The wanted notice read:
"Whoever captures or kills the evil cultivator who abducted Xia Wanyun shall be rewarded by the City Lord's Manor with 100,000 low-grade spirit stones.
The Luoxia Auction House will additionally award a Yin-Yang Purple Tree Core and three bottles of Tier-3 Purple Marrow Vitality Pills."
Song Changsheng sharply inhaled. The spirit stones were already a hefty reward but for someone capable of slaying a Purple Mansion cultivator, they weren't anything extraordinary.
But the other two items were a different matter entirely.
The Yin-Yang Purple Tree Core was the heartwood of a third-tier spiritual plant, the Yin-Yang Purple Tree, which took five hundred years to mature. When used by a cultivator at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, it could increase their chances of breaking through to the Purple Mansion Realm by thirty percent.
It was incredibly rare, typically monopolized by powerful sects. It rarely appeared on the open market. The Song Clan had once owned one and used it to help Song Yungui successfully ascend to the Purple Mansion realm.
This wasn't just a treasure it was an opportunity to advance to a higher cultivation realm. Even if a cultivator couldn't use it themselves, it could be passed on to a descendant or disciple or used as a powerful bargaining chip in negotiations.
Someone like Chang Wudao would pay a steep price for it, and the Song Clan would do the same without hesitation even if it meant trading a magic artifact.
As for the Purple Marrow Vitality Pills, while not as rare, they were still essential for Purple Mansion cultivators, rapidly increasing cultivation. A single bottle was worth tens of thousands of spirit stones, and the auction house was offering three bottles at once!
Song Changsheng's breathing quickened, though he managed to stay rational. This bounty was far beyond his capabilities it was meant for Purple Mansion cultivators, not someone like him.
That was only the first item on the wanted list. He continued reading.
The second target was the Purple Mansion Blood Demon who had escaped with the young Bloodbat King.
The reward was just as shocking: 150,000 spirit stones and a Tier-3 Low-Grade "Heaven-Earth Spirit Severing Talisman" from the City Lord's Manor.
On top of that, the auction house offered a Tier-3 Mid-Grade magic artifact and the young Bloodbat King itself an item so valuable that even two great Golden Core powers had nearly gone to war over it.
Song Changsheng could already imagine the chaos that reward would spark among the region's powers.
But again, this task had nothing to do with him. That blood demon had escaped from a net of Purple Mansion cultivators, and even though injured, he was far beyond Song Changsheng's reach.
So instead, Song focused on the third and final bounty the one for the sentient living puppet.
This one was issued solely by the City Lord's Manor. The puppet had injured three Foundation Establishment gate guards, which was a direct slap in the City Lord's face. It had to be punished.
The reward was generous: whoever could slay the puppet would be granted access to Luoxia City's Tier-2 Treasury, where they could choose three items at will.
Song Changsheng's eyes immediately lit up.
The Luoxia City treasury had only been opened to outsiders three times, and the Tier-2 vault had accounted for two of those.
According to those fortunate enough to enter it, the treasury held over a thousand Tier-2 treasures, including magic artifacts, cultivation legacies, talismans, pills, and more. Even spirit artifacts weren't considered particularly special in there.
And now, just by slaying that living puppet, he could freely choose three items. The temptation was overwhelming.
Especially for someone like Song Changsheng, who was cultivating the Five Beast Body Refining Art, which required five unique materials. With the Earth Dragon Pearl and White Tiger Fang already in hand, he was now halfway there.
Among the remaining required materials, the Ape Heart wouldn't be too hard to acquire. However, the Bi Fang Feather and Flood Dragon Scale would be extremely troublesome and virtually impossible to find on the open market.
But the treasury of Luoxia City offered a rare opportunity. It was the only place Song Changsheng could currently think of where all the required mediums might be found together.
Beside him, Xu Yunhe's breathing had also grown a little rapid. As a rogue cultivator with little to his name besides his sword, this was a golden chance to build up his foundation.
Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe exchanged a glance, and with that single look, they reached a silent agreement they were going to take the risk.
The living puppet, while formerly a peak Tier-2 threat, had sustained serious injuries during its escape from the city, drastically weakening its strength. At this point, it likely had no more than a late Foundation Establishment level of power.
Unlike human cultivators, puppets couldn't heal on their own. Unless reforged by a puppeteer, damage to their bodies was permanent. So the two of them weren't worried about its condition improving.
A puppet at the late Foundation Establishment level with their combined strength, they had a high chance of slaying it. And even if things went south, they were confident in their ability to escape unscathed.
"Do you know when the city's lockdown will be lifted?" Song Changsheng asked Song Qingluo in a serious tone.
"Oh! That's why I came, I almost forgot!" Song Qingluo smacked his forehead. "The City Lord's Manor announced that anyone who can prove their identity may leave the city starting from the moment the wanted notice was issued."
