The three dark figures in the distance paused, then simultaneously bolted from their positions with explosive speed. Though they approached from different vectors, in the blink of an eye, the distance separating them had narrowed to almost nothing.
These three were veterans of countless battles, and they naturally perceived He Yiming’s sudden hesitation—they even calculated he was on the verge of retreating. Thus, they maintained impeccable patience.
Yet, they had never anticipated that after He Yiming fiddled with a small stone, he would instantly reverse course, charging toward Gui Ku Ling with desperate velocity.
This abrupt shift caught everyone off guard. At this critical juncture, there was no longer any need for concealment or restraint.
The speed of the three Venerables was terrifying. In an instant, each had covered tens of zhang. Before He Yiming could reach the summit, they were already within ten zhang behind him.
A colossal pressure, seemingly substantial enough to crush bone, descended overwhelmingly, threatening to flatten He Yiming entirely.
Three distinct surges of killing intent erupted, almost simultaneously.
At that very moment, even the Venerables who had been warily shadowing and monitoring one another realized their ultimate objective was shockingly identical.
However, precisely at this critical juncture, He Yiming’s body vanished, sweeping dozens of zhang away like a sudden gust of wind.
A flicker of disbelief crossed the eyes of all three. Although intelligence confirmed that some of them knew of He Yiming’s Earth-burrowing technique, none suspected that beyond burrowing, he commanded the ultimate movement skill derived from Wind element mastery.
In that instant, a singular thought crossed their minds: they were likely going to let him escape this time.
Indeed, once He Yiming unleashed the pinnacle movement technique of the Wind element without reservation, his speed ascended to an inconceivable level.
In mere breaths, he had arrived outside the dense black mist.
Reaching this point, he abruptly halted, turning back to look over his shoulder.
His gaze swept over the three figures dressed in black, seemingly memorizing every detail about them.
Though the faces of the three were obscured by black scarves, the moment their eyes met He Yiming’s, their hearts gave a sharp jolt. For some inexplicable reason, they shared a similar sensation: that their identities had been seen through by this young powerhouse and branded into his memory.
Subsequently, He Yiming raised his hand and pointed toward the trio from a distance, then turned and plunged into the black mist without a backward glance.
Though these three gestures carried no offensive power, they weighed heavily on the hearts of the three mighty Venerables.
They exchanged glances, recognizing the shared tinge of vexation in the other’s eyes.
They had been lying in wait outside the city, fully prepared to intercept and kill him midway. With their strength, they could evade detection from figures like Jin Zhanyi, but deceiving peers of equal rank was impossible.
Thus, as they followed He Yiming and his group, they had each discovered the presence of the others.
Before this moment, even facing death, they would never have believed that they shared the exact same target, all intending to eliminate him.
Consequently, they maintained vigilance and wariness, following closely but keeping a delicate distance. None dared to unilaterally break this established formation.
After all, facing peers, unless one was a singular anomaly like He Yiming or Jin Zhanyi, no one dared claim they could take on two opponents simultaneously.
They maintained this tense stalemate until the very end. Only when they frantically moved to strike down He Yiming did they discover their goals aligned perfectly.
In that instant, their hearts filled with extreme annoyance and deep melancholy.
However, these three were not ordinary individuals. Since the deed was done, they calmly accepted the reality.
Of course, whether their inner composure truly matched their outward appearance remained unknown.
They silently stared at the black mist before them. They did not pursue him, and in their eyes lingered a trace of terror, as if some terrifying entity resided within the fog, sending a chill down their spines.
After a long pause, they glanced at each other, immediately turned, and departed, without exchanging a single word.
Indeed, for Venerables to ambush a junior at the Three-Flower Realm was hardly honorable. If it became known that three Venerables had acted in concert, only to fail due to such a ridiculous reason, they would never be able to show their faces in public again.
Therefore, the three of them tacitly separated from that location, swearing never to mention each other’s identity.
As for the black mist, it was a forbidden zone for Venerables. Though they had entered it previously and achieved their breakthrough to the Venerable realm within its confines, they knew even better that re-entering now would lead only to certain death.
He Yiming’s pace was not rushed once inside the black mist. He did not flee wildly but instead opened his mouth and projected a Golden Flower.
