Translator: AnubisTL
In a desolate wilderness with sparse spiritual energy, Li Qing, who was heading north, found it difficult to calm his mind.
Endless mountain ranges surrounded him, and towering ancient trees filled the wilderness. In this pristine landscape, there was hardly a trace of human presence.
"I've heard that high-level cultivators develop a profound premonition after their divine souls grow stronger. Sudden inspiration might be a glimpse into the workings of fate."
"As I'm being hunted by a major Immortal Path sect, I should be extra cautious!"
Li Qing muttered to himself, then took out the Jade Ruyi, preparing to keep his aura concealed at all times.
In addition, he opened the storage pouch left behind by the deceased Ye Feng.
"Sure enough, there are Aura Concealment Talismans!" Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He had already used up all the Aura Concealment Talismans he had stored in his own pouch during his escape.
Ye Feng had been a skilled Talisman Master in his lifetime, and his storage pouch was filled with talismans of all kinds.
As expected, the pouch contained several bundles of finished talismans, each three fingers thick. They ranged in type and were quite diverse.
The collection included talismans for offense, defense, and utility, covering every need. Several high-grade talismans with purple runes were even set aside separately.
"A Thunderstorm Talisman? The superior version of the Thunder Flash Talisman!"
Li Qing was both shocked and delighted as he gathered all the talismans into his storage pouch, tucking several more into his chest for emergencies.
There were also quite a few Aura Concealment Talismans, all of Mid-Grade First-Tier quality. They were far more effective than the ones Li Qing had bought himself, with stronger effects and longer durations.
"This solves my immediate problem. With these talismans and the Jade Ruyi, I shouldn't have to worry about Qi Refining Realm cultivators discovering me."
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately slapped a Mid-Grade Aura Concealment Talisman onto himself. He then began constantly circulating the Jade Ruyi, heedless of conserving his mana.
He also deliberately suppressed his Vital Energy, reducing his life signs to their absolute minimum.
Now, even if a Qi Refining Realm cultivator came within five meters of Li Qing, they wouldn't be able to detect his presence. Even face-to-face, they wouldn't sense his cultivation level, only recognizing him by his appearance.
After completing all of this, Li Qing felt a sense of relief. He muttered to himself with satisfaction, "With this done, I can consider infiltrating a mortal city. With such a massive population, my presence will be even more concealed."
Li Qing quickly prepared to gather his storage pouch and head south to Maple Country. He planned to blend into any city he found and then sneak his way north.
From there, he could easily reach Wangyuan City and continue east to Liang Country.
From now on, the sky is the limit, and the sea is wide enough for any fish to leap!
"Let's go!"
With a leap, Li Qing moved through the complex mountain forest with the agility of a tiger or leopard.
He moved so quickly that, without conscious restraint, he might have left afterimages.
Throughout his journey, he kept his spiritual sense extended, sensing every movement around him and mapping the terrain in his mind. This allowed him to move with effortless grace at every step.
But soon, Li Qing's keen senses detected a powerful surge of energy emanating from the sky behind him.
He turned sharply, but the dense foliage of the forest obscured his vision. However, his spiritual sense extended outward, allowing him to witness the scene unfolding in the sky behind him.
A Serpent-Head Spirit Boat, its prow carved into the likeness of a serpent's head, sailed through the air with an arrogant swagger.
Several Heavenly River Sect disciples were aboard, channeling their mana together to propel this high-grade magical artifact.
"They actually tracked me down here!" Li Qing's heart pounded, his pupils narrowing slightly.
Without hesitation, he plunged into the dense jungle, concealing his aura completely. He even slowed his breathing to a barely perceptible whisper.
He remained motionless, ready to slip into the World of Eternal Night at any moment to weather the storm.
If it weren't for the complete absence of spiritual energy in the World of Eternal Night, which would stagnate or even regress his cultivation if he stayed too long, Li Qing would have gladly taken refuge there for an extended period.
Boom!
The sensing spirit boat soared overhead, and Li Qing exhaled a sigh of relief.
