According to common sense, He Chen felt that in no more than twenty minutes, he would catch up with Ding Fan and the others. However, what puzzled He Chen was that after chasing them for an hour, he still had not seen any sign of them.

What was even stranger was that Ding Fan and his group seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

It should be noted that the He Family of Hao Mountain was famous for its tracking skills; no one targeted by the He Family had ever managed to escape. Yet this time, He Chen had lost track of a prodigal son.

He had previously guaranteed to Wang Luohao that he would kill Ding Fan within three days. Now, not to mention killing Ding Fan in three days, he didn't even know where Ding Fan was.

If outsiders knew that he had lost track of a prodigal son, the reputation of the He Family of Hao Mountain would be smashed by his own hands. Right then, He Chen, like a madman, frantically ran back and forth in the forest.

...

Ding Fan had not vanished into thin air. Knowing that the person pursuing him was an expert, Ding Fan didn't dare to continue leading Su Qinger and the others. Currently without the ability to protect himself, Ding Fan decided to give Su Qinger and the others some compressed biscuits before leading the assassin in another direction.

When they separated, Su Qinger felt somewhat reluctant to part, but she knew that Ding Fan must be in trouble and having them with him would only be a burden.

"Brother Fan, you must come to Dongcheng to find me. You promised to come and help me."

Ding Fan, seeing Su Qinger's pitiful eyes, found himself unable to refuse at that moment. "I promise you, I will come to see you."

After giving some quick instructions, Ding Fan then ran wildly in another direction. Su Qinger seemed somewhat despondent as she watched Ding Fan's disappearing figure…

Ding Fan's movement technique was not bad at all. Throughout his run, he intentionally left some traces. After running wildly for an hour, Ding Fan felt he had led the assassin far enough away and promptly set up an Invisibility Formation, concealing his whereabouts.

The Invisibility Formation was not some spectacular formation; in the Cultivation World, it was merely a basic lesson in formations. If the pursuer possessed Divine Sense, they would spot Ding Fan's hiding place in a glance.

Ding Fan had concealed his whereabouts for less than ten minutes when He Chen arrived. The latter, not discovering Ding Fan, ran back frustratedly along the path he had come from.

Ding Fan had been merely ten meters away from He Chen just now, and the situation had indeed been extremely perilous.

Watching He Chen walk away, Ding Fan let out a long breath of relief. He Chen's strength was formidable, and had they fought, Ding Fan would mostly likely have been at a disadvantage. Fortunately, the other had not discovered him.

Once the formidable enemy had gone far, Ding Fan did not rush to travel. At that moment, he took out the Spiritstone Essence. After forming the Finger Decision, Ding Fan began a cycle of breathing in and out, starting his cultivation.

At that moment, the Spiritual Energy from the stone milk surged into Ding Fan's body, which absorbed it desperately like parched land soaking up sweet dew.

In front of such abundant Spiritual Energy, Ding Fan expertly drove it through his body, constantly impacting his channels, and at this time, his governor and conception vessels were swaying, on the brink of being breached.

Previously, when using the Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass for cultivation, Ding Fan had been extremely cautious, since the spirit herb was limited; he could not absorb all of its Spiritual Energy, needing to save some seeds.

But now it was different. Rich for once, the Spiritual Energy from the Spiritstone Essence was incredibly abundant, and he could fully indulge in its use. Moreover, with a formidable enemy nearby, if he could advance to the Third Level of Qi Cultivation, then Ding Fan would have many spells at his disposal, thereby gaining the capacity to fight.

At this time, wisps of white smoke rose above Ding Fan's forehead, and his brow was covered with fine beads of sweat. Ding Fan's eyes were tightly closed, and he felt that he was touching the barrier of the Second level of Qi training, possibly breaking through to the Third Level the next second.

Boom...

A burst of energy erupted from Ding Fan, who then slowly opened his eyes. At that moment, the outside world became clearer, and he saw it with greater clarity.

Finally, he had reached the Third Level of Qi Cultivation!

Ding Fan controlled the True Qi circulating within him for one complete cycle. At this time, the governor and conception vessels had been breached, and the True Qi, under Ding Fan's command, continuously darted through various channels in his body.

After a while, Ding Fan stopped cultivating and stood up. Unknowingly, he had cultivated throughout the night, but this night's cultivation had been worthwhile; he had finally breached the governor and conception vessels and entered the Third Level of Qi Cultivation.

"What… what are you doing… Help, help!"

Just then, a woman's cries for help came from not far away.

Having reached the Third Level of Qi Cultivation, Ding Fan already possessed Divine Sense. At that moment, he swept his Divine Sense over the area, and to his great surprise, the person crying for help was Su Qinger.

Ding Fan was stunned. Could it be that they hadn't taken another route last night but had come to find him instead?

