Before He Yiming. Bao Zhu was crouching on the ground, its four paws slowly paddling, the speed not fast, but the rustling sound it made was indeed coming from the little fellow.

He Yiming’s face instantly darkened. Before this, he had calculated everything but never expected that this utterly bizarre sound would actually emanate from Bao Zhu's actions.

If the trio of Hao Xue knew that the one who put such terror into the hearts of three powerhouse masters that they fled in disarray was this little creature, they would likely die of shame.

However, the little fellow's actions had disrupted He Yiming’s plans.

He had originally intended to risk everything by deploying either the Heaven-Flipping Seal or the Nine Dragon Furnace. Given the element of surprise against unaware targets, capturing all three in one sweep seemed not impossible. But now, these three—who had been inseparable since entering Ghost Cry Ridge—had gone their separate ways.

At this moment, He Yiming was absolutely incapable of splitting his focus. Even with his immense self-confidence, he could, at most, manage to hold one of them.

As if sensing the simmering fury hidden beneath He Yiming’s darkening expression, Bao Zhu abruptly stopped, its constantly darting little eyes peering through the dense black fog towards He Yiming.

Strangely, despite the extreme density of the fog here, it had no effect whatsoever on the little creature.

He Yiming asked urgently, "Brother Bai, what is Bao Zhu doing?"

Bai Lingba’s figure, hidden in the thick mist, emerged. He calmly stated, "Bao Zhu’s claws were a bit itchy, so it’s just scratching the ground to rub them."

He Yiming felt a dizzying sensation in his head. Was this thing a pig or a cat?

He took a deep breath, pushing all distractions from his mind, and said in a deep voice, "Brother Bai, I need the Great Broadsword."

Bai Lingba nodded gently, offering no questions whatsoever.

He Yiming turned to Bao Zhu, which was shrinking its neck, looking like a child who had done something wrong and was guiltily awaiting reprimand. "Little fellow, wait for us here. Do not leave under any circumstances."

Bao Zhu’s eyes darted around, nodding vigorously. The skin above its slightly protruding nose wrinkled up, looking indescribably cute and comical.

But He Yiming was in no mood to appreciate it now. He tossed the Forked Sword in his hand; upon touching Bai Lingba’s body, the sword instantly dissolved into a pool of silver liquid and merged with him.

He Yiming gave a soft shout, "Brother Bai, help me pinpoint Zhu Guanhao’s location."

Bai Lingba seemed to respond with a slight acknowledgement, and then, his entire body flashed with a silver light, instantly vanishing. He transformed into a Great Broadsword over four meters long.

He Yiming reached out a hand, and the Great Broadsword flew into his grip. He subtly pressed down with the tip of his foot and leaped up as if shot from a cannon.

Mid-air, He Yiming’s gaze sharpened. Everything around him underwent a subtle transformation.

Although the black fog in the distance was still churning and incredibly dense, He Yiming could clearly discern the shortest distance between two points marked by a single line within it.

Innumerable lines materialized before his eyes, and he casually stepped onto one of them.

Instantly, his body vanished from its original spot. When he reappeared, he was already tens of zhang away.

After he departed, Bao Zhu, which had been crouching on the ground, shot up with lightning speed.

It shook its body, and all the dirt clinging to it flew everywhere, yet none of it settled back onto its fur. Then, a faint white glow emanated from its body, circling it from head to tail.

In the next moment, a flawlessly white pig, as if it had been washed for three straight days and then air-dried, appeared once more.

If He Yiming were present, he would certainly recognize the light emanating from Bao Zhu as the glow it produced after consuming the energy stones in the past.

However, that previous glow had stripped away all its scorched black fur, whereas this time, it was merely used to clean off the grime.

To utilize such a powerful ability just for personal cleansing was something only Bao Zhu could reasonably do.

Having finished this, the little eyes darted around, and it was impossible to know what thoughts were crossing its little mind.

After a long pause, it seemed to finally make a decision. It glanced in the direction He Yiming had left, then abruptly spun around and bolted towards the mountaintop.

If He Yiming had witnessed this scene, he would have been terrified out of his wits.

The summit of Ghost Cry Ridge concealed secrets that even the Venerables dared not approach, yet Bao Zhu seemed utterly fearless. Its speed increased relentlessly, until it was completely swallowed by the black fog.

It was now surrounded by the densest part of Ghost Cry Ridge’s fog, where visibility extended barely three steps.

※※※※

The black fog in the air churned, and a person materialized abruptly and inexplicably within the mist. Then, he seemed to pause, his figure flashing again before disappearing without a trace once more.

As He Yiming continued to ascend the martial path, the number of lines appearing in his vision gradually increased, from the initial single line to over ten now, providing him with far more options.

