Before he could even finish his sentence, a roar suddenly erupted from the forest behind him, carrying a vicious, predatory intent.
Zhang Ye shivered. Without a second thought, he turned tail and bolted.
As he ran, he shouted, “See? I told you! I knew there was danger!”
“Judging by that roar, it sounds like a bear. I bet it’s that cub’s mother!”
“What a cunning old beast, actually waiting in ambush like that!”
“She didn't dare get close because of Leona’s mana fluctuations. If I hadn't strayed so far, she probably would’ve caught me right then and there!”
Ella opened her mouth to speak but eventually just nodded. “You’re right...”
She was starting to admire Zhang Ye’s foresight.
As Zhang Ye ran, he glanced back and felt his scalp go numb.
Roars echoed from the distant forest as the trees and the ground began to tremble. Zhang Ye could see a massive black figure rampaging through the woods. Even the ancient, gnarled trees couldn't slow it down; they were snapped like twigs by its massive frame as it charged straight for him.
“Holy crap!” Startled, Zhang Ye immediately cast 【Haste】 on himself and fled toward the cave at top speed.
However, the figure behind him was incredibly fast. Even with Haste active, Zhang Ye was no match for it. The gap between them was closing rapidly.
“I freaking knew it was coming for me!” Zhang Ye gritted his teeth and sprinted with his head down.
If he had walked another hundred meters forward just now, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape when the beast suddenly lunged.
But even now, he was in grave danger.
The figure behind him drew closer and closer. The original hundred-meter gap soon narrowed to just a few dozen meters. When Zhang Ye looked back, he could see a terrifying, bloody maw.
An adult Berserk Bear!
An adult Berserk Bear was at least Tier Five!
A Tier Five Berserk Bear possessed combat power comparable to Tier Seven. If Zhang Ye were caught, it would basically be a death sentence!
At this rate, he would definitely be caught in less than a minute!
Zhang Ye’s mind raced with anxiety.
“【Iron Chains】!” With a wave of his hand, a magic circle appeared behind him. Several chains shot out from the circle, wrapping around the surrounding tree trunks to form an obstacle.
“Try and negate this if you can!” Zhang Ye yelled over his shoulder.
Ella: “...”
Are you seriously making jokes at a time like this?!
However, the Tier Three 【Iron Chains】 had almost no effect. With a single collision, the chains snapped instantly. The Berserk Bear didn't even slow down!
Zhang Ye gritted his teeth.
If one wasn't enough, he’d use ten!
“Ten-fold—【Iron Chains】!”
Instantly, the path he had just crossed was covered in a web of chains.
“Roar!!”
This time, the obstacle worked. The Berserk Bear swiped a paw, shattering the chains along with the tree trunks, but it caused the beast to stumble for a few seconds.
Those few seconds allowed Zhang Ye to gain dozens of meters of distance!
A moment later, the Berserk Bear caught up again!
“Oh man, are Leona’s mana fluctuations not working?” Zhang Ye cried out in alarm.
Ella said, “You killed its child; it definitely won't let you go easily. Besides, a Berserk Bear’s resistance to fear increases while in a Berserk state, so the effect of Leona’s mana fluctuations is greatly reduced. You’ll likely have to get within three li of Leona before it gives up.”
“Three li...” Zhang Ye frowned.
He had already been chased for over two li, and the cave was still five li away. He had to run another two li.
Given the current trend, it wasn't impossible!
Zhang Ye stopped talking and focused on casting obstacles while he ran.
Ten-fold 【Iron Chains】.
Ten-fold 【Earth Steps】.
Ten-fold 【Sunken Swamp】.
He cast whatever could delay the beast. Under his constant harassment, the Berserk Bear nearly caught him several times, only to be delayed again and again, allowing him to pull ahead.
In this manner, Zhang Ye relied on his no-cooldown magic and rapid mana recovery to forcibly stall the Berserk Bear.
Sure enough, just as Ella had predicted, once they entered the three-li radius, the Berserk Bear’s speed slowed down. Its roars became less frequent and were filled with apprehension.
After chasing for another few hundred meters, the Berserk Bear finally stopped. It let out a roar of unwilling fury at Zhang Ye before turning and running away.
Seeing this, Zhang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that the effect of Leona’s mana fluctuations was still there. At least magical beasts wouldn't dare approach within a few li of the cave.
After such an ordeal, Zhang Ye lost his appetite for grinding monsters. He returned to the cave and began to cultivate.
Eating, cultivating, eating, cultivating—and in the gaps, handling his biological needs and petting Gujiu. For the next two days, Zhang Ye lived in this cycle.
