The moment Jiu Baiyun flung Su Zhiyun—incense and all—toward the Ancestral Hall, he could clearly hear the faint tearing sound of the collar fabric under the immense pull, as well as her short, muffled scream swallowed by the howling wind.
Bang—splash—
From behind, in the distance, came the dull thud of a fence breaking and a heavy object landing.
Good.
The landing point was roughly accurate.
And with the strength of that protective spiritual light, Su Zhiyun would at most suffer some flesh wounds.
As for the incense… it might not survive.
Hopefully A Ran won’t be too upset.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Jiu Baiyun didn’t pause for a moment.
He twisted his body and shot off in the opposite direction of the Ancestral Hall, moving even faster than when he had been carrying Su Zhiyun.
Caw, caw, caw—
Behind him, the sky-darkening tide of gray-white erupted into an even more frenzied screech.
Without any hesitation, it abandoned its “interest” in the Ancestral Hall, frantically turning to pursue Jiu Baiyun.
The eerie aura quickly enveloped Jiu Baiyun.
‘Heh, just as I expected, it’s coming for me.’
Though he was a bit annoyed at these sparrows chasing him, this was exactly what he wanted.
Yes, he was gambling—gambling that his spiritual energy was more attractive to these sparrows.
Jiu Baiyun’s figure darted swiftly through the forest, spiritual energy wrapping around his body, turning him into a pale golden streak of light.
However, after a prolonged back-and-forth, the surging gray-white tide behind him not only failed to shake off but gathered ever more densely.
He simply couldn’t lose these sparrows!
Jiu Baiyun was almost certain that such a massive flock of sparrows couldn’t have gathered naturally.
Someone must be behind it.
Their behavior patterns were too uniform, their instinct to chase spiritual energy amplified countless times.
As darkness spread like spilled ink, quickly devouring the last traces of daylight, and the shadows in the forest thickened into an impenetrable gloom, Jiu Baiyun’s sense of unease climbed sharply.
“Yao Fox!”
At Jiu Baiyun’s urgency, the Yao Fox Demon Venerable replied impatiently, “Stop rushing. I’ve already detected it. These sparrows are indeed man-raised.”
After all, during the entire time Jiu Baiyun had been chased by the sparrows, she had been investigating without a moment’s rest.
With the Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s confirmation, Jiu Baiyun’s heart sank heavily.
“Where is he?” he blurted out the moment the Yao Fox finished speaking.
But the Yao Fox Demon Venerable didn’t specify the opponent’s location.
Instead, her voice turned extremely serious.
“Speed up! He’s catching up!”
Catching up!?
Jiu Baiyun didn’t need to guess to understand that the Yao Fox Demon Venerable was referring to the person who raised these sparrows.
Jiu Baiyun immediately pushed his spiritual energy to the limit, his speed skyrocketing again as he tried to widen the distance.
But in the perception shared by the Yao Fox Demon Venerable, that aura was still steadily closing in on him.
‘Tch… this one’s even harder to shake off than the sparrows…’
Caw—
Just as a surge of displeasure rose in his heart, another screech came, carrying a mental impact that made Jiu Baiyun’s vision go black.
His high-speed flight came to an abrupt halt.
In that momentary delay, a gray shadow shot out from the flock of sparrows on his side and rear, like lightning tearing through the night.
Its speed far exceeded that of the eerie sparrows, even faster than Jiu Baiyun’s full-throttle acceleration.
The gray shadow’s target was extremely precise: Jiu Baiyun’s heart.
An icy chill of death instantly enveloped his whole body.
Jiu Baiyun’s pupils contracted.
He had no time to turn and block or counterattack.
The Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s shared perception screamed a frantic warning.
In that extreme emergency, he instinctively activated the Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s ability.
Phasing!
Hum!
The moment the gray shadow’s claws touched his robe, Jiu Baiyun’s figure became blurred and translucent like a water ripple.
Rip!
Those claws, strong enough to pierce metal and stone, passed harmlessly through Jiu Baiyun’s phased body, carrying a tearing sound that ripped through the air, leaving only a ripple in the atmosphere.
No real damage was done.
Though he had originally planned to use this skill for escape, he had held off until now.
At least… the result wasn’t bad?
The gray shadow seemed stunned by the missed strike, its movement pausing for an extremely brief moment, clearly not expecting Jiu Baiyun to pull such a trick.
And in that moment, Jiu Baiyun got a clear look at the opponent’s face.
The figure was covered in a strange, gray-white substance resembling bird feathers.
On its face was a mask shaped like an enormous sparrow skull, with only two points of crimson light visible.
Its hands were sharp blades like bird claws.
Meeting Jiu Baiyun’s gaze, the figure let out a sinister chuckle.
“I thought I’d caught a little fry. Unexpectedly… I’ve hooked a big one.”
As it spoke, it seemed to imagine the taste of eating Jiu Baiyun and the enhancement it would bring, letting out a nauseating gurgle from its throat.
“Truly not easy… Which sect’s lost meal could you be? Oh well, since you’ve fallen into my hands, you’re mine now…”
Before the words faded, and before Jiu Baiyun could say anything, the Gray Feather Mask Man’s figure blurred again, turning into an even more sinister gray line that began to revolve around Jiu Baiyun at high speed.
The speed was extreme, leaving trails of gray-white afterimages around Jiu Baiyun, as if multiple enemies were attacking from different angles simultaneously.
The sharp sound of tearing air was unceasing—the howl of bird-claw blades slicing through the atmosphere.
Jiu Baiyun’s pupils contracted.
Lethal threats came from every direction.
Phasing couldn’t last much longer, so Jiu Baiyun dared not pause.
The little spiritual energy left in his body surged again, and his hands moved rapidly to form seals.
“Golden Blade Barrier!”
Hum!
Countless fine, pale golden micro-sword energies instantly materialized, swirling rapidly around him, forming a high-speed rotating barrier of sword blades.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—
A cacophony of harsh metallic clashes exploded like a rainstorm.
Although every vicious, cunning strike from the Gray Feather Mask Man’s claws was precisely blocked by the fast-rotating golden sword wall, the high-intensity spiritual energy consumption was an extremely heavy burden for Jiu Baiyun in his current state.
Sparks flew.
Spiritual energy violently collided with the eerie gray aura, producing grating screeches.
“Hmph, tough shell!”
The Gray Feather Mask Man snorted coldly and abruptly changed his attack pattern.
He no longer insisted on close-range assault.
Instead, his figure sharply retreated as he raised both hands high, his ten fingers twitching wildly as if manipulating marionettes.
Caw—
The eerie flock of sparrows surrounding them like thick gray clouds instantly erupted into chaos.
Then the dense mass of sparrows coalesced into several thick gray-white torrents, smashing violently into Jiu Baiyun from all directions.
Boom—
With each impact, Jiu Baiyun’s face grew paler.
“Dammit!”
Jiu Baiyun knew clearly that if this continued, he would truly be finished.
His current strength was only at the Third Profound Realm, not suited for a prolonged battle.
And the opponent’s strength had clearly reached the Fourth Xuan Stage.
“Yao Fox… I might need to borrow your power again…”