On the vast wilderness, several figures sped across the land, moving with the speed of lightning and thunder. Their rushing winds caused the beasts and minor demons in the outskirts to cower in fear.
"Stop!"
Lu Yuan roared, his voice booming as he enveloped himself in the Ultimate Thunder Path, causing his speed to increase rapidly in an attempt to block Li Hao's path.
However, Li Hao's movements were extremely erratic. Just as he was about to be within reach, he would suddenly change direction and accelerate.
It was clear that the young man hadn't even utilized the full potential of his evasive maneuvers!
Boom!
Suddenly, a divine flame struck out, causing Li Hao to dodge hastily. The scorching attack barely missed him, searing the side of his body.
The intense heat left him with a stinging pain, and he knew that his opponent's attack could easily melt ordinary divine weapons.
"If you keep running, I'll turn back and kill everyone over there!" Candlelight God warned, his eyes cold as he threatened Li Hao.
He had already guessed that Li Hao was deliberately drawing them away to buy more time for the people on the battlefield, a naive and futile attempt.
Li Hao responded with a faint smile, "I couldn't ask for more."
With that, he burst forward at full speed, rushing towards the distance.
Candlelight God was shocked and angry. He hesitated for a moment, considering turning back to threaten the battlefield, but Li Hao's sudden acceleration made him uncertain.
It was only a moment's hesitation before he resumed the pursuit.
Compared to the people on the battlefield, he couldn't afford to let Li Hao slip away.
"Why don't you three chase him down while I take care of the battlefield?" Lu Yuan shouted, his words also intended for Li Hao to hear.
Unfazed by the suggestion, Li Hao maintained his speed and even gradually increased his pace.
Candlelight God and Yin Lady's expressions turned gloomy, and they remained silent.
Lu Yuan, frustrated and furious at Li Hao's indifference, knew that he couldn't back down now. Seeing the couple's silence, he understood that any sign of retreat would bring consequences later.
Whoosh!
Li Hao swiftly moved forward, calculating the distance and reactivating the acceleration attributes of the catalog that he had previously deactivated.
His speed increased exponentially, leaving Lu Yuan and the others behind.
"He can still accelerate!" Lu Yuan raged, his roar reverberating as thunder filled his body, causing his bones to resonate with the sound. His speed increased slightly, but he still couldn't catch up to Li Hao.
Candlelight God and Yin Lady were also exceptionally fast, but they could only watch helplessly as Li Hao pulled away.
"Damn it, his speed is abnormal!"
"That evasive technique, it feels familiar, like I've seen it before!"
"There was a thief who came to our Great Void Realm to steal, and he used the same technique! Damn it!"
Candlelight God and Yin Lady were both enraged. The thought of letting Li Hao escape was unbearable, as it would haunt their sleep.
They unleashed their full power, chasing at top speed and even resorting to secret techniques that damaged their bodies, barely managing to keep up with Li Hao.
Li Hao, sensing the three figures closely trailing behind him, wore a gloomy expression. He had already pushed himself to the limit, yet he couldn't shake off these three formidable opponents from the Absolute Learning Realm.
If only his evasive technique had reached the seventh level, he might have been able to lose them easily.
Li Hao's eyes darted towards the ground below, taking in the numerous cities of Liangzhou that they were flying over.
These cities had been ravaged by the demon tide, leaving behind only ruins, corpses, and bloodstained lands.
As Li Hao raced across the land, witnessing the destruction of countless towns and cities, he drew in a deep breath. He recalled the letter from his Second Grandpa, which mentioned the Fourth Grandpa.
With a sweeping glance, he identified the name of a ruined city and determined his direction, rushing towards the border of Liangzhou at full speed.
This high-speed chase spanned thousands of miles.
It was only due to Li Hao's connection to the Heavenly Pulse, granting him the equivalent of half the power of an Unfading Vigor, that he was able to endure without succumbing to exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan and Candlelight God, both from the Absolute Learning Realm, were beginning to feel out of breath.
Chasing at full speed for thousands of miles was taxing even for them.
While they could briefly surge forward for dozens or even hundreds of miles, it was only a momentary boost that drained their stamina significantly and couldn't be sustained for long.
At this moment, without the aid of Unfading Vigor, they felt utterly exhausted.
Previously, when Lu Yuan had traveled across tens of thousands of miles to Tianmen Pass, he had taken a leisurely flight and hadn't felt tired at all. The small amount of stamina he had expended was easily replenished through natural breathing.
But now, in this desperate chase, they didn't even have a chance to catch their breath.
What infuriated them was that even as they pushed themselves to the limit, Li Hao showed no signs of slowing down, as if his energy was infinite.
