By noon the next day, Yang Yunhai returned to Gucao Village.
After resting for a night, he set off early toward the Spirit Hall in Notting City.
Upon meeting Maxiu Nuo, the latter personally helped test his spirit power and experienced his second spirit ability firsthand. After confirming that it only absorbed spirit power, Maxiu Nuo promised on the spot to register and report it as soon as possible.
Seeing this, Yang Yunhai asked Maxiu Nuo about maps and expressed his intention to travel around Notting City during this time, planning to set out for other cities after the New Year. Since he hadn't traveled much before, he was worried about getting lost on the road.
Now that Yang Yunhai's spirit power had reached level 21, already meeting the graduation standard of an intermediate spirit master academy, there was no reason for him to stay in a small place like Notting City. Graduating early and still having time before the New Year, it made sense that he wanted to explore his hometown a bit before traveling afar. Therefore, Maxiu Nuo naturally supported his idea and request.
Afterward, Maxiu Nuo returned to his room, took down a map of the area surrounding Notting City, specifically supplied by the Spirit Hall, and gave it to Yang Yunhai as a parting gift. As for maps of other places, he truly didn't have any. As the manager of a branch hall, his jurisdiction was limited, and higher authorities wouldn't distribute broader maps to him. So, he could only advise Yang Yunhai to stick to official roads when traveling.
Yang Yunhai expressed his gratitude, claimed his monthly spirit master allowance, and then politely took his leave.
He made his way back to Gucao Village.
Once in his small room, he quickly laid the map out on his bed.
The special Spirit Hall map was drawn by aerial spirit masters through direct observation. According to Maxiu Nuo, the original version covered the entire continent. Only areas too dangerous to enter, those occupied by spirit beasts, were left blank. Otherwise, the terrain was highly accurate.
Distances were also marked using measured units.
However, since it was observed from the sky and not explored on foot, plus due to the limitations of the paper itself, the map couldn't show the exact height of mountains or how many streams ran through a forest.
"This one I have probably isn't even a copy of the original, just a scaled-down version. Makes sense, maps that show every bridge and path are military maps. A small branch hall like Notting's wouldn't have access to something like that."
Yang Yunhai muttered as he studied the map.
"Still, it's good enough. Even though it's a reduced version, you can still make out the general terrain, mountains, rivers, villages, all clearly marked." As he thought this, his finger moved across the map and stopped at the location of Holy Spirit Village, scanning the area.
"There's a rather wide river in the middle, and the outer terrain is steep. It would take half a day to go from the outer edge to the interior. Even with tough terrain, with Tang San's cultivation in the original story, he wouldn't be slow, so the area must be quite large."
He murmured while continuing to search.
Soon, his pupils shrank, and his gaze locked onto a section in the middle of a mountain range.
"No way! This horizontal line, doesn't it represent a waterfall?!" He was shocked.
"Of course! A waterfall 20 meters wide and nearly 200 meters tall, no tree could block that view. As long as you're not blind, you'd see it from the sky!" After calming down, he examined the map closely. "This dense cluster of mountain peaks clearly shows a steep terrain. It's not far from Holy Spirit Village, less than 300 li. With Tang Hao's strength, he could make a round trip in a day."
"I really ought to thank that flying spirit master who drew this map!" He couldn't help but smile.
That waterfall annotation was, in his view, a stroke of genius!
He'd originally thought he'd have to spend a lot of time going from mountain to mountain. Who would've thought it would fall into place so easily? All the conditions matched. He could almost confirm that this was the mountain range he was looking for.
Still, to be cautious, Yang Yunhai checked all other nearby mountain terrains around Holy Spirit Village.
He ultimately concluded that only the previously identified mountain range met all the criteria.
"So, what about the location of the Blue Silver King?" Having confirmed the location of the Blue Silver Emperor, Yang Yunhai began thinking.
"In the original story, Tang Hao took Tang San on a five-day journey to reach a primeval forest, that's where the Blue Silver King resides. A five-day trip, a primeval forest, containing an 85,000-year-old Blue Silver King that remained undiscovered all along, it's surely a large spirit beast forest, not just any ordinary mountain range."
He scanned the map and shook his head slightly.
With the waterfall as the center, a five-day travel radius would already go beyond the map's drawn area.
"Looks like I'll need to find a larger-scale map in the future."
"For now, I'll focus on cultivation and wait until Tang San graduates from Notting Academy." With this thought, he rolled up the map.