The power of the cloud and mist surged, completely shrouding the Golden Flower within moments. Then, a mysterious light flashed across it, and the mist-wrapped Golden Flower vanished.
He Yiming paused, realizing that although the flower was gone, the surrounding mist remained as thick as ever, seemingly unchanged. He chuckled wryly; he had been foolish. He forgot that this place was inherently dominated by cloud and mist. As long as he mobilized the power of the mist to conceal the Golden Flower, that was sufficient.
Shaking his head slightly, He Yiming calmed his breath and remained still, waiting.
His ears twitched slightly, focusing all his attention forward.
However, after a prolonged period, there was still no movement. This left He Yiming deeply puzzled, though a sense of apprehension settled in his heart.
Outside the mist, letting alone facing three Venerables, even confronting one would have forced He Yiming into a desperate retreat. But now that he had reached Gui Ku Ling, perpetually enshrouded by this vapor, He Yiming was unwilling to let the matter rest.
Even if he couldn't kill the three of them, he intended to make them suffer some hardship.
This decision had been instantaneous, made the moment he sensed the killing intent radiating from the three Venerables.
Yet, even now, no one had dared to pursue him into the black mist.
Another long interval passed. He Yiming vaguely guessed that the three were being deterred by something, which is why they hesitated to enter. Naturally, He Yiming did not believe he was the figure of their dread; he was self-aware enough to know that even if he were twice as strong, three Venerables would not take him seriously.
He glanced back, and a sudden shiver ran down his spine.
Previously, his entire focus had been fixed on the three Venerables, leaving no mental capacity to spare. While the black mist here was intensely cold, it hadn't bothered him when he was distracted.
But now that his external concern was gone, he immediately felt the true power of this black mist.
Within the vast, seemingly endless fog that enveloped the entire high mountain, there was indeed an aura of icy coldness.
This was an essence of Yin, a chilling, spectral energy so powerful it defied measure.
He Yiming’s first thought was: this spectral energy must not be allowed near his body.
A powerful Fire element True Qi immediately flared around him. Crossing his hands, he executed a string of Fire Control techniques, creating an invisible, fiery red wall around himself that pushed the chilling Yin energy back a full zhang.
Only then did He Yiming feel that the dense spectral energy was kept at bay, and he was no longer subject to its influence.
He let out a long breath. As his tension eased, he noticed pinpoints of light illuminating around him, like countless fireflies.
His expression shifted slightly as Jin Zhanyi’s warnings flashed through his mind.
One of those warnings explicitly forbade the use of Fire element techniques within Gui Ku Ling.
It wasn't that Fire techniques were inherently flawed, but once deployed, they caused the user to glow brightly. In this sea of fog, anything emitting light was the ultimate beacon. If one encountered someone unwilling to cause trouble, it might be fine, but anyone capable of entering this place was surely no saint; they would inevitably be drawn to such a target and strike decisively.
The feeling of becoming the focus of everyone’s aggression was profoundly unsettling.
His thoughts raced. He scanned his surroundings, ensuring he hadn't drawn undue attention.
This was only because he had just entered Gui Ku Ling; few would likely choose this area for quiet cultivation. If he were currently lingering halfway up the mountain while glowing like a giant red lantern, he would be the perfect target.
Slowly, he retracted the power of Fire.
As the Fire energy waned, the sinister spectral aura returned. However, this time He Yiming was prepared. A layer of robust Earth element power enveloped him. While this energy could not repel the Yin aura as easily as Fire, as the strongest defensive element among the Five Elements, it possessed formidable protective capabilities.
The Earth Sealing Seal manifested around him like endless mountain ranges, constructing a powerful Earth element domain that gradually squeezed the chilling Yin aura away from his body.
Having accomplished this, He Yiming finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned and cautiously began to walk forward.
Throughout his journey, he cradled the Golden Flower, still concealed by the mist.
This tangible flower was originally intended as a small trick against the shameless Venerables. Since they had not followed, He Yiming saw no reason to waste it.
Visibility within the black mist was poor; even with He Yiming focusing his eyes, he could only see about ten meters ahead. What truly comforted him, however, was that his Supernatural Hearing skill was proving unexpectedly effective in this situation!