Great heavens! I was instantly struck with terror, so much so that even I, whose nerves I always thought were made of steel cable, was now utterly aghast. Facing the Lord of the Yellow Springs alone, and one in a state of uncontrollable frenzy at that, I doubt anyone in my position would fare any better.

Run! Run for my life! If it catches me, I'm dead meat.

Roar! Roar! Roar! The Lord of the Yellow Springs behind me bellowed like thunder, its silhouette, swift as lightning, in hot pursuit. At almost the exact same moment, several streaks of Dou Qi ripped through the air, aiming straight for my back. Even from dozens of meters away, under the effect of the Eye of Death Desire, I could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within; it felt as if the entire world trembled for this instant.

And the speed of these Dou Qi strikes was utterly extreme; at my current pace, there was simply no way I could outrun them!

Hah! I had to go all out. At this moment, I could no longer afford to consider any other consequences. My Thunder Dou Qi instantly broke through the limit of the sixth layer, surging up to the seventh. My body was instantly engulfed by an almost explosive surge of Dou Qi energy.

Thump! My two feet slammed into the solid ground, blasting a small crater beneath me. Then, my speed increased once more. In a flash of lightning and thunder, I seemed to teleport, covering over fifty meters out of thin air. This trick of instantly unleashing Dou Qi energy was a technique I grasped during my duel with Luo Yan, inspired by the King Kai Fist's method of Dou Qi utilization. However, previously, the sixth layer of Thunder Dou Qi had been my absolute limit. Now, to achieve maximum speed, I had to risk pushing it to the seventh layer.

Thump! Boom-rumble! Immediately afterward, bursts of explosive roar sounded behind me—the result of the Lord of the Yellow Springs missing its attack.

Mid-air, because the power surging through my body had reached its absolute peak, I almost lost control. I felt like a massive truck speeding down a highway that had lost its steering, hurtling straight toward a stone pillar.

Hah! Just as I was about to collide, I summoned all my strength to kick off, rebounding off the pillar for another lightning-fast change in direction. Simultaneously, the chaotic Dou Qi energy engulfing my body was vented through that full-force push.

The intensity of my Dou Qi instantly dropped back down.

Thump! As I landed back on the ground, control over my body was restored. Even more remarkably, in this brief moment, I had managed to put a full hundred meters between myself and the Lord of the Yellow Springs.

Apparently not expecting me to still have reserves, the Lord of the Yellow Springs roared like thunder once more, its speed increasing again as it closed the distance. My entire body was once again locked down by that suffocating killing intent. Even without looking back, under the influence of the Eye of Death Desire, I sensed three crescent-shaped bolts of Dou Qi hurtling toward me with astonishing speed. At this moment, I felt like a fighter jet locked onto by a tracking missile.

Even while moving at such high speeds, the Lord of the Yellow Springs could calmly launch Dou Qi attacks, its pace undiminished.

Damn it! What kind of monster is this thing? Can't I even shake it off like this? Helplessly, I resorted to the same tactic again, using the explosive force of instant Dou Qi deployment to burst forward another fifty meters out of nowhere.

In an instant, I had widened the gap between myself and the Lord of the Yellow Springs considerably once more.

However, no matter how much I accelerated, the Lord of the Yellow Springs always managed to catch up within a few breaths after I landed. It seemed impossible to shake it off completely. Nevertheless, after several missed Dou Qi attacks, the Lord of the Yellow Springs also gave up on trying to execute long-range assassination. It merely continued its frantic pursuit with continuous, fierce roars, showing a grim determination to never give up until its objective was met.

Thus began a unique yet heart-stopping chase. The Lord of the Yellow Springs held the advantage in maintaining a constant, high-speed movement, while I, just as it was about to catch up, would unleash a burst of Dou Qi for an instantaneous speed spike.