Since he didn't know if the Berserk Bear was still out there, he was afraid of being caught again. After all, he might not be able to escape every time. If that Berserk Bear had learned its lesson and hidden itself even better in the brush, he wouldn't even know how he died.
Two days passed, and Leona still hadn't woken up.
If not for her steady and long breaths, Zhang Ye might have thought she was dead.
“Does she really not need to take a leak?” Zhang Ye sat cross-legged beside Leona and couldn't help but ask.
Ella covered her face, speechless. “Don't you think your focus is a bit strange? Other people would be focusing on whether she’s pretty or if her figure is great, but you’re worried about her bladder?”
“Well, yeah, shouldn't I be?” Zhang Ye blinked. “Whether she’s pretty or has a good figure doesn't affect her much, but if she holds it in too long, her bladder could burst! She might even get bladder cancer; people can die from that!”
Ella: “...”
She didn't even know what to say.
A Saint-tier who practiced Magic-Martial Dual Cultivation had an incredibly powerful physique that was almost immune to diseases. Bladder cancer?
“By the way, Ella, do you feel like... it’s getting hotter?” Suddenly, Zhang Ye fanned himself and asked.
“A little, but it doesn't affect me. I’d be fine even in the middle of a volcanic hell,” Ella said.
“But it affects me,” Zhang Ye said. “I woke up from cultivation this morning covered in sweat. It’s all sticky and uncomfortable. I wonder if the weather is just getting warmer.”
Ella said, “Impossible. It’s currently the beginning of winter. The temperature in the Myriad Beasts Forest will only drop, not rise.”
“Really?” Zhang Ye got up and walked outside the cave. Sure enough, it was much cooler outside.
So only the inside of the cave was getting hot?
But what was the source of the heat?
The cave entrance was huge, and Zhang Ye controlled the campfire to maintain ventilation to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. It was even less likely to be a buildup of carbon dioxide, so the source of the heat shouldn't be the fire.
Then... was it Leona?
Zhang Ye looked at Leona and reached out to touch her forehead. He immediately pulled his hand back as if he’d been electrocuted.
“Holy crap, that’s hot!” Zhang Ye sucked on his fingers.
He wasn't exaggerating. A normal fever might be forty degrees, but Leona felt like she was seventy or eighty degrees!
It was startlingly hot!
This was abnormal, completely abnormal!
“Ella, what’s wrong with her?” Zhang Ye asked urgently.
Ella shook her head. “I can't tell just by looking. Cover her body with your mana so I can see the mana flow.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” Zhang Ye nodded and spread his hands. Soft white mana was released, gradually covering Leona’s body.
Ella’s gray eyes flashed with light, and her brow immediately furrowed.
“Your mana is absorbed the moment it touches her skin. I’ve sensed the flow of your mana inside her; it’s moving incredibly fast and is being completely absorbed at the positions of her left eye and heart. So, I judge... it must be due to the mana erosion in her body.”
“She is currently doing her best to fight the mana erosion, but her own mana is nearly exhausted. After fighting for so long, her mental strength is likely at its limit too. Her control over mana has plummeted, causing her remaining mana to begin rioting!”
“A fire-attribute mana riot of Saint-tier quality... once it fully erupts, her body temperature—no, the temperature of the entire surrounding area will skyrocket, turning this place into a sea of fire!”
“In the end, the mana riot will consume the last of the mana in her body. If she fails to resist the mana erosion, she will surely die!”
“This...” Zhang Ye was shocked. “Then what do we do?!”
“Supply her with mana!” Ella said. “You need to start giving her mana immediately. Because she is extremely deficient, she is instinctively absorbing your mana as a supplement.”
“As long as she has enough mana, the riot will be suppressed!”
“Right!” Zhang Ye didn't waste any time and immediately began transferring mana to Leona.
However, the temperature in the room was still slowly rising. It had already reached forty degrees, and sweat was constantly pouring down Zhang Ye’s forehead.
“No, this efficiency is too low. If you just cover her body with mana, she absorbs it instinctively, but part of your mana is wasted, and her instinctive absorption is too slow to keep up with her consumption!” Ella said. “Use direct physical contact. Pour mana directly into her body!”
“Directly?” Zhang Ye asked. “Will anything happen?”
“With your tiny amount of mana, what could possibly happen to a Saint-tier?” Ella looked at him with disdain. “I’m not even sure if you have enough for her to absorb.”
Zhang Ye gave a sheepish smile, then took a deep breath and grabbed Leona’s hand.
What? You’re asking why he grabbed her hand?
Are you kidding? Do you really think Zhang Ye is the kind of old pervert who likes to get handsy?
“Man, her chest is so hot...” Zhang Ye muttered.
Ella: “...”
...
...
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