Chapter 229: Chapter 227: Chasing Life "Retreat!" The four martial artists combined forces but failed to kill the female Daoist; instead, one died and another was injured in an instant. The remaining three had no desire to resist any longer and decisively escaped in different directions, breaking through. However, the female Daoist harbored a deep hatred for the Dragon-slaying Saber, Song Qijun, who had nearly ambushed her, and she pursued him relentlessly, determined to kill him. Song Qijun pushed his lightweight skill to the limit, his whole body glowing with a faint white light, constantly bouncing around various houses and buildings to evade the female Daoist’s flying sword as much as possible. In the midst of their chase, Song Qijun felt his true strength nearing exhaustion, and he couldn’t help but show a bitter, despairing smile. Just as he closed his eyes, awaiting death, "Woo woo woo!" A black axe came tearing through the air, striking the female Daoist’s flying sword with a "clang" and saving the Dragon-slaying Saber from certain death. "Who!" The female Daoist was furious, and the flying sword turned into a silver light, shooting toward the initial source of the disturbance. Unexpectedly, the black axe didn’t proceed along its original trajectory but suddenly stopped mid-air. Then, it flew back at an even faster speed, with a "clang" again knocking aside the silver light! "What! A fellow companion?" The female Daoist was shocked and hesitated, standing uncertain, while the silver light returned to float protectively in front of her, revealing its true form. It was a three-inch-long handleless silver sword, swimming around her like a fish. After deflecting the silver light, the black axe struck a house with a "bang," and no further sound came from it. "It should not be a fellow companion but a martial artist’s trickery." After investigating for a while, the female Daoist concluded. Searching the area, she could no longer see Song Qijun’s figure, nor could she discover Lou Yi, who was using his "disguise" talent. "Damn it, if I could break through to Foundation Establishment and project my divine sense, none of them would escape!" The female Daoist muttered somewhat unwillingly. This time, she did not continue her search and directly turned back. "It’s strange, not in line with her usual style." Lou Yi, hiding in a low house, observed everything. He had just sneaked nearby and discovered Song Qijun was being pursued. After some thought, he decided to act in secret. With his disguise talent and experiments over the past few days proving that the female Daoist couldn’t detect him, he naturally wouldn’t stand by and watch someone die. The female Daoist’s retreat just now certainly wasn’t out of goodwill, but likely because her cultivation had reached its limit. This indicated that her cultivation wasn’t infinite, similar to a martial artist’s true strength, having the potential to be exhausted. "Immortal Masters are not invincible," Lou Yi realized with a hint of clarity. But he also understood that ordinary martial artists couldn’t kill an Immortal Master. Compared to cultivators, martial artists were far behind in mechanisms. Only by getting close was there a slim chance of victory, but would a cultivator be foolish enough to let them get close? He needed to continue enhancing his cultivation, Lou Yi thought. Over the next two days, Tai City still trembled under the terrifying shadow of the female Daoist. Several more batches of faction leaders were dragged out and slaughtered. And Lou Yi’s energy finally broke through to five thousand. He looked at the attribute panel and activated the barely visible "+" next to Lou’s Axe Skill: Lou’s Axe Skill (Accomplished 0/5000) → Lou’s Axe Skill (Perfection). Unfamiliar memories emerged in his mind. In the Great Wilderness, spanning a thousand miles, vegetation was rampant, and beasts roamed in droves. After the Axe King, Ahei, emerged gallantly, the human race’s circumstances improved, gradually becoming the dominant force in the Great Wilderness. Several hundred years later, the Great Wilderness unified, and Ahei’s descendants established the Cang Kingdom. Axe skills became mainstream in the nation, eventually leading to the birth of a genius unmatched in history, known as the Axe Saint. The Axe Saint, building on the Axe King’s foundation, created the soul-devouring divine skill suitable for group combat, allowing the Cang Kingdom to frequently gain the upper hand in battles with neighboring countries. In his later years, the Axe Saint started refining the ancient axe skills of the Axe King. Among them, he saw great potential for improvement in the "Vortex" skill. After throwing the axe, there was a way to change its movement direction, but it couldn’t be sustained. This posed significant limitations in actual combat. Wasn’t there any way to improve it? The Axe Saint believed that as long as a person’s conviction reached a certain strength, they could control their weapon. To achieve this, there must be a unity between man and axe, with the axe in the person and the person in the axe. He spent his days in the courtyard with the axe that had accompanied him in numerous victorious battles for decades, conducting his research. Whether in rain or shine, while eating or sleeping, the axe never left his side. There was even an incident of him holding the axe, spending a night amid the wind and snow, turning into a snowman, reaching a pathological degree. Although other martial artists in the Cang Kingdom highly revered the Axe Saint, they unanimously believed the Axe Saint had gone mad, losing his sanity. Until one night, they heard a wild laugh echoing through the air. They all rushed over and saw a black silhouette repeatedly flying back and forth in the air, leaving everyone in disbelief... In reality, Lou Yi slowly opened his eyes. A surge of energy poured into his body from the void. However, this energy was different from the usual; it didn’t flow into his limbs but surged toward his head, feeling exceptionally cool. His consciousness became extraordinarily clear and acute, unlike ever before. Simultaneously, his Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique activated automatically, and six strands of secret blood flowed ten times faster than usual, feeding back a faint, invisible ripple to the area above his throat. "With the spirit commanding the essence, nurturing the spirit with essence." Recalling the True Intent of the Soaring Eagle to the Sun he once saw, Lou Yi felt such enlightenment in his heart. "Boom!" He felt his brain explode. Next, a "cry" echoed in his mind, as if a soaring eagle was born within! It couldn’t be seen or touched, but Lou Yi could clearly perceive its existence. The world before his eyes became much clearer, more real. He could see the floating dust in the air, track their movement, capture their moments of stillness. Dozens of feet away, on the ground, an ant—it could be accurately judged in which direction it would move next. And his bond with the axe in his embrace became even tighter. It seemed that with just a single thought... "Whoosh!" The next moment, the axe flew out from his embrace. It landed accurately on the ground ten feet away and then swiftly flew back into his hand. The original spinning skill could only affect the axe’s trajectory after being thrown, and couldn’t sustain the influence. But now, everything was different. Lou Yi looked at the attribute panel: [Name: Lou Yi] [Age: 19/90] [Realm: Six Blood Warrior (160/600)] [Cultivation Technique: Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique (Tier Two, Accomplished 0/10000+1 Spirit Tempering Flower)] [Skills: Lou’s Axe Skill (Perfection), Extreme Fist (Accomplished 0/3000), Light Body Technique (Accomplished), Secret Skill: Dragon Piercing Technique - Fragment (1)] [Talent: Petrification (Accomplished 0/10000+1 Ice Soul), Swift (Proficient 0/100+1 Celestial Silkworm Silk), Disguise (Proficient 0/300+1 Earth Vein Spirit Marrow), Tenacity (Mastery 0/1000+1 Spirit-devouring Vine), Venom (Beginner 0/20+1 Bone Decay Grass), Control (Beginner 0/20+1 Soul Nourishing Lotus), Fireproof (Beginner 0/30+1 Hundred-Year Phoenix Tree Core)] [Energy: 23] Lou’s Axe Skill had already reached perfection, unable to advance for the time being. And he had acquired a new advanced axe skill: [Chasing Life] [Chasing Life]: Allows man and axe to communicate to an extent, with the ability to control the axe’s trajectory in real-time, adapting to track a designated target. (The stronger the spirit, the longer the tracking time.) ...