It felt like a contest between a kangaroo and a cheetah. In the moment of speed burst, I could leap tens of meters, moving with astonishing velocity. While this could indeed throw the Lord of the Yellow Springs off momentarily, after landing, it could quickly close the gap again. Although I desperately wanted to escape, instantly pushing my Dou Qi to its maximum required a brief period of recovery, preventing me from using the burst continuously.

Out of necessity, I had to run a few steps to stabilize my breathing before initiating another explosive surge forward using the same method. For a time, neither of us could gain a decisive advantage over the other. I don't know how long I ran—perhaps only a few minutes, or maybe several hours—but the Lord of the Yellow Springs remained glued to my shadow. Now, aside from the rumbling footsteps and heavy panting behind me, I could no longer hear its roars, yet the terrifying killing intent had not lessened; instead, it grew stronger as time passed.

On the vast fifth level of the Illusionary Realm, two figures—one yellow, one blue—streaked at incredible speeds between stone pillars, valleys, and sheer cliffs, darting through dense crowds of skeletons. For me, these obstacles were trivial, easily cleared with a single leap. But the enraged Lord of the Yellow Springs was far less polite; any stone pillar or skeleton army in its path was sent flying far away by brute force. The scene was akin to a high-speed freight truck suddenly barreling into a celebratory square during a festival—countless skeletons and chunks of rock were sent scattering everywhere. It was quite a spectacle.

The chase continued, one pursuing, one fleeing. In terms of pure speed, the Lord of the Yellow Springs and I were now evenly matched. I abandoned the idea of completely losing it; the only thing I could do was run for dear life, trying to outlast the Lord of the Yellow Springs to see whose stamina would break first.

However, I had absolutely no confidence in this regard. After all, my opponent was the Lord of the Yellow Springs—in game terms, a super-monster with seemingly infinite stamina and energy values. Although my Thunder Dou Qi was also known for its sustained power, against a monster like the Lord of the Yellow Springs, I couldn't gain any advantage.

It was safe to say that if the chase continued, it was only a matter of time before it caught me.

Valleys, cliffs, and rock formations flashed past behind me like streaks of electricity. I didn't know how long I had been running, as I had no time to check my magic clock. All I knew was that I couldn't stop; otherwise, death was certain. Dou Qi violently surged, then explosively released, cooled down, then condensed again, surged, explosively released, and cooled down.

Everything seemed to have become conditioned reflex. At this point, I felt like my feet were fitted with powerful springs, truly transforming me into a super-kangaroo, with the Lord of the Yellow Springs behind me acting as the cheetah that had targeted the kangaroo.

While sprinting, far ahead I spotted a massive black abyss hundreds of meters away, looking like a huge chasm splitting the entire fifth level of the Illusionary Realm in two. The distance between the two sides was easily over a hundred meters. It's over; I'm finished now. A sheer cliff lay ahead, and behind me was the death-bringing Asura, the Lord of the Yellow Springs.

With my current abilities, there was no way I could jump that far! But in that instant, there was no room for hesitation. I had to jump across; otherwise, I was certainly doomed. At that moment, I suddenly recalled the Dragon Shadow Flight technique I used during my duel with Luo Yan. Regardless of the risk, I had to try it.

My thoughts raced. Two dragon shadows quickly manifested above me, circling rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, I reached the edge of the abyss. Then, another explosive leap sent me soaring over fifty meters instantly, but my body, now mid-air, began to descend rapidly toward the dark abyss.

Roar! Come on! With an Aerial Sword Dance, the two dragon shadows were expertly guided beneath my feet.

Thump! I stomped down hard with both feet. Although the footing lacked the solid, stable feel of solid ground, it was enough for me to maintain aerial momentum. My body instantly accelerated explosively once more, soaring toward the opposite cliff like a great bird spreading its wings.

Thump! In a mere blink, I landed lightly on the ground.

Crack! The two dragon shadows that followed immediately returned to my Dragon Shadow Sword.

Incredible—I actually made the jump! Even at this point, my heart hadn't fully settled.

Roar! The furious, thunderous roar of the Lord of the Yellow Springs erupted from behind me.