Furthermore, the speed at which he executed his top-tier wind movement technique grew ever faster, and when he pushed his limits, he could even maintain the movement continuously—this was the truly terrifying aspect.

Guided by the tracker, it didn't take long for He Yiming to sense a rapidly moving aura ahead.

Although in this environment, He Yiming couldn't clearly make out the person's face, or even see their back, he had locked onto their aura and held it firmly.

This was Zhu Guanhao, who had been with Hao Xue and Fang Sheng.

Among the three, Hao Xue's martial cultivation was undoubtedly the strongest, especially with his possession of the Great Art of Distortion and the Blood Coagulation Technique; even He Yiming wouldn't claim he could kill him quickly without resorting to the Heaven-Flipping Seal or the Nine Dragon Furnace.

And the ethereal, unpredictable, and uncanny movement technique mastered by Fang Sheng had also left a profound impression on He Yiming.

He had attempted to assassinate Fang Sheng before, but the second time he used the Forked Sword attack, he was tricked by the opponent's movement technique, causing even that near-certain strike to miss.

So, if he had to choose one from the trio, He Yiming still targeted Zhu Guanhao.

After all, successfully killing one would guarantee that the other two would be forced to withdraw from Ghost Cry Ridge out of necessity.

Zhu Guanhao, running ahead, seemed to sense something amiss behind him, daring not even look back as his speed increased dramatically. This indicated the sheer terror he felt toward whatever was pursuing him.

He Yiming sneered. In truth, he too was filled with apprehension and dared not deploy his ultimate trump cards, the Heaven-Flipping Seal and the Nine Dragon Furnace, in this ghostly place. He had a feeling that the power of the pagoda and the fire dragons within the Nine Dragon Furnace were too immense; using them here might attract unforeseen disaster.

Thus, after they separated, He Yiming had abandoned the idea of using those two ultimate techniques. Since he held the Great Broadsword, killing just one should still be achievable.

With a light leap, he vanished again mid-air. When he reappeared, he was blocking Zhu Guanhao's inevitable path.

Zhu Guanhao’s vision blurred, and he suddenly saw a figure standing before him. His heart seized with alarm; even an idiot knew this person was after him. However, consumed by dread of the force behind him, he cast all caution aside. The fan in his hand spun wildly; every rotation seemed to create a small vortex before him, which he then lightly waved towards He Yiming.

These vortices seemed to carry a strange attractive force, greatly surprising He Yiming.

He vaguely sensed that this must be the specialized technique at which Zhu Guanhao excelled.

The masters from these inner-region great families all possessed unique skills; none could be underestimated.

He Yiming swept the Great Broadsword horizontally across his front, stabbing directly toward the center of the vortices.

He cared nothing for the special abilities of these whirlpools. For He Yiming, armed with the Great Broadsword, there was no technique in this world that couldn't be broken.

As long as he wielded this terrifying weapon, facing anything, he could use brute force to shatter it by overwhelming might.

This was confidence, a powerful, almost unreasonable conviction.

"Po..."

Light bursts erupted in succession, and every single Qi vortex shattered at that moment. Under the relentless impact of the Great Broadsword, these vortices were utterly destroyed before they could even manifest their intended function.

An expression of utter horror flashed in Zhu Guanhao's eyes.

When he struck, he had fully expected those vortices, even if they couldn't repel the opponent, to at least throw him into momentary disarray, allowing Zhu Guanhao to escape in the ensuing confusion. He never imagined that the other party would ignore them entirely and simply extend his weapon forward to obliterate them all.

At that instant, his heart turned ice-cold.

What master had emerged from where? And what kind of weapon was this? It was completely unheard of in his memory.

A chilling voice rang out here: "Stay put for me."

The Great Broadsword swung horizontally through the air, unleashing an imposing aura, heavy and immovable like towering mountains.

In Zhu Guanhao's vision, the man before him suddenly transformed into a mountain range, its boundless foothills stretching toward the horizon where the earth met the sky.

A sense of utter defeat welled up from his core, for he suddenly realized that no matter which direction he tried to break out, he seemed unable to pass.

He panicked, not only because of the man blocking his path but also because he was constantly aware of the even more powerful and inconceivable threat behind him.

Almost without thinking, he immediately cried out, "Sir, step aside quickly! The Millennial Cataclysm has begun!"

Ps: Only three chapters today. Bai He has counted; while the chapter numbering might be slightly off, the total chapter count is correct ^_^. As of today, 122 chapters have been updated this month. Therefore, Bai He will update five chapters tomorrow and six the day after. This ensures the 400,000-word goal for this month. Chapter 133 is 399,000 words, and since Bai He adds an extra one or two hundred words per chapter, the total will definitely exceed 400,000 words regardless. So, for the final three days, please vote with your monthly tickets. Thank you...