Chapter 713: Escape

Li Yi saw the Bloodline Warrior from Beihuang City chasing after him and dared not let his guard down; he activated his magic power and unleashed the Cloud-Riding Spell.

Fortunately, he had already reached the Five Qi Realm; though his Five Elements were not yet perfected, they were all present, and his magic power was now vastly superior, allowing him to unleash the true power of the spell—his figure now streaked across the sky like a streak of light.

In just a few seconds, he was far beyond Beihuang City, vanished into the horizon.

Yet despite this speed, Li Yi still could not shake off the Bloodline Warrior behind him.

A series of deafening roars echoed through the heavens behind him; a blue figure unleashed unimaginable power, its surging force threatening to overturn the entire world.

Anything blocking its path would be obliterated.

"Is this the power of a direct Bloodline descendant? Truly terrifying."

Li Yi felt the danger behind him, his eyelids twitching; he estimated that in a late-cultivation world, this opponent's baseline would be the Three Flowers Realm.

Yet he didn't understand why the man kept fixating on him—why not chase the Outblood Warrior named Maoqiu instead?

"Nü Heng, you are a disgrace to the Beihuang lineage—how dare you betray Beihuang City?"

A furious roar echoed, and the Bloodline Warrior named Daze unleashed another surge of power.

This surge increased his speed once more, closing the distance to Li Yi to an extremely dangerous range.

Bad!

Li Yi sensed the peril—the man intended to hold him at all costs.

His suspicion was quickly confirmed.

Suddenly, a blue divine light struck from behind, exploding with boundless force that shook the entire sky; beneath this power, the golden auspicious cloud beneath Li Yi's feet shattered instantly.

His Cloud-Riding Spell was forcibly shattered by this brute force.

Li Yi dared not slacken; he immediately channeled his magic power into the Crimson Feather Purple Gold Armor he wore.

A piercing cry rang out as a crimson divine bird spread its wings, enveloping both Li Yi and Nü Heng in its feathers, radiating the glow of a mid-grade defensive Dao artifact.

With violent tremors.

The aura on the Crimson Feather Purple Gold Armor cracked and faded under the assault of a terrifying force.

But fortunately, the artifact had blocked the attack.

Even if the opponent's power was immense, the distance and the wide area of effect had dispersed much of its strength; otherwise, even wearing this armor, Li Yi would have been doomed.

"Nü Heng, you aided an enemy's escape—do you wish to be hunted by the Beihuang lineage for all eternity?"

The Bloodline Warrior emerged from a swirl of blue divine light, panting heavily, drenched in sweat, his stamina utterly drained.

After all, without cultivation or spells, relying solely on his body to cross such vast distances while continuously unleashing power—even a direct Bloodline descendant could barely endure it.

Yet his extraordinary physique granted the Bloodline Warrior named Daze tremendous recovery ability.

After merely catching his breath, his strength began to return rapidly.

If he ate and drank a full meal, he would immediately regain his peak.

Nü Heng heard Daze's words and showed a hint of helplessness; she had never expected Li Yi to be so decisive in breaking into the prison and rescuing Xiuxiang—she had only cooperated with him, hoping to shift blame onto Maoqiu.

But it seemed Daze had seen through it all.

"Li Yi, he's buying time to recover—don't hesitate, let's go now, he can't catch us," Nü Heng said without delay, urgently urging Li Yi to flee.

Li Yi had also realized that the Bloodline Warrior named Daze, after such a long pursuit, was severely depleted; that last strike had exhausted his final strength—otherwise, he would have already charged in, not stood there wasting words.

"Go."

He was no man to dawdle; after stabilizing his stance and blocking the attack, he once again activated the Cloud-Riding Spell.

Yet when Daze saw the golden auspicious cloud reappear beneath Li Yi's feet, he erupted in fury.

Clearly, the man intended to flee again.

This escape speed was terrifying—even as a Bloodline Warrior, he struggled to keep up.

"Coward! You're a Bloodline Warrior too—do you only know how to run?" Daze roared, charging forward despite his exhaustion.

"My Bloodline is undergoing transformation; once complete, I will return to Beihuang City and challenge you to a duel," Li Yi said calmly.

He had no intention of being foolish enough to fight someone this powerful.

This wasn't weakness—it was suicide.

As he spoke, Li Yi threw a punch forward; five-colored divine light surged, the power of Dragon and Tiger converging—this punch appeared simple, yet embodied all his years of cultivation, representing his peak strength.

