Guo Hongjian had chased the Dawn Rayfish a long way but was still ultimately shaken off. By the time he returned on Merging Fire, even his escape light had dimmed and his mana was too depleted to keep going.
"What a pity. It's rare to encounter a Foundation Establishment Realm Dawn Rayfish. Creatures of the Heavenly Glow lineage are far too adept at fleeing and can even knock away dharma artifacts. Truly difficult to catch," muttered Guo Hongjian.
The emergence of the Dawn Rayfish was due to the great flood during the Northern Sea’s sky fracture. A Dawn Rayfish had taken the opportunity to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. The conditions for such spirit beasts to evolve were extremely stringent, making it a rare treasure. Guo Hongjian missing it only deepened his regret.
Though his cultivation technique was high grade, his Immortal Foundation, Heart-Flame Aspiration, was not known for vast reserves. But after swallowing two pills, his mana recovered significantly. The Cloudlight Profound Ring underfoot quivered slightly, accelerating his speed. Looking southward, he saw someone riding the wind in the distance.
They were obscured within a dharma artifact. Above him stood eight painting screens arranged in a cylinder, radiating a mysterious golden hue that enveloped him. It seemed like a tiny dot of dull gold on the horizon.
He clearly saw the grey-red Merging Fire flickering across the painting screens, refusing to extinguish no matter how much mana was poured into suppressing it. Guo Hongjian couldn’t help but laugh heartily in his heart, Merging Fire damages artifacts and harms the body. It can't be fully cleansed without several days of nurturing!
Since Merging Fire was not exclusive to the Crimson Reef Island, Guo Hongjian didn’t think too much of it. After flying a bit farther, he spotted a patch of grey clouds above Xifeng Island and several cultivators flitting through them like tiny black dots.
"Hmm?!"
Blazing Merging Fire streamed across the sky. Guo Hongjian came to a sudden halt, his pupils slowly widening.
If he still couldn’t understand at this point, he would be a true fool. His face twisted with murderous intent as he instantly turned around. The cloud ring beneath his feet burst into action as he drew out a grey-red fire token.
He charged back, teeth clenched, "Scoundrel, don’t you dare flee!"
"This man must have harmed Hongkang!"
He naturally didn’t believe his sister Guo Hongyao had died at the hands of this man. Considering the time he spent chasing the Dawn Rayfish, their departure from the island couldn’t have been more than two to four hours apart. At most, the anomaly in the sky meant one death, and that could only be Guo Hongkang.
Even so, Guo Hongjian’s fury was undiminished. Although Guo Hongkang wasn’t a blood relative, he was shrewd and resourceful. Guo Hongjian had always kept him close and often relied on his advice. It was utterly worthless for him to die here.
Rage surged through his chest. Flames rose beneath his feet as he stepped onto the cloud ring and sped forth. The man had already become a barely visible speck on the horizon, but Guo Hongjian had memorized his figure in that brief glance and calculated that his speed was now far inferior.
"Prepare to die!"
Guo Hongjian cultivated the Heart-Flame Aspiration, a technique with a slow escape spell. Thankfully, he had the aid of a dharma artifact. Though still slower than a Dawn Rayfish, he surpassed most others in speed. His vital qi surged, leaving a red-white trail in the air as he rapidly closed in on the golden gleam without a word.
As expected... I knew they wouldn’t let me off so easily, Li Xijun had already noticed his pursuer.
He could have used the Immortal Mirror to perceive the world and easily avoid the man. Guo Hongjian wouldn’t even have gotten close to his shadow. But Li Xijun was meticulous in his thinking. With the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators possibly involved, how could he dare arbitrarily change directions?
Rather than exposing anomalies that would draw the suspicion and silent attention of more Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, thus endangering his family, Li Xijun would rather take on more risk himself. At worst, his plan would fail. But the exposure of the Immortal Mirror could mean annihilation.
