Hunted by the Great Tribe

After racing along for a day and a night, he had reached the depths of the dense forest. The burly man stopped and turned toward Hou Yaolin's hiding place.

"You have followed this old man for quite some time. As the saying goes, even after escorting a guest a thousand miles, one must part at last. Please turn back!"

Hou Yaolin was deeply alarmed, but remained utterly motionless. He's bluffing. He must be putting on a mysterious act to trick me into leaving...

"It seems you have far-reaching designs. This old man can only ask to test your skills!"

The moment Hai Ya finished speaking, he swept out a streak of dark Battle Halberd light, driving it straight toward Hou Yaolin's hiding place.

Hou Yaolin was shocked. His whereabouts had undoubtedly been exposed; the old man he had been following was presumably no weaker than himself.

With no time to remain hidden, Hou Yaolin instantly condensed an Elephant-Tortoise Shield. With a clang, it blocked Hai Ya's Battle Halberd strike, but the violent impact hurled him several dozen feet away. He spat blood before finally dissipating the force of the blow.

Having chosen to strike, Hai Ya had no intention of letting Hou Yaolin return alive. His feet skimmed the tips of the grass as he turned into a streak of white light and shot toward Hou Yaolin.

Hou Yaolin's face turned ashen. Knowing he had met a formidable opponent and his life was in danger, he immediately swallowed a pill. Not only did his injuries heal instantly, but his cultivation even faintly reached the early third level.

Seeing the force of his approaching opponent, Hou Yaolin swept his broad sleeve, sending several embrace-thick trees hurtling toward Hai Ya's figure at once.

Hai Ya shouted, gathering mental power in his palm before striking the massive logs directly. Amid thunderous crashes, every log his palm struck turned to flying ash.

At this sight, Hou Yaolin knew he could hold nothing back. He took out a pure white jade case, and three streams of Azure Nether Sword Qi grew as they met the wind, forming a sword formation that stabbed toward Hai Ya from different directions.

This was a lifesaving measure the Dharma Lotus Trading Company provided to every steward. It could be activated three times, each activation unleashing the power of a middle third level cultivator's strike.

Hai Ya dared not be careless. He immediately manifested the Three-Legged Crow Cauldron with his mental power. Sparks flashed and collisions thundered as he used the cauldron to forcibly block Hou Yaolin's Azure Nether Sword Qi.

While Hou Yaolin's mind reeled, Hai Ya shot forward. A divine crow over a hundred feet long manifested, letting out a long, sky-rending cry. One claw struck Hou Yaolin's throat and plucked his head off like an onion from the earth.

Hai Ya resumed his appearance as the Clan Patriarch. His thin, wizened body swayed as he leaned against a tree trunk.

"I fear this matter is not over!"

After catching his breath briefly, Hai Ya braced himself on his dark walking stick and continued running forward despite his exhaustion.

He still dared not return directly to the tribe, instead persisting northward.

"Hou Yaolin was just killed! Fellow cultivator Du Jiang, do you now think this information is worth three thousand second-tier Beast Cores?"

"Enough talk. Here are three thousand Beast Cores!"

As soon as Du Jiang finished speaking, a small mountain of second-tier Beast Cores piled up on the table. The shopkeeper of the Dharma Lotus Pavilion beamed with delight. The Beast Cores earned from selling this information would all belong to him. As for Hou Yaolin's death, he had only his own lack of ability to blame.

As a powerful middle third level Soul Cultivator of the Eastern Nether Great Tribe, Du Jiang naturally understood what a threat a small tribe possessing an Alchemist posed to their great tribe. Since one had appeared, they would either submit or be killed. There was no other path.

Without lingering, Du Jiang immediately took Du Shan, an early third level Soul Cultivator of his tribe, aboard a War Falcon and flew north through the sky. War Falcons were formidable birds of prey, enormous and astonishingly fast, raised by most great tribes as mounts.

Hai Ya knew the danger remained and forced his exhausted body to race northward. Yet human strength had its limits. When it came to traveling, he could never match the innate abilities of a bird of prey like the War Falcon. In less than half a day, he sensed two powerful presences bearing down on him from the distant sky.

Hai Ya immediately stopped and sat cross-legged. He had to seize what little time remained to heal his injuries and restore his mental power. Fortunately, Hou Yaolin had carried a Divine Origin Pill, which was highly effective at restoring a divine cultivator's mental power, and it was now in Hai Ya's hands.

He had been sitting for fewer than several dozen breaths when Du Jiang and Du Shan arrived. Both jumped down from the War Falcon and stood before him.

"Either serve me or have your clan exterminated! You have five breaths to decide!"

"Then let us fight!"

In an instant, the powerful Mental Power of Hai Ya's third-level Divine Cultivator surged forth like a mighty river. It manifested as an almost tangible Three-Legged Divine Crow, which gazed down imperiously before opening its beak and spitting a Scorching Sun Flame straight at Du Jiang.

