Translator: AnubisTL
A hundred li outside Longevity Valley, bursts of spiritual energy and magical spells erupted, devastating countless ancient verdant trees in the battle's wake.
A distress signal, blazing like a sharp sword, shot straight into the sky, impossible to ignore.
This marked the third such incident in two months. The Flying Eagle Bandits seemed hell-bent on waging a relentless war against the Liu Clan.
However, they fought shrewdly. Relying on the Demon Eagle Wanderer's Wind Spiritual Root, which granted him formidable combat prowess and astonishing escape speed, they would engage briefly before Liu Clan reinforcements could arrive, then vanish without a trace.
Li Qing, residing within the Liu Clan compound, naturally witnessed the distress signal piercing the sky.
"It's time," he muttered to himself. With lightning speed, he gathered his belongings and hurried out of Longevity Valley.
He wasn't abandoning the Liu Clan, of course. Rather, he intended to seize this opportunity to visit the Heavenly River Market.
"Now is the perfect time to go," he thought. "After each battle, the Flying Eagle Bandits usually lie low for a while."
"With the bandits and the Liu Clan still locked in combat, as long as I move quickly, I should be able to avoid any major trouble."
Muttering to himself, Li Qing quickly packed everything into his two storage pouches. The larger pouch contained the majority of spirit stones he had accumulated from the mine over the past few months.
The smaller pouch held a fraction of his spirit stones, along with daily necessities and miscellaneous items.
After stowing Fan Tong into his spirit beast pouch, Li Qing hurried toward the outskirts of Longevity Valley.
The periphery of Longevity Valley was protected by a deadly killing formation established by the Liu Clan.
Normally, a restriction token would grant free passage, but with the current unrest, entry and exit required approval from a Liu Clan disciple stationed at the formation's control point.
As luck would have it, the disciple overseeing the formation that day was none other than Liu Sheng, whom Li Qing had first encountered upon arriving at Longevity Valley!
"Well, well, isn't this Fellow Daoist Li? Long time no see! I hear you've already reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining? Congratulations!" Liu Sheng sauntered forward with his hands tucked into his sleeves, a cheerful grin on his face.
Li Qing quickly expressed his gratitude. "All thanks to your initial recommendation, Fellow Daoist Liu," he said. "Cultivating in this Spirit Vein Land has indeed been immensely beneficial."
Liu Sheng waved off the praise. "Well, finding a Spirit Vein Land these days isn't easy, especially a Second-Tier one like ours. It's becoming increasingly rare."
"Fellow Daoist Li, why aren't you taking advantage of this abundant spiritual energy to focus on your cultivation? Are you planning to leave?"
Li Qing had already prepared his excuse. As a Grandmaster of the Martial Dao, he could perfectly control his Vital Energy. Before departing, he suppressed his vigorous vitality, deliberately appearing Vital Energy-deficient.
"Ah, I was fortunate enough to enter a noble clan's Scripture Repository recently. In a moment of folly, I exchanged for the Precious Wood Body Refinement Manual."
"Little did I know that this secret body refinement technique required such rare and ancient spirit wood. Stubbornly, I attempted to cultivate it without using Spirit Wood Essence. The result? My cultivation went awry, and my Vital Energy is now severely depleted!"
This wasn't entirely a fabrication. Cultivating the Precious Wood Body Refinement Manual without Spirit Wood Essence indeed produced such symptoms. Liu Sheng, as a member of the Liu Clan, was well aware of this inherent flaw.
Hearing Li Qing's words, Liu Sheng was stunned. He gaped, then stammered, "Brother Li, you actually chose that body refinement technique? Are you planning to follow the path of a physical cultivator?"
"That's hardly worth the effort! Even within my Liu Clan, few dare to refine this technique. You're truly..."
After a brief assessment, Liu Sheng confirmed that Li Qing's Vital Energy was severely depleted, and his face was deathly pale, like that of a dissolute young noble who had overindulged in wine and women.
Li Qing forced a bitter smile. "I was possessed by a ghost at the time," he said. "Now, I deeply regret it."
"Fortunately, after making some inquiries, I learned that there are still some Primordial Essence Nurturing Spirit Herbs in this world that can replenish Vital Energy. I plan to venture out and search for them, hoping to find a few to replenish my depleted reserves."
His words carried such sincerity that they betrayed no hint of deception.
Liu Sheng sighed in sympathy and prepared to let Li Qing leave.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the air.
Both men turned to see a cultivator radiating the powerful aura of the Late Qi Refining Realm approaching with a grave expression.
"Greetings, Clan Uncle Hongyuan!" Liu Sheng immediately bowed respectfully, cupping his fists in salute.
Liu Hongyuan was a Late Qi Refining Realm Clan Elder of the Liu Clan, recently overwhelmed by the turmoil caused by the Flying Eagle Bandits.
"Liu Sheng," Liu Hongyuan said bluntly, his gaze sweeping over Li Qing and Liu Sheng, "show me the registry of everyone who has entered and exited the grand formation today."
"So far today, besides the Clan Elders who left to provide support, only Senior Sister Bailin has gone out, and she hasn't returned yet," Liu Sheng said respectfully, handing over the register of departures and arrivals.
