Sitting on the deck of the flying boat as it sliced through the cold morning air, Yun Po let out a cold snort and said, "It looks like Han Qingwen is even more cautious than we thought. He actually arranged for someone to tail us across this distance."
Yunxi reached out and rubbed Li Li's soft head as she replied, "We will kill them halfway to the Wolong Mountain Range. With our strength, there's no way we would let someone keep tracking us without a response."
"Alright, we will do it your way," he agreed, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the horizon behind them.
A day later, the evil cultivator tailing them was grabbed by the throat by Yun Po, whose fingers clamped like iron around the man's windpipe. His voice was dark and heavy as he asked, "Who told you to follow us?"
The evil cultivator tried to break free, his face reddening as he struggled against the grip, and pretended ignorance. "Senior, please calm down. This junior is heading to the Wolong Mountain Range as well. We just happen to be going the same way. I wasn't following you."
Yun Po obviously didn't believe that nonsense and went straight for a soul search, his divine sense plunging into the man's mind. When the evil cultivator realized things were going wrong, he tried to crush a teleportation talisman hidden in his palm to escape. However, he had already triggered the restriction inside his soul, causing it to self-destruct in a silent burst of spiritual energy. The man fell on the spot, his life extinguished instantly.
He casually flung the corpse aside, flicked out a ball of flickering blue flame to incinerate the remains, and brushed nonexistent dust off his robe. "What rotten luck," he muttered, looking at the charred spot on the ground.
Yunxi spoke calmly, her tone light and indifferent as she watched the smoke dissipate. "Let's go. I have no idea how that person even managed to follow us for so long."
As she spoke, she glanced at Zhuge Muyu beside her, the suspicion obvious in her cold gaze.
The young man immediately clasped his hands, bowing low. "Zūnshàng, Muyu already belongs to you. Besides, I have been by your side the whole time. If I had really sent any message out, how could I possibly hide it from your divine sense?"
She replied coolly, her expression noncommittal. "Things had better be exactly as you say. Otherwise, this Lord won't spare you."
Yun Po chuckled and didn't add anything to the conversation. He flashed back onto the flying boat in a blur of movement, followed by Yunxi, with Zhuge Muyu boarding last.
Naturally, Zhuge Muyu used the instant when the two of them moved to secretly pass a message to Han Qingwen, the jade slip in his sleeve glowing faintly for a fraction of a second.
At that moment, Han Qingwen had just arrived at Xiyuan City, his presence causing a stir among the local cultivators. He sent Jin Xiu to investigate who Yunxi's group of four had contacted and what they had done during the single day they stayed there. He felt a faint sense of unease in his chest and wanted to grasp their movements as thoroughly as possible before committing to his next move.
Right then, he received a message from Zhuge Muyu.
"Tower Master, you had better move quickly. I'm afraid I have already been exposed. The companion who followed those two from Xiao Long City has been erased. They're extremely cautious, and their suspicion has already turned toward me. I'm afraid they will make a move against me soon."
The message included the flying boat's direction of travel, and nothing else followed.
Han Qingwen immediately gathered the disciples of Dengyun Tower and rushed toward the next city, his face set in a grim mask. He didn't continue digging deeper into Yunxi and Yun Po's trail in the city. Because of that, he missed the information about them purchasing formation plates and formation flags from the local shops. Otherwise, he would have acted far more carefully and wouldn't have walked straight into the trap they had prepared for him.
After Yunxi and Yun Po returned to the flying boat, Zhuge Muyu stepped forward and said, "Master, Zūnshàng, the message has already been sent. Han Qingwen should arrive before long."
The two of them exchanged a smile and immediately increased the flying boat's speed, the vessel surging forward through the sky. This time, they were heading for the inner perimeter of the Wolong Mountain Range. Setting a trap there wouldn't easily arouse Han Qingwen's suspicion, and it wouldn't implicate innocent cultivators either. After all, the outer areas were full of low-level disciples there to gain experience.
They planned to set the trap at the central area, and they also needed to greet the local natives who resided in the deep woods. Borrowing someone else's territory always meant paying a price, so that task was handed to Yun Po.
As they neared the inner perimeter, "Zhuge Muyu" was also eliminated, the puppet acting out its final role. Before dying, the creature burned its soul and sent the coordinates of the Wolong Mountain Range back to its source. At that point, every piece of bait had been set in its proper place.
