Chapter 128: Thoughts of Retreat

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Thoughts of Retreat

According to the map Gumu Sheng had drawn.

The village where Teng Feng was born was located at the foot of a mountain, roughly two thousand li southeast of the Immortal City.

The Possession had occurred not long ago, a case of robbery and murder. With his Qi Refining Stage cultivation, there was no way he could have crossed the vast two-thousand-li distance in such a short time.

’If he dares to go back for the Storage Bag, I’ll definitely be there to intercept him!’

At this thought, Li Ping’s Escape Light sped up once more, and he soon exited the Immortal City.

After leaving the Immortal City, he tossed out the Floating Shadow Shuttle and steered the Flying Ship toward the location on the map. At the Floating Shadow Shuttle’s speed, a distance of two thousand li would only take about two hours to traverse!

Sitting on the Flying Ship, Li Ping contemplated his next steps while taking stock of his Dharma Artifacts, Spirit Talismans, and other possessions.

To ensure nothing went wrong, he had brought all of his belongings on this trip.

This included the Blood Banner, the Li Fire Ring Talisman Treasure, and over a hundred Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Talismans.

Furthermore, not long after leaving the Immortal City, he activated the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Scripture.

Using Transform Appearance, he changed into a man with a long, horse-like face. This way, he could ensure his true identity would not be recognized later.

Although his cultivation was only at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment, Li Ping was confident he could slay an ordinary Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with the help of his Talisman Treasure, Spirit Talismans, and other items.

Even if he faced a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could still escape with ease using the Blood Wing Escape Skill.

And if he ran into a Core Formation Cultivator, Li Ping would not hesitate to throw out all his Spirit Talismans and use the ensuing chaos to escape with his Blood Wing Escape Skill.

However, he didn’t truly understand the combat strength of a Core Formation Cultivator and wasn’t very confident he could actually escape from one alive.

Of course, he believed the chances of encountering a Core Formation Cultivator on this trip were slim.

Even if the person who committed the Possession had a Core Formation cultivation before his death, it would be impossible for him to regain that level of strength so soon after the deed.

SWOOSH!

The black Flying Shuttle streaked across the sky and vanished over the horizon!

...

「In a cave several hundred li from the Immortal City.」

Yan Liming sat cross-legged, holding two Spirit Stones to recover his Magical Power. The unconscious Yan Hengchuan had been tossed against a nearby wall.

After a long while, he let out a soft breath and opened his eyes. The two Spirit Stones in his palm had already crumbled to dust.

"Time was too short. A cultivation at the Qi Refining Fifth Level is still too low," Yan Liming muttered to himself, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

After escaping the siege by Yan Changqiu and Bai Yurong, he had been severely injured. With no time to choose carefully, he had performed a Possession on He Yunyi. Afterward, Gumu Sheng had brought him to the Immortal City.

During this entire process, he had neither the opportunity nor the courage to retrieve his Storage Bag.

It was only thanks to the hundred-odd Spirit Stones Gumu Sheng gave him that he was able to reach the Qi Refining Fifth Level so quickly.

If he had another five years, he was confident he could reach the Late-stage Qi Refining.

Once he advanced to the Late-stage Qi Refining and retrieved his Storage Bag, he was confident he could deal with Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

At that point, he could find a secluded place to cultivate and attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment.

’Hmph! It’s all this kid’s fault!’ Yan Liming thought, his gaze falling on the unconscious Yan Hengchuan, his eyes filled with a frosty chill.

He said coldly, "Brat, since you’re awake, why pretend to be asleep? Did you think you could fool me?"

Hearing this, Yan Hengchuan, who was lying by the wall, did indeed open his eyes. It turned out he had only been feigning unconsciousness.

"Little He... You killed Chef Mo and the others. Do you have any idea what a terrible crime you’ve committed? Grandmaster Li knows something happened to me, and he’ll definitely come after you! If you let me go now, there’s still time. Once Grandmaster gets here, you’re finished!" Yan Hengchuan said, his voice trembling slightly.

He had been poisoned, leaving him completely paralyzed. The Magical Power in his Dantian felt frozen, refusing to obey his commands.

Recalling the scene at the restaurant, even though Yan Hengchuan had always been fearless, he couldn’t help but feel his heart palpitate with dread.

He had never expected He Yunyi to be so audacious as to poison the Spirit Tea everyone was drinking.

Then, right in front of him, he had brutally slaughtered everyone who was poisoned and unable to move.

’Everyone else is dead. I’m the only one left. Is he going to kill me?’ Fear flickered in Yan Hengchuan’s eyes.

As if sensing his thoughts, Yan Liming sneered, "Your grandmaster probably doesn’t even know what happened yet. Besides, even if he did, do you think he could guess that I’m heading deep into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range?"

That was right. After his identity was exposed, Yan Liming never once considered going back to retrieve his Storage Bag.

The fact that he had used Possession on He Yunyi was no secret.

That treacherous disciple of his, along with other interested parties, would probably think to stake out the location of the Possession right away.

How could he possibly walk right into a trap?

He wouldn’t go to the Western Wilderness either, because he was worried that cultivators from the Immortal City would be searching and setting up checkpoints along the way.

His choice was to go deep into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range!

The Cloud Mist Mountain Range was vast and teeming with Demon Beasts and poisonous creatures. Even if the cultivators from the Immortal City wanted to conduct a large-scale search, they wouldn’t know where to begin.

