Sha Hao waited for the white eagle to land on his shoulder, its one claw charred and feathers on its tail sparse, clearly having suffered losses in the chase with Yuan Ming’s winged bird.

Sha Hao had no time to comfort the white eagle; with a wave of his hand, a fiery red flying boat materialized before him. The boat, shaped like a swimming fish and about twenty feet long, had two cyan wheels at its tail, positioned on either side.

Leaping onto the oddly-shaped flying boat, Sha Hao watched as it burst into dazzling red light, the cyan wheels at the stern whirring rapidly and shooting out two thick cyan beams. The red and cyan lights intertwined, as if fire and wind were aiding each other, causing the spiritual power to surge dramatically.

The fiery red flying boat shot into the sky like a bolt of lightning, its speed far surpassing the white jade flying shuttle, quickly closing the gap between them.

“Leiyu!” Yuan Ming looked to the winged bird flying beside him, tossing it a purple spiritual fruit, which Leiyu caught mid-air and swallowed, chirping joyfully.

He then threw a storage ring into Leiyu’s mouth, from which a soul crow flew out, surrounded by a swirl of mana, and merged into Leiyu’s body.

“Go,” Yuan Ming commanded.

Leiyu soared into the sky, circled back, and spat a bolt of purple lightning at Sha Hao and his fiery red flying boat.

Unperturbed, Sha Hao cast a spell with a wave of his hand, and a crystal-clear red light shield instantly appeared around the flying boat.

The purple lightning struck it, creating a thunderous boom, but the red light shield merely trembled before stabilizing.

Seeing its attack fail, Leiyu screeched and dove at Sha Hao with claws crackling with lightning, as if seeking to reclaim its earlier dominance.

As Leiyu closed in, a hint of joy flashed in Sha Hao’s eyes.

He had long recognized the extraordinary nature of this winged bird and had even sent the white eagle to capture it.

If Leiyu continued to attack from a distance with its lightning-fast speed, Sha Hao might not be able to catch it. But now, with the bird approaching, he had plenty of ways to subdue it.

In thought, Sha Hao tapped his forehead with his fingers, releasing a powerful soul fluctuation that enveloped Leiyu.

However, at that moment, Yuan Ming’s soul crow manipulated the mana, activating the talismans stored in the storage ring.

A series of talismans appeared in front of Leiyu, each bursting with considerable mana, all of them mid-grade talismans.

Sha Hao’s expression changed drastically as he quickly maneuvered the red flying boat to dodge, with the boat immediately projecting a red light shield.

But it was too late. A flash of green light passed before Leiyu, and all the talismans were activated.

Boom!

Lightning, fireballs, wind dragons, and rain swords descended from the sky, striking the red flying boat with their powerful spells, engulfing it.

Although the red light shield was sturdy, it couldn’t withstand the combined attack of the mid-grade talismans and shattered after several violent flashes.

The sound of snapping and breaking was incessant as the large flying boat, engulfed in flames, disintegrated into pieces and plummeted downward.

Taking advantage of Sha Hao’s falling boat, Yuan Ming continued forward with the white jade flying shuttle.

Soon, Leiyu returned, still clutching the storage ring in its talons and spitting out the soul crow.

Thanks to an abundance of spirit stones, Yuan Ming had purchased many talismans. This tactic of using the soul crow in conjunction with a spiritual beast for long-range casting was extremely covert; Yuan Ming had used it several times before with unfailing success.

As a soul cultivator, Sha Hao naturally relied on his transformed soul to control mana from a distance, but he had not anticipated such a tactic and was caught off guard.

The fiery red flying boat exploded in a burst of flames, the scorching tongues of fire consuming everything within a dozen feet. With nothing to rely on, Sha Hao fell from the sky.

The white eagle swooped down to catch the falling Sha Hao, both creature and man heavily wounded. The eagle’s wings were burnt, many feathers destroyed, and its claws charred. Sha Hao’s clothes were tattered, and he looked extremely disheveled.

“Chase!” Sha Hao slapped the white eagle beneath him and fed it a medicinal pill.

The eagle’s spirits lifted, and it flapped its wings to pursue Yuan Ming.

However, the injured white eagle was much slower than the red flying boat and even slower than the white jade flying shuttle, quickly falling far behind.

But Sha Hao did not give up and continued the relentless pursuit.

Seeing Sha Hao’s unyielding chase, Yuan Ming’s heart sank.

After the previous fierce battle, his mana was nearly depleted. Even with spirit stones to replenish it, he couldn’t sustain the white jade flying shuttle for long.

Yuan Ming’s gaze flickered as he reached for the spirit beast bag containing the Qingyun Crane.

The crane was not fast, but it could buy him some time to recover his mana.

“Gaa gaa…” Leiyu’s call came from beside him, conveying its willingness to carry Yuan Ming.

Although only a first-grade upper-level beast, Leiyu’s intelligence was on par with a second-grade spiritual beast, allowing it to communicate simply with Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming hesitated; Leiyu was only two years old and about ten feet in size. He had never considered riding the bird, planning to wait until it advanced to the second grade before considering it as his mount. It was too early now.

