The four of them sprinted swiftly, ascending the hillside through the woodland until they reached the top, from which they could survey the movents within the surrounding forest.
Ren Mian glanced at Ji Xinghuo.
Only after seeing his nod indicating safety did she say, "Everyone stop, catch your breath and recover your strength."
"Whew..."
Chi Zhonglin placed the heavy backpack on the ground, cursing between gasps for air, "Have the Forest Patrol Clan gone mad? They attacked us without any reason."
"It’s not surprising. They might be followers of the Red Emperor," Ren Mian said with a grave expression.
As she spoke, she planted a small herb in the ground, which quickly grew into a lush cluster of leaves. The leaves radiated a bright light that fell upon their bodies, instantly invigorating them, soothing their fatigue, and swiftly restoring the energy they had just expended.
Ji Xinghuo was not seeing this plant for the first ti; it was called "Thousand-Year Green."
Beyond restoring strength and alleviating fatigue, the Thousand-Year Green could also heal minor injuries; it was an essential part of every Plant Witch’s repertoire.
"Followers of the Red Emperor..."
As Chi Zhonglin felt his strength being refreshed, his face did not show any sign of relief, "Bad luck! The Forest Patrol Clan I’ve t before were always amicable. It’s crazy that they would worship the Red Emperor and beco heretics."
Ji Xinghuo and Jiangnan Caiyi also looked troubled.
The Red Emperor was a Star God.
In the Star Realm, there existed beings of supre power, deed Star Gods by Alien Races, who worshipped them as deities.
The power of the Star Gods was mythically strong, transcending the heavens and earth, far beyond imagination!
The powers wielded by the Star Gods varied, so stronger, so weaker, but there were four universally acknowledged as the strongest, most terrifying, and most ancient. Their followers were scattered throughout the Star Realm, their renown known to all, their faith even penetrating the Milky Way, garnering billions of followers!
These four Star Gods were revered as the Lords of the Star Realm.
The Red Emperor was one of them.
The full title of the Red Emperor was "Slaughter Fla Red Emperor," and he had many other divine nas as well.
War God, God of Anger, Master of Madness, Blood Drinker, Destroyer, King of Slaughter, and so on, and these were just the better-known titles. Countless other nas were given to him by various Alien Races of the Star Realm.
The power of the Red Emperor stood at the forefront among the Star Gods.
He had an insatiable lust for battle and slaughter, and anyone who fought and killed in his na might earn his favor.
Therefore, his followers were fanatical and fearless, harboring unstoppable rage against their enemies and the world at large, which endowed them with potent destructive power.
At the sa ti, the Red Emperor revered courage and honor, admiring the defiance of the weak against the strong, and dared to challenge all authority.
On Earth, there were also followers of the Star Gods.
The Mutants were the first to worship the Star Gods in the Star Realm, and upon returning to Earth, they brought the faith with them, spreading it secretly.
The worship of the Star Gods was harmful, eroding the will of the spirit like a plague, ultimately leading to catastrophe.
Earth’s nations branded these believers as "heretics" and sought to eradicate them vigorously.
Yet, the allure of worshipping the Star Gods was too great, especially the heretics of the Lords, like weeds that could never be fully eradicated, continuously cropping up to make headlines.
However, in the Star Realm, worshipping Star Gods or Lords was quite common, and many Alien Races did not hide their faith, openly following the Star Gods.
The followers of the four Lords were particularly troubleso to deal with, and once entangled with them, it was extrely difficult to break free.
The followers of the Red Emperor were especially vicious.
Without needing to think, it was obvious that the tribe of the Forest Patrol Clan would pursue them upon finding those three dead mbers. The Forest Patrol Clan had an exceptionally keen sense of sll, and the most adept among them could even detect the scent of targets tens of kiloters away, making it very challenging to shake them off in the dense forest.
"Xiao Chi, bring out the Deodorant," Ren Mian instructed.
Chi Zhonglin rummaged through the backpack and soon produced a spray can, spritzing everyone thoroughly from head to toe.
Before that, Ren Mian had applied a "Sweat-absorbent Orchid Leaf" on the back of everyone’s hands, which absorbed the scent of sweat. Combined with the Deodorant, it completely erased their own odors.
"Rest for another five minutes. We need to leave the Forest Patrol Clan’s territory as soon as possible to avoid being caught up to," Ren Mian said, glancing at her chanical watch.
Ji Xinghuo nodded slightly, opening the interface of the Wanxiang Star Pupil in his field of vision.
During the shooting of the Forest Patrol Clan mbers, he realized he had absorbed Spiritual Origin Ability, and now saw he had 23 points!
"So much!"
Ji Xinghuo was sowhat surprised.
The three Forest Patrol Clan mbers, the strongest male with three evolutionary life stages, equivalent to an Advanced Mutant on Earth, were formidable. He had thought that his magnetic field strength was similar to that of an Elite Stealth Shadow Spider and should yield about 4 points of Spiritual Origin Ability, but the result was 15 points, nearly four tis as much.
The other two female mbers of the Forest Patrol Clan, each having evolved twice, provided 4 points of Spiritual Origin Ability each.
"Is it because the Forest Patrol Clan’s intelligence is higher than that of monsters?" Ji Xinghuo speculated in his mind, yet felt sothing was amiss.
In terms of intelligence, the female mbers of the Forest Patrol Clan should not differ much from the males, and the discrepancy in their strengths did not correlate proportionally with the difference in gained Spiritual Origin Ability.
"Could it be because of faith?"
Ji Xinghuo was uncertain, suddenly recalling the first person he killed, Ji Zongbang, that Super Mutant who also seed off.
