I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

However, before he could revel in his triumph, disaster struck—the ceiling of the cave began to collapse, and with it, a figure plummeted, crashing heavily to the ground.

The figure resembled a man in his forties, clad in a black robe, exuding a fierce aura, his blood swirling around him, seemingly gravely injured, as he fell and spat out a mouthful of black blood.

His consciousness clear, upon seeing Ye Yong, his expression stiffened slightly, confusion flashing in his eyes, before he immediately scrambled to his feet, releasing a suffocating pressure: “How did you know I was hiding here to heal!?”

This was, in fact, a powerful transformation stage cultivator.

38 The Wind Comes Knocking

—Outside the fruit orchards of Tanqing Village, several kilometers away

Long Tian hurled every explosive talisman, every smoke bomb he had, yet he could not shake off the pursuit of the dark cultivator. As the toxins faded, the dark cultivator gradually regained his full strength.

“Crack!”

“Ugh!” Despite his desperate efforts to evade, Long Tian was struck in the back, a mouthful of blood spewing forth as he stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Run, why aren’t you running anymore? Aren’t you supposed to be fast? Daring to ambush me, your grandfather? Watch me chop your legs off!” The dark cultivator spat, cursing with venom.

Listening to the torrent of insults, Long Tian clenched his fists. He was filled with hatred—hatred for his own weakness, and for his foolishness in rushing to save someone without understanding the situation.

Yet, such thoughts did not mean he would surrender. He was waiting for the dark cultivator to draw near. He had one last trick, taught by the old man of the Fallen Immortals, a secret technique to compress and instantaneously detonate his own spiritual power. Though it would cost him some cultivation and could not kill a Golden Core, it could still inflict serious injury. After that, he would use a backup teleportation talisman to escape randomly. Even if he ended up in a place filled with beasts, it would still offer a glimmer of hope.

As for why he didn’t use the teleportation talisman now, it was because its level was too low, requiring time to activate. The dark cultivator was in the mid-Golden Core stage, his reflexes and speed far surpassing Long Tian’s. There was no way he would allow the talisman to be fully activated without interference. Thus, injuring the dark cultivator and escaping during his brief moment of hesitation was the safest bet.

Unfortunately, the dark cultivator did not approach any closer, mistakenly believing that Long Tian still harbored some poison capable of taking down a Golden Core. Gathering dark energy in his hands, he prepared to knock Long Tian unconscious and drag him back for unspeakable torment when suddenly, a man appeared from the horizon, looking to be around thirty, handsome, with a flying pig spirit companion.

“Dark cultivator?” The man, upon seeing the dark energy coalescing in the Golden Core’s hands, did not wait for an explanation. He slammed down a hand seal, and the Golden Core could not even let out a scream before being reduced to a mist of blood, leaving no trace behind.

The middle-aged man observed Long Tian for a moment, confirming he was not a dark cultivator, and without further words, he quickly departed with his flying pig spirit.

Long Tian’s heart raced, not from fear, but from an inexplicable excitement. The old man of the Fallen Immortals had told him that this was a powerful being of the Transformation Stage.

A Transformation Stage being! Long Tian gazed at the retreating figure, silently vowing.

One day, he too would rise to such heights, a being capable of rewriting the fates of life and death with a mere flick of the wrist!

—Inside the cave;

Ye Yong shielded Qin Shiming behind him, scrutinizing the figure that had fallen. Everything about him, from his attire to the aura he exuded, seemed to scream, “I am a dark cultivator.”

In terms of appearance, Ye Yong had no particular impression, but his eyes clearly reflected a wariness; he must have recognized Ye Yong.

When the name of the Demon Sect arose, Ye Yong could only connect it to the group he had encountered not long ago on Lingyou Mountain, a group he both recognized and feared.

Yet, Ye Yong never imagined he would so coincidentally run into them here, and in such a vulnerable state, wounded and alone.

