Chapter Twenty-Four: The Pursuit

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A piercing sound sliced through the night—countless streaks of white light, dazzling as shooting stars, tore across the sky.

But to the three men, this spectacle brought only shock and terror.

"You, you are...!"

All the vital energy in their cores surged forth as they summoned nine flying swords at once.

Su Yizhao watched, satisfied, as his mastery of the Flying Sword Art unleashed nearly eighty percent of its true power.

The three barely managed to release their swords before a rain of a thousand blades descended.

Blood and flesh flew in all directions; a crimson rain filled the night.

Hundreds of white lights passed through their bodies, then merged into nine swords, humming sharply in the dark sky.

Su Yizhao formed a seal with his fingers, beckoning the nine lights to return and swirl rapidly between his fingers.

With a flicker, his figure split into three phantoms that darted forward.

The phantoms caught the falling storage pouches and instantly merged back into one.

Carrying three storage pouches in his left hand, Su Yizhao glanced twice toward the Li family manor below before speeding off toward the southwestern border.

Striking unexpectedly and exploiting the element of surprise was the nature of the Law Enforcement Hall disciples.

Of course, the overwhelming power he unleashed by mastering the Flying Sword Art to such a degree was beyond expectations and was the main reason he was able to kill all three in an instant.

As he flew through the night, Su Yizhao silently reviewed and reflected on the fight in his mind.

Though the slaughter seemed effortless, it was fraught with danger. Had the three managed to fully summon their swords, their strength at the peak of the Fourth Profound Realm would have made the battle much harder for him.

"The southwestern border—here at last!"

Su Yizhao sat cross-legged atop a small hill, gazing at the boundless sea before him.

Just then, a gentle ray of sunlight broke across the waters.

The coastline marked the edge of the continent; beyond it stretched the endless sea.

Within those waters, demon cultivators reigned.

Few dared to venture deep into the sea; at least, he himself never had.

For rogue cultivators fleeing for their lives, this region was the perfect sanctuary.

He emptied the three storage pouches onto the ground. Piles of profound stones appeared before his eyes.

"One hundred and ten thousand, eighty thousand, sixty thousand—how poor!"

He scoffed softly, though he himself had possessed only seventeen profound stones in his own pouch not long ago.

"With three men killed in an instant, their families will be thrown into confusion and suspicion. For the time being, the Li family should be safe!"

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After collecting the profound stones from the ground and putting them into his storage pouch, he reviewed his plan once more.

"Though I didn’t inform the clan leader, I’m sure he can guess. As long as Xiuyue knows, and with her master present, the Li family will be protected for now."

With the profound stones gone, only six silver swords and some miscellaneous items remained.

Su Yizhao picked up one of the swords, running his fingers down the blade. "This is definitely a high-grade profound weapon—far more valuable than a low-grade one!"

On the Central Continent, weapons were ranked by grade. The lowest were profound weapons, divided into low, medium, and high grade.

Each grade differed in sharpness and durability by at least a factor of two.

Naturally, the price differed even more; often, high-grade profound weapons were impossible to purchase no matter how many stones one offered.

Above profound weapons were divine arms, wielded only by those at the Fifth Divine Realm or higher.

Beyond that, he knew nothing.

Su Yizhao sighed. "No wonder they were so poor—they spent it all on these weapons, yet couldn’t even gather nine flying swords."

He himself used low-grade profound weapons; the cost of his nine swords together probably didn’t match even one of these.

Delighted, he erased the previous owners’ spiritual imprints from the six swords and imprinted his own.

Now, though he still had only six, their power was multiplied four or five times.

With the Flying Sword Art unleashed, even an opponent with a defensive profound weapon would be hard-pressed to resist.

He didn’t bother to inspect the other jade slips or miscellaneous items. He already had all the spells he needed.

"Complete the mission, return to the sect, carry out tasks quietly—until the day I am strong enough!"

With his mind made up, he soared into the sky, following the coastline with utmost care.

"Dead? What happened?"

A low roar echoed through the Wu family’s main hall in the Profound Energy Sect.

"It seems Wu Qinshu killed Su Yizhao that night, but, thinking there was still time, went on to Gravel Sand City to wipe out the Li family, yet never returned," someone answered cautiously.

Another hesitated, "But looking at the timing, I don’t think so. Su Yizhao took a mission to the southwestern border!"

"The southwestern border? Gravel Sand City? Could Su Yizhao be responsible?"

"Impossible. He entered the Law Enforcement Hall as a mid-stage Third Profound Realm cultivator. A day later, he reached mid-stage Fourth Profound Realm after passing the first trial tower. Even so, he couldn’t possibly kill Wu Qinshu, who was at the peak of the Fourth Profound Realm!"

The middle-aged man, listening to both sides, grew calm and composed.

"Take note of this, but do not act rashly. Over the years, the Wu, Mu, and Huang families have infiltrated too many halls, causing some elders to resent us. This may be a warning. Investigate quietly—find out which hall and which elder are involved. Is the Wu family someone we can afford to provoke?"

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, the Mu and Huang families made similar arrangements.

With a soft splash, Su Yizhao plunged into the deep sea.

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Three days passed before he finally caught a trace.

What worried him, however, was that the rogue cultivator seemed to have ventured into the deep sea.

After much thought, he had no choice but to follow.

A third of the vital energy in his core had been consumed; if he spent much more, he would be at a disadvantage.

At the Third Profound Realm, one could hold their breath for half a month; at the Fourth, four or five months without breathing posed no problem.

For him, apart from his spiritual sense being halved, there was little difference between the deep sea and land.

The only added concern was the occasional deep-sea creature—strange fish, shrimp, crabs, all sizes and grotesque—swimming past and demanding a sliver of his attention, as if ready to attack at any moment.

Though rumors said there were no demon cultivators within a thousand miles of the coast, he was still on guard.

He dared not pursue any farther than that.

At last, he spotted a reef in the distance.

Even in the deep sea, profound energy grew denser the further one went.

"That rogue is here!"

A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed a small, concealed cave in the reef.

The entrance, just wide enough for a man, was clearly man-made.

"Doesn’t he fear being hunted?"

Su Yizhao hesitated, then suddenly understood.

A rogue cultivator at the peak of the Fourth Profound Realm—by the Fifth Divine Realm, disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall would have more important matters to attend to than hunting him down.

Those at the same level were unwilling to risk their lives.

More importantly, rogue cultivators rarely had much wealth; even if killed, it would merely complete a task.

Having figured it out, he slipped lightly into the cave.

Though it seemed narrow at first, the passage soon widened into a chamber after a dozen yards.

Suddenly—

Su Yizhao shivered all over and looked deeper inside.

A faint ripple spread slowly through the air...