Sage ran frantically, at times using Falling Leaf Steps to keep a lead, but not truly gaining any distance on his pursuers. His right eye continued to shine with the depths of space, glimpsing into the future he could tell exactly how the crowd was moving and slipped through them effortlessly. He could tell when a large carriage or wagon were going to turn a corner and know just where to move in order to duck under or around the load and slip past. Meanwhile, the men chasing him could easily destroy the many mortals in their way, but they didn’t want to cause a huge incident. While it wasn’t forbidden for cultivators to kill mortals, it came down to a matter of territory. If they killed mortals senselessly in Plum Lantern City it meant they were disrespecting the owner of said territory, the City Master.

While he was able to keep ahead of his pursuers, Sage realized how much he relied upon his insects. Without having a linked insect at hand he was forced to resort to such a pathetic act. Using mortals as a shield was quite shameful. If the people behind him got a little bit more angry they might just slaughter a few dozen people to ensure they caught him. If they were motivated enough they could just go apologize to the City Master with a few gifts and it would be over just like that.

I have to lose them soon and completely with one move or they’ll get really upset and I’ll be finished.

He was sure they figured it was just a matter of time before they caught up to him and were just enjoying the hunt after he’d caused such problems for them. It would only be a matter of time before they got bored of chasing him and decided it was worth giving up a treasure to capture, or even kill, him. With just a few traps or his Twin Soul he could handle the two that were just a few levels above himself, but that would probably infuriate Grey Beard. That old man was just too powerful, there was no way Sage could handle him without using a true array. The formations of a 5 star Formation Master matched up to the strength of a Core Formation cultivator. Unless he had a few hours of preparation time or revealed all of his secrets in public he didn’t have much of a chance.

Sage continued to run, looking all around himself for an opportunity. All he needed was a little outside influence to tip the scales in his direction before the Tang Clan got backup or got too frustrated. The clock was ticking down for him. He passed by a few cultivators, but they were too weak. He saw a dojo up ahead with cultivators patrolling the the gates. Sage wondered if those inside would be strong enough to help. The sign said, ‘Violent Fist Sect’. Unfortunately, while he was still forming a plot, Grey Beard yelled out at them and some of the people inside started to run out to help.

Well, that backfired. Three has turned into twenty.

He started to feel the pressure of desperation sinking in. Would this be the end for him? He wanted to use Falling Leaf Steps at the maximum to try and leave them behind, but that would only provoke them. Up ahead he saw a beautiful woman turn a corner and recognized her as the girl who had smashed into and knocked him down in the Zhu Clan. She was walking with a group of other pretty girls and a squad of burly looking guards. He moved over to seek refuge with them, but that’s when he saw a deadly confrontation take place within his Timeless Eye.

Able to glance just a few seconds into the future it couldn’t tell him a lot, and it also wasn’t a sure thing. He could see many ghostly predictions of future events. As he chose to do different things the ghostly images would change. The most bright and vivid image would be the one most likely to happen at any point, shifting through the most likely occurrence based upon his actions. The battle he saw would lead to the deaths of many guards and a few of the women, so Sage changed his mind and went the other direction. He may not be a saint, but he also didn’t want to drag innocent people into this mess. It was already bad enough to be using the crowds of mortals as an obstruction.

I have to take the risk.

If he reached the wilderness there wouldn’t be anymore mortals around, Grey Beard wouldn’t hold back and Sage would probably lose a few limbs. With that in mind he took a leap and went towards the place he was most familiar with. He pushed open a pair of doors and then slammed them shut behind himself. His Qi flowed into the locking arrays, sealing him up inside the huge room. In front of him was a large forge and bellows, many different sizes of anvils, vices, and workbenches along with hundreds of tongs, hammers, and other tools.

The protective array won’t last long, but maybe it will be enough.

When the door burst open a few minutes later, Grey Beard walked in to see Sage standing in the center of the workshop and smiling back at him. He immediately grew cautious. Was this not the same little insect that had been running like a scared rabbit? He thought he’d already used up everything he had. One of his men died and another was injured when the chase started, but nothing else surprising occured since then. After a moment of thought, Grey Beard laughed, “Nice try. You’re ready to make your last stand and now you’re putting on a brave face to try and bluff. Well, let’s have it then. Go ahead and perform your desperation move. Just don’t be a wimp and kill yourself, it would be much better to turn you over for punishment first.”

The old man was quite annoyed, while he wasn’t highly ranked in the Tang Clan his only duty was to follow Zhelan around and keep him safe. Once the little brat caught up to him in strength it would be his time to retire and take it easy. He would have been rewarded handsomely with cultivation resources, riches, and would be free of obligations to the clan. With Zhelan dead, not only did he lose his path to the good life he would be punished. How detestable!

Sage looked devastated and fearful, slowly kneeling down in front of them and holding his hands up pitifully, “Please forgive me, I swear I wasn’t involved. I just didn’t want to get framed for a crime I didn’t commit so I ran!”

“Hah, you already tried to beg and plead earlier. We won’t listen to anything you say. The clan will cut the truth from your bones.”

“Please, please. Don’t harm me. I… I have treasures! Take them, just let me go. Look, this is an ancient elixir of power!”

Sage took out a small vial and held it out towards them. One of the men came over and grabbed it, popping open the lid and giving it a sniff. Then he poured the liquid out onto the ground, “Nice try. Do you think we’d take your poison and just drink it because you said it was an elixir? Who do you take us for?”

Sage lifted his head and the scared look on his face faded away, “That wasn’t poison.”

Grey Beard looked down at the spot where the liquid was spilled and sniffed the air again, “I’ve smelled that sort of thing before…”

Sage took a step back and pulled a dirty cloth off one of the workbenches and revealed a huge metal disk. Before Grey Beard could figure out what was going on, he heard a scream in the distance and looked up to see one of the members of the Violent Fist Sect getting carried off into the sky. Looking further up, there was a group of three giant dragonflies pulling on silken threads that had been wrapped around the Sect member. Another scream came from behind as huge Mantids appeared. They were very hard to see, their bodies blending in with the colors of the walls and pillars. Before they moved they were nearly invisible.

Grey Beard was livid and started swinging his sword, sending arcs of sword Qi flying in every direction, only aiming so as to avoid hitting his men behind him. The Violent Fist Sect members were still outside, they were asked to just guard the perimeter to make sure their quarry didn’t escape again. They had never thought they’d be the target of an attack by a swarm of huge glittering green dragonflies and pissed off hornets that shot out poisoned thorns like living bombs.

The energy from Grey Beard’s sword was like a deadly wave, darting towards Sage with deadly intent. Sage could feel the danger radiating off that wave of qi and knew that it would slice through him like butter.