Du Jiang's expression was grave, and he held nothing back either. An enormous Crow Flood Dragon coiled through the air toward Hai Ya. Meanwhile, Du Shan's second soul mark flashed, and a Bone Wall radiating white light blocked the space before them. Attacking and defending simultaneously, the two men from the Eastern Nether Great Tribe worked in remarkable harmony. This was also what gave them the confidence to pursue him.

The flames spat by the Three-Legged Divine Crow blasted into the Bone Wall with a thunderous crash. It shattered instantly, and the flames struck toward Du Jiang and Du Shan. Unable to dodge in time, both took the blow head-on and were driven back several dozen feet.

At the same time, the Crow Flood Dragon summoned by Du Jiang charged with equally astonishing force, opening its dark, sinister maw to bite Hai Ya's head. In the blink of an eye, Hai Ya manifested the Three-Legged Crow Cauldron, blocking the deadly blow from the python-like Crow Flood Dragon.

Without another moment's hesitation, Hai Ya raised the jade case Hou Yaolin had left behind and instantly unleashed three streams of Azure Nether Sword Qi straight at Du Shan. After Hou Yaolin's death, the Clan Patriarch had gathered his belongings and discovered that the jade case still had one strike remaining.

His injuries had yet to settle, and his mind had yet to steady. Du Shan had never expected the old man before him to strike with such ruthlessness. In a daze, he saw three immensely powerful streams of Sword Qi slash toward him from the front and both sides. Before he could employ the defensive methods he excelled at, all three pierced his vital points, killing him on the spot.

Du Jiang was horrified. Everything had happened too quickly for him to offer any help, and he was deeply shaken by the old man's cultivation and ruthless methods.

This man's clan spirit is a Three-Legged Divine Crow. It should not be difficult to track down clues using that. There is absolutely no need to keep fighting him here today.

Du Jiang began thinking of retreat. The arrogant swagger he had brought with him was long gone.

How could Hai Ya fail to see what Du Jiang was thinking? Since he had already exposed his divine crow clan spirit, there was no way he could let the enemy leave alive and bring disaster upon his clan.

Du Jiang hastily retreated and let out a shrill whistle. The War Falcon swooped toward him in response.

"You think you can leave? Not so easily!"

Hai Ya steeled himself and sent a beam of mental energy toward the War Falcon. Unable to dodge, it let out a piercing cry. Its mind overwhelmed by Hai Ya's mental power, it fell to the ground.

This War Falcon was merely a second-tier vicious beast. It had no possibility of breaking free from the Mental Power control of a third-level divine cultivator.

At this sight, Du Jiang's fear grew even stronger. Three soul marks on his arm flashed, manifesting a Crow Flood Dragon, a three-foot centipede, and an enormous brown bear, which lunged toward Hai Ya one after another. He himself seized the opportunity to turn and flee.

At this moment, desperate to escape with his life, Du Jiang had released three Soul Spirits in his panic, hoping only that they could hold Hai Ya back for a moment. Hai Ya, however, would risk his life rather than let Du Jiang escape. As one waned and the other surged, victory and defeat were decided!

With a thunderous crash, the Crow Cauldron Hai Ya had manifested knocked Du Jiang's Crow Flood Dragon flying. Hai Ya then struck out with his palm, smashing the three-foot centipede's head apart.

The brown bear came roaring at him with flailing claws. Hai Ya stamped his foot, darted past the bear, and launched himself toward Du Jiang.

"You cannot escape!"

In midair, Hai Ya summoned the Three-Legged Divine Crow and stepped through the sky in hot pursuit of Du Jiang.

Du Jiang specialized in offense and lacked defensive methods. He hastily brought out a Bone Shield, but how could it withstand the divine crow's innate flames? With a thunderous crash, he was struck, his whole body charred black, and lost consciousness.

Hai Ya leaped after him and arrived close behind. With his dark walking stick in hand, he delivered a merciless blow, brutally shattering Du Jiang's skull.

Facing two powerful enemies of the same level, Hai Ya had relied on a Divine Origin Pill to restore his mental power, then struck with the speed of thunder before one could cover one's ears, killing Du Shan, controlling the War Falcon, and striking down Du Jiang in one unbroken sequence.

The War Falcon still lay prostrate on the ground, while Du Shan and Du Jiang, both powerful third-level cultivators, were dead. Although Hai Ya had won, his mental power was now almost exhausted. Worse, during the battle he had been poisoned by the Spirit-Turbid Centipede Soul Spirit. His entire arm had swollen, turning purplish-black and oozing blood.

Fortunately, Du Jiang and Du Shan both possessed considerable wealth. How could powerful men from a great tribe lack lifesaving medicines such as Soul-Returning Pills? The battle had simply been too swift for them to have any chance to use them.

After hurriedly gathering the Soul Crystals and pills from their bodies and resting briefly, Hai Ya let out a long whistle. Trembling, the War Falcon obediently prostrated itself before the Clan Patriarch.

Collapsing onto the War Falcon's back, Hai Ya issued a command through his scant remaining mental power. The War Falcon beat its wings and soared off the ground into the sky.

It had to be said that an adult War Falcon was truly an excellent aid for traveling and fleeing for one's life. In less than half a day, it had flown over a vast expanse of dense forest, speeding northward.