Xiao Fei, facing imminent encirclement by two Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivators, with no hope of escape, activated a treasured Thousand Mile Teleportation Talisman.
This talisman, refined by the Zi Wei Sect, utilized rare materials, obtainable only by figures of Ancestor Shangguan's stature.
Upon activating the talisman, Xiao Fei's vision blurred. When his surroundings came into focus, he found himself eight hundred miles away.
The teleportation was random, not returning him to the Dan Xin Sect, but to a location even further from it.
After the recent interception, he dared not fly towards the Dan Xin Sect for the time being. What if other powerful demonic cultivators awaited him ahead?
Without hesitation, Xiao Fei flew in a direction away from the Dan Xin Sect.
After flying continuously for a day, Xiao Fei landed on a rocky mountain. Just as he thought he had escaped the demonic pursuit, a demonic cultivator at the Golden Core stage discovered him.
Against Golden Core stage demons, Xiao Fei's Hun Yuan Divine Lightning was their bane. Three consecutive bolts of divine lightning reduced the demon to ashes before him, leaving only a demonic crystal.
Xiao Fei collected the demonic crystal but dared not linger within the territory of Lu Kingdom. Who knew how many informants the demonic race had stationed throughout the land to deal with him?
For now, he would leave Lu Kingdom and lie low for a while, returning only when the situation had calmed or his strength had increased.
Just as he collected the demonic crystal and prepared to depart, a black figure appeared on the distant horizon, rapidly approaching him.
"Truly persistent!"
Startled, Xiao Fei transformed into a streak of light and fled into the distance, not daring to linger.
From the approaching figure's humanoid outline, he could discern it was likely the demonic creature that stood two zhang tall, covered in scales, and possessed immense strength.
In the following days, Xiao Fei and the Flying Fish took turns, relying on the Flying Fish's special abilities to maintain a precarious distance from the black-scaled demon.
This chase and evasion continued for over a month. Xiao Fei could not shake off the black-scaled demon, nor could the demon catch him.
However, to quickly recover his spiritual energy, the spiritual wine stored in his spatial dimension was almost depleted, and the Flying Fish had consumed several thousand-year-old spiritual herbs.
One day, Xiao Fei encountered a boundless ocean before him.
He had been flying eastward, and by estimating the time and distance, he should now be at the easternmost edge of the East Continent.
After the previous chase, he knew that the black-scaled demon could not perform water遁 (water evasion). Therefore, he had been flying eastward towards the East Sea with all his might.
Upon seeing the endless East Sea, Xiao Fei plunged into it without hesitation.
Once underwater, neither his water evasion technique nor the Flying Fish's aquatic prowess could be matched by the black-scaled demon.
After pursuing for a day, the black-scaled demon completely lost Xiao Fei's trace.
Enraged, the demon let out a series of howls, venting its frustration in the water, inadvertently injuring countless fish and crabs. Finally, it could only depart in bitter resentment.
Xiao Fei hid underwater for over half a month before cautiously crawling onto a desolate island.
This small island was only a few miles in circumference, devoid of spiritual energy and uninhabited, save for occasional visits from amphibious beasts and seabirds seeking rest.
Xiao Fei found a cave on the island and, after driving out a group of seabirds residing within, forcefully occupied it.
The bullied seabirds could only perch at the cave entrance, defecating a large pile of droppings before flying away from the island with angry squawks.
After cleaning the cave, he settled in temporarily, planning to hide for a while before making further plans.
Xiao Fei took out a set of concealment array plates and set them up at the cave entrance before entering his spatial dimension.
In the lake at the center of the dimension, the Flying Fish was floating on the surface, belly up, snoring loudly, appearing like a dead fish to any unaware observer.
During Xiao Fei's escape, the Flying Fish had been the primary escapee, always using its flying skills to create distance. Otherwise, Xiao Fei might have already fallen into the demon's clutches.
Although the Flying Fish was a bit tired during this period, it had consumed a considerable amount of spiritual items.
Xiao Fei had originally brewed a large quantity of spiritual wine using some of his slow-selling spiritual fruits and herbs, storing them in his dimension. After years of aging, the spiritual energy was extremely potent.
If sold, it would have fetched over several million spirit stones, but now only a little over ten jars remained.
In addition to the spiritual wine, the Flying Fish had also devoured several thousand-year-old spiritual herbs.
A significant portion of the spiritual energy generated by the spiritual herbs and wine was consumed during the escape, but a large amount remained within its body.
Now, this spiritual energy was being slowly refined and absorbed by the Flying Fish, and its aura was rapidly growing.
Xiao Fei glanced at the Flying Fish, finding nothing amiss, and paid it no further mind. He had been thoroughly shaken this time, nearly dying again.
Moreover, his existence made him an archenemy of the demonic race. As soon as he appeared, he would undoubtedly face assassination attempts from them.
With this thought, he dug out several Nine Bends Golden Lotuses and refined them into substitute puppets for himself.
After successfully refining five substitute puppets consecutively, he felt a slight sense of security.
However, refining puppets consumed a vast amount of vital blood and divine consciousness. Refining five substitute puppets in a row was his limit.
At this moment, both his vital blood and divine consciousness were damaged. His face was pale, he was urinating blood, and he walked leaning against walls, so weak he felt like he would die on the spot.
He swallowed a pill and slept in the cave for two to three days before feeling slightly better.
One day, shortly after waking up, he discovered a giant sea turtle climbing onto the desolate island to rest.
This sea turtle was enormous, its carapace over a zhang in diameter. Furthermore, it was a demonic beast with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.
Xiao Fei licked his lips, his killing intent ignited.
The sea turtle had not offended him, but its flesh and bones being highly nourishing was its original sin.
According to medicinal texts, old turtles could nourish Yin, tonify the kidneys, and replenish vital blood, which would be of great use to Xiao Fei in his current weakened state.
Fifteen minutes later, the sea turtle's carcass was dragged into the cave.
Xiao Fei took out a flying sword and used it as a butchering knife. First, he collected a large jar of turtle blood.
Then, he opened its belly. Within the sea turtle's abdomen was a small storage space containing various items: spiritual herbs from the sea, several hundred spirit stones, and some jade slips.
Xiao Fei set these items aside for the moment and continued to process the sea turtle's meat.
He cut out dozens of pounds of meat and bones at once, placing them in a large pot to stew. He also added a section of thousand-year-old ginseng and simmered it over a low heat for two hours. The aroma of the old turtle soup filled the entire cave.
After eating his fill, he finally felt some strength returning to his body. His vision was no longer blurred, his hearing was sharp, and his steps were firm.
Only then did he pick up the miscellaneous items he had obtained from the sea turtle's abdomen for examination.
The few spiritual herbs were local specialties of the East Sea, but their quality was not high. He casually tossed them into the lake within his spatial dimension, indifferent to whether they survived.
He examined each item one by one, finding no particularly rare treasures, which left Xiao Fei rather uninterested. Only a black token, inscribed with the words "Sea Patrol Envoy," caught his eye.
This unfortunate turtle was likely a minor demon from some faction in the East Sea.
However, when he examined a jade slip, he paused.
This jade slip contained a message stating that an anomaly had occurred on an island in the East Sea, possibly indicating the emergence of a treasure.
Accompanying this message was a map.
He recognized the location marked on the map where the anomaly occurred. The black jade slip that Huang Feifei had shown him earlier also contained a map, and both indicated the same place.
He hadn't expected Huang Feifei to cause such a stir.