A Chase Across the Plains

Han Li followed behind Nanlong Hou and the others, finally flying out of the massive wind formation that stretched for dozens of li. During this entire time, not a single Dharma Warrior had appeared to block them. It was clear that someone had given orders to let them pass.

This reminded Han Li of the anomaly he had inadvertently discovered while breaking through the禁制.

As it happened, it was quite a coincidence.

Back then, unable to penetrate the surrounding sandstorm with his divine sense, he had no choice but to channel spiritual power into his eyes and test the abilities of his Bright Essence Spirit Pupils.

After all, he had already washed his eyes with Bright Essence Spirit Water many times. It was time to see what effect it had.

The result far exceeded his expectations. The yellow, hazy sandstorm, under a single sweep of his spiritual pupils, became as clear as glass.

He was overjoyed.

But then he became puzzled. Because within the wind and sand not far away, he saw a round, black shadow lurking inside, a full ten-zhang in diameter.

Startled, he let the spiritual power in his eyes fade. The black shadow disappeared with it. What he saw with his naked eye was still a sea of sand.

Frowning, he used his spiritual pupil technique again. The black shadow reappeared in its original position, as if it had never vanished.

This time, Han Li channeled more spiritual power into his eyes. The black shadow grew slightly clearer, and he could vaguely see several human figures moving within it.

Pouring in even more spiritual power after that yielded no further improvement. It seemed that this was the limit of his Bright Essence Spirit Pupils.

By now, however, Han Li understood. Someone was using a technique to conceal their presence and spy on them from nearby.

He had no idea what astonishing technique this was, capable of fooling even Nascent Soul cultivators, but the only people who could appear here were Dharma Warriors.

It seemed the other party knew that their group was too powerful to confront head-on and was merely observing from the shadows.

As a result, Han Li did not expose their presence. He simply pretended not to notice and left.

He doubted they would have the nerve to come out and block them now.

Once they left the yellow sand wind formation, Han Li and the others immediately spurred their遁光. The group transformed into a chain of brilliant rainbows, tearing through the sky at full speed.

They had managed to slip past the Dharma Warrior vanguard, but the main force would arrive soon.

If they failed to escape this yellow loess wilderness within a short time, their lives would truly be in danger.

Whether a high-ranking cultivator from the Dharma Warrior army targeted them alone, or countless Dharma Warriors swarmed them all at once, they would not be able to handle it.

Thus, Nanlong Hou and the others said nothing, merely gritting their teeth and increasing their speed.

With their profound cultivation bases, after pushing their speed for only half a day, they could finally see a patch of green on the distant horizon. They had reached the edge of the Moulan grasslands.

“Alright, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. It seems this journey was perilous but ultimately safe.” Nanlong Hou, who was leading the way, let out a long breath, a hint of a smile appearing on his face as he slowed his遁速.

Maintaining such a high expenditure of magical power for this long was taxing even for him. The others were in similar straits and slowed down as well.

“Indeed. Nothing happened even once we got here. Even if those Moulan people regret it now, they won’t be able to catch up to us,” the dark-faced man said lightly, clearly believing they were out of danger.

“Don’t let your guard down. There are many formidable characters among the Dharma Warriors, and some of their abilities are truly… Huh?” The white-robed elder started to speak, then let out a light exclamation of surprise, looking back with a puzzled expression.

Han Li’s heart stirred. Just as he was about to say something, a piercing whistling sound came faintly from the distant rear.

In the blink of an eye, the strange, shrill sound grew three times louder.

Everyone’s expression changed dramatically. They all turned to look behind them.

On the far horizon, a white light flickered. A seemingly small light orb was hurtling towards them at a speed that left them utterly stunned.

It was moving with unbelievable speed!

“Damn it! This is the Dharma Warrior’s Wind Chariot. The ones riding inside must be Dharma Warriors of the same rank as us. Otherwise, they would never dare to pursue us,” the white-robed elder recognized the incoming object at a glance, his expression shifting to one of alarm and anger.

“There are five Dharma Warriors inside, all of them Nascent Soul existences just like us. It seems they aren’t trying to defeat us, but to stall for time until reinforcements arrive,” Wang Tiangu said after scanning it with his divine sense, his face also darkening.

“We can’t get bogged down in a fight with them. There are five Dharma Warriors on the other side. We can’t defeat them quickly. And once we start fighting, we won’t be able to escape. Let’s split up and each use our own abilities to fend for ourselves. Here are some jade slips, one for each of you. Each one has an address recorded inside. Three days after we separate, we’ll meet up at this location.” Nanlong Hou hurriedly finished speaking, then took out several identical jade slips from his bosom and tossed one to each person.

