Golden Immortal pursuit? I know water escape!

The island returned to silence.

Among them was a middle-aged Daoist wearing a Fish Tail Golden Crown and a Water-Cloud Patterned Robe, with a jade-like face and eyes like cold stars.

He, along with two other rogue cultivators at the Mid True Immortal stage and a Demon Immortal with a mixed aura, exchanged glances.

With no hope for spiritual roots and wary of the mysterious treasure-hunter's methods and the Golden Immortal Demon General's ferocity, a look of dejection appeared on their faces.

"Forget it, forget it. If fate doesn't allow it, we can't force it."

One rogue cultivator sighed, shook his head, and flew off in another direction.

"Even Crimson Flame Ancestor failed. That treasure-hunter is definitely no good. Let's go, let's go."

Another rogue cultivator and the Demon Immortal also shook their heads and quickly departed as streaks of light.

In the blink of an eye, only the Daoist with the Fish Tail Golden Crown remained on the island.

The sea breeze ruffled the hem of his Water-Cloud Patterned Robe, making a flapping sound.

The clear, detached, and slightly regretful expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a deep, sinister greed.

"Hmph, a bunch of idiots!"

A cold smile curved the Daoist's lips. His voice, now low and devoid of any ethereal immortal aura, spoke.

"You can fool them, but how can you fool my 'Nine Nether Soul Chasing Art'?"

He quickly formed a series of extremely strange and sinister hand seals. As his fingers danced, wisps of dark green spectral light seeped from his fingertips, wriggling through the air like living creatures.

He chanted in a low voice, his obscure incantations carrying a soul-stirring, evil power.

"Heaven and Earth are boundless, the Nine Nether borrows its power! All spirits have traces, chase their souls and seize their spirits! Decree!"

With a final low shout, the Daoist pointed his fingers like a sword towards the area where the residual aura of Dao Xuan and Crimson Flame Ancestor's battle was strongest, and poked the void!

Buzz!

The wisps of dark green spectral light suddenly converged, forming a walnut-sized, continuously rotating, eerie rune!

At the center of the rune was a faint, almost imperceptible wisp of invisible aura, yet it contained Dao Xuan's unique Geng Metal aura and a trace of the Chaos Bead's subtle Daoist rhyme.

It was forcibly stripped and captured from the mixed and chaotic battlefield aura!

This wisp of aura, as if pulled by an invisible thread, was firmly tied to the rune at one end, while the other end pointed far in the southeast direction where Dao Xuan had fled!

Although it appeared faint and flickering due to the great distance, it was incredibly clear!

"Found you!"

The greedy light in the eyes of the Daoist with the Fish Tail Golden Crown flared, almost bursting out.

"A Mid-grade Innate offensive Spiritual Treasure! A Mid-grade Innate spiritual root! And on that kid... there seems to be a trace of an indescribable ancient Daoist rhyme!

A heaven-sent opportunity! It is destined to be mine!"

Without any further hesitation, he waved his sleeve, retracting the dark green rune.

The clear immortal light surrounding him instantly transformed into a deep, dark, dark green radiance.

His entire being turned into a silent but astonishingly fast streak of dark green light, tearing through the sky and pursuing Dao Xuan's escape direction at a speed several times faster than before!

"Little brat, your treasures and your life, this old ancestor is taking them!"

Above the vast East Sea, a faint golden stream of light flew at lightning speed, skimming just above the surging sea.

It was Dao Xuan.

He was fully activating the Heavenly Water Evasion Art, his figure almost merging with the vast blue waves below, using the power of the boundless water element to push his speed to the extreme.

Sensing that the few powerful auras behind him were not pursuing, Dao Xuan's heart settled slightly.

"Phew... that was close!" he thought to himself, relieved.

"Fortunately, I got away quickly. That Golden Immortal Demon General looked difficult to deal with. The Chaos Bead obscured the heavenly secrets, and the Mysterious Gold Law-Breaking Halberd's sharpness was contained. As long as I don't expose myself, I should be able to shake them off..."

Before his thoughts could even finish, there was a boom!

An unprecedented, bone-chilling, soul-piercing terrifying premonition, like billions of steel needles, pierced his sea of consciousness without warning!

Dao Xuan trembled violently, his escape light faltering!

"Not good!"

His face instantly turned pale, and alarm bells rang wildly in his heart.

"I've been locked onto! Is it that Golden Immortal? No! The aura is wrong! It's... it's that Daoist wearing the Fish Tail Golden Crown! He can actually track me?!"

Dao Xuan instantly understood; the other party must have an extremely advanced tracking secret technique!

He had underestimated the methods of the cultivators in the Great Desolation!

