Seeing the three chasing after him, Hu Le instantly transformed into a "作" (a Chinese character) shape, surrounding him.

He was completely unafraid. His gaze turned cold, and taking advantage of the fact that the three were not yet on their feet, he wrapped the plain-colored cloud banner around his body and transformed into a cloud of light as he rushed towards the Antarctic Immortal.

The main reason he chose the Old Man of the South Pole as his breakthrough point was because the Old Man of the South Pole had suffered the most severe injuries.

Seeing Hu Le charging recklessly, the Antarctic Immortal dared not be negligent. He waved the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, creating thousands of golden lotuses that danced around him.

Bang!

The cloud light and the golden lotus collided, resulting in a draw, and both vanished in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, Hu Le crashed into the chest of the Antarctic Immortal.

Although the Antarctic Immortal had cultivated for many years and possessed a powerful primordial spirit, how could his physical strength compare to that of Hu Le, who had obtained the essence of Pangu's blood and cultivated Pangu's physical body?

In a fleeting moment.

The Antarctic Immortal groaned, spat out a mouthful of blood, and flew backward.

Hu Le, on the other hand, took the opportunity to break free from the encirclement of the three men.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

Xuandu and Maitreya, seeing that they had finally caught up with Hu Le, only to have him escape again in an instant, jumped up and chased after him.

Hu Le flew ahead, and although he was caught up several times, he managed to break through the encirclement each time by relying on the transformations of the Pangu Mystic Art.

With his incredibly strong physical body and the protection of the Plain Cloud Banner, the three of them were unable to harm him in the slightest.

After a long struggle, Hu Le finally broke through the sea eye and appeared in the sky above the East China Sea.

The three of them followed closely behind, relentlessly pursuing him.

Taking advantage of the brief moment Hu Le was trying to determine his location, the three of them caught up again.

Hu Le could only wield his bamboo staff and fight the three of them, tumbling and rolling around in a chaotic melee.

As the four fought fiercely, the battlefield continued to shift across the sea.

On the scene, Hu Le was surrounded by three people. Although he looked a bit disheveled, he relied on the Pangu Mystic Art to transform. He suddenly transformed into a giant, then into a speck of dust, then into a wisp of wind, and then into a fish or shrimp in the sea.

In an instant, it changed in countless ways, taking on any size as desired.

As Hu Le grew stronger and more unpredictable in battle, employing increasingly sophisticated and unconventional tactics, the three were ultimately unable to truly subdue him...

The four fought for a while longer.

Suddenly.

Then Hu Le laughed heartily, "Everyone, thank you for seeing me off!"

The next moment, Hu Le took a step forward and, like a dream bubble, merged into the air, instantly disappearing from the spot.

"What?!"

The three were shocked to see this, but it was Xuandu Daoist who reacted and threw out the Qiankun Diagram, swiping it at the spot where Hu Le had disappeared.

A large chunk of that space vanished instantly, turning into true nothingness.

This Qiankun Diagram is a top-tier spatial treasure, capable of not only storing people and objects but also easily capturing a piece of space.

When Xuandu retrieved the Qiankun Diagram, he shook it, and the space instantly shattered, turning into a mass of earth, fire, water, and wind. However, he found no trace of Hu Le.

"This Eastern Divine Lord! Haha... He's truly cunning!"

Xuan Du laughed in extreme anger, drawing sidelong glances from the two people beside him.

Maitreya, while scanning the surroundings with his divine sense, frowned and asked, "Why are you laughing, fellow Daoist?"

Xuandu shook his head and said, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to waste your energy. Look, where is that?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the northeast, and looking out, a misty fairy island appeared in everyone's sight a thousand miles away.

"Could it be... that is Penglai Immortal Island?"

Although it was the first time the Antarctic Immortal had come to the East Sea and he did not know Penglai Island, he could guess what it was based on Xuandu's tone and expression.

Xuandu nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing this, Maitreya withdrew his divine sense and asked in surprise, "Fellow Daoist means... Fellow Daoist Hu has already returned to Penglai Island? Then just now..."

Xuan Du shook his head and sighed: "They are obviously proficient in a spatial escape technique, but they hadn't shown it before. They only used it suddenly just now, catching us off guard."

Previously, Hu Le was surrounded and chased by three people, and he was in danger several times, but he always kept it hidden and did not use this escape technique.

The three of them hadn't considered this possibility, but its sudden attack caught them completely off guard, leaving them no time to stop it. Afterwards, they could only watch helplessly as he made his escape...

This was truly a single misstep that led to total defeat!

After a moment of dejection, the three realized that Hu Le was now protected by the island's great formation, and they could no longer do anything to him. They had no choice but to reluctantly admit defeat.

Finally, it was Xuandu Daoist who recovered his composure first, and laughed freely: "What a fine Eastern Divine Lord! I have learned my lesson today. Oh well, it's just that I have no affinity with that Northern Flag."

Maitreya smiled wryly upon hearing this, especially when he saw that Xuandu Daoist was holding the Purple Mansion Sword in one hand, carrying the Qiankun Diagram in the other, and had the Lidi Flame Banner tucked into his arms.

His mood worsened, a bittersweet feeling tinged with a touch of angst...

Seeing that things were hopeless, the Old Man of the South Pole simply let go of his worries and stopped thinking about the Kan-Gen-Kun Banner. Instead, he clutched the wound on his chest and complained to Maitreya.

"Well done, Fellow Daoist Maitreya! You truly show no mercy in your attack!"

Maitreya smiled apologetically, "It was just a slip-up, please forgive me, fellow Daoist!"

Having said that, he took out two innate Bodhi seeds and handed them to the Antarctic Immortal, saying, "This is my apology. I hope you will accept it and forgive my mistake."

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need for that."

The Old Man of the South Pole was just joking. He was injured earlier only because he was not skilled enough. How could he blame others? Besides, he had not shown any mercy earlier.

The three of them stood in mid-air and soon began to chat and laugh.

It was as if their life-or-death struggle had never happened.

After exchanging a few words of laughter, the three were about to part ways when suddenly a lucky cloud drifted in from afar, upon which stood a boy in green robes.

"Greetings, esteemed seniors."

The boy flew to the three of them and bowed respectfully.

"Oh? And where did you come from, boy?" Maitreya asked with a smile.

"I am a pageboy under the command of the Eastern Divine Lord of Penglai. I have come to pay my respects to the three seniors on the orders of my master," the boy in green replied crisply.

The three exchanged glances, somewhat curious about the boy's purpose.

Of course, they didn't think that Hu Le had specifically sent the boy to mock them. After all, they believed that someone of Hu Le's status and position wouldn't be so shallow...

"So you are a disciple of Fellow Daoist Dongji. May I ask what instruction he has given you?" Xuandu asked.

"The master originally intended to invite the three seniors to the island to discuss the Great Dao, but unfortunately he is currently too busy. Therefore, he specially ordered me to prepare some gifts for the three seniors as a token of his appreciation. I hope the three seniors will accept them."

As he spoke, he took out three brocade boxes from the pouch at his waist, intending to distribute them to the three people.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Dongji is too kind. I am grateful, but as for the gift, there's no need..."

Xuan Du Daoist waved his hand, then unleashed a sword light that whistled away into the distance.

The Old Man of the South Pole smiled kindly at the boy: "Go back and tell your master that I appreciate his kindness, so there's no need for him to spend any more money."

Then, he urged the auspicious clouds beneath his feet, and, leaning on his cane, drifted away.

Maitreya did not accept the gift. Instead, he casually gave the boy a Bodhi seed, then flew away towards Mount Sumeru, clutching the blue lotus banner...