Luo Mengfei also explained, "We agreed beforehand. Whoever gets held back has to cover the rear themselves."

The group fell silent and continued on their way. In truth, they all knew that if Zhang Xunyi hadn’t stalled Jiao Yu for a bit, they might not have escaped.

But if they went back now, the enraged Jiao Yu would definitely beat them to a pulp.

The sun sank in the west, its lingering light as red as blood.

Due to their limited Qi Blood and explosive power, the Second-Realm prodigies were almost all still on the Yellow Sand River half an hour later. They hadn’t gotten far before the first wave of surprise attacks from the combat vehicles wiped out the vast majority of the Martial Artists.

Amidst the sand-filled sky, one could occasionally see all sorts of discarded blades and polearms. The prodigies had discovered that their prized weapons were no different from fire pokers when faced with super-powered weapons.

Fu Bin’s face was ashen. He had buried himself in a sand pit, leaving only his nostrils exposed to breathe. His eyes were utterly lifeless.

He had organized a team of twelve. Seeing that the pursuing combat vehicles were scattered, someone had proposed ambushing one to seize the vehicle and its supplies. The majority had agreed to the plan.

That was the beginning of the nightmare. Before they could even get close to the combat vehicle, five super-powered weapons fired from kilometers away, wiping out five of their members in a single volley. The rest scattered in all directions. He was lucky; they didn’t pursue him.

Listening to the sound of the combat vehicles fading into the distance, he had no idea how long his luck would last.

Yu Fei awoke from a deep meditative state. Thanks to the passive effect of his Pure Yang True Body, the Qi Blood he had spent traveling eighty kilometers in a short period had already been fully restored. His fatigue was gone. Aside from a bit of thirst, he felt fine.

He was at the border between the Yellow Sand River and Guye Ridge. Scattered gunfire echoed in the distance. Combat vehicles roared by as Warriors, wielding super-powered weapons, fired at any suspicious target they saw.

Yu Fei brushed the sand from his clothes and, remaining concealed, headed toward Guye Ridge.

Loud booms occasionally echoed from the distant mountains, kicking up plumes of dust and smoke. Boulders rolled down the high slopes, punctuated by the sound of occasional screams.

Yu Fei didn’t flare his Qi Blood. He proceeded step by step, like an ordinary person climbing a mountain, carefully erasing his tracks as he went.

Guye Ridge was even more dangerous at night, as countless venomous insects came out to hunt. But for Yu Fei, this was a piece of cake.

The spiritual awakening of his five viscera had granted him low-light vision, allowing him to see his surroundings with perfect clarity. His keen hearing exposed any venomous insect moving within a three-meter radius.

The danger perception granted by his Profound Perception ability allowed him to detect any threatening venomous insects in advance. Unlike other Martial Artists who had to avoid every unfamiliar bug, Yu Fei only needed to watch out for the poisonous ones. His pace seemed slow but was deceptively fast, and because it was as effortless as a leisurely stroll, it consumed very little Qi Blood.

"BOOM!"

A cacophony erupted in the distance. Yu Fei ducked behind a large boulder and focused all his effort on maintaining his Illusory Sword Intent, silently observing the unfolding situation.

Swaths of trees toppled as six Third-Realm prodigies fled for their lives, passing not far from Yu Fei. Behind them, an intersecting web of multi-colored Qi Jin blasted a cluster of scattered boulders into dust.

"Agh, my leg!"

One of the Third-Realm prodigies suddenly fell to the ground, clutching his calf and wailing. His lips visibly turned a bluish-purple, and he began to foam at the mouth. He had been bitten by a venomous insect at some point.

His fleeing companions didn’t even dare to look back. To slow down for a single step meant being caught by the onslaught of attacks right behind them.

"Qing Niao, detoxify him. You stay here and stand guard. We’ll go catch these pumpkins."

"Understood!"

Yu Fei saw a woman in a dark green combat suit instantly break off from the pursuit. She walked over to the convulsing prodigy, a green Qi Jin glowing at her fingertips as she tapped several major acupoints on his chest. Seeing his condition improve, she took out a syringe and injected its contents into a vein in his arm. Afterwards, she touched the fallen prodigy’s Ghost Core with some unknown object.

’He knew that guy had been eliminated.’

’The pursuing team is absolutely ruthless. Seven Inner Qi masters chasing six Third-Realm prodigies. Those guys are done for.’

