Want to catch me Can you You couldn't back then either

At home, there are troublesome little ghosts; outside, there are man-eating tigers.

Ling Xiao, a fallen Immortal Emperor of his era, is caught in the middle, forced to watch both ends, trapped in a dilemma where he can’t fully exert his strength.

To escape Wuji’s pursuit, he has already burned through thirteen foundational Dao Marks—the very essence of an Immortal Emperor’s existence. Over nine great epochs of ruling the heavens, he had accumulated only three hundred and sixty-one in total. Back then, Wuji schemed to seize a hundred of them. Twenty-four were spent fleeing, and now another thirteen today. That leaves him with a mere two hundred and twenty-four!

Wuji’s exact number of Dao Marks remains unknown, but it must be at least two hundred and fifty—otherwise, he could never have secured the throne of Immortal Emperor so firmly!

If Ling Xiao continues squandering them recklessly, he’ll truly lose any chance of opposing Wuji. After all, he no longer rules the heavens and is under Wuji’s relentless suppression. The speed at which he can refine new Dao Marks has slowed to a crawl—if not halted entirely. Every mark he spends is irreplaceable!

But he has no choice!

A monstrous aberration has set its sights on his home’s most crucial treasure vault—the key to his resurgence. He cannot afford to lose it!

Thus, he ignites two more foundational Dao Marks, forcibly borrowing Wuji’s power. With one of his own marks, he forms a seal to suppress that damned aberration, dragging Wuji into the chaos as well!

If that aberration grows addicted to the taste of Wuji’s Dao Marks, his plan to divert disaster will succeed in an instant!

The cost far exceeds his expectations, but as long as the outcome aligns with his goals, it’s not a total loss!

"Ling Xiao!!!"

"You dare borrow my power? How bold!!!"

Wuji roars in fury, tearing through the river of time with a massive hand reaching for Ling Xiao!

Three unburned Dao Marks remain on the bronze coffin, which instantly shakes off Wuji’s grasp and flees into the distance.

Standing inside the coffin, Ling Xiao meets Wuji’s gaze across the endless flow of time, his eyes icy. "You’re angry over just one Dao Mark? Back then, you took a hundred from me!"

Wuji says nothing, only pressing forward relentlessly.

"Trying to catch me? Think you can?!"

"You couldn’t back then either!"

With that, Ling Xiao turns and leaves, as if resolved to something final, never looking back.

Wuji, of course, refuses to let him go. Without hesitation, he burns a Dao Mark of his own to give chase!

"Wait—you’re serious?!"

Ling Xiao’s Dao heart trembles as he feels the distance between them shrink drastically.

He never expected Wuji to be so determined this time, willing to burn a Dao Mark just to capture him!

Ling Xiao is a man with nothing left to lose—burning Dao Marks to escape is his only option.

But Wuji is the reigning Immortal Emperor!

The celestial realm is vast, and every Dao Mark is vital. Reckless expenditure would destabilize the heavens, breeding chaos and unforeseen calamities!

Unlike Ling Xiao in his prime, Wuji has only recently ascended. His foundation is shallow—how can he afford such extravagance?!

"Are you that desperate? Can’t even hold onto your throne?!"

Wuji remains silent, only accelerating further!

"Hah! Want the Epoch Vault? How many Dao Marks can you burn? Dare to fight me to the death?!"

"Do you even have the guts?!"

"I’ve already fallen from grace. If I can drag you down with me, it’ll be worth it!"

"Would you really sacrifice it all?!"

"You pathetic worm!!!"

Ling Xiao burns two more Dao Marks to widen the gap, then retaliates with razor-sharp words aimed straight at Wuji’s Dao heart!

Still, Wuji says nothing, only pushing forward with unyielding speed.

As the two Immortal Emperors race madly through the river of time...

The troublesome little ghosts at home are also growing restless.

In the Illusory Star Grotto, Chen Yi’s true body flushes an unnatural shade of red.

