Lei Dong had originally been fleeing towards the nearest base of the Yin Sha Sect, yet in just a couple of blinks, he was horrified to see that the two White Jade Warships he had just escaped were now abandoning the pursuit of the Netherworld Battleship and cruising directly ahead of him. Not only that, but another terrifying warship, dozens of zhang long and immensely massive, resembling a primordial giant bird, had appeared at some unknown moment.

It seemed impossible for Lei Dong to escape the tracking of that large vessel, known as the Heavenly Maiden Warship. As soon as it materialized, a white net of light swept towards him. Simultaneously, a male Golden Core cultivator, exuding an extraordinary aura, charged towards him for the kill.

"Damn it all," Lei Dong cursed internally. Looking at the situation, it was clear that Heaven and Earth themselves were conspiring entirely against him. Did he really accumulate so much hatred? Not only was Tantai Bingyun relentlessly pursuing him, but the three warships—two small and one massive—were clearly casting a dragnet to intercept him, preventing any chance of escaping back to his home base. For a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself, wasn't this overkill? Lei Dong didn't know that he had indeed earned the profound enmity of the Heavenly Sound Palace. He had not only single-handedly eliminated eight core disciples of the Heavenly Sound Palace but had also led his squad to wipe out countless others and destroy numerous families. Even a Golden Core cultivator wouldn't possess the same level of destructive capability, as Golden Core experts usually commanded from the rear or offered mere support, conscious of their status.

But Lei Dong had no such reservations. In his view, war was war; it wasn't a game of make-believe. Extermination of clans was a necessary action; otherwise, how could traitors be deterred? How could enemies be struck with terror? What the Heavenly Sound Palace found most unbearable was that this brat was inherently cunning and difficult to trick. Moreover, those Asura Wings made him slippery as an eel, hard to capture. A terrorist of this magnitude, only at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, had already inflicted such heavy losses on the Heavenly Sound Palace and become a fierce general for the Yin Sha Sect. If he were allowed to reach the Golden Core stage, who would survive? Consequently, in the eyes of many in the Heavenly Sound Palace, Lei Dong had become a thorn in their side, an enemy they yearned to eliminate immediately.

Just as the net of light was about to ensnare Lei Dong, he sharply changed direction and wheeled back. At the same instant, the Golden Core cultivator suddenly struck, launching a speck of light from afar with extreme velocity. Before Lei Dong could react, it adhered to his body. The Asura Wings lifted high and flapped downward fiercely, turning his entire form into a streak of black rainbow. He shot away from the battlefield. The Golden Core cultivator and Tantai Bingyun, who arrived moments later, exchanged a glance, both muttering, "We absolutely cannot let him escape again..." before rapidly accelerating in Lei Dong's direction.

"Bingyun, I have planted a Firefly Dao Beacon on him. As long as he doesn't exceed a thousand li, he absolutely cannot escape my detection," the Golden Core cultivator said with slight smugness. "We shouldn't rush our journey; conserve our true essence. We'll exhaust his strength, and he won't get away. We'll have the warships follow from a distance, not too close, lest that brat becomes alert..."

"Thank you, Uncle Sima," Tantai Bingyun replied, her gaze utterly cold. She retracted her pure white wings, which were also a great burden to her, and stepped onto a winding white ribbon, soaring directly toward Lei Dong's path above the sea. Having used wings to their limit, Tantai Bingyun understood this: Lei Dong's Asura Wings, while capable of achieving extreme speed in a short burst, could not be sustained. Due to his lower cultivation, that small reserve of true essence would be completely depleted after only ten or twenty flaps, making prolonged flight impossible.

Therefore, once the Firefly Dao Beacon was affixed, Lei Dong would likely be unable to escape their pursuit before the spell wore off.

In reality, Lei Dong was well aware of what that light speck adhering to him signified—he had certainly been tracked with a magical tracing technique. However, he had already scoured his own body numerous times with his divine sense, yet could find no anomaly. Lei Dong gave up on trying to dispel the spell, reasoning that if he could easily remove it, the tracking spell wouldn't be necessary in the first place.

Lei Dong knew they would certainly follow at a measured pace behind him. If he switched perspectives and put himself in Tantai Bingyun's position, he wouldn't be hasty either. If he showed any sign of turning back, she could take a shortcut to intercept him. What worried Lei Dong wasn't just Tantai Bingyun; the Golden Core cultivator was far more terrifying and lethal.

