Chapter 63: Relentless Pursuit
Translator: Cinder Translations
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After confirming that Yan Yiwen did not pursue him, Song Wen's tense heart relaxed somewhat.
The rapid jumping between trees had placed a great burden on his body, and now he felt somewhat weary.
However, he knew now was not the time to rest; he had to get as far away from the swamp as possible and return to the sect as quickly as possible.
He took out a Haste Talisman, slapped it on himself, and accelerated towards the direction of the sect.
He chose not to use the Flying Talisman again.
Firstly, outside the swamp, the trees in the mountains were no longer towering like before; there were many low bushes where flying too high would expose his trail.
Secondly, he didn't have many Flying Talismans left and needed to conserve them.
As a common talisman for Qi Refinement cultivators rushing on the road, the Haste Talisman provided a decent speed boost, almost doubling Song Wen's speed.
Moreover, the Haste Talisman lasted for a long time; one talisman could speed him up for about an hour.
Its only drawback was that, unlike the Flying Talisman, it couldn't allow cultivators to leap over valleys and rivers directly.
Song Wen hurried through the forest for about an hour, running over two hundred li of mountainous terrain.
Just as the Haste Talisman's effectiveness was about to expire, he was preparing to stop and find a hidden cave to rest.
His spiritual sense spread out, sensing several auras rapidly approaching from behind. One of the auras was very familiar, likely one of the Yan family members who had traveled with him on the large boat earlier in the morning.
"It looks like the Yan family defeated Ghost Three and the others. Now they're coming to hunt me down."
Song Wen thought anxiously.
Immediately, he took out another Haste Talisman and slapped it on himself. At the same time, he began to burn his essence blood, using the Blood Escape Technique. His running speed suddenly increased several times, quickly pulling away from the pursuers behind him.
The pursuers behind were led by Yan Feng and consisted of Yan family members.
They also used Haste Talismans, and their speed was faster than Song Wen's, so they caught up with him who had not dared to stop for a moment.
Seeing Song Wen's figure in the distance, Yan Feng couldn't help but feel pleased, saying,
"My fellow clan brothers and sisters, Ji Yin is just ahead. As long as we catch up and kill him, our family will surely reward us."
Hearing this, the others also became spirited, and their speed increased further.
However, they suddenly saw bursts of blood mist emanating from Song Wen's body, and then his speed increased dramatically, quickly widening the distance between them.
Seeing this scene, they couldn't help but feel dumbfounded. Why did Song Wen's speed suddenly increase?
Is this the speed that a Qi Refinement third layer cultivator can have?
Or perhaps Yan Feng, who had seen more, immediately recognized that Song Wen was using the Blood Escape Technique of the Corpse Demon Sect. It consumed essence blood at a rapid rate, and Song Wen couldn't maintain this speed for long.
He said, "Don't worry, everyone. This kid is using the Corpse Demon Sect's Blood Escape Technique, which rapidly burns his essence blood. It's not a concern."
Even so, as they watched Song Wen's figure getting farther and farther away and soon disappearing from sight, Yan Feng began to feel anxious.
They absolutely could not let Song Wen escape from their hands. If he really managed to escape, the Yan family would suffer cruel slaughter from the Corpse Demon Sect.
He added,
"I'll go chase after him first. You follow in that direction."
After saying this, Yan Feng's speed increased significantly, and he chased after Song Wen alone in the direction he had fled.
Yan Feng's cultivation was only one layer higher than the other five, but for some reason, his speed was much faster, almost comparable to a Qi Refinement eighth layer cultivator.
"Alright, we'll come after you," said a Yan family cultivator.
Yan Feng pursued at full speed, not slower than Song Wen's speed, barely keeping up with him.
"Ji Yin, give up! You can't escape from our Yan family's hands. Surrender, and I'll make it quick for you," Yan Feng shouted loudly.
Song Wen paid no attention to this, still focused on rushing forward.
In the blink of an eye, over a quarter of an hour passed, and the five Qi Refinement fifth layer Yan family cultivators were left far behind, completely out of sight.
Watching Song Wen's figure intermittently appear and disappear ahead, Yan Feng gritted his teeth with frustration, muttering,
"Damn it, let's see how much essence blood you have left to burn."
His Haste Talisman had already expired, so he reluctantly took out another one and slapped it on himself.
Another quarter of an hour passed, and Song Wen's speed showed no signs of slowing down. Blood energy still swirled around him as if he had an endless supply of essence blood.
Behind him, Yan Feng couldn't help but feel incredulous. How could a Qi Refinement third layer cultivator have so much essence blood to burn? It defied all logic.
Even for a body refining cultivator with abundant essence blood, they should have exhausted their essence blood long ago, leading to depletion and death.
As they continued the chase, Yan Feng became increasingly astonished. It seemed like Song Wen truly had an inexhaustible supply of essence blood, maintaining his speed without any decline.
In this manner, the two of them pursued each other for nearly another hour. The five Yan family cultivators behind them had long since disappeared without a trace.
Seeing that he couldn't shake off Yan Feng after such a long time, Song Wen began to feel anxious. Long periods of rushing had greatly depleted his spiritual power, leaving him with less than two li remaining.
"If this goes on, I'll eventually be caught by Yan Feng due to insufficient spiritual power."
Song Wen, at Qi Refinement fifth layer in spiritual power cultivation, was stronger than Yan Feng. At this moment, he could clearly sense Yan Feng's situation.
After experiencing a major battle earlier and now a prolonged pursuit, Yan Feng's condition was not good either, with at most three li of spiritual power left.
"Maybe I have a chance to kill him," Song Wen thought to himself.
Immediately, a seal appeared silently in his right palm, while he held a black sphere in his left hand.
Then, he began to retract the blood energy around him, pretending to be in a state of low essence blood.
Seeing this scene from behind, Yan Feng couldn't help but feel pleased.
Initially, he had pursued Song Wen solely for the sake of his family, wanting to eliminate this huge threat to the family. However, upon witnessing the unusually abundant essence blood on Song Wen's body, he began to have ulterior motives. He wanted to intercept Song Wen, preferably capturing him alive, to obtain the secrets on Song Wen's body.
"Ji Yin, surrender and come back to the Yan family with me. Perhaps the patriarch will spare your life," Yan Feng tempted.
He feared that if Song Wen fought to the death, he wouldn't be able to stop him. If that happened, the secrets on Song Wen's body would likely disappear with his death.
(End of the Chapter)
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