Chapter 89 Lost in Pursuit; Don’t Be Afraid, We’re on the Same Side

Just as Little Black had said, as a mere sidekick guide, she was of little interest to anyone but the half-grown children her age; the important figures couldn't be bothered to pay her any attention.

But Lin Qingyun was a different story. No sooner had he left Gathering Zone Three than he sensed someone tailing him.

Pursuit and counter-pursuit—while Lin Qingyun wasn't exactly a master, he was by no means inexperienced. Especially now: his body and soul were powerful, his magical strength outclassed others at his level, and his equipment was beyond compare.

With his advantage in speed and mastery over various spells, Lin Qingyun quickly managed to shake off wave after wave of pursuers.

Fifty miles out from the gathering zone, the pursuers no longer bothered to hide; what had been stealthy tracking became an attempt to surround and intercept. Yet Lin Qingyun’s resourcefulness saw him nearly two hundred miles from Gathering Zone Three in no time, skirting the hundred-mile perimeter of Gathering Zone Four.

"Where is he?" Zhou Wanhu glared at the approaching teams from several directions, all now converging in one place. Over a hundred people had assembled here—it wasn’t just one group tracking their quarry; they’d stationed men at various points on the perimeter from the start.

No fewer than a dozen teams had encircled the entry and exit points of Gathering Zone Three, but the target’s methods were so fiendish, so cunning, that even with Zhou Wanlong himself leading, they’d still managed to lose him nearby.

This was a forest covering more than a dozen miles, filled with trees unique to swampy regions. Their gathering had disturbed several of the largest demon monkey troops in the area, whose shrieks now rang out incessantly.

The monkeys called to each other, determined to exterminate the humans gathering in their midst. Normally, those hunting demon monkeys here would limit themselves to a single territory—no one dared disturb multiple troops at once.

When Lin Qingyun vanished into this area and the dozen teams fanned out to search, their commotion incited the wrath of several Monkey Kings, who believed a human force had come to massacre them and so sounded the alarm.

At that moment, a long, resounding cry split the air as Zhou Wanlong soared into view.

His cry served both as a deterrent and a signal that he meant no harm. There were no demon beasts here to rival a Cloud Ascension cultivator, but the sheer number of demon monkeys meant even those at the lower Cloud Ascension tiers dared not slaughter recklessly, lest they be beset and killed.

After all, who knew how many demon birds made their home in this forest?

The pressure of Zhou Wanlong’s cultivation, coupled with his non-hostile stance, temporarily pacified the Monkey Kings on the verge of fighting. It helped too that Zhou Wanhu and the others had only been pursuing Lin Qingyun, not killing monkeys.

"Captain..."

"Brother..."

When Zhou Wanlong arrived, the crowd hung their heads in shame. To avoid alerting their quarry and driving him back into the gathering zone, Zhou Wanhu and his men had led the chase at first. Only after the target was a hundred miles out did Zhou Wanlong join, but by then, Lin Qingyun had already slipped through their fingers.

"What happened? So many people, so much preparation, and you didn’t so much as catch a glimpse? It’s been over ten hours! I followed your signals more than once, and yet you couldn't even pin him down?" Zhou Wanlong’s face was dark with anger.

"Captain, it wasn’t that we didn’t see him. We did, in our direction, but his gear is too complete. We were in a volcanic area with flowing lava, and he—he had a top-grade fire artifact, maybe even better than top-grade. He crossed the lava quickly, and by the time we’d gone around, he was gone."

"Brother, I spotted him too during the blockade, but he suddenly set off a wide-spreading poison pellet in the mist we know so well. We were prepared, but two men were still caught..."

"Captain, we caught sight of him as well, but couldn’t get close. He lured a flock of demon birds onto us. They weren’t especially strong, but there were so many, and they attacked only us, not him. By the time we broke free, he’d... he’d vanished..."

...

These hundreds of miles had not been covered in a straight line. Lin Qingyun had twisted and turned, dodging blockades when he could, using all manner of tactics when he couldn't, and in the end, this entire crowd was led by the nose by a single man.

Even as a Cloud Ascension master, Zhou Wanlong could do no more than blunder about blindly, unable to lock onto Lin Qingyun’s location in time.

Listening to his subordinates, it was obvious they’d encountered the target more than once, but had failed to stop him each time, being shaken off with ease.

It wasn’t just the top-grade flying swords he used; even his auxiliary gear made them all envious. Clearly, were he not still at the Heart of the Lyre stage and thus unable to wield spirit artifacts, he would have used them already.

Even for Zhou Wanlong—a Cloud Ascension master—top-grade artifacts were few and far between, never mind spirit artifacts. Among itinerant cultivators, only the very best possessed spirit artifacts.

As he listened, Zhou Wanlong felt his chest tighten with frustration.

He’d even resolved to abandon the Gathering Zone Three business, prepared to lose most of his men and cut his losses, concentrating all resources on leaving the area.

