The Pursuit

Lying in ambush on a tree branch for a while, and ensuring there was no one around, the mercenary finally let out a slight sigh of relief. He had been waiting for the moment when the bright moon in the sky was obscured by clouds, and at that moment, he darted downwards, then moved slowly along the ground towards the north. Fearing discovery, he moved extremely slowly, his breathing long and silent. Fortunately, in recent days, the magical beasts had been scared off by the various scents in the Wanmu Forest, making his journey easier. Finally reaching a river within the Wanmu Forest, he took a deep breath, squatted down, and slowly drank a mouthful of water. Being relentlessly pursued these past days, he hardly had time to drink water, let alone catch his breath. If it wasn't for the promising future promised by the discovery of an Emperor's tomb, he might have already collapsed. Now, as he drank the water, he felt an indescribable sense of relief. Just as he was about to continue his stealthy journey, suddenly, his scalp tingled, and he instinctively dove into the river, only exposing half of his head camouflaged by aquatic plants, and breathed lightly. Sure enough, a moment later, three figures landed on the shore. Fortunately, these three seemed not to be tracking him, but rather just seeking a place to rest. However, this situation was the most dangerous he had encountered in these days, because by the moonlight, he recognized the dangerous figures. If he remembered correctly, the one leading was the famous Wind Emperor Hai Xin of the Tianfeng Empire, the great elder of the Beidou Sect, second in authority and skill only to the mysterious sect leader! The two following him must be Hai Xin's Moonlight Guardians. The three seemed to have settled down at a spot, and then, the Moonlight Guardian Fu Ling said in a coarse voice, "Great Elder, for just a mere Warrior, someone named Shang Jie... such an unknown figure, and yet we mobilize our Beidou Sect to such an extent, it seems a bit..." The other Guardian, He Tian, indifferently said, "No more words. The Great Elder has his plans, and we just need to follow them... It was you who kept urging the Great Elder to come here. Now that we haven't found Shang Jie, and don't even know if this information is true, if we catch the boy in the end and find out this news is false, that would be quite a sight..." After a moment of silence, a faint voice spoke, it was Hai Xin. He said lightly, "What's this? In less than ten days, you two are like this? If you stay a few more days, won't you go mad? After all, the source of the Emperor's tomb is extremely reliable. It's information we got from our spy planted in that area... Not to mention the sect leader has personally verified the source. Even if he hadn't, just this information alone is worth our attention! If we obtain the relics from the Emperor's tomb, our Beidou Sect's strength may greatly increase!" The Moonlight Guardians exchanged glances, then said together, "Yes, Great Elder is wise... But is it really okay for us to just stay back and do nothing?" Hai Xin said indifferently, "Barin, that old fox, hasn't made a move? Why should we? Now, others are running around, but I assure you, in the end, besides us, the Emperor's tomb is most likely to fall into Barin's hands, so we don't need to do too much. Just keep an eye on Barin, and when the time comes, the outcome will naturally present itself. Why the hurry?" He Tian said in a low voice, "Great Elder is wise, but... dealing with Barin is one thing, but I've received a secret report that the Martial Deity Temple has also got wind of this. Given their way of doing things, now that they know, they definitely won't let it go. If we wait for them to act, the uncertainty increases significantly..." Hai Xin laughed, "He Tian, you worry too much. It's no wonder you haven't broken through to Emperor level after all these years... So what if people from the Martial Deity Temple show up? Just the time it takes for them to gather forces and arrive here will take ages, let alone taking action... By that time, the Emperor's tomb will have been turned upside down!" No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud bang echoed from not too far away, where a blue and a red Dou Qi violently collided. Hai Xin chuckled, "It seems that Hong Yu has gotten into another fight. That young master of the Hong family is also quite a character. Let's go have a look!" The Moonlight Guardians agreed, and then followed Hai Xin, quickly moving towards the scene. Watching the three figures disappear, the mercenary, also known as Shang Jie, let out a slight sigh of relief, and after hiding for a while longer, slowly emerged halfway from the river. But that was all he dared to show. In that moment, he felt a chill on his back, clearly a sharp blade pressed against his heart, turning his joy of escaping from the Wind Emperor Hai Xin into gloom. Simultaneously, a faint laugh came, "To be able to hide so well under the eyes of Wind Emperor Hai Xin, without showing any abnormality, aside from anything else, your courage and skill are truly impressive... How about you tell me, who exactly are you?" The voice was light, as if two friends were casually chatting in spring. But Shang Jie could feel that if he dared to resist in the slightest, the coldness at his back would not hesitate to pierce his heart.

