Chapter 177 - North Barren Mountains

“No!” As the Qi swords came closing in, the condensed prime Warriors could only watch. They were not quick enough to react nor were they able to do so due to the mass pressure waves Ye Wei’s attack imposed. There was no time for stances or scrolls, only their demise.

“Bang!”

When despair was the only feeling these condensed prime Warriors felt, seconds before their deaths, tens of golden bolts of Qi caught up with Ye Wei’s swords.

With great precision, the finger-shaped bolts struck each of the thirty-six swords right before the Lu’s men were killed.

The Lu’s looked in awe at the golden fireworks in front of them; their robes and hair were wet from sweating.

Most of them felt numb and stunned since they were about to die.

Lu Li on the other hand, was relieved. If more of his men were to die, he would have to be punished even if his grandfather was an elder. ‘Even if he can’t help, he would be able to the witness to prove how strong this assassin is in front of the council, I don’t think they would believe tonight’s attack otherwise.’

“Chase Him!” Lu Li ordered in a low voice as he leaped forth towards the direction Ye Wei escaped in.

The cultivators from different martial families were hesitant. After giving each other a look, they all decided to follow, but just slow enough so the distance between them and Lu Li kept lengthening.

‘Returned prime Warrior’s strength, he just casually crushed Ye Wei’s strikes from miles away!’ Lu Feng made an even greater effort to hide his Qi presence; there was an undisguised sense of fear and shock in his eyes.

Being a cultivator himself, he knew how impressive the returned prime Warrior’s finger strike was.

A cold glint flashed in Lu Feng’s eyes. His figure shook and he disappeared into the shadow projected by moonlight onto the ancient branches.

‘You will need more speed if you want to chase me down!’ Ye Wei thought to himself as he channeled his Qi and transformed it into runes under his feet. With the Starblink Steps, he became lighter on his feet, pulled ahead of the Lu’s chasing him.

Knowing that the returned prime level elder was going to catch up, Ye Wei leaped into the dense bushes and sped up while keeping completely quiet, ‘if you want to catch me, you will have to find me first.’

As Ye Wei stood on the land registry, North Hill Bay only covered sixty square miles, but the mountain range that began inside the area stretched a thousand miles northward, giving Ye Wei a labyrinth of trees and rocks for cover.

However, even it was within Ye Wei’s plan to utilize the mountain to shake the Lu’s. He, like a lot of returned prime Warriors, did not wish to enter too deeply into the North Barren Mountains, which was the home of numerous wild beasts and demon hordes

Four miles away from Ye Wei, a white-robed, chubby older man was accelerating. His fire red hair fluttered in the wind.

His belly wobbled as he sped through the woods. His movements were slow, but his legs were strong, and each of his steps produced a thousand feet distance between them.

Within five breaths’ time, the red haired elder, Lu Qianying, had already covered miles. He watched over Lu Li and the rest from above. His presence filled the woods.

His red hair illuminated the dark. It was bright as daylight radiating three hundred feet around him. His Qi presence was affecting people’s consciousness on a primal level.

‘That is someone special!’

The Lu’s and martial family cultivators following were startled. They could not help but admire and worship the old chubby man running above the clouds.

“Elder Qianying!” The Lu’s landed and went down on their knees.

“Elder Qianying!” Lu Li quickly stopped and bowed with the utmost respect. Being the head elder’s grandson meant that he did not have to get on his knees. Nevertheless, he was not going to waste his time on etiquette when he was busy chasing the assassin.

“I didn’t think someone would dare interfere with our search!” Lu Qianying’s comedic face darkened. His cold eyes scanned the dense woods below him, trying to spot any abnormalities.

“Any idea who it was?” Lu Qianying’s penetrating gaze was set onto Lu Li.

“Sir, I am not sure; he was masked, and a lot stronger than I am. He has some mysterious tricks up his sleeves!” There was no chance that Lu Li would tell the elder he was ambushed when he was in the company of a woman.

