After Lin Yan left, an effeminate man arrived at the site of the battle with three others. Finding no one there apart from his two dead subordinates, he immediately released his Martial Soul, then looked in the direction Lin Yan had fled and gave a sinister smile. "Hmph, you won't get away!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Lin Yan moved swiftly through the dense forest, keeping his footsteps as light as possible and regulating his breathing until it was long and faint. He dared not let his guard down in the slightest, his mind intensely focused as he sensed every rustle around him.
This hilly woodland was no famous Soul Beast forest, but there was no guarantee that dangerous Hundred-Year Soul Beasts did not lurk here. In his current condition, having just fought a fierce battle, he had consumed over half his Soul Power, and his physical strength was not at its peak either. If he encountered another powerful Hundred-Year Soul Beast, he would be in serious trouble.
As he advanced cautiously, he reviewed the battle. Instantly killing two Soul Elders with seamless coordination while he was only a Soul Grandmaster might have looked easy, but it had actually been fraught with danger, almost exhausting all his mental effort and trump cards. His precise control of Illusory Color Concealment, his exact timing, and his use of the Tai Chi Sword Technique-if any link had failed, the outcome would have been rewritten.
"My strength... still isn't enough." Lin Yan clenched his fists, sensing that less than forty percent of his Soul Power remained. His desire to grow stronger became ever more urgent. He had to take that thousand-year blood ginseng as soon as possible and turn it into tangible cultivation.
Yet just as his thoughts churned, an exceedingly faint sensation, carrying unmistakable malice, silently wound around his back like icy spider silk.
Someone was coming after him! And they were incredibly fast!
Lin Yan's heart tightened. Without hesitation, he immediately channeled his Soul Power. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul appeared in his right palm once more, its pale blue blades rapidly spreading as though alive to cover his entire body. Their colors and textures shifted swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, he had blended into the rough trunk of an ancient tree beside him. He even suppressed his breathing and Soul Power fluctuations to their lowest possible level.
His First Soul Skill, Illusory Color Concealment, activated at full power!
As though he had become part of the forest, he lay silently concealed, his sharp gaze directed behind him through the gaps between the branches and leaves.
In fewer than ten breaths, four figures came racing over like phantoms, stopping not far from where he had just been.
At their head was the effeminate-looking man from the auction. By now, his feigned gentleness had long since vanished, replaced by a sinister, irritated expression. Three people followed him. Two had powerful presences, with faint fluctuations of power surrounding their bodies-they were actually at the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor level! The other was a Three-Ring Soul Elder, but his Soul Power fluctuations were stronger than those of the scar-faced man from earlier.
The effeminate man swept his gaze over the surroundings, his nostrils twitching slightly as though catching something in the air. Soul Rings rose one after another beneath his feet, two yellow and one purple. He was actually a peak Soul Elder with the optimal configuration. At the same time, his body changed. His ears grew long and pointed, his nose turned black and moist, his fingernails sharpened, and an illusory canine tail appeared behind him, swaying-this was his Martial Soul, the Wind-Chasing Dog.
"Hmph, you certainly know how to hide!" The effeminate man snorted, his voice shrill. "Unfortunately, before my Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul, your little concealment tricks might as well not exist!"
He drew a deep breath, his First Soul Ring lighting up as he shouted in a low voice, "Scent Tracking!"
An invisible fluctuation spread outward from him, as though countless tiny scent molecules in the air were being magnified and analyzed. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, then abruptly opened them. Those eyes, now like a canine's, locked onto the ancient tree where Lin Yan was hiding with unerring precision! His lips curled into a cruel, sinister smile.
"Found you! Get out here, brat!"
Before his words had faded, the burly Soul Ancestor beside him gave a savage laugh. His First Soul Ring flashed, and he punched through the air! Violent Soul Power condensed into an earthen-yellow ball of light that hurtled toward Lin Yan's tree with a dull howl.
Not good! Alarm bells rang in Lin Yan's mind. His opponent really could pinpoint his position so precisely! He pushed off hard, shooting diagonally backward like an arrow loosed from its bow an instant before the ball of light struck him.
Boom!
The ball of light struck the thick ancient tree, instantly blasting its trunk apart and sending wood chips flying. Although Lin Yan avoided the direct impact, the blast wave still sent him stumbling. The violent fluctuations in his Soul Power also broke his Illusory Color Concealment, revealing his figure.
"After him! Don't let him get away again!" the effeminate man shouted sharply, his eyes gleaming with absolute confidence. "Hmph, you won't get away!"
The burly Soul Ancestor and the other Soul Ancestor, a lean man who moved like the wind, responded at once. Like two ghostly shadows, they moved to encircle him from either side. The remaining Soul Elder stayed beside the effeminate man, guarding him while watching their surroundings warily.
Without looking back, Lin Yan pushed his speed to its limit and tore through the trees. He knew with perfect clarity that he had absolutely no chance of winning a head-on fight! A peak Soul Elder with a Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul and two Soul Ancestors of unknown strength-this lineup was enough to crush him in a short time.
Why can't I shake them? Lin Yan's heart grew heavy. He considered himself anything but slow, and after removing his weights, he was as light as a swallow. Yet the two Soul Ancestors behind him were clearly faster, especially the lean one, whose movements were elusive and who covered enormous distances with every push. The distance between them was shrinking visibly.
Moreover, no matter how he changed direction or used the terrain for cover, his pursuers always adjusted quickly and stayed hard on his heels, as though he carried an invisible beacon.
A beacon... scent! A flash of inspiration struck Lin Yan, and he suddenly recalled the effeminate man's Martial Soul-the Wind-Chasing Dog! What were canine Martial Souls best at? Tracking scents!
That's it! That has to be it! His opponent was not locating him through sight or Soul Power fluctuations at all, but through his unconcealable body odor and the lingering scents on the items he carried! That explained why he could not shake off pursuit even with Illusory Color Concealment. It concealed his form and part of his presence, but could not completely eliminate the unique scent molecules he gave off! Without the aid of a special Soul Skill or medicine, there was simply no hiding this from a canine Martial Soul with a keen sense of smell.
Having grasped the key, Lin Yan immediately came up with a countermeasure. As he fled, his eyes rapidly scanned his surroundings, searching for somewhere that could mask or interfere with his scent-a water source!
Only flowing water could wash away the scent traces he left behind to the greatest extent possible!
Just then, the lean Soul Ancestor seemed to lose patience. His Second Soul Ring lit up, and his speed surged again. Like a bolt of blue-green lightning, he instantly closed dozens of meters, his withered hand clawing straight for the center of Lin Yan's back with a sharp rush of wind from his fingers!
Sensing the vicious wind approaching from behind, Lin Yan's pupils contracted. He knew he could no longer flee in a straight line. He abruptly stopped and turned, his longsword appearing in his hand once more. The blade traced a circular arc-it was the Yield principle of the Tai Chi Sword Technique, an attempt to guide away and neutralize the attack.
Clang!
Sword met fingers, yet the sound of clashing metal rang out! Lin Yan felt a cold, piercing surge of Soul Power travel along his blade. His arm ached and went numb, and his blood churned. He used that force to drift backward, a metallic sweetness rising in his throat as a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
A Soul Ancestor's strength was far beyond that of a Soul Elder! Just a single hurried exchange had left him with minor injuries.