System Granted Me Immortality; I Outlived Everyone

Chapter 19: Disaster Strikes While Sitting at Home

“What on earth should I use as a betrothal gift?”

Chen Changsheng sat perched on a mountain peak, his brow furrowed in deep, pragmatic thought.

Ever since he learned the Princess of Night Moon Country was scouting for a husband, he had been calculating how to secure the heart of that royal wolf. However, after a thorough self-audit, Changsheng realized that aside from his decent face and a library’s worth of erudite knowledge, he was effectively broke.

Just as he hit a dead end in his planning, a sharp cry for help pierced the air.

Changsheng’s gaze sharpened. In the distance, two demon cultivators of the Golden Core realm were ruthlessly pursuing a woman at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The moment he locked eyes on the scene, the woman pivoted. Like a heat-seeking missile, she changed course and bolted straight toward him.

“Senior, save me! They’re trying to kill me!”

Hearing the plea, Chen Changsheng didn’t waste a single heartbeat. He instantly surged with the full power of his cultivation…

And then he vanished in a cloud of dust, fleeing in the opposite direction.

The woman: “…”

Wait. Wasn’t this the part where the hero saves the damsel?

Did he just run? Did he not possess even a spark of curiosity?

The woman’s billowing resentment did nothing to slow Changsheng’s pace. Seeing him pulling away while her pursuers closed the gap, she gritted her teeth and crushed a jade talisman.

A beam of golden light erupted from the shards, tethering the woman and Chen Changsheng together with metaphysical weight. In a flash, she teleported directly behind him, her speed now perfectly locked to his own.

Chen Changsheng: ???

Faced with this human-shaped parasite, Changsheng felt a headache coming on.

“Look, why are you sticking to me?”

“Senior, they want my life. I beg of you, please lend a hand.” The woman cupped her hands mid-flight, her voice a picture of desperate pleading.

“Pah!”

“Drop the act. It’s amateur hour,” Changsheng snapped. “They aren’t trying to kill you. Professional killers don’t just chase for miles without throwing a single strike. More importantly, look at you—you’re practically dripping with high-grade Dharma Treasures. Does it make sense for a mere Foundation Establishment brat to be geared like a raid boss? You’re clearly some runaway rich miss, and they’re just the hired help sent to drag you home.”

The woman had barely uttered a sentence before Changsheng dismantled her entire reality with rapid-fire logic.

She was stunned. She had never met this man, and he clearly didn’t know her, yet he had deduced her entire situation with a single glance from a distance. What kind of freakish mind was he running?

Since the lie was dead, she dropped the facade. “Fine. Since you’ve seen through it, I’ll stop pretending.”

“They are indeed here to take me back. At worst, I’ll get a scolding and a few days of house arrest. But you? You’re in trouble. If you don’t help me lose them, I’ll tell them you’re the one who lured me away from the palace. How do you think my family handles kidnappers?”

Changsheng ignored her threat entirely, focusing his mental energy on the talisman binding them.

The woman noticed his silence and smirked. She wasn’t worried about him breaking her spell.

“Don’t waste your breath. This Shadow-Following Talisman was crafted by a Nascent Soul master. A little Golden Core like you hasn’t a hope of unravelling it. Instead of wasting effort, you’d better run faster. My ‘escorts’ are at the late Golden Core stage—and they’re gaining!”

Changsheng glanced back. The two demon cultivators were indeed closing in, their killing intent beginning to prickle his skin. A flicker of genuine irritation finally sparked in his eyes.

“Miss, I have no interest in your family drama or you. I’m willing to let your little stunt slide. Just unbind us and go your own way, alright?”

The woman responded by summoning a glowing pearl above her head, reinforcing her personal defenses. “I do what I want. What are you going to do about it? If you’ve got the guts, try breaking my shield!”

“Since you’re determined to be a nuisance,” Changsheng said, his voice dropping to a flat, icy professional tone, “don’t blame me for the service you’re about to receive.”

His fingers began to blur, weaving a complex series of hand seals.

Initially, the woman remained indifferent. As far as she was concerned, a mid-stage Golden Core was just a temporary taxi. If her own spiritual reserves weren’t bone-dry, she wouldn’t have hitched a ride with a stranger.

But then, the air began to smell of ozone and iron.

“That’s the Shangqing Temple’s Blood Escape… You’re a human!”

Looking at her wide-eyed shock, Changsheng allowed himself a thin, mirthless grin. “Full marks. But unfortunately, I don’t give rewards.”

Panic finally set in. She reached out to sever the Shadow-Following Talisman, but Changsheng was already gone.

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of essence blood. In an instant, the duo transformed into a streak of crimson light, vanishing past the horizon at a speed that defied logic.

The two pursuing demon cultivators skidded to a halt, completely dumbfounded. They had never seen a mid-stage Golden Core move with such terrifying velocity. More importantly—why was there a human deep in the heart of Night Moon Country?

“Brother, what now?”

Slap!

The older demon struck his companion across the face. “What do you mean ‘what now’? Chase them! That was the Princess! If she’s kidnapped by a human on our watch, our entire clan will be executed!”

The two demons immediately began burning their very life essence to give chase.

But they were chasing a ghost. During his years at Shangqing Temple, Chen Changsheng hadn’t bothered much with combat arts, but he had mastered the art of the exit. His escape techniques were polished to a mirror sheen. Forget late Golden Core cultivators; even a standard Nascent Soul expert would have struggled to catch his dust.

…

Three hundred miles away.

Swish.

The crimson light deposited two figures into a silent, secluded valley.

The moment the Blood Escape ended, Changsheng didn’t pause to catch his breath. He flicked his wrists, sending several formation flags whistling into the earth around them. His hands moved with a cold, mechanical proficiency, tracing seals he had performed ten thousand times before.

“Formation, rise!”

A shimmering curtain of light locked them in.

The woman recoiled, her hand darting to an ancient, jagged dagger at her waist. “What are you doing? I’m warning you—if a hair on my head is harmed, your end will be worse than death!”

Having secured the perimeter, Changsheng clicked his tongue in mild annoyance.

“I really didn’t want to get involved in any trouble,” he said, looking at her as if she were a particularly interesting piece of livestock. “But since you delivered yourself to my door, I suppose it’s only polite to accept the gift.”