Chapter Thirty Two

"Death..." Li Feng repeated the word, his brow furrowing deeply.

He didn’t think the two brothers were joking. They wouldn’t be using something like this to play around after all, and yet he still couldn’t wrap his head around what could possibly make the two brothers this nervous and terror-stricken.

Xie was still believable. After all, he was a scaredy-cat by nature.

But Jie as well?

Then surely something must be terribly wrong.

He took the Spear Eye from Jie and placed it over his own eye before zooming in toward the distance.

At first, all he could see were blurry shapes and tiny figures. But as he zoomed further and further, he was finally able to make out a scene that caused his heart to stop beating for the briefest of moments.

Up ahead, within a massive clearing deep inside the forest, stood several Two-Spiked Gorillas.

Their numbers were close to twenty in total.

And from the look of their fully grown twin spikes, they were surely at the late stages of the Qi Gathering Realm, or perhaps even at the absolute peak of the Qi Gathering Realm.

As if that wasn’t enough bad news, there was more.

Among them stood another Spiked Gorilla.

This one was larger.

Far larger.

It carried a presence that completely eclipsed the Two-Spiked Gorillas surrounding it, as though the others were merely guards protecting their king from unseen threats.

And the most terrifying thing about the beast was the fact that it didn’t possess two spikes like the others.

Instead, it had two massive black spikes and a third one that seemed to be in the process of growing.

If one understood the nature of the Spiked Gorilla species, then each spike represented an entirely new cultivation realm.

Which meant...

That beast with three spikes was undoubtedly in the Qi Refining Realm.

Now that was trouble.

Li Feng’s expression changed drastically.

He could handle a peak Qi Gathering beast if he went all out.

Maybe he could even push himself hard enough to deal with two at best.

But there weren’t two beasts ahead.

There weren’t three.

There were twenty.

Even if Xie and Jie were taken into consideration, there was no way they could face such monstrosities.

And if Li Yuexin was added into the equation, then perhaps they would be able to deal with around ten of the Two-Spiked Gorillas.

After all, she wasn’t called the Battle Princess of the Night Region for no reason.

But even then, that would still leave around ten more Two-Spiked Gorillas alive.

And the worst part was that there would still be the Three-Spiked Gorilla.

A true monster among monsters.

Even with Li Yuexin’s strength and talent, Li Feng doubted she could handle that beast on her own.

Just looking at the terrifying gathering ahead caused Li Feng’s throat to gradually dry up.

They wouldn’t win if they charged in there.

They would lose.

And not just lose.

They would be beaten, wounded, and perhaps even lose their lives.

Li Feng swallowed hard.

"What is it?"

Li Yuexin’s calm voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Turning around, he met her steady and unwavering gaze.

Li Feng let out a slow breath before explaining everything he had just seen through the Spear Eye.

Even she had to understand the severity of the situation.

There was simply no chance of victory if they continued forward.

Surely she would agree to retreat this time.

And as Li Feng expected, Li Yuexin’s expression became grave after hearing the news.

She took the Spear Eye from him and personally confirmed what he had said.

As she zoomed in, the dangerous scene ahead entered her vision.

Her gaze immediately turned solemn.

Dealing with five to seven Two-Spiked Gorillas, perhaps even ten if she pushed herself to the absolute limit, was still within her capabilities.

But twenty of them...

And a Qi Refining beast on top of that...

That was simply overkill.

For a few moments, silence settled among the group.

No one spoke.

Even the usually cheerful Xie remained quiet.

The pressure from the sight alone was immense.

Finally, Li Feng broke the silence.

"We should retreat."

His voice was firm and decisive.

"This isn’t a battle we can win."

Xie nodded repeatedly as though his life depended on it.

"Brother Feng is right. There are too many of them. We won’t even be able to run if they surround us."

Even Jie, who usually hated agreeing with his younger brother, nodded.

Is there another route we can take in order to avoid this one?" she asked, turning her gaze toward Jie.

Jie thought for a while before shaking his head.

"No, there is no pathway."

Then his eyes suddenly lit up as he recalled something.

"Wait... there is one," he said.

"The southeast route. But if we go back and take that path, it will take us at least five more days before we can circle around and arrive far away while avoiding those beasts ahead."

Li Yuexin’s expression changed the moment she heard that.

Five days.

She was already breaking the rules by entering this forest to search for Liyu. She was supposed to be preparing for the big day, and if she spent five days simply taking another route around those monsters, then who knew how long finding Liyu would take?

Her mind worked rapidly as she considered every possible option.