"Bai Lin," Liu Hongyuan murmured, narrowing his eyes as if deep in thought.
"Oh, right! And Fellow Daoist Li from the C-Class District also plans to leave the Liu Clan temporarily," Liu Sheng quickly added.
Upon hearing this, Liu Hongyuan's gaze instantly sharpened, piercing Li Qing like a hawk eyeing its prey.
"Oh? And why does young Fellow Daoist Li Qing suddenly need to leave?" Liu Hongyuan inquired intently, scrutinizing him carefully.
Before Li Qing could answer, Liu Sheng interjected, "Fellow Daoist Li was introduced to our clan by me. He's been working diligently in the spirit mines and has been well-behaved all this time."
"His reason for leaving is that he recently entered our clan's Scripture Repository and chose the Precious Wood Body Refinement Manual to cultivate. Lacking the spirit stones to purchase spirit wood, he forced his cultivation, depleting his Vital Energy. He plans to venture out to find Spirit Herbs to replenish it!"
The explanation sounded reasonable enough, and Li Qing was merely a rogue cultivator who had joined the clan less than a year ago—hardly worthy of Liu Hongyuan's attention.
In an instant, the Late Qi Refining Realm Clan Elder lost all interest in Li Qing.
Liu Hongyuan had briefly sensed Li Qing's condition earlier and confirmed that the unremarkable man was indeed severely depleted of Vital Energy.
"Did Bai Lin mention why she was going out?" Liu Hongyuan asked casually.
Liu Sheng shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"Hmph. Open the formation. I have urgent matters to investigate outside as well," Liu Hongyuan ordered.
Without hesitation, Liu Sheng activated the formation, manipulating the dense white mist ahead to create a straight, rippling pathway.
Seeing this, Liu Hongyuan didn't linger. He immediately mounted a Magic Artifact and soared away.
After the elder's departure, a complex expression flickered across Liu Sheng's eyes, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
Turning to Li Qing with a friendly smile, Liu Sheng said, "Fellow Daoist Li, if you plan to venture out, now would be a good time."
"But be warned," Liu Sheng added, "the Flying Eagle Bandits have been causing trouble outside Longevity Valley recently. Exercise extreme caution!"
Li Qing had naturally noticed the fleeting complexity in Liu Sheng's gaze toward Liu Hongyuan earlier. He now felt a vague premonition that something significant was about to happen.
However, he lacked sufficient information to discern the nature of this looming event.
After a moment's hesitation, Li Qing knew he had to leave. This opportunity to venture out had been hard-won, and the excuse he had fabricated about depleted Vital Energy couldn't be prolonged without potentially undermining his cultivation foundation.
His departure was now imperative.
"Thank you for the information, Fellow Daoist Liu," Li Qing said. "Whether or not I find Spirit Herbs to replenish my depleted Vital Energy on this journey, I will return as soon as possible."
Liu Sheng nodded, reminding him, "Present this token to verify your identity upon your return. Even if I'm not on duty at the formation, you'll still be able to enter."
"Then I'll take my leave now!"
With a final clasped-fist salute to Liu Sheng, Li Qing plunged into the passage formed by the dense white mist.
The swirling mist still pulsed with lethal intent. Venturing too deep without the token would be exceedingly dangerous.
Among the four great cultivation techniques—alchemy, artifact crafting, formation mastery, and talisman creation—Formation Masters were uniquely capable of slaying enemies far beyond their own cultivation level.
By harnessing the power of heaven and earth through grand formations, even a Mid Qi Refining Realm cultivator could effortlessly contend with one in the Late Qi Refining Realm.
Emerging from the white mist, Li Qing's vision expanded to reveal the picturesque scenery outside Longevity Valley.
The ancient trees here stood tall and lush, but sadly, none were spirit wood, so Li Qing couldn't extract any Spirit Wood Essence.
With a sigh of regret, he withdrew his gaze and looked toward the distant horizon.
"The Heavenly River Market is still quite a ways off. Even on horseback, it would take several days. Might as well ride Fan Tong!"
With that, Li Qing released Fan Tong from his spirit beast pouch.
"Aow-roar!"
After consuming Beast Taming Pellets and Beast Nurturing Pills for so long, Fan Tong's physique had grown even more robust. His broad tiger back made it easy for Li Qing to sit comfortably atop him.
"I've raised you for a thousand days, now it's time to put you to use! Get moving!" Li Qing chuckled, patting Fan Tong's muscular back.
"Aow-roar!"
Released from the spirit beast pouch, Fan Tong was visibly exhilarated. Returning to the wilderness after so long filled him with renewed vigor.
Having forged a Blood Contract with Fan Tong, Li Qing could sense the tiger's heightened emotions.
Soon, Fan Tong was tearing through the forest.
As Li Qing rode steadily on Fan Tong's back, his brow furrowed slightly as he pondered the scene that had just unfolded.
"Liu Bailin and Liu Hongyuan..."
"Judging by Liu Sheng's gaze, there's something off about those two."
"Who knows what's going on? Ah, well, it's none of my business anyway!"
(End of the Chapter)
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