Chapter Ninety-Four: Fierce Battle

A line of twenty servant-soldiers moved cautiously through the dense forest, like the most ferocious and cunning hyenas, scrutinizing every subtle trace in their surroundings. The relentless downpour made their pursuit far more difficult, yet they were confident in their ability to find Ji Hao. Emperor Luo had promised generous rewards—whichever squad could capture Ji Hao alive would be freed from their lowly slave status and become official warriors of the Bloodfang Regiment.

Driven by the hope of a bright future, the warriors of Bloodfang Regiment were on edge; each swore an oath to capture Ji Hao alive, determined not to let this boy, burdened with a gravely wounded girl, escape.

Directly above them, Ji Hao, whose clothing was interwoven with twigs and leaves so that he blended perfectly with the shadowy canopy, watched the relentless pursuers with calm eyes. The Nine-Syllable True Word Elixir Scripture masked his presence flawlessly, and Ji Hao even stilled his heartbeat for a time.

Focusing his mind and gathering his energy, Ji Hao waited until the twenty servant-soldiers passed below. Then, forming seals with both hands, he uttered a low incantation. Having fully assimilated the drop of Phoenix Essence, his Zifu Yuan Elixir, now several times more refined than before, spun rapidly, expending nearly all his magical power in an instant.

Within a hundred yards, every raindrop froze simultaneously, becoming silvery-white frost. Long, flexible ropes of frost writhed like serpents from nightmares, enveloping the soldiers from all directions.

The dark-skinned soldiers roared in rage and terror, swinging their weapons furiously at the deadly ropes attacking from every side. But the ropes were too numerous and dense; for every one they severed, countless more wrapped around them.

Necks, wrists, ankles, waists—every part of their bodies was bound tightly by the frigid ropes. They struggled with all their might, but could not break free. The biting cold seeped into their bodies, slowly numbing and stiffening their limbs.

Their furious shouts were meant to alert their comrades, but within the hundred-yard radius, Ji Hao controlled the air, suppressing all fluctuations of elemental force—their cries could not escape the barrier.

Sword in hand, Ji Hao leapt from the tree, eyes narrowed. In his mind’s eye, he saw the phantom arc of the Open-Sky Strike, controlling his body as he unleashed the attack. Sword flashes followed the arc, darting lightly between the dense frost ropes, precisely tearing open the soldiers’ throats.

Not a drop of blood spilled; their bodies’ heat had already frozen solid. Ji Hao swiftly searched their bodies, and from the leader he found a leather pouch, pouring out a handful of pills. He sniffed them carefully, frowned, and tossed them onto the ground, stomping them deep into the mud.

The pills dissolved in the muddy water, transforming into a dark green sludge that swiftly corroded the soil, eating a hole the size of a human head.

“Jiang Yao, you’re quite clever! Looks like all the medicine these servant-soldiers carried was poison.” Ji Hao formed seals, waved his hand, and the frozen raindrops melted at once, falling to the ground with a crystalline sound.

In the pouring rain, dense elemental energy surged into Ji Hao’s body. Circulating along his meridians, threads of purple energy slowly flowed into his Zifu, absorbed by the spinning elixir.

In just ten breaths, all the elixir power Ji Hao had expended was restored, and he had even made a slight advancement. What was once a hazy, mist-like Zifu Yuan Elixir, after days of relentless depletion and replenishment, had been forged into a tangible, soybean-sized purple-gold core. Just one more catalyst, and he could transform illusion into reality, stepping into a realm even his previous life had not reached.

Once the Zifu Yuan Elixir became real, Ji Hao’s magical power would increase a hundredfold, and his other abilities would become even more wondrous.

“Just a little more,” Ji Hao muttered, ears twitching as he caught, through the storm, the faint sound of footsteps hundreds of yards away. “But the benefits have been tremendous. My senses alone are at least ten times sharper now.”

With a gentle wave, the weary-faced Manman carefully climbed down from the tree. Ji Hao carried her on his back, examined the trunk, and skirted the direction from which the footsteps came, resolutely heading north.

The path to survival lay to the south, but the mountain forests for hundreds of miles around had been completely sealed off. Unless Ji Hao wished to crash into the terrifying, still-unmanageable warriors of the Ka Clan, he had no choice but to go north.

The Fire Crow Tribe, Manman’s father’s domain—all lay to the south.

Each step north increased the risk, but Ji Hao had no other option. He had to first evade Bloodfang Regiment’s search, then find a way to circle back south. Neither he nor Manman was strong enough to confront the formidable Bloodfang Regiment head-on.

No sooner had Ji Hao departed than, amidst the shattered rain, a towering figure over four meters tall silently appeared beside the bodies of the twenty slain warriors. With bronze skin and four shining eyes, the Ka Clan warrior held two heavy serrated blades and gazed at the corpses, stomping the ground in fury.

With a single stomp, the earth within a hundred yards shuddered soundlessly, dozens of trees disintegrating into sawdust and collapsing in the rain. The Ka Clan warrior sniffed, baring his teeth in a grim smile.

“Little ones, I smell the blood on you. Not the boy’s—it’s that girl’s!”

He chuckled darkly, his massive form moving like a ghost, utterly silent, following Ji Hao’s trail. His nose twitched violently, striving to catch the faint traces lingering in the rain.

Every Ka Clan warrior had honed one bodily sense to its utmost. This one's special talent lay in his nose, capable of detecting a hundred, a thousand times more information than others. He was Bloodfang Regiment’s foremost tracker.

“Merit, hmph, hmph. Though Emperor Luo acts recklessly, he’s far more generous than Lord Disha. Now that the terrifying Lord Disha is gone, with Emperor Luo’s temperament, we’ll gain even more benefits.” The Ka Clan warrior laughed quietly as he moved swiftly.

Ji Hao dared not use any mystical arts, relying only on lightness techniques to race through the forest.

He had to choose every step carefully—soft mud, thick moss, loose bark; countless things could leave traces for pursuers. Extreme caution was needed to protect his and Manman’s lives.

Evading twelve search teams along the way, Ji Hao quietly reached a mountain cliff.

Ahead rose a cliff a hundred yards high. Ji Hao frowned, searching for a place to climb.

Three miles behind him, the Ka Clan warrior, nose twitching madly, had already locked onto Ji Hao’s location.

With a strange laugh, the Ka Clan warrior leapt, crossing three miles in an instant, then roared and threw a powerful punch toward Manman on Ji Hao’s back.

“Little one, you’re mine now!”

***

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