Frost Prefecture.
War had erupted on the ground below, where cultivators from opposing sides clashed fiercely. Yet, abruptly, looks of sheer terror washed over them all.
The fighting ceased as everyone gazed upward, sensing two powerful Void Refining auras closing in—one in pursuit, the other in flight.
It was only after those suffocating, quagmire-like presences had faded into the distance that the combatants, now drenched in cold sweat, dared to resume their slaughter.
"Just who is this expert? Why hunt me so relentlessly?"
Zhao Tingyu, a man of handsome and refined features, slashed his saber forward.
A rift tore open in the empty air before him; he dove into it, and by the time he re-emerged, he was already far in the distance.
Yet, even with this escape, Zhao Tingyu's expression remained grim.
His Divine Soul perceived that, despite concealing his aura and constantly shifting his course, the aura of that zombie behind him still clung to his trail like a vengeful ghost!
"Who exactly is it? Who?!!"
Zhao Tingyu let out a furious roar.
In this chaotic world, the Zhao Clan had six Clan Elders; three managed internal affairs, and three managed the external.
Ever since Zhao Tingyu restored his cultivation to the Void Refining realm, he had been constantly traveling abroad for the sake of his family, seeking resources to support their million clansmen.
However, the Imperial Capital's Immortal Suppression Pavilion monitored all cultivators at the Divinity Transformation realm and above throughout the world, so he was forced to conceal his tracks and act with extreme caution.
Even when the Zhao Clan took root in the Duravia Trade Prefecture, he remained outside, searching for Heavenly Materials, Earthly Treasures, and spirit mines.
Three months ago, war broke out between his family and the Azure Cloud Li Clan, and the clan summoned him back.
Yet at that very same time, a black-robed figure—half-human, half-zombie—began to hunt him down without a word!
No matter what methods he used or how he fled, that person was always able to follow close behind.
Three months had passed. That person said nothing, trailing him like a cat toying with a mouse, attacking him intermittently. To call him a leech would not be an exaggeration.
"Here it comes again, here it comes!"
A bloody hand shattered the void, clawing straight toward Zhao Tingyu.
"Who exactly are you? What grudge do I have with you?!"
The long saber in Zhao Tingyu's hand was a Dharma Treasure.
He slashed out, and just like the strike that had shattered space moments ago, a black spatial rift tore open the sky, extending into the distance.
But then...
In the very spot where the space had been torn open, a black-robed figure clearly appeared.
Behind him surged a crimson Sea of Blood. The blade had landed solidly, cleaving diagonally across the figure's body.
Yet, as the blood from the sea behind him flowed into his form, his body—which had been split completely in two—began to sprout wriggling fleshy tendrils, knitting itself back together.
The opponent continued to stare at him quietly. But this time, the man smiled, speaking his first words after three months of pursuit.
"Almost there."
...
"Madman!"
Zhao Tingyu turned his head and immediately fled.
The technique this person cultivated was clearly no different from that of Fairy Bai.
While Zhao's long saber could sever anything, he most dreaded this type of boundless spiritual power—opponents who required a vast amount of time to kill.
This was especially true given that every one of his own techniques consumed a massive amount of energy!
Once again, he tore through the void to escape.
Zhao Tingyu sensed his location.
In the distance, he saw a continuous range of towering mountains and dense forests separating the two prefectures.
Once he crossed that mountain range, he would be in the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
"Just wait until I return to the clan. With the three Old Ancestors present, we will surely make this person lose his life in my Duravia Trade Prefecture!"
Zhao Tingyu gritted his teeth, yet a trace of unease flashed through his heart.
Zhao Wan had lost her life in the Imperial Capital, and his clan was already at war with the Li family.
Three months ago, the family had urged him to return home quickly, and it was at that exact moment that this madman had come for him.
Even though the clan had been certain at the time that the Li family possessed no Void Refining cultivators, he could not help but suspect that this person had an inescapable connection to the Li family—so much so that the pursuer was trying every method to stall him, preventing him from returning.
But by now, he could hold on no longer.
After three months of flight, he did not possess a Sea of Blood like his opponent to ceaselessly restore his spiritual power.
If he continued to flee, he feared... his life would end at the Yellow Springs!
Beyond the high mountains lay the Duravia Trade Prefecture; the clan's Grotto-Heaven was not far away.
Yet, the closer he drew, the more an inexplicable unease grew in Zhao Tingyu's heart.
"Closer, getting closer. As long as I return, every crisis can be resolved. Faster, just a little faster!"
Having toiled abroad for so many years, never had Zhao Tingyu felt such a desperate longing to return home, like an arrow flying toward its target.
He could even sense the gathering auras of cultivators in the Duravia Trade Prefecture, as well as the bloodline resonance of his kinsmen.
As long as he made it back, he could stand with his clan to face the crisis brought by the Azure Cloud Li Clan.
He finally crossed the mountain range that isolated the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
Coming into view were ten immortal mountains—the Ethereal Immortal Sect, a Void Refining power allied with his family. Grand Elder Puci was there!
Just as Zhao Tingyu's eyes brightened, ready to call out to Grand Elder Puci, a dazzling brilliance erupted from the Ethereal Immortal Sect, and the smile that had just begun to lift the corners of his mouth gradually froze.
He saw Grand Elder Puci, and he also saw... those ten spiraling immortal mountains and Grand Elder Puci's Void Refining spiritual power!
"Ethereal Immortal Techniques."
"Suppress!"
Following the hand seals formed by Grand Elder Puci, those ten immortal mountains actually shattered the space within a ten-mile radius.
In a flash of brilliance, as ten divine statues holding whisks manifested, Zhao Tingyu was instantly pulled into the Void Refining Space!