Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Confronted by Chi Xingxun, Lu Dingtian hurriedly interrogated some of the Nether Spring Army commanders who had gathered. When he heard the answer and saw Lu Dingxian’s corpse, Lu Dingtian couldn’t help but roar at the heavens...

”That damned, unfilial son! I’ll kill him! I’ll dig out his bones again!”

Lu Chao was the one who had killed Lu Dingxian. He was also the one who had led the Yan Soul Guard to scatter and crush his hundred-thousand-man army.

Chi Xingxun’s face contorted with such fury it seemed blood might burst from his skin, and he too began to curse madly.

’He had already planned out how he would use the hundred-thousand-man army.’

’He had already planned to cut down the Yan Soul Guard and then fight his way back to the Great Wu Imperial City. He’d even imagined using Lu Dingtian’s name to gather more forces afterward. He would go on a rampage through the Azure Flame Domain, letting everyone know just how terrifying his, the Young City Lord Red Sword’s, Soldier Dao truly was.’

But now... he was left with fewer than twenty thousand.

Suddenly... AWOO!

The Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf, one of its wings broken, suddenly appeared. The sight made Lu Dingtian, who was still roaring in fury, stop. His eyes lit up with wild excitement. ”Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf, you’ve come at the perfect time! Now, follow me and kill these Yan Soul Guards!”

’The Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf is a Creation Realm beast!’

’If it joins the fight, it can at least hold off the Yan Soul Guard and give some of the scattered Nether Spring Army time to return.’

However, as soon as the words left Lu Dingtian’s mouth, the Yan Soul Guards just stared at him as if he were an idiot.

One of the Yan Soul Guards suddenly commanded, ”Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf, kill the people on your back.”

The moment the words were spoken...

The Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf flared its Demonic Power, flinging the few people riding on its back to the ground before pouncing on them in a biting frenzy.

Agonized screams rang out wildly. ”Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf, why?!”

These few people on the Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf’s back were the ones Lu Dingkong had previously sent into the Great Wu Imperial City to hunt down Lu Chao.

They had assumed Lu Dingtian was dead when Mo Jing left, so they fled the Great Wu Imperial City. Later, when they heard Lu Dingtian was actually alive but being hunted, they brought the Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf to reinforce him.

But in the blink of an eye, they were mauled to death by that same Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf.

The scene left Lu Dingtian stunned. ’What is going on?’

But he quickly put the pieces together. ’Damn it all, Mo Jing only lent me the Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf. Now that I’ve thrown my lot in with Red Sword City, of course the beast won’t listen to me.’

’Of course, it listens to the Yan Soul Guard.’

”Young City Lord, the Little Sword-Winged Ice Wolf is at the Creation Realm! What should we do?”

Lu Dingtian was in a complete panic, his earlier excitement turning to terror.

Chi Xingxun was so furious he almost cursed the man’s mother. ’This Lu Dingtian is worse than useless, a complete liability!’ Chi Xingxun could only shout, ”Fight and retreat! Rally the scattered troops as we fall back! Move, move, move!”

Even with just twenty thousand troops, Chi Xingxun was still formidable, forcing the Yan Soul Guards to wait for an opportunity.

At the same time, Chi Xingxun and Lu Dingtian were continuously fleeing toward Nether Spring Mountain.

But without powerful Flying Bird Mounts, their speed was far slower than Lu Chao’s.

”Just hold on until we reach the Nether Spring Mountain Range. Once we’re there, I can stalk and kill these Yan Soul Guards from the shadows.”

Just like Lu Chao, Chi Xingxun had the same idea.

「Two days passed in the blink of an eye.」

The Yan Soul Guard were still split into three groups: one group of ten sought opportunities within the Great Wu Imperial City, a group of twenty pursued Chi Xingxun and Lu Dingtian, and a group of fifteen hunted Lu Chao.

And no matter the group, all of them were growing anxious.

’Were we wrong? Were we too impulsive?’ These were the thoughts of the Yan Soul Guard.

According to Mo Jing’s orders, their primary objective was still to capture Chi Xingxun, and then to assassinate Lu Chao and the others in secret.

But now, they had failed to complete a single one of their tasks, and panic was beginning to set in.

