Beyond the mountain forest lay a narrow stretch of abandoned farmland. Beyond the farmland rose rolling hills dotted with mortal villages. Further on was a town, followed by a vast plain stretching twenty miles to the colossal Immortal City of White Crane City.
However, traversing from the forest's edge across the abandoned fields, over the hills, and around the town to reach White Crane City would take at least an hour.
When Han Yi's sword extinguished Han Xuxiao, he felt no elation. To the current Han Yi, the Blood God Son, Han Xuxiao, who had once loomed over him with overwhelming psychological pressure back when he was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, was no longer a threat.
In fact, he was barely worthy of a single sword strike.
In the face of imminent death, Han Xuxiao hadn't even had time for a final lament.
As Han Yi fled across the abandoned farmland and vanished into the low hills, his peripheral vision caught a figure leaping from the forest. The cultivator soared into the air, hot on his heels.
"A cultivator from the Blood God Sect," Han Yi thought, his heart sinking.
Seeing Han Xuxiao's wretched state, anyone daring to pursue without hesitation must be confident of being far stronger, likely at the Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage, or even the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.
A fierce sense of crisis coiled around Han Yi's heart, raising goosebumps across his body. Within his Spirit Sea, Mana surged like a tempestuous ocean, while in his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Soul grew heavy with dread.
If the pursuer was merely at the Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage, Han Yi might still have a chance. By unleashing the full power of his Spirit Sea, using his Divine Soul Secret Technique, activating the Broken Sword's Blacklight, and deploying his other Top-Grade Magic Artifacts in a coordinated assault, he could put up a fight.
But if the pursuer was at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, Han Yi saw only two remaining hopes: his Divine Soul Secret Technique and the Third-Tier Spirit Talisman given to him by Yuan Shun.
However, that Spirit Talisman was his last-ditch lifeline, to be used only in the direst of circumstances.
Gritting his teeth, Han Yi ran through dozens of combat strategies and escape plans with each fleeting Kshana.
Whoosh.
In less than three breaths, he had already soared over the hills on his sword, flying low enough to glimpse the mortal villages scattered below.
Han Yi ignored the first two villages. Reaching the third, located near the edge of the hills, he dove into it, found a cellar, and silently slipped inside, clutching the Black Light Broken Sword.
He activated the Turtle Breath Technique to its fullest extent. In just three breaths, he transformed into a piece of rotting wood, his heartbeat slowing to a near halt. Unless someone was staring directly at him, it would be impossible to detect his presence.
Hide.
This was the most immediate survival strategy Han Yi could devise after regaining his composure.
Regret gnawed at him. He had never truly valued the Turtle Breath Technique, a spell designed to conceal one's aura.
Only a Turtle Breath Technique perfected to the stage of Perfected Purity could be reliably used against cultivators of the same realm. Against those of higher cultivation, its effectiveness was uncertain.
Han Yi didn't know if this technique could fool a Mid or Late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Still, it was a chance—every chance was a possibility for survival, and he refused to let it slip away.
However, ten breaths later...
Han Yi's eyes snapped open. He surged upward in a sudden, explosive motion, realizing he had been discovered.
The moment Han Yi escaped the cellar, a cluster of eerie red flames engulfed it, reducing the entire structure to ashes and causing it to collapse into a three-meter-deep pit.
The raging fire then coalesced back into a single flame, which soared into the air and settled in the palm of a cultivator.
"Hmm, quite perceptive," the cultivator murmured.
Ten meters above the ground, the cultivator hovered on his sword, the flame in his hand transforming into a crimson seven-petaled Fire Lotus. The lotus pulsed with fiery energy, its petals shifting between a solid floral form and fiery wisps.
This Fire Lotus felt even more dangerous to Han Yi than Mo Wen's Blood Blade had during their earlier confrontation.
It was a top-tier Top-Grade Magic Artifact.
A faint golden light spilled from Han Yi's eyes, almost overflowing from his eyelids before vanishing in an instant.