Yan Liming was well-read and knew that before the four great Demon Dao sects entered the Western Wilderness, the Cultivation Realm there was dominated by the Righteous Influence.

The local Demon Cultivators could only survive by finding niches to hide in.

They would either lurk in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range or hide on the Grassland, developing their strength in secret.

Yan Liming was now following the path of his Demon Cultivator predecessors, hiding in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range to grow his power in secret.

In any case, the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture he cultivated could use the blood of Demon Beasts as a resource for cultivation.

"Relax, I’m not going to kill you." Yan Liming stood up, walked over to Yan Hengchuan, and said calmly, "I’m currently short on manpower. Are you willing to recognize me as your master and serve me?"

Yan Hengchuan’s mention of Grandmaster Li hadn’t frightened the man. Now, hearing Yan Liming’s words, he simply pressed his lips together and said nothing.

"Heh." Seeing his silence, Yan Liming shook his head.

His current cultivation was too low. Unless Yan Hengchuan cooperated willingly, he had no way to forcibly plant a Restriction in his sea of consciousness.

Hoisting Yan Hengchuan directly onto his shoulder, Yan Liming gave a cold laugh and continued deeper into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

He had plenty of time to slowly wear the boy down.

...

Two hours after flying out of the Immortal City, Li Ping finally arrived near the village where Teng Feng was born.

On this journey, he had deliberately flown at a lower altitude.

As the Flying Shuttle flew, he continuously spread out his Divine Sense to scan the area below, but he found nothing.

’Next, I wait!’ Li Ping found a high vantage point nearby and donned the Tier Two Top-Grade Dharma Artifact cloak, ’Nightfall,’ which he had obtained from Hu Feng.

After concealing his presence, he began to wait quietly, not rushing to find the Storage Bag of the one who had committed the Possession.

By his estimation, the person who had performed the Possession was most likely a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

The Storage Bag of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was valuable enough to drive many Low-tier Cultivators into a frenzy. Even cultivators of the same rank would find it hard to resist such a temptation.

But Li Ping was different. Given how wealthy he currently was, it was likely that even veteran Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators couldn’t compare to him.

Therefore, he wasn’t particularly interested in the Storage Bag of the person who had committed the Possession.

He only wanted to rescue Yan Hengchuan, or, failing that, to take the head of the man who performed the Possession to avenge Yan Hengchuan and give his Third Senior Brother an explanation!

’I hope that little guy Hengchuan is okay!’ Under the dark cloak, the horse-faced man Li Ping had transformed into wore a grim expression.

After waiting for more than an hour, he finally saw a green light speeding over from the distance. His expression flickered. ’Are they here?’

But when he got a clear look at the two figures within the green light, his expression instantly became uncertain.

’It’s her! Why is she here?’ Li Ping was baffled.

The newcomer was none other than Miaorou, the former Shopkeeper of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion. He had thought she had already left the Immortal City.

He never expected to run into her under these circumstances.

...

The green light emanated from a leaf-shaped Flying Ship several dozen feet long. Liu Wusheng and Miaorou stood atop the broad leaf.

Seeing the village in the distance, Liu Wusheng couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes. He could almost picture himself obtaining that old bastard’s Storage Bag and using its resources to successfully reach Core Formation.

"Shiniang, if I’m not mistaken, Master’s body should be somewhere nearby," Liu Wusheng said calmly, looking at Miaorou beside him. "I wonder, does Shiniang have any recent tokens Master might have given you?"

Miaorou shook her head. "That old thief is far too cunning. Why would he give a token imbued with his aura to someone else? You’re his most ’beloved’ disciple. If even you don’t have one, how could I?"

Liu Wusheng heard the sarcasm in her words but didn’t get angry. He had no interest in bickering with a dead woman.

He wouldn’t let anyone know he had obtained Yan Liming’s belongings. The moment he got his hands on them would be the moment of Miaorou’s death.

He gave a slight nod. "Since we don’t have a token with Master’s aura, we’ll just have to conduct a blanket search."

With that, he slapped his Spirit Beast Pouch.

Instantly—

A great swarm of green dots flew out from his Spirit Beast Pouch, buzzing as they descended. They started at the village and began to spread outward, searching inch by inch.

Only by looking closely could one see that these green dots were actually grotesque, bizarrely shaped flying insects.

...

Using the cloak to hide his aura, Li Ping remained completely undetected by Liu Wusheng and Miaorou.

’Master? Shiniang?’

Listening to their conversation, Li Ping grew even more confused. ’The person who committed the Possession is Miaorou’s dao-companion? How have I never heard that she had one?’

But when he saw Liu Wusheng commanding a swarm of flying insects to begin a blanket search below, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

This was because flying insects have even less intelligence than Demon Beasts and can only execute very simple commands.

For these insects to perform such precise actions, the pale, sickly-looking young man must be the one controlling them.

’To control so many insects at once... that sickly-looking youth’s Divine Sense is quite strong!’

Hiding under his cloak, he carefully sensed the auras radiating from the two.

Li Ping’s expression instantly turned grave. Miaorou was an Early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, to be sure, but that sickly-looking young man was actually a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He had originally planned to capture the two and interrogate them about the whereabouts of the person who had committed the Possession.

But after sensing the sickly-looking youth’s cultivation, Li Ping couldn’t help but feel the urge to retreat.