In the wilderness.
Xu Qing's body was nimble as he sped forward.
He had been running for two days. Due to his recovery ability, Xu Qing did not feel the fatigue that others would feel from running continuously.
He even felt as though his body was completely relaxed.
During this period, he had also noticed the figures of the Vajra Sect cultivators who wore the same clothes as the camp master from afar. However, due to his careful dodging and speed, he had managed to avoid them.
At this moment, when he was only a day away from his destination, Deer Horn City, Xu Qing had also reached a fork in the road ahead.
On the left was the city that he had lived in for six years. It had now become a forbidden zone, and from afar, it was pitch-black in the evening.
In the other direction was Deer Horn City.
Standing there, Xu Qing turned his head to look in the direction of the forbidden zone. After a few breaths of silence, his body flickered and he was about to rush toward Deer Horn City. However, at this moment, his expression changed. He instantly crouched down and hid in the bushes.
Narrowing his eyes, Xu Qing raised his head to look at the distant sky.
Over there, a golden rainbow was whizzing past.
Because it was too far away, Xu Qing could only see the dazzling golden light and could not see the figure inside clearly. However, the other party's spiritual energy fluctuation was the same as the camp master's, and it was even more intense. This made his heart tremble.
"This pressure has surpassed the camp master's …"
It was only when the rainbow was far away that Xu Qing took a deep breath and hesitated.
In the past two days, he had encountered three waves of Vajra Sect cultivators. He had carefully avoided them all, but it was clear that this time he felt the most dangerous.
"If I continue forward, I can reach Deer Horn City in a day …" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. He knew that his current advantage was that no one knew that he had the Seven Blood Eyes token on him.
This way, it would be difficult to guess his destination.
However, he had another advantage, and that was that he did not care about the rich heterogeneity in the forbidden zone. If he was careful, he could live there for a long time.
The advantage of the former was that he had to move quickly and catch the Vajra Sect off guard. There was a high probability that he could teleport away from Deer Horn City.
However, there was also a disadvantage. If he was discovered on his way to Deer Horn City, this advantage would immediately be shattered. It would be easy for others to guess his destination, and his own safety would be threatened.
The advantage of the latter was that he could stall for time.
Once the Vajra Sect was tired and relaxed, it would be more convenient for him to use the former's advantage and safely head to Deer Horn City. Moreover, if he encountered any danger during this period of time, he would have room to maneuver within the forbidden zone.
"Two methods, two choices …" Xu Qing muttered.
While he was analyzing the pros and cons in his heart, the golden light that had disappeared into the distance suddenly appeared again, and this time, it was even faster.
This abnormal scene caused Xu Qing to immediately frown. He hid himself and observed carefully. When the golden light flew past in the distance, it clearly slowed down a lot.
This allowed Xu Qing to clearly see the figure within the golden light. It was a middle-aged cultivator.
There was a rune stuck to the man's right leg, which was emitting spiritual waves, as if it was supporting his body to fly.
There was a talisman paper in front of him, which was the source of the golden light.
At that moment, the talisman paper was constantly flashing with light. There was actually a vague figure within it. Upon closer inspection, that figure was surprisingly the guard of the Camp Master's residence that Xu Qing had killed.
It was as if his soul was searching around like a hunting dog in the golden light.
The middle-aged Cultivator's speed grew slower and slower, as if he were looking around. After a long moment, he changed directions and continued his search.
This scene caused Xu Qing's heart to thump.
"Talisman treasure!"
He recognized the two talismans. Although he didn't know the details, he could roughly guess what they were used for.
"You're using the people I've killed to sense my existence?
But it's obvious that the range isn't very large, and the sense is vague … "Xu Qing took a deep breath. He was deeply aware of the mysteries and mysteries of this magical technique. At that moment, he began to analyze the pros and cons in his heart.
"I can't continue on to Deer Horn City. The chances and risks of being discovered in an entire day are extremely high. If I'm discovered, not only will I be in danger, my destination will also be exposed." Xu Qing made his decision. Taking advantage of the fact that his opponent was far away, he dashed in the direction of the forbidden zone.
He was prepared to hide there for a while before making a decision.
Xu Qing sped along. Not long after, when he was only about the time it takes an incense stick to burn away from the forbidden zone, the golden light appeared in the sky behind him.
Xu Qing immediately hid. When he turned his head to look, his pupils constricted.
The golden light seemed to have locked onto him. It suddenly sped up and headed straight for him. There was also a sword beam whistling toward him at an even faster speed.
Xu Qing's face flickered, and he stopped dodging. His body flickered.
In the instant that he left, a boom could be heard as the sword beam slammed into the spot he had just been hiding in. Dirt and dirt flew up in all directions, and a massive shockwave spread out.
At the same time, the golden light closed in on him, accompanied by a cold snort.
"I finally found you, you whelp! So, this is where you wanted to come!"
As the golden light closed in, the figure of the middle-aged man became clear.
He had a square face, and wore a long golden robe. He was of average height and appearance, but his eyebrows were extremely thick, making him stand out.
Beneath those thick eyebrows, his eyes were cold and filled with killing intent as he looked in Xu Qing's direction.
Almost as soon as he lowered his head to look, Xu Qing stomped his right foot on the ground and leaped into the air with a boom. He charged towards the middle-aged man in the air with a whistling sound.