Yu Fei didn’t dare to make the slightest move, waiting in silence.

Before long, the pursuing team returned, hauling four prodigies who had been beaten black and blue.

Qing Niao was taken aback. "One got away?"

"Couldn’t be helped. This bunch of pumpkins is slippery as hell. One of them actually knew a Blood Body Decoy technique. He split into eight targets at once, and they were all incredibly fast. We picked a few to chase, but they were the wrong ones. We have no idea where the real one went!"

Qing Niao looked incredulous. "Blood Body Decoy? They even know a Cultivation Technique that obscure and difficult to master?"

"Well, they’re prodigies, they’re bound to have a few special tricks. Let’s make the most of it. This is probably one of the only chances in our lives we’ll get to beat them up. By the way, counting these five, what’s our total now?"

Qing Niao’s face immediately broke into a grin. "Twelve! We’re already two over our quota. If we catch one more, our resources won’t be docked, even if the rest of the regiment fails to meet their target!"

Hearing this, Yu Fei silently suppressed his Qi Blood fluctuations to the absolute minimum.

His Illusory Sword Intent could conceal his presence, creating an effect similar to invisibility, but his cultivation realm was too low, making it difficult to be completely traceless.

"Alright, let’s head back to camp first! We’ll turn in these pumpkins and then go out for another round."

With that, the group leaped up and disappeared from sight in a few bounds.

All fell silent. After a moment, the rustling sounds of insects and the chirping of birds resumed. A squirrel poked its head out from a hollow in a broken tree, sniffed the air, then scurried frantically across the ground. It dug through the dirt, unearthing pecans, pine nuts, and other dried fruits, but its harvest was meager. It planted its paws on its hips and let out a series of short, sharp squeaks in frustration.

In the darkness of the night, a black shadow swooped down. Sharp talons pierced the squirrel’s body, and it was carried silently away into the distance. It was a predatory owl, and a purple gem on top of its head glittered.

Yu Fei watched it fly off, a flicker of pity in his eyes, but he remained perfectly still.

With his Super Speed Reaction, he had seen it clearly: seven Inner Qi masters had given chase, but only six had returned.

’They’re fishing for a straggler!’

Yu Fei closed his in meditation, his mind becoming as still as deadwood.

Half an hour later, a short-haired man leaped down from a tree, muttering to himself, "Is there really no one here? I had a strong feeling someone was hiding around here... Must be my imagination."

With that, he vanished in a few leaps. Yu Fei didn’t stir, remaining silently in place.

An hour later, he suddenly heard an electronic voice.

"Six, did you catch anything?"

"No, Boss. I was sure someone was over here, but I guess it was my imagination. I didn’t find a thing."

"Come on back. If no one’s shown up after all this time, it was definitely your imagination. Could’ve been an animal."

"Roger that!"

The short-haired man abruptly stood up from a patch of tall grass and finally left for good.

Yu Fei slowly opened his eyes, only then moving away with his Illusory Sword Intent still active. In his Reversing Destiny Vision, a bright blue gem had been swaying back and forth, making the man impossible to ignore.

Under the cover of night, he stealthily followed the direction the owl had taken, searching for any trace of purple.

This experience led him to discover a special use for his Reversing Destiny Vision: it could be used as a reconnaissance tool. As far as his eyes could see, a diamond-shaped frame would form above the head of any living creature, either empty or colored.

He had often activated his Reversing Destiny Vision in the past. It was like a special power he enjoyed playing with in his downtime, only turning it off when he practiced martial arts to maintain his focus.

Yu Fei had rarely found manifested talents in any creature besides humans. From his long-term observations back in his hometown, he had drawn a conclusion.

The diamond frames above the heads of more than fifty percent of humans were empty. The rest were mostly gray or white; blue was already quite rare.

As he traveled, he found that the vast majority of creatures in the mountain forest possessed no special talents. Occasionally, a small animal would have a gray gem, but they weren’t his target. The owl with the purple gem was.

He planned to spend the night searching for it. If he couldn’t find it, he would give up.

After an hour of searching, Yu Fei spotted a purple fluorescent glow swaying in a distant treetop.

He immediately began to sneak toward his target. Aided by his Illusory Sword Intent, he wasn’t afraid of being discovered.

A short while later, Yu Fei reached the base of the tree. He stood on a rock and unleashed a burst of Qi Blood, launching his body thirty feet into the air. He shot out a hand and snatched the nocturnal raptor.