Chapter 563: Chasing me, you are not qualified

Jiang Fan continuously employed his movement techniques, leaping dozens of feet at a time across the vast snowy plains.

Fortunately, unlike the area near Realm Mountain, where the snowfield stretched endlessly and one could be spotted even at the horizon, this place had numerous undulating ice mountains. These obstructed the line of sight, and not long after he started fleeing, his figure was hidden by the ice mountains.

However, Jiang Fan dared not relax in the slightest. The one pursuing him was a Demon King at the perfected Ninth Level of Core Formation, and she was a mad one at that. The only thing he had to deal with her was the last Nascent Soul Jade Talisman in his hand, but using it on her would be a terrible waste. Crucially, besides Demon King Chunni, there was also Fairy Yunxia, who was rapidly recovering her vitality.

"What, regretting it now? I told you to kill that woman earlier," the evil spirit in the black mirror in his arms said gleefully.

Jiang Fan replied, "She might not catch me!" While employing his movement techniques, he also put on the Turtle Breath Cloak. Although the demonic blood on his body made perfect stealth difficult, it could reduce the chance of being locked onto from a distance, increasing his hope of escape.

"Trying to escape from a perfected Ninth Level Core Formation cultivator? I doubt it," the evil spirit in the black mirror chuckled. "The perfected Ninth Level of Core Formation is the realm where a martial artist's true strength is most difficult to measure. Some perfected Ninth Level Core Formation cultivators are truly just that — perfected Ninth Level Core Formation. But others far exceed its definition."

Jiang Fan frowned deeply. He had noticed this problem when Fang Taiji made his move. Fang Taiji, at the perfected Ninth Level of Core Formation, was far too strong compared to those at the regular Ninth Level. The difference between them was only half a realm, yet the gap in strength was like heaven and earth!

He had encountered cultivators at the Ninth Level of Core Formation more than once: Leng Gu in the past, and more recently, Yaoyue. But neither of them could cause someone to retreat with just a gaze, like Fang Taiji, or casually take the life of a Seventh Level Core Formation expert with a single wave. He had no doubt that if these two encountered Fang Taiji, their fate would not be much better than that of the deceased Seven Sects' elders.

"That's because too many powerful cultivators are stuck at the perfected Ninth Level of Core Formation, unable to break through to the Nascent Soul realm," the evil spirit explained. "How could those who just broke through to the perfected Ninth Level of Core Formation compare in strength to those who have been stuck there for years, or even decades? While the latter might not have advanced in realm, they would have cultivated other aspects to profound depths."

Jiang Fan suddenly understood. So that was it. Rather than saying the perfected Ninth Level of Core Formation was a realm, it was more like a reservoir. Both new and old perfected Ninth Level Core Formation cultivators were in it. Those old perfected Ninth Level Core Formation cultivators who had cultivated for countless years were like unfathomable deep-sea monsters.

In contrast, from the First to Ninth Levels of Core Formation, cultivators would naturally advance once their spiritual energy was sufficient, and their strength could generally be estimated. Of course, freaks like Jiang Fan, who could defeat stronger opponents and battle enemies two or three levels above them, were exceptions.

"These two: one is a wood spirit who cultivated into a demon body. Her years of cultivation are likely longer than mine, and her strength is unfathomable. The other is the Demon Emperor's concubine, from the Silver Fox lineage, with extremely powerful innate divine abilities. Moreover, she has undergone tribulation, so she's probably no worse than Demon King Chunni. Among perfected Ninth Level Core Formation cultivators, these two are absolutely top-tier, far surpassing even Fang Taiji. Are you sure you can escape? Or perhaps you could hang me somewhere conspicuous and let someone else pick me up."

Jiang Fan's brows furrowed deeply as he listened. He found it difficult to estimate Demon King Chunni's strength, but Consort Yunxia was formidable enough to make Fang Taiji beg for surrender, even willing to kill his own people to defect. Escaping from them would be far more difficult than when he was pursued by Yaoyue.

"If only I could cultivate sword flight," Jiang Fan thought, frowning inwardly. With such a divine ability, besides Nascent Soul cultivators or perfected Ninth Level Core Formation experts capable of flight, almost no one could do anything to him. He would also fear the pursuit of Consort Yunxia and Demon King Chunni far less.

Bang, bang, bang—

Vaguely, the sound of ice cracking came closer from afar. Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat. They were catching up. So fast? It seemed unrealistic to escape using only movement techniques. If this continued, he would be caught very soon. His mind raced. A moment later, he gritted his teeth and deviated from the direction of Realm Mountain, heading southwest instead.

Each time he landed and then soared up again, he would turn and wave his sleeve, generating a strong gust of wind to sweep the ice and snow over his footprints, leveling them. Then he continued his journey, leaving no trace.

Not long after, the ice layer shattered, and a towering ancient tree emerged from beneath the ground. Demon King Chunni and Consort Yunxia stood on its branches.

"No more footprints," Demon King Chunni said. She placed her small hands on her forehead and stood on tiptoe, gazing around. The vast expanse of white stretched out. The footprints abruptly ended right in front of them, as if the person had vanished into thin air.

Consort Yunxia chuckled, "He merely concealed his footprints. A petty trick." Faint silver light shimmered in her eyes. From her perspective, beneath the seemingly pristine white ice, some buried, faint footprints appeared. This was the Silver Fox clan's innate hunting talent, allowing them to see through shallow hidden burrows.

She smiled as she looked southwest. "Catching you like this would be no fun." Soon, they pursued the hidden footprints for a while and discovered something unusual. A massive demonic beast lay dead on the ground, its blood splattered everywhere, with signs of battle around it. The footprints extended further southwest. Consort Yunxia scoffed, "The southwest direction is heavily guarded by the demon race. The further you go there, the more demonic beasts you'll encounter. I'd like to see how long you can run." She continued tracking the faint footprints, speeding forward.

A moment later, she arrived before a bottomless canyon. The last footprints were right at the edge of the canyon. Undoubtedly, the person had hidden inside the canyon.

"Hehe, the chase is about to end," Consort Yunxia chuckled. She eagerly anticipated seeing Jiang Fan's bewildered expression when he was discovered. After all, he had been so careful in concealing his tracks, yet he was still tracked down. He must be surprised, disbelieving, and unwilling to concede, right? Thinking of that scene, her mood grew more eager.

However, just as she was about to descend, she suddenly frowned. "Wait! Something's wrong!"

Demon King Chunni blinked, asking, "What's wrong? Consort Yunxia is so amazing; you found his carefully hidden footprints. How could he still escape?"

Consort Yunxia frowned. "Someone as alert as Jiang Fan would let me catch up so easily?" Although they hadn't interacted much, Jiang Fan's vigilance surpassed that of some old monsters. Being able to catch up so easily made her feel a hint of unease. Suddenly, she remembered something, slapped her thigh, and exclaimed in frustration, "We've been tricked! Quick! Go back to that demonic beast's corpse! There's something wrong with the demonic beast's corpse!"