When it came to pure speed, the Golden-Winged Sword Bird's wing profile was nearly perfect—its short-distance sprinting speed was virtually unmatched.
But in terms of endurance, the Golden-Winged Sword Bird was not a large creature. The structure of its wings meant it couldn't maintain peak performance over long flights.
Jiang Chen pushed his Golden-Winged Sword Bird to full speed for a little over half an hour before he managed to catch up with Gouyu and the rest of the group. Seeing Jiang Chen return safely, the whole team was fired up.
"We need to pick up the pace and get out of this territory controlled by the Qianlan Northern Palace as fast as possible. Those people are desperate fanatics, and they've been spoiled by the Qianlan Northern Palace. There's no way they'll let this go."
Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel frustrated. When you were on someone else's turf, there were a lot of things you just couldn't do as you pleased.
Back in the Eastern Kingdom, anyone bold enough to rob him on the road would've already taken an arrow to the face.
Of course, it wasn't that Jiang Chen was afraid of the Qianlan Northern Palace. He was just thinking about the whole team—they'd just arrived in unfamiliar territory, and stirring up trouble could drag everyone else down.
What Jiang Chen hadn't anticipated was that his restraint and tolerance still wouldn't be enough to make that Senior Brother Kuang back off. Once Kuang had reunited with his sect-mates, he embellished his story significantly and managed to rally a bunch of seniors whose strength exceeded his own. Over a hundred sect-mates were gathered, split into four or five groups that spread out like a net to hunt down Jiang Chen and his party.
In the northwestern region of the Tiangui Kingdom, the Qianlan Northern Palace held absolute dominance.
When they heard that their fellow sect members had been bullied by a group of strangers, several seniors who were close to Brother Kuang flew into a rage.
And when they learned that these strangers were riding a large batch of mounts that looked even more impressive than Green-Winged Dragons, even those seniors who only had a passing acquaintance with Brother Kuang eagerly joined the pursuit.
"A rare treasure worth seizing!"
"Come on, let's get a piece of the action!"
On their home turf, the disciples of the Qianlan Northern Palace had a tremendous advantage. They could fly freely wherever they wished, shortening travel times at will.
To them, there were no restricted zones within Qianlan Northern Palace territory. Passing through any prefecture, any feudal lord's domain—they didn't need to notify anyone. They flew wherever they pleased.
This gave the hunting parties a massive edge.
Jiang Chen's group, on the other hand, had just arrived in unfamiliar land and couldn't fly recklessly. They had to stick to established routes.
Because of this, their flight path had long since been calculated by the enemy with pinpoint accuracy.
A net closing in from every direction was tightening by the hour.
After roughly an hour, the group had covered over a thousand li from the site of the clash. Another four or five hundred li, and they would gradually leave Qianlan Northern Palace territory.
Once they were out of the Qianlan Northern Palace's sphere of influence, they'd have nothing to worry about.
Even if the Qianlan Northern Palace was domineering, they absolutely wouldn't cross borders to chase and kill. And even if they were brazen enough to pursue across the border, they wouldn't be able to operate with the same freedom as on their own land.
The longer they flew, the more Jiang Chen felt a strange pressure building in his chest.
His "Heart of Rock" had already been cultivated to the peak of the third level, and the fourth level was not far off.
That meant his instincts were significantly sharper than they had been during the trials in the endless caverns.
"Everyone, stay alert! The Qianlan Northern Palace definitely hasn't given up—I suspect they're still chasing us. Keep your guard up!"
"Let them come. Who's afraid?" Princess Gouyu's hand drifted to the hilt of her sword, a proud, alluring curve playing across her lips.
Jiang Chen glanced at the Eight Personal Guards, then over to his father's group.
This time, their party of roughly twenty had only brought along twenty-some Golden-Winged Sword Birds. The rest had been left in a remote location and hadn't followed along for now.
This was part of Jiang Chen's strategy. After all, several hundred or even a thousand Golden-Winged Sword Birds entering the territory together would be far too terrifying a sight.
Such a conspicuous display would certainly draw unwanted attention.
And sure enough, Jiang Chen's worry was justified. Never mind a thousand birds—even just one rider per Golden-Winged Sword Bird had been enough to attract notice.
"Damn it, this Qianlan Northern Palace just won't quit!" Jiang Chen's Wind-listening Ear had already picked up signs of the enemy.
"All units, battle ready. Continue on course and maintain combat formation!" Jiang Chen issued his command.
The Jiang Chen of today was no longer the Jiang Chen who had faced defeat before the Erdu Pass. Having learned a painful lesson from a Spirit Realm powerhouse those months ago, he had spent the intervening time rigorously training the Golden-Winged Sword Birds and drilling them in the "Eight Desolations Spirit-Capturing Formation."
Now, this formation could be broken down into smaller sub-formations, assembled into medium formations, or—when enough Golden-Winged Sword Birds were available—deployed as a grand formation.
Among those at Jiang Chen's side, the Eight Personal Guards were unquestionably the weakest in individual combat ability. They were all Eight-Meridian True Qi martial artists—though Xue Tong, with his slightly superior talent, had already entered the Nine-Meridian True Qi Realm.
However, the eight of them shared one critical advantage: mastery of the formation. Over the past few months of intensive practice, their comprehension and control of this formation had reached seventy to eighty percent of its full potential.
Combined with the combat capabilities of their Golden-Winged Sword Birds, the eight riders and eight birds together could hold their own against more than a dozen True Qi Masters without falling behind.
Once their cultivation broke through to the True Qi Master level, they would absolutely have the ability to stand their ground even against Spirit Realm opponents.
Jiang Feng's personal guards, led by Jiang Ying, were individually stronger. Jiang Ying himself had already entered the True Qi Master ranks.
Of course, the strongest fighter in the entire party was, without question, Jiang Chen himself.
After Jiang Chen, the next most powerful were Princess Gouyu and Jiang Chen's father, Jiang Feng.
"Gouyu, you take charge of leading the eight personal guards. I'll look after my father's side. Lock down the left and right flanks—don't let them break through our formation."
Jiang Chen reminded her.
Gouyu lifted her delicate chin, her slender, jade-like neck tilting with a graceful motion. "Don't worry. I won't hold you back!"