But with Sha Hao closing in, it wouldn’t be long before he caught up.

“Then I’ll trouble you,” Yuan Ming said as he leaped onto Leiyu’s back and put away the flying shuttle.

Leiyu’s body sank slightly under the weight but quickly stabilized, emitting a piercing screech that cut through the clouds. Its wings flickered with lightning as it shot forward with a whoosh.

This speed was much faster than the white jade flying shuttle, with everything around rapidly receding.

Yuan Ming was both shocked and delighted; he knew Leiyu was fast but hadn’t expected it to maintain such speed while carrying him.

Eager to show off, Leiyu intensified the lightning on its wings, further increasing its speed, and soon vanished from sight, leaving Sha Hao far behind.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming finally relaxed, sat cross-legged on Leiyu’s back, took a recovery pill, and also took out two mid-grade wood attribute spirit stones to absorb their spiritual power.

His mana quickly replenished as he planned his next move.

There was no reply to his message to Xiying, who was obviously thousands of miles away.

Having lured Sha Hao here, Yuan Ming hoped that Xu Tian’s luck was good enough to escape the trial grounds safely.

With so many disciples lost and Lu Shen fallen, the Shengye Sect would not let things rest. Sha Hao’s appearance had been exposed, making it impossible for him to move about openly anymore.

Yuan Ming’s only concern was whether Sha Hao would reveal his identity as a soul cultivator. The Central Plains’ cultivation world was even more hostile towards soul cultivators, almost universally despised. If Sha Hao were captured and his identity as a soul cultivator spread, Yuan Ming would also be in danger.

Leiyu, although fast, was still young and had exhausted a great deal in the battle with the white eagle. It couldn’t sustain its speed for long and soon began to falter.

Yuan Ming didn’t push Leiyu, letting it rest in the spirit beast bag and summoning the Qingyun Crane to continue on his way.

Not long after, Yuan Ming’s expression changed abruptly as he looked back to see Sha Hao approaching.

“So soon?” Yuan Ming was startled.

The winged bird was extremely fast, and he had left Sha Hao dozens of miles behind. During that time, he had changed direction several times, far exceeding Sha Hao’s spiritual sense range. How had Sha Hao managed to catch up?

But there was no time for such thoughts now. Yuan Ming immediately put away the Qingyun Crane, switched to the white jade flying shuttle, and sped off.

His mana had recovered by a third, and with full force, he propelled the white jade flying shuttle, quickly leaving Sha Hao behind again.

However, after this ordeal, Yuan Ming’s mana was once again nearly depleted, and he had to summon the Qingyun Crane to take over while he sat on its back to recover his mana.

Having learned from experience, Yuan Ming summoned water to wash himself thoroughly, then donned a grey cloak and applied a spell to hide the crane’s aura, eliminating any chance of being tracked.

But half an hour later, Sha Hao caught up again.

Yuan Ming cursed inwardly, once more taking out the white jade flying shuttle to flee, while using his spiritual sense to meticulously inspect every part of his body.

Sha Hao had managed to locate him precisely twice, indicating he must have a method to lock onto his position.

In the world of cultivation, there were secret methods to mark an enemy with mana or spiritual sense. Had Sha Hao unknowingly used such a technique during their encounter?

Yet after three thorough searches, Yuan Ming found nothing.

He also checked his clothes, the white jade flying shuttle, and even the spirit beasts like Leiyu, Huazhi, and Jingang in the spirit beast bag, but still found no clues.

Left with no other choice, Yuan Ming fled for his life.

Thus, the two played a game of cat and mouse in the Yunluo Mountains, with Sha Hao persistently chasing Yuan Ming, who tried every means to hide his tracks to no avail.

As long as Yuan Ming didn’t use the white jade flying shuttle, Sha Hao would quickly catch up.

Half a day later.

Yuan Ming once again shook off Sha Hao, his expression darkening.

Somehow, Sha Hao had managed to increase the white eagle’s speed significantly. Although still slower than the white jade flying shuttle, the time it took to catch up was getting shorter and shorter.

Yuan Ming had no choice but to keep taking medicinal pills, pushing his mana to the limit until his dantian began to ache.

Leiyu was too exhausted to carry him again, and such prolonged overexertion was too much for its young body to bear.

“I can’t keep this up, or I’ll be caught by Sha Hao before I even escape the Yunluo Mountains!” Yuan Ming thought of a strategy and looked down.

His eyes lit up as he descended towards a valley below.

The valley was shaped like the mouth of a calabash, narrowing further inside. Dense trees covered the area, creating a perfect hiding place.

Yuan Ming entered, and his figure soon vanished from sight.

Not long after, Sha Hao arrived on the white eagle and landed at the entrance of the valley.

“Hmph, you think you can outwit me? Let’s see where you can run to now!” He put away the white eagle, pointed to his forehead, and blood light surged forth.