The grasses on the ground were blurred as Ye Mo swiftly rushed across the clearing, moving southward.
Shen Xue stood immobile for a second looking at Ye Mo's back, unable to understand what his opponent was trying to do.
Without waiting any further, Shen Xue engaged in cold pursuit. His body exuded a chilling white mist around him and as he went after Ye Mo, it clung at his figure leaving a trail in the air behind him when he lunged forward, making him look like a vengeful ghost.
In an instant, he crossed the distance between himself and Ye Mo then went ahead and blocked his path, standing before him.
Ye Mo at this moment was impassive as he took a step and branched off to the left, leaving Shen Xue behind.
He knew that no matter how much heart he put in his run, he couldn't surpass Shen Xue's speed and this one would easily catch up, but he only feigned moving south so when the Shen clan young master cut him off he unhesitatingly changed direction.
His real target was east!
Shen Xue who had enough of this buffoonery harrumphed as he instantly gave chase again.
How can this guy even think he could escape in front of him?
In a blink, he was already behind Ye Mo as he brandished his sword shining brightly and struck down.
At the crucial moment, Ye Mo turned around and raised his peak-tier wrist guards in protection.
Bang!
With an explosive sound, he was sent flying in the air like a living projectile, hurtling uncontrollably across the battlefield.
In the zone of impact, the soil was frozen solid by the blast of Shen Xue's attack.
Ye Mo maintained his balance in the air, then spun rapidly like a cart wheel, accelerating as he dropped down at high speed.
Towards the end of his fall, he was spinning so fast that the collision with the ground was greatly lessened with his body curled and his limbs tucked as he was immediately propelled forward.
He continued rolling on the earth several times, gathering momentum, before he planted one foot on the ground and in one smooth motion, stood up and began sprinting away.
He didn't stop moving a single instant in all this sequence as he used Shen Xue's strike as a fuel to considerably increase the distance between each other and engulf himself in the woods.
Previously, after Ye Mo took on Shen Xue's second strike, he was sent traversing a good part of the glade until crashing down and now after enduring another blow and landing down, he was already at its edge. With a few rolls before running away, he quickly left the clearing.
Shen Xue witnessing the scene, understood what happened as his own strength was used by Ye Mo to pull up some distance.
Yet, it made no difference to him, as such a distance could be cleared in a flash.
No sooner said than done, Shen Xue appeared beside the tree Ye Mo just passed by, but as he looked around, he couldn't find him anywhere.
It was like his prey suddenly vanished after passing behind this tree trunk.
Shen Xue using his spiritual sense changed nothing as he couldn't locate his presence.
The silent young master slowly felt a sense of urgency growing, never before had he let someone he set his mind to kill escape, this day couldn't be an exception.
He was about to use an investigative battle skill when all of a sudden, he noticed Ye Mo nimbly leaping on tree branches in the distance.
Shen Xue immediately thought it was odd, how could Ye Mo avoid his vision and spiritual sense just to reappear at this time.
However, he quickly cast these thoughts aside, once again chasing after him.
"Wanna kill me, not so easy."
Wether prey or predator, Ye Mo was ready to accept it all.
This young master was really implacable, he didn't know his identity nor did they exchange any words before, yet as soon as they met, he set himself in a personal mission to reap Ye Mo's life. If he acted this way towards every person he encountered in this forest, with his means, it is no wonder he killed so many people.
Ye Mo sometimes ran, sometimes jumped, others he would grab branches and swing himself, avoiding the obstacles on his way as he streamed forward like he grew in this environment for a long time.
Then he passed beside a tree and disappeared as he activated his stealth completely.
Shen Xue arrived at his position just a split-second later, but lost all trace of him.
Shortly, Ye Mo resurfaced in the distance sprinting away once more.
Now the swordsman was sure, "This guy possess a concealment battle skill, but it seems to have some kind of limitations making him unable to maintain it for a long time."
Shen Xue thought, otherwise why would his target keep reappearing like that every time?
It didn't matter to him though as wether in terms of speed or Qi consumption, he was much better than any Qi Gathering cultivator so he could chase him until he deplete all his reserves or catch him at a moment where he couldn't escape from his sight.
Ye Mo on his part just kept running away, using Shadow Walk when Shen Xue was about to catch up then canceling the battle skill when he distanced himself enough.
