Chu Yuntian watched Long Feng without speaking, only a hint of disdain flickering in his eyes. He could have refused to admit it, but his arrogance wouldn't allow him to lie about such a matter; he would own up to what he had done.

Those in the Demonic Path were ruthless in their actions, but they were not hypocritical or deceitful—a quality that put them far ahead of sanctimonious pretenders. In truth, he held a degree of apprehension towards the Long family.

A millennium-old lineage, the Long family had endured for so many years, boasting numerous experts and possessing Guardians. A lone expert of the Demonic Path like himself could easily massacre minor families, but against an behemoth like the Long family, it was best to avoid provocation if possible.

The last time he had killed a Long family disciple was primarily because that disciple had discovered his Demonic identity and relentlessly pursued him, ultimately forcing his hand. As Chu Yuntian spoke with Long Feng, Zhang Yang was covertly communicating with Lightning and the others in his mind.

Without the restriction of the grand formation, killing Chu Yuntian had become somewhat more difficult, but fortunately, Chu Yuntian was poisoned by Lightning, meaning his full strength could not be exerted. As long as he couldn't escape, they could grind him down, just like they had dealt with the Elder of the Hu Yan family.

While speaking, Chu Yuntian never shifted his gaze from Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang had brought him too many surprises today.

Sadly, he lacked the capacity today to kill this terrifying young man. He had a premonition: once this young man was given time to mature, he would become the greatest disaster for Chu Yuntian and all others of the Demonic Path.

“Can you tell me, who exactly are you?” Chu Yuntian’s eyes fixed on Zhang Yang again. Initially, Zhang Yang had presented himself as an arrogant disciple from a noble house.

Later facts proved otherwise; he possessed a wisdom incongruous with his years, having even deceived Chu Yuntian himself. “Who I am truly doesn't matter…” Just as Zhang Yang opened his mouth, Chu Yuntian’s figure vanished before their eyes.

He had seized the opportunity of Zhang Yang speaking to flee. After shattering the grand formation, he hadn't even engaged in a proper fight; he had intended only to escape.

Zhang Yang was slightly startled. He had been fully on guard and hadn't expected Chu Yuntian to flee with such decisiveness.

He showed no regard for Zhang Yang's Fourth Layer realm status; such an act of fleeing without a fight was deeply shameful. Chu Yuntian now cast all pretense of dignity aside.

“Hiss! Hiss!” “Squeak!

Squeak!” Lightning and Swift Wind cried out simultaneously. As spirit beasts, they hadn't overthought the situation, keeping their focus entirely on Chu Yuntian; they spotted him the moment he moved.

Swift Wind rushed forward, its forehead aimed, but quickly drew back. Chu Yuntian unleashed another massive blade aura from his Flame Blade.

His skin couldn't withstand such an aura; one direct hit would surely cleave him in two. However, the poisonous mist sprayed by Lightning was dispersed by Chu Yuntian’s rush, and Chu Yuntian was poisoned by Lightning once more.

It seemed that after being poisoned, he stopped caring about such minor issues. He had no time to adjust his escape vector; otherwise, this flight attempt was doomed to fail.

“Puff!” Wu Ying’s internal energy also struck out, successfully hitting Chu Yuntian’s back. Chu Yuntian’s body wobbled slightly; his golden vest was damaged.

This time, he had taken the blow purely with his physical body. Wu Ying’s strike further aggravated the internal injuries within Chu Yuntian’s body.

Despite being struck, Chu Yuntian didn't dare pause, waving his hand to unleash a blade aura and continuing his rapid flight forward. This blade aura collided with the sword qi emitted by Zhang Yang.

After a muffled sound, both the sword qi and the blade aura vanished. This sight brought a touch of joy to Zhang Yang’s heart.

After such a long fight, Chu Yuntian’s strength had significantly declined, approaching Zhang Yang’s own level. Otherwise, the exchange just now would not have been an even match.

“Chase!” Zhang Yang mounted his horse, and Lightning and Wu Ying leaped onto him. Long Feng started to jump up too, but Swift Wind let out a long cry and bolted out with dazzling speed.

Instantly, Swift Wind became a streak of white light. Long Feng could only shake his head in resignation, watching the departing Swift Wind.

He finally slowly gathered the tattered formation flags on the ground, preparing to wait back for news from Zhang Yang. He understood that while he was useful inside the formation, he would be of little help in this chase.

Pursuing a mid-stage Fourth Layer expert, his presence wouldn't add much and might even become a hindrance. At this moment, Long Feng felt an incredibly powerful yearning to increase his strength.

He didn't want to be relegated to watching from afar or offering minor assistance every time. Chu Yuntian’s speed was frighteningly fast, nearly comparable to Zhang Yang when enhanced by the system.

Such speed was already monstrous; most mid-stage Fourth Layer experts couldn't match it. It was possible Chu Yuntian practiced some technique to increase velocity.

This possibility was high. Those in the Demonic Path had to live in concealment, facing threats not only from righteous cultivators but also from their own kind.

The art of escape was often the first skill they mastered; those who couldn't flee rarely lived long. His speed was great, but it was still within the realm of human capability.

Swift Wind, at this moment, fully demonstrated the terror of being the foremost spirit beast on land. Chu Yuntian had a significant head start, yet Swift Wind caught up in just a few breaths.

A stream of sword qi shot straight towards Chu Yuntian from behind. Riding Swift Wind, Zhang Yang conserved significant energy, allowing him to maintain the pursuit more effectively.

