Chapter 106: Pursuit and Slaughter

The entire outer reaches of the Hundred Thousand Mountains stretched for tens of millions of li, filled with towering peaks, ancient trees, long rivers, and dense forests that stretched beyond the horizon. Many fierce beasts roamed within, and solitary travelers dared not venture deep, except for those of high cultivation.

After bidding farewell to Hongying, Yang Tian plunged into the thick jungle without the slightest hesitation, frantically fleeing the area he had just been in. Little White led the way ahead, running joyfully, and some fierce beasts were startled into retreat, not daring to cause trouble.

After traveling a full fifty li of mountain paths, Yang Tian found a mountain range with extremely dense forest. He took out the broken sword, carved out a cave, blocked the entrance with rocks, and settled inside.

Yang Tian had just faced a deadly threat. Though that crisis had not descended, he had a faint premonition that the danger was something probing him.

The cultivation world was not lacking in strange treasures. Yang Tian had never seen them, but being cautious was always right.

"I hope it was just an illusion..." Yang Tian looked out through a crack in the rock, his gaze constantly scanning the outside.

Just as Yang Tian had been in the cave for two full hours, a sudden fluctuation of energy came from outside. Yang Tian peered through the crack, his eyes searching for the source of this energy fluctuation.

In the far distance, the entire sky suddenly changed color. An overwhelming aura spread out, and all the fierce beasts within a hundred li instantly prostrated on the ground, their bodies trembling, fear spreading in their eyes.

In the void, cracks appeared. As the energy grew more vast, a strange luster burst forth from within, seemingly a fingernail.

"So someone was indeed probing me..." A gloomy gaze swept across the space, landing exactly on the spot where Yang Tian had been. At that moment, a palm shattered the void, leaving a hundred-zhang rift in the sky.

Then, five figures emerged from within. The leader exuded a terrifying aura, an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old youth with divine light flowing in his eyes, handsome and refined like jade.

Beside the youth stood a graceful and slender woman, with bright eyes and white teeth, pure and ethereal, like one who did not partake in worldly affairs. Her jet-black long hair fluttered in the wind, and her snow-white dress danced in the void.

The three behind were weaker, especially the last, a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth in brocade robes, whose cultivation was very low.

The figures were slowly lowered to the ground by a great force. The leading eighteen- or nineteen-year-old youth glanced at the brocade-robed youth behind him, his eyes somewhat cold and even contemptuous.

The brocade-robed youth seemed to notice this gaze, and a trace of anger flickered across his face, but he dared not argue. The leading youth's cultivation was extremely formidable, and his status was not much different.

"How did they find me?" Seeing the figures land on the ground, Yang Tian's face turned completely cold. The probing just now must have been done by a great cultivator.

"They really think highly of me, sending out several experts." Yang Tian clenched his fists, directly pushed aside the boulder blocking the cave entrance, and dashed forward with Little White.

He ran all the way, pushing the Carefree Eight Wastelands Steps to their limit, not daring to pause on the road, fearing they might have some means to track his whereabouts.

Roar! Just as Yang Tian had run ten li, a shocking beast roar suddenly came from behind.

Yang Tian's expression changed slightly. He climbed up a towering ancient tree and looked toward the source of the sound. In that area of great destruction, he could faintly see several figures.

"How can they track my trail?" Clenching his fists tightly, Yang Tian's face was grim. Then he touched Little White on his shoulder and murmured, "Little one, thank goodness for you. I hope the beasts behind can slow them down a bit."

Yang Tian's figure dashed forward wildly, leaping over layers of mountain ranges like a cheetah. He deliberately passed through areas where strange beasts gathered, running aimlessly ahead.

Beast roars kept exploding. Behind, the five figures were repeatedly blocked by fierce beasts. Though it didn't take much time, the distance they had just closed was stretched again.

"Why doesn't that little beast get attacked by the beasts?" Behind, a brocade-robed youth cursed, the gloom in his eyes growing thicker. They had already encountered dozens of waves of fierce beasts along the way.

The leading youth glanced at the brocade-robed youth and suddenly sneered, "Gu Mo, and you two, Gu Xuan and I will go ahead. Be careful not to get eaten by the beasts."

"You..." Hearing this, Gu Mo frowned slightly but dared not show anger. This time, the other was the leader of the expedition.

"He just doesn't want to take us, right?" The two beside him also showed a trace of anger but dared not express it, only muttering inwardly. He wanted to monopolize this great merit.

Gu Qi's gaze swept over Gu Xuan. Her pure and ethereal appearance made his heart ripple involuntarily, and his somewhat fiery eyes glanced at her raised curves.

Du! Suddenly, a jade gourd appeared in Gu Qi's hand. He opened his mouth and spat out a ray of light. The entire jade gourd suddenly rose into the air, expanding to thirty zhang, and an immense pressure climbed upward.

"Cousin Gu Xuan, this Jade Ji Gourd is very fast. We bear an important mission and cannot delay any longer. Let's go together." Gu Qi leaped onto the jade gourd, resuming a refined appearance, and smiled.

The woman called Gu Xuan hesitated for a moment, then her figure flickered, and her graceful body appeared on the jade gourd. Her gaze was cold and clear, and she remained silent.

"Hold tight." Glancing at Gu Xuan's raised curves, Gu Qi smiled, then patted the gourd with his palm. The entire gourd instantly shot forward.

"So infuriating! All the good things go to Gu Qi." One of the youths curled his lips in dissatisfaction. The clan had promised great rewards, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of tearing the void.

