Chapter 1372: Pursuit and Unexpected Change

Near Wushuang Continent's airspace, the cultivators from the Nine Provinces formed a defensive line, struggling to withstand the fierce assault of the Azure Dawn Path Realm's Star Lords. While they were safe for a short time, prolonged engagement would inevitably lead to vulnerabilities.

Fortunately, the cultivators from the Azure Dawn Path Realm had all sustained some injuries, minor or otherwise, from the lingering effects of the previous Red Talisman's impact. Otherwise, the situation for the Nine Provinces would have been much worse.

A small meteor flew from the depths of space, streaking past the battlefield. The Azure Dawn Path Realm's Star Lords were currently fully focused on deploying their techniques; who would pay attention to such an ordinary meteor?

However, as the meteor passed, a wisp of murderous intent suddenly erupted. Only then did they realize something was amiss. They turned their heads to look, and an expanse of purple light filled their vision.

Nianyuexian, who had used the meteor to reach the battlefield, made her move.

At the same time, Jian Guhong was also enveloped in a purple glow. His gaze and divine sense locked onto an enemy Star Lord in the late stage. The power of the Purple Talisman unleashed a torrent of attacks towards that person.

Suddenly, powers far exceeding those of Star Lords erupted both in front of and behind them. The group from the Azure Dawn Path Realm was instantly bewildered, unsure how to react. Especially the two late-stage Star Lords targeted by Nianyuexian and Jian Guhong felt as if thorns were pricking their backs, instinctively activating their defensive measures.

However, the defensive spirit treasures they activated were utterly powerless against the might of the Purple Talismans. As their treasures shattered, both individuals fell, one after another.

The sudden deaths of the only remaining two late-stage Star Lords terrified the rest of the Azure Dawn Path Realm cultivators. They realized that while this group of enemies might not be exceptionally powerful, the possession of Purple Talismans meant they no longer dared to fight.

But before they could escape, the Star Lords from the Nine Provinces surged forward from all directions.

Those two late-stage Star Lords had been the greatest obstacle for the Nine Provinces. With them gone, the remaining enemies were no longer a threat. With their numerical advantage alone, the Nine Provinces could completely overwhelm the enemy. Not to mention annihilating them, even capturing a few was now achievable.

As the dust settled on that battlefield, Lu Ye was struggling to escape.

He continuously accelerated, far exceeding his controllable limits, but Tang Jun, who was pursuing him, could do the same, and his acceleration efficiency was even greater.

This caused the distance between them to constantly shrink. It was fortunate that he had fled early when he sensed trouble, otherwise, there would have been no room for escape at all.

If it were merely a simple escape, Lu Ye would still have a chance to completely shake him off. Though he was slower than his pursuer, Lu Ye possessed unique escape methods. However, Lu Ye *could not* completely shake him off!

This was because if he were to completely evade Tang Jun, leaving him without a target, Tang Jun would inevitably return to Wushuang Continent. The Star Lords from the Nine Provinces remaining there would then be in danger.

Therefore, Lu Ye not only had to avoid being caught but also needed to find a way to maintain this pursuit, like fishing… but he had hooked a shark. He couldn't let the shark escape, nor could he let it eat him. The difficulty was immense!

He wasn't worried about the Sect Master and the others. With the Purple Talismans he had previously distributed, as long as they managed things well, the remaining Star Lords of the Azure Dawn Path Realm wouldn't be a match for them. Thus, the Sect Master and his group would certainly be able to deal with those individuals.

He only needed to concern himself with his own situation.

"Surrender quietly, and I'll spare your life!"

Tang Jun's voice came from behind. He hadn't said this when he first began the pursuit; then, he had vowed to tear Lu Ye into ten thousand pieces.

The reason for this change in attitude was simply that he had witnessed Lu Ye's incredible methods.

He had initially thought pursuing a nascent-stage Star Lord would be effortless, but to his surprise, the young man was as slippery as an eel, proving impossible to catch.

The distance between them had already closed to within a hundred li. This range was entirely within the scope of Tang Jun's abilities. He had repeatedly closed the distance to this extent before, but each time he was about to act, perplexing phenomena would occur.

Just now, as Tang Jun's spiritual power surged, the figure in his vision suddenly vanished!

Tang Jun immediately spread his divine sense, and soon found Lu Ye's traces several thousand li away in the starry sky. He quickly changed direction and gave chase.

He had no idea how this young man named Li Taibai managed such a feat. Such a mysterious technique was beyond even his own capabilities, involving the use of profound powers typically only accessible to cultivators at the Sunlit Realm.

Of course, using a Teleportation Talisman could also explain it. Since the opponent possessed a Red Talisman, they might also have other spirit talismans.

However, after several observations, Tang Jun found no trace of the opponent using a spirit talisman. Only at the instant the figure vanished, there was a fleeting glimpse of a spirit pattern beneath their feet.

Furthermore, while Teleportation Talismans could be used for self-preservation, no one would be so extravagant as to use them so frequently. Additionally, the direction of a Teleportation Talisman's warp was completely random, and the teleportation distance could vary greatly. Yet, observing the opponent's method, it always covered exactly a few thousand li, and the direction was consistently diagonally left or diagonally right, never suddenly warping behind him.

This could not be explained by simply using a Teleportation Talisman.

