Starting at the Nascent Soul stage, a rogue cultivator is incredibly poor.

It was late at night.

Qingyouzi slowly opened her eyes and stood up. Her divine sense spread out like a net, sweeping across the entire island.

Everything was as usual, except for the faint presence of the patrolling monks swaying in the sea breeze.

He silently dived into the sea.

The water parted silently, and a blue light enveloped his figure as he sped towards the outer sea. He had only flown a few miles when his divine sense suddenly detected another aura at the edge of his body.

someone.

The figure was also moving extremely fast, heading towards the depths of the outer sea; it was at least at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"Who?"

Qingyouzi let out a low shout, his divine sense suddenly locking onto his opponent, and the blue silk thread in his hand was ready to be released.

"Fellow Daoist Qingyou, it's me! What a coincidence, haha."

A familiar voice came from inside.

Qingyouzi narrowed his eyes, slowly swam closer, and stopped ten feet away.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Wen. I wonder what Fellow Daoist Wen is doing here so suspiciously? Could it be that you're planning to chase after that Dao Crane?"

In the darkness, Wen Tao appeared, a familiar smile on his face. He waved the communication jade slip in his hand, its light illuminating the surrounding seawater.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't speak ill of me," Wen Tao said with a smile. "Could it be that you weren't tempted when you saw that wanted poster?"

The two looked at each other.

After a moment of silence, they both burst into laughter.

Qingyouzi withdrew his oppressive aura.

"So, Fellow Daoist Wen, you've also come for those 60,000 battle merits?"

"Sixty thousand battle merits, who wouldn't be tempted?" Wen Tao said frankly. "According to the jade slip, although Dao He is a rogue cultivator, he is skilled in escape techniques. Despite being seriously injured, he managed to escape from the Second Elder of Tianxian City and ran south towards the continent. If he escapes into the territory of the demon race, it will be difficult to catch him."

Qingyouzi chuckled softly, her fingers gently stroking the silk threads in her sleeve.

Which rogue cultivator who can reach the Nascent Soul stage doesn't have the ability to protect their life?

He was confident that even a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't catch up with his full-speed escape.

The two of them looked south at the same time.

Daohe fled in the direction of the inland areas of the Southern Profound Continent, rather than the depths of the Boundless Sea.

"That traitor fled towards Tianxian City?" Wen Tao raised an eyebrow. "Did he walk right into a trap?"

"Or perhaps there's another motive," Qingyouzi said calmly.

After a moment's thought, Wen Tao suggested:

"Fellow Daoist, since we share the same goal, why not join forces to pursue them? Once we find Dao Crane, we can take him down together and split the spoils equally. What do you say?"

Qingyouzi glanced at him.

A moment of silence.

"Alright," he nodded, "but that fellow Daoist...can you keep up?"

Before he finished speaking, the Wind-Riding Pearl on his head suddenly emitted a bright blue light!

The countless threads within the sleeve twisted rapidly, like hundreds of tiny snakes writhing.

Wen Tao only felt a blur before his eyes before Qing Youzi's figure transformed into a blue rainbow, breaking through the water and disappearing into the deep black sea in an instant.

"That speed..."

Wen Tao's pupils contracted slightly.

Having witnessed Qing Youzi's fighting skills before, I knew his strength far surpassed that of others of the same level. But this speed of escape... it didn't seem like that of an early Nascent Soul cultivator at all! It was clearly the power of a mid-stage cultivator flying at full speed!

He dared not delay; his body surged with water, transforming into a streak of blue light as he sped off.

Qingyouzi broke through the sea surface and soared into the sky.

Looking back, Wen Tao's escape light had shrunk to a tiny dot in the far distance, and he was trying his best to catch up.

"You want to share my war merits?"

Qingyouzi sneered.

Sixty thousand battle merits are enough to exchange for a Nascent Soul Pill, and there might even be a considerable amount left over. How could such an opportunity be allowed to be shared with others?

He activated the Wind-Riding Pearl with all his might, and a blue light streaked across the night sky, falling like a meteor towards the Southern Xuan Continent.

Along the way, they encountered several streaks of light that seemed to disappear.

They all exuded the aura of Nascent Soul cultivators, and their directions were consistent.

Clearly, the wanted poster had attracted more than just these two. The lure of 60,000 battle merits was enough to make many Nascent Soul cultivators temporarily set aside their cultivation and take action to apprehend him.

After all, killing a mid-stage fourth-tier demonic beast only yields 50,000 battle merits and involves risking one's life. But hunting down a severely injured early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator... sounds much easier.

Qingyouzi and the fleeing lights stared at each other from afar, their understanding unspoken.

Then, it accelerates.

The azure rainbow left everyone behind and disappeared into the horizon.

Three days have passed.

Qing Youzi had already ventured deep into the Southern Xuan Continent, where mountains stretched endlessly beneath his feet and dense forests covered the land. He hovered in mid-air, his divine sense spreading out like a tide, sweeping over every inch of land within a hundred miles.

There was no trace of Daohe.

That guy seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"wrong……"

Qingyouzi frowned in thought.