In Han Yi's vision, the cultivator's aura was roughly three times stronger than his own, surpassing even Bai Wanqing's strength when she had first entered the Mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
This was a Mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Using the Qi Observation Technique, Han Yi accurately assessed the cultivator's cultivation realm.
In truth, Han Yi recognized the newcomer. He had only used the Qi Observation Technique to confirm his suspicions.
The man was named Lu Zhi.
A year prior, after Han Yi's Foundation Establishment Advancement, his Sect had provided him with a comprehensive dossier on the Blood God Sect, including detailed information on numerous Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Stage cultivators.
Lu Zhi had advanced to the Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage ten years prior, placing him squarely in the mid-tier among cultivators of that realm. He possessed three Top-Grade Magic Artifacts: two sword artifacts and a lotus-shaped artifact.
Know thyself and know thy enemy, and in a hundred battles you will never be defeated. Han Yi would never neglect such fundamental preparations.
After confirming the intruder's identity and verifying his cultivation realm, Han Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Mid-Foundation Establishment... I stand a chance.
With this thought, Han Yi struck first. If he could kill Lu Zhi outright, he would still have time to flee to the Immortal City for sanctuary. If not, he would cripple his pursuer, leaving him unable to continue the chase, or at least make him realize he couldn't easily overwhelm Han Yi.
Either way, a fight was inevitable.
Han Yi unleashed his full strength from the start. At this critical juncture, holding back would be suicidal.
A flash of Blacklight, and the Broken Sword shot forward like a dart, closing the distance to ten meters.
Lu Zhi let out a cold laugh. The lotus-shaped Magic Artifact in his hand soared into the air, transforming into a sea of flames. The flames coalesced into a massive lotus, which swelled rapidly and crashed into the Broken Sword.
Strangely, the Broken Sword wasn't knocked away, nor did the Fire Lotus shatter. Instead, the expanding lotus enveloped the Broken Sword completely before plummeting to the ground, creating a crater three meters wide. The bizarre Fire Lotus and the Black Light Broken Sword embedded themselves over a meter deep into the earth.
Han Yi's expression darkened. The moment the Fire Lotus's flames engulfed the Broken Sword's black light, his Divine Sense felt a searing pain, as if a severed thread had instantly severed his connection to the sword.
He surged his Divine Sense forward again, attempting to probe the Fire Lotus. But the moment it approached the fiery blossom, a searing pain jolted him back, as violently as if a mortal had placed their arm over a lit candle—his body recoiled instinctively.
This Fire Lotus had completely neutralized his strongest technique.
"So this is how you killed Han Xuxiao," Lu Zhi said, his voice dripping with disdain. "It's indeed formidable. Even I felt a flicker of fear when it activated."
"However, my Fire Lotus is a special Magic Artifact, more than capable of trapping your Broken Sword," Lu Zhi sneered, his gaze fixed on Han Yi.
Han Yi's expression flickered, but he didn't give up. He swiftly landed on the ground and sent the Green Ripple Sword soaring into the air. Its cyan-black sword light, though inferior to the Broken Sword's Blacklight, was still one of his strongest techniques.
Simultaneously, Han Yi flicked his wrist, launching a second sword artifact into the sky: the Clear Spring Sword. But this time, a massive crack ran from its tip to its hilt, nearly splitting the Myriad Stars Sea-forged Top-Grade Sword Artifact in two.
A fierce glint flashed in Han Yi's eyes. He didn't expect the Clear Spring Sword to strike Lu Zhi directly. Instead, detonating this Top-Grade Sword Artifact might create a diversion.
Moreover, his Divine Sense far surpassed Lu Zhi's. The key to this battle lay in the strength of his Divine Soul.
This wasn't about separating his Divine Soul from his body, directly infiltrating Lu Zhi's Sea of Consciousness, and obliterating his soul with Soul Techniques. Instead, he would rely on the superiority of his Divine Soul to overwhelm Lu Zhi with a barrage of Magic Artifacts.
