Linshui City, located eight thousand li from the Xuanqing Temple, was a city established by rogue cultivators. It began as a temporary outpost for a few rogue cultivators to facilitate the exchange of goods. As its popularity grew, some of the more powerful rogue cultivators gradually joined forces, forming an organization called the "Wanderer's Alliance." They began to develop the area into a proper city, establishing their alliance headquarters within its walls. They were unrestrained, but when trouble arose, the alliance members would unite as one to face external threats. This reputation attracted many rogue cultivators, who flocked to join. However, the Wanderer's Alliance was not open to just anyone. For instance, those with notorious reputations or those being hunted by the four great sects were not permitted entry. They acted with considerable deference to the four great sects; otherwise, they would never have been able to grow and thrive.
Linshui City was quite large, spanning about thirty li in circumference. It had its own trading cities and businesses, and even some sects and families had set up outposts there. As a result, it was always bustling with people coming and going. Precisely because of this, the Xuanqing Temple had spent a huge sum to purchase a plot of land in the city and establish a teleportation formation, making it convenient for cultivators to travel between the trading cities.
Li Yan felt a wave of dizziness. After what felt like traversing a long stretch of time and space, yet also like a mere instant, the white halo before his eyes gradually dissipated, and the sensation in his body returned to normal.
Li Yan had experienced this sensation several times a few months ago. Some of those times had been even more disorienting than this. Even with his cultivation, it would take him a long time to recover after the teleportation was complete.
A soft light appeared before Li Yan's eyes. He was in a spacious room, the walls of which were illuminated by the gentle glow of night-luminescent pearls. Li Yan glanced around and saw that just as the white light of the teleportation formation had faded, two figures had already leaped off it. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared through the doorway ahead. It was the purple-robed youth and the hunchbacked old man, seemingly in a great hurry.
The instant the purple-robed youth's figure vanished, Li Yan heard a cold laugh. The two black-robed men had also stepped off the teleportation formation and were walking unhurriedly towards the door. One of them was letting out a sinister chuckle.
These four people didn't even spare Li Yan a single glance before disappearing one after another beyond the doorway.
Back at the Xuanqing Temple, Li Yan had already discerned some of the situation. These two groups seemed to be in a chase, one fleeing and one pursuing. However, he had no interest in meddling in others' affairs.
He surveyed the room. There was only one teleportation formation here. To the side of the door stood a middle-aged Daoist priest in the robes of the Xuanqing Temple. He was looking at Li Yan with a smile, as if he hadn't minded at all that the four before had completely ignored him.
When the middle-aged Daoist saw Li Yan looking over, he gave him a slight smile. "Fellow Daoist, if you require further teleportation, please come back tomorrow. The formation needs to be maintained today. Please forgive us."
Hearing this, Li Yan's thoughts raced, and he instantly understood the Xuanqing Temple's meaning. They were waiting for the Golden Core cultivator to return tonight, so they had halted all teleportations. However, based on what Daoist Gong had previously implied, even if the teleportation formation were to be activated again tomorrow, the Xuanqing Temple would likely be conducting strict checks on those departing.
Li Yan returned the smile with a nod and walked towards the door. When he stepped out, he found that he was in a courtyard. It seemed he had been in a room in the rear courtyard. After crossing the sizable courtyard, the building in front turned out to be a shop facing the street. Outside the shop, the streets were bustling with crowds—a truly lively scene.
Li Yan had already inquired about the situation in Linshui City before his arrival, and today he had gotten an even more detailed description from Daoist Gong. He knew there was also a trading city here and naturally wanted to go take a look. Perhaps he might come across something he needed.
Several hours later, Li Yan appeared at the gate of Linshui City. He walked towards the gate with a blank expression, but inwardly he was sighing. The materials to refine the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike were indeed not so easy to find. It wasn't something he could just stumble upon right after setting out. However, he had received news of another main ingredient. A few years ago, No-Suffering Powder had appeared here and was bought by a middle-aged woman.
Although this news was old, it ignited a spark of hope in Li Yan's heart. It seemed that apart from the extremely rare Infinite Roam Tree, the other four materials could indeed be found.
Lost in thought, Li Yan followed the flow of people out of Linshui City. He planned to fly north from here for a day before looking for the next sect with a teleportation formation, which would still be within the jurisdiction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
Linshui City, as its name suggested, was a city by the water, and the water bordered the city. It was surrounded on three sides by a river. Three rivers snaked their way into the dense jungle outside the city, a jungle filled with countless swamps and small streams.
After leaving the city, Li Yan got his bearings. Gazing at the lush, green jungle under the setting sun, his figure flickered and vanished from sight.
Li Yan flew across the sky, a continuous stretch of forest rolling beneath his feet. After leaving Linshui City, the sky was initially filled with many streaks of light, but as he got farther from the city, the world seemed to become vaster. Even when he occasionally encountered other flying cultivators, they would give each other a wide berth. Li Yan maintained the appearance of a Qi Condensation cultivator, standing on a flying sword in a convincing manner. Although his flying speed was not slow, it was ultimately much slower than flying with his true strength. Li Yan felt frustrated and considered reverting to his early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation once he was another ten thousand li away.
During his flight just now, several groups of cultivators had seen that Li Yan was alone and only at the Qi Condensation Realm, and they had seemed inclined to approach. However, they were still relatively close to Linshui City. Li Yan had also deliberately put on an arrogant demeanor, which made those auras, after sweeping over him, hesitate. They had clearly mistaken him for a descendant of a powerful cultivator from a nearby sect or the city. In the end, they gave up. People like that often carried life-saving treasures, and the moment a move was made, a message would be sent back, and someone would quickly come to their aid.