Yun Po placed the successfully escaped Ice Soul Cold Cicada back into its jade bottle, the creature's wings humming softly. Only then did he head off in high spirits to negotiate with the inner area's spirit beasts about borrowing their land for a short while.
Yunxi released her capsule-style dwelling, the small house expanding on a flat clearing, and began carving formation plates. During her years in seclusion, she had picked up alchemy, talismans, and formations again. While her formation skills still couldn't compare to her pill refining, medicine refining, or talisman drawing, she was at least considered competent now.
On top of that, Cao Yi had given her private guidance during their time together. She had already reached the level of a seventh-grade formation master, at least by her own assessment, since she hadn't taken any formal examination to prove her rank.
This time, she was carving the Heavenly Dipper North Star Evil Suppression Grand Formation. What she used was a simplified version broken down by Cao Yi to make it more portable. She only needed to finish nine formation plates, bury them according to the proper positions in the terrain, lure Han Qingwen inside the boundary, and activate them.
Yunxi had never stopped cultivating the Soul Refining Art. Even after the burden on her body disappeared following the devouring of Lei Hongxuan's soul, her divine sense strength had always surpassed her cultivation level.
Even though carving formations with divine sense was easy for her, she didn't dare to be careless with the delicate work. The formation lines of this evil suppression array were extremely complex, weaving together in intricate patterns. She controlled the carving blade with her divine sense, focused and meticulous, not daring to let her mind wander for even a moment, and never cutting corners just because her divine sense was strong.
Meanwhile, after promising a great deal of benefits to the local rulers, Yun Po finally reached an agreement with a ninth-rank Nine-Winged Deer to temporarily borrow its territory to eliminate evil cultivators.
The Nine-Winged Deer was already capable of taking human form. He named himself Lu Zhihui and had stayed in the Wolong Mountain Range to cultivate, never going to the Beast Realm.
Lu Zhihui was a relatively gentle spirit beast and didn't enjoy fighting with others. If he went to the Beast Realm, with his cultivation, finding a suitable place to cultivate would inevitably mean clashing with other ninth-rank beast kings for dominance. Fighting to the death over territory wasn't something he wanted, so he simply stayed in the Wolong Mountain Range.
All the major figures of the Spirit Realm knew about this arrangement. Because Lu Zhihui had a steady temperament, they tacitly allowed him to cultivate in the Spirit Domain without interference. With his presence, beast tides weren't as frequent, and whenever one did occur, the timing was decided through negotiation by both sides.
Lu Zhihui had to control the number of beasts within the mountains to maintain balance. If their numbers grew too large, endless internal struggle would break out and cultivation resources would steadily diminish. That was why beast tides were launched, to enforce survival of the fittest among the creatures and ease the burden on the mountains' resources.
For human cultivators, fighting beasts was also a form of cultivation that tested their limits. Breakthroughs at critical moments and the accumulation of combat experience were assets for facing future dangers. On top of that, beast bodies and inner cores were excellent cultivation resources, so the upper levels of the Spirit Domain reached this mutual understanding.
Of course, most lower-level cultivators didn't know much about the politics behind it. If someone treated a beast tide lightly, it could be disastrous for them. That was why these unpredictable tides were like a blade hanging over cultivators' heads.
Because of the appearance of the ancient battlefield and the rampant rise of evil cultivators in recent years, beast tides hadn't occurred for a long time. Cultivators were quietly relieved that they didn't have to fight on two fronts.
So when Yun Po came looking for Lu Zhihui, the other party agreed without hesitation to the request.
After settling everything and ensuring the area was clear, Yun Po left behind a deposit of precious materials and turned back to find Yunxi.
-
While transferring through a teleportation formation that crackled with spatial energy, Han Qingwen received the message and coordinates Zhuge Muyu had sent back at the cost of his life. A flash of disappointment flashed through his eyes as he read the brief text. If only it had been a bit more precise about the specific location.
Jin Xiu arrived at his side in the teleportation hall and said, "Tower Master, Muyu's soul lamp has gone out."
"I know," Han Qingwen replied calmly, his voice echoing in the stone chamber. "He died sending back crucial information. His death had value."