After Zhou Xun left the ten-mile range of the no-fly restriction of White Cloud Immortal City, he took out the Cyan Light Shuttle without hesitation, soared into the sky, and transformed into a streak of cyan light, racing into the distance.

After all, he was facing the Wu Family Grand Elder at the peak of Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment; being cautious couldn't hurt.

Although he had set up several distractions earlier, whether they had really misled the Wu Family Grand Elder was still unknown.

Fortunately, the Divine Sense range of a Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator is at most a few hundred feet, so tracking with it is unlikely.

However, Foundation Establishment cultivators have keen senses, particularly excellent vision that can see extremely far.

If one were to fly high in the sky and observe from a distance, the escape light within dozens of miles would be hard to miss.

Half an hour later, he intentionally deviated slightly from his course.

It's well known that even if the initial deviation is small, the further one travels, the greater the difference from the original direction will become.

Zhou Xun disregarded the depletion and flew at full speed, roughly equivalent to double his usual speed.

Firstly, his current goal was to quickly distance himself from White Cloud Immortal City to reduce the likelihood of being caught by the Wu Family Grand Elder.

Secondly, with Lin Xueying there, they could take turns flying.

Throughout the journey, he spared no mana, using his maximum output to pilot the Cyan Light Shuttle.

Two hours later, Zhou Xun's mana was depleted.

Lin Xueying took out her flying artifact, a white flying ship, which was also a middle-grade flying spiritual artifact.

With her Peak of Fifth-Layer Qi Refining cultivation, she lasted an hour longer than Zhou Xun.

Flying at full speed like this, they reached a point over a thousand miles away from White Cloud Immortal City.

At this point, Zhou Xun had also recovered some of his mana.

He resumed flying, but this time at a normal flying speed.

....

On the other side, as soon as the Wu Family Grand Elder left the city, he took out a flying artifact and set off with the Wu Family members in the direction described by the city gate guards.

Two hours later, Wu Guangxiao stopped, his expression grim.

Given his escape speed, if Miss Lin and the others were fleeing in this direction, he should have caught up by now.

After all, according to the city gate guards' description, they left the city only about two hours before his group.

"Cunning brat!" Wu Guangxiao cursed under his breath.

Recalling the inn's clothing, the city gate exits, and now this situation.

He could deduce that Lin Xueying and her companions must have changed direction later on.

Despite being so young, exercising such caution; he could only think of Master Yun Ku among people he knew who matched that prudence.

Now, he had lost Lin Xueying's trail.

Thinking of her slipping away right under his nose filled him with irritation.

He glanced at the boy standing quietly beside him, looking downcast, becoming even more annoyed:

"When we return, you will be heavily punished; you couldn't even keep track of people!"

The boy nodded meekly, his face bitter.

Wu Guangxiao snorted coldly, immediately changing direction, planning to return.

Just about to set off, he stopped again.

"No, I can't leave just like this, it's too frustrating!" Wu Guangxiao displayed a look of inner turmoil.

"There's a high chance the Nascent Ganoderma is on Lin Xueying. Missing this opportunity, finding her again might not be easy!"

Thinking of the Nascent Ganoderma, he couldn't help but reveal a hint of enthusiasm in his gaze.

The Crystal Condensing Pill, although not like the Energy-Introducing Pill or Grain Avoidance Pill, which produce ten pills per furnace, normally yields at least two pills per furnace; with an Alchemy Master's help, even producing three pills is possible.

If he acquired this Nascent Ganoderma, by then he would wield two Crystal Condensing Pills, one consumed by Wu Zongdao, the other naturally would belong to him.

After all, he was now at the peak of Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Once Wu Zongdao breaks through to become a True Pill Cultivator, with his support, reaching the Foundation Establishment Peak wouldn't be difficult for himself.

By then, consuming the other Crystal Condensing Pill might give him a chance to glimpse the True Pill Dao.

"The lifespan of a True Pill Cultivator is 500!" Thinking of this brought a trace of ambitious desire.

He actually had another method for tracking, but due to its high cost, he was reluctant to use it.

In his youth, he once had a fortuitous encounter, obtaining a rare divination technique from the Cultivation Realm, but after nearly a hundred years of study, he only grasped the basics.

Still, he had learned some of its secret techniques for tracking and locating people.

When wanting to calculate someone's position, using an item related to that person as a medium while consuming some lifespan allows the calculation.

The higher the item's relativity and the closer the person, the more accurate the calculation will be.

Coincidentally, he had with him the clothes Zhou Xun and the others had changed out of, which could serve as a medium.

Considering Zhou Xun and his companions' Qi Cultivation stage, their escapade wouldn't take them too far.

With this thought, he gritted his teeth, making a resolute decision.

He took out Lin Xueying's clothing, closed his eyes, muttering incantations, and cast a spell, letting a faint aura of time dissipate from within him.

"At least five years of lifespan consumed!"

After a while, he opened his eyes, his expression turning grave.

Originally, he estimated it would only take half a year's worth of lifespan at most.

Fortunately, he had finally calculated Lin Xueying's position, and his gaze fixed in a certain direction.

There, precisely coincided with Zhou Xun's location.

Immediately, mana surged beneath his feet, and the flying ship transformed into a spirit light, racing towards the far distance.

....

Two thousand miles away from White Cloud Immortal City lay a mountain valley stretching over dozens of miles.

The valley was surrounded by towering peaks, reaching the sky.

However, the valley had long become barren and lifeless, with mountains around it also desolate.

Even the spiritual qi was significantly more scarce compared to other places.

Leaving the valley for a dozen miles, some sparse vegetation began to appear.

The cultivators from White Cloud Immortal City and the surrounding areas referred to it as Wuhuang Valley.

Some said a powerful cultivator once fought here, cutting off the vitality, leading to the barren state.

Others said it was the entrance to a secret realm, whose leaked power caused such a scene.

Legend had it, even powerful cultivators came to investigate, but to no avail.

On this day, changes began in the valley.

At the valley floor, an eerie black light began to flicker, followed by the appearance of slender cracks.

Soon, wisps of black fog seeped from the cracks.

Meanwhile, the number of cracks increased, their width expanding.

Gradually, the fog started spreading.

Over time, it occupied the entire valley, slowly extending outward.

If someone approached, they could faintly hear ghostly cries, or laughter.

Yet, the black fog seemed unsatisfied, continuing its gradual expansion outward.

....

At this moment, Zhou Xun was flying at a regular pace.

According to his current path, the peculiar valley was directly in his course.

About this, he was oblivious.

For him, his only concern was the Wu Family Grand Elder.

Even when facing such a person, Zhou Xun was well-prepared.

In his calculations, unless the Wu Family Grand Elder came straight at him, even being at Foundation Establishment Peak wouldn't help find him.

But Zhou Xun had no idea that Wu Guangxiao possessed this rare divination technique from the Cultivation Realm.

Half an hour later.

Just after Zhou Xun and his group flew over a river, the trembling voice of Wang Erniu suddenly sounded in his ears.

"Be...behind us, someone is pursuing!"

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