After fleeing for a full hour, Ian Song was now tens of millions of li away from that barren wilderness.
Ian Song took out the Crimson Haze Divine Sword from the Divine Temple once again.
As soon as the sword appeared, it radiated brilliance, sending a beam of light soaring into the sky and triggering a heavenly phenomenon.
"The phenomenon has appeared again!"
Nearly a hundred Ancestral Immortals who had rushed to the Barbarian Wastes were instantly stirred up, then sped toward Ian Song's location.
Thirty breaths later, Ian Song tossed the Crimson Haze Divine Sword back into the Divine Temple and continued his escape.
Just over ten breaths after he left, an Ancestral Immortal arrived at the scene.
After a round of investigation, they found nothing at all.
Soon, more and more Ancestral Immortals arrived.
After finding nothing, they grew annoyed. This was already the third time—they'd come up empty three times in a row, and it was starting to feel like they were being toyed with.
Ian Song had no intention of returning to Snowgoose City, since that might bring trouble to his masters.
So he kept fleeing through the Barbarian Wastes.
Every time he escaped another tens of millions of li, he'd take out the Crimson Haze Divine Sword for a few dozen breaths. Although the time was short and the other Ancestral Immortals wouldn't arrive that quickly, it still made his heart pound with anxiety.
In the blink of an eye, a whole day passed, but the Crimson Haze Divine Sword had appeared in the Immortal World for less than half a quarter-hour in total.
But the phenomenon needed to last at least an hour, so it looked like he'd have to keep leading those Ancestral Immortals around.
In fact, those Ancestral Immortals who'd come to the Barbarian Wastes were even more frustrated than he was. In just one day, the phenomenon had appeared dozens of times, each time separated by tens of millions of li.
By the time they arrived, there was nothing to be found.
It made them feel like someone was leading them by the nose, just messing with them for fun.
Some of the more hot-tempered Ancestral Immortals even swore that if they caught that guy, they'd skin him alive, tear out his tendons, and use his corpse to light a sky lantern.
By the end of the day—
Ian Song was utterly exhausted—mostly mentally.
He was pretty sure that today, most of those Ancestral Immortals would still be led around by the nose, but by tomorrow, they'd probably wise up and start spreading out.
So that night, instead of running, he entered a city, found a restaurant, had a feast, and then booked a room to sleep.
That night, Ian Song didn't sleep well.
Because at least a few powerful Immortal Senses swept across the area during the night, and he was certain they all belonged to Ancestral Immortals.
"Damn, looks like I'll have to be careful tomorrow!"
The next morning, Ian Song walked out of the inn, quickly left the city, and headed to a stretch of wilderness to get started.
First, he laid down a grand formation that even Ancestral Immortals would struggle to break, spending a hundred million immortal stones. Then he set up layer upon layer of restrictions within the array, and finally took out the Crimson Haze Divine Sword.
"Whew!"
Crimson light burst forth, gathering into a beam that shot into the sky and pierced the clouds, forming another heavenly phenomenon.
Just as he'd expected, neither the formation nor the restrictions could stop the heavenly phenomenon from appearing.
"It's appeared!"
"The phenomenon is manifesting over there!"
"Good! Very good! It's finally appeared! Haha!"
"You finally showed up? You'd better hope the Ancestors don't find out who you are, or they'll skin you alive and tear out your tendons!"
One after another, Ancestral Immortals sped toward the site of the phenomenon.
After a hundred breaths, Ian Song judged it was enough.
He quickly brought the Crimson Haze Sword into the Divine Temple, then used the temple's shuttle function to jump to Golden Lily Blessed Land.
And less than ten breaths after he left—
A top expert at ninth-layer Ancestral Immortal arrived.