For Li Banfeng, the wisest choice right now was to immediately put away the Month Plate and quickly escape. But he wanted to delay a bit longer. They were less than two miles from the valley entrance. If Qiu Luoye continued to charge, he would be out in less than a minute. The Luoshui Sect could only hold out for three minutes. Li Banfeng thought.
But Li Banfeng hadn’t expected that the fox beside Qiu Luoye had already awakened; it, too, was a Dream Cultivator. Though its cultivation level was only at the Second Layer, the fox possessed extremely high Spiritual Wisdom and was Qiu Luoye’s capable right hand. From the moment it was pulled into the dream, the fox sensed something amiss. Now, its consciousness had broken free from the dreamscape, but it didn’t rush to wake Qiu Luoye. This fox’s thoughts differed from Qiu Luoye’s; it had always believed they should first eliminate the hidden dangers inside the valley before attacking Shui Yongquan’s territory. And the cunning, troublesome Li Banfeng before it was the prime target for elimination. It feigned still being in the dream, preparing to kill Li Banfeng first before waking Qiu Luoye, to prevent Li Banfeng from escaping.
Just as the fox’s toe touched the ground, making a slight noise on the dirt, the Silk-pulling Earrings immediately warned, "There’s motion!"
Li Banfeng put away the Month Plate and turned to run. The fox leaped, pouncing towards Li Banfeng’s back, but the Tang Sword flew in, chopping off the fox’s head with one blow.
"Beheading with Every Blow!" the Tang Sword praised itself and hurried after Li Banfeng to escape for their lives.
From the moment the fox made its move, Qiu Luoye had already awakened.
A large swath of vines was trampled into mush. Right before reaching the valley exit, Li Banfeng used his last trap.
In front of him stood a Paper Doll Beauty holding a Judge’s Pen. She had drawn a circle and was now standing within it, waiting.
Li Banfeng ran through the circle, but she didn’t move.
Qiu Luoye charged into the circle, and the Paper Doll Beauty cried out, "Fly!"
The Judge’s Pen didn’t move; it couldn’t be bothered.
Li Banfeng thought.
Qiu Luoye snorted, and with a flick of his nose, the second Paper Doll Beauty was torn to tatters, the Judge’s Pen falling to the ground.
Within Bitter Vegetable Manor, Bitter Granny saw yet another vegetable leaf fall before her.
she wondered.
Bitter Granny smiled.
Qiu Luoye continued to charge forward and, as luck would have it, stepped right on the Judge’s Pen.
That step had clearly caused the Judge’s Pen immense pain.
It was angry.
It abruptly yanked Qiu Luoye into the air.
As Qiu Luoye was walking forward, he suddenly found his four feet lifted off the ground.
Before he could make sense of what had happened, he had already been flown back more than two miles.
Looking down, Qiu Luoye didn’t see the Judge’s Pen.
The Judge’s Pen had dived into the bushes to hide, knowing that if Qiu Luoye caught it, it would undoubtedly die. Flying Qiu Luoye for two miles had exhausted all the strength the Judge’s Pen had accumulated over many years. It lay quietly in the bushes, making no sound.
Those two miles bought Li Banfeng a minute’s time.
Li Banfeng had reached the mouth of the canyon and set up the Waterfall Gate. He unfolded the Month Plate to check it. The dial on the back showed the time as 5:16.
he thought.
At 5:17, Qiu Luoye hadn’t arrived, but his Tree People came running.
Li Banfeng didn’t wait any longer and had the last Paper Doll Beauty pour two pounds of water onto the Waterfall Gate. Water droplets flowed down the lintel, and the Waterfall Gate quickly took root, an invisible barrier spreading to both wings of the valley.
Before the barrier was fully sealed, a Tree Person slammed head-first into it.
Li Banfeng, bracing the gate from behind, was knocked off balance. The Tree Person’s head jabbed toward Li Banfeng’s chest through the crack in the doors.
WHOOSH!
The Tang Sword swung, slicing off half of the Tree Person’s head. After three slashes, the Tang Sword retracted into Li Banfeng’s pocket.
Oblivious to pain, the Tree Person kept charging. Li Banfeng wielded his sickle, hacking furiously at it. The Paper Maiden gathered all her strength to hold the Tree Person from behind. Under their combined assault, the Tree Person retreated half a step. He turned, grabbed the Paper Maiden, ripped her to shreds, then turned back to deal with Li Banfeng, only to be stopped by the barrier.
The barrier was complete!
The dial on the Month Plate showed 5:17:08.
The Tree People outside were frantically pounding against the barrier, and Li Banfeng was firmly bracing the gate from behind. The Waterfall Gate was incredibly strong. As the Tree People rammed it with all their might, Li Banfeng only felt a slight tremor in his arms, since the Waterfall Gate absorbed most of the force.
Li Banfeng breathed a sigh of relief.
BANG!
Li Banfeng was sent flying from behind the gate, landing on his back on the ground.
The two doors had opened a little more than a foot.
Qiu Luoye stood outside. He had just casually kicked the barrier, sending Li Banfeng flying.
Li Banfeng immediately scrambled up and rushed to the doors to force them shut.
BANG!
Another kick, and Li Banfeng flew out again. The heavy impact broke two of Li Banfeng’s ribs, and his consciousness began to blur.
CREAK, CREAK, CREAK...
The two large doors creaked open slowly. Li Banfeng immediately scrambled up from the ground and hurried to close them.
BANG!
A door panel slammed into Li Banfeng’s face. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth, and his cheekbone shattered.