Pursuit, and Yet More Pursuit

"Such terrifying killing intent."

The silver-haired girl was slightly dazed, but she quickly regained her composure.

She was the supreme Imperial Princess of the Luo God Clan.

At the height of the Luo God Clan's power, the military might of the clan's four great legions, led by the Thunder Crane Legion, dominated the entire Lesser Western Heaven Realm; none of the four great god clans dared to defy them.

Clang. The Luo God Sword moved again, the Clan-Protecting Divine Artifact gradually revealing its peerless edge.

"Flying Snake Crouching on Earth!"

"Jade Pillar Piercing the Heavens!"

"Sweeping Golden Waves!"

"Water Flows to Form a Channel!"

Staff shadows and sword light intertwined, tearing through the battlefield.

The entire clearing looked as if it had been plowed by a herd of Giant Rhino Beasts, or perhaps ravaged by a frenzied tornado, leaving it in a state of utter, chaotic ruin.

Luo Li was arguably the most powerful enemy Mu Chen had encountered since he began his journey.

The Demon-Subduing Staff Technique, created by her father, the King of Hundred Spirits, flowed from Mu Chen's hands like a passing scene, smooth as clouds and water, a sight to behold.

Unable to secure victory, the situation gradually reached a stalemate.

"Counter-Point Mysterious Mechanism!"

Unable to break the deadlock, Mu Chen twisted his wrist and elbow, spinning the ancient battle staff in his hand with agility to generate powerful centripetal force before unleashing a counter-point strike.

The sky full of staff shadows condensed into a single, tangible battle staff, striking the sharp tip of the sword.

Bang. The two god-level spirit weapons collided fiercely in mid-air before recoiling.

Mu Chen stood with his staff retracted, stroking the unadorned, slender shaft with a hint of heartache.

The Demon-Subduing Staff was, after all, only a quasi-divine artifact, barely touching the threshold of a god-level spirit weapon.

The Luo God Sword, however, was a top-tier divine artifact approaching the grade of an ancient holy object; although its power had been largely sealed by an Earth Sovereign, its essence was far superior to the former.

In their repeated clashes, the Demon-Subduing Staff had always been suppressed.

Swish. Another sharp sword beam descended. Mu Chen held his ancient staff horizontally before his chest to block, then used the recoil force transmitted from the shaft to make his escape.

Mu Chen fled into the dense forest, and the silver-haired girl pursued him with her sword without hesitation.

In a mere moment, both of them vanished.

In an unnamed valley covered in frost.

"Roar!"

The earth shook and mountains swayed, accompanied by a shrill roar as a strange, massive beast—crystalline white and seemingly carved from ice—struggled out of the valley.

It had not traveled more than a few yards before its legs went soft, and it collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.

Crimson blood gushed out, and the vitality in its eyes rapidly faded.

The Ice Crystal Beast, a mid-level ice-type spirit beast, was incredibly clumsy but possessed immense strength.

A tall, slender figure followed unhurriedly, swinging his staff to shatter the sturdy skull of the Ice Crystal Beast and harvesting the spirit beast essence hidden within.

Mu Chen looked up, waved toward the distance, and his figure vanished once more.

There, a silver-haired girl in a long black dress stood with the Luo God Sword on her back, watching the scene with a calm expression. Her graceful body stepped over the massive carcass as she followed from afar.

This was the first month of their endless game of cat and mouse.

If Mu Chen was cultivating, resting, or hunting spirit beasts, Luo Li would never appear.

She simply remained hidden in the shadows, watching coldly.

But the moment Mu Chen was idle, Luo Li would leap from the shadows, her Clan-Protecting Divine Artifact in hand, to engage him in a fierce battle that always ended in a draw.

She could never defeat Mu Chen, yet she insisted on fighting him every single time.

In the dense forest, the sounds of rushing wind and air being torn apart continued through another sleepless night.

On the distant horizon, the Great Sun, said to be transformed from an ancient Golden Crow, rose bit by bit, casting its scorching yet warm radiance across the land to dispel the darkness and cold.

Mu Chen sat cross-legged at the cave entrance, his ancient battle staff resting across his knees, his eyes tightly shut.

