Chapter 78 - 60: A Road Like Any Other

Chapter 78: Chapter 60: A Road Like Any Other

Two days later, Ethan left the shelter earlier than usual. He had spent enough time among the rocks.

The morning air was cool, and the forest was quiet enough that he could hear the faint sound of his horse moving behind him. Ethan walked ahead, one hand resting near the short dao at his waist.

The journey was uneventful. Ethan followed the road toward the city, his thoughts already turning to the things he needed to do once he arrived. Out of habit, Ethan let his Blood Perception spread through the surrounding forest.

Life appeared around him.

Small creatures moved beneath the grass. Birds rested among the branches. Farther away, he sensed several human presences along the road.

Ordinary.

Ethan continued walking until something made him slow down. He wasn’t sure what it was at first, only that the feeling around him had changed. He let Blood Perception sweep across the area again, checking the familiar presences around him. They were still there, but there were more of them now.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

He stopped and let his awareness stretch farther. One presence became two, then three. More followed, scattered around the road. Something about the way they moved caught his attention. They weren’t travelling openly. They were keeping their distance, moving with care. Ethan’s hand drifted toward the short dao at his side.

"What..."

Ethan turned his head slightly and looked around. The forest was calm beneath the clear afternoon sky, sunlight filtering through the trees as it had all day. Nothing about the surroundings suggested danger.

Even the people he sensed weren’t doing anything obvious. They kept their distance and moved carefully enough that Ethan couldn’t be certain whether they were following him or simply happened to be travelling through the same area.

He decided to find out. Without changing his pace, Ethan moved slightly from the road. After a short distance, he changed direction again. The presences adjusted with him.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

He continued for a little longer before slowing down. One of the presences slowed as well. That was enough. He took another turn, this time toward a narrower path between the trees.

They followed.

Ethan stopped. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a faint movement came from behind him. He turned. Mist was beginning to spread between the trees.

He stared at it.

The sky above was still clear, the afternoon sunlight unchanged. There had been no sign of rain, cold air, or anything else that could explain it. Yet thin strands of white were already creeping across the road, slipping between the trees and gradually filling the space around him.

Ethan’s expression hardened. His Blood Perception swept through the mist almost immediately. The white veil did nothing to block it. The presences were still there. And now he knew exactly what they were doing.His movements had given them enough reason to act. Whatever caution they had been using was gone now. The mist was closing the way out.

His gaze moved through the trees.

Ethan’s Blood Perception reached through the mist, and the picture around him slowly became clear. There were several presences spread around the road, most of them at the middle or peak of Body Tempering. They weren’t weak, but none of them were strong enough to make Ethan particularly concerned.

Then he felt two different presences closer to him. Their blood carried a deeper strength than the others, standing out clearly through his perception.

Qi Refining.

Ethan’s expression hardened.

"So that’s what this is."

He had sensed people earlier, but he hadn’t understood why they were there. Now the pieces were beginning to fit. The presences around him shifted.

Not randomly.

They were adjusting their positions. Ethan’s attention moved from one presence to another, following them through the mist. He couldn’t see most of them, but he didn’t need to. Their blood told him where they were. The mist wasn’t meant to kill him. It was there to make movement difficult while the people surrounding him formed the real trap. If he tried to break through one side, someone would move to intercept him. If he changed direction, another would already be waiting there, both simple and effective. Ethan slowly exhaled. He could probably force his way through one or two of the weaker cultivators, but there were too many of them. Besides the two Qi Refining cultivators hadn’t moved yet.

Then two figures emerged through the mist.

Blue robes.

Azure Cloud Sect.

Ethan’s gaze settled on them. From the strength he felt in their blood, both were in the early stage of Qi Refining. So these were the ones in charge.

Ethan’s eyes flickered.

The first man stopped several steps away.

"Ethan?"

Ethan didn’t answer immediately.

"You know who I am."

"We’ve had reason to learn your name."

The man’s voice was calm, almost casual. His eyes moved over Ethan before settling on him again. Ethan watched him carefully, trying to understand what he wanted.

"We are acting under the authority of the Azure Cloud Sect."

Ethan glanced around.

"I can see that."

The second cultivator spoke.

"We need to ask you a few questions."

"About what?"

"Your recent activities."

Ethan’s expression remained calm.

"What about them?"

The first cultivator looked toward the containers tied to Ethan’s horse.

"You have been leaving the city frequently."

"I work outside the city sometimes."

"You have also been purchasing blood."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Animal blood."

"Among other things."

There it was.

Ethan understood.

They had been watching him.

The first cultivator continued.

"Beast blood. Spirit-beast blood. You have also obtained blood that does not come from beasts."