The middle-aged Cultivator laughed coldly. The first time he had passed through this area, the tracking talisman had reacted strangely. Therefore, he had searched carefully, and now he had finally locked onto Xu Qing. Seeing that Xu Qing was approaching, he flew up into the air.
Once he was high enough that Xu Qing couldn't reach him, the momentum behind him dissipated, and he began to fall. The middle-aged Cultivator lifted his right hand.
A tempest appeared around him, and he waved his finger.
In an instant, the storm descended, directly drowning Xu Qing's figure within.
A boom could be heard as Xu Qing landed miserably on the ground. His body flickered as he shot toward the forbidden zone.
The middle-aged Cultivator was just about to give chase when a cold glow flashed out from Xu Qing. It transformed into a dagger that shot toward him with shocking speed.
The Cultivator's eyes narrowed, and he flew up into the air to avoid it.
"Paltry tricks!"
Xu Qing looked deeply at the middle-aged Cultivator. He didn't say anything, but instead, shot forward at top speed.
He had already realized that he was no match for this person.
If this person couldn't fly, he would be able to fight back and drag him to death.
But against an opponent who could fly, Xu Qing didn't have much of a choice.
One was in the sky, the other was on the ground. He didn't have any advantage in a fight like this.
Xu Qing shot forward with all the speed he could muster. Behind him, the golden-robed man laughed coldly. He took out a jade slip and sent a message to the Patriarch. Then he sped up, performing an incantation gesture and sending out beams of magical light toward the ground.
As the Grand Elder of the ninth level of Qi Condensation, his spiritual power was abundant, and he had mastered many magical techniques.
From a distance, it was possible to see wind blades and fireballs raining down on Xu Qing, who was running on the ground. Even if he tried to dodge, he would still be caught in the crossfire. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.
"The Patriarch is too cautious," said the middle-aged Cultivator with a cold laugh. "There's no need for him to come. I'll be able to kill you myself."
Despite his words, he didn't land on the ground. Even though Xu Qing was in a difficult situation, he maintained his altitude. He performed an incantation gesture with both hands, causing the tempest to rise up again.
Killing intent flickered in Xu Qing's eyes. Being forced into such a passive position caused his desire to kill to grow even stronger.
However, he was well aware that although his opponent seemed to be alone, he had some way of contacting the Sect. If he didn't get into the forbidden zone as quickly as possible, then the other members of the Vajra Sect would arrive, and his situation would become even more dangerous. That was especially true of the fact that his opponent had mentioned the Patriarch. Xu Qing's heart trembled.
However, his opponent didn't lower his altitude, which made it impossible for Xu Qing to fight back. He had tried to show weakness on several occasions, but had never been able to lure his opponent down.
"This guy is too cautious," thought Xu Qing. "I can't wait any longer."
Having reached this point in his train of thought, Xu Qing's eyes flickered with violet light. Even as his opponent's tempest descended, enveloping him, a violet saber image suddenly appeared within the tempest.
Within the tempest, Xu Qing coughed up a mouthful of blood as he endured the damage from his opponent's magical technique.
Then, the Heavenly Saber appeared and slashed down.
An intense sensation of deadly crisis rose up in the heart of the middle-aged Cultivator. His face flickered, and he retreated at top speed, using the power of a flight talisman to fly up into the air.
The moment he flew up into the air, the void below him began to rumble. The saber image arrived, as if it could cut through everything. It whistled past him by a hair's breadth.
If he had dodged just a bit slower, or if he had lowered his altitude, then the saber image would have cut him down like a bolt of lightning.
Although he had managed to avoid death, his left foot was still struck by the saber image, causing it to shatter into a bloody mess.
Enduring the intense pain, the middle-aged Cultivator began to pant. His eyes were filled with intense killing intent, but his heart was filled with vigilance and lingering fear. He knew that if he didn't have the flight talisman, he would have been severely injured, if not killed.
"The Patriarch was right. This kid is strange!"
On the ground, Xu Qing wiped the blood from his mouth and looked coldly at the middle-aged Cultivator's mangled left foot. Suppressing the regret in his heart, he turned and sped back toward the forbidden zone.
The middle-aged Cultivator was in unbearable pain. After sealing his wound, he looked down at Xu Qing. Although the killing intent in his heart was strong, he hesitated for a moment and didn't dare to approach. Instead, he increased his altitude and used a spell to interfere.
He wasn't going to attack alone. Compared to completing the sect's mission, his own life was more important. Therefore, he planned to delay. Even if Xu Qing wanted to enter the forbidden zone, he would allow it to happen.
"When the Patriarch comes, this kid will die!"
Therefore, he didn't dare to approach. Although his spells hurt Xu Qing, Xu Qing's recovery speed was astonishing, so it didn't affect him much. He continued to move faster and faster.
When Xu Qing saw the edge of the forbidden zone, his body flickered and he quickly stepped inside.
Outside the forbidden zone, the middle-aged Cultivator paused in midair. Just as he was hesitating about whether or not he should chase after Xu Qing, heavenly lightning suddenly appeared in the sky behind him. Rumbling sounds echoed as two figures flew toward him.
The former wore a red robe and had white hair that fluttered in the wind.
He didn't look imposing at all. Behind him was the Vajra Sect's Patriarch.
The latter was another Elder of the Vajra Sect. The two of them quickly approached one after the other.