“Very well, can you track that person’s whereabouts?” the aged voice asked coldly.
“Of course. Although those individuals used techniques to conceal their spiritual energy, under the pervasive demonic aura here, the presence of outsiders cannot be completely hidden. They went in that direction! However, the traces are already very faint—they must have left some time ago. And because the demonic currents in the upper air are too turbulent, I cannot guarantee that we can catch up with them if we follow this path,” the woman replied honestly.
“Hmph, utterly useless!” The old man grew furious upon hearing this.
The woman could only stand helplessly with her hands at her sides.
At that moment, another large-horned man on the ground soared into the air and, after a few flashes, arrived beside the woman. He bowed deeply toward the sky and said, “Master, I have extracted the remnant soul from the young master’s body and used a secret technique to reconstruct the appearance of the murderer.”
“Show it to me!” the old man commanded coldly.
The horned man complied, flicking his sleeve to release a swirling orb of gray mist and black light. It hovered above his head as he formed hand seals and sent a series of spells into it.
With a *puff*, the orb burst apart, revealing a dim, half-length silhouette in the air.
The figure wore a green robe, his body shimmering with golden light, his features unremarkable. Between his brows, a dark glow flickered, revealing a pitch-black eyeball. The eye twitched slightly, its surface swirling with eerie black radiance. This was none other than Han Li!
After a few breaths, the image shattered and vanished with a *bang*.
“The Annihilation Eye! Good, very good—it must be him. Only the spatial restriction power of the Annihilation Eye could have blocked my son’s teleportation escape. We set out immediately,” the old man snarled through gritted teeth upon seeing the third eye between Han Li’s brows.
“Forgive my impertinence, Master, but do you intend to personally hunt this man down?” the horned man hesitated before asking.
“What? Do you find my orders unclear?” the old man’s voice turned dangerously cold.
“I wouldn’t dare. But Master, have you forgotten the reason for your emergence from seclusion? The Saint Ancestor’s avatar is about to fully awaken by harnessing this demonic surge. If you arrive late and the Iron Demon slanders you before the Saint Ancestor, you may face trouble,” the horned man ventured cautiously.
“Hmph, the Iron Demon!” The old man scoffed, though his hesitation was evident.
“Very well. Jiuye, you excel in tracking and concealment. No matter the method, find those people and keep them under surveillance. I will first pay homage to the Saint Ancestor’s awakening. Once that is done, I will join you to avenge my son. If I arrive and you have yet to locate them… you know the consequences,” the old man finally decided after a long silence.
“As you command!” The woman paled but immediately bowed in acknowledgment.
“Wuqi, let’s go.” Without another word to the woman, the old man ordered the horned man. A massive, scaled green hand emerged from the clouds, snatched the mutilated corpse from the mist below, and vanished back into the darkness.
“Yes, Master.” The horned man transformed into a streak of red light and disappeared into the black clouds.
With a thunderous roar, the dark clouds surged away in another direction, leaving only the sharp-eared woman behind.
Once the distant clouds had vanished beyond the horizon, the woman flicked her furry tail and raised her head, her brows furrowed in frustration at the daunting task. With a sigh, she scanned her surroundings, confirmed her direction, and transformed into a silver streak that shot away.
But after flying barely a hundred zhang, the silver light flickered and dimmed before vanishing entirely.
—
Elsewhere in the Demon Mountain Range, a Nascent Soul cultivator and a Void Refinement foreigner flew slowly at low altitude, each holding a palm-sized compass, pausing intermittently to observe its readings.
“It’s been days, and we haven’t even glimpsed the Ganoderma Immortal. Uncle Wang, are we going the wrong way?” the younger man, a Nascent Soul cultivator in his thirties, couldn’t help but ask.
“My divination may not be infallible, but it has at least a one-in-five accuracy rate. Multiple readings all pointed this way,” the gaunt middle-aged man replied without looking up from his compass.
“One in five isn’t exactly reassuring,” the youth sighed dejectedly.
Just then, they passed between two towering black peaks, their surfaces smooth and barren.
As they were about to fly past, one of the peaks suddenly exploded, unleashing a massive black blade of light.
The gaunt man gasped and spat out a white shield, which expanded to block the attack—but the black light sliced through him and his shield like smoke, leaving the younger man untouched.
The blade carved a canyon into the mist below, revealing a seemingly bottomless chasm.
The youth, though a Nascent Soul cultivator, panicked and fled in a white streak—only for a grotesque face to emerge from the other peak’s surface, spewing yellow mist that sucked him into its maw.
A colossal toad-like demon emerged, its head grotesquely large.
From the other peak, a winged figure in green armor floated out, his massive bat-like wings adorned with shimmering silver runes.
“Why ambush mere Spirit Realm cultivators, Lord Iron Demon?” the toad demon rumbled.
“With the Saint Ancestor’s awakening at hand, I won’t tolerate unexpected disturbances,” the winged man replied coldly. “Digest that one’s soul—I want to know if they’re truly just hunters.”
The toad obeyed, its body glowing as black runes swirled around it.
After a while, it reopened its eyes. “They were hunting a wounded Ganoderma Immortal.”
“A shape-shifting spirit herb?” The winged man’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“Like the shapeshifting demons of our realm. If I can obtain it…” His voice trailed off in anticipation.
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