It wasn't just Zhang Yang; Wu Ying also occasionally unleashed streams of internal energy from the rear to assist. Chu Yuntian desperately dodged these sword qis.

His appearance grew even more wretched, covered head to toe in mud, completely devoid of his former refined image. After chasing for a while, Zhang Yang’s brow suddenly twitched.

Chu Yuntian was fleeing towards the city. It was late, past ten in the evening, but the city still held many people.

If the desperate Chu Yuntian were to fight within the city, the resulting destruction could be immense, potentially endangering innocent bystanders. “Swift Wind, cut him off!” Zhang Yang called out softly.

Swift Wind understood, increasing its speed by another thirty percent, leaping in front of Chu Yuntian. A burst of sword qi and a stream of internal energy shot out simultaneously.

Chu Yuntian was forced to change direction, fleeing toward another area. He had indeed intended to flee into the city, planning to use the complex terrain to shake off Zhang Yang’s pursuit.

Unfortunately, this goal remained unfulfilled; he was forced back by the combined efforts of Swift Wind and Zhang Yang. At this point, Swift Wind grew excited again.

During the earlier feigned retreat, it had repeatedly tried to rejoin Zhang Yang but was thwarted by Chu Yuntian. Every time, it was forced to change course by Chu Yuntian’s internal energy.

Now, the tables had turned, and it was its turn to harass Chu Yuntian this way. This feeling was incredibly satisfying to the beast.

“Slap!” The fleeing Chu Yuntian was forced to change direction again, and he was struck once more by Wu Ying’s internal energy. Furthermore, the hand holding his blade felt faintly numb.

Zhang Yang relentlessly fired sword qis, occasionally forcing Chu Yuntian to expend his internal energy to counter. In the formation, he had already depleted a considerable amount, and now he was using even more.

Combined with the poison, he had to divert some internal energy to suppress the toxin. At this point, he couldn't manifest even half of his original strength; otherwise, he wouldn't have initiated the escape, unwilling even to fight.

“Bang!” Chu Yuntian rolled on the ground, managing to evade another wave of attacks. As he stood up, he ran even faster, cursing inwardly.

It seemed Zhang Yang’s internal energy was endless, fired out as if it cost nothing. Since starting the chase, Zhang Yang had unleashed dozens of sword qis.

Sword qi was far more draining than merely projecting internal energy externally. Even for Chu Yuntian, continuously releasing so many blade auras would be exhausting.

Yet, Zhang Yang’s sword qi never ceased, growing faster with each volley. This left Chu Yuntian deeply frustrated.

He was unaware that Zhang Yang had consumed a Blood Essence Pill before the fight and another during it—both essence pills from Fourth Layer spirit beasts. Zhang Yang now felt boundless energy, eager to vent it all out.

“Swift Wind!” Zhang Yang suddenly called out again. Swift Wind immediately understood and moved to encircle Chu Yuntian once more.

They had successfully forced Chu Yuntian away from the city, but Chu Yuntian had managed to circle around to the suburbs. The suburbs had fewer people, but that didn't mean they were empty; if someone were caught in the crossfire, it would be disastrous.

Zhang Yang could only strive to keep him encircled, continually wounding Chu Yuntian during the chase to prevent him from harming others. Swift Wind tossed its head and roared, its speed increasing further.

It occasionally stamped its front hooves, complete with tiny tusks, nearly catching Chu Yuntian several times. With Zhang Yang mounted on the horse, Chu Yuntian faced even greater threats.

After several maneuvers, Chu Yuntian was forced to flee in yet another direction. After fleeing for a while, Chu Yuntian began turning back towards the city fringe again.

This time, he risked serious injury, deliberately allowing Wu Ying’s internal energy to strike him, then using the momentum of that force to violently break free from Swift Wind’s blockade and enter the suburbs. That blow from Wu Ying caused Chu Yuntian to vomit blood on the spot; his internal injuries were now quite severe.

Seeing Chu Yuntian charging toward the populated area like a man with nothing to lose, Zhang Yang felt anxious and slightly puzzled. However, he didn't have time to ponder; if he failed to kill Chu Yuntian, not only would the mission fail, but he would also face numerous threats.

Between him and Chu Yuntian today, only one could remain. The escaping Chu Yuntian felt no sense of relief; his expression remained grim.

There were quite a few houses in the suburbs, and he used the cover between them to evade many of Zhang Yang’s sword qis, preventing Zhang Yang from establishing the same free-wheeling interceptions as before. Yet, his danger was far from over.

Unless he shook off Zhang Yang, he remained perilous. “Something’s not right!” Zhang Yang’s eyebrows tightened again.

He suddenly realized that the direction Chu Yuntian was fleeing was a place they had been to before. It was the location where Chu Yuntian had killed the fourth son of the Huang family.

At his current speed, Chu Yuntian would reach that spot in a few minutes. It was still the outskirts, but it was alarmingly close to the city.

“Swift Wind, split up and chase!” Zhang Yang suddenly leaped off Swift Wind, unleashing his incredible speed. He shot past the side of a residential building like a shadow.

Someone emerged to brush their teeth and wash their face, only catching a glimpse of a shadow flashing past the window. By the time they poked their head out, nothing was there.

This person, holding a toothbrush, shook his head in confusion. After brushing his teeth, he went back inside.

He didn't know that many people tonight, like him, felt as if they had seen a ghost. Both Zhang Yang and Chu Yuntian moved with such velocity that by the time people registered anything, they were already gone.