Blood Fire, Chi Xue, and the others had thought Blood Cherry and the seven other god-level experts would make short work of Thundercloud Gorge. They hadn't expected them to suffer such a crushing defeat: four of the eight had been killed—half their force—and even the survivors were covered in wounds.
Those were genuine god-level experts. They hadn't merely failed to take Thundercloud Gorge, which had no true Godly Being experts; half of them had been killed. How could Blood Fire and the others not be shaken?
But they soon had no time to be shaken. Old Man Ling and the others were already leading their forces in pursuit, while Kong Zhao, Xi Yue, and the others were following close behind with their army.
Blood Fire and the others had already spent most of their strength at the Heavenly Venerate Palace. Now, facing Old Man Ling and his group, they had no chance of winning. How could they dare linger? They fled for their lives.
Blood Fire and the others were slower than the high-rank God-level Stone Persons, let alone Blood Venerable and the rest. The God-level Stone Persons steadily closed the gap, and then energy arrows howled down from the sky, making their situation even worse.
Fortunately, there weren't many cultivators aboard the God-level Stone Persons at the moment, so the Arrow Formation wasn't very large. Blood Fire and the others could still hold out for now, though their situation kept deteriorating.
As for Chi Xue, the main target of their pursuit, he hadn't spent much strength at the Heavenly Venerate Palace and was still at his peak. With his Phantom Clones to aid his escape and the Jade Devouring Sky Python helping him, he wasn't in any immediate danger. He was even gradually pulling clear of Old Man Ling