Beneath the morning light, several figures raced through the mountains, fleeing several miles northwest in mere moments.
As one of the Four Sages, the Left Xian King, Li Jian, possessed astonishing reserves. Even after being surrounded and wounded, he sped up rather than slowed down, moving so fast that only a golden afterimage remained visible.
Sky-Pacifying Sect Master Jin pursued with someone in her arms. Although Luo Ning was light and supple, she was still an adult, and the burden left the gap between them widening. She could hardly toss her wife to Protector Ye behind her to carry, so she could only muster her breath and give chase, pitting her endurance against the Left Xian King's.
Behind them, Ye Jingtang thundered along with the Dragon-Mingling Spear. After running several miles, he noticed Jiang Zhawu slowing and turned to call out:
"Chief Jiang, go back and escort Mr. Han."
They had chased their quarry out of the basin, while the old shaman and the others were still retreating into the mountains. Although the Left Xian King's followers had been pursuing them, hoping to help him, there would be serious trouble if a few clearheaded ones turned back to besiege Wei and rescue Zhao.
With his family behind him, Jiang Zhawu could only say, "Don't pursue a desperate foe. Come back as soon as you can." Then he dropped back to the ground and charged toward the basin.
Ye Jingtang had wanted to remind him not to beat Cao Aning to death. But if Cao Aning was too stupid to know that fleeing was his best option in a situation like this, he probably wasn't much use anyway, so Ye Jingtang said nothing more.
Dolan Valley lay at the narrowest point of the Huangming Mountain Range, where the mountains spanned only