He dared not hesitate for a moment. He bit the tip of his tongue fiercely. The sharp pain stimulated him, forcing down the dizziness from the warning in his Primordial Spirit. He poured his magical power into the evasion technique without reservation!

"Faster!"

The faint golden escape light suddenly brightened, its speed increasing by another third, leaving a long white trail on the sea surface!

Too late!

After only a dozen breaths!

A vast, cold, terrifying pressure filled with killing intent, like an invisible sky curtain, rapidly enveloped from behind!

The pressure was far beyond the True Immortal realm; it was clearly Golden Immortal level!

And it was more sinister and troublesome than the Demon General's aura before!

"Brat! Where do you think you're going! Leave your Spiritual Treasures and Spiritual Roots, and this Ancestor might show mercy and spare your true spirit for reincarnation!"

A cold, greedy voice, like a viper's hiss, pierced through space and sounded directly in Dao Xuan's ear!

It was the fish-tailed crowned Daoist who called himself "Venerable Xuanyin"!

Dao Xuan didn't look back, cursing in his heart, "Spare my true spirit for reincarnation? I don't believe you for a second! The Great Desolation is full of old schemers, and they're all bad!"

His magical power surged, his escape light sped up by another fraction, and his divine sense locked onto the rear.

A stream of dark green light, like a soul-chasing, life-taking ghost, was closing the distance at a visible speed!

In a few flashes, it had reached within a thousand feet behind Dao Xuan!

Venerable Xuanyin's sinister face was clearly visible, his eyes flashing with the cruelty and greed of a cat playing with a mouse.

"Stubborn fool! Stop for this Ancestor!"

Venerable Xuanyin snorted coldly and waved his sleeve!

A giant ghost claw, formed entirely from dark green, viscous, and substantial Netherworld ghost energy, appeared out of thin air!

The ghost claw was entwined with vengeful spirits, their wails piercingly loud, carrying a terrifying aura that froze divine souls and defiled magical power. It tore through the void and clawed fiercely at Dao Xuan's back!

A Golden Immortal's strike, its power immense!

Before it even touched him, the bone-chilling cold aura made Dao Xuan feel like he had fallen into an ice cave, and his escape light became sluggish!

No escape!

"Mysterious Gold Law-Breaking Halberd!" A fierce glint flashed in Dao Xuan's eyes, knowing he had to fight for his life now!

He spun around abruptly, and the dark gold short halberd in his hand erupted with unprecedented brilliance!

The twenty-seven Innate Restrictions circulated madly, the sharpness that could destroy all laws condensed to the extreme!

"Break!"

Dao Xuan poured all his strength, his entire magical power, including the part he had just recovered, into the Law-Breaking Halberd without reservation. He thrust it defiantly at the giant ghost claw!

A dark gold beam, condensed into a tangible form, tearing through the void, fiercely collided with the dark green ghost claw!

Chii—!

A piercing sound of corrosion and dissolution rang out!

The law-breaking divine might of the Mysterious Gold Law-Breaking Halberd was indeed extraordinary!

The dark gold beam actually pierced into the palm of the ghost claw, and the destructive power madly eroded, annihilating the dark green ghost energy at the point of contact!

However, the magical power of a Golden Immortal was as vast as the sea!

The ghost claw merely paused slightly, a small hole pierced in its palm, but its overall power was not greatly diminished!

The majestic Netherworld ghost energy surged like a raging sea, rebounding back along the Law-Breaking Halberd!

Boom!

An irresistible force slammed into Dao Xuan!

Pfft!

Dao Xuan felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer, his throat turned sweet, and he spat out a mouthful of blood!

His right arm, holding the halberd, felt like it was splitting apart from the pain, his tiger's mouth instantly cracked, and blood flowed freely! The Mysterious Gold Law-Breaking Halberd let out a mournful cry, its light dimming considerably!

He was sent flying like a kite with a broken string by this immense force, smashing through several giant waves below and plowing a long gash on the sea surface!

The difference in realms was like a chasm!

Even with a Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, an Early True Immortal clashing with an Early Golden Immortal was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!

"An ant trying to shake a tree, overestimating yourself!"

Venerable Xuanyin sneered, his eyes filled with even greater greed, "What a good treasure! In your hands, it's like a pearl hidden in dust! Hand it over!"

His figure flickered, and he appeared above Dao Xuan. His withered hand reached out again, transforming into an even larger ghost claw, covering the sky and sun as it descended!

This time, the target was directly at the Mysterious Gold Law-Breaking Halberd in Dao Xuan's hand!

Clearly, he wanted to seize the troublesome Spiritual Treasure first!

