Chapter 1729: Pursuit

A massive surge of spiritual energy was violently compressed before exploding with terrifying force, the resulting spiritual pressure almost instantly tearing apart the several layers of restriction arrays that Han Li, Shi Kun, and the others had set up at the entrance of the forbidden zone.

A thick wind pillar erupted from the ground, soaring into the sky before expanding outward, sweeping everything within several miles into a raging hurricane. At the same time, waves of spatial fluctuations rolled outward in all directions.

Even though Han Li and the others were already thousands of miles away, they could still clearly sense the apocalyptic destruction emanating from the distance.

The expressions of all three darkened slightly. Had they reacted even a moment slower and remained within that space, the consequences would have been dire.

“Trouble. Those Jiaochi people are heading this way—fast. They’ll be here any moment,” Liu Shui’er suddenly exclaimed in alarm.

“They’ve definitely detected us and are using some secret technique to lock onto our positions. We can’t stay here any longer—we must split up and flee immediately. The Jiaochi tribe has lingered here for so long, surely they have grand schemes in mind. They might not pursue us relentlessly,” Han Li said in a low voice, his expression hardening as if he had sensed something as well.

Now that they had obtained the treasure, they had already planned to go their separate ways. Hearing Han Li’s words, the other two naturally had no objections.

“In that case, I’ll take my leave first!” Shi Kun immediately clasped his hands in salute before transforming into a streak of yellow light and shooting away.

“Brother Han, we’ll regroup in Yun City in a few months,” Liu Shui’er said with a light laugh.

With a flick of her sleeve, a small silver canoe the size of a palm shot out, instantly expanding to several feet in length and appearing beneath her. With a graceful step, she landed lightly on the canoe.

At the same time, a ripple in the air heralded the emergence of a five-colored spiritual light from the void, which flew straight into Liu Shui’er’s embrace—revealing itself to be a small winged marten.

Once she had retrieved her spirit beast, Liu Shui’er wasted no time. A flash of silver light beneath her feet, and the canoe appeared dozens of yards away, speeding off into the distance in another direction.

Han Li’s eyes twitched slightly at the sight. With a single hand seal, a thunderous crack sounded as a pair of crystalline wings materialized on his back.

With just a slight flap, he transformed into a streak of cyan-white light, darting away. After a few flashes, he had already traversed several hundred yards, appearing at the edge of the sky.

At that moment, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air as a small white snake emerged, darting into the streak of light and vanishing.

The light streak paused only briefly before accelerating to full speed, disappearing beyond the horizon.

A short while later, a flash of spiritual light appeared at the opposite end of the sky, followed by a dozen streaks of light converging in a single formation, roaring toward the spot where Han Li and the others had previously been.

As the light faded, more than a dozen Jiaochi people in varied attire were revealed. At their head was a golden-horned youth with an exceptionally grim expression.

“These people are quite clever, fleeing so quickly. But to think that outsiders were lurking nearby while we were pursuing our grand scheme—if not for triggering the restrictions, we might never have noticed them. We can’t simply let them escape. Leng Han, Bai Guo, take the others and pursue the other two. I’ll personally hunt down the last one,” the golden-horned youth ordered through gritted teeth.

“Rest assured, Envoy Shushu. We will not fail,” a male and female Jiaochi immediately responded with a bow.

The man appeared to be in his forties, tall and burly, his skin covered in dense scales, with a pair of blue curved horns atop his head, exuding a fierce aura.

The woman was petite and delicate, her features beautiful, with a short white horn several inches long between her brows. She wore an unknown silver dress.

With a wave of their hands, three others from the group flew out to stand behind each of them.

“You four should join Leng Han as well. I’ll handle this alone,” the youth said with a frown when he noticed four members remaining motionless.

“But, Envoy…” one of the four hesitated, murmuring uncertainly.

“Hmph, have you forgotten what treasure I carry? Even without using the Profound Heaven Sacred Artifact, do you think I would fear a mere upper-tier cultivator?” the youth sneered, his tone brooking no argument.

Hearing this, the remaining four exchanged glances, silently acknowledging the logic, and nodded before splitting into two pairs to join the blue-horned man and the silver-robed woman.

Under their leadership, the Jiaochi soared into the sky, transforming into over a dozen streaks of light that pursued in different directions—precisely the paths Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun had taken.

