White-Robed Chief

They were a hundred meters apart and Chu Li’s back could be seen clearly. For Grandmasters, a distance of 100 meters was as short as an arm’s length, and yet this was the distance that they were unable to cross.

They refused to give up. They wanted to see how long more Chu Li could maintain this speed. They deduced that he should not be able to last much longer because he had cast secret skills.

Chu Li did not want to give up either; he too wanted to see how long they could keep up with him. Everyone was sprinting at lightning speed. The trio began a long chase that stretched on for an entire day. Despite that, Chu Li was not even the slightest bit exhausted. Along with his seemingly endless inner energy, he seemed to have gained infinite stamina as well.

Nevertheless, the body and the inner energy were not quite the same. Sometimes, though there may be inner energy left, the body may no longer be able to bear it. After all, the body was made up of flesh and blood and had its own limits.

However, his Heavenly Demonic Power was currently at the peak of Level Seven and was on the brink of breaking through into Level Eight. Including the numerous divine techniques and spirit pills, his body had been transformed beyond the limits of any mortal being.

At dusk of the second day, the two elders became a little impatient as anxiety began to kick in.

They felt that this Zhe Ying was too clever. It felt like he could infiltrate their thoughts. Before they were able to strike him from both sides, he immediately knew what they were going to do and changed his direction in advance, thus thwarting their attack. This kid was as slippery as a fish. He had gotten on their nerves but there was nothing they could do.

No matter how exceptional their secret skills were, it would all be useless if they could not even catch up to him. On paper, they had the advantage, but Zhe Ying’s Light-body Technique was quite strong as well. Their superiority in cultivation level was leveled by his ingenuity.

They could only gnash their teeth and continue the chase. Flames of anger burned inside them. They did not believe that this kid could carry on forever, especially after he had cast secret skills.

Chu Li felt helpless too for he could not display his divine powers right now as it would give away his identity. If that happened, he would land himself into trouble.

He was never concerned that he had showcased his Petrifying Finger because it could just be a martial art that he had learned from outside. It was common practice for Heavenly Demonic Sect disciples to learn martial arts from sources outside their sect. In fact, plenty of their disciples learned various unique martial arts from the other famed sects. It was also why all the other sects despised them and why the other sects tried so hard to suppress them.

However, this kind of divine power was not something anyone could have cultivated. Moreover, there were only a few people who had been able to complete its cultivation. In fact, that number was so small that it could be counted with the fingers of one hand. They could easily track him down.

He could only depend on his Life and Death Scripture and his endless inner energy to exhaust these two old men.

Besides, he had a backup plan. If he could break through into Level Eight in the process, he could make use of that and devour their blood cores. With that, he might be able to advance to Level Nine.

Once that occurred, he would be considered as one of the rare few martial arts masters in the world. Coupled that with his Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique, he would stand a greater chance at fleeing those Enlightened Masters. With that, he need not worry so much about restricting himself anymore when assassinating King An.

He kept initiating Light-body Technique to speed up. He also resorted to rounding corners from time to time to avoid getting attacked from the flanks by his two pursuers.

Chu Li noticed that the two elders’ energy levels were gradually waning. After all, continuous use of Light-body Technique like what they were doing currently was incredibly exhausting. Though a Grandmaster’s inner energy was infinite, it could not withstand such consumption. By the end of the day, they were almost completely depleted of inner energy.

Soon, it was sunset, and the sun cast its golden rays upon Chu Li’s face. Suddenly, he smiled. There was a small town about ten kilometers away. The chance to get rid of them had finally arrived!

He made a beeline for the small town and in no time at all, he was inside the city. Then, a huge and towering Tree of Life and Death appeared out of nowhere in his mind. It was thicker and bigger than even most supernatural beings.

Once the Tree of Life and Death had emerged, his body was instantly drained dry. All the force in his body had completely dissipated. Only a trace of Heavenly Demonic Energy was left, which was then infused into the Heavenly Demonic Stone to activate the Demon Hunting Technique.

Chu Li was overjoyed with the results as the Tree of Life and Death was able to isolate Heavenly Demonic Energy.

The Heavenly Demonic Stone was not able to sense his presence as it was isolated entirely by the Scripture of Life and Death. With this in place, there was no way the two elders could possibly find him.

In the blink of an eye, Chu Li sneaked into the crowd like a fish. He then turned into a commoner, no longer using his Light-body Technique.

