But the gates of Bitan Blessed Land slammed shut with a thunderous boom. Only a small handful of Gu Immortals managed to follow them through; the vast majority were forced to change course, flying out through the original breach instead.
By the time they emerged from Bitan Blessed Land, Dongfang Changfan was still visible in the distance—yet already a mere speck on the horizon.
The group streaked across the sky like meteors, their passage tearing through the air with piercing shrieks.
Gale-force winds battered their faces as everyone deployed their own movement techniques. But heaven and earth were vast and boundless, the horizon unbroken, and the distance between them gradually widened.
Fang Yuan wore his black robe and spread six wings, periodically surging forward in bursts of speed—this was the power of the Iron Crown Hawk Strength Gu being activated.
Yet even so, he fell behind the others and was gradually overtaken, relegated to the second tier.
In the first tier were Dongfang Changfan, Old Lord Canyang, Fang Cunshan, as well as the Carefree Scholar, Zhou Ping, Fairy Lishan, and the Peacock Flying Immortal He Ruo.
In the second tier were Pi Shuihan, Hei Loulan, Fang Yuan, Lu Qingming, Qie Shimin, and Divine Lord Tiandu.
As for the Half Moon Barbarian Master, Zhuo Zhan, Marquis Louse, and the rest—they had long been shaken off entirely, so far behind that not even their silhouettes could be seen. There was no third tier.
After flying for half an incense stick's time, Old Lord Canyang let out a deep sigh and sent a solemn transmission to Dongfang Changfan: "I will hold off the Carefree Scholar and at least two others for you. Transmit the final method to me. No more tricks—my patience has run dry. You know as well as I do that my sect also has Wisdom Path Gu Immortals. With what I've already obtained, they can deduce the final steps, though it will cost time, effort, and money."
Dongfang Changfan remained silent for a long while. Not daring to anger Old Lord Canyang lest the man turn on him, he had no choice but to transmit the Soul Seizing Method.
Old Lord Canyang got what he wanted and honored his agreement, turning back to fight. He intercepted the Carefree Scholar, Lu Qingming, and the Peacock Flying Immortal He Ruo.
The other demonic Immortals swept around the clash and continued their pursuit.
After another stretch, Zhou Ping began to fall behind.
"I refuse to accept this! I have two great movement Immortal-level Killer Moves, but at the critical moment I lack Immortal Essence!" he roared in bitter frustration, forced to watch helplessly as the other Immortals rapidly pulled away.
Before long, Divine Lord Tiandu was also visibly flagging. He sighed: "Everyone, please keep fighting. I'm afraid I can no longer keep up."
If they failed to kill Dongfang Changfan, it would certainly spell trouble.
As Divine Lord Tiandu dropped back, his brow was knotted with worry.
"Fang, I can't go on either. Thank you for risking your life to help me—thank you for coming this far. Get out of here now; I'll draw them away!" After flying a few more moments, Dongfang Changfan's face was lined with exhaustion as he secretly transmitted to the small Gu Immortal.
The small Gu Immortal was delighted, but hesitated: "You're really letting me go? But the alliance we signed hasn't been dissolved yet…"
Dongfang Changfan cut him off, flinging Fang Cunshan outward directly: "Fang—don't say anything else. Take care of yourself!"
"Fang Cunshan!" Fairy Lishan immediately changed course, lunging toward Fang Cunshan.
Fang Cunshan shuddered, transforming into a streak of jade-green light, and desperately fled to the left.
At the same moment, Dongfang Changfan swept away every trace of fatigue, his speed surging by thirty percent as he pressed onward.
The two had separated, and this gave every demonic cultivator behind them a moment's pause.
Fairy Lishan didn't hesitate at all—she set off in fierce pursuit of Fang Cunshan. Compared to the tough nut Dongfang Changfan, the small Gu Immortal aboard Fang Cunshan was far weaker, and Fang Cunshan aligned far better with her interests.
Before leaving, she also transmitted to Fang Yuan and Hei Loulan, requesting their assistance.
After all, capturing Fang Cunshan alone would be difficult. With others cutting off escape routes, it would be much easier.
Hei Loulan didn't hesitate either, immediately following Fairy Lishan. Fang Yuan, however, flatly refused, maintaining his relentless pursuit of Dongfang Changfan.
Thus: Fang Yuan, Pi Shuihan, and Qie Shimin hunted Dongfang Changfan, while Hei Loulan and Fairy Lishan chased Fang Cunshan.
Leaving Fairy Lishan's side aside—after successfully luring away two powerful pursuers with Fang Cunshan, Dongfang Changfan's speed skyrocketed, and he quickly opened a gap between himself and the remaining chasers.
Pi Shuihan grew anxious and shouted at Qie Shimin: "Why don't you bring out the captives already?"
Qie Shimin's movement technique turned out to be a war chariot that radiated the aura of Immortal Gu. He sat upon it with a dark expression. He had, of course, retained many captive Dongfang clan Gu Masters, planning to use them at the final stage to kill Dongfang Changfan.
But the current situation forced him to deploy them early.
"Old thief Dongfang, your clansmen are in my hands. Make this easy on yourself and fight—there's no escape." As Qie Shimin spoke, he crushed the Gu Master in his hand to death, then pulled out another.
Dongfang Changfan let out a cold laugh, remaining hunched forward as he flew on at full speed.
Qie Shimin killed the thirteenth captive, and finally Dongfang Changfan made a mistake, allowing Fang Yuan and the others to close the distance considerably.
But after Dongfang Changfan suppressed his internal problems and regained control of his body, he surged forward once more, widening the gap.
The two sides remained locked in this stalemate—closing in one moment, falling behind the next.
Along the way, they encountered a handful of other Gu Immortals. Some were demonic, some righteous. Some blocked their path, some joined the chase, and some simply withdrew, unwilling to wade into these murky waters.
After half a shi chen, only four remained: Dongfang Changfan, Fang Yuan, Pi Shuihan, and Qie Shimin.
"If I survive this, I will repay you handsomely!" Dongfang Changfan had already opened a considerable distance and was on the verge of escape. He threw back his head and laughed.
But Fang Yuan and the others wore expressions of grim frustration.
The three of them had only been second-tier to begin with, and Dongfang Changfan had further boosted his speed. They simply couldn't catch up.
Moreover, the longer this dragged on, the more it seemed to favor Dongfang Changfan. He was gradually bringing his internal problems under control, and no matter how many Dongfang clan members Qie Shimin cruelly slaughtered, the frequency of Dongfang Changfan's mistakes grew ever fewer.
"What do we do?" Pi Shuihan, Fang Yuan, and Qie Shimin exchanged glances, each seeing the mixture of anxiety and desperate hope in the others' eyes.
"Gentlemen, if you have any trump cards, now is the time to play them—or it'll be too late," said Qie Shimin.