The gale swept the clouds, and fallen leaves whirled through the air like golden foil.
Autumn was the liveliest time of year in the northwestern mountains. Beasts searched with all their might for provisions to last through winter, hunters prepared for the great hunts before the snow, herb gatherers combed the mountains for ripe medicinal plants, and farmers made their final autumn harvest.
And here, in the far northwestern reaches, along the edges of mountains that had once been ignored, a force had now gathered to search frantically for clues and hunt down someone in particular.
An Jing held his breath, concealed his presence, and let the Sword Spirit's protection cloak him.
The young man lay in wait among the branches and leaves of a towering tree, coldly watching several Tianyi Demonic Sect martial artists comb the area where he had been hiding.
The first to catch up with An Jing had been neither Da Chen nor the Heavenly Demon, but the Tianyi Demonic Sect.
These elite Demonic Cult warriors, all at the Internal Breath Realm, had arrived aboard Flying Shuttles, reached the spot where An Jing had been hiding with pinpoint accuracy, and then fanned out to search for traces of him, sweeping the area like a carpet.
If An Jing hadn't prepared in advance, wiping away the many traces and clues he had left behind, he might really have let these Demonic Cult martial artists catch him out.
But for that very reason, An Jing hadn't immediately gone to another world and left the Demonic Cult warriors searching empty air. Instead, he had kept his patience and watched what they did.
He wanted to see how things played out, and at the very least figure out exactly how they were tracking him.
*Are they using the blood and