When he saw Guo Hongjian drawing near, Li Xijun’s spiritual sense immediately swept over the cloud ring under the man’s feet. It glowed brightly, releasing waves of white dharma light to support the middle-aged cultivator, causing Li Xijun to feel uneasy.
He observed closely for a moment, then his heart stirred. He formed a hand seal and activated the dharma artifact with his spiritual sense. A wave of dim cyan light flickered from the screen as he activated Heavy Abyssal Gale once again.
Buzz...
The sweeping cyan light swiftly locked onto the cloud ring under Guo Hongjian’s feet. It flickered, then the cloud aura dispersed as the dharma light shattered. It instantly reverted to its original form, no bigger than a ring, and was captured by the Chongming Profound Insight Screen.
"What!" Guo Hongjian was stunned and furious as he nearly fell out of the clouds. The fight hadn’t even begun, and he almost coughed up blood. His heart trembled, What kind of dharma artifact is that?! Ridiculous!
Guo Hongjian had just chased a Dawn Rayfish that specialized in knocking away dharma artifacts. He was well aware of many spells and tools that could achieve this. But there was a difference between knocking down an artifact and outright capturing someone's flight tool. This was unheard of!
And to do it so swiftly and cleanly! Since his artifact had been forcibly taken from him, his speed was greatly reduced. Guo Hongjian was no match for the person ahead. He was deeply shaken.
Meanwhile, Li Xijun understood immediately, Heavy Abyssal Gale mimics the gale of the Great Western Plains. Even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators can’t fly in that wind. It doesn’t just knock down dharma artifacts; it disrupts the dharma light that sustains them. Naturally, that includes the cloud ring’s dharma light. None of this artifact’s three effects are simple!
Guo Hongjian watched the distance widening again and felt a surge of greed, yet for a moment, he hesitated, Flying sword? Dharma light? But the distance is too short for spellcasting, and everything else might be knocked down by that ironclad artifact. Who on earth is this person?!
He ran through all the possibilities, realizing that as long as the one using that artifact was fast enough, it would be nearly impossible to counter. But as he hesitated for two seconds, the distance had widened significantly again.
His expression darkened. Pressing two fingers together, he drew out a wide sandalwood-red talisman, upon which was painted a vividly lifelike, scale-covered giant rat.
Guo Hongjian chanted, "Scorching wind, heed my command, shuttle and race as one with fire!"
Li Xijun listened quietly. He sensed the talisman between Guo Hongjian’s fingers release a puff of sandalwood-red wind through his spiritual sense. It transformed midair into a long-scaled crimson rat, howled once, then turned into a gust of red wind, lifting him from below and propelling him north at great speed.
This talisman was not ordinary. Called the Blazing Merging Fire Talisman, it was drawn by the sandalwood cloud rat, the spirit pet of Crimson Reef’s founding ancestor Guo Shentong. The Merging Fire spirit beast specialized in summoning a scorching wind. The talisman was originally crafted for a direct descendant’s escape, but driven by greed and fury, Guo Hongjian didn’t hesitate to use it for battle.
The sandalwood-red fire wind gathered in an instant, and he rapidly closed the gap. Lifting his long command token to his lips, he exhaled, his eyes turning grey-red as he spat out a gout of Merging Fire.
This flame was worlds apart from what Guo Hongkang had wielded. It was thicker, grander, and more scorching. It let out a strange cawing sound as the deep grey flame slammed against the screen with a thunderous boom.
Li Xijun was already injured and low on mana, so the blast nearly knocked him from the sky. Merging Fire blazed across the painting screens, devouring his mana like a whale swallowing water. Without mana support, the light of the Chongming Profound Insight Screen dimmed all at once.
Clang!
As Guo Hongjian controlled the flames, the screen's light suddenly split apart, bursting forth with a dazzling sword light and falling like frost and snow. He watched coldly as a strand of red gauze flew from his sleeve, fluttering and twisting as it entangled the sword light.