The two elders who were trailing behind him dashed into the town hurriedly. Unfortunately, just as they stepped foot onto a roof, they realized that Chu Li had already blended into the crowd and vanished.

A pursuit inside a town was very different from a pursuit outside town. Before this, they had a close eye on Chu Li. Despite being a hundred meters behind, they were not afraid even if he pulled any tricks. There was not much he could do outside the town but once inside, a hundred meters was a huge disparity. They were not prepared for this situation.

Hence, they initiated the Demon Hunting Technique only to find that Chu Li could not be sensed.

Their expressions immediately changed.

“What kind of secret skills did this kid learn? How did he block off his Heavenly Demonic Energy?”

“This is no good!”

Their facial expressions morphed into something awful.

Looking for a person without the aid of special senses was like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially if that person was proficient in Heavenly Demonic Power since they would be able to change their appearance at will.

At that moment, they realized there was no way they could capture Zhe Ying now.

They were a team of two Level Eight Masters working together, yet they still managed to let Zhe Ying escape. They simply had no face to return to the Heavenly Demonic Sect.

“What now?” Yu Xuanshi frowned. “We can’t just let him get away, right?”

“Is there any other way?” Jiang Ziwen shook his head in disbelief.

The two elders were standing on a roof that overlooked the crowd on the street. Each one of them looked like Zhe Ying, but upon closer inspection, they did not.

“It seems that we need the other elders here!” Yu Xuanshi sighed.

Jiang Ziwen slowly nodded. “This kid really is a tough one. What kind of secret skill is this?”

Yu Xuanshi furrowed his eyebrows and said, “There are a few things that can conceal Heavenly Demonic Energy. This kid may have gotten one, which explains why he dared to challenge us. He knew that we couldn’t catch him!”

“Could it be that he obtained the sarira of an eminent monk?” Jiang Ziwen frowned. “That’s impossible, right?”

“It’s very possible!… He hid an eminent monk’s sarira here, it seems that he long planned to make his escape here.” Yu Xuanshi scornfully continued, “It’ll be foolproof by the time he retrieves the eminent monk sarira to block off his Heavenly Demonic Energy. Oh, what a cunning kid!”

The two elders were dejected.

They had painstakingly given chase for a day and a night, and when it seemed like they were close to catching him, he had escaped. This feeling of grievance made them angry but they had nowhere to vent that anger.

“We chased him for a day and a night, let’s find a place to rest. We can get something to eat first,” Yu Xuanshi said.

Jiang Ziwen nodded.

The two came to a restaurant where they ordered some food and drank a few cups of wine to lift their spirits. After a hearty meal, they found themselves an inn to rest in.

They cast the Demon Hunting Technique the entire time in slim hopes that maybe they could pick up on Chu Li.

However, they were unable to sense any Heavenly Demonic Energy until they were lying on their beds inside the inn.

The Heavenly Demonic Stone was a rare item and was almost never seen outside the Heavenly Demonic Sect. The two were already outside the sect when they received an urgent message and had rushed to the scene. Hence, they did not bring the Heavenly Demonic Stone with them.

However, once a person achieved Level Eight Heavenly Demonic Power, as long as the Demon Hunting Technique was cast, one could naturally sense any Heavenly Demonic Energy within fifteen kilometers without the help of the Heavenly Demonic Stone.

Nothing happened overnight. When the two arose in the morning, they felt rejuvenated and any disappointment they felt the night before had receded. Naturally, they cast the Demon Hunting Technique once more and were stumped by what they found.

To their surprise, they could sense some Heavenly Demonic Energy.

Then, the two frowned.

These two Heavenly Demonic Energies were in different directions. One was fifteen kilometers away to the north and the other fifteen kilometers southward. They appeared to be faint because their distances were just beyond the range of the Demon Hunting Technique.

“What to do, which one do we go after?” Yu Xuanshi asked.

If they went for one of them, the other one would fall beyond their reach. If they were to return for the other one, the target might have already left. Their best bet was if they went after both at the same time.

Jiang Ziwen furrowed his brows and said, “Let’s split up. We’ll contact each other by signal!”

“Alright!” Yu Xuanshi replied nonchalantly. “I’ll head south, you go north. As soon as we find something, send a signal immediately!”

Jiang Ziwen nodded. The two did not even care to have breakfast as they left the inn hurriedly before going their separate ways.