Chapter 384: Escaping to Fame (Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year!)

A brief rest allowed Yunhe to catch his breath a little.

Yet the pursuit of the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito had not ended.

However, taking advantage of this brief recovery, he also thought of a solution.

It was still a case of diverting disaster eastward, but ordinary cultivators could obviously not make the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito wary; only a Yuan Ying cultivator stood a chance of making it hesitate.

However, given the cultivation base of a fourth-level late-stage Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito demon beast, even a mid–Yuan Ying Cultivator would likely struggle to make it wary, and the number of late-stage Yuan Ying Cultivators in the entire Eastern Border Cultivation World could be counted on one's fingers; the only one Yunhe could think of that was relatively nearby was the Formless Sword Sect located in the Eastern Border, the greatest sword cultivator of the Eastern Border Cultivation World—the Formless Sword Lord.

But this was destined to involve an extremely long distance, so Yunhe also had to prepare for a protracted battle.

During this time, he also had to continuously pour his essence blood into the Ice Phoenix Wings again, on the one hand to fully unleash the Wings' ability, and on the other hand to use the Wings' ability 'Nirvana' to transmute the infused essence blood into his pure magical power, thereby maintaining his escape speed.

Such a pursuit continued for a full five days!

With both of them exerting their utmost escape speed, they had certainly flown dozens of li or more, and the consumption for either Yunhe or the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito was enormous.

When Yunhe felt he could barely hold on, he would choose a place to hide for a while—be it a market town or some large or small faction.

Seek Immortality, Gods' Gift!

"Mm!"

He could clearly feel that, the deeper he went into the Eastern Border, the farther the distance between him and the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito grew; he did not know whether it was due to excessive exhaustion or some apprehension in his heart.

This left many cultivators resentful but silent, after all, he was a Yuan Ying Cultivator—not someone just anyone could provoke.

This conduct not only failed to ruin his reputation; on the contrary, it made his fame spread widely.

Hum—

"Formless Sword Lord, what if I meet her? Can she keep me?"

Yunhe continued to "output".

In order not to be shaken off by Yunhe, it not only reverted to its true form and flew with all its might, but also employed a secret technique.

However, Yunhe said without changing his tone: "Oh? Is that so? You probably don't know that our Human Alliance has just been established, and we humans stand united against all foreign and demon races; as one of the leading sects of the Human Alliance, the Formless Sword Sect will certainly not stand idly by your actions."

If the other party could ultimately escape from the clutches of a fourth-level late-stage Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito, it would naturally mean they also had a good chance of escaping from a late-stage Yuan Ying grand cultivator; such ability, if provoked, would certainly be bad news for either oneself or one's sect.

In the Eastern Border, an old demon somehow provoked a fourth-level late-stage demon beast, and the news of the disaster it brought while fleeing in panic spread unnoticed.

He spoke off the cuff, yet his words were well‑reasoned, causing the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's wariness to grow even stronger.

Nevertheless, he strained to maintain his escape speed, to the point that even the cloud‑escape talismans on his person were nearly exhausted.

But at such a moment, the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito naturally would not lose its momentum.

"Is that so?" a faint smile appeared on Yunhe's death‑pale face.

His divine sense suddenly condensed and fiercely stabbed toward the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito.

He himself probably never expected that.

There was no helping it; having already penetrated deep into the Eastern Border, although it had not yet encountered anything that felt troublesome in the short term, its and Yunhe's whereabouts were completely exposed, and who knows when a late‑stage Yuan Ying cultivator—or even dozens of Yuan Ying cultivators—might come rushing out.

It seems the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito is quite familiar with human cultivators.

"Given your current condition, if you were to encounter the Formless Sword Lord, what are your chances of victory?"

His face was bloodless, his eye sockets darkened—signs of excessive depletion of essence blood.

The fact that, after days of this chase and flight, the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito would even engage him on this topic already explained many things.

Moreover, whenever Yunhe hid, it was forced to unleash the great‑range, high‑cost divine ability 'Blood-Colored Canopy' to drag him out; after several days of this, it too felt utterly exhausted.

"Before long, you will enter the territory under the jurisdiction of the Formless Sword Sect; are you prepared to face the Formless Sword Lord?"

Whether urging the Ice Phoenix Wings to greater speed or using the divine ability 'Nirvana' to transmute magical power, both caused his essence blood to be excessively depleted.

At this moment, the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito kept cursing in its heart, growing ever more furious at Yunhe's treasures and abilities, while also feeling a faint sense of unease.