Dao He was severely injured, and even with his secret escape techniques, he couldn't possibly escape without leaving a trace. The Thousand-Year Spirit Milk could restore his magical power, but his injuries would require time to heal. Three days wouldn't be enough for him to escape very far.

unless……

He didn't actually flee far.

Qingyouzi's gaze fell on the mountain range below.

The southern part of the Southern Xuan Continent is mostly barren mountains with sparse spiritual energy, rarely visited by cultivators. It is an ideal place to hide.

"Search for three more days," Qingyouzi muttered to himself. "If we still can't find it, we'll return to the sea. We can't leave our duty of guarding it for long."

But he had a vague feeling that the crane... might be nearby.

He put away his escape light and landed on a mountain ridge.

He withdrew his divine sense and began to probe more closely. Blue threads seeped silently from his sleeve, like countless fine whiskers burrowing into the soil, rock crevices, and tree roots, sensing the most subtle fluctuations of spiritual energy.

This is another ingenious use of the myriad threads: exploration.

Wherever the silk threads touch, the breath of all things can be felt. Although it is not as wide-ranging as divine sense, it is more subtle and harder to be shielded.

An hour passed.

The silk thread probed across three mountain peaks, but to no avail.

Qingyouzi wasn't in a hurry; he would continue in another place.

The following evening.

He stopped above a canyon.

A stream flows deep within the canyon, its sides lined with steep cliffs covered in dense vines. It appears ordinary, but…

The silk thread in Qingyouzi's sleeve suddenly trembled slightly.

A faint, almost vanished trace of blood energy mingled with the dampness of the stream. It would be completely undetectable without the meticulous probing of countless threads.

He remained calm and descended slowly.

Behind the vines, there is a very well-hidden crack in the rock wall, only wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. The entrance to the crack is concealed by natural vines, and from the outside, it looks perfectly normal.

But when the thread probed in, it touched a thin barrier.

Prohibition.

Crude and hastily made, yet it effectively concealed the true nature of the interior.

Qingyouzi stopped in front of the crack, not in a hurry to break the seal.

Since Daohe dared to hide here, he must have a backup plan. A heavily injured Nascent Soul cultivator, if forced into a desperate situation, could launch a counterattack that should not be underestimated.

He retreated ten feet and found a spot in the shadow of a boulder to hide himself.

The silk threads within the sleeves silently spread, creeping like moss across the rock walls surrounding the cracks. Before long, an invisible net had been laid out.

Sit back and wait for the rabbit.

Now that we've found the lair, why rush in?

Qingyouzi closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, but his divine sense locked onto the crack.

The third day, early morning.

The sky was just before dawn, and the mountains were shrouded in mist.

The barrier before the crack rippled slightly.

A figure slowly emerged from the side, clad in a black robe, his aura weak; it was Dao He.

He was extremely vigilant. He first scanned his surroundings with his divine sense to make sure there was no obstruction before taking the second step.

The moment that step was taken.

Ground, rock walls, vines.

Countless blue threads suddenly burst forth!

Like a net that stretches across the sky and earth, it tightens in an instant!

Daohe's pupils contracted sharply, and his body flashed with light, but it was too late. The silk threads wrapped around his limbs and torso, tightening more and more, and his spiritual energy was sucked away like a tide.

"Who?!"

He growled, and a silver dagger flew from his sleeve, slashing at the silk threads.

Where the blade passes, the silk thread breaks and then grows back; how could the resilience of ten thousand threads be broken so hastily?

Qingyouzi emerged from the shadows.

"Fellow Daoist Daohe," he said calmly, "I'll accept the 60,000 battle merits."

Daohe turned pale when he saw who it was.

"Qingyouzi...how did you find her?"

"Rogue cultivators are skilled at escaping and hiding." Qingyouzi approached slowly. "Unfortunately, the blood aura you left behind... is too strong."

"I am not a traitor!"

Daohe gritted his teeth, staring at the other party's murderous gaze, despair flashing in his eyes, but then he suddenly smiled.

"Do you really think... 60,000 battle merits are so easy to get?"

Before he finished speaking, his dantian suddenly swelled up!

Nascent Soul self-destruction?!

Qingyouzi's expression changed slightly. The silk threads in his sleeve suddenly retracted, weaving into layers of green net in front of him as he retreated rapidly.

However, the expected explosion did not occur.

Daohe's swollen dantian suddenly calmed down, and in its place was a jade talisman crushed in his hand.

Spatial fluctuations suddenly occurred!

"A teleportation spell?!"

Qingyouzi was startled, and countless threads shot out like arrows, but only managed to entangle a gradually fading afterimage.

Dao He's figure re-formed ten zhang away, his face even paler, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The forced activation of the teleportation talisman had clearly worsened his injuries.

But without turning his head, he transformed into a streak of gray light and sped away into the depths of the canyon!

Qingyouzi narrowed her eyes.

"I underestimated you."

The azure light rose again, giving chase.

The fog thickened in the depths of the canyon, and two streaks of light disappeared into the hazy mountain shadows, one after the other.

Meanwhile, several streaks of light were rushing toward this direction from the distant horizon.