Gaze into the Future

"Literary Fortune's Blessing, Azure Firmament Heavenbreaker!"

With an enraged roar, Red Cloud hurled the Ice Soul Sword from his hand. It transformed into a heaven-shocking sword rainbow and met the descending hoofprint head-on.

The sword rainbow collided with the hoofprint, erupting in an earth-shattering blast. Clouds across several million li were swept away by the shockwave, while mountain peaks collapsed one after another.

Blood streamed from Red Cloud's seven orifices. Flung backward by the tremendous recoil, he smashed through mountain after mountain before finally embedding himself in the rocky wall of a cliff.

At that moment, his organs had shifted out of place, and more than a dozen bones throughout his body had broken. His injuries were grievous.

Yet Black Tiger's hoofprint had also been shattered by the sword rainbow, dispersing into black specks of light that filled the sky.

A flicker of surprise passed through Black Tiger's eyes. He had not expected Red Cloud to truly withstand his third move—and this was with him using fifteen percent of his strength.

At that moment, Black Tiger almost suspected that his attainment of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal had been fake. Even a thread of his power should have crushed a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, yet fifteen percent had failed to bring Red Cloud down.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Black Tiger uttered three consecutive praises, a trace of admiration flashing through his eyes. Regardless of Red Cloud's cultivation, such perseverance and courage deserved his respect.

"Your name is Red Cloud, correct? I shall remember you."

Black Tiger withdrew his aura and said calmly, "I keep my word and never go back on it."

"Three moves have passed. You may leave."

Red Cloud struggled out of the cliff wall and cupped his hands toward Black Tiger. "Thank you, Senior, for showing mercy."

Black Tiger waved a hand. "There is no need to thank me. You endured them by your own ability."

"However, I must remind you of one thing: the Phoenix Clan, Dragon Clan, and Qilin Clan will not let this rest."

"That Parasol Tree is too important. The pursuit you face from now on will only grow more frenzied."

Red Cloud nodded without saying more. Turning, he flew toward Buzhou Mountain. His injuries were severe, and he had to find a safe place to heal as soon as possible.

But he could not remain at Tigerhead Mountain for long. Though he did not know why Black Tiger had let him go, if the Qilin Clan learned that he was here, they would certainly not spare him.

After Red Cloud departed, another figure appeared. Black Tiger bowed to that figure.

"White Tiger Patriarch, that Daoist has left."

White Tiger nodded and said with a smile, "Black Tiger, you did well. You handled this matter very well."

"It was all thanks to Patriarch's guidance."

After offering the flattery, Black Tiger asked doubtfully, "Patriarch, why did we let that Blood Cloud go?"

A sharp gleam flashed through White Tiger's eyes as he recalled the sight he had witnessed while his spirit roamed the Great Void.

A pair of eyes had looked over from the downstream reaches of the River of Spacetime, striking directly at White Tiger Patriarch's mind.

"Leave the Tiger Clan a favor."

Black Tiger scratched his head, unable to understand. Was that Daoist not merely a Primordial Unity Rogue Cultivator?

What use could the favor of a Primordial Unity Rogue Cultivator possibly have? Still, Black Tiger did not dare question what his Patriarch said.

White Tiger Patriarch did not explain. It was not that he did not want to, but that he could not. Whenever he tried to speak, his soul became unsettled, and an intense sense of danger arose.

Red Cloud flew for an entire day before finally leaving the Tigerhead Mountain Range. He found a secluded valley, dug a hole within it, and crawled inside.

The hole was not large, only enough for one person to sit cross-legged. After setting up an array, Red Cloud began healing his injuries.

His wounds were severe. His organs had all suffered damage to varying degrees, and more than a dozen bones had been broken.

If not for his unusual physique and the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune's protection, he would have died at Black Tiger's hands.

"That was truly a brush with death!"

With a bitter smile, Red Cloud took out a Spring-Rejuvenation Pill and swallowed it, then began circulating his cultivation technique to repair the injuries within his body.

The pill's medicinal power turned into a warm current that slowly flowed through his body, mending his damaged bones and organs.