He didn't even have time to summon his Dou Qi protective clothing, and even if he did, it probably wouldn't have lasted long, because he clearly felt that the presence behind him was at least a King level fighter. In this situation, he had no choice but to answer. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said in a low voice, "Shang Jie!"

There was a moment of silence behind him, and then the voice came again, "Oh... the same Shang Jie who caused this dispute over the Emperor's tomb? It seems my luck is quite good..." Shang Jie's heart stirred. Judging from the tone of the person behind him, he didn't seem to harbor much malice, probably because he didn't know what was inside the Emperor's tomb. This could be an opportunity... With that in mind, he said frankly, "Yes, I am Shang Jie!"

The person behind him chuckled, "If it's you, why leave the comfort of the Emperor's tomb? Are you looking to deliver yourself into someone else's hands?" Shang Jie's breath caught slightly, but he still said, "Even if I stay in the Martial Deity's tomb, I need to eat and drink, right?"

The person replied lightly, "I see... But as a mercenary, don't you carry several months' worth of provisions? Ordinary mercenaries can't afford a Storage Ring, but you, being a Warrior, must have at least a small Storage Ring, right? Should I check to verify its authenticity?" Shang Jie's heart skipped a beat, knowing his seemingly perfect excuse wouldn't fool the person behind him. Feeling the cold intent rise again, he sighed lightly and said, "Wait! I'll tell you! It's not that I wanted to stay in the Martial Deity's tomb... but the tomb's gate is protected by Dou Qi, and I simply can't open it. I came out looking for help, but unexpectedly, in this Wanmu Forest, there are countless strong fighters. I couldn't find help, but instead, I fell into endless pursuit..."

The person behind him seemed slightly startled, then said after a moment, "So you mean to say, you haven't taken anything from the Martial Deity's tomb?" Shang Jie cautiously replied, "It's not exactly like that. I just couldn't open the inner gates, but there were still some things outside. Most of them were taken by my companion, and all I have is this scroll of cultivation technique, which is of the Zhuque intermediate level... If you are interested, please take it, and just spare my life..."

"Zhuque intermediate level cultivation technique?" The person behind him sounded surprised. This made Shang Jie feel slightly proud, but then his heart sank again. Such things, once said, could not be taken back. Trembling, he said, "This technique is presumably left by a former Emperor... It's quite a rare treasure. I've practiced it a few times, and it's much better than my own technique... If... If..." As he spoke, Shang Jie somewhat nervously took out a scroll of the cultivation technique. However, the person behind him chuckled, "Who needs your cultivation technique... With all this fuss, I've forgotten my real business. Didn't you say you were looking for help? Do you think I qualify?" Shang Jie dared not respond, just trembling and not speaking.

The person behind him laughed again, "Forget it, you probably won't reveal the location of the Emperor's tomb... I won't force you. Just do me one favor, and I'll let you go. How about that?" Shang Jie's body shook, "Really?" "Of course," the person seemed to be smiling, "Just promise me that if you get caught again, you'll swear you never met me. How about that?" Shang Jie nodded like a pecking chicken.

"Good, remember this... I am Barin. If you let slip, you won't even be able to wish for death!" "Go!" Then a palm struck Shang Jie's back. He felt a surge of Dou Qi and spat out blood, but he also felt the other person had held back. At this point, he didn't dare to speak, nor did he dare to turn back, just swallowing the second mouthful of blood and rushing forward.

Moments later, as the mist cleared, two figures slowly emerged. The one in the lead was a young man with a faint smile. Watching the direction Shang Jie had fled, he said lightly, "This Shang Jie is somewhat interesting... With three parts truth and seven parts lies in his words, probably no one can distinguish what's real." The leather-clad beauty behind him coldly said, "If it was easy to discern, he would have died many times over by now, and wouldn't have been able to escape so many pursuers until now." The young man nodded, "That's true. Without some cunning, he would have died countless times by now... But even if he escapes, he can only get this far. Others aside, that Hong Yu is almost going mad searching for him. Sister Gong, should we give the Hong family a tip and make them pay a price?" Gong Wushuang frowned, "Li Yi... do you think the noise you made just now went unnoticed? By now, countless people are watching him. What should we do now? Follow or...?" Li Yi laughed, "That's true. Others might not know, but those few Kings, along with Hai Xin and Barin, must have sensed something. Let's just hang back. After all, our interest isn't in the Martial Deity's tomb. Let's watch them fight to the death and then pick up the leftovers... Hmph, Beidou Sect... Hai Xin... you'd better not think that apart from Emperor Barin, there's no one in this Wanmu Forest who can deal with you!" Li Yi touched his nose, about to make a gesture to follow closely, when suddenly his gaze shifted slightly, catching a faint light flickering, then filling his entire field of vision...