Translator: AnubisTL
Liang Country, Yu Continent, Jiangyun City.
This was now deep within Liang Country, nearing its southern reaches—truly within the Shangqing Sect's territory.
At noon, a muffled thud echoed through a wild forest on the outskirts of Jiangyun City.
Bang!
"Finally shaken off that woman's relentless pursuit. Foundation Establishment cultivators are truly terrifying. Their mana reserves are simply incomparable to those of Qi Refining cultivators."
A disheveled figure emerged from the forest, surrounded by several snapped, thick trees.
This was Li Qing, who had been fleeing for thousands of miles. His mana reserves were now completely depleted, even after burning through hundreds of low-grade and two mid-grade spirit stones.
Only by pushing his modified Serpent-Head Spirit Boat to its absolute limit, regardless of the cost, had Li Qing managed to escape Su Xin's pursuit.
Of course, this was also contingent on her reluctance to act recklessly. Within Liang Country's borders, even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she dared not pursue at full speed.
It hadn't been many years since the two sects had ended their Great War. Li Qing believed that Su Xin's hands were definitely stained with the blood of Shangqing Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators.
If this were to be exposed, Su Xin's situation would undoubtedly be far more dangerous than his!
"It seems my decision to flee to Liang Country was the right one!"
Li Qing exhaled deeply, but he didn't let his guard down. He knew that he was only temporarily safe. It was almost certain that his pursuers would continue their hunt.
"The most urgent task now is to recover my mana and figure out how the Heavenly River Sect is tracking me!"
With that, Li Qing retrieved his storage pouches.
There were six in total!
One belonged to Ye Feng, while the other five had been taken from the Heavenly River Sect disciples who had been pursuing him.
Li Qing quickly began inventorying the contents of the six pouches, hoping to discover how the Heavenly River Sect was able to maintain their lock on his position.
First, there were a substantial number of spirit stones. The combined total from all six pouches was more than enough to cover the spirit stones he had consumed on this journey, with plenty to spare.
There wasn't much of value to be found. The Heavenly River Sect strictly controlled the transmission of cultivation manuals and other inheritances, so ordinary Qi Refining Realm disciples wouldn't carry sect cultivation techniques on their person.
Moreover, Li Qing knew that killing a few Qi Refining Realm disciples wouldn't grant him access to the Heavenly River Sect's inheritance—that was unrealistic. If it were that easy to obtain, the sect likely wouldn't have stood firm in the immortal cultivation world for so many years.
There were some Magic Artifacts, but their quality was generally mediocre. Aside from a few Mid-Grade Magic Tools, most didn't catch Li Qing's eye.
Still, it wasn't a complete loss. The six storage pouches combined contained a significant amount of auxiliary ingredients for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill. While some overlapped with what he already had, there were also several he hadn't collected yet, filling in many gaps.
As a result, he was now close to completing a full Foundation Establishment Pill recipe, needing only two auxiliary ingredients and the main ingredient!
For a rogue cultivator, gathering Spirit Herbs for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill to this extent was already an extraordinary feat.
"Not bad. If I had the main ingredient, I could find someone to refine the pills for me."
Li Qing sighed deeply and continued searching.
Soon, in Yang Xi's storage pouch, he finally found a bronze compass. He remembered it—the Heavenly River Sect disciples had been fixated on this very item when they searched him earlier.
Li Qing narrowed his eyes, took the compass in hand, and used his meager spiritual energy to refine it.
The Celestial Compass's needle began spinning wildly, then slowly settled, pointing directly at him.
"So it's true. These great Immortal Path sects are not to be underestimated. They can track and locate me with just a small Magic Artifact like this."
"How exactly does it work?"
Curiosity piqued, Li Qing felt an urge to dismantle the compass and study its mechanism.
Unfortunately, the spirit patterns on it involved complex calculations and divination of heaven's will, a field he knew little about. Even if he took it apart, he wouldn't understand how it worked.
Li Qing tried leaving the compass in place while he began to move.
Not long after, the compass needle began to spin slowly, though with a slight delay. Nevertheless, it eventually pointed accurately in Li Qing's direction.
Seeing this, Li Qing's heart sank slightly. With just this function, the Heavenly River Sect could find him no matter where he hid, even at the ends of the earth!
"Do I really have to flee to the World of Eternal Night?"
