Chapter 2: Evasion

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

The vast hall was empty save for Chiyan alone. She gazed toward the inner chamber, worry flickering in her eyes.

But more than worry, there was anticipation.

Zhang Yujun’s Innate Dao Body was known only to the Azure Abyss Hall Lord, the sect master, and a few close to him.

As his protector, Chiyan naturally had the right to know.

She had initially feared Zhang Yujun couldn’t accept the change and might do something foolish.

But now she saw she’d worried too much. How could the Holy Son’s heart for the Dao be so fragile?

As the inner chamber doors slowly opened, a black-skirted girl with elegant, aloof bearing and long black hair glanced over. Chiyan’s eyes lit with heat.

The feminized Zhang Yujun was naturally flawless in appearance, but compared to before, she had lost some warmth and gained a coldness that kept others at a thousand li distance.

Not necessarily a bad thing.

Chiyan smiled and stepped forward, handing over a token engraved with the characters “Zhang Yujun.”

“Holy Son, this is your new token. Only the Hall Lord and Sect Master know of this matter.”

Zhang Yujun gazed at the token a moment, then put it away.

From now on, the name Zhang Yujun could only be a surface mask. Compared to her initial depression, she had now accepted the fact.

“I want to go out for a walk.”

Zhang Yujun looked outside the hall. Countless streams of light streaked across the sky.

“I’ll accompany you.” Chiyan volunteered.

“No need. I’ll go alone.”

Zhang Yujun shook her head. The next instant, her figure turned intangible and vanished.

Chiyan’s expression turned helpless; her hand dropped.

“Nothing should happen inside the sect, right?”

At this moment, Heavenly Universe Hundred Lands.

Red clouds covered the sky; the earth was scarred and ruined.

A hundred-meter-tall one-eyed demon stood on the ground, lightly lifting one leg. The surrounding land cracked with a boom, erupting pillars of deep red magma; an apocalyptic scene.

Beneath a massive boulder, Chen Zhao and other Immortal Sect disciples hid inside a barrier, faces grave.

One disciple cursed angrily, “What’s wrong with the Immortal Sect? How could a sleeping Golden Core demon be in a trial ground for disciples?”

Another shook his head. “Thinking about that now is useless. All we can do is survive as long as possible and wait for sect rescue.”

Chen Zhao stood quietly in the crowd, staring at the rampaging one-eyed demon, feeling powerless.

The Golden Core snake demon he’d encountered before, even at full strength, couldn’t compare to this.

“If we can’t hold out, I’ll have to use the Escape Shuttle Senior Brother Li left me.”

Chen Zhao felt helpless.

After subduing the snake demon that day, Senior Brother Li had taken a liking to him and left him an Escape Shuttle. Single-use only, but it would definitely take him to safety.

At that moment, the one-eyed demon let out a furious roar. This roar shook heaven and earth, as if to tear the world apart. The ground split into uneven fragments; the barrier hidden under the boulder was fully exposed.

Its crimson eyeball immediately turned toward them.

“No choice!”

Chen Zhao gritted his teeth and activated the Escape Shuttle.

The next moment, azure light enveloped him, shooting skyward. Below, the barrier shattered instantly; the disciples inside were consumed by flames, burned to ash.

Chen Zhao’s heart pounded with lingering fear. One second slower, and he’d have shared their fate.

The Escape Shuttle carried him upward, seemingly trying to break out of this realm.

Then the one-eyed demon’s gaze locked on.

A fiery red beam brewed in its single eye, instantly pursuing the shuttle.

Outside Heavenly Universe Hundred Lands.

Unknowingly, Zhang Yujun had flown here. Because of her changed appearance, sect disciples didn’t recognize her as the Holy Son; they only thought she was an unfamiliar fellow disciple, at most glancing a few extra times for her outstanding looks.

“This feeling… isn’t bad.”

Zhang Yujun felt a rare lightness. In a place where no one knew her, the pressures she carried seemed swept away.

“This is… Heavenly Universe Hundred Lands?”

Only now did Zhang Yujun notice the nearby immortal dao portal; a passage to Heavenly Universe Hundred Lands, open only at set times.

Heavenly Universe Hundred Lands held great significance to the Immortal Sect. It was a vast cosmos independent of the sect, containing worlds opened by immortal dao greats and many native ones. Only a few native worlds had ties to the Immortal Sect.

Elder Brother once said some of these worlds had completely different cultivation systems from the sect.

“I hope to see them someday.”

Zhang Yujun looked away. Next, she planned to visit Senior Brother Li. The sect had arranged for her and him to jointly host this year’s initiation ceremony.

Suddenly, warning bells rang in her heart. She looked up to see faint ripples in the immortal portal. Then an azure escape light shot straight toward her.

“This is… Senior Brother Li’s Escape Shuttle?” Zhang Yujun was slightly surprised. Then she saw the fiery red beam following close behind.

“Senior Sister, save me!” Inside the shuttle, Chen Zhao hadn’t expected the demon’s attack to follow out. Seeing Zhang Yujun, his eyes lit up; he shouted for help.

Whoever she was, appearing in the Immortal Sect meant she’d joined earlier and was stronger than him.

Zhang Yujun glanced at Chen Zhao. He had Senior Brother Li’s Escape Shuttle; their relationship must be close.

As a Holy Son of the Immortal Sect, ignoring a fellow disciple in need wouldn’t be proper.

But she had only come out casually and carried nothing to block a Golden Core strike.

“A full-power attack from a Golden Core demon; I can’t block it head-on. Retreat first.”

Zhang Yujun frowned lightly, waved to stop the depleted Escape Shuttle, and grabbed Chen Zhao’s arm.

“Don’t struggle.”

Chen Zhao knew the severity and obeyed.

Zhang Yujun took out an azure jade talisman, crushed it. Instantly, azure mist swallowed them both. Space twisted. When the mist cleared, the spot was empty.

The fiery red beam arrived in a blink. Finding no target, it condensed into a vicious face, seemingly unwilling, and roared.

Nearby mountains trembled faintly; grass and trees bowed low.

The next moment, the sky changed abruptly. Rolling clouds surged from afar.

“Which little demon dares act wild in my sect?”

Above the clouds, immortal children offered congratulations; flying immortals swirled. A giant hand reached out from the clouds and grasped the vicious aura.

The hand gently clenched. The vicious aura shattered into streams of qi, scattering without trace.

“Let this daoist see your origins.” A high-crowned daoist in seven-colored robes appeared. He smiled, pinched fingers to divine.

But the next instant, the smile froze on his face.

“Trial grounds, Golden Core demon, Holy Son missing?!”

*

Gray city.

A blinding meteor streaked across the night sky, bringing rare light to this world.

On the streets, countless ragged, skeletal figures raised their heads. They stared at where the meteor fell, an irrepressible greedy hunger rising from instinct.

The next moment, a tidal wave of corpses surged out of the city, charging madly toward the distance.

“Exaggerated. This is the first time in over a decade I’ve seen this.”

Atop a tall building, a girl in a gray hood watched, mouth agape.

She snapped her fingers.

A two-meter gray wolf emerged from the shadows, flicked its tail, bared sharp fangs. The girl flipped onto its back and patted its head.

“Good boy. Follow them. Let’s see what’s over there.”

The gray wolf nodded human-like, leaped to another rooftop, and vanished in a few flashes.