She couldn’t afford to stay here for long.

Taking another route would waste too much time.

Yet moving forward was equally dangerous.

She was in a time crunch after all.

After several moments of contemplation, Li Yuexin’s eyes suddenly snapped open. Her blue eyes bloomed with calm determination and unwavering resolve.

"We won’t be taking any alternate routes," she announced, her voice calm and composed.

"So we’re going back?" Xie asked, clearly pleased that this seemingly pointless expedition might finally come to an end.

As far as he and the others were concerned, Liyu was most likely already dead.

This entire journey had been a waste of time.

And it seemed that Li Yuexin had finally come to her senses and realized that continuing this pursuit was meaningless.

Li Feng and Jie also looked toward Li Yuexin, wondering if she had finally accepted reality.

All three of them waited for her to say they should return to Burnold City.

But those were not the words that came out of her mouth.

Instead, she said,

"Prepare yourselves. We are moving forward. We will eliminate the Spiked Gorillas and continue deeper into the forest."

Li Feng froze.

Jie froze.

Xie’s eyes immediately began sparkling as though he were about to burst into tears.

What the hell is wrong with Lady Yue’s head?

The thought flashed through all of their minds simultaneously.

But Li Yuexin offered no explanation.

Instead, she turned around and unsheathed her elegant blue sword.

The blade shimmered under the light before she strapped it to her side.

Then she moved.

Her figure shot forward at astonishing speed, her gaze burning with murderous resolve as she prepared to face whatever dangers lay ahead.

Li Feng turned toward the others with a stupefied expression.

The other two wore nearly identical expressions.

She is crazy.

All three shared the same thought as they stared at Li Yuexin’s retreating figure, which was already disappearing into the distance.

"She is dead," Xie whispered.

Then he turned toward Li Feng, who wore an unusually complicated expression while staring at Li Yuexin’s back.

She is even willing to go this far for Liyu...

Why?

Just why is she willing to throw her life away for his sake?

Seeing Li Feng’s expression, Xie’s own face became strange.

"You aren’t going after her again, are you, Brother Feng?" he asked carefully.

"There are beasts over there that are stronger than us and outnumber us. There is no way we can win." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Li Feng remained silent for several moments.

His gaze remained fixed on Li Yuexin’s disappearing figure.

Then he rubbed his hair furiously before finally speaking.

"You guys can go back."

His voice was firm.

"I won’t let Yuexin die. Not on my watch."

"I’ll ensure her safety."

As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his black sword and dashed after her at full speed.

The complicated emotions in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by unwavering determination.

The determination to protect the people important to him.

Xie stared at Li Feng’s back as if the man had finally gone insane as well.

Then he turned toward his older brother.

"Is it just me, or is everyone going mad?"

At first, it had been Liyu.

The guy had entered the Beast Forest, a place crawling with deadly spirit beasts, despite having no real combat power.

He was a mortal.

A mortal with a broken spirit root.

And yet he had dared to enter this death zone all by himself.

Back then, they had already concluded that Liyu was crazy.

But now Li Yuexin had somehow proven herself to be even crazier.

Sure, she was incredibly powerful and absurdly talented.

But the monsters ahead were not opponents a single person could face and survive.

She would die.

Maybe if there were three or four Li Yuexins, then there would be hope.

But only one?

She had practically signed her own death contract.

And now Li Feng had run after her, seemingly eager to throw his own life away as well.

Yeah.

They were all going mad.

"What should we do?" Li Xie asked while looking at his older brother.

Li Jie fell into deep thought for several seconds before finally speaking.

"We don’t have a choice."

"We have to help."

"We can’t just let those two die."

He let out a sigh before continuing.

"So I guess we’re going to be mad as well."

Li Jie released a small whimper as he prepared to dash forward.

Li Xie let out a hollow chuckle.

Not because of what his brother had said.

But because he knew his brother was right.

They couldn’t allow Li Feng and Li Yuexin to die.

No.

They absolutely couldn’t.

And more importantly, both Li Feng and Li Yuexin carried crucial roles in the future of the Li Clan.

Not to mention that Li Feng was their closest friend.

There was no way they could abandon them.

"I guess from the moment the City Lord started sacrificing resources and emptying the clan treasury for Liyu’s sake, I should have known the entire clan had already gone mad."

After saying that, and convincing himself that he was only doing this because he too had become infected by everyone else’s madness, Li Xie charged forward.

The two brothers quickly followed after Li Feng and Li Yuexin, disappearing into the depths of the forest.