Chapter 177 Escaping Danger

Heiy羽's consciousness returned to his original body. Instantly, a searing, intense pain wracked his entire body, causing him to collapse straight backward. His limbs trembled uncontrollably from the agony, breathing was difficult, and dark bruises from ruptured blood vessels pooled beneath his skin while his throat filled with the metallic taste of blood.

Before losing consciousness, his only hope was for a speedy recovery, coupled with deep anxiety over Ling Xiaolei's whereabouts...

The titanic beast sprinted all the way, carrying Ling Xiaolei into a quiet grove in the distance. Making sure the demon was not in pursuit, it gently lowered its palm to the ground, allowing Ling Xiaolei to step down as if it were tenderly caring for an injured little bird.

Ancient-grade fiends possessed extremely high intelligence. At that moment, Ling Xiaolei felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward Ling Xi; it was he who had gifted her this familiar in the past, saving her life at the very last fraction of a second. Otherwise, she would truly have perished there today.

She noticed a pair of tiny, naive-looking eyes set in the titan's honest-looking face, carrying a dazed and rather endearing expression.

Since manifesting the titan consumed a vast amount of Ling Xiaolei's magical power, the behemoth transformed into a wisp of silver smoke and vanished once her safety was assured.

Ling Xiaolei's hand remained suspended in mid-air as wisps of smoke dissolved into silver powder that drifted down onto her palm. Finding a spot behind a large boulder, she sat down cross-legged to rest and recover her magical energy.

Even after escaping the demon's clutches, this forest remained fraught with peril, and she could not afford to lower her guard for even a single second.

Recalling the scene from moments before, Ling Xiaolei could not help but wonder why the titan stone beast had automatically burst forth from the Summoning Tome at the moment of crisis.

She clearly remembered not summoning it; she had even forgotten she possessed such a familiar. Could it be that her desperate will to survive had transmitted itself directly into the familiar's heart?

Between a Demon Slayer and a familiar, a contractual restriction existed: the familiar could not act arbitrarily without being summoned.

If a familiar manifested spontaneously, there was only one possible explanation: the familiar's own tier far exceeded that of the Demon Slayer.

This was also the most dangerous scenario. Therefore, past legends were filled with instances where familiars betrayed their Demon Slayers, manifesting spontaneously without control and wreaking havoc among mortals, which was why the profession of Demon Slayers was often ostracized.

Yet, ever since this titan stone beast came into her possession, it had never once broken free of its bonds and rushed out on its own. This proved that Ling Xi could safely entrust it to her because it was an intensely loyal familiar.

Suddenly, she sensed a rustling movement in the surrounding forest. Glancing around, she was shocked to see that the line of trees encircling the clearing had actually begun to move!

Two glowing, eerie green eyes split open on their trunks, revealing hideous, gaping mouths. Their roots pulled themselves free from the soil like walking legs, swaying clumsily as they crept slowly toward Ling Xiaolei.

"A millennium-old tree demon?..."

Ling Xiaolei had seen illustrations of this type of demonic beast in the library's compendium. They excelled at concealing their presence while lurking, and she had failed to notice them entirely.

Too weak to stand, she simply raised both hands, crossing her arms over her chest while the Summoning Tome on her right wrist flashed once.

"Raven!"

A mass of black clouds gradually expanded, instantly enveloping the entire area. In the blink of an eye, not a single trace of light remained as the surroundings plunged into absolute darkness. Simultaneously, several binding chains silently snaked out from behind to wrap around the approaching tree demons.

The Summoning Tome flashed once more.

"Greedy Wolf's Claws!"

In the darkness, not only was the tree demons' vision rendered useless and their sense of direction lost, but all their senses were sealed off while they were tightly constricted by chains. Suddenly, countless blade-like claws struck, hacking the tree demons' hollow, decaying trunks to pieces and instantly shattering them into fragments of withered wood.

When Heiy羽 finally regained consciousness from his swoon, he had no idea how much time had passed. He struggled to his feet and staggeringly followed the direction in which the titanic beast had fled, searching all the way for Ling Xiaolei.

Soon, amidst the boundless nocturnal shadows in a distant forest clearing, he spotted the scattered, glowing soul fragments of the tree demons. The Greedy Wolf was currently absorbing these souls, licking its paws to recover from the severe cumulative injuries sustained when the demon had struck it with its palm. Meanwhile, Ling Xiaolei was sitting cross-legged in the center of the clearing, deep in meditation.

Sensing Heiy羽's approach, she snapped out of her meditative state. Remaining seated in the lotus position, she quietly gazed at him. Heiy羽 also halted his steps, and the two of them stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Uh... I'm sorry..."

Heiy羽 said with embarrassment. He felt a profound sense of guilt toward Ling Xiaolei, yet he had no idea how to apologize, nor even whether she could ever forgive him.

Ling Xiaolei frowned and then exaggeratedly let out a sigh, "Haaah!"

She stood up, putting on an angry facade: "I told you we should have headed straight for Red Port, but you wouldn't listen and insisted on picking a fight with the Forest Lord! Look at this mess now, I almost died!..."

The moment Heiy羽 heard Ling Xiaolei's tone, he knew she wasn't truly angry, and he flashed a lopsided grin. Before she could finish her rambling complaints, he strode over to her in a few steps, suddenly seized her wrist, and forced her to look directly into his eyes.

"I promise you, I will never recklessly attempt such risks again. I won't let you get hurt anymore, and I certainly won't drag you into dangerous situations."

Startled by this sudden declaration, Ling Xiaolei froze, a flush rising to her cheeks. She shoved Heiy羽's hand away, stepped aside, and stammered:

"Why are you suddenly being so earnest?! Fine, fine, I won't hold it against you. Tied down to a ticking time bomb like you that could explode at any second, I've already accepted my fate!"

"I really do feel terribly guilty."

Ling Xiaolei quickened her pace as she walked forward, muttering under her breath:

"From Twilight Forest to Azure Dragon Mountain, what kind of tempest haven't we weathered together? We're practically life-or-death companions by now, so stop dragging your feet... Hurry up and get moving, Boss Ling is still waiting!"

The oncoming night breeze made her realize that her face had unexpectedly grown quite hot. Heiy羽 pursued her relentlessly from behind and asked:

"Then promise me one thing?"

"What is it?" Ling Xiaolei didn't turn back, continuing her march forward.

"If we encounter a crisis next time, you leave first. Don't worry about me."

Ling Xiaolei pondered for a moment. "I couldn't care less about you anyway..."

Though she said those words aloud, in her heart she thought, *If a real crisis strikes, how could I possibly just abandon you and walk away?...*

Thus, she coldly added one final remark: "Don't you dare go acting rashly by yourself again! Otherwise, next time, I really will leave you behind!..."

Heiy羽 caught up to her pace, and the two walked side by side. His thoughts, however, remained frozen on that exact moment when the demon's palm had swung toward Ling Xiaolei, prompting him to ask:

"Why have you never been afraid of me? Have you never doubted the origin of my dark power?"

Just moments earlier, when he had unlocked the fourth seal, Heiy羽 had clearly realized that this power did not belong to the mortal realm, coming far closer to that of the legendary demon race.

"Because of... trust, I suppose," Ling Xiaolei replied.