Chapter 76: Depressed Fang Hanyue

After Li Taixing escaped from Yao Lao, he teleported to the depths of the Forest of Ferocious Beasts.

"Damn, I was scared to death." Li Taixing sighed with relief, still feeling the lingering fear that his identity might have been exposed. Fortunately, Yao Lao had fallen for his trick.

However, the realization that Yao Lao might be from the Xuantian Sect gave him a headache. "How many people has my master offended?" Li Taixing rubbed his temples, feeling the weight of another potential enemy.

"Forget it, no point thinking too much," he muttered, shaking off the thoughts.

He then began hunting ferocious beasts in the Golden Core realm nearby, collecting as many inner cores with various attributes as possible. Unfortunately, he didn't come across a king-level ferocious beast; otherwise, he might have tried to adopt one as a pet.

While Li Taixing was focused on training, Fang Hanyue, after having Liu Yueru picked up, had already set off on her mission to track down her target.

"It's been days, but I wonder if that guy is still in the Forest of Ferocious Beasts?"

Taking out the Black Soul Card, Fang Hanyue began to sense Li Taixing's presence. To her surprise, she found him not far from her location.

"Well, well, I didn't expect him to be this close."

Recognizing Li Taixing from their last encounter, she was slightly amused. "So it's this kid… But no matter if you're an inner disciple of the Xuantian Sect, you hurt one of ours, and that can't be forgiven."

Without hesitation, Fang Hanyue decided to capture Li Taixing first and let the Palace Master decide his fate later.

Unaware of the looming danger, Li Taixing continued his hunt until Fang Hanyue appeared out of nowhere, catching him off guard.

"Not good!" His heart raced, sensing the powerful presence of Fang Hanyue moving toward him at an alarming speed.

Quick thinking saved him. He teleported just in time before she could lay hands on him, leaving only cold sweat behind.

"Another big boss? Time to retreat!" His mind raced as he disappeared from her view.

Fang Hanyue, who had been so close to capturing him, found herself standing empty-handed. She looked around in surprise, unable to locate him.

"How did he vanish out of thin air? And even out of my perception range?"

Her expression darkened. How could a mere Golden Core cultivator escape her grasp?

"Hmph!" She scoffed, her pride wounded. However, she quickly calmed down, her mind working rapidly.

'He's slippery, but next time he won't get away.'

Taking no chances, Fang Hanyue pulled out her Black Soul Card and infused it with her spiritual power, locking onto Li Taixing's position once more.

"Boy, you can't escape me!" she said coldly, rushing after him.

This time, she approached more cautiously. She looped around and attacked from behind, trying to avoid alerting him.

But before her attack could land, Li Taixing's Tai Chi Array activated, forming a Tai Chi diagram in front of her.

"Hmph!" Fang Hanyue shattered the diagram easily and immediately sprinkled a paralytic powder toward Li Taixing.

However, his Hunyuanzhu countered the attack, rendering the powder useless.

Fang Hanyue was stunned. 'How is he resisting all of this?'

Before she could react further, Li Taixing vanished once again.

"Damn it! He ran away again?" She clenched her fists, her face full of frustration. The fact that a mere Golden Core cultivator was escaping from her—a powerful Tribulation Realm expert—was infuriating.

"How does this kid have such powerful artifacts?" she muttered. "Even so, I will not let him escape."

Determined, she continued tracking him. There was no way she would let him slip through her fingers a third time.

Meanwhile, Li Taixing, who had reappeared elsewhere, was feeling equally frustrated. "Where did this crazy woman come from? Why is she trying to capture me?"

He briefly considered if Yao Lao had sent her, but something didn't add up. Deciding he needed more information, he activated his Sky Eye.

"Eye of Heaven, open."

Through his mystical vision, he learned that his pursuer was Fang Hanyue, the Left Protector of the Black Soul Palace, and her mission was to capture him.

"Damn, I knew holding onto this Black Soul Card would bring trouble. I thought I could use it to attract some low-level minions for profit, but now I've attracted a top-level boss!"

He had never expected someone as powerful as Fang Hanyue to come after him.

"This card is more trouble than it's worth."

If not for his collection of powerful magic artifacts, he would have been captured by now. He felt a mix of relief and pride. "Escaping from a Tribulation Realm expert… I have to admit, I'm impressive."

But despite his pride in escaping, he knew his combat skills still needed improvement.

"Maybe I should head back to the Sect," he mused. Perhaps Wang Xuanwu could help him break through, and with that, he'd also gain some system rewards.

However, he remembered her instructions to train in the forest before the assessment. If he returned now, it might be too early.

"But I've already reached the Golden Core realm. Surely Master wouldn't be too upset?" he thought as he narrowly avoided yet another pursuit by Fang Hanyue.

To throw her off, he pulled out the Black Soul Card, found a random beast, and threw the card next to it before teleporting away.

When Fang Hanyue arrived at the scene, she was met by the beast instead of Li Taixing. The beast, sensing her, attacked immediately.

With a wave of her hand, she froze the Golden Core realm beast into an ice sculpture.

"That boy threw the card away!" she grumbled, realizing how much harder it would be to track him now.

But Fang Hanyue was far from giving up. She knew Li Taixing was tied to this mess, and she wouldn't let him go easily.

"You can hide today, but I'll find you soon enough, boy. Just wait."