Where to go? He had absolutely no idea. If he tried to leave the building, then just as he had feared before, all the disciples currently in the underground palace might be after them and would have a direct line of sight on them to attack. And those attacks wouldn’t just hurt him this time but Yun Bei Fen as well since it wasn’t like he could dodge or protect himself.

Staying inside … it had its downsides as well but for the time being, it sounded like the better idea. At the very least, he could make use of the different rooms and corridors to pull the distance a little further and then see if he could find an opportunity to escape a little later.

Zhi Guan made up his mind and rushed ahead. Behind him, he could hear the demonic practitioners curse. He also recognized the voice of Song Yu Zheng which was mixed in there. Well, that wasn’t good but pretty much what he had expected. There was simply no way to not have him notice such a ruckus. But then, even if he added one more Song Yu Zheng, that only marginally raised the difficulty. Running from ten people had never been an easy task anyway.

Glancing at his little junior who was now lying on his shoulder, Zhi Guan pursed his lips. He was still holding the Gale Blade since it might come in handy. Of course, he couldn’t use the same trick again. The Portable Sand Pouch was now completely empty and it’d take a long time for it to fill up, not to mention that the others would expect it if they suddenly saw sand falling from thin air and would have their guard up. No, if he wanted to obstruct them, he had to do something different.

He continued running as he searched through his spatial bag again. Finally, his eyes lit up. Right! He still had the flower map Yan Hong Min had created. This might not be able to help him slow down the people behind but it could help him evade anyone in the front. Also, in case Liu Bao Ru was still in the building, he could find her. If they teamed up, their chances would also slightly go up.

He put the Gale Blade away but didn’t take out the flower map immediately. So far, the demonic practitioners hadn’t gotten closer but he also hadn’t managed to widen the distance he had managed to create initially. If he tried to check the map now, he was almost guaranteed to slow down. Then what if they caught up? No, he had to get a little further away first. And for that …

He once again scanned his spatial bag and finally picked up an ugly gray ball with stitches running all over the surface. Not perfect but this one might work. He didn’t hesitate and simply threw it behind him.

The demonic practitioner running in the front saw something flying toward them and immediately pulled up an energy shield and threw an attack right after. He had no idea what that thing was but he’d rather not risk it. As a result … the energy smashed right into the ball, making it burst into smoke. And even enough of it to fill the whole corridor.

The disciple ducked, trying to evade the smoke but he was still completely enveloped by it. Even through the veil, he could smell the biting stench coming from it. Thankfully, it at least wasn’t as choking. Unfortunately though, it definitely obscured the visibility. He couldn’t see the person they had been chasing at all.

In the front, Zhi Guan smiled faintly and pulled out the flower map while he continued to rush ahead. Carrying an unconscious cultivator from the righteous faction wouldn’t seem odd in this place as long as people ahead didn’t know yet what had happened so even if he ran into someone, they might not realize that there was a problem immediately. Of course, it would be best if he took a path where he wouldn’t run into anyone but he couldn’t choose too carefully right now.

He glanced at the map which was thankfully in the mode that distinguished righteous and demonic cultivators from one another. He saw himself and Yun Bei Fen at a glance and his mind couldn’t help but churn. He hadn’t seen any signs of life from his little junior so, for now, he could only assume the worst. There was still a small possibility that this was only a wrong appearance due to some kind of array or a potion they had given him or something. There was such a chance.

Anyway, the map showed him just as it should any cultivator from the righteous faction so maybe … that was a good sign. He wasn’t sure though. After all, they had been given this map because Luo Lin was supposed to find Shen Lei who had been presumed dead at the time. So chances were that this said nothing. But then, maybe the recognizable energy faded over time. In that case, he’d be able to use the map to figure it out.

His thoughts traveled a mile a minute but he forced himself to focus again. Of course, he wanted to know what was going on with Yun Bei Fen but for that, it was best to get him out of this place first. If he was caught, then everything was over.

He checked the map and finally found the spot that noted down Liu Bao Ru’s position. She was currently moving through a corridor, her speed relatively slow as if she wasn’t currently on the run from the demonic practitioners.

Zhi Guan narrowed his eyes and finally took the shortest way toward her as possible. Of course, while on the way, he continued to look through his spatial bag, throwing a few surprises every now and then. Even though it hadn’t allowed him to completely get rid of his pursuers so far, he had indeed managed to pull the distance a little further. Under the current circumstances, that seemed like a good enough result.