In the endless snow mountains, Shirley hovered in mid-air, her expression shifting between various shades. Yu Mo stood beside her, keeping watch over their surroundings.
Zhang Ao, Cao Guan, and their respective friends and family had all halted below, looking up at the pair above.
"Brother Zhang, this woman's been standing here for ages without making a move. Did that brat get away?" A hint of unease crept into Cao Guan's voice.
Zhang Ao's face wasn't looking too good either. His divine sense was constantly sweeping outward. "I don't know. I can't detect that kid's aura at all... This woman's methods are superior to mine. Perhaps she's found some trace."
"That kid's growth is terrifying! Last time we chased him, we could just about keep up. This time, I can't even get a lock on him. And on top of that... his cultivation has actually reached the Third-Stage Origin Returning Realm!"
Zhang Ao took a light breath. "That's why leaving him alive is a disaster! No matter what, we have to kill him this time. We can't let him grow up and come for revenge later."
"Brother Zhang is right... I just hope this woman isn't all show."
Their voices were naturally quiet; they didn't fear Shirley overhearing, though they wouldn't dare discuss a Demon General so openly otherwise.
After waiting for quite a while longer, Shirley's beautiful eyes suddenly snapped open, a look of puzzlement and suspicion on her face.
Her cultivation was extraordinary. Although she couldn't understand what technique Yang Kai had used to instantly move a hundred li and completely hide his aura, she had still managed to trace some faint traces of him using her own exceptional perception.
However, what struck her as odd was that Yang Kai seemed to be in another space altogether, a bizarre and unfathomable dimension that even she didn't dare probe further. Her divine sense simply couldn't reach that place.
It felt as though she were standing far away, gazing at a hazy, indistinct outline of him, impossibly distant and elusive.
She gave a cold laugh. "You think hiding away means I can't touch you?"
As she spoke, her lustrous black hair began to dance. Individual strands detached from her head, infused with thick, surging Demon Energy. The strands writhed and slithered, abruptly transforming into dozens of terrifying, fanged vipers that lunged fiercely forward.
Seeing her make a move, Zhang Ao, Cao Guan, and the others perked up, their attention fixed on the spectacle.
A bizarre sight filled their vision.
The space in front of Shirley became like the surface of a still pond. The fanged vipers dove into it, vanishing without a trace as ripples spread outward. No one knew where they had gone.
Even Shirley herself wore a contemplative expression. This technique of hers had both tracking and offensive capabilities, though it required her to have some trace of her target first.
Normally, even when facing powerful enemies, she was reluctant to use it, as each use cost her many strands of hair. Shirley was a Demon General, but she was also a woman, and lost hair never grew back. Use it too many times, and she might go bald.
That was an image Shirley could never accept.
But this time, to force Yang Kai out of his hiding spot, she had to go all out.
Even so, she couldn't precisely determine his location. Fortunately, her divine sense and Demon Energy were attached to the hair strands. The attacks would seek him out autonomously and strike without requiring her further attention.
Gritting her teeth in a cold smile, she hardened her resolve. Once she forced Yang Kai out, he would be in for a world of hurt.
Inside the void, Wu Jie was still recovering. Without Yang Kai's vast resources at his disposal, his recovery naturally took more time.
Yang Kai was observing the bizarre, seemingly bottomless abyss of a space, looking for anything unusual.
It was then that a sudden feeling of danger and unease washed over him. Every pore on his body clenched shut, his hairs standing on end, as if some peril was silently closing in.
Yang Kai's expression changed. He focused his senses, probing the area around him.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
A series of sharp, piercing sounds cut through the air. In the distant void, over a hundred terrifying vipers seemed to be slithering towards his location, their bodies undulating as they closed in.
From those snake-like attacks, Yang Kai sensed Shirley's aura!
Each viper contained terrifying power. With over a hundred striking at once, a chilling sense of imminent death washed over him.
Wu Jie also snapped his eyes open, asking urgently, "What's going on?"
No sooner were the words out than he shuddered violently.
"Sect Master Wu, we need to go now!" Yang Kai's face was grim. He simply couldn't fathom how Shirley had managed to direct her attacks into this void. A powerhouse at the Third-Stage Origin Returning Realm indeed had unfathomable, godlike methods.
However, it seemed Shirley herself hadn't arrived; she probably couldn't. That thought brought Yang Kai a measure of relief.
He waved his hand, tearing open a rift, and quickly slipped through.
"Wait for me!" Wu Jie shrieked, immediately following.
The moment they emerged from the chaotic void, Yang Kai cursed, "Fucking bitch!"
In that very instant, Shirley's divine sense had locked onto him again, clinging like bone to flesh, impossible to shake.
A hundred li away, Shirley let out a shrill, eerie laugh, her beautiful face contorting slightly. Her gaze snapped towards Yang Kai's direction, her teeth clenched as she hissed, "I thought you'd never show your face!"
Her graceful form shimmered, and she was already gone.
Yu Mo hurriedly gave chase.