In the blink of an eye, only the golden-horned youth remained. He withdrew his gaze from the distance and coldly stared in the direction Han Li had vanished. With a pat at his waist, a yellow light shot out, accompanied by a dragon-like roar as a monstrous yellow lizard-like beast materialized.

The creature had six legs and two pairs of massive fleshy wings, instantly expanding to over a hundred feet in length, its appearance utterly ferocious.

The golden-horned youth stepped onto the beast’s head with a single motion. Flipping his hand, a blood-red, translucent snail appeared in his palm.

However, the spirit insect had mostly retracted into its shell, its antennae curled up lazily.

Frowning, the youth flicked a pea-sized crimson pill toward the snail with his other hand.

The previously sluggish snail suddenly perked up, its head darting out of its shell to swallow the pill in one gulp.

The youth formed a hand seal and began chanting.

Instantly, the snail’s antennae stretched out unnaturally long, emitting a dazzling red light aimed in the direction Han Li had fled…

Seeing this, the golden-horned youth’s eyes flashed coldly as he stomped down with one foot.

A golden light flared as the six-legged lizard’s four wings beat violently, summoning a swirling yellow sandstorm that engulfed both of them.

Moments later, when the sandstorm dissipated, both the beast and the youth had vanished without a trace.

—

The cyan-white streak of light that was Han Li flickered in and out of existence in the sky, traversing over a hundred thousand miles in mere moments. Yet, his eyes flickered as he continuously scanned his body inside and out with his spiritual sense, his brow slightly furrowed.

Ever since he began fleeing, he had felt as though something mysterious had locked onto him, refusing to let go.

No matter how many times he searched, he found no clues—this was no ordinary tracking technique.

Thus, no matter how fast he fled, he couldn’t shake off his pursuers. Moreover, the escape technique he was using, while incredibly swift, consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual power.

Given his already depleted cultivation, he couldn’t maintain this speed for long. It seemed the only way to truly escape was to eliminate his pursuer.

Through some minor tricks during his flight, he had already confirmed that only one Jiaochi was chasing him.

With this in mind, and still unable to locate the source of the tracking, Han Li’s thoughts turned murderous.

At his current peak late-stage Body Integration cultivation, even with diminished spiritual power, dealing with a pursuer of the same rank should pose no problem.

With this resolve, Han Li didn’t stop immediately but continued forward at full speed.

After traversing another several thousand miles, he judged that even if his pursuer had reinforcements, they wouldn’t arrive anytime soon. Only then did he slow and halt.

Once visible again, Han Li wasted no time. With a sweep of his sleeve, dozens of small azure swords surged forth, vanishing into the surrounding void in a flash.

Then, with his hands behind his back, he looked toward the direction he had come from, hovering motionless in the air.

Before long, a distant roar echoed as a yellow storm surged toward him.

The approaching tempest was ferocious, its thunderous rumbles audible even before it drew near. Yet, as it swept closer, the storm abruptly dissipated, revealing the massive six-legged, four-winged lizard.

Standing atop its head, the golden-horned youth narrowed his eyes at Han Li, a cold glint flashing within them.

“Which tribe do you belong to? You don’t seem to be from Tian Yun. No matter—whoever you are, daring to spy on our affairs means death,” the youth declared with icy finality.

Without any visible movement, the lizard beneath him let out a low growl, a strange wind swirling around its body before it vanished in a beat of its wings.

Yet the youth remained in place, leisurely reaching out to grasp at the air. A shadowy blur formed, twisting and elongating into a pitch-black spear of darkness.

Han Li’s lips twitched. Golden light erupted from his body as he clenched a fist and suddenly punched toward an empty space beside him.

Before the punch landed, a golden fist projection shot out, solidifying into an enormous, dense fist.

The force of the punch caused the surrounding space to tremble and distort, accompanied by explosive cracks.

With a deafening boom, the golden fist detonated nearby, forming a golden halo that enveloped everything within several yards.

A furious roar erupted from within the light as a burst of yellow energy clashed violently with the golden radiance.

The six-legged lizard was forced out of the void, spitting yellow beams as it desperately resisted the golden onslaught.

Seizing the moment of Han Li’s apparent distraction, the golden-horned youth’s face twisted into a vicious grin. The black spear in his hand vanished without a sound.