Four figures appeared in four directions around the chiliarch. Only when the domineering Dao power erupted from their hands did the chiliarch detect their presence! In an instant, countless flying swords struck the chiliarch's body!
Wei Yuan and three Dao Foundation warriors each held a flying-sword gun, pouring firepower upon the chiliarch. Flying sword after flying sword shattered his armor, tore through his battle robe, shredded his flesh, and blasted fissures into his bones. In the blink of an eye, the chiliarch was struck by dozens of flying swords, battered and mangled from head to toe!
These flying swords differed from the ones buried as traps; they were considerably larger, and their power was an entire tier higher. Every single sword was equivalent to a strike from a Dao Foundation cultivator, so the chiliarch was essentially blasted in succession by dozens of Dao Foundation arts. Even with his formidable dharmic physique, he was severely wounded on the spot.
Within a single breath, the magazines were emptied, and an opening finally appeared in the barrage.
A ferocious grin surfaced on the chiliarch's face, and the shaman rushing over at top speed breathed a sigh of relief.
Yet in the next instant, they saw Wei Yuan and the three warriors each take out another sword magazine and reload, the entire process taking less than a breath. The chiliarch's grin froze on his face, while the shaman turned and fled on the spot!
The deluge of flying swords tore the chiliarch to shreds. Wei Yuan then looked up at the sky in anticipation, but no bestowal of heaven and earth arrived. Only then did Wei Yuan remember that the celestial laurel tree had already awakened. Still, it hadn't even sprouted yet—could it consume that much bestowal of heaven and earth?
Wei Yuan checked inside Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains and saw two new sprouts emerging from the ground. One had a platinum leaf, while the other was blue, surrounded by a small ring of frost. No wonder the bestowal of heaven and earth was gone again... Wei Yuan quietly withdrew from Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains.
This kill could be called crisp and decisive. Over the span of just a few breaths, Wei Yuan and the Dao Foundation warriors had each emptied two magazines, equivalent to one hundred and sixty strikes from a Dao Foundation cultivator. In terms of power output per unit of time, it surpassed Wei Yuan's Golden Light Water Blade Art and was only slightly inferior to the Sword of Ten Thousand Generations and Autumns, in which he had barely scratched the surface.
The chiliarch's shattered dharma idol and soul did not return to heaven and earth. Instead, they were drawn into Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, sinking beneath Maiden Yin-Yang's feet, after which the spirituality of Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains slowly rose once more.
Wei Yuan swiftly gathered the chiliarch's weapon and waist pouch, sent two Dao Foundation warriors back into Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, and had a warrior filled with Dao power carry the woman on his back before continuing to flee. This time, they ran for two ke before the mark Wei Yuan had left behind was triggered. From the information transmitted back, the pursuers had become one dharma idol and a dozen or so Dao Foundation cultivators.
It seemed that after the counter-kill on the chiliarch, the shaman had been scared out of his wits, only daring to approach the previous mark after confirming that Wei Yuan was far away. The distance between both sides had opened to three hundred li.
Wei Yuan slowed his pace slightly, allowing his Dao power to slowly recover.
Several hundred li away, a Liao young man nearly a zhang tall with deep-set features stood atop a snowy peak, gazing into the distance. Beside him, the shaman said tremblingly, "...Lord Longying, that is what happened. Zhetai has fallen in battle, and I only left so that I could report the news to you."
The Liao young man had a pair of peculiar pale-golden pupils. After patiently listening to the shaman finish, he said, "Zhetai's strength was decent. You're saying he only lasted five breaths?"
"Yes! The enemy's magical treasures are formidable, and two more were lying in ambush. This subordinate had completely failed to detect them beforehand," the shaman said, trembling slightly as he spoke.
Longying was the only one among the Snowfield Golden Tent Khanate's seven myriarchs who had not yet reached Scenery Command, but holding such a position beneath Scenery Command made him all the more terrifying. Moreover, he had been taken in as an adopted son by the Great Khan, giving him an exceptionally exalted status among the Liao Clan.
"Is the mark still there?" Longying asked.
"Still there!" the shaman hurried to reply.
"Good that it's there. Point out the direction; we pursue."