They began to suspect that Li Hao might have already used up his Unfading Vigor.
If that were the case, once Li Hao's speed decreased, it would be their chance to unleash their Unfading Vigor and pursue him with full force, preventing him from regaining his strength and using the Unfading Vigor again.
In the blink of an eye, Li Hao reached the western border of Liangzhou.
Li Hao, in turn, reduced his pace slightly to prevent them from completely exhausting themselves and turning back to the battlefield.
When Lu Yuan, Candlelight God, and Yin Lady noticed Li Hao's deceleration, they were delighted and quickly increased their speed to resume the chase. However, Li Hao soon accelerated again, maintaining a stable distance.
Both sides were testing each other's limits.
As Li Hao fled at full speed, his eyes scanned the surroundings, using the landscape of mountains and rivers to navigate his direction. He had memorized the Liangzhou feng shui map, having accessed a copy of it back in the Rain Listening Tower.
After all, Liangzhou had been under the longstanding protection of the Li family for many years.
The Great Yu Dynasty comprised ten provinces, with each Divine General's Mansion overseeing three to four of these provinces. Initially, they each governed three, but after the outbreak at the Mohe River extended into the Great Yu territory, the Wang family was tasked with establishing the Mohe River Office to address the issue. As a result, they had to relinquish control of some of their provinces.
In a way, this also served to weaken the Wang family's military might.
Countless secret stories unfolded behind this decision, but it was all history now, hundreds of years old, and only the older generation still held on to those grudges.
With thousands of years of history, the intricate web of grudges and reconciliations among the dynasties and noble families was incredibly complex.
In Li Hao's generation, the five Divine General's Mansions maintained a peaceful coexistence, which was already a challenging feat.
Whoosh!
Li Hao adjusted his course, heading towards a new location.
"It seems like he's rushing towards that place," Yin Lady remarked, her expression changing slightly as she noticed Li Hao's change in direction.
Candlelight God narrowed his eyes, having already guessed Li Hao's intention. With a cold voice, he said, "I heard that Li's Fourth Grandpa is stationed near that Mohe River. Hmph, is he trying to use that old man to escape? We'll just kill one more then!"
If it came to a direct confrontation, Candlelight God could easily handle a mere Absolute Learning Realm cultivator by unleashing his Domain.
Lu Yuan also understood Li Hao's plan and frowned, saying, "If Li's Fourth Grandpa is there, you two deal with Li Hao while I hold off that Li family old man!"
"What if he enters the Mohe River?" Yin Lady asked hastily.
"Then he'll die even faster!" Lu Yuan replied with a cold smile. "I've entered that river once before. That river imprisons Li's predecessor, a true dragon. Our sect master personally killed that dragon!"
Upon hearing this, both Candlelight God and Yin Lady's eyes flickered, but they remained silent and continued the pursuit at full speed.
As they flew across mountains and rivers, covering over two thousand li, Li Hao noticed numerous demons occupying the mountains but paid them no heed.
Finally,
The number of demons they encountered decreased, and for a stretch of three to four hundred li, there were no signs of demons at all.
Li Hao arrived at a majestic and perilous mountain range. Here, the mountain peaks resembled sharp, pointed stones, and within the mountains, a dark and eerie river seemed to flow underground.
The river waters were pitch-black.
"Black water forms a deep abyss!"
In the middle section of this river, where a mountain peak had broken apart, creating a gap, there lay a stone beach covered with white pebbles.
On the edge of the beach stood a massive stele over ten zhang tall, with several black characters inscribed on it:
"Divine General's Mohe River!"
Next to the stele was a figure wearing a straw hat, his clothes tattered, holding a black broken sword, and leaning against the stele while drinking.
As Li Hao caught sight of this figure, the figure also noticed him and the three pursuing Demon Kings.
Soon, the figure's aged eyes narrowed slightly.
Suddenly, the figure with the straw hat vanished.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a dazzling blade of light seemed to sever the heavens and earth, appearing before the three Demon Kings chasing Li Hao!
Lu Yuan quickly retracted his head, almost getting sliced by the blade. He felt that if he had been hit, even his refined flesh would have suffered a severe injury! Candlelight God and Yin Lady were also forced to stop by the blade of light.
Upon seeing this, Li Hao immediately realized that this elderly man was indeed Li's Fourth Grandpa, Li Xiaoran!
"Immortal Realm?"
A calm voice sounded beside Li Hao.
Li Hao looked up and saw that the man with the straw hat had somehow appeared beside him. The man's face, though weathered, appeared to be only in his sixties, and his brows still held a hint of his former handsome and extraordinary bearing.
In his youth, he must have been an exceptional genius!