In the void, a young man in cyan robes flew swiftly, and behind him followed a beautiful maiden as ethereal as an immortal. Clearly, whether it was the man in cyan or the woman in white, they were engaged in only one activity: escape, a desperate, breakneck flight.

Lu Yuan realized he had been wrong. Profoundly wrong. Irreparably wrong.

He had assumed that even if news of the Body of Civilization got out, even if Grand Masters from the Heavenly Rankings arrived, it wouldn't matter much. His current strength was considerable; he could slay some Heavenly Ranking Grand Masters and replenish his own Plate of Civilization. After slaying Gao Jin, his Plate of Civilization had already reached seventy percent completion.

But he had been mistaken. The allure of the Body of Civilization was simply too immense, too vast. Thus, the crowd drawn to him was far too numerous, and the Heavenly Ranking Grand Masters were far more numerous than he had anticipated.

Lu Yuan casually counted and found at least ten Heavenly Ranking Grand Masters hunting him down. These were generally far stronger than Wang Xueze, Zhu Tianren, and Gao Jin, as those three ranked in the forties on the Heavenly Rankings; those ranked higher were naturally stronger. Among the pursuers were some ranked in the teens, and Lu Yuan knew instantly upon seeing them that he stood no chance against them.

Ten Heavenly Ranking Grand Masters, closing in from every direction.

Moreover, the number of Half-Step Civilization Realm experts was overwhelming.

A full several hundred Half-Step Civilization Realm experts were pursuing him—it was truly staggering. One Half-Step Civilization Realm expert was manageable, but dozens were excessive. To face hundreds of them surging forward like a tide was unbelievably exaggerated.

Lu Yuan could handle a single enemy, but now that everyone saw him as prey, any time he spent engaging one would immediately be exploited by the others catching up.

Lu Yuan had severely underestimated the magnetic pull of the Body of Civilization. His only option now was a full-scale retreat.

"Shi Feixian, enter my Minor Thousand World now. You are too slow," Lu Yuan shouted.

"Alright," Shi Feixian agreed, knowing this was no time for pleasantries. Lu Yuan swiftly channeled his magic, drawing Shi Feixian into his Minor Thousand World. Once inside, Shi Feixian wondered how she could repay Lu Yuan for saving her this time. She was never one to enjoy being indebted; her nature was fiercely independent.

With her secured, his speed increased dramatically.

However, his pursuers evidently employed expert trackers. Of course they did—there was Fang Tu, the Blood Hunter ranked thirty-ninth, and Fei Wei, the God of Arrows ranked nineteenth. Both were masters of tracking. While the other Heavenly Ranking Grand Masters might lack the specialized tracking skills of those two, their general tracking prowess still far surpassed Lu Yuan’s, making escape nearly impossible as he was harried from all sides.

What an ignominious situation!

Lu Yuan thought to himself.

If this continued, it wouldn't take long before he was surrounded by these Heavenly Ranking Grand Masters and hundreds of Half-Step Civilization Realm experts. Once surrounded, death was certain; Lu Yuan was absolutely sure of it.

Wait!

Indeed, he was no expert in tracking or counter-tracking—that much was undeniable.

But back in the Sacred Land of Civilization, Feng Mingyi had gifted him a Wind Sprite, the creature he called Gu Gu. Gu Gu possessed the ability to capture the traces of any wind within a certain radius. Gu Gu was an unparalleled master of tracking and counter-tracking. Lu Yuan channeled his magic and summoned Gu Gu.

This was Gu Gu's second time venturing into the outside world. It was a small, snow-white, and round little bird.

It curiously observed the world outside, then nestled affectionately against Lu Yuan, its tiny white body pressing against him. It was extremely close to Lu Yuan, as he was the person it knew best.

"Gu Gu, Gu Gu," the little bird chirped.

Lu Yuan said, "Now, help me scout the wind traces from all directions so I can escape." Gu Gu immediately nodded, understanding Lu Yuan's meaning. Anyone passing by would cause a shift in the wind, even instantaneous movement, as it always left a subtle trace. However, these wind traces were incredibly difficult to follow, even for those from the Wind Civilization. But the Wind Sprite, Gu Gu, specialized in exactly this.

Instantly, maps of the enemy distribution began projecting into Lu Yuan’s mind: the location and direction of powerful foes—everything was laid bare in his consciousness. Of course, to gather intelligence from so many diverse points required constant movement from Lu Yuan so Gu Gu could gain clearer readings.

After a short while, this distribution map became increasingly clear. Lu Yuan then realized that there were actually thirteen Heavenly Ranking Grand Masters pursuing him—more than he had estimated. Thirteen of them—it was terrifying. Lu Yuan was unaware that if another Body of Civilization hadn't simultaneously emerged, the number chasing him here would have been even greater.

Where the other Body of Civilization had manifested, a formidable expert named the Son of the Wasteland was currently vying for control.

If not for Gu Gu this time, Lu Yuan knew he would have suffered terribly.