But his respite was short-lived. His divine sense clearly detected the spirit boat stopping just ahead!
!!!
Li Qing's heart lurched, and he clenched his fists.
On the Serpent-Head Spirit Boat, the Heavenly River Sect disciples all turned their gazes toward the bronze-textured Celestial Compass in Senior Brother Yang's hand.
"It's moving! It's moving!"
"Just now it was pointing north, but now it's moving again."
"Could it be..."
Senior Brother Yang, the leader of the group, could no longer contain the excitement in his eyes. His voice trembled slightly as he exclaimed, "Junior Brothers, that Demon Lord is nearby! Prepare to search thoroughly and capture him alive!"
"When we return to the sect, we'll exchange him for Essence Fusion Fruits and ask the sect's best Pill Refinement Elder to refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills."
"Here, I, Yang Xi, promise to take only one pill from the batch. The rest will be freely distributed among you. If anyone doesn't receive a share, I'll compensate them with sect contribution points or spirit stones!"
Even before they'd begun their search, Senior Brother Yang was already painting a rosy picture, and it worked perfectly. The remaining Heavenly River Sect disciples were instantly fired up.
"Senior Brother Yang is truly noble!"
"Let's prepare to search! That Demon Lord must be hiding in the mountains and forests."
"This is likely the closest we'll ever get to a Foundation Establishment Pill in our lives! We absolutely cannot let this opportunity slip away!"
"..."
In an instant, the spirit boat closed in on the forest, unleashing a torrent of winding spiritual light as the Serpent-Head Spirit Boat launched its attack.
In the blink of an eye, the towering ancient trees of the forest were reduced to splinters.
Boom!
Countless ancient trees snapped, shattered by streaks of blue, serpent-shaped spiritual energy attacks.
Hidden deep within the undergrowth, Li Qing's forehead beaded with cold sweat. One of the attacks had landed less than a meter from him!
It seemed the Serpent-Head Spirit Boat prioritized offensive power, capable of unleashing attacks comparable to a high-grade magical artifact. However, its speed was somewhat slower than ordinary spirit boats, and judging by the expressions of the disciples, operating it consumed a considerable amount of mana.
Completely concealed by the dense bushes, Li Qing narrowed his eyes. Having maintained his spiritual sense constantly extended, he had overheard the conversation of the Heavenly River Sect disciples on the spirit boat just now.
"Do these people have a magic artifact that can track me? Are they Heavenly Mechanism Masters skilled in divination? The Heavenly River Sect has such charlatans!"
Li Qing's expression grew grave. It seemed his situation was far more precarious than he had initially realized.
"Wait, only this group has arrived so far. It seems they're the only ones with the magic artifact to track me."
"No other Heavenly River Sect disciples have joined the search. If more had come, I'd have been exposed long ago."
"Are they trying to capture me alone to claim the bounty? The Heavenly River Sect is really going all out. To offer an Essence Fusion Fruit for my capture... they're truly insane."
Li Qing cursed inwardly, but his eyes remained fixed on the Serpent-Head Spirit Boat circling overhead.
As expected, sustaining such intense attacks with a Serpent-Head Spirit Boat would exhaust even several Late Qi Refining Realm disciples.
Before long, Senior Brother Yang made a decision.
"Let's all descend and search separately!"
At these words, a hint of hesitation flickered across some disciples' faces.
Li Qing's fearsome reputation had spread far and wide, especially after he'd slain a Qi Refining Realm Perfected Cultivator. They'd dared to hunt this Demon Lord only because they believed their numbers would give them an overwhelming advantage.
But when it came to splitting up and searching alone, they hesitated, fearing they would die at the Demon Lord's hands in a one-on-one encounter.
Yang Xi saw his Junior Brothers' apprehension and frowned. "What are you afraid of? This Demon Lord is cowardly and only knows how to hide. His combat strength is definitely lacking."
"He's just a rogue cultivator! A rogue cultivator!"
"Even if you encounter him, don't engage in prolonged combat. Just fire a signal!"
