Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 80: Chapter 80 Escape

”Senior Brother Wang Qiang, there’s no need for formalities between us!” Ye Qingchen said as he sprinted desperately, employing the Mystifying Steps while carrying them both.

Taking advantage of the brief respite, Hong Yan and Wang Qiang each swallowed a Spirit Revitalizing Pill to quickly recover their stamina. Behind them, a dense mass of monsters let out piercing roars, doggedly pursuing the trio.

Although the Mystifying Steps was an advanced Movement Technique Martial Skill, Ye Qingchen couldn’t reach his top speed while carrying two people. As his stamina drained, his pace gradually slowed, and the monsters behind them closed the distance bit by bit.

”Junior Brother Ye Qingchen, carrying us is a burden! Leave us behind, or none of us will make it out of here alive today!” Wang Qiang said grimly, glancing back at the monsters, now only about five meters away.

Although he feared death, he couldn’t bring himself to hold back the person who had saved his life. He was a man of principle.

”Senior Brother Wang Qiang, don’t worry. None of us are going to die!”

Confidence flashed across Ye Qingchen’s face. He dashed forward several meters and fiercely scraped his feet across the ground.

PFFT!

The intense friction sent a spark flying through the passage. A moment later, a wall of flames erupted behind them, soaring toward the ceiling!

WHOOSH!

Ye Qingchen frantically fled forward, carrying Hong Yan and Wang Qiang with him. The monsters, who had been less than a meter away, were instantly engulfed by the fire. They thrashed about in the inferno, their screams growing even more chilling as they echoed through the tunnel, enough to make one’s blood run cold.

With the front line of monsters caught in the sea of fire, their ranks fell into chaos. Ye Qingchen seized the opportunity to put another ten meters between them.

”These flames...?” Hong Yan murmured, unable to shake the feeling that they were strangely familiar.

Ye Qingchen gave a sheepish smile. ”They’re Fire Stones from the Alchemy Room, for alchemy. They don’t cost any sect points, so I... borrowed some. I was planning to try alchemy myself, but I never thought they’d come in handy like this...”

Hong Yan stared at him, speechless.

Wang Qiang was just as stunned. They don’t cost sect points, so he just ’borrowed’ some? The alchemy furnaces in the Alchemy Room are free too. Is he going to walk off with one of those next?

”Senior Sister Hong Yan, Senior Brother Wang Qiang, I scouted ahead earlier. The end of the tunnel is another four or five hundred meters away! If we can just hold on a little longer, we should have no problem escaping these monsters!” Ye Qingchen announced.

”It’s still that far?” Hong Yan’s brow furrowed.

The wall of fire had only bought them a few dozen meters before the dense swarm of monsters closed in again, now less than five meters behind them! They wouldn’t even make it another hundred meters before being overtaken. Hong Yan had serious doubts about Ye Qingchen’s plan.

But in the next instant, Ye Qingchen once again scraped his feet fiercely across the ground, sending sparks flying. Another Fire Stone ignited, and flames surged up behind them, swallowing the foremost monsters.

Ye Qingchen seized the chance to flee, once again increasing the distance between them and the monsters!

After fleeing for another few dozen meters, the monsters caught up again!

And just as before, Ye Qingchen scraped his feet, igniting a Fire Stone he had already placed on the ground and using the resulting blaze to create more distance.

The cycle repeated itself again and again. Hong Yan lost count of how many Fire Stones Ye Qingchen had lit.

Wang Qiang started to wonder. Did Ye Qingchen loot the entire Alchemy Room of its Fire Stones?

Finally, after they ignited one last Fire Stone, the end of the tunnel came into view: a pair of tall Stone Gates, with a sliver of light leaking from the crack between them.

Ye Qingchen brought them to the Stone Gates. The three of them pushed the heavy doors open and scrambled through, quickly slamming them shut behind them.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The instant the gates closed, the violent thudding of monsters slamming against them echoed from the other side. Fortunately, the Stone Gate was extremely thick; there was no way the monsters could break through it.

”Captain!”

”Hong Yan!”

At that moment, two astonished voices called out from behind them.

Wang Qiang turned to see the astounded faces of the old Taoist and the fat man. Their hearts were filled with disbelief. Chased by those terrifying monsters down a seven or eight-hundred-meter tunnel, and all three of them made it out alive?

After a moment of shock, the old Taoist’s face lit up with joy. ”Captain! Hong Yan! It’s wonderful that you’re alive! I was terrified and fled here first. When I realized you weren’t with me, I was filled with regret! I was just about to rush back to save you when you appeared. Truly, heaven protects the worthy!”

The fat man nodded eagerly. ”Same here!”

Before Wang Qiang could speak, Hong Yan glared at the Taoist and snapped, ”Old Taoist, the captain put himself in grave danger to save you, and you abandoned him to save your own skin! Do you really think I’d believe that nonsense?”

Hong Yan didn’t believe a single word he said.

Wang Qiang didn’t believe the old Taoist’s drivel either, but instead of lashing out like Hong Yan, he said in a low voice, ”Old Taoist, fat man, let’s put the past behind us. But don’t let it happen again.”

After the intense battle and desperate escape, Wang Qiang and Hong Yan were completely exhausted, while the old Taoist and the fat man were still full of energy and quite strong. If a fight were to break out now, Wang Qiang and Hong Yan would be no match for them.

Besides, countless monsters were still outside, and the situation beyond the Stone Gate was unknown. They could still make use of the Taoist and the fat man’s strength.

”The captain is so magnanimous! Not like certain women,” the old Taoist said, giving Wang Qiang a thumbs-up.

The fat man nodded, chiming in obsequiously, ”That’s truly loyal and righteous of you, Captain! You even brought this Outer Sect Disciple along while you were escaping. If it were me, I’m afraid I would’ve had to leave him behind!”

Hong Yan’s almond-shaped eyes widened in fury. ”You’re full of crap, Fatty! It was Ye Qingchen who saved the captain and me! If it weren’t for him, we’d have been torn to pieces by the monsters outside!”

”Ye Qingchen saved you?”

”How is that possible!”

The old Taoist and the fat man looked at each other in disbelief.

An Outer Sect Disciple saving Inner Sect Disciples? It was utterly unbelievable.

Wang Qiang nodded. ”Hong Yan is telling the truth. Without Ye Qingchen, we’d be dead right now.”

The old Taoist glanced at Ye Qingchen and chuckled. ”Not bad, kid.”

Despite the praise, his face was still filled with disdain and disbelief. He, a dignified Inner Sect Disciple, had fled in terror. How could Ye Qingchen, a mere Outer Sect Disciple, dare to confront that massive army of monsters? That would be suicide! Besides, if an Outer Sect Disciple did what he failed to do, wouldn’t that just make him look incompetent?

Therefore, deep down, the old Taoist simply refused to believe that Ye Qingchen could have saved Wang Qiang and Hong Yan.

Once he was certain they were safe, Ye Qingchen let out a long breath. Ignoring the old Taoist and the fat man, he took the Qi-restoring Pill from Wang Qiang, sat down cross-legged, and began to recover his energy.

Ye Qingchen had just about finished his recovery when an astonished voice came from up ahead. ”Oh? Another team made it in? What a pleasant surprise!”