He had sneaked out from the Ye family, merely to arrange a meeting with the Empress Qin, to deepen their bond. He had never intended to stir up trouble or seek the spotlight, but as fate would have it, trouble found him instead.

Ye Yong could easily envision the exaggerated rumors that would spread among the people if he were to “subdue” a powerful figure from the Demon Sect.

A tall tree catches the wind; this was not about showing off or gaining fame, but rather a death sentence waiting to be signed.

He quickly sent a message to Qin Shidream: “Shidream, although the opponent is injured, they are still a powerful being. My spiritual energy is depleted; it’s better to retreat from here.”

Using artifacts had nothing to do with the amount of spiritual energy he possessed, but he truly wished to keep a low profile, to avoid drawing attention. As long as the other party did not act recklessly, he was willing to pretend nothing had happened.

“Hmm…” Despite having exhausted all her spiritual energy, Qin Shidream instinctively shielded him behind her, feeling a warmth in her chest. Though she was puzzled as to why Ye Yong wanted to retreat, she did not question his decision.

The middle-aged demon cultivator observed Ye Yong and Qin Shidream whispering to each other, his gaze shifting back and forth.

He was the Fifth Elder of the Blood Flame Sect, at the third level of Transformation, and just months ago, before targeting Ye Yong, their sect was considered quite close to the top tier of demon sects in the Eastern Continent. However, since they began their pursuit of Ye Yong, they had faced repeated setbacks. The most severe blow to their foundation occurred over ten days ago during the capture operation on Lingyou Mountain.

What had initially been a well-planned operation turned chaotic when a demoness and her two little followers appeared out of nowhere. Several of their Transformation-level cultivators could barely fend them off, suffering heavy losses in the process. All the Transformation cultivators were injured, and the elder had fallen into a deep unconsciousness.

Had it not been for the fact that the outside world was unaware of the injuries sustained by their high-ranking elders, the Blood Flame Sect might have already crumbled.

Fearing that news of their injuries would leak and lead to their downfall, the sect leader ordered everyone to disperse and find secluded places to heal.

The Fifth Elder had intended to find a remote coastal cave to recuperate, but as he passed through this area, he inadvertently discovered a small Golden Core evil cultivator attempting to refine a malevolent spirit.

He thought to himself that no matter what happened, the first to encounter trouble would be this evil cultivator, who was merely at the Golden Core stage. If righteous cultivators came to hunt him down, they would likely only send out someone at the early stage of the Nascent Soul. Thus, the Fifth Elder naturally used his artifact to carve out a cave several dozen meters above, treating the evil cultivator as a danger alarm.

The evil cultivator, worried about being discovered, was doing his utmost to conceal his presence. Moreover, the range of a Golden Core’s spiritual sense penetrating through the mountain was limited; he had no idea that a Transformation-level powerhouse was above him.

After observing for several days, the Fifth Elder grew increasingly relaxed. Yesterday, he entered a state of “meditation,” fully focused on healing. However, he was abruptly jolted by a deafening noise. As he opened his eyes, he felt the ground beneath him shift, and before he could even summon his spiritual energy, he fell face-first into the dirt, catching sight of the young master of the Ye family, who had single-handedly thrown the entire Blood Flame Sect into disarray.

It was impossible for the Fifth Elder not to feel anxious. In the past, he would never have believed in the concept of a Child of Destiny, nor would he have regarded a mere crystallization cultivator with any seriousness. But now, he believed. If Ye Yong were not the Child of Destiny, why did he always manage to thwart their plans?

Just like now—why was it that no one else crossed paths with him, yet he had to encounter Ye Yong?

In truth, even a third-level Transformation cultivator, despite being heavily injured, was not something a peak tenth-level Nascent Soul could handle, let alone a mere Golden Core.

—

But Elder Wu was afraid, feeling the weight of immense pressure.

Ye Yong and Qin Shiming conspired to retreat, which in his eyes transformed into discussions on how to deal with him.