Ding Fan became restless; he couldn't just watch as Su Qinger faced trouble. Standing by idly was not an option, so he immediately darted toward the location of the incident…

"Heaven has actually bestowed upon me such a beautiful woman. If I don't make use of her, that would indeed be too disrespectful to the heavens."

Under a towering giant tree, He Chen's eyes glowed blue as he stared intently at the beautiful woman in front of him.

He Chen could never have dreamed that within this deep forest, such a stunning beauty would appear before him, almost like a gift from heaven. Exhausted from a night's journey, he was just about to vent his frustration on this beautiful woman.

"Do you know who I am? I'm from the Su Family of Dongcheng. If you lay a finger on me, our Su Family will never let you off!" The beauty spoke boldly, yet her expression could not hide her fear and nervousness.

"Hmph, even if you were from the Jade Emperor's family, I'd still treat you the same..." He Chen sneered, then reached out and grabbed the beauty's collar.

The beauty startled and hastily stepped back, but she lost her footing and fell to the ground.

"Help, help..." The beauty stared in terror at He Chen as he approached her.

He Chen licked his lips. "Just serve me obediently..."

After speaking, He Chen pounced directly towards the woman on the ground. She was instantly terrified, her complexion turning pale.

Whoosh... Just then, a sword light suddenly swept over, startling He Chen. He had not expected someone to ambush him in the depths of the forest.

However, He Chen indeed had some skills; although the sword light came quickly, he managed to dodge the sword aimed at him by twisting his body.

The sudden change left the beauty on the ground stunned; however, when she saw the side face of her rescuer, she frowned immediately. The person coming to her rescue was none other than Ding Fan, who had made a pass at her in a taxi when she came to Immortal's Peak. She hadn't expected Ding Fan to appear here and rescue her.

The woman on the ground was not Su Qinger; she was Su Maner, Su Qinger's twin sister.

That day, not wanting to implicate everyone, Su Maner had gone alone into the forest to search for Su Qinger. Being an outdoor survival enthusiast and member of an outdoor survival club, she was quite fortunate to have survived three days in the Primal Forest.

Ding Fan stood in front of Su Maner with his sword in one hand, and by now, he also knew that the woman was not Su Qinger.

The twins looked incredibly alike, and Ding Fan was so concerned about Su Qinger's safety that he had mistaken Su Maner for her.

However, since he was already here, it didn't matter who it was anymore.

"Are you Ding Fan?" He Chen scrutinized Ding Fan from top to bottom.

Ding Fan nodded. "Yes, it's me."

Ding Fan was sure that the other party was a tracking expert. Now that they had met, there was no point in hiding any longer.

"Not bad, you are the first person ever to disappear from before me, He Chen. Out of appreciation for you, you may use the soft sword in your hand to end it yourself," He Chen said.

Ding Fan felt like he heard the funniest joke in the world. "I don't know where you get your confidence from, do you think you can kill me?"

If it were yesterday, Ding Fan would indeed have only been able to run, but now, having reached the Third Level of Qi Cultivation, he could use some spells, and he was confident of retreating whole even if he couldn't win the fight.

"Then I will let you die a bit more disgracefully!" He Chen scoffed coldly.

After speaking, He Chen's figure suddenly moved, Ding Fan was stunned; the opponent's movement technique was so fast.

Bang!

He Chen's kick landed directly on Ding Fan's chest, causing him to spit out blood.

"To think I, at the third Human Level, would find it too easy to take care of a wastrel like you," He Chen said with a smug face as he watched Ding Fan spit blood from his kick.

Su Maner frowned deeply. Although she did not have a good impression of Ding Fan, he had come to rescue her after all. Seeing Ding Fan kicked and spitting blood, she began to get nervous.

"Human Level three?" Ding Fan unyieldingly climbed up from the ground. He had indeed underestimated the opponent's movements, which had caught him off guard. "Even if you were at the third Ghost Level, killing me wouldn't be so easy."

"Nonsense, I'll send you off to become a ghost first," He Chen's figure shook, and he suddenly dashed toward Ding Fan.

Having been caught off guard once, Ding Fan was not about to be fooled again. He swiftly dodged, evading the opponent's fist.

"Su Maner, you run!" Ding Fan shouted to Su Maner as he found a chance.

Su Maner bit her lip. However, she showed no intention of leaving; Ding Fan was risking his life for her, how could she possibly leave at this moment!

"Thinking of running? I will kill you first and then take good care of her!" He Chen laughed unrestrainedly.

"You fool, why don't you hurry up and run to call for help? Besides, if you leave, I might also have a chance to escape," Ding Fan scolded when he saw Su Maner refusing to go.

Su Maner hesitated for a moment, but then she felt Ding Fan had a point. She stood up.

"Hang in there; I'll go call for help." After saying this, Su Maner ran swiftly away.