The Old Demon of White Bone paused, surprised that Lei Dong was so agreeable after his oath. He couldn't help but develop some goodwill towards the young man, though his face remained cold: "Good lad, seeing as you are someone of note, I'll grant you the time it takes an incense stick to burn to leave. This Venerable One will come for your life shortly thereafter."

Lei Dong gazed deeply at the Old Demon of White Bone, thinking to himself that this demon was indeed a man of strong character. He replied with respect on his face, "Senior, regardless of anything else. For you to have cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage is already worthy of respect from juniors such as us. Senior, I take my leave."

As the word 'leave' left his lips, a thick plume of black mist began to spread from around Lei Dong. His dark silhouette transformed into a streak of phantom shadow, employing the Ghostly Evasion movement technique. Like a specter, he swept down towards the base of the city wall. Affected by the anti-flight formation, Lei Dong had absolutely no way to soar into the sky. Yet, even so, utilizing the momentum from leaping off the wall, he managed to glide a hundred zhang in a short span before nearing the ground.

Suddenly, the Asura Wings on Lei Dong's back flapped violently. As true qi was injected madly into the wings, they erupted with a faint, shadowy black radiance, as if tearing a fissure in space itself. Lei Dong’s figure condensed into a thin line. When he reappeared, he was already several li away.

This extreme speed stunned both City Lord Li and the Old Demon of White Bone standing on the ramparts. Each silently pondered what material the wings were forged from to achieve such a formidable effect? Even a full-speed Nascent Soul cultivator would be significantly slower. This seemed to be instantaneous displacement by tearing space.

Glancing back slightly, the vast North Frontier Pass now appeared in his eyes like a small cottage. The heroic spirit surged within Lei Dong’s chest. Nascent Soul cultivators were certainly terrifying, and completely impossible to defeat. Under normal circumstances, Lei Dong’s chances of escaping a Nascent Soul cultivator would not be high. However, under this anti-flight formation covering thousands of li, Lei Dong’s odds increased substantially.

The reason for fleeing toward the Great Barren Desert was that Lei Dong had his own considerations. Unlike the areas under Zhao Prefecture's influence, within the Great Barren Desert, even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not search for him wantonly. This was tantamount to borrowing the strength of the Barbarian Tribes to suppress the Old Demon of White Bone. These underlying reasons were the fundamental basis for why Lei Dong was willing to take such a gamble. Otherwise, given Lei Dong’s instinct for self-preservation, he certainly wouldn't so easily risk his life.

Even without thinking it through, Lei Dong knew perfectly well that the Old Demon of White Bone must have his divine sense "firmly locked onto him. Lei Dong quickly calculated that his current divine sense strength was roughly comparable to an early Golden Core cultivator. For a one-way lock, it could extend about thirty li. However, Lei Dong found the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator difficult to gauge. Still, he knew the general range of a Nascent Soul cultivator's divine sense. After all, having spent considerable time with the Heavenly Demon, Lei Dong had unintentionally gained some knowledge about Nascent Soul experts. The Heavenly Demon was a powerful woman, but the maximum range for her divine sense lock was only about a hundred li.

And the Old Demon of White Bone, despite his long fame, probably wasn't much more advanced than the Heavenly Demon, perhaps just around a hundred li at most. Conservatively estimating, perhaps one hundred and twenty li.

To create a distance of over one hundred and twenty li, Lei Dong originally felt he could only manage it barely. However, the Old Demon of White Bone was somewhat overconfident, granting him the time it takes an incense stick to burn. This greatly increased Lei Dong's certainty. He swallowed a crystal-clear pill exuding a fragrant aroma. Feeling the heat rising in his lower abdomen, he knew his true qi was recovering at an incredible speed, even without circulating it to dissolve the heat. The Misty Spirit Recovery Pill remained an excellent treasure for rapidly restoring true qi in battle. Simultaneously, Lei Dong drew forth the Myriad Ghost Banner. With a magical seal cast, five leader-level fierce ghosts floated out from the banner, joyfully circling around Lei Dong.

These non-corporeal fierce ghosts could bypass the anti-flight formation and fly freely in the sky. Lei Dong had already begun pondering whether he could utilize them. If possible, that would be best; if not, he would have to find another way. The origin of fierce ghosts was merely shapeless black energy. Their terrifying appearances were mere illusions. In fact, as long as Lei Dong willed it with his divine sense, they could manifest in many different forms.

Under Lei Dong’s divine sense command, the five fierce ghosts pressed closely together, almost coalescing into a single mass, churning like mist. Soon, they transformed into a peculiar shape: an ordinary, even crude-looking paper airplane. This object was jointly condensed by the five fierce ghosts. Lei Dong had never truly tested its effect.