Having stood guard there all night, his entire body was covered in frost, and the chill seeped deep into his bones.

Even his eyebrows had not been spared, turning from black to white, with wisps of white mist rising from them.

Rustle. Suddenly, the Hundred Spirits Youth stood up, shaking off the frost covering his body.

He glanced at the cave, which remained silent, his gaze softening. Then, he turned and leaped away, quickly disappearing into the vast sea of green forest.

Not long after Mu Chen departed, a graceful figure emerged from the cave.

The silver-haired girl, clutching her black sword, paused with her jade-like feet. She looked at the semi-circular patch of ground in front of the cave that remained free of frost, then looked toward the empty horizon.

She looked thoughtful.

For the past few days, Luo Li had obtained an extremely rare metal-attribute spirit plant.

She had been hiding in the deepest part of the cave, cultivating in seclusion, refining the spirit plant while attempting to resonate more deeply with the Luo God Sword to break through its first seal.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm, hmm~~"

In the middle section of a crystal-clear freshwater river, humming sounds drifted through the air.

A human youth with delicate, handsome features stripped himself completely bare, transforming into a stubborn fish as he dove headfirst into the water without a second thought.

Draped in a bath towel and holding a scrub ball made of melon rind, he submerged most of his body, his well-defined mermaid line flickering in and out of view.

While humming a nameless tune, he cupped water and splashed it over his body.

Our Royal Heir suddenly stopped his movements, twitched his nose to sniff his own scent, and nodded with satisfaction, "Not stinky at all, I smell fragrant!"

On the bank, the young girl in a black dress with an exquisite figure could no longer maintain her usual calm, her eye twitching as she watched this scene.

This bastard, did he have any regard for her at all!

He didn't avoid her when taking off his clothes, didn't avoid her when jumping into the river, didn't avoid her when bathing, and even—even when standing there to pee, he didn't avoid her, acting as if he were in a land with no one else around.

Furthermore, if you want to bathe, then bathe, but what was the meaning of taking several small wooden ducks out of your spatial spirit artifact and putting them into the water?

This damn sense of ritual!

In broad daylight, he was even telling stories to the little ducks; it was truly.

"Luo Li, come down and wash up too."

Perhaps sensing the silver-haired girl's gaze, the Young King of Hundred Spirits, who was currently pinching a "little duck" and telling a story with vivid gestures in the river, looked up.

He revealed an incredibly brilliant smile and shouted toward the bank, "After so many days, you must be covered in sweat. Between brothers, don't be so formal."

"Come, let's lend each other a hand, scrub each other's backs, and get rid of the grime."

Over these past few months, Mu Chen had been living quite comfortably, treating Luo Li almost like a bodyguard; he ate what he wanted and drank what he wanted, feeling very at ease.

"Hey, hey, don't go."

The expression on the silver-haired girl's beautiful face grew increasingly cold.

Amidst the Hundred Spirits Youth's attempts to make her stay, the beauty moved her lithe body and turned to leave with firm resolve.

If she didn't leave now, Luo Li was truly afraid she wouldn't be able to resist drawing her sword to hack this guy to pieces.

Besides, how could a fairy have any grime on her body?

The morning sun rose high.

The silver-haired girl, draped in a white hooded robe, had a graceful figure and a slender physique.

With her back to the sunlight, she sat on the ground.

Her long, crystalline silver hair fluttered in the mountain breeze, shining as brilliantly as the Milky Way, making her look even more like an otherworldly elf walking beneath the sun.

"Here, taste my handiwork~"

At this moment, a long, slender hand reached over, holding a river fish skewered on a willow branch, roasted until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, interrupting the girl's thoughts.

PS: I am taking a day off tomorrow for the Lunar New Year to go out with my partner.

However, it is impossible for me to stop updating. After much thought, I will put the main story on hold tomorrow and update four to five side stories instead, totaling about ten thousand words, which I have already written and kept in stock.

They tell the story of Mu Feng and Qing Yanjing, set at a timeline more than a decade in the past.

The day after tomorrow, on the second day of the New Year, I will resume the main story. Please be informed.