Seeing this, Li Yan couldn't help but ponder as he flew. 'It seems my previous plan won't work. From now on, I'll have to change into a Qi Condensation cultivator and use my Bloodleaf Sect identity only when I'm approaching a teleportation point. For daily travel, I'll have to change my appearance and revert to my Foundation Establishment level. That should save me some trouble.'
With this cautious approach, he released his powerful Divine Sense, doing his utmost to avoid groups of cultivators. He flew forward for several more hours. Suddenly, Li Yan, who was in mid-flight, had a change in expression. He turned his head to look at a distant area to his side. There were fluctuations of Spirit Power there; clearly, people were fighting. Li Yan had no desire to get involved in trouble, but he couldn't just fly over the area so brazenly. He steered his flying sword and descended into the jungle below.
After landing in the jungle, Li Yan unleashed his movement technique and began to race through the trees. But after dashing forward for several dozen li, he came to a sudden halt. He quickly concealed his aura, and a moment later, even his figure transformed into an extremely faint wisp of mist, drifting almost invisibly through the forest, subtly blending in with the faint vapor rising from the streams. It was the "Stealthy Night Art" from the True Scripture of Gui Water. Li Yan had already cultivated this immortal art to the first layer and could now borrow objects to transform his physical form. However, if one observed carefully, some clues could still be discerned in his form. But as the sky was already dark, he had become almost one with his surroundings. If he reached the second layer, even this faint, almost imperceptible wisp of mist would become even more convincing. At that point, it would be very difficult for any Foundation Establishment cultivator of the same rank to discover his presence.
Just now, as Li Yan was speeding through the forest, he had suddenly sensed a somewhat familiar aura with his Divine Sense. But this person shouldn't have been here. And that person seemed to have also sensed an anomaly in the forest and was now circling towards his location.
A few breaths after Li Yan transformed into mist, the sound of something tearing through the air came from the distance. In an instant, a blurry figure appeared in the sky above the jungle where Li Yan was. As the figure stopped, his face gradually became clear. It was a scholar dressed in a moon-white robe. He stood in the air, his Divine Sense instantly spreading out. After a sweep, he frowned slightly. "Perhaps I really did sense it wrong. Was that just a small spirit beast in the stream just now, which is why there was a faint fluctuation of Spirit Power? I've been searching all this way. According to the Daoist guarding the Xuanqing Temple's teleportation formation in the city, those people just arrived this morning. They can't have gotten far. I wonder if it's over there?" The scholar seemed to be muttering to himself. He then looked up at the place where Li Yan had previously sensed the Spirit Power fluctuations. After another sweep of the area, he tapped his palm with his half-open folding fan. It transformed into a streak of white light and shot away. But as his fan half-opened, a thick stench of blood was left behind in this area.
A dozen or so breaths after the scholar left, Li Yan's figure slowly materialized from the mist above the stream. He gazed in the direction the scholar had disappeared, his eyes narrowing. 'It's that Bloodhand Flying Sickle, the cultivator with the surname Lin. Didn't he teleport east yesterday? Why is he here now? From what he was saying just now, it seems he's tracking our group. Could he also be related to that mysterious force, just like Qin Chengyi?'
Thinking of this, Li Yan stood rooted to the spot in deep thought. After a moment, he made a decision. 'If I can find a clue about the mysterious force here, I can report it back to the sect. Bloodhand Flying Sickle is heading towards the place with the Spirit Power fluctuations. When I scanned it earlier, it was at most some Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting. I can follow him. If things look bad, I must flee immediately.'
Having made his decision, Li Yan became even more cautious. He simply activated the "Stealthy Night Art" directly in the forest, transforming into a wisp of light smoke and weaving through the trees at high speed. His speed was not much slower than flying, but casting the spell like this consumed a great deal of Spirit Power.
After half an incense stick's worth of time, Li Yan arrived at a place several dozen li away. From a distance, he saw the scholar, Bloodhand Flying Sickle, hiding in a large tree, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on a clearing in the forest.
When Li Yan followed his gaze, he was stunned. He hadn't wanted to startle the cultivators fighting here earlier, so his Divine Sense had only swept over them briefly before moving on. Now, tracking the Lin-surnamed scholar from a close distance, he had concealed his aura even more and hadn't fully released his Divine Sense, relying only on his eyesight. At this moment, four people were fighting in the clearing. Li Yan recognized all of them. It was the purple-robed youth's group of two and the two black-robed men who had teleported with him.
The purple-robed youth was holding a foot-tall white jade vase, standing nervously behind the hunchbacked old man. The hunchbacked old man, however, was fighting one against two, facing the two black-robed cultivators.
At this moment, the hunchbacked old man showed no trace of his previous stoicism. His body stood ramrod straight, the aged look gone from his face. His eyes shot out sharp glints of light. He was fighting one against two without being at a disadvantage in the slightest. At this distance, Li Yan could feel that the hunchbacked old man's cultivation was at the peak of the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment, perhaps even higher. It was even possible that he had half a foot in the Pseudo-Core Realm.
The cultivation levels emanating from the two black-robed men were both at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. For a Great Circle Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone fighting one against two, fighting one against ten would be an easy victory. However, these two black-robed men were clearly proficient in a combined attack technique. Their offense and defense were linked as if in a formation. Moreover, the hunchbacked old man also had to protect the purple-robed youth behind him. For a time, the two of them managed to fight the old man to a standstill.