Yi Tianyun's speed was undeniably first-class. While he didn't blow his pursuers away by a huge margin, he was still faster than they were and managed to keep up with the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead.
Meanwhile, the surrounding golden sand kept sweeping toward them in waves, each more intense than the last. At this point, Domain Lord Liuli flicked her blue ribbon, forming a thick barrier around them. The blasts of sand that rushed forward were all forcefully bounced back. Though it consumed a great deal of energy, trying to save strength at a time like this would be suicidal.
Others looked on with envy. They were working together, one focusing on speed and the other defending against the sand; this was far better than trying to handle both tasks alone.
It was an extremely unpleasant endeavor to both run and ward off the swirling sands. But they had no other choice, who would have guessed that the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead would suddenly bolt away, leaving them with no protection at all?
Luckily, they weren't weak. Had their cultivation been any lower, they would have been swept away by the sand in no time. Even those with higher cultivation but no half-step Heavenly Venerable strength found the harsh environment intolerable after a while.
Some of the God Monarchs gradually fell behind, eventually lost amid the swirling sands. Half-step Heavenly Venerables couldn't slow down to carry anyone, or they'd risk being trapped here. With no way to find the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead, they'd all perish.
No one had the inclination to spare a companion; if they lagged behind, they were sacrificed. And none of them could imitate Yi Tianyun's feat of carrying someone without losing speed. Besides, no one they carried would be as capable as Domain Lord Liuli, who could actually help protect against attacks.
This was the harsh reality. Those left behind were gradually swallowed by the sands, disappearing without a trace.
"Good thing I didn't bring more Elders here. We couldn't possibly bring them all along," Domain Lord Liuli remarked upon seeing those who had been abandoned. Her voice carried no pity, she only thought of her own Elders, who certainly couldn't keep pace.
"If the other Elders had come, the best approach would have been for me to rush ahead and then come back for them," Yi Tianyun said with a faint smile. "There's always a way. Only a heartless person wouldn't consider that possibility."
Domain Lord Liuli paused, giving him a slight smile but saying nothing. She believed he truly would have done it, but it would have been cumbersome.
He continued racing forward, with Domain Lord Liuli in his arms. Wave after wave of Illusory Metal Power assaulted them, but they warded it off in tandem, pushing through.
This trial clearly tested them with storms of Illusory Metal Power. Without the protection of the beads, the difficulty had multiplied several times. Worse still, the end point was unknown, they just had to keep following that Ten Lives Heavenly Bead.
Said bead offered no sense of cooperation, simply maintaining its steady high speed. Though it wasn't accelerating, it was still fast enough to give them all a hard time.
"That speed is insane. Anyone weaker would never keep up," Yi Tianyun muttered. "In fact, without half-step Heavenly Venerable power or amazing speed, you'd be dead meat."
"Yes. This is probably yet another elimination. Having a bead qualifies you to enter, but keeping it is a separate question," Domain Lord Liuli said, shaking her head. "And there will likely be more and more dangers ahead. No wonder we've never heard of anyone acquiring a Heavenly Venerable's inheritance from this place. These tests alone are enough to defeat nearly everyone."
Yi Tianyun nodded, feet never slowing.
Behind them, Lu Yuan and the others kept up as well, not lagging too far behind, maybe a hundred meters. Though Yi Tianyun was faster, it wasn't by such a massive margin that he could leave them in the dust. If he ascended in cultivation, perhaps then his advantage would be crushing.
Just imagine: at the First Level God Monarchs with a three-to-four-hundredfold speed boost, he'd be the fastest below the Heavenly Venerable realm, hands down!
In this fashion, they chased for several days until at last the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead dove into a space distortion. Yi Tianyun, still holding Domain Lord Liuli, jumped in without the slightest hesitation.
One after another, the other cultivators also dashed inside. As soon as they had all entered, the space and time portal didn't remain open for long, almost immediately, it vanished.
Upon emerging, Yi Tianyun sensed the environment shift abruptly. The endless golden sand was gone; in its place stood towering trees, Spirit flowers, and Spirit Grass everywhere.
But the most critical thing was that Domain Lord Liuli, who had been in his arms a moment ago, was gone! And there was no one else around either. Clearly, the space and time portal jump had separated them all.
"Looks like we've been scattered…"
He started to wonder what had happened when suddenly a glow appeared overhead. Glancing upward, he saw the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead floating high in the air. In the next instant, boom!, it exploded in midair, transforming into ten rays of light that shot off in different directions.
"Damn… so it wants us to gather these blasted beads again?" Yi Tianyun said in frustration. Although the rules weren't explicitly stated, it was obvious that they'd have to collect the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead all over. Unless it simply disappeared for good, scattering like that definitely meant searching for it.
"No point worrying about that first. Let's find Sister Liuli."
He pulled out his Evil Spirit Roulette, inserted something belonging to Domain Lord Liuli, and it activated a guiding power to point the way toward her.
Spreading one's spiritual sense here was useless, he couldn't detect very far at all, but the roulette still worked, letting him locate her without wandering blind.
"This place's design clearly aims to separate us, but that won't matter."
He followed the guidance without delay; two people working together was better than fighting alone. Though Yi Tianyun could handle himself solo, since Domain Lord Liuli was here, he preferred to move in tandem.
As he rushed ahead, finding no particular obstacles, he assumed all was calm. However, just then, a petite fox demon with blue fur appeared, looking quite graceful.
The moment it spotted Yi Tianyun, it attacked him without hesitation!
Yi Tianyun quickly darted aside to dodge. In response, the fox flung out a blue whip, thick and robust, with enough power to split mountains.
He hastened to evade with even greater speed, meanwhile checking for signs of Domain Lord Liuli. Yet the Evil Spirit Roulette pointed directly at the fox.
"Could it be… that this fox is Sister Liuli?" Yi Tianyun froze in surprise.