Directly plunging his Divine Soul into the opponent's Sea of Consciousness carried a fatal risk: the moment his soul withdrew, the enemy could instantly destroy his physical body, leaving him no choice but to resort to Body Seizure.
Body Seizure would undo all his previous efforts. Han Yi was determined to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.
He still had other options, including Third-Tier Spirit Talismans.
Only if all else failed and his physical body was destroyed would he reluctantly send his Divine Soul into the opponent's Sea of Consciousness, obliterate their soul, and then seize their body.
The Green Ripple Sword soared into the air, colliding with a gray-white short sword launched by Lu Zhi.
Boom!
The void trembled as if a massive stone had crashed into a tranquil lake, sending shockwaves rippling outward in concentric circles.
The Green Ripple Sword was knocked back, while the gray-white short sword retreated to Lu Zhi's side.
Lu Zhi's expression darkened slightly. The gray-white short sword before him was no less powerful than his Fire Lotus, both being top-grade Magic Artifacts. Yet, despite their direct collision, his sword had only managed to hold its own against Han Yi's cyan-black longsword.
The sword facing him was undoubtedly of comparable quality to his own.
Could it even be a Half-Step Magic Treasure?
A flash of greed flickered in Lu Zhi's eyes.
This ambush, meticulously planned for over a year by the remaining Blood God Sect cultivators in Great Qian, was a sudden strike with a single objective: to loot everything and then flee to Great Yong to rebuild their sect.
However, their motives diverged. Some genuinely sought vengeance for their sect, while Lu Zhi, though seeking revenge, was primarily after personal gain.
He had no interest in relocating to Great Yong and rebuilding the Blood God Sect. Once he had amassed enough wealth, he planned to flee to Great Qin, use his resources to cultivate to the Golden Core Stage, and then consider his next move.
In short, his sole purpose here was to accumulate wealth.
Just then, another piercing sound tore through the air. Silver-white Sword Qi surged upward, trailing closely behind the falling Green Ripple Sword.
"Hmph."
Lu Zhi snorted lightly, his gray-white Sword Light erupted anew, shattering the silver-white Sword Qi in mid-air.
But in the next moment, his expression subtly shifted.
Silver-white Sword Qi scattered as the shattered sword artifact suddenly blazed with intense Spirit Light.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted, sending a shockwave through the air. Razor-sharp fragments of the sword artifact sliced through the space where Lu Zhi had stood moments before.
On the ground, Han Yi, who had detonated the Clear Spring Sword using his Divine Soul, suffered a backlash. However, his powerful Divine Soul allowed him to suppress the effects, his face only flushing slightly. Yet, in the next instant, his expression twisted in shock.
A blood-colored sword light descended from the heavens, plunging straight toward him.
In a blur of motion, Han Yi retreated over thirty meters.
In his former position, a cultivator slowly materialized.
High above, the Lu Zhi amidst the swarm of sword fragments was nothing more than an afterimage.
Just moments ago, with lightning speed, Lu Zhi had dropped to the ground and seized the opportunity created by Han Yi's self-destructive attack to launch a counterstrike.
"Such petty tricks? Daring to flaunt them before me? Utter foolishness," Lu Zhi sneered, shaking his head. His feigned panic earlier had been a deliberate act to lower Han Yi's guard.
Retreating thirty meters, Han Yi felt a chill in his heart. This opponent was far more formidable than he'd anticipated. His attempt to exploit a self-destruction of a Magic Artifact to create an opening had failed completely.
This tactic had served Han Yi well since his days in Heavenfall City. Yet today, he had encountered a cultivator who not only saw through his strategy but turned it against him. Though he had narrowly evaded the counterattack, he was deeply shaken.
Tactics and counter-tactics, exploitation and counter-exploitation—this was a game he hadn't mastered. He must never underestimate any cultivator.
The sense of impending danger sharpened in Han Yi's mind, but he refused to yield.
