Chapter 103

"Hm?"

Sun Jindong, frowning in thought, suddenly felt a sharp alarm ring in his heart.

Instinctively, he dropped low and leapt off the ground, spinning his entire body through the air.

"Puff!"

A black thread descended from above, grazing Sun Jindong's cheek, leaving a trail of blood, then slammed into the stone pavement, smashing a small crater before shattering into several pieces, scattering across the ground.

"Arrow?"

Heart pounding, Sun Jindong glanced at the broken arrow, his face darkening; he rose and looked toward the direction the arrow had come from.

But as he looked, his pupils instantly contracted and expanded.

In his field of vision, ten black threads were hurtling toward him at breakneck speed.

Shii! Shii! Shii!

The piercing whistle of the arrows had barely reached Sun Jindong's ears when they arrived before him.

But this time, Sun Jindong was prepared.

"Huh—Boom!"

Qi surged; both palms thrust forward, striking rapidly in succession.

Bang! Bang! Bang~

A series of explosive crashes accompanied shattered arrows flying into the air.

In less than a breath, all the ambush arrows were destroyed; Sun Jindong's eyes locked onto a figure across hundreds of meters away, standing atop a tall building.

As if aware he'd been spotted, the figure swiftly turned and fled.

"Shot an arrow in the dark and think you can just run?"

Sun Jindong growled, tapped his toe, leapt into the air, and dashed onto the rooftops.

"Brother Sun, what's going on?" A short but powerfully built middle-aged man, hearing the commotion, ran out from around the corner and shouted as he saw Sun Jindong on the roof.

"Someone shot an ambush arrow at me."

Sun Jindong replied, "Brother Liu, stay at the martial hall—I'll be back soon."

With that, his form flickered as he activated his lightness technique, leaping across rooftops toward the distance.

"Ambush arrow? Too brazen! Brother Sun, I'll go with you!"

Liu Chao said, leapt into the air, landed on the roof, and followed behind Sun Jindong.

In the blink of an eye, the two exited the Four Directions Martial Hall.

But the commotion had been loud; especially the broken arrow fragments, which drew the attention of those who came running, their Grave Demeanor deepening.

Behind the martial hall.

Wei Dongliang, seated motionless in meditation, furrowed his brow at the noise and said, "Xu Yibai, go see what's happening."

"Yes!"

Outside the room, a young man named Xu Yibai, around twenty-five or twenty-six, tall and slender, held a long sword; his aura was unified and complete, yet bristled with sharpness.

He was clearly in the Innate Realm!

Upon receiving the order, Xu Yibai quickly left the courtyard and rushed toward the central yard.

Soon after, he returned to Wei Dongliang's room, bowed and said, "Report, Altar Master: Someone fired an ambush arrow at Brother Sun. Brother Sun is unharmed and has given chase."

"Ambush arrow in broad daylight?"

Wei Dongliang frowned. "Who did this? An enemy of Sun Jindong?"

"I'm not certain yet," Xu Yibai lowered his head.

"...", Wei Dongliang mused, speaking calmly, "Follow him. Sun Jindong is one of ours—help him if necessary."

"Yes!"

Xu Yibai bowed, then stepped out of the room, tapped his toe, and shot skyward.

…

…

Shooting arrows in broad daylight has low success rate and draws too much attention.

Chen Mu had naturally considered this.

If possible, he preferred to act at night.

His nighttime stealth experience had never been used yet.

But as always, the presence of Wei Dongliang, the Earth Altar Realm cultivator, was too great a threat!

Firing at night, Sun Jindong would most likely not chase after him.

Once sensing danger, that man would absolutely run to stand beside Wei Dongliang.

So, only by firing in daylight!

Though this drew many eyes, it successfully lured Sun Jindong out of the Four Directions Martial Hall.

Now he was clinging tightly to Chen Mu, chasing him out of Wulong Fucheng.

Huh~

Huh!

On the open fields beyond the city, Chen Mu used the "Chasing Wind Legs" technique to trail Sun Jindong at a steady distance, moving away from the city.

The "Listen to the Wind" skill activated, constantly locking onto Sun Jindong behind him and scanning the surroundings.

Sun Jindong had another person following him—Chen Mu heard it!

From the aura fluctuations, this person was also in the Innate Realm, but his Innate Qi was weak—likely newly ascended, posing limited threat.

For this reason, Chen Mu did not flee immediately; he trailed the two as they raced farther away.

Sun Jindong and Liu Chao pursued relentlessly, refusing to let go.

Whoosh~

Whoosh!

The three figures swiftly fled far from Wulong Fucheng.

Ten li, twenty li, thirty li…

After sprinting forty li in one breath and entering an open wilderness, Chen Mu suddenly stopped. From his palm-space, he drew the Crouching Tiger Bow, replaced the half-spirit bow, paired it with its exclusive arrows, turned to face Sun Jindong and Liu Chao—who were still chasing him and now only two hundred meters behind—and fired an arrow.

Fweee~ fweee~ fweee~

The faintest whisper of cutting wind had barely sounded when the arrow was already before Sun Jindong and Liu Chao.

"Scram!"

Sun Jindong growled low and slapped a palm forward.

Boom!

The arrow that had surged before the two of them exploded on impact; the shockwave slammed into Sun Jindong and Liu Chao.

Sun Jindong's figure jolted and he was forced to halt.

Liu Chao, meanwhile, was sent staggering backward, dark blood welling at the corner of his mouth.

"A spirit weapon?"

Sun Jindong's face darkened. He stamped his foot against the ground, his body about to pounce forward…

Fweee~! Fweee~! Fweee~!

The faint cutting wind rose again, reaching right before Sun Jindong's eyes.

Whooosh~ whooosh~

True Qi surged within Sun Jindong; his hands shaped into palms as he struck out palm-print after palm-print.

His body was also moving, shifting to the right.

But the moment he moved, the trailing arrows moved with him!

Soul-Chasing Arrow—true qi locks the soul!

A mid-grade spirit weapon, the Crouching Tiger Bow, paired with its exclusive arrows, unleashed the Soul-Chasing Arrow.

Chen Mu loosed thirty arrows in one breath!

Liu Chao was sent staggering back by the impact of one arrow, suffered internal injuries, and stopped in the distance.

Sun Jindong, meanwhile, blocked while shifting, dodging as he went.

But Soul-Chasing Arrow's true qi locked on; no matter which direction he moved, the arrows followed relentlessly behind.

True qi locks the soul—impossible to dodge, only to take it head-on!

In a place with many obstacles, this style of attack would undoubtedly be far less effective.

But this stretch of open wilderness offered nothing to use for cover.

Sun Jindong could only tank it head-on!

With his cultivation at the peak of Fourth Stage Innate and a unique true qi shielding his body, Sun Jindong was no weakling.

Facing the arrows that clung to him like a soul-chasing curse, Sun Jindong gave up dodging and struck each arrow down with palm after palm, head-on.

During this process, the might of the Crouching Tiger Bow and the explosions after the arrows were fired sent shockwaves into Sun Jindong, causing his qi and blood to churn within, his face to flush red, and his breathing to begin falling into disarray.

Chen Mu watched from afar, noticed Sun Jindong's condition, and without pausing his arrows kept nocking and drawing, loosing them with ferocious speed.

Chen Mu had exchanged for one hundred exclusive arrows for the Crouching Tiger Bow.

He had fired off more than thirty earlier; now he sent every remaining one out in a single breath.

Fweee~ fweee~ fweee~

The faint cutting wind wove across the wilderness.

Several dozen arrows wrapped in true qi swarmed toward Sun Jindong, encircling him completely!