Ethan remained silent.

The man’s voice became firmer.

"And you have been seen leaving the city repeatedly."

"I don’t see the problem."

"Your appearance has changed."

Ethan wasn’t surprised. He’d been hearing it for months now. He gave the same explanation he’d always used.

"It’s a side effect of cultivation."

The man studied him for a moment. Ethan remained calm under his gaze.

The second cultivator frowned.

"Convenient."

Ethan looked at him.

"What would you like me to say?"

The first cultivator raised a hand slightly.

"Let’s keep this simple."

His voice remained controlled.

"We have no intention of causing trouble if there is nothing to investigate."

Ethan said nothing.

"You will come with us."

"Where?"

"You’ll come with us to the sect quarters. We have a few questions to ask. Cooperate with us, and once we’ve confirmed that what you are saying is true, you’ll be free to leave."

Ethan stared at him.

For several seconds, neither side spoke. The offer sounded reasonable enough, but Ethan wasn’t thinking about the questions. He was thinking about what would happen once he stepped into the sect’s quarters.

There were too many things he couldn’t afford to expose. His blood was only the beginning. The Blood Seed, the Immortal Ring, the transformation; all of it had to remain hidden.

And once he was inside, surrounded by cultivators who could be far stronger than him, he might not get to decide what happened next.

He shook his head.

"I’m afraid I’ll have to decline."

The second cultivator’s eyes hardened.

"You misunderstand."

"No."

Ethan’s voice remained calm.

"I understand perfectly."

Ethan looked into the mist surrounding him. The others remained hidden from his eyes, but their presences still lingered clearly within his Blood Perception.

"You’ve already surrounded me before asking me to come along."

His gaze returned to the two Qi Refining cultivators.

"If this were really just a few questions, you wouldn’t need this many people."

Neither man answered immediately. That silence told Ethan enough. The first cultivator’s expression changed.

"You are making this more difficult than it needs to be."

"Perhaps."

Ethan’s hand rested lightly against his short dao.

"But I’m still not going."

The atmosphere changed. The two cultivators exchanged a brief glance. Then the first one stepped forward.

"Last chance."

Ethan moved.

Not toward him.

Away.

His body shot through the mist. The nearest Body Tempering cultivator reacted immediately.

"Stop!"

A figure stepped out of the mist and blocked Ethan’s path. He twisted past him, only for another cultivator to appear a few steps ahead. Ethan lowered his shoulder and slipped through before a hand caught his robe. He turned with the pull, tore himself free, and kept moving.

He could have struck back.

But he still didn’t know what the sect wanted. Killing one of their disciples now would turn suspicion into certainty, and Ethan had no reason to make things worse.

So he kept moving, slipping around one body after another whenever the mist allowed them close enough to reach him. The Body Tempering cultivators struggled to keep pace, and for a moment Ethan found himself with more room than he expected.

There.

He pushed through the opening. The mist rushed past him as he broke through the gap. Then the ground beside him exploded.

Boom!

Earth and stone shot into the air. Ethan twisted away and rolled across the ground as a streak of Qi tore through the place where he had been standing. He came up on one knee and looked back.

One of the Qi Refining cultivators had finally caught up to him.

"You’re faster than expected."

Ethan didn’t answer. He turned and ran. Another attack came almost immediately. Ethan felt the danger before he saw it and shifted aside just as a sharp blade of Qi tore past his shoulder, cutting deep into a tree behind him. The force brushed against him, making his skin prickle.

That would have hurt.

Ethan pushed himself harder. His body responded almost without thought. The trees rushed past in a blur, the ground seeming to disappear beneath his feet. For a moment, there was barely any sense of weight at all.

He had felt this speed while hunting, but this was different. There was no harmless creature running ahead of him, no reason to hold back. Someone was trying to stop him, and Ethan was pulling away. Behind him, footsteps tore through the forest. The Body Tempering cultivators struggled to keep up, while the two Qi Refining cultivators closed the distance much faster.

Even so, Ethan could tell they hadn’t expected him to move this quickly. His Blood Perception spread through the trees, giving him a clearer picture than his eyes could. One presence behind him. Another closing from the side. More scattered farther back.

He changed direction. A streak of Qi tore through the space he’d occupied a moment earlier. He didn’t bother looking back. His perception was already telling him where they were. Ahead, two presences shifted at almost the same time.

Ethan shifted between them, but one of the Body Tempering cultivators stepped into his path. Ethan changed direction again, only for another to move across the opening. They weren’t trying to bring him down. They were slowing him.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"They’re buying time."

The realization had barely formed when something slammed into his back.