Days passed one after another. Red Cloud spent a full seven years healing before his injuries finally recovered completely.

Over those seven years, the outside world had undergone earth-shaking changes. News of the Parasol Tree's emergence spread across the entire Primordial World as though it had grown wings.

The Phoenix Clan, Dragon Clan, and Qilin Clan all dispatched large numbers of powerful experts to search everywhere for Red Cloud's whereabouts.

The Phoenix Clan's pursuit was the most frenzied, because the Parasol Tree held the greatest significance for the Phoenix Clan and avian creatures.

Primordial Phoenix personally issued an order: whoever recovered the Parasol Tree would be rewarded with the title of guest elder of the Phoenix Clan.

The Dragon Clan and Qilin Clan were not to be outdone either, offering generous rewards—if not an elder's position, then cultivation resources.

For a time, Red Cloud became the hottest figure in the Primordial World. Cultivators throughout the land searched for him, hoping to claim the rewards promised by the Three Clans.

Naturally, being so sought-after was absolutely no good thing for Red Cloud. On the contrary, it was an enormous nuisance.

The Phoenix Clan had already spread Red Cloud's aura far and wide. Countless cultivators searched for him with that aura in hand.

After recovering from his injuries, Red Cloud emerged from the hole and took a deep breath, sensing the outside world. As his divine sense spread out, he soon detected several powerful auras in the distance searching in his direction.

"Damn it, here they come again..."

Red Cloud shook his head helplessly, his body turning into a streak of light as he continued fleeing toward Buzhou Mountain.

Buzhou Mountain bore Pangu's pressure, and living beings were scarce there. Even the territories of the Three Clans could not extend into it.

Red Cloud had already made up his mind. He would find a place on Buzhou Mountain beyond the reach of all Three Clans and hide there.

Once the Dragon-Han Calamity ended, he would emerge again. But reaching Buzhou Mountain meant passing through the Three Clans' spheres of influence, making it a journey where death lurked at every turn.

Years passed. Red Cloud crossed countless mountains and rivers, encountering several hundred pursuits along the way.

Once, several Phoenix Clan fire crows found him. Their cultivation was not high, however, and Red Cloud easily slew them.

Another time, he encountered a Dragon Clan flood dragon whose cultivation matched his own. Red Cloud gritted his teeth and used the Firecloud Banner, finally killing the flood dragon after considerable effort.

There was also a black Qilin from the Qilin Clan whose cultivation was one minor realm higher than Red Cloud's, at Peak Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. Rather than entangle himself in battle, Red Cloud fled.

Every pursuit was a trial. Red Cloud was like a sponge soaking up water; after every battle, his cultivation inevitably improved somewhat.

After slaughter upon slaughter, Red Cloud not only persevered, but his cultivation had also broken through to Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Perfection.

Though only his mana had reached Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Perfection, Red Cloud could feel that his Primordial Spirit was nearing its limit as well. It could break through to Primordial Unity Perfection at any moment.

His physical body, on the other hand, had not improved much. To escape pursuit, Red Cloud had no time to refine pills. Relying solely on tempering his body himself made progress far too slow.

With his cultivation improved, Red Cloud's speed grew even faster, and he drew ever closer to Buzhou Mountain.

During this process, Red Cloud counter-killed several hundred Primordial Unity Golden Immortals, including quite a few Peak Primordial Unity Golden Immortal cultivators. As for those below Golden Immortal, they were too numerous to count.

So many cultivators had been counter-killed by Red Cloud that he had thought the rest would be frightened away. But with the calamity now upon them, calamity qi clouded everyone's minds, and they rushed forward like madmen, one after another.

Countless Rogue Cultivators charged into the territories of the Three Clans in pursuit of Red Cloud. Among them were many members of the Three Clans muddying the waters, while the western Devil Race fanned the flames from behind.

Thus, the conflicts between the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Tribes continued to escalate. Sometimes, before they even caught sight of Red Cloud, they had already begun fighting each other, giving Red Cloud quite a spectacle.