"Impermanence, you bastard — may you die a wretched death!" Xiao Baiyi watched as Impermanence bolted toward the left, while the Flaming Beast continued charging straight at them. He couldn't help but roar in fury.
Impermanence glanced back with a mocking smirk, saying nothing as he fled at breakneck speed.
"Roar…"
That heaven-shaking roar erupted once more. The sheer volume alone was enough to unleash a terrifying wave of sound that knocked everyone off balance. And hot on its heels came the crimson pillar of fire — a lethal killing strike.
Fortunately, everyone had already witnessed the Flaming Beast's terrifying methods. The moment they heard the roar, they hastily changed course, scrambling out of the way of the deadly attack.
"Split up — survive on your own!" Xiao Baiyi barked. Even as he spoke, he was the first to change direction, and in the same breath he spun around and launched an attack toward the Flaming Beast.
It was clear he intended to draw the beast away, buying the others time to escape.
As the team's leader, Xiao Baiyi's actions were unquestionably exemplary.
Unfortunately, his hastily thrown attack was nothing more than a tickle. Before it even reached the beast, it was annihilated by the scorching heat radiating from its body.
The Flaming Beast didn't spare him a single glance. It continued to chase after the others without pause.
And after Xiao Baiyi's shout, the rest of the group instinctively scattered, transforming into streaks of colored light as they fled in every direction.
"You've got to be kidding me — my luck is that good?" Yang Kai spared a glance over his shoulder and was dismayed to find the Flaming Beast barreling straight toward him, ignoring everyone else entirely. He had no idea what about him had caught its attention.
"Blind mutt — you could chase anyone, but you fixate on me? Well… fine by me," he muttered to himself. While he had no desire to fight such a terrifying creature head-on, when it came to running away, he was fairly confident.
As long as the Flaming Beast kept chasing him, the others would be safe.
Though Yang Kai had no particular bond with the people from the Qingyang Divine Temple, he had at least taken up one of their spots to enter the Land of Four Seasons. Contributing what he could within his power was well within his tolerance.
So rather than fleeing faster, he actually eased up slightly, maintaining a set distance between himself and the Flaming Beast — close enough to keep dodging its attacks, but not so far as to lose its attention. In this manner, he led it deeper into the Land of Four Seasons.
Gradually, Yang Kai could no longer see any of the others. The Flaming Beast proved remarkably tenacious, pursuing him relentlessly while periodically spewing scorching blasts of energy from its mouth.
Its strength was formidable, but it was still a demon beast after all. Its ranged attacks seemed rather one-dimensional, so Yang Kai dodged them without much difficulty. As long as he anticipated them in advance, there was no real danger of being hit.
Half an hour later, Yang Kai figured he had put enough distance between them. He suddenly surged his Source Power, dramatically increasing his speed.
The wooden boat Aunt Feng had gifted him was of Dao Source grade upper-tier quality — the finest flying Artifact short of an Emperor Treasure. Its compact size made it perfect for a single rider. The moment he pushed it to full speed, the Flaming Beast could only eat his dust.
Moments later, a resentful roar echoed from somewhere far behind him. The beast was long out of sight, having obviously fallen far behind.
But Yang Kai didn't let his guard down. He continued to fly onward while extending his Divine Sense to scan his surroundings.
Another half hour passed before he was finally confident he was safe. Only then did he slowly descend.
He was still in the Summer Domain. The environment remained scorching, and the area he'd landed in was a dry, barren plain. A glance in any direction revealed thousands of li of flat, featureless terrain.
He took out a jade slip and examined the map of the Land of Four Seasons, then cross-referenced it with the path he'd already traveled to get his bearings.
After a moment, he summoned the wooden boat again and shot off in a new direction.
The primary reason he'd entered the Land of Four Seasons was, of course, to find the Tribulation Calamity Fruit.
The Tribulation Calamity Fruit only grew in perpetually frigid environments, so the Summer Domain was obviously unsuitable. He needed to reach the Winter Domain as quickly as possible if he hoped to find it.
Within this secret realm, he didn't dare fly too high and had to remain constantly vigilant — a tremendous drain on his Divine Sense.
An hour later, Yang Kai flew over a deep, rift-like gorge.
But almost immediately, he circled back and hovered in midair, narrowing his eyes as he peered into the chasm below.
Whether this gorge was naturally formed or the result of something else, it was bottomless. From above, all he could see was pitch-black darkness. And from somewhere far below came the howling roar of fierce winds.
The reason he'd turned back was simple: in that brief instant, he had sensed something unusual.
Now, as he studied the gorge more carefully, his eyes lit up. "Could it be…?"
Even as the words left his lips, he dove straight down into the gorge.
Strangely enough, while the Summer Domain was sweltering throughout, the interior of this gorge seemed completely unaffected by the ambient heat. The moment Yang Kai entered, he felt a refreshing chill. And the deeper he descended, the less the oppressive warmth had any hold on him.