And yet, here he was—a Cloud Ascension master with over a hundred Heart of the Lyre cultivators—failing to encircle or catch a single man...

Zhou Wanlong was on the verge of exploding with rage, his killing intent and oppressive aura forcing many of his subordinates to shrink back, not daring to meet his gaze.

"He got away! He actually got away! Damn it, damn it..." Zhou Wanhu’s teeth ground together, and though the others dared not speak, he couldn’t contain himself.

With a series of booms, Zhou Wanhu, nearly out of his mind, lashed out with his fists. Even without activating his top-grade artifact gauntlets, his sheer power shattered a massive tree, three men could barely encircle, with only a few punches.

This land of Han Ze stretches for a thousand miles, with countless special locales and many gathering zones. Once someone escapes into the wilds, finding them again is nearly impossible.

The lack of proper communication tools here was the real problem. Otherwise, their encirclement wouldn’t have failed so badly.

"Search again! From Gathering Zone Three to Four, offer a bounty to any other demon hunters or teams—anyone who can help us pin down that ‘Sea Breeze’ gets ten million as a reward." Zhou Wanlong could not stomach admitting defeat.

If he returned in disgrace, he’d be the laughingstock of Gathering Zone Three, his authority in ruins.

What’s more, the more exceptional and resourceful the target, the more treasures he must be carrying, making Zhou Wanlong all the more unwilling to let go.

Ordinary folk would find it hard to cross from one gathering zone to another alone, but for powerful demon hunting teams like theirs, as long as they avoided especially dangerous areas, it wasn’t too difficult—especially as Zones Three and Four were close and not separated by territories guarded by major demon lords.

"Yes, sir."

The crowd accepted the command, but their morale was gone. They’d failed to surround their quarry even under better circumstances; now that he’d vanished, finding him again was a fool’s hope, never mind killing him.

Their spirits broken, they had no fight left in them. But they didn’t know: from the start, Lin Qingyun had no intention of fleeing. He’d simply been seeking a suitable location—and he’d already mapped out the main areas around Gathering Zone Three.

The Forest of Ten Thousand Monkeys was an excellent spot. There was also an underground volcanic forest near Gathering Zone Four, equally suitable, but luring the enemy there seemed too contrived.

As his pursuers regrouped, Lin Qingyun slipped away, then circled back from another direction to approach them again.

During brief skirmishes with Zhou Wanhu’s teams, Lin Qingyun had marked them with subtle signs—a key reason why, as time went on, they found it ever harder to surround him.

With Zhou Wanlong, the Cloud Ascension master present, Lin Qingyun dared not approach closer than five or six hundred meters. He observed: there were many demon monkeys in the trees nearby, all warily watching Zhou Wanlong’s group.

With a whistle of steel, two flying swords shot from Lin Qingyun’s control, instantly slaying seven or eight demon monkeys perched in the trees.

A chorus of shrill cries went up. Monkeys armed with all kinds of weapons hurled them at Lin Qingyun, and several at the eighth or ninth tier of the Heart of the Lyre realm charged toward him.

A huge golden monkey, clearly half a step into the Cloud Ascension stage with its nascent golden core, raised its head and roared in fury.

From other parts of the forest, more than a dozen Monkey Kings echoed the roar.

"What the hell are you screaming for? Today I’m here to wipe out your whole lot! Normally, killing a few of you sends you all into a frenzy. Today, with a Cloud Ascension master on my side, I’ll exterminate you for good!"

Lin Qingyun cursed the half-step Cloud Ascension Monkey King, fully aware that such creatures had intelligence nearly equal to humans. The difference lay only in the species and thought patterns, but under the resonance of a soul cultivator’s intent, communication was no problem.

Sure enough, his words sent the Monkey King into a rage. Its claws slashed the air, sending blade-like gales toward Lin Qingyun—so fierce that even some demon monkeys charging at him were sliced in two.

Deflecting the first wave with his top-grade artifact shield, Lin Qingyun slipped into the earth. Yet among the demon monkeys, dozens could burrow as well, and they pursued him underground.

Killing demon monkeys and enraging the Monkey King, Lin Qingyun then charged straight for Zhou Wanlong’s position.

"What’s going on? Have the demon monkeys gone mad?" Hearing the cacophony of monkey shrieks and the sounds of battle close by, Zhou Wanhu and his men were bewildered.

Hadn’t the captain just pacified them? They’d made it clear they weren’t after the monkeys.

"Something’s not right..." Zhou Wanlong sensed trouble and was about to order a retreat when suddenly, a figure burst from the ground. In a few flickers through the forest, he’d already passed by them.

"Ah..."

"It’s him..."

"Captain, it’s him..."

In an instant, everyone sprang into action, having spotted ‘Sea Breeze’ and giving chase at once.

Zhou Wanlong, especially, took to the air in hot pursuit.

Their reaction, to the demon monkeys, looked like a coordinated escape attempt—and the monkeys responded by launching an all-out assault to encircle and slaughter them.