Lei Dong stabilized the “airplane” and lightly jumped onto it. Just as he was about to command the five ghosts to ascend, a force almost exactly equal to the flying power of the five ghosts heavily pulled them down, forcing the previously hovering ghosts directly onto the ground. Lei Dong sighed lightly; cheating methods, as expected, wouldn't work. However, he wasn't entirely without other options. He immediately initiated the second plan: wrapping himself around the five ghosts, he flapped his wings and flashed several li into the air. He then lay prone upon the five ghosts. At this moment, neither Lei Dong nor the ghosts used any upward force for propulsion.

The special configuration of the ghost-airplane caused the five ghosts, carrying Lei Dong, to begin gliding forward. At the same time, the five ghosts began to exert force. But, contrary to expectation, the angle of force was not parallel and slightly upward, as in normal flight. Instead, the ghosts exerted force slightly forward and slightly downward. This created a marvelous effect.

The widely spread ghost wings, along with the Asura Wings behind Lei Dong, created resistance against the downward pull, and they began to glide forward faster and faster. Seeing this, Lei Dong finally relaxed, realizing there was indeed a loophole in the design of the anti-flight formation.

Although Lei Dong had not systematically studied formations, relying on his vast experience from two lifetimes, he boldly speculated that no world or energy could be infinite. A massive formation like the anti-flight array, capable of covering thousands of li, certainly couldn't maintain complete suppression across that entire area directly.

Even if the formation could achieve that effect, the energy consumption would be a terrifying astronomical figure—no organization could afford it. The fact that the five ghosts, being weightless, could fly freely earlier led Lei Dong to boldly guess that the anti-flight formation must have a triggering mechanism, selectively suppressing flight. Lei Dong then considered what trigger he would use if he were designing this array.

Naturally, Lei Dong thought of any object ascending upward, using this as the activation point to suppress the flyer. A slight attempt confirmed this loophole. Of course, this wasn't exactly a flaw. The city wall was a hundred zhang high; few people could glide over it this way. After all, the Asura Wings that could tear space, like Lei Dong possessed, were extremely rare. But this brief attempt brought Lei Dong the convenience needed to escape. While this method of flight was far less swift than using artifacts like the Myriad Ghost Veil for normal travel, under the anti-flight formation, it proved quite fast. Furthermore, what Lei Dong needed was a moment to breathe. While gliding, he swallowed an expensive Misty Pill, circulated his inner strength, and dissolved the medicinal power to restore his true qi.

Faced with Lei Dong's unique escape method, even a master of the Old Demon of White Bone’s caliber frowned, finding him quite troublesome. Especially the unknown pair of wings on Lei Dong’s back, which faintly suggested a degree of pressure. However, the old demon was not some common stray dog. He merely gave a cold "harrumph" and did not interfere, still adhering to waiting out the time of one incense stick, displaying a demeanor befitting a high-level expert. Seeing this, Lei Dong’s subordinates breathed a collective sigh of relief, especially Qian Luo and the others, who knew Lei Dong’s methods well, particularly concerning speed.

Despite this escape method, Lei Dong knew that when dealing with a Nascent Soul cultivator, one could not afford the slightest carelessness. Just as the “airplane” formed by the five ghosts was about to glide to a landing, Lei Dong’s wings flapped violently again. His entire body slanted up into the sky several li high, continuing the glide. Repeating this three times, Lei Dong had already appeared nearly a hundred li away. Not only that, but because he had constantly rested and recovered his true qi, his internal power was filled to the brim.

At this moment, the time of one incense stick had elapsed. The Old Demon of White Bone saw Lei Dong about to leave his divine sense range and dared not slacken any further. With a heaven-shaking roar, his figure transformed into a streak of light. In merely ten or so breaths, he had appeared several li away. That speed, even if not as swift as Lei Dong’s direct spatial teleportation, was not far off. However, even a Nascent Soul expert like the old demon could not directly counter the presence of the anti-flight formation. After a few li, he was forced back to the ground, pushing off heavily again to furiously pursue Lei Dong.

Lei Dong had anticipated this. As soon as the incense stick time was up, Lei Dong swiftly recalled the five ghosts into the Myriad Ghost Banner. The Asura Wings then displayed their most powerful might. Like a black phantom line streaking through the air, space itself twisted violently under the fierce flapping. In just one sweep, he appeared over ten li away, but Lei Dong clearly had no intention of stopping. He flapped his wings repeatedly. After several more flaps, he left the Old Demon of White Bone looking utterly vexed more than a hundred li behind.