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Chapter 1,954: Retreat to a Distance

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But after he咬ed his teeth, risking both his spiritual body and his golden form, he promptly activated this seal. Indeed, the holy ancestors' manifestations failed to detect it in time, allowing him to pass through the crisis undetected. Of course, such a course of action came with certain risks—not only for himself, but also for the safety of his spiritual body and his second immortal embryo, which now faced even greater peril. Fortunately, the spiritual body was formed from the essence of the Immortal of the Orchid, and Qu'er, who controlled it, had herself manifested as a celestial and terrestrial spiritual being. As long as she could seize the right moment to reveal her true form and remain concealed, she should be able to evade detection. As for the second immortal embryo, he had granted it another seal—the One-All Clear Seal—and since the demonic embryo had mastered a secret technique from the demonic cultivation path, enabling it to transform its internal demonic energy into wings, it could also practice the Blood-Shadow Evade technique. With these two backup measures, the demonic embryo was far from without a chance of escape. Indeed, once the blood-light figures realized they were pursuing something other than his true form, they would likely not press their pursuit further. This was also the reason why, as soon as he sensed the timing was right, he immediately revealed his true identity to certain magical clans and launched a decisive attack! Now that he reflected, the news of his actual appearance should have already reached the ears of Xueguang and the others. Naturally, he was determined not to be once again ensnared by them, and thus had no choice but to truly abandon Tianyuan City and seek out other safe retreats. With these thoughts running through his mind, Han Li no longer hesitated, simply accelerating his flight and turning sharply toward a new direction, breaking through the air. Over the following two months, Han Li began to drift erratically, moving east to west, north to south, without any clear pattern. At first, this made Xueguang and the pursuing magical clans utterly unable to catch up, forced to rely on frequent reports from the magical clans about Han Li's sightings in order to hastily reposition and pursue him. Such constant movement made it utterly impossible for them to pin down his exact whereabouts. When they finally arrived at the vicinity, Han Li had long since vanished without a trace. More puzzling was the fact that the woman seemingly identified as Yuansha had not appeared alongside the three manifestations of Xueguang, and her whereabouts remained unknown. Such a development, Han Li naturally welcomed. If his internal qi had not been so limited, he would have even sought the opportunity to decisively defeat several of the Xueguang manifestations. Yet, under the current circumstances, he could only continue fleeing helplessly. After repeatedly failing to catch up, the three Xueguang manifestations gritted their teeth and summoned a large number of reinforcements, establishing a widespread network of observers across various controlled territories. Moreover, with the ability to leverage the already-manned teleportation arrays controlled by the demonic army, the demon could keep rigorously tracking Han Li’s movements. Han Li felt a sharp sense of alarm, and could not afford to relax at all. Whenever he recovered even a fraction of his spiritual energy—just a few points—he would immediately take off, fleeing thousands of miles away. Thus, he still managed to narrowly escape being intercepted by the three Xueguang manifestations on several occasions. Thanks to his subtle intuition, whenever he felt uneasy, he would immediately pause his meditation to restore his inner energy, or swiftly retreat to distant lands—thus narrowly escaping several calamities. After repeated occurrences, Han Li naturally grew more cautious. Originally planned destinations, including the Imperial Emperor's City and the four True Spirit families, had to be abandoned and he was forced to seek out new, distant settlements. Indeed, the magical forces in other directions had greatly diminished, and the time it took for the Blood-Light trio to track and pursue them gradually lengthened. This brought Han Li a significant sense of relief, allowing him more time for meditation and rest, and gradually replenishing his inner energy. Yet, this favorable situation did not last long. Three months later, Han Li noticed that among his pursuing forces, a woman resembling the Yuan Sha's incarnation had suddenly appeared. As soon as she emerged, the Blood-Light trio swiftly closed in behind her, relentlessly pursuing without granting her any opportunity to rest or recover. Often, just as he had settled down to rest for a couple of hours, the female demon would appear with her three incarnations, accompanied by bloodlight, pursuing him relentlessly. Fortunately, there were not many other demon clans nearby, so Han Li could still move about with ease. However, over the following month, no matter how often he changed his location or direction, the four demons seemed to follow him like an unrelenting shadow, always appearing precisely behind him. It was only then that Han Li was startled to realize something was amiss. The four demons appeared to have a method of tracking his general whereabouts—though not always precise—enough to prevent him from escaping. Clearly, this tracking technique was one that the female demon now possessed, recently acquired; otherwise, he would have managed to escape earlier, as he had during the initial encounters. As Han Li grew chilled with apprehension, despite numerous spells and strategies, he could not alter the fact that they were steadily pinning him down at a distance. Thus, he grew increasingly hesitant to flee toward areas with more demons, and instead settled simply wherever the surroundings were most remote and tranquil. Thus, although he could not yet completely