Li Qing frowned deeply. If that were the case, he'd have to consider hiding his storage pouch outside.
He carried a large quantity of spirit stones and Spirit Herbs. If he stayed in the World of Eternal Night for too long, both the spirit stones and Spirit Herbs would lose their spirituality.
That would be a terrible waste.
"I could hide my storage pouch, but I don't know this area well. If someone finds it, I'll be bleeding money!"
Li Qing sighed deeply, unable to think of a good solution for the moment.
"Ah, let's restore my mana first."
With that, Li Qing found a secluded spot in the forest, held two spirit stones in each hand, and began to replenish his spiritual energy.
Once the spiritual energy within the two spirit stones was completely absorbed, he took out two more from his storage pouch and continued absorbing.
Using spirit stones to replenish one's mana was an extravagant act, something most rogue cultivators would never do.
But Li Qing couldn't afford to be frugal now. The heaven and earth spiritual energy in the area wasn't dense enough, so he had no choice but to rely on this method.
As he was on his seventh spirit stone exchange, his divine sense suddenly detected movement in the forest.
Startled, Li Qing initially thought Su Xin had tracked him down again and nearly teleported himself directly into the World of Eternal Night.
But he soon realized the group entering the wild forest were mortals with no cultivation at all. Judging by their youthful faces, they were likely teenagers, walking in a group of seven or eight toward the mountain's depths.
"Look here! Several trees have been smashed down. Could this be the place?"
"I can't go any further. It's certain death if we venture deeper. I have to leave!"
"Leave? Where can we go? The Lu Clan's immortal elders are all-powerful. My parents are still in their hands!"
"Don't be afraid. Let's keep going a bit further. I heard that strange ape is supposed to be in the ravine. It shouldn't be in this part of the forest."
"As soon as we find that strange ape, we'll send a signal for the Lu Clan's immortal elders to come and subdue it. Then we'll be free."
Li Qing, hidden nearby, overheard the conversation through his divine sense. He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
An immortal elder from the Lu Clan... a strange ape... and a group of mortals sent to search?
"There's a cultivation clan nearby, and they're planning to use mortals as bait to lure out a Second-Tier Demonic Beast?"
"What kind of Demon beast is so peculiar that it needs mortals to lure it out?"
Li Qing noticed that the mortals were all young. The oldest man was barely past his coming-of-age ceremony, while the youngest woman had just turned fifteen.
"Even mortals know about the existence of cultivators. It seems the cultivation world here isn't secluded at all."
As he spoke, Li Qing's eyes darted around, considering whether he could use the Lu Clan's cultivation power to deal with Su Xin, who was pursuing him.
"In any case, I'll observe for now and act accordingly later."
"If possible, I'll use the Lu Clan's immortal elder to pass news of the Heavenly River Sect Elder's deep infiltration into Liang Country to the Shangqing Sect. That would be ideal!"
"Then they can tear each other apart while I slip away!"
A satisfied smile spread across Li Qing's lips as he thought of this, his plan unfolding with perfect logic.
He didn't reveal himself immediately. Instead, he continued to observe in secret while changing into cleaner, neater clothes.
After completing all of this, Li Qing began to recover his spiritual energy by holding a mid-grade spirit stone while maintaining a considerable distance from the group of mortals he was following.
In truth, he was also curious about what kind of Demon beast was hiding here.
The Lu Clan's use of mortals to explore and lure the beast suggested they feared alerting cultivators, which made sense.
From this, Li Qing could deduce that the Demon beast possessed keen spiritual perception.
It might even be a Second-Tier Demon beast!
If that were true, the Lu Clan's elaborate preparations would be entirely justified.
With his mana partially restored, Li Qing activated his Jade Ruyi while simultaneously using an Aura Concealment Talisman. He also suppressed his Vital Energy to its lowest possible level, making it impossible for even a Foundation Establishment cultivator to detect his presence!
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the mountain gorge, several cultivators had already appeared.
One group, particularly arrogant, approached the forest directly and casually formed a circle around it before beginning to set up a formation.
"Clear the area! The Lu Clan is hunting a Demon beast. No outsiders are allowed to watch!"
"After sending in over thirty mortals, we've finally tracked down the Joyful Ape's trail. It's deep within the gorge."
"That ape is incredibly cunning. It's best to set up the formation first so it can't escape."
(End of the Chapter)
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