"Whoever finds him first, I guarantee they'll receive a Foundation Establishment Pill from the batch I refine."
With his words, the disciples finally showed some interest, realizing Senior Brother Yang had a point.
"That's right. Maybe the Demon Lord only killed that Law Enforcement Hall Senior Brother through trickery."
"Mm, let's follow Senior Brother Yang's advice and prepare accordingly."
Thus, including Senior Brother Yang, five Heavenly River Sect disciples dispersed to search for Li Qing's trail in the primeval forest.
"Huh? Footprints here!"
"Footprints here too! But they disappear at this tree."
"He might be nearby. Search carefully. He must be using an Aura Concealment Talisman, and those have limited effectiveness, lasting at most a few hours."
"..."
Watching the Heavenly River Sect disciples disperse, Li Qing, hidden in the undergrowth, sneered. His initial tension had eased.
"These people alone pose little threat. I just need to be wary of that Yang fellow."
Soon, a disciple approached Li Qing's hiding spot. The young man was clearly nervous, cautiously scanning his surroundings. Whenever he passed a bush large enough to conceal someone, he would command his flying sword to slash through it.
Finally, as he neared a particularly dense thicket, he cautiously slashed his sword through it.
But this time, before the blade could even reach its target, the bush began to tremble violently.
In the blink of an eye, a figure burst from within.
It was Li Qing, who had been coiled and ready to strike. His body was taut, his movements like thunder, his speed almost unimaginable.
Boom!
The air crackled with the sound of a fist breaking the sound barrier. Li Qing's punch left a trail of afterimages.
In an instant, before the disciple could even fully grasp the situation, his throat was crushed by a single punch.
Li Qing immediately caught his body, preventing him from falling and making too much noise.
The entire incident had been like a gust of wind passing through a dense forest.
After finishing, Li Qing carefully lowered the corpse to the ground, taking only the storage pouch from the disciple's waist.
He opened the pouch and glanced inside, quickly losing interest. There was nothing of value—just a couple hundred spirit stones. What a poor fellow.
It seemed not every disciple of the Heavenly River Sect was wealthy. Many were quite ordinary, lacking any special cultivation techniques and barely scraping by on resources just enough to afford their daily supply of pills.
Without lingering on the storage pouch, Li Qing coldly surveyed the other disciples searching the forest for his trail, like a venomous snake.
Ultimately, to avoid attracting more powerful figures from the Heavenly River Sect, he decided against killing them all.
Although Li Qing was confident in his plan, he knew that if he went through with it, the Heavenly River Sect would send Foundation Establishment Realm Elders after him.
"Let's get out of here first. Once we're in a mortal city, even if they have tracking Magic Artifacts, they might not be able to find us!" Li Qing thought to himself.
He lightened his footsteps and continued to conceal his aura as he left the area. This time, he was smarter, leaving no trace behind.
Only after he had traveled a considerable distance did the remaining Heavenly River Sect disciples belatedly realize that someone had died!
"Ah! Lin Ya is dead!"
Hearing the cry, Yang Xi strode over with a grim expression. He looked at the Celestial Compass in his hand, and the needle continued to point north.
"The Demon Lord is heading north! Keep pursuing him! Avenge Junior Brother Lin!"
Another disciple hesitated, the gruesome death of Junior Brother Lin clearly having instilled fear in the group.
"Maybe we should call the other Fellow Disciples to join us?" one disciple suggested.
Yang Xi's expression darkened further. "What are you afraid of? Can he really defeat the four of us?"
"If he truly had that ability, he would have killed us all long ago. The reason he hasn't acted must be because he's weak!"
"Let's go! This time, we'll move together. Even if that Demon Lord flees to the ends of the earth, we'll hunt him down!"
With renewed determination, the group once again boarded their spirit boat and soared toward the direction indicated by the Celestial Compass.
Night gradually fell. Under the cover of both the forest and the darkness, Li Qing's chances of being discovered dwindled further.
Like a tireless wild horse, he moved swiftly through the mountains and forests, racing northward at breakneck speed.
(End of the Chapter)
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