Lou Feng stood by the lakeside, looking at the nearby corpse of a demon cultivator. It had taken him days to track this down. He hadn't thought that someone could run so far.
Fortunately, he was prepared, having brought a tracking artifact. With a trace now found, he could locate the target within a day.
Taking out the tracking compass, he began to search for traces. It wasn't long before he found something, moving steadily toward his goal. Behind him, Qing Xue of the Heavenly Joy Pavilion followed closely.
Jiang Hao purposefully ran afar, which surprised them. That someone would keep killing demon cultivators, even knowing they were being hunted, meant there had to be a reason. But what?
Lou Feng speculated that Jiang Hao's motive might be to exhaust him, though the real reason remained unknown. To thwart Jiang Hao’s plans, Lou Feng intervened by killing the demon cultivators himself.
Yet, despite their efforts, they couldn't see Jiang Hao. This suggested he was still some distance away. The demon corpses they found were one to two days old.
"Something's not right," Lou Feng muttered, frowning. "He could avoid capture forever at this pace. Why kill the demon cultivators? Is he drawing us in, or does he seek something from them even at the risk of exposure?"
With that thought, Lou Feng knew he had to find Jiang Hao quickly, lest something unexpected occur. Having made a move, they couldn't afford any loose ends.
At night, Jiang Hao sat cross-legged inside a giant tree, a temporary hiding place. The demon cave was sparse with peaks, lacking natural caves. Trees were the safest hiding spots.
He was trying to break through to the peak of his Foundation Establishment stage. If he couldn't break through after accumulating a hundred units, the situation would be dire.
He knew the people from Heavenly Joy Pavilion, if not foolish, would find him soon enough. Facing a late-stage and peak Foundation Establishment cultivator duo meant slim chances of escape. Hence, he bet on his breakthrough.
His chances were high. Previous attempts hadn’t used up all his accumulation of cultivation and blood qi. Purple qi was guiding his spirit energy and blood qi to assault the barrier at perfection's doorstep.
Jiang Hao remained calm, focusing his power into his dantian, ready to achieve perfection in his Foundation Establishment.
On his status panel, his cultivation and blood qi fluctuated, the number dropping from a hundred down to twenty-seven. If he couldn't break through by the time it hit zero, then it would indeed be impossible.
Suddenly, he heard movement outside, but this unexpected development didn't halt Jiang Hao's advancement. He needed to finish ascending before being discovered.
Outside, Lou Feng moved through the forest, pushing forward fiercely, finally reaching the spot, though lacking definite clues. "Did I take the wrong direction?" he wondered.
Yet, using various tracking methods, all pointed to this location. The direction was correct, so where was the person?
He continued forward, staying vigilant, Qing Xue trailing him, ensuring no ambush would catch them both.
"Could he be hiding underground or in a tree?" Lou Feng pondered, halting as he scanned nearby trees. His eyes fell upon a tree exuding a trace of spiritual energy. Usually, it's just an ordinary spirit tree, but driven by his hypothesis, Lou Feng delved into its internal situation and was immediately elated, yet puzzled. The person was... breaking through.
Regardless, he had to interrupt him—no delay.
Clang!
A long blade emerged, energy gathering intensely. Lou Feng leapt up, slashing down fiercely. "Still planning to hide?"
Boom!
The tree split in two with his strike, the wood scattering. Inside, the meditating figure that Lou Feng saw was indeed Jiang Hao.
Seeing his target, Lou Feng rejoiced, channeling more strength for another blow that would cleave Jiang Hao in two.
Yet, just as his blade neared Jiang Hao, an ethereal armor shielded him.
Clang!
Blade and armor collided, neither yielding ground. "Protective artifact?" Lou Feng was astonished.
He hesitated not. Pouring more force, he aimed to shatter the defense. Just then, Jiang Hao's eyes opened, locking onto Lou Feng's gaze with a cold, determined glint.
From Jiang Hao surged forth a formidable aura—Foundation Establishment Perfection.
"Impossible!" Feeling Jiang Hao's newfound presence, Lou Feng was shocked, disbelief evident.
Jiang Hao wasted no time offering explanations. With a swift motion, the Shadow Blade manifested, slicing through with a Demonic Sound Slash.
Boom!
The strike, though Lou Feng managed to block, sent him crashing back, slamming into a tree. His blade snapped, his hand bloodied, but he survived.
Jiang Hao, mildly satisfied with the damage dealt from a mere attempted strike, rose, his gaze shifting to Qing Xue afar. Two against one wasn’t ideal, a quick end was needed.
Qing Xue, matching his determination, gripped her longsword, weaved a hand seal, launching a magical assault towards Jiang Hao. A cold and elegant force erupted around her.
Jiang Hao ignored it, thankful for the Gu poison suppressing any distractions.
He charged with his Shadow Blade.
Clang!
The sword and blade clashed continuously, each powerful exchange causing energy waves to flow through the night. Both battled fiercely in mid-air, neither willing to give way.
Boom!
A powerful force separated them. Qing Xue called back to Lou Feng, “Let’s join forces, he’s just advanced, he can’t last long.”
Indeed, realizing they couldn’t overpower him at this unstable juncture, she knew missing this chance meant inevitable doom for them both.