1951 Run Away

Alex readied his pill to throw at the woman the moment she showed any sign of distraction. But to his surprise, she completely left him and flew back toward her master.

Alex was left alone, free to leave if he wanted to.

He was a little confused. Was he safe? Maybe he should leave. He took out the Immortal ship he got from Scarlet and got on it.

However, right before he left, he turned back around to look at Elder Lan.

If the woman joined the fight, he would be fighting the two alone. Even if Elder Lan could ignore the disciple's attack, her presence would be a detriment to his fighting capacity.

'Dammit!' Alex cursed. He knew he needed to run away, but letting the man die now after everything just didn't sit right with him.

"Fuck!"

He put away the ship and went back toward the fight.

Elder Lan was tired, tired from the fight in the sky. His body was already tired from being nearly killed and then brought back to good health, and yet he had to fight someone so much stronger than him.

His eyes moved, looking at the girl that flew past him.

The First Elder was a little disheveled as well from the fight. She wasn't exactly tired, but she could do with a bit of rest. She should have been winning this fight already, and yet, the goddamn shield on the man's hand stopped almost every attack of hers.

How was she supposed to win if she couldn't get any attacks past him?

She looked to the side, seeing Hei Tingxie come back. She was confused. She looked to the side and saw Alex still in the distance.

"What are you doing?" she asked Tingxie. "I gave you a damn job."

"Yes, but the situation has changed, master," Tingxie said. "The Blue Silk sect is coming for the sect master and everyone else."

"WHAT?" The First Elder turned her head around in shock. "Why is the Blue Silk sect coming for—"

A pill flew in her direction. She reacted to it quickly, but it still exploded right on contact, sending a strong shock through her. She tried to get her senses in order and not drop her guard, but even as she tried to gather herself, another pill flew in her direction.

A golden shield appeared around her this time around, stopping the pill from hitting her. The shock made the shield ripple, but beyond that it did nothing.

She took a step back in the sky, getting ready for the man's retaliation.

"Master, are you alright?" Hei Tingxie quickly came flying toward the old woman.

"Get back, Tingxie. It's dangerous," she said.

Tingxie didn't obey. "We need to leave, master. The Blue Silk sect elders could be coming here at any time," she said. She grabbed onto the First Elder, trying to pull her away.

"No, I won't go," the First Elder said, looking at Elder Lan through the dissolving smoke. He was running away.

"No!" she shouted and pushed Hei Tingxie away, following the elder.

Alex was on his ship now, ready. "Quickly, come!" he shouted at Elder Lan who flew toward him, but slower than he could. His fatigued body didn't have much left in him at all.

Alex looked up. "Behind you!" he shouted.

Elder Lan turned around and barely managed to put up his shield at all. The attack landed on the shield, stopping most of it, but it still ended up sending him crashing down onto the ground.

The shield escaped from his hand, flung far away in Alex's direction.

"No…"

Alex realized Elder Lan was going to die. He quickly thought of what he could do here, to both save Elder Lan and for himself to survive.

There was one way.

Pearl.

If he brought out and put Pearl in the midst of the danger, Bai Jingshen would save them. Alex wanted to save this one thing for when a truly strong foe came, but it appeared now was the time.

Alex jumped down from the ship and grabbed onto the shield. Then, he reached into his Soul Space, contacting Pearl.

"I'm sorry," a voice slipped into his mind.

It was Elder Lan's voice.

"Sorry?" Alex asked. "Why?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "You saved me… but I have to run away without protecting you."

As soon as he said that, a teleportation aura came from the talisman he clutched in his hands, filling him entirely. The silver light surrounded him within seconds, ready to take him far away from here.

"You are not going anywhere," the First Elder shouted, raising her scythe high up as she prepared a rather strong technique to take Elder Lan's life in one move.

Alex could see it. Elder Lan wouldn't make it.

And then… nothing.

The First Elder remained frozen with her hand raised high in the air, while her face was filled with pure shock.

Elder Lan teleported away thanks at the moment when the First Elder stopped her attack.

Alex was surprised. What had just happened? Why had she stopped?

Just as he was thinking that, the scythe in the First Elder's hand lost its glow, and slipped from her fingers, falling to the ground beneath them.

Then, her body began spasming all of a sudden, and a hoarse moan escaped her mouth. She drifted down from the sky, landing on a patch of dry grass.

"What… what is happening to me?" she asked, her throat parched as a man lost in a desert. "What…"

She seemed to understand what was happening.

She was poisoned.

"How? How was I…"

"You reap what you sow," Hei Tingxie spoke from the side, flying down toward her master. "Quite an apt description for when getting vengeance, isn't it, master?"

"Tingxie?" the First Elder turned around, confused. "What are you saying?"

Hei Tingxie reached for the scythe on the ground and picked it up. Then she turned toward the woman.

"Isn't it obvious by now, master? I poisoned you," she said. "Any moment now, you are going to die."