Late at night, the moonlight was like water, softly cascading down onto the quiet forest, draping the earth in a silvery veil.

The outlines of the trees towered against the night sky, like silent guardians, quietly watching everything.

Suddenly!

Whoosh!

A streak of divine light shot through the night sky, swift as a meteor, vanishing instantly into the endless darkness.

"Should be far enough."

Within the escape light, Xu Ping felt the tranquility of the night, and his heart inevitably relaxed.

Having outrun for a day with an escape technique surpassing a fake pill, and having changed directions multiple times along the way, even a Golden Core cultivator looking for him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Need to find a place to restore my mana."

Xu Ping pondered secretly, as the mana in his Dantian had almost run dry, desperately needing a secure place to rest.

He sparked the escape light and quickly melded into the depths of the forest.

Mana is the foundation of everything, and having depleted it this much, it was unwise to continue traveling.

Soon, he found a hidden spot in a secluded cave.

As a precaution, he set up an array to conceal spiritual Qi and then released the Rat Demon to patrol underground.

After completing all these tasks, Xu Ping swallowed a pill to recover his mana.

...

Meanwhile.

In the night sky, a leaf-shaped flying shuttle streaked by like a meteor, carrying an old man at an astonishing speed.

A moment later, a Wind Hunting Eagle, several tens of meters long, followed closely behind, each flap of its wings causing a massive pressure wave.

On the flying shuttle.

Zhang Yu, who barely escaped alive, looked at the persistent Second-stage Middle Grade Wind Hunting Eagle behind him, inwardly lamenting.

He hadn't expected this creature to hold such a grudge, chasing him for a whole day, still refusing to give up.

If it weren't for this special flying shuttle magical artifact in his hand, he would have been caught by the eagle earlier, becoming its delicious meal.

"Need to go faster," Zhang Yu took a deep breath, suppressing his panic, disregarded the mana consumption, performed a spell, causing the liquid mana in his Dantian to surge into the shuttle like a tide.

With a 'buzz', the shuttle burst forth with intense divine light, its speed abruptly increasing.

Seeing this, a glint of blood flashed in the Wind Hunting Eagle's eyes, it too increased its speed, pursuing relentlessly.

Person and eagle quickly vanished into the depths of the night.

...

In the depths of the forest, within the cave shrouded by the array, Xu Ping sat cross-legged on the stone platform, eyes closed, silently restoring his mana.

Time quietly slipped away beside him, unknown how long had passed.

"Whew!"

Xu Ping ended his cultivation, opened his eyes, and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Feeling the abundant mana within his Dantian, he felt somewhat reassured, and his mood also lightened.

But once he thought about Qiu Xuan Mountain likely to be annihilated, his heart grew heavy again.

"Sigh, I wonder how many of them were able to escape," Xu Ping sighed involuntarily.

He had a premonition that their numbers might be very few.

Qiu Xuan Mountain was a good place for cultivation, the people were good too, what a pity.

"Who exactly are these forces?" Xu Ping couldn't help but frown and ponder, "The only thing certain should be the forces of another country."

After all, in Yue Country, there's no force daring to offend all sects simultaneously, including Luoyun Sect.

"But what is their purpose in doing this?"

"Could they fear sparking a national war?"

Xu Ping furrowed his brow, suddenly considering this possibility.

In the history of Yue Country, foreign invasions occurred, usually when Nascent Soul cultivators fell, and Yue Country lacked new Nascent Soul cultivators.

Yet, Luoyun Sect's Nascent Soul elder is still alive, how could an invasion occur at this critical moment?

"Wait..." Xu Ping seemed to recall something, furrowed his brow in deep thought, "How old is Luoyun Sect's Nascent Soul elder this year? Seems... over nine hundred years old?"

The lifespan limit for Nascent Soul cultivators is just a thousand years, but few live to reach this limit; like Luoyun Sect's Nascent Soul elder reaching this age is considered nearing the limit.

"Logically, Nascent Soul cultivators nearing their limit are the last to be provoked, yet foreign forces invaded daringly, could some change have occurred?"

Upon thinking this, Xu Ping couldn't help but feel nervous.

His understanding was still too limited, although he had a Foundation Establishment cultivation, he was still trivial compared to the entire country.

Should a foreign invasion event occur, even Golden Core cultivators probably wouldn't be able to control their fate, let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were merely advanced pawns.

"Sigh, still too weak," Xu Ping sighed involuntarily.

But he wasn't one to wallow in self-pity; he quickly adjusted his mindset.

"The most important thing now is to find a safe haven and slowly gather information," Xu Ping began pondering his next plan.

The situation being unclear, he couldn't roam randomly, better to find a secluded small place and stay there.

When a foreign invasion does indeed happen, such a remote area would likely see battles slow to reach, providing time for preparation without chaos.

More importantly, there wouldn't be cultivators there threatening him.

Having exposed Sword Qi Thunder Sound, he barely counted as a known figure in Yue Country, encountering high-stage cultivators could cause unnecessary trouble.

"Where should I go?" Xu Ping's mind flashed across the various regions of Yue Country, contemplating, when suddenly a loud noise from the sky startled him.

Boom!

"Is it the pursuers?" Xu Ping's heart tightened, hurriedly controlling the Rat Demon to rush towards the source of the noise.

Underground, through the Rat Demon's view, he observed the fierce battle in the skies.

At that moment.

A massive Second-stage Middle Grade Wind Hunting Eagle and an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment old man were engaged in a fierce confrontation in the air.

Whoosh!

The Wind Hunting Eagle suddenly spread its wings, rushing forth, countless luminescent feathers shot towards the old man like raindrops.

Seeing this, the old man hastily summoned an earth-yellow round shield in front of him.

Boom boom boom...

The earth-yellow round shield was blasted to pieces under the intense bombardment of feathers, but fortunately, it bought the old man time to deploy other means to barely fend off the fatal blow.

"Is this... Zhang Yu?"

Recognizing the old man, Xu Ping showed surprise, unexpected that with only Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, he managed to escape Qiu Xuan Mountain?

However, his current situation wasn't great, being repeatedly repelled by the Wind Hunting Eagle, facing grave danger.

Xu Ping hesitated for a moment before deciding to help after checking that the surroundings were clear.

Yet, it seemed he acted a bit late.

"Boom!"

Another loud noise, Zhang Yu was struck by the Wind Hunting Eagle's feathers, spraying blood wildly, his face showed agony, unable to hold on, he plummeted from mid-air.

"Slash!"

Xu Ping suddenly acted, wielding the Purple Sun Sword, his Dantian's mana surged instantly, accompanied by thunder sounds, a ray of Sword Qi burst forth like a rainbow, aiming straight at the Wind Hunting Eagle.

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