Lu Yuan was certain of that point.

"Gu Gu, well done, excellent work." Lu Yuan produced a Heaven-grade Spirit Stone to feed the bird. This time, the Wind Sprite Gu Gu had performed a major service. As it consumed the Heaven-grade Spirit Stone fed by Lu Yuan, Gu Gu flapped its pair of snow-white wings incessantly, its chubby body rolling slightly in Lu Yuan’s hand, clearly quite pleased.

Now, with Gu Gu's assistance, instead of being utterly devastated, it was time for a counter-slaughter.

......

The Blood Hunter Fang Tu was pursuing Lu Yuan. Since he was called a Hunter, he naturally possessed the skills of a hunter. As the saying goes, names can be mistaken, but nicknames are rarely wrong.

Fang Tu specialized in hunting down people; countless individuals had perished under his pursuit. Moreover, Fang Tu never caught his prey immediately but used various tactics to terrify the person being chased until their spirit was on the verge of collapse under his relentless pressure. Only then would Fang Tu leisurely step in, raise his cleaver, and take the head. This was Fang Tu's modus operandi, his style of killing, which he termed 'The Art of Murder.'

However, this particular hunt for Lu Yuan took a bizarre turn.

Initially, everything proceeded as expected. While tracking Lu Yuan, Fang Tu realized that Lu Yuan was a complete novice at being pursued, not just a novice, but a super novice. Such a person, even with some fighting ability, would be toyed to death by him. Fang Tu smirked inwardly.

This time, he hadn't planned on employing his full Art of Pursuit; that art took too much time. While it could psychologically break the target, time was the one resource they couldn't afford to waste now, lest another Heavenly Ranking Grand Master snatch Lu Yuan away—this concerned the Body of Civilization, after all.

But as he tracked, Fang Tu sensed something was wrong. Lu Yuan had vanished.

Even he, a grand master of tracking, couldn't detect it, finding only misleading information.

This implied that a grand tracking master was aiding Lu Yuan; otherwise, Lu Yuan couldn't possibly have slipped away.

Who could possibly be helping Lu Yuan? Fang Tu pondered the identity of this person but couldn't place them immediately.

Yet, Fang Tu wasn't worried. He refused to believe that, with his status as a tracking master, he couldn't locate a mere Lu Yuan, even with someone assisting.

The path of tracking prioritizes traces.

No matter who passed through a location, traces were left behind, even with instantaneous movement. Discovering these traces was not easy, as masters knew how to conceal them.

Wait! The traces here seem irregular!

As Fang Tu meticulously examined the area, he found the traces chaotic. Could it be—Southeast? Yes, precisely Southeast. Fang Tu became intensely excited; he had finally confirmed Lu Yuan's location. Finding Lu Yuan and obtaining the Body of Civilization filled Fang Tu with elation, when suddenly, a burst of sword light erupted.

The sword light left absolutely no trace before it manifested.

But once unleashed, it was a sword light of absolute sharpness.

Furthermore, it afforded Fang Tu zero room to dodge. Fang Tu was also a man of fierce courage; he instantly knew this attack was unavoidable, offering no means of escape. But Fang Tu was no pushover either. He didn't try to evade; instead, he turned and brought his blade up, charging directly toward the attacker. If this sword strike couldn't be dodged, he would fight to the death—that was Fang Tu’s thinking.

If the opponent feared a life-or-death clash, this sword strike surely wouldn't be pressed.

But Fang Tu was wrong. The opponent’s sword showed no sign of retreat, maintaining the appearance of an all-out confrontation. Moreover, Fang Tu realized the opponent’s sword was fractionally faster than his own blade. But Fang Tu could no longer evade; the sword light pierced heavily into Fang Tu’s body, inflicting grievous wounds. Sharp sword energy stabbed in wildly, while Fang Tu's blade also landed on the opponent, causing only a minor injury.

In an instant, both were wounded, but Fang Tu was severely injured, while the other sustained only light damage.

The assailant did not pause. They struck again with the exact same sword move—a strike supremely absolute, supremely unique, supremely solitary, supremely ancient, and supremely strange. Although heavily wounded, Fang Tu unleashed a torrent of his ultimate techniques, but now injured, he had little power to counter the swordsman and was completely at a disadvantage.

His injuries mounted relentlessly.

Fang Tu was inexplicably shocked! This swordsman's technique seemed to embody the profound mysteries of heaven and earth!

"Who are you? Are you Lu Yuan?" There were too few renowned sword masters; Fang Tu had previously believed it impossible for anyone to injure him so severely, but now he had no choice but to accept it.

The swordsman ignored Fang Tu’s shouts and continued his assault, delivering several successive strikes. Finally, one final blow sliced across Fang Tu's throat, plunging into his heart as sword energy erupted uncontrollably.

"The first one to be counter-hunted: Blood Hunter Fang Lie, deceased," the swordsman stated coldly.