"Since you're ready, let's begin immediately."
Lin Yubai said with a focused expression.
As his voice faded, he picked up Ji Yuan and carried him on his back. Then, lightning surged around him, and in the next moment, he transformed into a golden bolt of lightning, speeding towards the distance.
Under his full exertion, his speed far surpassed the boost provided by the Divine Travel Talisman. In mere moments, he covered twenty to thirty zhang, unleashing a mighty aura.
Such a commotion naturally attracted attention from a li away. Let alone a demonic elder of the Third Realm, even ordinary cultivators of the First or Second Realm could sense such a palpable fluctuation.
In just a moment, a streak of light ascended into the sky, rapidly approaching, following the disturbance.
This was the most crucial step Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai had planned: to intentionally expose their tracks and lure the pursuers in another direction, buying time for others to escape to safety.
Such a method was naturally extremely perilous, but it was the best option left for the two of them.
Otherwise, in their current state, they would not be able to hold off the pursuers for long. In fact, the longer they fought, the greater the possibility of their demise.
However, Ji Yuan never expected that after he proposed such a plan, Lin Yubai would agree without a second thought, and even seem somewhat excited.
It was as if more thrilling matters held greater appeal to this person, making him seem less like a cultivator seeking eternal life and more like a crude martial artist from the jianghu.
"Your magical treasure is truly excellent. Could you sell me one?"
While speeding along, Lin Yubai suddenly spoke, his voice full of envy.
Although his killing power was immense, ranking among the top three among the inner sect prodigies, every time he used his lightning techniques, it consumed a large amount of spiritual energy.
Even though the cultivation method he practiced made his internal spiritual energy far more abundant than that of ordinary cultivators, when he engaged in combat, he often felt a lack of spiritual energy.
In fact, it was not just Lin Yubai; all the disciples of Lei Ze Peak were the same. This was why their relationship with Yun Xia Peak was the closest within the Nine Xuan Sect.
It was because the inheritance cultivation method of Yun Xia Peak was renowned for its profound and robust spiritual energy, and it could even infuse others' bodies with their own spiritual energy, allowing them to freely cast spells to defend themselves.
And now, Lin Yubai discovered something even more "useful" than the disciples of Yun Xia Peak.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "It's a unique magical treasure, requiring a matching cultivation method!"
As he spoke, a sense of helplessness arose in his heart. He couldn't understand why, in such a perilous situation, this person's thoughts were so erratic, instead of pondering how to escape the pursuers behind them, he was coveting his magical treasure.
Ignoring the other's incessant chatter, Ji Yuan channeled the spiritual energy accumulated in the Xuan Tian Soul Devouring Pagoda into his own body, continuously feeding it to sustain the consumption of his evasion technique.
At the same time, he also diverted a portion of his attention to slowly refine the elixirs in his abdomen, striving to restore his condition as quickly and as much as possible.
It had to be said that Lin Yubai's evasion technique was not only exceptionally fast but also incredibly swift. It even made it difficult for a cultivator of the Third Realm, who was traveling by artifact, to keep up.
The distance between them and the pursuers behind had gradually widened. If this trend continued, shaking off the people behind them would only be a matter of time.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two of them had indeed managed to shake off their pursuers and stopped by a marsh.
As soon as he deactivated his evasion technique, Lin Yubai collapsed onto the ground, silently circulating his cultivation method to recover his strength as much as possible.
Although his spiritual energy was abundant, this evasion technique had consumed a lot of his physical strength. Even with the continuous replenishment of spiritual energy, he could not resist the profound fatigue that washed over him.
Ji Yuan sighed, took out two or three bottles of elixirs, and fed them to the other person's mouth to help him recover his strength.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion. Ever since entering the underground dojo, he had been repeatedly forced into situations of breaking through and escaping.
Most of the time, he encountered enemies of equal or even superior strength. Now, he was even being chased by a cultivator of the Third Realm!
Fortunately, he had gained many opportunities on this journey, otherwise, the mere consumption from a few escapes would have made him wince.
Putting other things aside, the spiritual energy accumulated in the Xuan Tian Soul Devouring Pagoda alone, if sold, would fetch an astonishing sum.
"Recover quickly, who knows if that old devil will catch up!"
Ji Yuan shook his head, forcing himself to stop thinking about such matters for the moment. He then glanced at the bald youth still lying on the ground.
As soon as he said this, Lin Yubai immediately cried out, "It's not like you're the one doing all the running. Otherwise, you can carry me next time!"
He sat up from the ground, grumbled a few disgruntled words, and then focused on refining the elixirs he had consumed, restoring his significantly depleted strength.
Although he didn't want to suffer any disadvantage verbally, he also knew clearly that this was no time for joking.
After all, the person chasing them was a cultivator in the early stage of the Ming Dao Realm, and moreover, a disciple of Chi Yan Mountain of the demonic path. His cultivation was by no means comparable to ordinary cultivators.
Even though the other party was already seriously injured and had consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy, if he were to fight seriously, he could still easily kill cultivators from ordinary sects, let alone rogue cultivators or those from mountains and wilds.
Seeing Lin Yubai diligently refining the elixirs, Ji Yuan was not idle. He took out a set of formation-laying tools and quickly set up several layers of formations.