The shadow of death instantly enveloped him!

Dao Xuan was covered in blood, his internal organs displaced, his magical power in disarray. Just as the ghost claw was about to fall!

"Damn it! I can't win! Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is the best!"

Dao Xuan roared in his heart, a hint of desperation flashing in his eyes!

Run! I must run! The only way to survive is underwater!

"Roar—!!!"

A dragon's roar that pierced the clouds and cracked the stones, shaking the four seas, erupted with the ferocity and defiance of a primordial beast!

Dao Xuan's body was enveloped in golden light!

His tall, nine-foot divine form instantly vanished!

In its place appeared a colossal behemoth, a thousand feet long!

Its form was serpentine like a mountain range, covered in dark gold scales the size of bowls. Each scale shimmered with the faint light of ancient stars, its edges as sharp as divine blades!

Its head was imposing, with the aura of a dragon. A pair of massive, golden vertical pupils burned with raging fury!

Right in the center of its forehead, its ink-jade horn now shone with an unprecedented, brilliant white-gold light, like a celestial sword piercing the heavens!

The first Golden Flood Dragon of heaven and earth! Its true form revealed!

A terrifying aura of a primordial beast, mixed with the purest essence of Innate Geng Metal and water elemental power, swept out in all directions!

It even managed to disperse some of the encroaching netherworld's ghostly energy!

"What?!"

Venerable Xuanyin was caught off guard. The sudden burst of ferocious aura and blinding golden light caused his movements to falter slightly, a flicker of shock in his eyes.

"It's a Golden Flood Dragon that has taken human form?!"

It was in this split second of hesitation!

"Into the sea!"

Dao Xuan's massive golden vertical pupils fixed on Venerable Xuanyin. His thousand-foot dragon body thrashed violently!

Rumble!

Like a mountain collapsing, waves surged into the sky!

The enormous, dark gold dragon body stirred up a monstrous tsunami. With an unstoppable momentum, it plunged headfirst into the vast, boundless East Sea below!

The moment it entered the water, the ancient star patterns on its dark gold scales suddenly lit up, as if resonating with the water elemental power of the entire East Sea!

The Heavenly Water Evasion Art was pushed to its absolute limit!

Dao Xuan's massive dragon body did not become an obstacle. Instead, like a fish returning to the sea, it transformed into a dark gold stream of light, faster than lightning.

Following the guidance of the East Sea's vast water veins, it madly fled towards the deepest part of the ocean!

Its speed was more than ten times faster than it was in the air! Only a rapidly expanding ripple and a sky full of spray were left behind!

"You beast! Don't you dare run!"

Venerable Xuanyin finally reacted, his anger boiling, his insides burning! Seeing the prey he almost had slipping away, how could he be willing?

"Myriad Souls Banner! Appear!"

He roared, and a long banner, entirely black, with countless ferocious ghost heads embroidered on its surface, exuding immense resentment and chilling power, appeared in his hand!

It was his life-bound magical treasure, a low-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure—the Myriad Souls Banner!

"Myriad Ghosts Devour Souls! Freeze this sea area for me!"

Venerable Xuanyin frantically shook the Myriad Souls Banner!

Wooooooo—!

The incredibly sorrowful cries of ghosts and wails echoed through the sea and sky!

Countless resentful souls and fierce spirits with twisted faces and agonizing cries surged out of the banner, transforming into a dark green ghost cloud that blotted out the sun and moon, fiercely charging towards the sea area where Dao Xuan had entered the water!

Where the ghost cloud passed, the seawater instantly became viscous and chilling, as if it were about to freeze solid!

Countless resentful souls extended their ghostly claws, trying to grab and tear at the dark gold stream of light!

However, Dao Xuan had already dived a thousand feet underwater!

The East Sea was vast, its water elemental power boundless!

As the first Golden Flood Dragon of heaven and earth, Dao Xuan was naturally attuned to water and was even nurtured by the East Sea!

Now that he had revealed his true form and was fully activating his innate water evasion divine ability, merging with the East Sea's origin water veins, how could its power be easily contained by mere ghostly energy from the Myriad Souls Banner?

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Wherever the dark gold stream of light passed, the chilling ghostly energy that had invaded the seawater was like encountering its nemesis. It was continuously scoured, purified, and dispersed by the pure water elemental power and the sharpness of Geng Metal!

The resentful souls and fierce spirits that rushed forward were instantly shredded and annihilated by the starlight flowing from the dark gold scales and the residual power that broke through laws!

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Venerable Xuanyin stood in the sky, watching the dark green ghost cloud below being torn apart and scattered by the rapidly fleeing dark gold stream of light.

