Beneath their feet, the secret passage seemed longer than ever before. But no matter how long the journey, it would eventually reach its end.
A point of light appeared in Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing's field of vision, gradually expanding.
"The exit!" Bai Ningbing blurted out.
"According to the rumors from my previous life, this passage should lead to a cliff face on White Bone Mountain." Fang Yuan didn't speak aloud, keeping his head down as he ran, deliberating only in his mind.
He owed thanks to the lost siblings Bai Sheng and Bai Hua. It was their intelligence that had drawn him here in the first place, and their sacrifice that had allowed him to obtain the Bone Flesh Reunion Gu.
Suddenly, rapid footsteps echoed from behind.
"We've finally caught up!"
"We've spotted those two thieves!"
"You're not getting away!"
The Bai family Gu Masters charged forward in fierce pursuit, their killing intent palpable.
The Bai Family Patriarch led the charge, with several Elders close behind. The narrow passage forced the Bai family members into a long, strung-out column.
Direct Collision Gu.
Suddenly, one Elder accelerated, his body shooting forward like a cannonball, rapidly closing the distance to Fang Yuan.
"Bai Ningbing!" Fang Yuan shouted.
Bai Ningbing gritted her teeth and flung her palm backward.
Blood Moon Gu.
With a soft hiss, a blood-colored blade shot out and struck the pursuing Elder squarely, halting his momentum.
But immediately after, the passage erupted in a shower of multicolored light as a barrage of ranged attacks flew toward Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing.
"Bai Ningbing, take this!" Fang Yuan called out again, lending her the Heavenly Canopy Gu once more.
Bai Ningbing simultaneously activated the Heavenly Canopy Gu and the Iron Thorn Bramble Gu, and with the added defense of her Ice Body, the three-layered countermeasure held against the bulk of the attacks.
"Bai family! Don't you want to know what happened to your two young masters?" Fang Yuan bellowed.
The Bai family Gu Masters caught sight of Bai Sheng and Bai Hua in the hands of Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing. Upon hearing those words, their assault faltered.
"Speak! What have you done to our clan's young masters?"
"If anything happens to them, you'll meet a wretched end!!"
"Give me back my child!!" The Bai Family Patriarch was driven to the brink of rage, thrusting a finger forward as a streak of cold light shot out.
Cold Fish Gu!
This Gu was only the size of a throwing dart, shaped like a small fish, tracing a curving arc through the air — it had homing properties.
Fang Yuan let out a muffled grunt, unable to dodge in time. The Cold Fish Gu struck him.
Instantly, cold energy enveloped his entire body, and his speed plummeted.
Hidden Scale Gu.
Fang Yuan moved his will, and a shimmering ripple spread across his body as he prepared to vanish from sight.
"Not a chance!" An Elder suddenly thrust his right hand open, aimed it at Fang Yuan, and clawed downward through the air.
A faint crack.
Though the Hidden Scale Gu was nestled within Fang Yuan's Empty Orifice, it suddenly shattered and was destroyed.
Fang Yuan's heart sank. He hastily activated the Jumping Grass.
A tingling, prickling, itching sensation erupted across the soles of his feet as two tufts of grass resembling coiled springs forcibly sprouted from the flesh.
Using the elastic force of the grass, Fang Yuan leaped forward, his speed surging.
"I'm going ahead — remember to jump!" He left behind those strange words.
"What?" Bai Ningbing was naturally confused, but behind her, the sound of wind roared to life.
She looked back, and her heart dropped.
The Bai Family Patriarch had drawn near, her eyes blazing red like those of an enraged lioness. Her ferocity was such that even Bai Ningbing couldn't help but shudder.
After all, this was a Fourth Transformation Gu Master.
Boom!
The Bai Family Patriarch threw a devastating punch, and the immense force shattered the white light phantom armor of the Heavenly Canopy Gu.
Bai Ningbing vomited a mouthful of blood and summoned the Sawtooth Gold Centipede.
The Sawtooth Gold Centipede transformed into a streak of golden light, coiling around the Bai Family Patriarch.
Seizing the opportunity, Bai Ningbing sprinted forward and reached the exit.
It was a cliff face!
In that instant, Bai Ningbing suddenly understood the meaning behind Fang Yuan's parting words — he wanted her to jump off the cliff!
"You're not escaping!" the Bai Family Patriarch's roar came from behind. As for the Sawtooth Gold Centipede, she had already torn it to pieces with brute force.
