Are You the One in the Mysterious Core Realm, or Am I!?

After saying that,

White Ape Lord darted into the distance.

He twisted in midair, then drove off with all four limbs the instant he landed. Roof tiles exploded beneath him as he shot more than a dozen yards away.

Shen Jingxian swept forward in a single stride, neither hurried nor slow, keeping seventy or eighty yards behind White Ape Lord.

Yang Xiao sprang after them. With the Wind-Treading Wandering Dragon Steps aiding him, he was barely slower than either of them.

"They're so fast!"

Yan Tieyi fell behind after only a few strides. Helplessly watching the three figures vanish from sight, he could only return to the City Lord's Residence to see whether any demons remained for him to kill.

White Ape Lord headed north, crossing half of Azure Mist City before leaping over the northern wall and stepping into the She Mountain Range.

The terrain rose sharply here, dark ridgelines joining into an unbroken mass beneath the moonlight.

White Ape Lord glanced back several times. Seeing Shen Jingxian still following him, the vicious gleam in his eyes wavered.

About a cup of tea later, White Ape Lord landed alone in a mountain hollow.

The wariness faded from his face. Seemingly relieved, he bared a mouthful of white teeth in a grin. "You really stuck close."

There was none of his earlier desperation from being hunted down. Instead, he seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Shen Jingxian and spoke mockingly:

"I knew you'd stayed out of sight all these days because you were guarding against me. But it seems you haven't uncovered anything, or you wouldn't have followed me here."

He raised a finger toward the heights behind him, then unexpectedly spotted Yang Xiao arriving a step later.

"Let me show you my backer. Today,