BOOM!

In the heavens, Dragon and Tiger roared, their five-colored fist-light forming an unstoppable blade that met the Bloodline Warrior Daze head-on.

Daze immediately shed his arrogance upon sensing this power; he realized this man was no weakling—within Beihuang City, he was among the stronger warriors.

Yet compared to himself, he was still vastly inferior.

Daze's body shimmered with blue divine light; he crossed his arms and braced himself to absorb the blow.

The Five Rivers Divided into Land Method, combined with Dragon and Tiger power, was enough to pierce mountains and rivers, sever lakes and seas—yet when it struck Daze, it left him unharmed.

He had blocked Li Yi's peak strike with nothing but his bare flesh—no armor, no protection.

"A real monster—barely human," Li Yi muttered, his lip twitching.

If an Earth-born evolutionist witnessed this, they would be utterly stunned.

But he knew this punch couldn't kill the man—it was only meant to disrupt his pursuit; as soon as he threw it, the golden cloud beneath his feet shot him forward like a streak of light.

Daze blocked the strike, shattered the Dragon and Tiger power, and watched helplessly as the golden streak vanished across the sky.

He was utterly spent—he could not chase after it.

Finally, he could only roar in frustration, letting Li Yi escape.

After shaking off the pursuit of this powerful Bloodline Warrior, Li Yi finally exhaled slightly; though the people of this world had clear strengths, their weaknesses were glaring—without spells, they possessed terrifying brute strength but could not fully unleash it.

"You actually escaped Daze's pursuit?" Nü Heng said, surprised.

She had thought they were certain to die.

"A powerful arrow loses all force before it can pierce even a thin silk—Daze, though a mighty Bloodline descendant, exhausted his stamina during the chase; escaping wasn't especially difficult," Li Yi said calmly.

Nü Heng said: "But we've only escaped for now—the Beihuang lineage will hunt us for generations; one day, we will die at the hands of Beihuang Warriors."

"That scenario won't happen. I need time to transform; once complete, even Beihuang's Bloodline Warriors won't be able to kill me. Then I'll return to Beihuang City, defeat Daze, and clear my name."

Li Yi's words carried immense confidence.

Because once his Five Qi were perfected, he could begin the Five Qi Convergence—his power would surge dramatically, let alone that his Bloodline was still gestating; soon, he would become a true Bloodline descendant.

He might even awaken a Divine Art.

But before then, he had no desire to fight powerful enemies.

The moment of metamorphosis had come; if not for Xiuxiang's case, Li Yi would have stayed home, eating and drinking in peace.

"Then I look forward to that day," Nü Heng said softly. "But before then, Li Yi—won't you compensate me for my losses? Because of your actions, I abandoned my position as Beihuang City's Merchant Lord and now face eternal pursuit—the gold I lost exceeds one hundred thousand taels."

Li Yi, still riding the cloud, said: "What compensation do you want, Nü Heng?"

"I want a Bloodline descendant. Is that too much to ask?" Nü Heng's eyes burned with intensity—clearly, her desire to establish a Bloodline family had not faded.

"."

Li Yi fell silent, then said: "Can you ask for anything besides offspring? I'll compensate you with ten thousand taels—that's my limit. With that, you can surely become a merchant lord again, richer than any kingdom."

Nü Heng thought for a moment: "But I don't want ten thousand taels. If you won't give me a Bloodline descendant, then give me a treasure that can store goods."

"A storage artifact? Since you want it, so be it." Li Yi didn't hesitate—he immediately pulled a storage artifact from his Five Elements Bracelet and handed it to Nü Heng.

After all, in Li Yi's eyes, a storage artifact was cheap—nowhere near the value of ten thousand taels.

Nü Heng's eyes lit up; she snatched it at once.

"I'll teach you how to use it—but this treasure can only store goods, not people," Li Yi said.

"Slightly inferior to the one you carry? Still enough. Thank you for your generosity," Nü Heng said, still delighted—such treasures were rare; she'd never seen one despite traveling countless mountains and cities.

Selling such a treasure would be extravagance—it should be passed down as a family heirloom.

"No thanks needed. This is your compensation—you earned it," Li Yi said.

Indeed, every merchant lord was obsessed with storage artifacts; in the wilds, such a tool meant limitless profit.

With Nü Heng's ability, she would surely rise again thanks to this artifact.

Every merchant lord understood: give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, and you feed him for life.

Hence, Nü Heng had refused the ten thousand taels.

(End of Chapter)