Ji Zongbang had provided 137 points of Spiritual Origin Ability, which now seed excessively high!
The amount of Spiritual Origin Ability seed to be related to strength, but it wasn’t the primary determinant.
"Could Ji Zongbang possibly be a heretic? Moreover, a rather senior heretic?" Ji Xinghuo speculated. It was very difficult to tell heretics apart on the surface unless they revealed themselves.
As soon as the five minutes were up, Ren Mian stood up.
"Let’s keep moving."
Everyone had only partly recovered their strength, but they could not delay any longer.
Ji Xinghuo constantly activated his magnetic field sensing, pouring all the 23 points of Spiritual Origin Ability he had just acquired into the Rotating Magnetic Field, reaching a progress of 140/359. Soon, the sensing range of his magnetic field expanded again. While hurrying on their way, his body also subtly beca stronger without making a sound.
More than an hour later, the team had crossed over two mountains.
When Ji Xinghuo turned over a mountain ridge, the view suddenly opened up before him, revealing a continuous range of mountains in the distance.
The open and magnificent scenery slightly relaxed the mood of the four of them.
"That’s the direction we ca from." Ren Mian stood on a high spot and turned to point in the direction they had co from. Ji Xinghuo leaped next to her, gazing into the distance, the peaks and forests completely within his sight, his Wanxiang Star Pupil scanning everything in the field of view like a radar.
His gaze paused for a mont as he discovered sothing at the foot of a mountain.
"The Forest Patrol Clan’s tribe!"
Pointing in that direction, Ji Xinghuo said, "If we had continued just two to three kiloters further in that direction, we would have entered their tribe."
"You can see that far?"
Chi Zhonglin couldn’t believe it, shielding his forehand with a hand, his eyes wide open, he saw only a vast expanse of green trees, and had no idea where the tribe was, mumbling, "At least fifteen kiloters away..."
Ren Mian also gave him a surprised look; she could barely make out so outlines.
Had Ji Xinghuo not said it was the Forest Patrol Clan’s tribe, she would not have been able to recognize it.
Seeing their reactions, Ji Xinghuo realized he had slipped up. The weather today was good, the visibility was unobstructed, and the vantage point was high. His Wanxiang Star Pupil not only allowed him to see the tribe but also vaguely made out the Forest Patrol Clan mbers moving within it.
Without asking further questions, Ren Mian drew a line on the map and said, "We need to bypass the power range of this tribe."
"We need to move right away," Ji Xinghuo suddenly declared.
He had spotted a unit of the Forest Patrol Clan from afar, more than a dozen of them, sprinting through the forest, climbing up toward the mountain ridge where he was.
The distance was only six to seven kiloters.
The Forest Patrol Clan lived by hunting; even without a scent, they could rely on their rich experience to find the tracks of their prey, although more slowly.
All three teammates changed color and took off running.
They ran for three days, which in the Star Realm equated to over six days on Earth.
From dayti to star night to darkness, traveling day and night, they rested for no more than ten minutes at a ti, without even ti to eat, let alone sleep—in brief monts they managed only to snatch a few minutes of doze.
Even though Ren Mian had various plants for rapid recovery of physical and ntal strength, under such high-intensity pursuit, everyone’s condition deteriorated significantly.
Physical fitness, Star Power, and willpower were all nearly depleted, and their forward speed inevitably fell.
"Rest for ten minutes."
No sooner had Ren Mian spoken than Chi Zhonglin collapsed to the ground, his face weary, his eyes bloodshot, and his form noticeably thinner.
Jiangnan Caiyi, though pale, appeared to be in good physical condition, but that was only on the surface; in reality, she was quite weak.
Ji Xinghuo was also nearing his limit.
He had to keep the Rotating Magnetic Field active at all tis, which left his mind extrely fatigued and his head slightly throbbing with pain.
Only Ren Mian showed no change; she was still radiant.
"Those Forest Patrol Clan mbers must be close to breaking point as well," Ren Mian observed, looking toward the forest in the distance and then at Ji Xinghuo.
These stubborn forest hunters were very tough. If it weren’t for Ji Xinghuo, who consistently gave early warnings when they got close, allowing the team to detour and evade, they would have been caught up with long ago.
After three days of pursuit, both sides had traveled more than four hundred kiloters from the Forest Patrol Clan’s territory, well out of that tribe’s range of power.
Less than ten from the Forest Patrol Clan were still in pursuit.
Ji Xinghuo looked up at the sky and suddenly said, "It might rain tonight."
Chi Zhonglin was overjoyed, only then noticing the change in the weather, "If it rains, we can completely shake off those annoying followers of the Red Emperor."
Rainwater could not only wash away scents but also cover up their tracks.
They had been longing for rain, and at last, it seed to be coming.
However, Ren Mian shook her head, "Even without the rain, they wouldn’t have caught up. But if it really does rain, we’ll take the opportunity to make them pay for these days of pursuit."
"Counterattack them?"
Chi Zhonglin hesitated, fearing that there might be a high-ranking powerhouse hidden among the enemies.
"If there were any Legendary Level Forest Patrol Clansn after us, they would have acted by now." Ren Mian was very confident, "First, we’ll observe secretly; as long as there are no legends, we can move. What do you think?"
Jiangnan Caiyi was the first to state her position: "I’ll follow Sister’s decision."
"Good!"
Chi Zhonglin said fiercely, "Having chased us for so long, we must vent this frustration, otherwise I won’t be able to sleep when I get back to Earth."
"What’s your opinion, Xinghuo?" Ren Mian asked.
Ji Xinghuo slowly stood up, his eyes flashing with determination, and replied, "Whatever Sister Ren says, I’ll do."
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