Then again, what choice did they have? The opportunity had been too perfect. Commander Ke had been dealt with by Lu Chao, and with both Chi Xingxun and Lu Chao leaving the city, it was an opportunity they simply couldn’t pass up.

”The main reason we still haven’t completed our mission is that damned Azure Flame Sect disciple, Lu Chao.”

”If he hadn’t fought so desperately back then, we would have completed our mission smoothly long ago.”

One by one, the Yan Soul Guards cursed Lu Chao’s name.

Of course, this was not to say they had failed yet—only that they had not yet succeeded.

The chase wore on...

Five full days had now passed since the Yan Soul Guard began their pursuit of Lu Chao, and he had finally reached the Nether Spring Mountain Range. The northern territories of the Great Wu Empire were vast—it had taken his Flying Feather Black Eagle over four days of non-stop flight to arrive...

Taking a deep breath, Lu Chao said to the Flying Feather Black Eagle, ”We’re entering the Nether Spring Mountain Range.”

The outskirts of the Nether Spring Mountain Range...

There were no Demon Beasts in this area powerful enough to challenge the Flying Feather Black Eagle, so it could enter without fear. At the same time, the fifteen Yan Soul Guards behind him followed in hot pursuit. They would never give up.

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed...

The Flying Feather Black Eagle was still flying through the Nether Spring Mountain Range, soaring above the forest canopy. Lu Chao could already keenly sense a chaotic mix of Demon Beast auras all around him. He had felt them even before he entered, and they were only growing stronger.

Suddenly... ROAR!

A beast’s roar erupted from somewhere within the Nether Spring Mountain Range, and a violent wave of Demonic Power blasted toward Lu Chao.

”AOOO...”

Although the Flying Feather Black Eagle had recovered slightly, the roar terrified it, sending it into a panicked spiral as it cried out. Lu Chao instinctively looked toward the source of the roar, his pupils contracting sharply. ”A Peak Realm Ghost Tiger.”

He saw the source of the roar: on a mountain peak, a black demonic tiger with a twisted, ferocious face had appeared.

Back when he was the Great Martial Emperor Star, Lu Chao had read many records about Demon Beasts. He had also trained on the edge of the Nether Spring Mountain Range as one of Lu Dingtian’s Death Warriors, which was how he recognized this black demonic tiger as a Ghost Tiger.

According to the records, it was an extremely formidable Demon Beast.

Despite its large size, it favored assassination, moving with ghostly silence—hence its name.

Its aura was that of the Peak Realm. The roar was clearly directed at the Flying Feather Black Eagle; as another Peak Realm creature, the Ghost Tiger was naturally displeased that the eagle had trespassed on its territory.

At that moment, Lu Chao looked up slightly. ’I can’t see the Yan Soul Guards anymore, but they’re definitely still behind me. I’ve been marked with their Cloud-Chasing Sand, so I can’t shake them...’

Because the Flying Feather Black Eagle had recovered a little, he had managed to put some distance between himself and the Yan Soul Guard.

But with the Cloud-Chasing Sand on him, they would catch up the moment he stopped.

’This is already the territory of Peak Realm Demon Beasts. The Yan Soul Guards’ True Fate Realm Flying Wolves won’t dare to proceed.’

’Then I’ll make my stand here and fight them to the death.’

It was the same as his original plan: force the Yan Soul Guard into a situation within the Nether Spring Mountain Range where they couldn’t use their mounts.

Then, in the depths of this ancient forest, he would shift from being the hunted to the hunter and eliminate all of the Yan Soul Guard.

With this in mind, Lu Chao immediately said, ”This forest is dense, dark, and dangerous. Let me down here, and then get out of here.”

At Lu Chao’s command, the Flying Feather Black Eagle immediately descended and dropped him into the forest below. It then veered away, evading the pursuing Flying Wolves and making its way back toward the edge of the Nether Spring Mountain Range.

It didn’t dare linger for even a moment.

After landing, Lu Chao looked around and muttered to himself...

”The Nether Spring Mountain Range... there’s a terrifying legend about this place. They say that those who venture deep inside are walking the road to the Yellow Springs.”