Chapter 4822 — Morning Star City

"Then why keep chasing? The old Xishan Sect couldn't manage it—are you sure you can? I'd like to see how long that bit of true qi of yours lasts!" Wei Zhao sneered.

"You think you can outlast this old man in a war of attrition? Where does a mere Nascent Soul cultivator get such confidence?" The Xishan great one laughed outright. He too found Wei Zhao's true qi unusually abundant, but he would sooner die than believe a late-stage Mystic Ascension cultivator could lose to a late-stage Nascent Soul one. He gave chase furiously, cackling coldly as he went. "You cur! This old man has heard a thing or two about you. You escaped the old sect master's grasp back then only because you fled into the territory of the Southern Isle—but there are no spirit beasts here!"

"Is that so? Who told you I was looking for the spirit beasts? Do you really dare, a devil cultivator, to run about all over the Eastern Continent?" Even as he spoke, Wei Zhao fired another burst of true qi and narrowly evaded the other's sudden strike.

He had lost count of how many times this had happened now. This Xishan great one was nowhere near as terrifyingly oppressive as the old Xishan Sect, but there was no denying it—the thing pursued him without letup, and it was proving exceedingly troublesome. If not for the jade pendant's warnings, Wei Zhao reckoned he would have died ten or twenty times over by now.

Fortunately, his pursuer was a devil cultivator. From his actions so far it was plain that the creature did not dare make a move within the sphere of influence of the academies, so as long as he could flee into any academy's main city, he would surely be out of danger.

It was a pity that Wei Zhao had only ever studied the route to Morning Star Academy and had never paid attention to what other academies lay along the way. And now there was no chance to consult a route—he could only flee toward Morning Star Academy by memory. Otherwise he would have shaken off his pursuer long ago.

"You cur! Don't imagine you'll escape!" Roused to furious, sputtering rage by Wei Zhao's words, the Xishan great one sent his ghastly blood finger bursting forth again and again at any cost. After all, just as Wei Zhao had said, if the brat slipped into some academy's main city, he would truly be at his wit's end.

And so Wei Zhao's situation grew perilous in the extreme. Only because the jade pendant gave warning in advance, and because he had a flash of inspiration and unleashed the Frenzied Fire Thousand Bursts Fist to sow confusion, did he manage to escape death by a hair's breadth time and again.

At last, after cutting across endless leagues of deep mountains and ancient forests, more and more cultivators began to appear ahead. Yet when they saw from afar the great mass of bloody black qi sweeping toward them, not one dared raise a hand; all fled far away to stand by and watch. After all, no one wanted to meddle and bring trouble down on himself.

Fortunately, Morning Star City lay just ahead. Wei Zhao's heart leaped with joy at the sight—if only he could flee into the city, the Xishan great one would not dare pursue him inside even if it killed him.

"You think that's enough to escape? Hmph—die!" Seeing this, the Xishan great one cast all else aside. This time, to block Wei Zhao's path, he did not hesitate to reveal his true form. There was no help for it; if he did not stop the brat now, he would truly have no chance left.

Wei Zhao was startled. Out in the desolate mountains and wilds, he might well have fought the fellow to the death—for that was the only chance to pin him down. But this was different. The odds of winning a deathmatch against him now were less than three in ten, whereas the next step would carry him into Morning Star City. Even a fool knew which to choose.

Boom! A great explosion erupted within the bloody black qi, and the ground around Morning Star City trembled with it. Then a figure burst out from the bloody black qi, somewhat bedraggled, and without a moment's pause charged into Morning Star City.

"Thank goodness I'd stored up a true qi bomb in advance—otherwise this would truly have been a matter of life and death." Wei Zhao glanced back, still shaken. By now a crowd had gathered to watch, and the bloody black qi had dissipated into thin air; the Xishan great one was nowhere to be seen. Evidently he had seen the situation turn against him and fled.

Meanwhile, among the crowd outside the city, a one-armed man had appeared at some point—and it was none other than the Xishan great one.

"That wretched cur! To think he'd be so foul and cunning!" The Xishan great one watched Wei Zhao enter Morning Star City from afar, grinding his teeth in fury.

In theory, the Blood Sacrifice Domain could convert an enemy's attacking true qi into his own use; that was why he had been able to hold out so long before. In truth, the more Wei Zhao attacked, the longer he could sustain the Blood Sacrifice Domain.

But this time was different. The force of the true qi bomb had directly exceeded what his Blood Sacrifice Domain could withstand. Not only did it scatter the domain into nothing, but the Xishan great one himself suffered no small backlash!

"No—I absolutely cannot let him escape so easily. This old man will stake everything!" The Xishan great one gritted his teeth and, steeling himself, strode toward Morning Star City.

Under ordinary circumstances he would not dare enter an academy main city like this. Yet it was not entirely impossible—so long as the city was not under martial law with everyone subject to close inspection, he could slip in without much trouble as long as he kept a low profile.

Of course, low profile or not, the Xishan great one would never dare make a move inside the city. Never mind killing in the open—if he so much as let slip the faintest trace of devil-cultivator aura, he would have no burial ground left to die in. Those righteous cultivators might not dare meddle in others' affairs out in the wilds, but inside Morning Star City it was different—after all, there was strength in numbers.

The Xishan great one followed at a distance, and when he saw Wei Zhao take lodging in a large inn, he hurriedly turned a corner and squatted down in a cramped nook, keeping watch on the inn while sighing in gloomy frustration.

He had lost an arm and suffered the backlash of his blood sacrifice; he dreamed of nothing but finding somewhere to rest and recover properly. But as a devil cultivator, how would he dare follow Wei Zhao into a grand inn in a main city like this? Inspections in such places were far stricter than outside; a devil cultivator could never hide from them.

Wei Zhao was another matter entirely. He was a bona fide disciple of the Threefold Pavilion of the Northern Isle, and he carried an identity token, so registering for lodgings was no trouble at all. Of course, such a place was certainly not cheap—but when had Wei Zhao ever been short on spirit jade?

"That trash of a devil cultivator is still following. Who'd have thought the creature was not only quite capable but had a fair bit of perseverance too," the ghost thing remarked in teasing reminder.

"I know. From the look of him he won't dare make a move in the city, so I'll leave him be for now and deal with him when I get the chance." Wei Zhao sprawled comfortably on the bed with his arms and legs spread wide. The flight had truly worn him out; even with an endless supply of true qi, the sheer mental strain was no easy thing to bear.

True, the fellow was a devil cultivator whom everyone reviled, but Wei Zhao was a stranger in these parts after all—who knew what might come of stirring up trouble? If the people dealing with the devil cultivator decided to haul him in for questioning as well, it would mean another pile of trouble, to say the least.