Hoo! That was close. I had finally shaken it off. Only then did I dare to turn my head and look back at the Lord of the Yellow Springs on the other side of the hundred-meter-wide chasm. I saw it staring at the cliff edge, beating its chest in frustration, roaring angrily at me. It looked exactly like a great ape that was helpless against me.

Hahaha! At this moment, I couldn't help but burst into loud laughter: "You big idiot, jump over here if you have the guts!" The time spent being chased by it was undoubtedly one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. Seeing it thwarted now filled me with an inexpressible sense of exhilaration, like enjoying ice cream on a hot June day—it felt so good.

Roar! As if provoked by my words, the roar of the Lord of the Yellow Springs became even more earth-shattering. The ground in the surrounding valley trembled continuously. I watched as the Lord of the Yellow Springs actually began to retreat dozens of meters, its eyes constantly assessing the span of the abyss. Following its gaze, I noticed a flat piece of cliff face, which was a full ten meters lower than the ground where I stood.

"..................." I froze for a moment. Wait! No way! Is this behemoth actually thinking of flying across? Calculating based on the difference in height and the arc of the parabola, given the jumping power of the Lord of the Yellow Springs, it might actually clear the gap. I realized this quickly. In the moment I was stunned, the Lord of the Yellow Springs actually began to take a running start.

"I rely on it! You’re ruthless!"

I could no longer spare a glance to see if the Lord of the Yellow Springs could jump it; I turned my head and immediately bolted away.

Thump!

Not long after, a violent tremor sounded from far behind me. Although I didn't see the entire process, the intensity of the shaking confirmed that the Lord of the Yellow Springs had indeed cleared the cliff edge and landed on this side.

At that moment, I regretted it so much I almost choked on my own bile. Damn it! This is what happens when you let hubris get the better of you; joy turns to sorrow! Why did I have to provoke it? If I had just bolted the moment I landed on this side, none of this would have happened.

But it wasn't too late to run now. Although the Lord of the Yellow Springs had probably crossed the abyss, it was still a considerable distance behind me. After a few more leaps, I could no longer sense its presence.

Only then did I breathe a slight sigh of relief. However, having learned my lesson, I dared not let my guard down or become arrogant again. I continued running fast for a long distance before finally stopping.

It seemed I had finally shaken off the Lord of the Yellow Springs. The remaining task was to reach the fourth level as quickly as possible to rendezvous with Feng Qingtian and the others.

I pulled out the map Jian Li had given me earlier and roughly estimated my current position. I was supposed to be in the exact northern part of the fifth level, and the passage to the fourth level was to the northwest. Once I set my target, I immediately activated my speed and sprinted quickly toward the northwest.

Along the way, I encountered attacks from Enhanced Skeleton Archers, Enhanced Skeleton Swordsmen, Enhanced Skeleton Spearmen, and high-level undead.

However, if even the Lord of the Yellow Springs couldn't handle me, these petty stragglers were naturally not worth a second glance. At my almost abnormal speed, they barely had time to launch any attacks before I flew right over their heads.

That feeling was truly exhilarating.

One day later, I finally reached the passage leading to the fourth level.

Yet, even now, I remained cautious! In truth, everyone participating in this Illusionary Realm operation had ulterior motives; they were all seasoned old foxes.

Jian Li had warned me before to proceed with extreme caution. While we were scheming against others, how could we assume others weren't scheming against us?

Although using the diversion of drawing away the Lord of the Yellow Springs allowed me to separate from the main group and act alone, the shrewdness of Luo Xiao, Mo Ling, and the others meant they couldn't have overlooked this possibility. Perhaps they had already laid out a trap specifically for me.

At this moment, I was cautiously hidden within a fissure between giant rocks, giving me a clear view of the passage entrance. Only after confirming with the Eye of Death Desire that there were no anomalies in the surroundings did I slowly walk toward the passage leading to the fourth level of the Illusionary Realm.

Over two hours later, I finally passed through the passage of the fourth level and arrived in the Illusionary Realm's fourth floor.