Things had gone just as Lu Xiaotian had expected. The moment he broke free and showed signs of wanting to flee, the demon army pursued him relentlessly. After all, they had come in force: five Celestial Immortal–level Shimmu demons leading an army of more than thirty thousand. It was already a fairly elite force. In truth, the demon army fighting the Nine Central City's immortal forces was much larger, but the more troops they mobilized, the slower and more cumbersome they became.
They were also harder to command. Each of the five Celestial Immortal–level Shimmu demons led a force of only around six thousand, already among the most elite under their command. Their troops could move quickly and were easy to direct.
They had come a long way in force. If they let Lu Xiaotian slip away without even showing him what they could do, they would become a laughingstock among the many demons in the Luoyang Prison.
That was clearly something the five Shimmu demon leaders could not accept.
Yet pursuing Lu Xiaotian was no easy matter. The demon army came from five relatively independent factions. Their forces were similar in strength in some cases, but in others one was weaker and slower than the rest.
As a result, their differences became apparent as they chased Lu Xiaotian—and the gap only grew wider. Under the pressure of a great army's momentum, an ordinary Celestial Immortal's strength and speed would be greatly diminished. But Lu Xiaotian showed no sign of being affected to any significant degree. He remained a thorn in the demons' side.
"Xiaocha, that fellow from the East is too fast. At this rate, we may not catch him anytime soon." Wu Yan, the second-strongest among them, soon spoke with the strongest Shimmu demon.
"If we keep dragging