Chapter 131: Degrading Oneself

Zhang Ning beamed as he saw his master’s condition improving, but Chu Hanyu did not respond immediately. His gaze was fixed on the ground. Following his master’s line of sight, Zhang Ning caught a glimpse of a soul-chilling spectacle.

Everything happened in eerie silence. Shortly after the tremors ceased, cracks began to spiderweb across the earth, widening with an unstoppable momentum. It was as if an abyss were slowly opening its massive jaws, stirring an instinctive, deep-seated dread.

Zhang Ning held his breath and poured all his energy into activating the "Elf’s Tear."

The "Elf’s Tear" was merely a trinket given to him by his Fourth Senior Brother, Han Zhifei, to make his travels through the wilderness more convenient; it possessed no true combat capability. Forcing it to perform like this was akin to draining a pond to catch all the fish.

Yet, Zhang Ning did not hesitate. Their situation was too dire to worry about such trifles. Under his desperate urging, thick, ferocious-looking vines erupted from the ground around him, spreading out to partially bridge the widening fissures. The surreal, otherworldly sight made Zhang Ning look like a novice dark wizard wielding forbidden sorcery.

Chu Hanyu, however, did not share his disciple’s sense of impending doom. He patted Zhang Ning’s back reassuringly and said, "Rest easy. We are safe now."

"But..." Zhang Ning blinked. Did his master have a hidden trump card? If so, why hadn't he used it earlier when things were so critical? Was his master just putting on a brave face?

Chu Hanyu clearly read his thoughts but offered no explanation. He swept Zhang Ning up into his arms, and to the boy’s shock, they began to levitate. Zhang Ning realized with a start, "Master, has this body already reached the second stage of the 'Cloud-Drifting Meditation'?" They had only been in this world for a few hours at most!

Seeing Chu Hanyu nod calmly, Zhang Ning let out a long breath, his excitement surging. "Master, you’re incredible! How did you do that? I really thought we were going to get killed the moment we arrived!"

The whistling wind seemed to echo his excitement.

Flight was truly the dream of humanity, and with such an ability, many problems became trivial. Chu Hanyu did not hover very high, but it was enough to render the growing fissures on the ground harmless. The two drifted toward the foot of the mountain at a steady pace.

"I will teach you the meditation technique slowly in the future... It was too dangerous for you to come here like that. Let this be the last time," Chu Hanyu said, his eyes fixed ahead.

The remark made the previously relaxed Zhang Ning shrink his neck. "I’m sorry, Master. Your disciple acted on his own initiative, but I was just so worried about you..." He tried to argue his case to avoid his master’s ire, but seeing Chu Hanyu’s brow furrow, he assumed there was still danger nearby or that his master was losing patience, so he fell silent. He did not know that the reason for Chu Hanyu’s frown was quite different.

Since arriving in this world, although he lacked his powerful physical form and complete primordial spirit, the divine abilities of a Martial Sovereign were beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Moreover, as a man titled "Ten Thousand Laws," Chu Hanyu was well-versed in soul arts. Even when dragged into an unfamiliar world without warning and suppressed by the world’s very will, he was far from defenseless.

Chu Hanyu’s situation had never been as dire as Zhang Ning feared. The moment Zhang Ning, in his desperation, triggered the spirit-art Chu Hanyu had left within him, the remaining power of that primordial spirit had naturally merged with its source.

From the moment Zhang Ning used that contingency, their safety was guaranteed, and Chu Hanyu had even recovered a portion of his strength. However, this meant that Zhang Ning...

The mysterious powerhouse who brought them here had used unknown methods for unknown purposes. In such a situation, one could never have too many hole cards. By using that power, Zhang Ning had been left utterly unprotected—to Chu Hanyu, it was as unsafe as walking down the street naked.

Furthermore, Zhang Ning had charged up the mountain in such a reckless state, with no preparation. Chu Hanyu could only imagine the hardships his disciple had endured to find him in the dense forest. Did he not know how to be afraid? Chu Hanyu felt a mix of anger and protective instinct, which was why he frowned.

Soon, they reached the base of the mountain. Chu Hanyu set Zhang Ning down. "Thank you, Master," Zhang Ning said quickly. "Master, don't you think there's something wrong with this world? I suspect what happened on that mountain was man-made!" Chu Hanyu’s eyes flashed, and he nodded.

Two hours later, in a farmhouse courtyard.

"Master, what have you done?! Don't you know that leads to infection?" Zhang Ning felt like he was about to collapse as he looked at Chu Hanyu’s wounds, which were covered in waterproof tarpaulin and duct tape. *Master, how could you treat yourself so poorly... Are you trying to kill me?!*

After their conversation on the mountain, they had decided that it was unwise to encounter too many people until they understood the cause of the bizarre earthquake. Returning to a bustling town would expose them too much, yet hiding in a desolate place might still lead them to be found by potential enemies. Because their identities were unknown and Chu Hanyu looked like a completely different person after merging with this body, they could not risk entering a town. Finding a remote farmhouse seemed their only option. As for the belongings and documents Zhang Ning had left at the hotel... they were gone, and the priority was to get his master settled.

He had expected a period of rest and recuperation, not to discover that his master was so severely injured and—even worse—treating his own body with such contempt.

They had been filthy from their ordeal on the mountain, so they had bought some clothes on the way. Zhang Ning had almost felt his soul leave his body when he saw the state of his master.

Chu Hanyu, having no qualms about his disciple, had turned his back to change. Zhang Ning, initially shy and debating whether to sneak a peek, was stunned into silence. Chu Hanyu’s broad shoulders and narrow waist were covered in lacerations. Most infuriatingly, he had packed the wounds with dirt, wrapped them in layers of duct tape, and topped it all off with waterproof tarpaulin. Even worse, upon seeing some wounds bleeding through, Chu Hanyu reached into his pocket for the remaining roll of thick, heavy-duty tape, clearly intending to wrap himself again.

Zhang Ning immediately jumped up in protest.