Suddenly, Yunhe concentrated his divine sense and shouted lowly: "What if we add this trick of mine?"

But this made Yunhe feel that the chance to shake it off had arrived.

Sure enough, upon hearing the name 'Formless Sword Lord,' the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's breath hitched slightly and its eyes filled with intense wariness.

Although it hardly ever leaves the Thousand‑Poison Mountain, it is not ignorant of information about human cultivators beyond that mountain.

"Hmph!" yet the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's words were extremely firm: "Whether I stay or go, even if you are late‑stage Yuan Ying cultivators, you cannot decide for me!"

"This human, actually able to run like this!"

Its demon sense locked firmly onto Yunhe.

Yunhe's divine sense swept out, continually monitoring the distance between himself and the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito, while also sending a mental message.

Even some Yuan Ying Cultivators, upon hearing this news, besides muttering a few complaints in their hearts, dared not say much more.

As an early‑stage Yuan Ying Cultivator, yet able to escape from a fourth‑level late‑stage demon beast—and moreover an ancient aberrant spirit insect like the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito—without being overtaken for so long, is such an escape ability something ordinary Yuan Ying Cultivators would dare to provoke?

However, the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's condition is actually not that good either.

"Moreover, you human cultivators are selfish and self‑interested; how could you possibly offend me just for one person?"

Back in the Battle of the Listening Fragrance Tower, his feat of slaying two early‑stage fourth‑level Yuan tribe members had only spread in the Wood Kingdom and neighboring countries; this time, being driven to flee in all directions by the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito, he instead became renowned far and wide, his fame spreading like wildfire!

Of course, all that is later; at this moment, Yunhe's condition can be described as being as bad as it possibly can be.

He continued: "Furthermore, I have a deep friendship with the Formless Sword Sect's sword disciple 'Di Wu Xuan'; otherwise, why would you think I fled to this place?"

Upon hearing this, Yunhe narrowed his eyes.

The Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito let out a muffled grunt, its body pausing briefly; although it instantly recovered, when it looked again toward Yunhe's direction, it revealed intense wariness.

"Divine Sense Divine Ability."

It murmured in a low voice, its eyes flickering.

In its demon sense, Yunhe's speed increased again, shooting away swiftly; if it continued the pursuit, it could still lock on, but at this moment it fell into hesitation.

As for the meaning of this divine sense divine ability Yunhe displayed, it could not be clearer.

Given its current state, if it were to face the Formless Sword Lord, it would likely lose, but fleeing should pose no problem.

However, if Yunhe's divine sense divine ability were to assist from the side, although the phrase 'Seek Immortality, Gods' Gift' has only a minimal effect on it, in a battle of this level—especially against a sword cultivator who excels in slaughter—even the slightest influence could plunge it into dire straits.

Of course.

The most important thing is still that the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito feels it can't catch up to Yunhe.

It had pursued at full strength for several days; from the start it felt Yunhe could not hold on much longer, but now several days have passed and Yunhe still keeps a sufficient distance from it. Continuing the pursuit, it truly cannot determine how much more time it would need to possibly catch up, or perhaps it could never catch up.

Moreover, there's no denying that the deeper one goes into the Eastern Realm, the greater its threat becomes.

"Human, I will remember you."

The Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito once again transformed into that lovely appearance, its complexion flashing red and white, after deeply gazing in the direction Yunhe fled, it turned and left.

"Hah—"

On the other side, feeling that he had indeed escaped the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's Demon Sense lock, Yunhe exhaled a breath; he is now extremely weak, and if the mosquito pursues a bit longer, he may not be able to hold on.

But if that time truly came, Yunhe would unhesitatingly rush straight to the gate of the Formless Sword Sect.

Even if it might provoke the Formless Sword Sect's displeasure or even hostility, that would still be better than being caught by the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito.

At least, a sect will to some extent be wary of the Hundred Dawn Tower, and wary of provoking a cultivator like him whom even a Late Nascent Soul cultivator would struggle to catch.

Fortunately, there's no need to go to that last step.

Having broken free of the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's Demon Sense lock, Yunhe fled another distance until he felt he could barely hold on, then he dove into a small mountain forest that appeared lush and clear.

He went underground, simply set up a formation, released the Cold Chant Flood Dragon and some Corpse Soul Gu, and took a handful of Elixir.

He endured the endless fatigue, sat cross-legged, and his body began to flow with five-colored light.

