I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 196: Being Chased

HISS!

With a hissing sound that was capable of shaking one’s soul, the ghostly beast launched itself towards Yi Chen.

Not wanting to be caught in between its sharp jaws, Yi Chen immediately used Bursting Fire Steps to dodge the attack.

The next instant, he saw the snake slamming onto the tree trunk behind him and shattering a huge portion of it.

’Remnant soul, my ass!’

Yi Chen exclaimed in his mind and rushed in the opposite direction as fast as possible.

He had thought that, being a remnant soul, the ghostly beast’s physical attacks would be comparatively weaker.

However, that misconception was removed the next second as the devastating state of the tree, which took the brunt of the snake’s charge, flashed in his eyes.

BURST!

BURST!

BURST!

With almost half of his Qi pool full, he used it without any restraint to go as far away from the beast as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was to engage with it all by himself.

The terrain was filled with a lot of trees, bushes and vines, so escaping was more difficult than he had anticipated.

However, he still managed to create a significant distance from the point of impact.

After a few more bursts, he came to a stop and muttered, "It would have given up by now."

As he said that, he looked back at the dense vegetation he had just crossed and smiled with a nod, seeing that there were no signs of any other movement. A beast as large as that was bound to make a lot of movement.

However, as he was about to turn around, his gaze momentarily went towards the towering trees above and saw a giant translucent figure floating in the air and slithering through it as if it were water.

Its glistening yellow eyes were clearly locked on Yi Chen’s figure, and no matter how dense the foliage was, it would never lose sight of him.

"Bloody hell..."

Yi Chen’s eyes widened in shock and trepidation at the sight of the giant snake flying around the towering trunks straight towards him at a speed not less than his own.

’An open area! I need to find an open area to engage with it!’

Yi Chen thought as he used the Bursting Fire Steps once again to widen his distance from the beast.

Seeing this, a soul-stirring hiss resounded from behind, and the snake’s speed intensified.

Yi Chen momentarily turned back while running, only to see the snake’s face just a couple of meters away from him.

’Fuck!’

His breath paused as he exclaimed in horror.

Using a large chunk of Qi, he immediately utilised the Bursting Fire Steps in the hope of increasing the distance even by a few more meters.

However, while passing through a bunch of hanging vines, he didn’t notice a tree trunk which was just a few feet away.

"SHI—"

CRASH!

His head firmly collided with the trunk, and he blacked out the very next instant.

HISS!

When the Ghostly Beast saw Yi Chen’s unconscious figure, it hissed a couple of times and approached him.

Its enormous head, the size of a refrigerator, closely observed him carefully. Only when it was sure that he had lost consciousness did it open its jaws wide, ready to swallow him.

It was then that Yi Chen’s eyes finally opened, and the image of a widely open jaw and the insides of the snake’s mouth flashed in his eyes. The view succeeded in stirring him awake.

Immediately rolling to the side, he dodged the jaws. However, this only angered the snake, which leapt towards him the next second.

Having no choice, Yi Chen brought out his sword and clashed it against the beast’s fangs.

Strike!

A great sense of relief washed over him when he saw that the strike connected with the ghostly body.

His eyes immediately looked for the three cores which Gao Zhen had talked about the next second in order to subdue the beast.

However, before he could do so, the snake’s tail snapped toward his wrists with lightning speed and broke them.

"AGGHH!"

Yi Chen groaned in pain as he lost hold of his sword. The very next instant, the snake slammed its enormous head towards Yi Chen, sending him flying into the tree trunk behind him.

SMASH!

Cough! Cough!

The clear sound of bones shattering resonated in Yi Chen’s ears. He could tell from the sharp pain in his chest that many of his ribs were broken by this strike.

He checked the Qi he had left in his pool, and the little hope he had for a last struggle vanished.

[Qi Pool: 9 / 332]

As fate would have it...he had barely any Qi left. With no Qi and sword to depend upon, there was only one thing he could rely upon.

The Crimson Fire Arts, his Qi Absorption Art.

However, the words Gao Zhen had told them earlier repeated in his mind.

’These Ghostly Beasts are immune to any Qi-based attacks. Therefore, if you’re alone and you spot one, you must escape no matter what.

If escape is not an option, use your fighting technique and fight with all your might. Chances are you’ll die nine out of ten times. However, you’ll at least die in battle like a true cultivator.’

’Fighting techniques...’

Yi Chen thought as he saw the snake slowly crawling towards him, anticipation flickered in its yellow eyes.

’I can’t rely on my sword...my wrists are broken...legs! I still have my legs!’

The moment Yi Chen realised this, a defeated scream escaped his mouth as the snake pressed its enormous body on his leg while coiling its tail around him.

With this, even his last means of resistance was blocked.

ARGH!

Yi Chen groaned as the beast’s hold around him tightened. It seemed to be enjoying watching him suffer.

Glancing at the ugly smile that was forming on its hideous face, a great sense of anger and irritation was evoked in Yi Chen’s heart.

Not caring about Yi Chen’s emotions, the snake opened its jaws wide and inched closer to swallowing Yi Chen whole.

Clearly aware of his fast-approaching death, fear vanished from Yi Chen’s eyes.

’So what if you’re immune to Qi attacks? I’m not! I’ll rather burn myself to a crisp than let a bastard like you have the joy of eating me!’

He glared hatefully, and the next instant, pushed the Crimson Fire Arts to its limits.

An intense ball of fire fully engulfed his body the next moment as a sharp, pain-filled screech echoed through the forest.