In the brief moment this took, the distant Wind Chariot was already clearly visible.

“Fellow Daoists, take care. See you in three days.” Nanlong Hou wasted no more time. A golden light enveloped his body as he shot off at a diagonal angle.

The white-robed elder’s face was overcast as he transformed into a streak of white light and flew off in a completely different direction from Nanlong Hou.

The old woman and the others took their jade slips without a word, each quickly employing secret techniques to scatter in all directions.

The dark-faced man’s entire body erupted with several feet of pale yellow spirit flame. He dove towards the ground below and vanished into the earth without a trace, using an Earth Escape technique.

The old woman, meanwhile, had a silvery-white hairpin appear in her hand, gleaming with silver light. She blew a breath of spiritual Qi onto this treasure, and a white-feathered spirit crane, enveloped in white light, materialized before her.

With a flash of her figure, the old woman, trembling slightly, stood on the crane’s back. With a long cry from the crane, both master and steed were already over a hundred zhang away.

As for the cold-faced You cultivator, a brilliant silver light radiated from his body. He made a hand sign and seemed to merge with some treasure, transforming into a silver flood dragon that tore through the sky, disappearing into the clouds above.

Wang Tiangu, Wang Chan, and Yan Ruyan used some unknown Ghost Spirit Sect secret technique to transform together into a single thick black beam of light, flying off attached to one another.

In an instant, they were just a black dot in the distance. Their escape speed was truly awe-inspiring.

Han Li was not slow either. Almost as soon as he had taken the jade slip from Nanlong Hou, a crimson flash of light appeared, and a bright red cape materialized on his body.

He chose a direction and, without a moment’s hesitation, poured a massive amount of spiritual power into the cape.

A buzzing sound emanated from the cape. It radiated intense red light as Han Li transformed into a blood-colored streak, shooting forward at a speed no slower than anyone else’s. He even had the leisure to turn his head and glance at the pursuing Wind Chariot.

Although the chariot was still far away, with Han Li’s powerful divine sense, he could see it clearly in an instant.

This treasure had a truly bizarre appearance!

It looked like a pure white, square beast-drawn chariot, but there were no spirit beasts pulling it from the front and no wheels beneath it. Instead, from each side of the chariot’s walls extended a wooden wing, seven or eight zhang long, a dark crimson color. Runes drifted across them as five-colored, iridescent light flowed continuously.

Han Li looked a few more times and was surprised to discover that the entire Wind Chariot, pristine white and finely textured, was crafted from some unknown type of beast bone. It faintly emanated a fierce, baleful aura.

Blocked by the white light, Han Li could only vaguely make out a few figures sitting inside the chariot.

Since he had never fought Dharma Warriors before, Han Li did not dare to casually probe the Wind Chariot with his divine sense. Instead, he turned his head forward, once again urging the blood-red cape on his body, and headed straight towards the south, in the direction of the Moulan grasslands.

In the span of a few breaths, Han Li and the other eight people had each flown over a dozen li away.

The Wind Chariot, however, had chased them right to the point where they had just separated. This made Han Li, against his own will, turn his head back to look at it once more.

The Wind Chariot stopped abruptly. Then, with a few flashes of white light, four figures of varying appearances descended from the chariot, one after another. Three men and one woman.

These four Dharma Warriors gathered together, exchanged a few words, then split into four, each chasing after Nanlong Hou and the others.

And in Han Li’s direction, no one had come to pursue him.

Seeing this, Han Li felt a moment of relief. Just as he was about to breathe a long sigh of relief, a thought struck him, and he suddenly cried out “Damn it!” in his heart.

Almost at the same time, the previously stationary Wind Chariot flashed with intense white light several times before shooting directly towards Han Li.

The sharp, explosive sound was like a brain-piercing demonic wail, causing Han Li’s expression, hidden within the blood light, to turn extremely ugly.

But then, Han Li let out a cold snort. The light surrounding his body began to blaze brightly. Han Li’s flight speed increased by a third, and the blood-red cape itself began to emit a low, humming buzz.

Two balls of light, one blood-red in front and one white behind, separated by a distance of over a dozen li, began a chase.

The Dharma Warrior’s Wind Chariot was certainly astonishingly fast, but the blood-red cape on Han Li’s body was no ordinary treasure either.

The two were locked in a stalemate, unable to close the distance for a time.

In moments, one after the other, they plunged into the vast grasslands. Soon, the two orbs of light disappeared from the sky above the prairie’s edge, the chase extending deep into the grasslands.

(Trouble came up, so only one chapter today.)

(Chapter End)