Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen activated his escape technique and fled northward.
Facing a late seventh-tier and a peak seventh-tier void fiend, even with the shadow void's assistance, he stood no chance. Distance was his best strategy.
Yet, after flying barely a mile, he abruptly halted.
Distinct traces of his aura lingered along his flight path.
Within the Primordial Qi, the unique spiritual power signature of humans burned like a beacon in the night, impossible to miss.
Song Wen flipped his hand and summoned the Two-Faced Buddha.
He spat out a mouthful of crimson blood essence, staining the Buddha Image crimson.
An indescribably eerie aura surged from the statue, enveloping Song Wen, instantly scrambling his aura.
He reactivated his escape technique, but after advancing only a hundred yards, he stopped again.
"Why is my aura still lingering?"
He glanced back at the path he had just traversed, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
"Could it be that after advancing to the Void Refinement Stage, my power has surged so much that the Two-Faced Buddha can no longer fully conceal my aura?"
The realization stirred unease within Song Wen's heart.
With the Two-Faced Buddha rendered unusable, Song Wen had lost a major advantage, making his journey through the Primordial Qi Death Zone even more perilous.
Song Wen shook his head, banishing these chaotic thoughts from his mind.
Now was not the time for such considerations. His immediate priority was to shake off the pursuing void fiends.
Song Wen descended to the ground and retrieved an Earth Evasion Talisman.
Traveling deep underground through solid rock would leave faint traces of his aura, but tracking him would be far more difficult.
As Song Wen prepared to activate the talisman, the shadow void spoke from within his Sea of Consciousness.
"Master, are you concerned that the residual aura will allow the void fiends to track you?"
"Yes," Song Wen replied.
"This subordinate has a method to alleviate your worries," the shadow void said.
"Oh?" Song Wen's expression brightened. "Tell me more."
"Master, remain still. I will demonstrate," the shadow void instructed.
As it spoke, the nine tentacles extending from Song Wen's head gradually coiled around his body, forming a spherical cocoon over three meters in diameter.
"Master, as long as you refrain from using your spiritual power and allow me to carry you, no trace of your aura will remain," the shadow void explained.
"This plan is excellent," Song Wen said. "Move north immediately."
"As you command," Shadow Void replied, channeling its unique Void Clan demon power and surging northward.
Its speed surpassed Song Wen's own, quickly carrying them over fifty thousand kilometers.
"We can stop now," Song Wen said, believing they had escaped far enough.
But Shadow Void didn't obey. Instead, it maintained its breakneck pace, continuing to hurtle forward.
"Master," Shadow Void explained, "the low-ranking void clans behind us seem determined to pursue us relentlessly. They're likely still tracking us because they haven't found that resentful spirit."
Song Wen couldn't verify the truth of Shadow Void's words, so he had no choice but to trust it.
To guard against any potential treachery, Song Wen summoned the Nether Fox to scout their surroundings.
The Nether Fox stood over three meters tall, forcing Shadow Void's nine tentacles to expand their protective sphere to accommodate the creature.
After another hundred and fifty thousand kilometers, Shadow Void finally began to slow down.
"Master," Shadow Void reported, "the low-tier void beasts haven't appeared within my detection range for some time now."
It could only sense low-ranking void clan members within a radius of 50,000 miles; beyond that, it was impossible to detect their presence.
"Let's find a suitable place to rest and regroup," Song Wen said.
The shadow void slowly flew forward several miles and stopped at a cave on the right side of the tunnel.
The cave entrance was narrow, but the interior expanded to about a hundred zhang wide, making it an ideal place to rest.
Its nine tentacles slowly unfurled, releasing Song Wen and the Nether Fox.
After Song Wen thoroughly inspected the cave and confirmed it was safe, he ordered the shadow void to gather loose stones from the tunnel and block the entrance.
He then began setting up the Phantom Sea Traceless Formation.
Once the formation was complete, Song Wen said, "You two, meditate and recover your energy. In a few days, after those low-tier void beasts have moved on, we'll resume our journey."
"Master," the Nether Fox ventured to ask, "why did you come to the Primordial Qi Death Zone?"
Throughout their journey, it hadn't participated in any battles directly and didn't need to recover its energy.
Song Wen sat cross-legged, swallowed two medicinal pills to replenish his spiritual power, and replied, "I intend to traverse the Primordial Qi Death Zone and reach the Eastern Profound Continent on the other side."
"If that's the case, Master, why return to the Qicang Domain?" the Nether Fox asked.
"This tunnel leads directly to the Eastern Profound Continent," Song Wen explained. "My sole purpose here was to confirm its existence. Now that I've achieved that, I'll return to the Qicang Domain to prepare before venturing through this underwater passage."
"Master," the Nether Fox protested, "there's no such thing as a foolproof plan in this world. We've endured countless hardships to reach this place. Why turn back now?"
Song Wen frowned slightly at these words but remained silent.
The Nether Fox's argument held some merit.
However, Song Wen always preferred meticulous planning before acting.
Crossing the underwater tunnel directly had never been part of his original strategy.
The shadow void suddenly interjected, "Master, I believe the fox has a point. We can't be certain when those low-tier void beasts behind us will leave, or even if they will leave at all. Why risk returning?"
Song Wen remained silent, carefully weighing his options.
His reasons for wanting to return were twofold: first, to advance his divine sense cultivation, and second, to have Ye Bing craft more Earth Evasion Talismans and Minor Teleportation Talismans for him.
As for the former, with the shadow void and Nether Fox already present, the journey held little value. Even if he reached the peak of the Void Refinement Stage, the oppressive Primordial Qi would severely limit his divine sense's range, rendering it nearly useless.
Regarding the latter, the Earth Evasion Talismans might still prove useful, but the Minor Teleportation Talismans would be largely ineffective in these narrow tunnels.
When using the Minor Teleportation Talisman, one couldn't control the direction of teleportation. In such confined spaces, there was an eighty percent chance of colliding with the rock walls, making the effort futile.
Given these considerations, returning to the Qicang Domain seemed truly unnecessary.
Suddenly, a delicate and beautiful figure flashed through Song Wen's mind.
Was she still sitting alone atop that small mountain outside the Primordial Qi Death Zone?
"Hah!"
Song Wen exhaled a foul breath, his gaze sharpening.
"Alright. We'll rest here for two days, then head north!"
(End of the Chapter)