dislodge himself from the company of the Blood-Flame and others, the number of capable allies available to the Four Demons grew steadily thinner. As one fled and the other pursued, day after day passed, and gradually they reached the periphery of the human realm. This region, being close to the wild, often saw ancient beasts overcoming the barriers and entering, so that no human cities had ever been established here—making it one of the most remote and desolate areas of the human realm. With no human outposts, there were naturally no other armies of demons stationed in this region. And with the speed of Han Li’s flight, the number of high-ranking demons still able to keep up with the Four Demons now dwindled to mere handfuls—those who had even managed to reach this far were only able to do so after being drawn into the great jade disc held by Blood-Flame. Now, it has been well over half a year since he first fled. Though, due to his constant changes in direction, the four demons could not quite catch up, the prolonged pursuit had left even the most resolute of him utterly exhausted. Yet, despite this, Han Li would not suddenly surge with passion and engage the four demons in a final battle. Instead, he resolved to simply hold his ground, maintaining a stalemate with them. He simply did not believe the four demons truly intended to pursue him all the way to the ends of the world. After all, their relentless pursuit had undoubtedly drained a significant amount of their magical energy—no less than his own—and neither party would have much time to recover. "So it is, Master Yuan Shaka still refuses to enter the Qiankun Disk. You must be aware that as we each ride our own treasures to pursue the target, the magical energy we expend is truly substantial. I arrived in a hurry and thus brought only a modest supply of energy-restoring pills. Though I requested some from my subordinates earlier, the prolonged journey has left only a few. Should we continue chasing, we shall rely solely on our core magical reserves, gradually depleting them. I cannot guarantee that I will outlast the previous human youth ahead of us! I have no idea how many such pills that young man carries, yet he still shows no sign of his magical energy completely failing. Nor do you, Master, carry a large supply, I assume. In that case, we shall only be able to share one of our treasures and take turns resting and recuperating." The blood-light embodiment was urging Master Yuan Shaka. "Of course, I am willing to take turns resting. But why not simply settle in the Shijie Palace instead of insisting on journeying to your Qiankun Disk?" The blue-robed woman narrowed her eyes, remaining unmoved. "Hmph, you're well aware of our situation, aren't you? The bloodlight energy we cultivate naturally clashes with the protective stone qi inherent to the Stone Demon clan. Even if you rest deeply within your Stone Demon Hall, the results are hardly significant. Naturally, Yuansha's presence in the Qiankun Disk remains the more secure choice." The bloodlight manifestation shook her head, firmly rejecting the suggestion. "Indeed! Yet I'm more concerned about your Qiankun Disk. Should your clan summon their Qiankun techniques, I fear my life may be at risk. Bloodlight is especially adept at siphoning others' vital essence and refined energy—this isn't something you've never accomplished before," Yuansha scoffed, directly pointing out the concern. "Master Yuansha, you're far too cautious. We are only in manifestation form here. By making this move, we simply wish to inform your true form that we won't rest content with merely being here." The other bloodlight manifestation sighed. "Heh, that's hard to say." Even if what you say holds some merit, I will by no means take this risk. Perhaps the vital essence and spiritual power of my single embodiment are not enough to stir your interest, but if, in addition, the young man named Han possesses the Chaotic Dual Qi and the Sealing of the Demons, I suspect even I may be moved. Yuan Sha drew a brief, scornful smile. "What Chaotic Dual Qi and Sealing of the Demons! I have no idea what you're talking about!" The three embodiments of Xue Guang reacted simultaneously, their faces pale. They exchanged glances, and the central embodiment shook his head in denial. "Xue Guang, why do you keep making such careful efforts? I have personally witnessed the young man gathering the Chaotic Dual Qi and the Sealing of the Demons within the Yellow Springs' fiery realm. I've long heard that the Sealing of the Demons might end up in your hands—apparently, the rumor is true. I wonder how you managed it, for the treasure now rests in the hands of a young human. Your decision to summon all three of your embodiments to the human realm this time, surely, was specifically to secure the Chaotic Dual Qi." The woman's eyebrows suddenly arched, and she sneered. "You've seen it with your own eyes, so I won't hide it from you, Xue. What do you intend to do? Go and inform the Six Extremes?" Her expression grew dark and her voice grew cold as she spoke, amid the bloodlight. "This Chao-He Qi is so vital to our Sage Ancestors. How could I allow others to share in it? My terms are simple: I offer you the Town-Monster Seal and half of the Chao-He Qi. But the remaining Chao-He Qi, along with this human youth and all his other precious treasures, must remain with me." After a brief flash of her gaze, Yuan Sha slowly stated her demands. "Your demands are indeed quite ambitious. Aside from that, my Zǐyán Ding has fallen into the hands of this young man. That treasure must be returned to me." Her eyes narrowed in the bloodlight, and after a pause, she coldly replied. "The Zǐyán Ding has been taken by the Han youth? That's quite unexpected. Then, if that's the case, I have no objection to returning it to its original owner." Yuan Sha was slightly taken aback, displaying a look of surprise. "Very well, then. With that, we have officially formed an alliance. Should we now share our methods for tracking this young man?" The second blood-light incarnation subtly shifted his gaze before suddenly asking.