The shaman hurriedly released a blood bee, then said to the group of Dao Foundation cultivators, "Return on your own."
"No need. I happen to need some errand-runners." Longying waved his hand, and halos of light lit up around every Dao Foundation cultivator, lifting them all slightly off the ground. Carrying over a dozen Dao Foundation cultivators with him, Longying still had energy to spare, keeping pace with the shaman effortlessly.
Running along, Wei Yuan received tracking feedback once more. This time, the distance had shrunk from three hundred li down to ninety li!
The pursuers' speed had surged drastically; without a doubt, a powerhouse had arrived. If his luck were just a little worse, he might very well be directly detected by the enemy when the blood mark triggered next, and then there truly would be no escaping.
Wei Yuan did not panic. Instead, he stopped and swiftly laid down a feng shui formation, using the aura of his immortal plants to temporarily stimulate his own fortune before resuming his flight. Moments later, the blood bee flew past this area, with Longying and the shaman close behind, followed by the dozen-plus Dao Foundation cultivators being towed along in Longying's wake.
The blood bee seemed to sense something and tried to land, but the shaman urged it forward urgently, so it continued flying ahead, ignoring the anomaly it had perceived. The group of Liao people flew right over the feng shui formation Wei Yuan had set up, oblivious to anything.
Soon, the Liao Clan party reached the spot where the blood mark had been left. The shaman said, "He shouldn't have run more than eighty li, and he most likely changed directions. We could anticipate his heading; that way, we might catch him next time."
"Left!" Longying said without hesitation.
Thus, the group chose a path angled to the left and sped in pursuit. Along the way, the shaman said, "I have long heard that your karmic luck is extraordinary, my lord. This time, the enemy will most likely plunge right into your hands—an effortless capture!"
Longying had an outgoing nature and laughed heartily. "Ever since I achieved success in my cultivation, every time I descended the mountain for worldly trials, I encountered significant fortuitous encounters! Acting on intuition, I have never been wrong, requiring essentially no thought at all. My fellow disciples were infuriated to death, yet there was nothing they could do! To me, walking the world is just that simple!"
Between talk and laughter, Longying carried the Dao Foundation cultivators across two hundred li. Just then, the location of a new mark was transmitted: the distance between them had increased from ninety li to one hundred and thirty li—a forty-li widening.
Judging from Wei Yuan's current position, he had fled right from the previous node, diverging greatly from their trajectory at nearly a right angle. The shaman and the Liao group swiftly arrived at the new mark's location. This time, the shaman dared not mention predicting the direction again.
Yet Longying said in a deep voice, "Left!"
And so, after one ke, Wei Yuan widened the distance by another ten li.
"Left!"
"Left!"
After guessing wrong five times in a row, Longying's expression could no longer be described as merely dark. Five consecutive times he pursued to the left, and five consecutive times Wei Yuan fled to the right. The distance between the two sides had widened to two hundred li, and that was even with Longying quietly accelerating.
On the sixth time, Longying said to the shaman, "You choose!"
The shaman inwardly cried bitter tears. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Left!"
Yet this time, Wei Yuan still chose right.
By the seventh time, the shaman grew angry as well, snapping, "I don't believe it! Can he really run right again?"
Picking right seven times in a row—wasn't that like a gambling den rolling 'big' seven times in a row? The shaman refused to believe any gambling den could hit 'big' seven consecutive times! If he ever encountered a gambling den like that, he would smash it to pieces.
When the seventh result came out, Wei Yuan had indeed run right again. The shaman felt he had run into a stubborn donkey.
On the eighth time, the shaman finally gave up his stubbornness and chose right. But this time, the stubborn donkey suddenly turned back, seemingly deciding to be a good person.
Looking at the mark that remained two hundred li away, the shaman was finally drained of all temper. Longying, unable to bear watching any longer, cursed the shaman as "useless" and chose left. Thus, the two stubborn donkeys butted heads once again, clashing for seven rounds straight.
Just then, Longying suddenly realized something and said, "He is a mere Dao Foundation cultivator—how can he flee for so long without stopping? Hasn't he exhausted himself to death yet? What kind of Dao Foundation could possess so much Dao power?"
