But back to the matter at hand.

His potential upper limit was one thing, but the fact that his current strength was greatly suppressed was another.

Therefore, if he wanted to make a move on Yang An, he had to ensure it was absolutely foolproof.

The power Yang An had displayed already made him feel threatened. This boy could not be allowed to live.

Thus, the most urgent task was to repair the damaged Earth Spirit Stele and restore his condition to normal. Only then could he act!

With the Earth Spirit Stele damaged, the Xianyuan Forbidden Artifact Fragment he controlled was also greatly affected.

Only He Tou, having lost his mind, was completely fixated on killing Yang An regardless of the consequences.

But Elder Life Crane had remained calm the entire time, refusing to be blinded by madness like his companion.

"Rest assured, his time is almost up!"

Elder Life Crane said no more. He waited for He Tou to regain some of its senses before taking it and flying out of the Life Crane Sect.

Several hundred li away, there was a very remote place with a town that had a sizable population.

It was a place that, while nominally under jurisdiction, was a lawless frontier where the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away. It was a region left to fend for itself.

He had anticipated that people from the Golden Thread Pavilion would come, so he hadn't traveled too far from the Life Crane Sect.

Now that the people from the Golden Thread Pavilion were gone, it was time to harvest that flesh and blood and repair the Magic Stele.

This wouldn't take long.

Soon, Elder Life Crane's figure headed into the distance and quickly vanished.

Meanwhile, Yang An, who was hiding somewhere, abruptly lifted his head.

Sensing the Qi Seal he had left on the old fiend moving rapidly to the southeast, he also stood up and quickly gave chase in the same direction.

Although the two were far apart, he relied on the Qi Seal Sensing Technique's ultra-long-range positioning, which covered a radius of several thousand meters, as well as the Illusion Technique to conceal his own aura.

Yang An always stayed at the very edge of the Qi Seal's sensory range, and thus was not discovered by Elder Life Crane.

And so, one in front and one behind, separated by a great distance, Yang An tailed Elder Life Crane, pursuing him closely.

After an unknown amount of time, he sensed that the Qi Seal had stopped moving. Yang An immediately stopped as well, landing on the flat ground.

He couldn't perceive what was ahead, but since the old fiend had stopped, something was definitely amiss.

Before long, the old fiend's Qi Seal moved forward again. This time, however, it didn't leave Yang An's sensory range but began moving about in the area ahead.

Although he didn't know what the old fiend was doing, he was certain that this was his destination. Yang An immediately found a hidden cave and concealed himself inside.

From here, he could constantly monitor the old fiend's movements while continuing his cultivation without interruption.

He just had to be careful about any disturbances he made, or the old fiend would easily detect him.

Soon, the better part of a day passed by.

The sky turned from high noon to dusk.

As Yang An grew more proficient, his absorption of the Celestial Gnomon Light and accumulation of the Nine Forces Shocking Dragon became faster and faster.

But just then, he suddenly sensed the old fiend's Qi Seal begin to move rapidly away, toward the edge of his sensory range.

'Is he leaving?'

Yang An immediately stopped what he was doing and followed once more.

But as he flew in the direction Elder Life Crane had gone, he was hit by a wave of such a pungent, bloody stench that he could barely keep his eyes open.

Using his True Eye, Yang An was finally able to see the horrific scene below.

Below was a town that wasn't particularly large, but at this moment, it was covered in splashes of crimson blood.

The buildings weren't damaged, but not a single person could be seen—not even a corpse.

Yang An even detected the fading aura of a Technique within the town.

A battle had clearly taken place here, but in the end, everyone had died, completely unable to stand against the old fiend.

'An entire town's population is gone! How many people did that son of a bitch kill?!'

But despite his shock, Yang An didn't linger. He continued to follow in the direction the old fiend had gone.

Slaughter and death were the main theme of this entire world. Countless people died every day; he had no idea how the population sustained itself.

For the old fiend to kill so many people at once, his purpose was surely not simple.

The bodies of these people had vanished into thin air. Their flesh and blood had certainly been taken by the old fiend.

If his guess was correct, this was definitely related to the old monster's current weakened state.

It seemed the old fiend was also trying every means to recover his strength. His objective was self-evident.

'Trying to recover?'

'Do you really think you'll get the chance?'

A cold smile appeared on Yang An's face. How could he possibly let such a perfect opportunity slip by?

Soon, tailing the old fiend from behind, Yang An traveled another hundred li.

He only stopped when the Qi Seal on the old fiend stopped moving.

And this direction was the way back to the Life Crane Sect.

In Yang An's senses, the old fiend had stopped again. He was clearly preparing to use the massive amount of flesh and blood he had just obtained to recover.

Yang An didn't get too close, still keeping the Qi Seal at the edge of his sensory range so he could monitor the old fiend's movements at all times without exposing himself.

At the same time, an ugly, large mouth opened on his palm and spat out a long arrow shimmering with a silver light.

The Unidentified Arrow!

At this moment, the silver color on the Unidentified Arrow had spread to cover nearly its entire body. It would probably reach a full charge very soon.

But at this moment, Yang An hesitated slightly.