Spreading his fingers wide, spirit flames materialized in mid-air. The fiery torrent blanketed the sky, descending in a torrential surge that threatened to engulf Lu Zhi.
But a single sweep of gray-white Sword Qi shattered the flames, sending them scattering downward like sparks.
Then, the gray-white Sword Qi surged upward like a coiling dragon, streaking toward Han Yi with lethal intent.
This time, Han Yi dared not underestimate his opponent.
He layered ten layers of the Wind Wall Technique and Fire Shield Technique, forming a formidable Wind-Fire Shield.
Pfft, pfft...
The gray-white Sword Light pierced through eight layers of the shield before finally losing momentum.
Dozens of meters away, Lu Zhi's face twisted in astonishment for the first time. With a flick of his Divine Sense, he attempted to recall his sword artifact.
But Han Yi's eyes blazed with determination. This fleeting opportunity was too precious to waste.
A Spirit Talisman materialized in his hand: a First-Tier High-Grade Yin Thunder Talisman.
Even as he conjured the Fire Phoenix Shield, the Yin Thunder Talisman activated.
Its target wasn't Lu Zhi, dozens of meters away, but the Gray-White Sword Qi that had just pierced through eight layers of defensive shields.
Boom!
A thunderbolt struck the Sword Qi, revealing a short sword barely half a meter long.
The sword trembled as the Yin Thunder Talisman shattered the Divine Sense binding it. Stripped of refinement, the weapon became inert, unable to penetrate the Wind-Fire Shield, and clattered to the ground.
Lu Zhi's face paled. The shattered Divine Sense recoiled upon him, flushing his complexion crimson. He swallowed hard, forcefully suppressing the blood rising in his throat.
Han Yi's heart surged with triumph. Just as I suspected.
His Divine Soul was far stronger than Lu Zhi's. When he self-detonated the Clear Spring Sword, the backlash had been minimal. But the shattering of Lu Zhi's Divine Sense had inflicted a far greater toll, proving the clear disparity in their Divine Soul strength.
Han Yi deemed the exchange well worth it: sacrificing a Yin Thunder Talisman to cripple his opponent's Top-Grade Magic Artifact.
"Damn it!" Lu Zhi roared, his Divine Soul reeling from the impact.
With a furious cry, the second sword artifact beside him erupted in bloodlight. It shattered the space between them, hurtling over thirty meters in an instant, and unleashed a torrent of violent Spirit Energy toward Han Yi.
The tip of the Blood Sword seemed connected to a vast sea of blood. In Han Yi's vision, the blade radiated an overwhelming crimson glow, from which demonic creatures surged forth with soul-shattering howls, lunging toward him.
This sword artifact could assault the Divine Soul, its power rivaling even Mo Wen's Blood Sea Secret Art from their earlier confrontation.
Yet Han Yi's greatest strength lay in his Divine Soul. Such illusory visions of the Blood Sea held negligible influence over him.
With a swift motion of his left hand, a golden Magic Artifact materialized: the Golden Light Shuttle.
This was the first Top-Grade Magic Artifact Han Yi had ever acquired. Over a decade ago in Heavenfall City, he had nearly perished from its power, only surviving by concealing himself with a dagger and turning the tables. The Golden Light Shuttle had become his spoils of war.
Since obtaining the Golden Light Shuttle, Han Yi had only used this Magic Artifact at the Luo Clan Spirit Field, the Myriad Stars Sea, and outside Red Phoenix City.
But now, it was the most powerful Magic Artifact he could afford to sacrifice.
His eyes blazing with ferocity, Han Yi transformed the Golden Light Shuttle into a streak of golden light. It pierced the void, leaving a straight golden line in its wake as it collided with the Crimson Longsword.
At the moment of impact, Han Yi detonated the shuttle with his Divine Soul.
Boom!
The thunderous explosion of the Magic Artifact reverberated through the void.
Lu Zhi, standing dozens of meters away, staggered, tears of blood streaming from his eyes.