The shaman said, "There are many Dao arts that burn lifespan and stimulate latent potential. Perhaps he is already near death right now. My lord, let us leave these subordinates behind. In half a shichen at most, we will surely catch him!"
Longying shook his head. "Speed is not the key right now."
If the two sides chose different directions every time, the faster they went, the greater the distance widened. Furthermore, maintaining a speed of over two hundred li per ke was unsustainable even for an ordinary dharma idol cultivator; right now, the shaman's blood qi was boiling, his heart was pounding like a drum, and more than half of his dharmic power was depleted.
Longying added, "Didn't you say just now that he is fleeing while carrying a mortal?"
"Judging from the imprint left by the blood mark, that should be the case."
"A mere Dao Foundation cultivator carrying a mortal—if I can't even catch him, where will Longying's face be! I insist on taking along these dozen-odd Dao Foundation cultivators; only then is it fair."
The shaman groaned inwardly, but dared not object. Still, there was a benefit to Lord Longying picking left every single time: it effectively forced Wei Yuan to run in circles through the mountains. It was just that their own circle was somewhat larger.
At this moment, sweat glistened faintly on Wei Yuan's forehead. As he sprinted with all his might, a wisp of blood qi suddenly surged into the sky from atop his head, leaving an imprint in the air. Without hesitation, Wei Yuan veered directly to the right and continued bolting forward. The astral winds over the snow mountains were too fierce; running was only slightly slower than flying, yet consumed far less energy.
At that moment, the woman, who had remained silent all along, suddenly said, "Put me down. You can't escape if you carry me!"
Wei Yuan replied with decisive firmness, "Out of the question!"
"If you do this, both of us will die! Put me down, and at least you can live. If you have the heart, avenge me in the future."
"Don't even think about it! Not unless I die first."
"But—"
Wei Yuan smacked her on the backside and snarled, "Shut up!"
A sudden flush rose on his face as Dao power welled up once more—he had already resorted to a Dao art that stimulated his latent potential.
Within several unhealed fissures in Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, pale fire flared up again. The earth's vitality receded, and its spirituality gradually subsided.
Wei Yuan remained calm. With a wave of his hand, a Dao Foundation warrior appeared, replacing the warrior whose Dao power was depleted, and continued running with the woman on his back. Relaying between the three warriors like this kept their speed at its peak throughout.
However, every Dao Foundation warrior consumed Wei Yuan's own Dao power. He was severely injured after all, with residual pale fire lingering in his Dao Foundation. After running at full speed for two consecutive shichen, his Dao power finally hit rock bottom.
If only that shaman were pursuing behind, Wei Yuan was confident he could exhaust the shaman's dharmic power and escape with his life. But now, an exceptionally formidable figure had clearly joined the pursuers; it was just that this fellow's luck was truly awful, picking the wrong direction every single time.
By now, Wei Yuan had already resorted to a secret art that damaged his Dao Foundation to stimulate Dao power, yet he did not waver. If it meant abandoning the woman, he would rather turn around and fight to the death.
Right at that moment, a newborn sprout swayed, shaking loose its only platinum leaf. The leaf fell into the earth and suddenly transformed into a vast torrent of utterly frigid moonlight, erupting from the ground!
The moonlight turned into a platinum curtain of light, rippling and drifting through the air. The recovery speed of Wei Yuan's Dao power surged tens to hundreds of times over in an instant; in just moments, not only was it fully replenished, but his upper limit continued to climb.
Wei Yuan's speed stabilized at its maximum. Finally, night descended, bringing with it a terrifying will. Wei Yuan ducked into a natural cave in an instant and sealed the entrance. The pursuing Liao Clan party did the same; even someone as arrogant as Longying hid underground at the very first moment, not daring to move in the slightest.
In these vast, boundless Far North snow mountains, if danger began to descend outside of noon, then after nightfall, this place truly became a domain of absolute death. Barring True Monarchs, taking even a single step was impossible.
Inside the cramped cave, the shaman shifted his body with difficulty, squeezing the group of Dao Foundation subordinates a bit tighter together to finally carve out a little breathing room, before saying, "My lord, he cannot run far! Tomorrow morning, we will surely catch him!"
Chapter 366