Then, he sat cross-legged in the center of his bed, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate.
Time passed quickly. A month went by, and the new semester at Notting Academy ended.
"There's a one-month break for the New Year, so there's no rush. After the holiday is better. If my guess is right, Tang Hao should be visiting the Blue Silver Emperor during the New Year, then returning to the village to watch over Tang San and Xiao Wu, to prevent them from going to Shrek Academy early and encountering high-level spirit masters along the way."
"So I'll leave after the New Year. Better safe than sorry, and there's no harm in moving slowly."
Seated on a grassy slope behind the mountain, Yang Yunhai looked toward Notting Academy, then closed his eyes again and resumed cultivating.
A few days later, after the New Year holiday, Yang Yunhai said goodbye to the village chief, mounted his newly bought little black donkey, and left the village.
Spring had not yet arrived, and the weather was still cold. To stay warm and avoid being recognized by Tang Hao, or bitten by strange bugs in the forest, he prepared a large cloak that covered his neck and face tightly.
He also carried a bamboo hat and a raincoat, just in case it rained.
Since he was in no hurry, he decided to take the official road to the nearest junction, enjoying the scenery along the way at a leisurely pace.
As he approached noon, he looked ahead and saw a wisp of smoke rising in the distance. Shifting his gaze downward, he spotted a small roadside tea stall with only a few benches and two small tables. Besides the shopkeeper, three customers were sitting there.
Two of them were chatting excitedly and clearly knew each other.
The third was a middle-aged man sitting alone, drinking tea. When Yang Yunhai noticed him, his eyes flashed.
He quickly pressed down his bamboo hat and pulled his cloak higher.
"That leather coat, that robe, that hairstyle, that beard, and the cloth tied on his head... that has to be Tang Hao, right?" Though he had never met Tang Hao, the outfit perfectly matched the animated version from his past life.
"Talk about bad luck! I really shouldn't have gone out today." He silently complained. He hadn't expected to run into him like this.
"I wonder if Tang Hao is heading to the mountains or back to Holy Spirit Village..." he thought.
If Tang Hao was going in the direction of Notting City, then he must've just returned from the mountains. That would mean he wouldn't be heading back there for at least the next day or two, giving Yang Yunhai a perfect window to reach the mountain and find the Blue Silver Emperor without worry.
But if he was heading toward the mountains, then Yang Yunhai would have to follow his original plan, wander around for a few days before going.
As he pondered, his donkey slowly approached the bamboo stall.
Just then, the middle-aged man paused his tea drinking, glanced at him, then resumed sipping tea and eating his flatbread.
"Did he sense my spirit power? Maybe he even saw through my cultivation level, or even my age. After all, my hands are exposed, and skin can reveal a lot." Yang Yunhai casually glanced at the stall and continued forward.
"Customer!" the shopkeeper called out eagerly as he approached.
Yang Yunhai instinctively waved him off and nudged his donkey to speed up. He'd lived in the same dormitory with Tang San for six years, Tang Hao had definitely seen him.
If Tang Hao saw his face now, and the Blue Silver Emperor later went missing, he'd become a prime suspect.
After all, his martial spirit was also Blue Silver Grass. If it evolved, and his spirit changed, it would be too easy to connect the dots.
"Ah..." the shopkeeper visibly deflated and returned to making tea.
Just like that, Yang Yunhai passed the tea stall on his donkey and gradually moved away.
About half a cup of tea later, the middle-aged man pulled out two copper soul coins from his pocket, placed them on the table, and got up to leave.
"He's heading back!" Yang Yunhai, who had been eating a flatbread from behind a tree in the distance, felt a wave of joy.
Once the man was completely out of sight, Yang Yunhai finished the rest of his bread in big bites, drank some water, and set off again.
Though it was just after the New Year and few people were on the road, Yang Yunhai occasionally encountered travelers along the official road. Before long, he came across a family dressed in plain clothes, it was clearly a whole household.
Without hesitation, Yang Yunhai generously exchanged his donkey for some dry rations.
The terrain around the Blue Silver Emperor's mountain was treacherous, he couldn't bring a donkey up there, and leaving it outside wasn't safe either; it might be eaten by some beast.
Besides, he needed to hurry. The donkey wasn't even as fast as he was on foot.
Giving it to a family meant the donkey would be well cared for. After all, it was a great help with farm work.
"What a good man!" Watching his swift figure disappear into the distance, someone exclaimed in the breeze.
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