A flicker of struggle passed through Bai Ningbing's eyes.
At this height, jumping meant certain death. But the situation had become desperate — there was no longer any room for choice.
She steeled herself and leaped off the cliff.
"She actually jumped!"
"She's dead for sure!"
Several Bai family Gu Masters cried out in shock, stopping at the cliff's edge.
The Bai Family Patriarch gazed downward and saw Bai Ningbing plummeting through the air. The veins on her forehead bulged as she roared: "I want her alive or dead — I will capture both of them!"
Her body fell ceaselessly, the wind howling past her ears.
Bai Ningbing had never imagined there would come a day when she would jump off a cliff.
"So this is how I die? It's thrilling, but not satisfying..." The stench of death rushed toward her, and Bai Ningbing's emotions churned violently.
"I haven't even obtained the Spring Autumn Cicada yet, and to die in a woman's body — what a tragedy. Though after the fall, I'll be nothing but bone fragments and meat paste — at least then you won't be able to tell whether I'm male or female."
Bai Ningbing couldn't quite believe that such bizarre thoughts were the ones surfacing in her mind in her final moments.
Just then, the wind in her ears surged dramatically, and an incredibly familiar voice called out: "Bai Ningbing!"
She turned to look beside her — if not Fang Yuan, then who?
In this moment, Fang Yuan was also plummeting through the air, but what was different was that beneath his feet stood a massive bird of white bone.
The Footless Bird!
This bird had no flesh or blood — its entire body was composed of pristine white bones. It had an eagle's head, a crane's body, and a swallow's tail, with two pairs of wings spread on either side, but not a single leg.
Fang Yuan was covered in blood and dirt, clearly having sustained numerous injuries in the secret passage as well.
"Grab my hand." He crouched on the bird's back and extended his hand as far as he could.
A soft clap.
Two hands clasped tight in midair.
With another heave, Fang Yuan pulled Bai Ningbing down onto the bird's back.
But at that very moment, a protruding rock formation lay less than three hundred feet below them. The Footless Bird hurtled toward it like a falling meteor.
"Watch out — we're going to crash!" Bai Ningbing screamed, her heart leaping into her throat.
The rock formation expanded rapidly in her vision.
Fang Yuan's eyes flashed with fierce light as he bellowed in a savage roar: "My Demonic Path cannot end here on this petty White Bone Mountain — fly!"
Rise! Rise! Rise!
His shouts echoed through the valley.
Flap flap flap!
Under his command, the Footless Bird beat its wings frantically, straining with all its might to slow their descent.
A series of cracking sounds rang out as fractures appeared across all four bone wings.
True Essence in Fang Yuan's Empty Orifice was being consumed at a terrifying rate, but the Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus radiated a warm, gentle glow, gushing forth a massive supply of natural True Essence. Even as Fang Yuan's True Essence sea receded, it surged back once more.
A herd of bone beasts that had been milling about leisurely near the rock formation sensed the Footless Bird's approach and looked up in unison, immediately scattering in terror.
A gray-bone Camel Chicken, frightened out of its wits, plunged its sharp-beaked head deep into the white bone rock face, its round rear end sticking straight up in the air.
Camel Chickens were creatures of instinct. When terrified, this was their way of deceiving themselves — if they couldn't see the danger, it wasn't there.
They were about to collide!
Bai Ningbing stopped breathing; Fang Yuan's eyes blazed wide.
The tremendous wind pressure collapsed the white bone trees on the rock formation. In the end, the Footless Bird grazed past the Camel Chicken's rear and angled steeply upward!
The Camel Chicken's long tail feathers were sheared clean off, leaving behind only its round, bare behind.
"Bwahaha." Bai Ningbing burst into uncontrollable laughter on the bird's back.
Having brushed past death and returned to life, all the pressure lifted — she felt her heart drop from her throat back into her chest.
Exhilarating. Truly exhilarating. The thrill of a razor's edge between life and death had always been the most captivating of all. Wasn't this the life she had always wanted, the life she had always pursued?
"Footless Bird, soar into the blue sky!" she sang out, nearly in song.
"Patriarch! They're still alive!" At the cliff's edge, the Bai family Gu Masters had gone pale.
"There's no catching them. That's a Footless Bird — it can fly ten thousand miles in a single day," Tie Dao Ku sighed helplessly.