After several days of traveling, the sensation of being watched remained.
Chen Lin's mood grew increasingly heavy. It seemed that once he was marked, there was no escaping it. Worst of all, he had no idea when the entity watching him would strike, forcing him to remain constantly on high alert. It was exhausting.
He had considered all sorts of possibilities along the way, but none brought him any closer to an answer. In the end, he could only let things take their course.
The swamp was far away, and reaching it without flying would take a long time. Since he could not evade that watchful presence anyway, Chen Lin repaired his Qi Balloon and took to the air again.
The Qi Balloon was not fast, but it was still better than trudging through the snow, and it required no exertion.
He flew like this for another two days.
That day, while keeping watch and steering his Qi Balloon, Chen Lin suddenly spotted three black dots ahead.
Startled, he thought members of the Tianluo Race had come to intercept and kill him. He immediately opened the Qi Balloon's release valve, then leaped down onto the snow.
He held the Black Saber across his body, ready for battle.
But he soon realized that the newcomers were cultivators, not members of the Tianluo Race.
There were two men and a woman, all radiating fluctuations of mana and looking utterly panicked.
The three were astonishingly fast, reaching him in an instant.
Chen Lin did not lower his guard.
For cultivators to use mana out in the open, they must have encountered a life-or-death crisis. Either the Tianluo Race had marked them, or some other desperate circumstance had forced their hand.
"Run, fellow cultivator! The Tianluo Race is catching up!"
As the three passed