Chapter Thirty: Pursuit
Beneath the night sky, two shadowy figures vaulted over the wall of the Fortune Inn, swiftly heading northwest toward Yongle Town. Once they left the town behind, their steps did not slow—they continued southeast, slipping into a dense woodland. Ahead, about three miles away, the faint silhouette of another figure could be seen.
This person wore a dark green robe with wide sleeves, his frame tall and slender. He was not walking on the forest floor, but rather traversing the treetops. With hands clasped behind his back, he strolled with the ease of a leisurely walk, yet each stride carried him more than ten meters, his speed startlingly swift.
The two following him were naturally Liang Yan and Tang Diexian, both now clad in black night attire, trailing at a distance.
“I didn’t expect that such a humble Fortune Inn would harbor a cultivator,” Tang Diexian remarked.
Liang Yan replied, “Indeed. He’s reached the peak of the fifth layer of Qi Refinement. We must be cautious and act according to circumstances.”
Tang Diexian shot him a curious glance. “You don’t look like you have high cultivation, yet your ability to discern others’ realms is impressive. Strange—I can’t see through his cultivation at all.”
Liang Yan did not answer her question. Instead, he suddenly reached out to bar her path.
Tang Diexian sensed he must have a reason and waited quietly. Soon, a rustling sound came from above in the trees. She looked up and saw a centipede poking its head from the trunk, its mouth emitting an ominous black vapor—clearly poisonous.
“A spirit insect!” Tang Diexian exclaimed in alarm. “Have we been discovered?”
Liang Yan shook his head. “Not yet. The man is simply cautious, fond of laying traps along his route. We must be careful not to fall for his tricks.”
Tang Diexian nodded, her gaze lingering strangely on Liang Yan. “This junior brother looks like he’s only at the first layer of Qi Refinement, yet his senses are sharper than most at the fifth layer.”
Liang Yan spoke again. “Do you have any treasures that can conceal your aura?”
Tang Diexian was momentarily stunned but instinctively replied, “Yes!” She produced a pendant of white jade carved into the shape of a mythical beast, saying, “This was bestowed by my ancestor. It prevents cultivators of the same level from probing my realm.”
“Good. From now on, wear this pendant until we leave Yongle Town.”
Tang Diexian nodded obediently, hanging the pendant around her neck. Though she did not understand the purpose, she trusted Liang Yan’s wisdom. Born into a family of cultivators, she had trained within the sect from childhood—this was her first journey into the mundane world, and she was unfamiliar with worldly matters. Along the way, Liang Yan had managed every affair, big and small, and she had unknowingly grown accustomed to relying on him.
Liang Yan saw the pendant dampen her spiritual fluctuations almost to nothing and nodded with satisfaction. If not for his own unique skills and deliberate probing, he too would not have detected her as a cultivator.
They resumed their pursuit, keeping a greater distance, hanging back four or five miles. With Liang Yan present, they would not lose their quarry.
After about the time it takes for incense to burn, the tall, slender man suddenly halted before a wide cave entrance, from which faint spiritual energy drifted. He lingered a moment, then plunged inside.
“A spirit mine!” Tang Diexian gasped.
Liang Yan frowned. “It appears this is a branch of the sect’s spirit mine. Could this incident truly involve cultivators?”
“What should we do now?” Tang Diexian asked.
Liang Yan smiled. “No rush. We’ll wait here for him to return. If there’s anything unclear, we’ll ask him directly.”
Tang Diexian nodded. The two waited outside the cave for nearly an hour. Suddenly, a green shadow shot from the mine—it was the same tall, slender man they had tracked.
He stood outside, holding an octagonal compass, his expression perplexed. Muttering, he wondered if his calculations had always been mistaken.
Before he could try again, the compass suddenly spun furiously, its needle pointing directly toward the opposite woods.
“Damn!” Liang Yan cursed inwardly—the compass was indicating their very hiding place.
Sure enough, the green-robed man’s face changed dramatically. He stared intently and shouted, “Who lurks in hiding here?”
Liang Yan and Tang Diexian, knowing stealth was no longer possible, stepped out from behind the trees. The green-robed man saw that Liang Yan was only at the first layer of Qi Refinement and dismissed him, but the girl’s cultivation was obscured by some treasure, making him hesitant to act rashly.
His hands darted in rapid gestures behind his back as he shouted, “Sneaking and tracking me here—what are your intentions?”
Liang Yan had no intention of exchanging words. He charged forward, swinging a fist at the green-robed man.
The man quickly retreated, sweeping his wide sleeves. A streak of emerald light shot toward Liang Yan, who dodged, but the green light seemed to possess a mind of its own. Missing its mark, it bounced off the ground with a loud pop, turning back to shoot at Liang Yan again.
Liang Yan was startled and sprang up a towering tree, the green light adjusting course to chase him relentlessly.
“Careful! That’s a Jadeblood Serpent—he can control spirit beasts!” Tang Diexian cried.
Heeding her warning, Liang Yan glanced back and saw the green light was indeed a small, jade-colored serpent, astonishingly swift.
He pushed off the trunk, flipping midair to land on the ground, then began spinning in place, quickly forming a whirlwind—the “Circling Method” from the “Mind Unbound Technique.”
The Jadeblood Serpent lunged into the whirlwind and was hurled away. Immediately, Tang Diexian, wielding her Hundred Flowers Sword, struck, thrusting at the serpent’s seven-inch spot.
The serpent, airborne and unable to dodge, was pierced clean through. Yet before Tang Diexian could relax, the serpent split in two, becoming two equally sized snakes, each lively and attacking again.
