"Run!"
As he uttered these words, Duan Chen was spitting blood, a thick mouthful of it, staining his sleeve as he spoke.
He didn't let his blood spill onto the ground.
Duan Chen's face was ghastly pale, like parchment.
Jun Ci passed straight through Duan Chen's waist, scooping him up. Though he felt a strain, as their heights were similar, with Duan Chen even being slightly taller, he managed to maintain the pose.
Running, carrying Duan Chen, as if fleeing for their lives... no, they were indeed fleeing for their lives, making a brazen escape.
Yes, a brazen escape.
The milky white light-elemental energy in Jun Ci's hand coalesced into four small wings on the soles of his feet, two on each foot, propelling his body.
He soared directly into the sky.
Among the horde of monsters surrounding them, there were flying creatures.
But Jun Ci didn't fly too high.
The small wings on his feet lifted him, and he ascended, but only to about two meters. He ran, stepping on the heads of the monsters.
Thump, thump, thump...
It was like a lion dance.
Duan Chen felt as if he were on a roller coaster.
However, he truly had no strength left to resist.
He also had no energy left to protest how uncomfortable it was for Jun Ci to hold him.
Jun Ci had no time to adjust their posture.
Logically, a piggyback ride would be more comfortable.
But in such a dire situation, Jun Ci wished he could just do a princess carry.
If he hadn't been thinking about finding a girlfriend in the future, he might have truly carried Duan Chen in a princess hold.
Meanwhile, Duan Chen, with great effort, curled his limbs, trying to prevent his long arms and legs from falling into the monsters' clutches.
The two of them, in a most disheveled state, were making a wild escape.
The monsters behind them were fully enraged, pursuing relentlessly.
Jun Ci, drawing on his internal energy to its fullest, fled madly.
After a long while...
His complexion had turned even paler than Duan Chen's. Duan Chen couldn't help but exclaim and then weakly patted the arm of Jun Ci who was carrying him.
His eyes were vacant as he spoke, "Alright... if we run any further, I won't know where those monsters are, nor where I am."
At this, Jun Ci abruptly let go.
Duan Chen fell to the ground with a thud.
He rubbed his aching waist and, with vacant eyes, looked up to survey their surroundings.
This place...
Seemed somewhat eerie.
But it was remarkably quiet.
Unlike moments ago, it wasn't teeming with all sorts of monsters.
Instead... there was a sense of birdsong and fragrant flowers?
Birdsong and fragrant flowers?
They were both shocked.
They were still at the bottom of the cliff, but compared to where they had been, this place appeared to be an unparalleled paradise.
Perhaps even paradise wasn't as beautiful as this environment.
Moreover, with every breath they took, they inhaled a potent fragrance that seemed to be slowly healing their injuries.
Duan Chen instantly activated his True Sight.
However, under the effect of his True Sight, the surrounding environment showed no change whatsoever; it remained as fragrant and beautiful as ever.
At this moment, he was truly bewildered, unsure of where they had arrived.
The two of them instinctively maintained their guard, anticipating any potential danger.
But...
After a considerable time, with both of them having lingered at the edge for an unknown duration, their injuries were gradually recovering from inhaling the aromatic air, yet no attack materialized.
It was only then that Jun Ci spoke hesitantly.
"I say, Duan Chen, have we perhaps misunderstood something?"
"Is there a possibility that there's no danger here at all? Don't you remember... we weren't in a monster's lair, but a secret realm..."
Duan Chen's body stiffened for a moment.
His consciousness snapped back.
He suddenly recalled that although he and Jun Ci had just escaped from the monsters, it didn't mean danger lurked everywhere.
This was a secret realm of extremely high danger, which also meant the potential rewards were immense.
Was there a possibility... they had arrived at a place where they could reap benefits?
As this thought took root in their minds, it began to sprout and grow rapidly.
Duan Chen and Jun Ci exchanged an awkward glance, both silently choosing to lower their heads and ignore their previous panic.
Duan Chen scanned the surroundings with his True Sight, ruling out any potential dangers, and then activated his God's Eye, using both ocular abilities.
Finally, he had eliminated all threats in the area.
He confirmed once more that there was indeed no danger.
"It seems... there's really no danger here."
Upon hearing this, Jun Ci breathed a sigh of relief, a bead of sweat suddenly forming on his forehead.
He exhaled, saying, "That scared me to death..."
"Fortunately, we escaped successfully!"
Who could say otherwise?
Duan Chen also felt a lingering fear.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a wry smile, "The injuries I sustained this time will likely require a long period of recovery."
Even now, a dull ache persisted within him. This ache had significantly improved with the restoration provided by the environment.
But he could sense that without some extraordinary fortuitous encounter or complete healing, he might face a long wait for his body's functions to recover on their own.
Just then, Duan Chen blinked, as his God's Eye had suddenly detected the presence of a humanoid figure.
He swiftly retracted his two ocular abilities.
His eyes instantly returned to black.
Seeing Duan Chen's eyes return to normal, Jun Ci asked nervously, "What's wrong?"
It couldn't be that his spiritual energy was depleted, could it?
Duan Chen said softly, "There seems to be someone in here."
Someone?
Jun Ci's eyes widened in surprise.
At the bottom of this desolate cliff, besides them, could there really be someone else?
Just then, the person Duan Chen had observed seemed to notice the arrival of two uninvited guests outside the flower field. Thus, they slowly stood up and walked outside.
Duan Chen and Jun Ci had excellent hearing and could clearly hear the sound of movement.
However, a humanoid figure didn't necessarily mean a real human.
Their vigilance was heightened to the maximum.
Then...
Duan Chen suddenly heard a thud.