In the endless mountains, Yang Tian had been running continuously for half an hour. Just as he emerged from a beast's lair, a loud sound of breaking air suddenly came from behind.

"Bastards!" Whirling around, when he saw a massive shadow charging through the air ten li away, Yang Tian's face darkened, and his gaze anxiously swept the surroundings.

"I'll have to risk it." Clenching his fists, Yang Tian plunged into the dense forest, quickly found a stone cave, and slipped inside.

Sitting cross-legged in the cave, a furnace appeared above his head, radiating scorching heat. The furnace spun overhead, instantly expanding to thirty zhang.

Yang Tian lifted the lid and leaped in. The Golden Crow Divine Furnace rapidly shrank until it was the size of a speck of dust. Moments later, it drifted into a crevice at the cave entrance.

Inside the furnace, a sea of fire blazed above. Below, Yang Tian's qi and blood were being consumed at a ferocious rate. After swallowing a handful of ancient pills, he cast his gaze outside the cave.

Shortly after Yang Tian had hidden, a jade gourd descended, and a man and a woman stepped off. Gu Qi's gaze swept the area, puzzled.

"Come out." After a moment of silence, Gu Qi spoke coldly, but the confusion in his eyes deepened as his gaze darted around.

"Trying to bluff me." Yang Tian breathed a sigh of relief. The two exuded terrifying auras, and they weren't newcomers to the Profound Connection realm. Yang Tian had no confidence in victory.

"Strange, how did that kid's aura vanish?" After observing for a while, Gu Qi produced a crystal ball, which no longer glowed as it had before.

"So they can sense my aura. No wonder they've been hounding me like dogs." Seeing this, Yang Tian's mouth twitched, and he began patting himself down.

"Cousin Gu Xuan, it seems the kid has a protective treasure blocking our detection." Gu Qi paced around, speaking with irritation.

Hearing this, Gu Xuan nodded slightly, her beautiful eyes scanning the surroundings but finding no trace of any aura.

"It must be the divine patterns on the Golden Crow Divine Furnace that saved me. I didn't know they could block detection." Yang Tian clicked his tongue. He must have been implanted with a tracking aura.

Boom! Boom! Boom! After a moment, Gu Qi suddenly punched the air around him, sending out terrifying force that shattered boulders and overturned the earth.

"Heh, go ahead and tear this place apart if you can." Through a crack, Yang Tian watched as Gu Qi smashed even small mountain ranges, displaying formidable power.

After a long while, Gu Qi's body exuded a chilling aura. He drew a gleaming golden sword and began slashing at the surrounding mountains.

"Slap, slap..." Not far away, three figures drawn by the commotion cast strange glances at Gu Qi.

"Hmph, serves him right." Gu Mo saw the crystal ball in Gu Qi's hand and a flicker of contempt crossed his eyes. Clearly, he had lost his target.

"Attacking like this won't help. He might have already gone far." Gu Xuan frowned, then gracefully stepped forward and spoke softly.

"Heh, cousin Gu Xuan is right." Hearing this, Gu Qi's ugly expression vanished, replaced by a refined demeanor. He turned and cast a gentle gaze at Gu Xuan, smiling lightly.

"Why don't we split up?" Gu Xuan nodded slightly, her graceful figure instantly taking flight as a divine rainbow shot from beneath her feet, speeding ahead.

"You three search separately." Watching Gu Xuan's retreating figure, Gu Qi's smile slowly faded. He then ordered the others and sped off into the distance.

"Gu Mo... Ancient Sacred Ground!" Watching Gu Mo's departing back, Yang Tian's eyes suddenly turned icy cold, and a fierce murderous intent surfaced on his face.

He remembered that arrogant woman who had tried to kill him with a single finger!

After noting the directions they took, Yang Tian sneered coldly, "Don't let me catch you."

Inside the cave, Yang Tian remained hidden in the Golden Crow Divine Furnace. His qi and blood were being consumed heavily; if not for the nearly million ancient pills in his void ring, he would have long since given out.

Yang Tian's divine sense continuously scanned his body, detecting traces of a strange energy, but he couldn't remove it. Moreover, the energy kept shifting locations, causing him great distress.

"I wonder if this will work?" His gaze turned to his sea of consciousness, where the Ancestral Dragon Ring hung motionless like an eternal relic, beside it a dragon-shaped jade pendant, and below, a dense array of 'War' characters.

Yang Tian sank his mind into the Ancestral Dragon Ring, sending out strands of will. The ring was his greatest trump card, though he didn't know how to activate it. But now he had to gamble, or he'd be caught sooner or later.

After an unknown time...

Continuously channeling his will, and with his qi and blood heavily depleted, just as Yang Tian was about to give up, the Ancestral Dragon Ring suddenly pulsed.

"Did it work?" His eyes brightened, Yang Tian poured his will into it with all his might. As the pulse grew stronger, the ring suddenly shook violently.

Roar! A small black dragon emerged from the ring, its pitch-black eyes fixed on Yang Tian's body. Then it opened its mouth and spewed a cloud of black mist that shot forward.

At that moment, as the black mist touched Yang Tian's skin, a faint, ethereal light was forced out. Just as the small black dragon was about to swallow it,

Boom! The ethereal light burst into radiance, sending a surge of energy out of his body, shattering the surrounding rocks. The fluctuation of that ethereal light suddenly intensified.

"Not good." Yang Tian's face changed drastically. He hadn't expected this strange energy to break out of his body. The disturbance would surely attract them. Just as he was about to flee, the small black dragon suddenly moved.