Chapter 598: Seeing the Black Dragon Race Again

“The Essence Blood the Princess gave you…” Si Yun froze, as if she had just remembered something. She blushed, realizing she had been too quick to misunderstand.

‘I’m clearly here to save her, yet I keep getting misunderstood.’ Lin Xuan could understand her perspective. The animosity between humans and the Demon Race ran too deep, especially when it came to Divine Beasts. They were often flayed, their sinews ripped out for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. ‘How could they not hate us?’

“Please, lady, give me a break! Look, the Steward is about to catch up! We should be figuring out how to escape, not standing around talking nonsense!” While still in flight, Lin Xuan quickly retrieved the Phoenix Statue from his Storage Ring. In mid-air, a gigantic Phoenix instantly took form.

Lin Xuan sat down on it, still holding her, and piloted the Phoenix forward at top speed. It was so fast that it just barely managed to keep pace with the Steward!

This was an authentic Phoenix form, so its flight speed was naturally fast. But because his opponent’s Cultivation was higher, their overall speeds were roughly equal.

“He even has a Phoenix for a mount? More of that Puppetry Technique!” the Steward snorted. A red light flared from his body, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a giant Phoenix Bird. This was his innate Transformation.

After reverting to his original form, his flight speed skyrocketed, and he rapidly began to close the distance.

“He’s almost on us! If I weren’t temporarily immobilized, I could definitely leave him in the dust!” Si Yun grew anxious as she watched the Phoenix Bird draw closer. If they were caught, both of them would be imprisoned.

Si Yun’s Cultivation was quite high, at the Core Formation Stage or above. Without that level of power, she never would have dared to go out scouting alone. Nevertheless, she had been captured and locked in a cage, which sealed her Elemental Power and made escape impossible.

“Don’t worry, I’m going all out this time! I came prepared!”

Without another word, Lin Xuan began frantically tossing out statues from his Storage Ring. The moment they materialized in mid-air, they pounced on the pursuing Phoenix Bird, striking it with heavy blows!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

A steady stream of Spirit Pill Stage Level statues flew out to attack the Phoenix Bird pursuing them. Though not particularly powerful, they were enough to hinder the Steward’s advance.

However, they were easily incinerated by the Steward’s Flames, making Lin Xuan’s heart ache at the loss. Still, for the sake of their escape, it was a worthy sacrifice!

‘So many Puppets! Who the hell is this kid? How did he manage to sneak in? And what is his connection to that Mutant Sect!’ The Steward was inwardly shocked. The Puppetry Technique wasn’t mysterious, but the cost of creating so many was absolutely staggering.

Puppets required a corresponding Essence Blood to take form. That meant every single one of those Puppets contained Essence Blood. ‘How much would one have to bleed to summon so many?’

This was just their assumption, however. If that were truly the case, Lin Xuan couldn’t possibly have afforded the damage. Where would all that Essence Blood have come from? The creatures he summoned were already dead; there was no Essence Blood to speak of.

For this reason, those who practiced the Puppetry Technique were generally considered dark and ruthless. People didn’t just give away their Essence Blood for free, so most practitioners had to hunt for it themselves. Thus, the number of Puppets a person had could indicate how many lives they had taken—though the possibility of the blood being a gift couldn’t be ruled out.

As for Puppets of Demon Beasts, that was an even clearer sign. It almost certainly meant a Demon Beast had been hunted and killed.

Lin Xuan didn’t care what they were thinking. He just kept flinging out statues, buying as much time as he could.

Meanwhile, the Guards on the ground below noticed the commotion. Once they saw what was happening, they quickly gave chase. By the time they reacted, however, Lin Xuan was already far away with Si Yun. To their frustration, a swarm of Puppets descended from the sky, obstructing their pursuit.

‘Is this what it feels like to summon an army from scattered beans? It just stings a little…’ Lin Xuan’s face twitched. The loss truly pained him. It was impossible to recover the puppets he threw; they would either be destroyed or he would detonate them himself.

Fortunately, it was effective, successfully holding back the pursuing members of the Phoenix Race. Against a Void Spirit Stage expert, however, tossing out these statues would have been completely useless.

A Void Spirit Stage expert could have captured him with ease; these tricks would have meant nothing.

“So many Puppets! How did you get your hands on all of them?” Si Yun was stunned by Lin Xuan’s tactics. Even she winced at the cost, knowing just how valuable those Puppets were.

“I found them,” Lin Xuan snapped, urging the Phoenix to fly faster. “Now hurry up and tell me how to get to your Princess’s hiding spot! Or is there anywhere else nearby we can hide? If they catch up, we’re finished!”

Si Yun fell silent, her hesitation obvious. She was clearly debating whether she should lead Lin Xuan to their location.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, can you stop overthinking this? You’ve seen for yourself that my Cultivation isn’t high. Take me to your Princess. If I’m really not who I say I am, with your Princess’s power, couldn’t she just swat me dead with a single slap?” Lin Xuan rambled.

“Pfft…” Si Yun let out a small laugh. “It’s not quite that dramatic, but I get your point. The fact that you came to rescue me is enough for me to trust you… I was just a little hesitant. For now, fly that way. Head down into that volcano. There’s a hidden passage inside!”

Without hesitation, Lin Xuan dove toward the volcano’s crater, disappearing inside in the blink of an eye. Following Si Yun’s directions, they found the hidden entrance and rushed in, completely erasing their aura from the outside to prevent being tracked.

“So this leads to your hiding place?” Lin Xuan asked, carrying Si Yun deeper into the passage.

“Yes, but we move locations often. I’m not sure if they’ve relocated or not…” Si Yun said uncertainly.

Lin Xuan rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. For now, escaping their pursuers was the most important thing.

After passing through a long tunnel, they opened a Stone Gate and stepped outside. A sudden, deafening explosion ripped through the air, the terrifying sound echoing from a distant forest!

“The Black Dragon Race! What are they doing here?!” Lin Xuan looked toward the source of the explosion and saw familiar figures. It was the same members of the Black Dragon Race who hated him to the bone, now locked in a fierce battle with the Mutated Phoenixes.

“It’s simple,” Si Yun said through gritted teeth. “The Black Dragon Race is colluding with the Fire Phoenix King to hunt us all down!”

Lin Xuan’s expression darkened. ‘The Black Dragon Race really is something else,’ he thought, ‘teaming up with the current Clan Leader of the Phoenix Race.’