Daring not to exhaust his true essence, he flapped his wings a couple of times to gain distance, then relied on the Evil Ghost Shroud for flight. Simultaneously, he consumed a Small Profound Harmony Spirit Replenishment Pill. Based on the experience from his last chase with Wang Lei, Lei Dong had learned to stockpile these pills. Thus, over these three years, Lei Dong had amassed a hundred Small Profound Harmony Spirit Replenishment Pills and ten larger Profound Harmony Spirit Replenishment Pills. These elixirs allowed him to maintain a healthy reserve of true essence and recover rapidly during long pursuits. While these medicines were quite valuable, Lei Dong had participated in numerous major and minor campaigns over the last three years, leaving him with considerable merit points and a substantial personal fortune. Following this pattern, after flying for over two hours, Lei Dong still saw no pursuit closing in, which solidified his initial guess. Tantai Bingyun was playing a war of attrition, waiting for his speed to drop. If she wanted to wear him down, he would play along. After all, his supply of pills was ample; he could fly like this for a month or two without running out of reserves. Turning back was out of the question; Tantai Bingyun might have set an inescapable trap waiting for his return. Furthermore, he dared not venture towards the northeastern part of the East Sea Star Islands, as that was Heavenly Sound Palace territory—entering that area would be like a sheep walking into a wolf's den. Three days later, by alternating between occasional wing flaps and flight via the Evil Ghost Shroud, Lei Dong had continuously flown for over a hundred thousand li. Tantai Bingyun and the Golden Core cultivator named Sima Jie had followed him relentlessly for three days and nights. At such a long distance, even the Golden Core cultivator was starting to struggle. He lacked wings like the Asura Wings that could maximize speed instantly. Glancing back at the war vessel trailing several li behind, Sima Jie pursed his lips and transmitted his voice to Tantai Bingyun: "Bingyun, it seems that brat has quite a few pills for replenishing true essence. Who knows how long it will take to drain him. If we proceed further, danger may arise; another hundred thousand li should take us near the territory of the Yaksha Clan..."

"Uncle Sima, I will try to move up and intercept him. You only need to catch up and strike shortly after..." Tantai Bingyun also frowned slightly; she had already consumed a fair number of true essence replenishment pills herself. She could occasionally swap out with Sima Jie to return to the warship for rest. That brat Lei Dong was as cunning and cautious as ever. They had been keeping within a hundred li of him, yet he showed no sign of turning back.

Another full day passed. Tantai Bingyun, having pushed her speed to the limit, finally closed the distance to within a few li of Lei Dong. She unfurled her wings once more, appearing swiftly behind him. Her only hope was that after four days of flight, Lei Dong would be exhausted and careless enough for her to launch a surprise attack. The moment she materialized, she drew her zither and let her ten fingers dance across the strings, slowly weaving a vast and lingering melody that induced drowsiness and stupor in any listener. This piece was one of Tantai Bingyun's specialties: the Seven Strings Soul Calming Melody. All living beings, whether human or beast, would be affected by the soul-calming slumber. Even those with exceptional willpower could be momentarily captured by this move if caught off guard, falling into a state of drowsy oblivion. However, the weakness of this technique was that Tantai Bingyun had to maintain the music continuously without any break. Otherwise, the targeted individual might break free. Thus, this move often achieved remarkable results when coordinated with others.

As expected, after she finished only the prelude, some fish in the sea began floating to the surface, showing their white bellies. But her expression turned exceedingly grim, and she angrily pressed her hands onto the strings, stopping the composition. This was because the instant Tantai Bingyun appeared, Lei Dong had flapped his wings and fled the immediate vicinity.

"Coward," Tantai Bingyun muttered in extreme annoyance after her calculation failed, before flapping her wings and giving chase directly.

In terms of maximum speed, the two were nearly matched. Tantai Bingyun held the advantage in her cultivation, being three layers higher and possessing abundant true essence. Lei Dong, however, excelled at maximizing his speed and conserving energy because he had used the Asura Wings for three years. Whenever they depleted their true essence, they would invariably alight on their flying spiritual artifacts to travel.

One dared not get entangled with the other, lest he be killed by the pursuing Golden Core expert. The other was driven by sheer will, focused entirely on catching him.

Three more days passed in this chase.

Although Lei Dong had plenty of pills to squander, having flown continuously for six days without rest, he was utterly exhausted. Especially during the last three days, he had been hounded by Tantai Bingyun like a pathetic dog. What sustained his flight was merely the last gasp of his will to survive. He knew he could not stop; if he were engaged, he would be besieged.

Tantai Bingyun was also suffering immensely. That scoundrel Lei Dong could run too much. She almost gave up several times but persisted. As for the Golden Core cultivator, Sima Jie, he was nearly spent. He had retreated to the warship, trailing several hundred li behind, almost unable to keep up with their speed.

Just as Sima Jie was about to step forward to warn Tantai Bingyun that they seemed to have entered a dangerous sea region, a colossal, triangular harpoon suddenly shot up from beneath the sea, glistening coldly and radiating fierce intent under the sunlight.