No matter how he urged the Myriad Souls Banner, he could not truly impede the figure that had merged with the water veins. He was so angry he almost spat blood!

He attempted to dive into the water to pursue.

But the moment he entered the water, the ubiquitous, vast, and boundless water elemental power exerted immense pressure on him!

His escape speed drastically decreased, and his divine sense was greatly restricted by the seawater. How could he still capture that stream of dark gold light that had already merged into the water veins and traveled thousands of miles in an instant?

"Ah—! This infuriates me!"

Venerable Xuanyin was furious, wildly waving the Myriad Souls Banner, stirring the sea surface into surging waves and wailing ghosts.

Yet, he could only watch as Dao Xuan's aura completely disappeared into the endless deep blue sea, impossible to track any further.

"Golden Flood Dragon! This ancestor remembers you! I will have my revenge, no matter where you flee!"

He roared his unwillingness at the vast ocean, and in the end, could only turn into a dark green escape light, leaving with a heart full of rage and regret.

Dao Xuan didn't know how long he had been fleeing.

He revealed his true form and fully activated his water evasion, following the guidance of the vast water veins of the East Sea, having already traveled countless miles away from that troublesome sea area.

At first, his mind was tense, his divine sense constantly vigilant of what was behind him, his magic power being consumed frantically, even going so far as to burn his essence blood to boost his escape speed.

Gradually, the terrifying sense of being locked onto from behind, like a thorn in his back, completely disappeared.

After a long while, certain that Venerable Xuanyin could no longer catch up, Dao Xuan's taut heartstrings slowly relaxed.

An indescribable fatigue and sharp pain instantly swept through his entire body.

The recoil from clashing head-on with a Golden Immortal, coupled with the consumption from forcefully activating his true form's extreme water evasion, had placed an immense burden on his body, which had only recently taken form.

His internal organs ached faintly, his meridians felt swollen and on the verge of bursting, and his magic power was nearly depleted.

His massive dark gold flood dragon body slowed down, swimming slowly in the seawater, absorbing the power of water essence to recover.

"Hoo... Golden Immortal old monster, truly terrifying!" Dao Xuan felt lingering fear.

"If I weren't in the East Sea, if my Golden Flood Dragon true form didn't naturally control water, I would have likely perished today... The Great Desolation's ways are deep; surviving is the true path!"

While silently circulating his cultivation technique to recover, he drifted with the currents, letting the power of the water veins carry him forward, his consciousness growing hazy.

He didn't know how long had passed, perhaps a day, perhaps several days.

Dao Xuan's hazy consciousness suddenly felt the surrounding water essence become exceptionally warm and peaceful, no longer as bone-chillingly cold as the deep sea, but instead carrying a peculiar warmth that nourished the spirit.

The water flow also became gentle and smooth, as if combed by an invisible force.

His enormous golden vertical pupils slowly opened.

The scene that greeted his eyes made his weary spirit tremble!

He saw that the seawater ahead was incredibly clear, displaying a dreamlike azure hue.

Countless spirit fish and aquatic creatures, emitting soft glows, leisurely swam among vibrant coral reefs.

The aquatic plants were lush, like emerald forests, swaying with the currents.

Further in the distance, the color of the seawater gradually lightened, faintly revealing the bright light from above.

Dao Xuan instinctively swung his flood dragon body, swimming towards the light.

His thousand-zhang flood dragon body broke through the water's surface, creating a sky full of crystalline spray.

When Dao Xuan's massive head emerged from the sea and he clearly saw the scene before him, even with his resilient spirit, He couldn't help but gasp, his enormous golden vertical pupils filled with shock and disbelief!

Before him lay vast expanses of blue waves, encircling an incredibly immense immortal island!

The grandeur of this island far surpassed his birthplace by a hundred, a thousand times!

He saw:

Myriad rays of rosy clouds rolled like rainbows, auspicious mists in a thousand streams spewed purple fog!

The immortal island towered, touching the Milky Way, its spiritual peaks ethereal, hiding the Xuan Du.

Jade grass and spirit fungi grew with auspicious energy, exotic flowers and strange plants emitted fragrance.

Green pines and cypress trees remained ever-green, immortal cranes, mystical apes, and longevity deer rested.

Golden scales danced by the jade bridge, colorful phoenixes emerged from the purple bamboo forest.

Jade tiles and carved eaves concealed palaces, auspicious clouds coiled around golden dwellings.

It was truly: The foremost realm of immortal families overseas, a creation furnace from the beginning of chaos!

Dense Innate Spiritual Energy, almost condensed into tangible spiritual mist, permeated the island's surroundings. Taking a breath, one felt refreshed, and their magic power became more active.