The reason he didn't use Shadow Walk to simply move far away and escape was that he was wary of Shen Xue's investigation battle skill. No technique was absolute and even in shadow form, there were many martial arts that could enable someone to locate him, if Shen Xue's battle skill was one of them then the swordsman would directly rush at him and end his life.
By reappearing shortly later, he didn't give him the occasion to use it, but let Shen Xue chase after him instead.
Moreover, he had something else in mind.
Ye Mo's eyes shone with craftiness as he pulled himself away from the young master.
After such a scene was repeated a few times, Shen Xue suddenly stopped chasing and looked ahead vacantly.
"Why do I even bother... It will cost some Qi, but I will replenish it after he's killed." He said softly in a whisper.
With a sudden movement, Shen Xue rotated his body before his hands swung out as he wielded his sword. Twenty rays of blade lights shot out from his sword, rotating in constant motions, drawing air drafts to form a six meter sword storm in a breath of time.
Howl!
The wind seemed to conceal a beast howling, causing listeners to quiver.
The tornado-like winds were white in color, whipping out and mincing everything in its path.
With a second rotation, another cyclone was formed and sent forward, zigzagging on their way as they lacerated everything ahead.
Swish swish swish.
Remote grasses were sent flying in the air and drawn to the cyclones before being cut into tiny pieces.
Soon after, these pieces were further cut into smaller pieces, reducing everything to nothingness.
Bushes were uprooted while trees were turned into wood dust.
Storm Blade, a peak-tier Yellow class battle skill that Hong Li allowed Shen Xue to pick after he attained the Foundation Establishment realm.
Ye Mo stared coldly at the rays of ice blades reducing the forest into a flat land as it progressively neared him.
"If it reaches me, it will destroy the vegetation. Without any shadows to hide in, I will be forced out of concealment and reduced to minced meat by the cyclones, even if I am able to avoid them, a few tornados similar to this one will clear the surroundings of any obstruction to hide in, so he can kill me easily afterward. Fortunately, I am almost there."
Ye Mo thought as he left his concealment and ran to the side attempting to leave the course of the storm blades.
However, because they moved side by side and veered left and right, it was very difficult to anticipate in which direction they would go.
While he tried to escape, one cyclone still went in his general direction and approached dangerously.
Ye Mo grabbed a vine and swung himself further, avoiding the sides of the cyclone an instant before it reached his previous position. He was still in the air holding the vine when the tree it was tied to was swallowed by the ice blades and the vine was cut, sending Ye Mo crashing against branches and trees foliage before falling down and rolling on the ground until he hit the base of a trunk and came to a stop.
Without any second thought or examining the state of his body, he rose up and immediately started running again.
Quickly enough, he jumped out of the woods, before sprinting swiftly, seeing a precipice dozens of meters further.
In no time, the underbrush rustled faintly as a tall young man stepped out of the thickets in turn, surrounded by white mist.
He walked with detached countenance, a sharp distinction to his target speeding like a prisoner on the run, reflection to the first's confidence.
Instantly, Shen Xue rushed forward in a flash, ready to deal the killing blow.
Ye Mo smiled mockingly as he looked up.
"SHEN XUE!" A figure suddenly jumped from the sixty feet high cliff bellowing loudly as he fell down straight towards the Shen clan young master.
In his fall, his hands enlarged to the size of battering rams, his fingers turned into jagged claws gleaming like shards of obsidian. The skin of his arms turned into volcanic rocks divided by red lines of molten lava dripping down from the cavities.
Ma Shinfei heavily fell on Shen Xue, striking down with his enormous claws, while the young master quickly stopped in his tracks to raise his sword and block the strike.
The battlefield shimmered with distortion, frost creeping over burning ground, steam hissing where the two forces collided and neutralized each other.
The air seemed to warp, a dizzying blend of scorching heat and biting cold that struck in alternating waves.
"Humans, animals, cultivators, beasts, they are not so different. Humans and beasts alike are driven by desires and instincts that often shape their actions. In essence, both humans and beasts are governed by their ambitions, their hunger, their needs—whether for dominance, survival, or revenge, as long as one is understood and their goals align, they can be manipulated the same."
Ye Mo gave an appreciative glance back at the two locked down against each other, thinking of his encounter with the Wrathful Black Ape and the Firebird and his confrontation with the Liu clan members in the jungle, before he resumed his run and left the area.