Thus, Yunhe secluded himself in the heart of that mountain forest, quietly closing his eyes to recover his original qi.

However, this loss was too severe, especially the loss of essence blood; the loss far exceeded his earlier expectations, and if the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito were to hound him for a few more days, it could very well destroy his foundation and cut off any chance of further progress in his cultivation base.

Naturally, the time of this recuperation was much longer than he had anticipated.

Time slowly passed in the tedious routine of taking medicine, cultivating, and resting.

Unnoticed, half a year passed.

Yunhe remained deep in the mountain forest and had not yet left seclusion.

But during this period, the incident of him being pursued and killed by the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito and escaping successfully made his reputation spread widely.

Because it involves a Fourth Level late-stage demonic beast, an existence comparable to a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, it is indeed a major matter, so naturally all forces, big and small, pay attention to it.

Among them, the one most concerned is naturally an information power like the Hundred Knowledge Tower.

But what the Hundred Knowledge Tower itself didn't expect was that, after a series of inquiries and investigations, they discovered that the cultivator who was being chased and killed was none other than their newly appointed guest elder, Yunhe, Elder Yun.

The Fourth Level late-stage demonic beast that pursued him was also discovered to be the Ancient Exotic Insect 'Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito'!

The strength of such Ancient Exotic Insects surpasses that of ordinary demonic beasts by a notch, let alone their flight speed.

Yunhe being able to escape from such a Fourth Level late-stage demonic beast naturally means there is a high probability he can escape from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

And this means he need not fear late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators!

This is the truly important point.

In a world where no Void Returning cultivators appear, late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators are the pinnacle of this realm, and Yunhe being able to escape from such top cultivators means he can be fearless.

Furthermore, Yunhe previously slew two early-stage Fourth Level Abyssal clan cultivators in succession, indicating his combat power among early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators is top-notch, perhaps able to contend with mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators for a round or two.

One, a person who can escape from late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators and also fight mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, is absolutely a noteworthy existence.

Therefore, in the situation where the Hundred Knowledge Tower could not contact Yunhe, they chose to spread this news.

Thus.

The name of the Hundred Knowledge Tower's guest elder, Elder Yun, is definitely quite renowned in the current Eastern Border cultivation world.

Although it cannot compare to those late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators, it is not lacking compared to ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Of course.

Because Yunhe, while evading the pursuit of the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito, implicated some market towns' actions, causing many people to superficially address him as 'Elder Yun', 'Senior Yun', 'Ancestor Yun', while behind his back many still called him 'Demon Yun'.

Well, these 'trivial matters' obviously won't concern many people.

Even those forces that control the market towns and were innocently affected dare not have many complaints when facing the now-famous Yunhe, let alone those rogue cultivators.

It can be said that Yunhe's fame in the Eastern Border cultivation world is not inferior to that of mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and even some somewhat ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators may not have as great a reputation as his.

And what truly made his reputation spread widely is because of a remark from the Formless Sword Sect's 'Formless Sword Lord'.

At that time.

The Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's failed pursuit of Yunhe, upon returning to Thousand Poison Mountain, grew ever more furious in its heart; thus, it, which had not left the mountain for several hundred or even a thousand years, led the myriad poisonous creatures of Thousand Poison Mountain to openly go out and slaughter human cultivators, and finally, due to the great commotion, it still alerted the Formless Sword Sect.

And the Formless Sword Sect's sword chief, the Formless Sword Lord, personally battled the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito; the final outcome is unknown, only knowing that the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito, together with its myriad poisonous creatures, finally retreated back to Thousand Poison Mountain.

In the words of the Formless Sword Lord, it is that the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito's speed is too great; he cannot and cannot slay the opponent.

The Formless Sword Lord cannot catch up to the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito, while the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito cannot catch up to Yunhe; comparing the two, isn't it saying that Yunhe's escape speed is even greater than that of the Formless Sword Lord?

Of course, there certainly exist many unknown reasons and processes in between, such as what agreement the Formless Sword Sect reached with Thousand Poison Mountain, or what concerns the Formless Sword Lord still has, or that the Formless Sword Lord can defeat the Thousand-Wing Blood Mosquito but lacks confidence to kill it, etc.

But no matter how one says it, this remark once made Yunhe's successful escape deed again become a topic of after-dinner conversation among cultivators of the Eastern Border cultivation world.

In short, others become famous through a single battle, while Yunhe becomes famous through a single escape.

(End of chapter)