“All the ten-star condensed prime Warriors and the locals we recruited fought him at the same time, but it didn’t seem to be enough. Out of Green Moon City, I think only the City Lord, Principal Gu and Master Yi are capable of doing what the assassin did. However judging by height, the attacker should be a teenager. Therefore, I assume whoever we are chasing, is not from around the area.”

“Not someone from Green Moon City?” Lu Qianying frowned. He wondered if his nightmare had become reality, ‘had other families found out about the Drakehead?’ The Lu’s were powerful in Qing state, but in a grander scale, they were not considered as influential.

The reason why the Lu’s sent two returned prime Warriors to Green Moon City was primarily to contain the information about the Drakehead from spreading.

“Stop all other operations! Lock down the North Hill Bay area. Pause the search before this is settled.” Lu Qianying said with determination, “now, get up and keep chasing you fools!”

The chubby elder narrowed his eyes and glared towards the mountains, ‘this highland is known to be the nest of wild beasts and demons. If this reckless assassin decided to run, it would be towards the bay area, not the mountains!’

Lu Qianying headed in the direction where Ye Wei disappeared into. He spread his will-force and used it as a detection tool, ‘I am too old to play hide and seek, but I will make an exception for you!’

Ye Wei’s Qi was hidden in his bones at rest; therefore, he was able to hide his presence. If he was not a Supernova stance user, his neck would have been snapped by Lu Qianying already.

As the elder ordered, Lu Li and the five ten-star condensed prime Warriors each took seven weaker cultivators with them to search the bay area thoroughly.

If the search teams saw anything, they were ordered to immediately fire their flare scrolls to notify Lu Qianying. The bay area was vast, but for a returned prime Warrior from one end to the other was just fifty steps reach.

Shrouded by darkness, Ye Wei slowed down and covered his tracks entirely. He lifted his head and looked towards the Drakehead that was twenty miles away from where he was, making his choices of escape path very limited.

The Lu’s elder was on his way, and there was not a chance he would let Ye Wei live.

***

At the hour of dawn, the slumbering trees were woken up by morning breeze. When the gust died down, the bay area returned to silence.

A nimbe figure sneaked out of the dense branched. The disturbed birds flapped their wings and flew off.

It was Ye Wei.

‘These people are persistent!’ Ye Wei turned to look behind him, confirming the Lu’s men were still looking for him. They were chasing after him like packs of dogs tailing a fox.

Ye Wei had already took the Lu’s on a tour around the bay area, but he still could not shake them. To make things worse, he could sense the returned prime Warrior was closing in on him.

‘This is the bay area’s edge, if I go any further I will be in the North Barren Mountains.’ Ye Wei looked at the high rise hesitantly and frowned. ‘This is basically an enormous beast nest. There are rare and even emperor grade beasts roaming these mountains.’

“Stop running and I will consider let you die a less painful death!” Lu Qianying’s voice rumbled the woods.

“Swoosh! Swoosh!”

A few Qi bolts flew right at Ye Wei as the loud, threatening words acted as a diversion.

“Fu*k, he knows where I am!?” Ye Wei could hardly hear the wind breaking sound, but he sensed the elder’s strike. He grunted and used the Peerless Swords to defend himself.

“Bang!”

The Qi swords crashed onto the finger-shaped bolts; both stances disintegrated in a burst of light and a shrill sound.

The chubby elder’s will-force picked up Ye Wei’s Qi sword.

“You can’t hide!” Lu Qianying was more or less sure about Ye Wei’s location. His figure turned into a flash towards where the shatters runes were.

“Fatty, follow me into the mountains if you dare!” Ye Wei taunted as he rushed away from the Drakehead.

‘He will be able to catch me in a few seconds if I slow down even though I am a few miles ahead.’ Ye Wei channeled his Qi down to his feet. With Starblink Steps, his movements were light and nimble; he used the wind and the branches’ bounce to speed himself up.

There was no way back, Ye Wei ground his teeth and leaped past the stone tablet that marked the edge of North Hill Bay area.