful Core Formation Realm demon beast behind them had finished up the group of wolf demon beasts, the time available to them before they would have to escape would at most be a minute or two...!