Tracking

In the eyes of Yan Chihuo, however, most of the attacks from this array were mere illusions that required no concern. The woman in red, unable to discern this, had to divide her focus between parrying Yan Chihuo's swordsmanship and defending against the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon's array. Even with the formidable power of the Soul-Severing Banner, she was beginning to struggle.

Yan Chihuo was in no rush to kill the two women; his only goal was to lure out the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon. After a few more moments, the woman in red found herself in constant peril. Ru Shuang tried several times to ambush Yan Chihuo, but trapped by the array, she could not locate his position and could only fret, unable to intervene.

In the heat of the battle, Yan Chihuo suddenly let out a loud shout, his body soaring into the air as he thrust his sword toward the ground. A scream rang out, the white mist dissipated, and sand and dust flew into the air as a figure erupted from the earth.

Yan Chihuo glanced over and recognized the Taoist from the tavern. Shi San shouted, "That is the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon!"

Yan Chihuo was secretly astonished, thinking, The Cloud Soaring Sect claimed this person's cultivation was at the Body Tempering Early Stage, but he is clearly at the Middle Stage. Did Shi San misidentify him, or was he talking nonsense? Yet, if his cultivation is only at the Middle Stage, how could he burrow underground? No wonder I couldn't see where he was hiding.

One had to know that burrowing underground required the Earth-element intermediate spell, Wall Passing Art. Intermediate spells could not be cast by anyone below the Qi Condensation Stage. Yan Chihuo had never expected the opponent to be hiding underground, which was why he had failed to spot him. However, his hearing was exceptionally keen; while fighting the woman in red, he had detected some anomalies, which allowed him to wound the man instead.

The Taoist had a sword wound on his left leg and held a broken, half-length flag pole in his hand. It turned out that his array, the Earth-Traveling Illusion Array, could be used both to trap enemies with illusions and to burrow into the ground for sneak attacks. Thus, even though he discovered that Yan Chihuo could see through his illusions, he was not afraid and had intended to launch a surprise attack. He did not know that Yan Chihuo possessed not only Spiritual Eye but also God-like hearing; his attempt to steal a chicken only resulted in losing the rice. Had he not used the array flag to block the blow, he likely would have died under the sword right then and there.

Although this saved his life, the Earth-Traveling Illusion Array had been broken by Yan Chihuo. He looked at Shi San and said, "You have sharp eyes to have recognized me."

Yan Chihuo shook his head inwardly. The intelligence from the Cloud Soaring Sect was far too outdated; they didn't even know the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon had reached the Body Tempering Middle Stage. Moreover, the aura around him was stable, clearly indicating his cultivation had long since solidified and was not a recent breakthrough.

Although Yan Chihuo had found the location of the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon and broken the Earth-Traveling Illusion Array, the situation remained dire. He had expected a one-hit kill, but the opponent had only suffered a minor injury. With the woman in red and her companion still present, he held no advantage.

Yet, the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon was not having an easy time either. He had ambushed both sides, and now that his array was broken and he was nursing a sword wound, both Yan Chihuo and the woman in red wanted him dead. By the same token, the woman in red and her companion faced pressure from both Yan Chihuo and the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon.

For a moment, none of the three parties dared to make the first move. Yan Chihuo reacted the fastest, knowing the best course of action was to join forces with the woman in red to kill the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon. However, he faced a dilemma: both Ru Shuang and the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon had been wounded by his sword. He was implicitly the strongest of the three, and it was unlikely that either side would be willing to cooperate with him.

The Heavenly Evil Blood Demon reached into his robes, pulled out a talisman, and slapped it onto his body. His figure instantly retreated over ten yards, and within a few leaps, he was far away.

"God-Speed Talisman!" Yan Chihuo had not expected the opponent to have such a trick up his sleeve, and he was too slow to give chase. At this, the woman in red's expression changed; she grabbed Ru Shuang and retreated to the side, fearing that Yan Chihuo might strike at them.

Yan Chihuo ignored her and said to Shi San, "Let's go, we are going to find the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon." With that, he and Shi San chased in the direction the demon had fled. The woman in red and Ru Shuang breathed a sigh of relief, not daring to pursue, and turned to leave as well.

Shi San asked, "Young Master Yan, do you know where the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon went?"

Yan Chihuo replied, "Just follow me. The Heavenly Evil Blood Demon is skilled at shapeshifting, and I fear I might not recognize him, so you must accompany me for a while longer." Shi San was secretly puzzled; the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon had a God-Speed Talisman and was already long gone, so how could he possibly be tracked?

But Yan Chihuo simply charged forward, never pausing even when they reached a fork in the road. After more than two hours, the two arrived near a mountain cave. Before they could make a move, a person suddenly bolted from the cave, moving as if his feet barely touched the ground, and vanished into the distance.

Seeing this, Yan Chihuo gathered his energy and gave chase, not caring whether Shi San might get lost. Shi San hadn't even seen the person's face clearly, and because they were too far away, he hadn't caught any scent to confirm if it was the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon. Seeing Yan Chihuo disappear into the distance, he stopped and fled in a completely different direction.

Yan Chihuo didn't notice Shi San's departure, but since Shi San was of no further use to him, he didn't care. When the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon used the God-Speed Talisman, it left behind a trace of extremely faint residual spiritual power in the air. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to detect it, but with his superior vision, not even a sliver of that residual power could escape him, which was how he was able to track the demon.

However, this residual power would not last forever. Eventually, Yan Chihuo felt the traces growing thinner and thinner, nearly vanishing, which was why he had stopped worrying about Shi San and pushed forward.

While the God-Speed Talisman could increase one's speed, its power would eventually be exhausted, and it placed a burden on the physical body. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't matter, but the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon had been wounded in the leg by his sword. Although he didn't have a God-Speed Talisman, his speed was still far inferior to the opponent's, yet he would certainly not lose track of him before the residual power of the talisman faded away.

As for the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon's ever-changing appearance, Yan Chihuo no longer cared. His eyes possessed the power of penetration; he had already seen the man's true face, so no matter how the demon disguised himself later, it would be useless. The only reason he had brought Shi San along initially was his own lack of confidence. This was proven when the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon fled; he had not only changed his clothes but his entire face, yet Yan Chihuo had seen through it at a glance.

Sure enough, about an hour later, Yan Chihuo discovered the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon in a forest. Just like before, the moment the man saw him, he turned and ran.

For three consecutive days, Yan Chihuo caught up to him over a dozen times, but they never actually clashed; the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon would simply turn and flee again. This bastard is certainly cautious! Yan Chihuo cursed inwardly.