“Watch out!” Liang Yan shouted, rushing over and pulling Tang Diexian aside. He was a shade too slow—one serpent grazed her arm, leaving a wound that bled and quickly turned jade green.
Tang Diexian felt dizzy and swiftly took a pill from her storage pouch, swallowing it and using her spiritual power to expel the poison from the wound.
“Are you all right?” Liang Yan asked with concern.
Tang Diexian shook her head. “The poison isn’t deep. I’ll be fine. But you must be careful—this man is strange!”
Liang Yan nodded, taking from his storage pouch a seven-foot black wooden staff, entwined with nine golden dragons, their roars faintly audible—the Nine Dragons Staff he had acquired from Yuan Ba. He had already erased Yuan Ba’s mark and claimed it as his own.
Seeing the serpents regroup to attack, Liang Yan stepped in front of Tang Diexian, swinging the staff. His physical strength was unmatched among peers; before, he’d fought barehanded, but now, armed with the staff, he was even more formidable. His blow smashed a serpent into a mist of blood. Pleased, he swept the staff again, crushing the other into pulp.
Yet before they could celebrate, the bloody pulp on the ground quivered, sprouting two serpent heads, which quickly stretched out—two more Jadeblood Serpents. The blood mist above condensed, and soon two more serpents emerged.
Before they could react, all four serpents attacked. Liang Yan and Tang Diexian could only confront them again. But the serpents seemed immortal, endlessly multiplying—no matter how they were slain, each death doubled their numbers.
Back to back, Liang Yan and Tang Diexian fought as more serpents gathered. Liang Yan searched for a solution but could find none.
Suddenly, Tang Diexian shouted, “Wait! He’s not a beast master—he’s an illusion cultivator!”
“Illusion?” Liang Yan was startled. “You mean these are all illusions?”
“Yes, but not entirely. The art of illusion blends truth and falsehood, attacking when least expected.”
“I see,” Liang Yan thought. He’d wondered why the green-robed man hadn’t attacked directly, letting them battle serpents instead—he was maintaining an illusion from the shadows.
Ordinary physical or spell cultivators didn’t worry him, but illusion arts were foreign to him, and he had no idea how to counter them. He could only silently curse his luck.
Tang Diexian whispered, “I have a way to break the illusion, but I need you to protect me.” Without waiting for his answer, she tossed her sword skyward, began a ritual walk, reciting incantations, her right hand forming a sword sign pointed to the heavens, her left gesturing rapidly across her chest.
Liang Yan said nothing, wielding the staff and fully employing the “Mind Unbound Technique,” guarding her side. Though the serpents were many, none could come near for a while.
Tang Diexian’s steps matched the celestial pattern; each step she took, Liang Yan moved with her. Above, the Hundred Flowers Sword spun, then halted, pointing southeast to a treetop.
“There!” Tang Diexian shouted.
Even before her voice finished, Liang Yan shot forward like a flying sword, swinging the Nine Dragons Staff. As the word left Tang Diexian’s lips, Liang Yan struck.
With a muffled thud, the staff revealed the green-robed man beneath it, sending him flying and smashing him into a deep pit. The myriad Jadeblood Serpents vanished, leaving only one, which transformed into a curved short sword, its green glow hinting at deadly poison.
“So that’s it!” Liang Yan thought. “Thousands of green serpents, all illusory. Only this one, a poisoned sword, could truly harm. Within illusions, reality and falsehood blend, making defense nearly impossible.”
He approached the fallen man, confirming he was truly dead, and took his storage pouch. A quick inventory revealed over a thousand spirit stones.
Without hesitation, Liang Yan tossed the pouch to Tang Diexian. She caught it, snorting, “With my status, do you think I care for your petty gifts?”
Liang Yan knew her temperament and was unbothered. Unbeknownst to him, Tang Diexian, though dismissive, was secretly delighted.
“You little rascal, at least you have a conscience,” she thought, rummaging through the pouch and producing the octagonal compass, which she handed to Liang Yan. “Here, this is my reward for you!”
Liang Yan took it and smiled. “The lady is truly considerate.”
Tang Diexian retorted, “Of course. Still, I can’t believe you dared deceive me with such cultivation. Just wait till we return—I’ll make you...”
Before she could finish, Liang Yan crouched, pulling a jade pendant from the green-robed man’s waist. He examined it closely.
“Hmm?” Tang Diexian leaned in curiously. It was a purple jade pendant, intricately carved, with a single numeral—‘one’—at its center.
“What is this?”
“No idea,” Liang Yan replied. “But it also has some ability to conceal cultivation.”
Tang Diexian pondered. “The sect lost contact with the local spirit mine—this must be his doing. Now that he’s dead, should we check the mine?”
“I fear it’s not so simple. Tell me, if he was truly behind it, what was his goal?”
“Goal?” Tang Diexian, quick-witted, caught on. “Right. If he meant to seize the mine, he would have brought more people and mined aggressively. Otherwise, after a year or two, the sect would grow suspicious and investigate. But the mine is still full of spiritual energy, barely exploited...”
“That means he had another purpose here, one not yet achieved. And another thing: Yongle Town harbors not just this cultivator. When we first arrived, I spotted another—also at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.”
Tang Diexian was shocked. “Really?”
Liang Yan nodded. “So you see, we may be facing an organized group of cultivators. There may be traps within the mine; if we enter now, we’ll alert them.”
“What should we do, then?”
“For now, we must watch and wait.”
Tang Diexian rolled her eyes. “So you’re saying we do nothing?”
Liang Yan chuckled. “You’re missing the point. The stage in Yongle Town is set—the actors are about to appear...”