Therefore, Tang Jun deduced that this Li Taibai must have mastered a method for rapid traversal and teleportation, a method capable of covering several thousand li!

A nascent-stage Star Lord could teleport several thousand li. If he himself mastered such a technique, wouldn't it be effortless to cover tens of thousands of li?

It was precisely this consideration that led to the shift in Tang Jun's attitude.

The dead cannot be brought back to life. His old friend's lifespan was already short, and even if he hadn't died in this conflict, he wouldn't have had many years left. If he could truly make this young man willingly reveal such a technique, then his old friend's death wouldn't have been in vain.

Initially, his pursuit of Lu Ye was simply out of anger, but now, he increasingly wished to capture Lu Ye alive. Of course, it would be even better if the opponent was willing to cooperate.

As for whether he could catch him… Tang Jun was very confident! As long as the opponent couldn't shake him off, there was no escaping. Leaving aside other factors, the issue of spiritual power endurance alone was something the opponent couldn't solve. Especially after activating the Red Talisman, Tang Jun was certain that this Li Taibai wouldn't be able to last much longer.

Several thousand li away, as Lu Ye reappeared, he immediately sensed a divine thought extending from afar, clearly indicating Tang Jun had discovered his location. He raised his hand and sent a spiritual artifact flying towards his left-front, while he himself flew towards his right-front.

He had tried before; if he wished, he could teleport over ten thousand li. However, he was afraid of genuinely shaking Tang Jun off, so he consistently kept the teleportation distance within a range that Tang Jun could detect immediately.

With a gap of several thousand li, although Tang Jun could locate him instantly, it was difficult to detect the presence of the tiny spiritual artifact. Therefore, he deduced that Tang Jun would surely not understand the true nature of his technique.

Of course, even if he figured it out, he wouldn't be able to effectively counter it; he would still have to continue the chase.

Lu Ye was expending considerable effort to keep this old man on his hook.

As for Tang Jun's concern that Lu Ye wouldn't be able to last long due to dwindling spiritual power... that concern was baseless!

It was only for a short period immediately after activating the Red Talisman that Lu Ye felt completely drained. But as he continuously consumed large quantities of spirit jades along the way, the longer he ran, the more energetic he became, and the more abundant his spiritual power grew!

Tang Jun's hope of catching Lu Ye by him running out of spiritual power was clearly a miscalculation.

Tang Jun's voice transmission reached his ears again, nothing more than empty threats. Lu Ye simply dismissed them as nonsense.

Three days passed in this manner of pursuit and evasion.

Tang Jun's initial composure had long vanished, replaced by irritation and fury.

He simply couldn't understand how a nascent-stage Star Lord, after activating a Red Talisman, could still possess such immense vitality to keep moving.

When he first arrived at the battlefield and saw Lu Ye, he clearly sensed that the young man was on the verge of exhaustion. How could he become more energetic the longer he ran? Logically, a nascent-stage Star Lord couldn't possibly have such a vast reserve of spiritual power, and even consuming a large quantity of spirit pills in a short time wouldn't be enough to replenish it.

While Tang Jun was deep in thought, Lu Ye had already decided to make a complete escape.

Three days had passed, and presumably, the battle on Wushuang Continent had ended. If the Star Lords of the Nine Provinces still possessed any reason, they wouldn't come out to search for him, as pursuing him would be pointless.

Therefore, Lu Ye deduced that they had most likely already withdrawn from Wushuang Continent and were heading back to the Nine Provinces.

Naturally, there was no need for him to drag this out any longer.

Once he had shaken off his pursuer and fully recovered, with the Red Talisman in hand, he would no longer need to fear the Azure Dawn Path Realm.

He had been able to kill a Moon Shadow cultivator this time, and he could certainly do it again. The Azure Dawn Path Realm only had three Moon Shadow cultivators in total; one was already dead, leaving only two. He figured that under the deterrence of the Red Talisman, they wouldn't dare fight the Nine Provinces to the death.

With his mind made up, Lu Ye mentally connected with the spiritual artifact he had sent out, which was now approximately ten thousand li away.

And just a hundred li behind him was Tang Jun's figure.

Perfect timing!

As spiritual power surged and a void spirit pattern formed beneath his feet, Lu Ye was about to flash away when a sudden, extremely ominous feeling arose in his heart.

Simultaneously, the surrounding space began to violently vibrate and distort. This spatial tremor caused the void spirit pattern he had constructed to shatter, preventing him from teleporting away!

Before Lu Ye could rebuild a new void spirit pattern, an unforeseen change occurred. The space in all directions fragmented as if a mirror had been smashed on the ground, then began to fiercely collapse towards a single point behind him.

This sudden development greatly alarmed Lu Ye. He instinctively thought it was Tang Jun's doing, but he quickly realized it had nothing to do with Tang Jun, as there was no sign of his opponent attacking.

He hastily attempted to construct a second void pattern, but under the violent spatial vibrations, it simply couldn't take shape.

At the same time, an incredibly fierce devouring force emanated from the collapsing space. Lu Ye instantly felt as if an invisible giant hand had seized him. The power emanating from behind him was so strong that he was utterly incapable of resisting. He was instantly sucked in.

The moment his figure vanished, the only thing Lu Ye could do was swiftly channel his spiritual power to protect himself!