"Wh-what kind of technique is this…?"

"So hot…"

Hummm!

After a brief period of adjustment, his split consciousness finally stabilizes within the storm at the heart of the seal.

One-third of the Primordial Chaos Creation Disk’s surface is now covered by a swirling Taiji Yin-Yang diagram.

And Chen Yi’s split consciousness is trapped right in the middle!

Looking up, he sees black and white energies twisting like two primordial dragons. The Taiji diagram’s yin-yang fish rotate fluidly, their edges shimmering with golden light. Thick, profound Dao patterns flicker along the diagram’s outline, exuding an overwhelming, majestic force that locks Chen Yi’s consciousness in place—unable to escape, unable to dissipate!

"As expected of a celestial powerhouse. This ‘Heaven-Earth Wuji Cosmos Seal’ is impressive, but…"

"You’ve sealed one ‘me.’ Do you have the strength to seal another?"

"Even I’m not sure which one is the real me…"

Chen Yi smirks, injecting another twenty percent of his soul’s power into the backend data-processing center.

The earlier suicidal charge was just a decoy—a disposable strand of divine sense from the monitoring system.

The true main force lurks in the backend, waiting for the slumbering celestial powerhouse to awaken before detonating the chat group’s fiber-optic network, erasing all evidence with even greater devastation!

But plans change.

The celestial powerhouse’s lack of resistance piqued Chen Yi’s interest, prompting him to invest sixty percent of his soul’s power, turning the decoy into the main force!

Now that the backup main force is sealed and temporarily useless, it’s time for the original main force to act!

This time, Chen Yi doesn’t rush. He takes it slow, first pressing against the Heaven-Earth Wuji Cosmos Seal, testing its defenses before stealthily creeping toward the untouched regions of the Primordial Chaos Creation Disk.

The disk trembles slightly but quickly settles, as if already accustomed to such intrusions.

"Heh heh…"

……

Mid-flight, Ling Xiao suddenly shivers, an ominous premonition gripping him!

But before he can ponder it, a cracked Chaos Cauldron smashes into the rear of the bronze coffin!

BANG!!!

The coffin’s hull splits open, spewing forth billowing violet mist!

"Hahaha! Ling Xiao, you can’t escape now!"

Wuji laughs triumphantly, striding across the river of time, parting the dense fog as he closes in!

In this critical moment, Ling Xiao remains eerily calm.

Gently stroking the coffin’s surface, he murmurs tenderly, "Old friend, can you hold on? Help me one last time."

Hummm!

The bronze coffin trembles softly, emitting a faint chime—just like when they first met, wordless yet perfectly in sync.

The next instant—

The crack at the coffin’s rear widens violently. The Dao patterns on its surface dissolve, merging with Ling Xiao’s burning Dao Marks to unleash the most radiant light this world has ever seen!

Man and coffin become one. The river of time no longer hinders them as they vanish into the unknown.

"Ling Xiao! Don’t you dare run! Face me!!!"

Wuji gives chase, but the gap only widens. Eventually, he loses sight of his target and halts.

After all, he still has something to lose—unlike Ling Xiao, who has nothing left.

"Twice is enough! There won’t be a third time. You will not escape again!"

Wuji gazed into the River of Time for a long while, when suddenly, a dazzling golden light erupted from his eyes!

Buzzzz!!!

In an instant, the River of Time trembled violently. With supreme might, Wuji, the Immortal Emperor, severed history itself, cutting off Ling Xiao's path of return!

At the same time, he issued an Immortal Emperor's decree, commanding all beings at the Golden Immortal level or above to enter the River of Time and search. Those who discovered traces of Ling Xiao would be rewarded with a strand of Primordial Dao Mark, while those who pinpointed his hiding place would receive ten strands!

Ling Xiao, who had just narrowly escaped death, was instantly plunged into his darkest hour.

It's over!

There’s no going back anytime soon!