Though formidable, the Crimson Longsword was instantly crippled by the Golden Light Shuttle's self-destruction. Most of the sword's Divine Soul was obliterated, causing it to waver and fall back behind Lu Zhi.
A cruel smile flickered across Lu Zhi's face, quickly replaced by a flash of resentment. He cast one last deep look at Han Yi.
Then, with a wave of his hand, the crimson flames binding the Black Light Broken Sword contracted sharply, shooting between the two combatants with a whoosh. They engulfed the gray-white short sword, its Divine Sense still shattered by the Yin Thunder Talisman, before darting back to Lu Zhi, coalescing into a Fire Lotus.
Lu Zhi reached out and stored both the Fire Lotus and the gray-white short sword in his Storage Pouch.
Without hesitation, Lu Zhi turned and soared into the air, vanishing into the mountain forest with a whoosh.
To him, Han Yi was simply too tough a nut to crack—the effort wasn't worth the reward.
Having fought this far, Lu Zhi had a premonition that his opponent still had hidden cards. Instinctively, he sensed that Han Yi possessed a decisive trump card capable of guaranteeing victory.
Perhaps deploying this trump card would come at too great a cost, explaining why Han Yi had chosen to sacrifice two Top-Grade Magic Artifacts rather than unleash it.
Yet Lu Zhi knew that if Han Yi ever used it, his chances of survival would plummet to near zero.
Despite being only at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, Han Yi's Divine Soul strength surpassed even Lu Zhi's own at the Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage. Moreover, he wielded an arsenal of Magic Artifacts, having already revealed four: a Broken Sword, a silver-white sword artifact, a cyan-black sword artifact, and a Golden Light Shuttle.
The cultivator who had killed Han Xuxiao was no ordinary individual. When had the Profound Pill Sect ever produced such a formidable Early Foundation Establishment Stage expert?
As Lu Zhi vanished into the forest, a flicker of murderous intent crossed his eyes.
I can't kill him myself, but someone else certainly can.
Han Yi instantly recognized the Golden Light Shuttle. It was a Magic Artifact Yuan Changtian had given to his son, and its presence in the hands of a Profound Pill Sect cultivator made the causal connection obvious. Yuan Changtian would undoubtedly be highly motivated to hunt down this cultivator.
Lu Zhi's figure flickered as he plunged into the mountain forest, fleeing swiftly toward their agreed-upon rendezvous point.
Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, only Han Yi remained. He gasped for breath, his back drenched in cold sweat.
This had been the most perilous battle of his life, far more brutal than the clashes outside Red Phoenix City.
First, his Black Light Broken Sword had been suppressed, depriving him of his most powerful Magic Artifact. Then, he had been forced to self-detonate the Clear Spring Sword and Golden Light Shuttle, and unleash the Yin Thunder Talisman, barely managing to convince his opponent that cracking this tough nut would come at a tremendous cost—and might even result in his death—before forcing the retreat.
Han Yi dared not rest.
Han Yi sheathed the Green Ripple Sword behind him, then reconnected his Divine Sense to the Black Light Broken Sword. Channeling Blacklight, he soared into the sky and fled toward the town beyond the hills.
However, he didn't dare enter the town directly. Lu Zhi of the Blood God Sect had already found him there, proving that hiding within the settlement would likely lead to his discovery.
His only hope for safety lay in reaching White Crane City, the nearest Immortal City, where official cultivators from Great Qian were stationed.
Moreover, Lu Zhi's ability to track him likely stemmed from some causal art, similar to how Consultant Elder Gu Zhijing had located him before. If I survive this, I must cultivate a technique to disrupt Heavenly Secrets and causality, Han Yi resolved silently.
A faint flicker of cyan-black sword light carried him past the small town as he sped toward the Immortal City. Below, mortals gazed up at the departing Immortal Master, their hearts filled with envy.
High above, atop Blacklight, Han Yi fiercely suppressed the backlash from his recent battle. Guiding his flight at maximum speed, his Mana surged violently, transforming into a streak of light that flashed across the sky.