As if he felt it was still not enough, he even took out a large stack of talismans. Although they were of no rank, their sheer number was immense, about one hundred and twenty to thirty.
He scattered these talismans, hiding them in the ground, tree trunks, and even the treetops, and subtly linked them to the formations.
Then, feeling that the time was almost up, he woke up Lin Yubai, who was meditating and recovering. The two of them immediately sped away into the distance amidst a flash of lightning.
Almost as soon as they left, a streak of light appeared at this location – it was the demonic elder, piloting a willow leaf.
He scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes and then discovered the formations and talismans laid out here. He immediately let out a cold laugh and then pursued the lingering lightning.
However, after a moment, the man suddenly turned back, his face filled with suspicion.
As if he couldn't rest assured, after a moment's thought, he unleashed strands of magical power, violently dismantling the formations and talismans here.
However, as soon as his magical power descended, several explosive runes suddenly appeared, followed by a dazzling radiance, and a violent fluctuation surged towards the sky.
*Boom!!!*
As a loud explosion echoed, amidst the bright flames, thick smoke billowed upwards.
"How did you know that old geezer would definitely go and remove the formations?"
While speeding away, Lin Yubai asked curiously.
Ji Yuan shook his head, indicating that he didn't know whether the other party would be unable to resist removing the formations.
This was merely a minor arrangement he had made casually. If the other party fell into the trap, it would be great. Even if it couldn't harm his body, it could at least create some trouble.
Whether it was to delay time or to anger the other party, causing them to gradually lose their reason, it would be a good outcome.
However, since this old devil had triggered the self-destructing formation, Ji Yuan could at least be sure that this person was inherently suspicious. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to resist probing even when he knew there was a problem.
If that were the case, it would give him much more room to maneuver.
On the rest of their journey, Ji Yuan would occasionally ask Lin Yubai to stop. Firstly, it was to allow him to recover his strength, as spiritual energy, no matter how useful, could not restore lost physical stamina.
Secondly, it was to facilitate him in setting up small tricks, such as the previously detonating formations, or concealing their aura, or deliberately misleading, and so on.
For some arrangements, Ji Yuan deliberately made them very obvious, in order to make the other party suspicious. Even gaining a breath or two of time was considered a profit.
For some tricks, he deliberately made them very hidden, yet revealed a slight, reasonable flaw, so that the demonic elder might overlook them inadvertently.
In this way, while Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai fled for their lives ahead, explosions and angry roars would occasionally be heard from behind them.
"This is my first time... experiencing this feeling of being chased..."
After several such instances, Lin Yubai couldn't help but sigh.
As an inner sect prodigy of the Nine Xuan Sect, he hadn't always been diligently cultivating within the sect. He had also traveled outside from time to time.
During this period, he had naturally angered several powerful enemies, and being chased for thousands of li was commonplace. However, it seemed that none of those times were as... strange as today!
Clearly, he felt an urgent need to go faster, fearing being caught by the old devil behind them.
A seriously injured cultivator in the early stage of the Ming Dao Realm was not something a cultivator in the Spirit Gathering Realm could contend with. Even as a prodigy of the Nine Xuan Sect, there was not much hope.
Not to mention that he was also injured. Even with the enhancement of magical treasures, which filled his body with spiritual energy, it was still not the spiritual energy he had cultivated himself. There was still a significant difference.
But to say he was relaxed... he was indeed very relaxed!
With the spiritual energy from the Xuan Tian Soul Devouring Pagoda continuously available for him to squander, and with Ji Yuan's various elixirs to restore his stamina in the shortest possible time.
Furthermore, every time they stopped to "tease" him, this young man would set up layers of arrangements around them.
These arrangements, which seemed to have no effect, often served an unexpected purpose. And the old devil chasing them behind seemed to have lost his mind.
Even though he had already suffered a loss, he kept falling into the same traps. Not a single arrangement he had laid out had been missed; he had stepped on them all!
Lin Yubai couldn't help but sigh, thinking that this person, as a demonic cultivator, was indeed more persistent than ordinary people!
"Isn't it normal to set up some arrangements when being chased?"
Ji Yuan was somewhat confused. Although his experience in this regard was not much, or rather, almost non-existent, he did know a little.
However, as his words fell, both of them fell into silence.
"When you were chased before, did you just run blindly in one direction?"
After a long while, Ji Yuan couldn't help but ask.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yubai nodded with a complex expression. "It seems... that's how it was..."
Silence fell between them again, each filled with various emotions, not quite knowing what to say.
After about half an hour of this, Lin Yubai suddenly dispersed his lightning aura and deactivated his evasion technique.
"This is..."
Ji Yuan dismounted from his back and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, frowning as he looked into the distance.
They were now standing at the edge of a forest, facing an endless expanse of ruins. Countless mountains had collapsed, and the ground was covered with crisscrossing fissures.
The entire ruin was overgrown with luminescent plants. In the faint glow, they could glimpse a corner with their spiritual eyes.
And even just a corner of the ruins was larger than an ordinary prefecture-level city. The houses and buildings of the past were all buried in the dust.
Ji Yuan could hardly imagine how magnificent and prosperous this place must have been thousands of years ago!