"How long ago was that?" Song Changsheng asked.
"…Three hours ago," Song Qingluo muttered sheepishly, lowering his head.
Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe looked at each other, a flash of urgency passing between them three hours late. That meant others might already be far ahead.
"Brother Yunhe, no time to waste we leave immediately!" Song Changsheng urged.
"Agreed," Xu Yunhe nodded. Compared to the other two bounties, this one was easier, which meant it would attract far more competition. Every moment counted.
The two made quick preparations and rushed toward the city gates.
Proving Song Changsheng's identity was easy he had both his family's identification token and an invitation to the City Lord's birthday banquet.
Xu Yunhe, being a rogue cultivator, faced more scrutiny, but his reputation as the "One-Armed Swordsman" was widely known. With Song Changsheng vouching for him, he too was allowed through.
But once outside the city, looking out over the vast, misty mountains, Xu Yunhe's heart sank a little. The Ten-Thousand Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see how were they supposed to find a single target in all that?
If the puppet truly wanted to stay hidden, finding it wouldn't be much easier than fishing a needle out of the ocean.
"Brother Song, where do we even start?" Xu Yunhe asked, unsure. He had no intention of blindly wandering into the mountains like a headless fly. That place was anything but forgiving.
Hearing the question, Song Changsheng smiled mysteriously and replied confidently, "Since I brought Brother Yunhe out here, I naturally have a way to find it."
Xu Yunhe looked surprised. "Could it be that Brother Song has mastered some sort of tracking technique?"
If this had been before his time in Luoxia, Song Changsheng certainly wouldn't have. But things had changed.
He had obtained two secret techniques from Sun Chuanming, and one of them his so-called "Dog Nose Technique" was the [Ten-Thousand-Mile Tracking Art].
As long as he could recall the target's scent and approximate location, the technique could lead him straight to them.
He'd spent six months mastering the technique and had tested it frequently. Just as Sun Chuanming had said, every creature had a unique scent, one that couldn't be described but could be distinctly recognized.
Although he had only briefly encountered the puppet before, its putrid, half-rotted stench was unforgettable a scent Song Changsheng would recognize anywhere.
As long as he got close enough, he'd be able to sniff it out.
"To think such a miraculous tracking technique exists in the world…" Xu Yunhe was visibly impressed, and in that moment, he became even more aware of the depth of his lack of foundation.
"I can't sense its scent from here. We'll have to go deeper into the mountains," Song Changsheng said after attempting the technique.
"Let's go," Xu Yunhe nodded.
And so, the two of them dashed toward the distant mountain range, vanishing into the shadows of the Ten-Thousand Mountains…
The Ten-Thousand Mountains was a general term for several interconnected mountain ranges. These ranges stretched from the western part of the continent to the shores of the Eastern Sea, serving as a natural boundary between the human and demon beast territories.
It was a treasure trove that the human race had yet to fully explore. Countless demon beasts lived within, including a fair number of powerful high-rank beasts. Despite the immense danger, it continued to attract many cultivators who entered in hopes of hunting spirit beasts.
Besides the abundant beast resources, the mountains also boasted a wealth of spiritual herbs and rich mineral deposits buried beneath the earth.
The human race had never given up on the idea of conquering this region, but their strength was simply insufficient. Without the leadership of a sacred land, such a feat would be utterly impossible.
As they moved through the thick forests and rolling hills, Song Changsheng suddenly asked,
"Brother Yunhe, you've spent so much time training in the Ten-Thousand Mountains. You must know this area well. If you were trying to hide, where would you go?"
Xu Yunhe thought for a moment and said,
"The mountains are fraught with danger. Unless one has cultivation at the Purple Mansion stage or higher, they wouldn't dare venture too deep.
That puppet was seriously injured. It surely wouldn't dare to go far into the interior. In the face of high-tier demon beasts or even beast kings, it likely wouldn't even get a chance to flee.
So our best bet is to search within the outer twenty-thousand-mile radius."
He continued,
"Also, there are a few high-tier beast territories in the outer region. Given how territorial those beasts are, it probably wouldn't risk getting close. That lets us narrow the search area down even further."
In just a few sentences, Xu Yunhe had reduced the search range by several times.
At that moment, Song Changsheng activated his [Ten-Thousand-Mile Tracking Art], sniffed the air a few times, and then suddenly pointed in a direction.
"There's a concentration of residual scents in this direction quite a few people have passed through here recently. It's likely the others who left the city before us. Let's follow and see."
Without another word, the two of them sped off at full speed.
After flying for over an hour, they finally encountered another cultivator a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, who eyed them warily.
Song Changsheng cupped his hands politely and asked,
"Fellow Daoist, are you here in response to the City Lord's bounty?"
The round-faced cultivator gave them a "duh" look and replied,
"Aren't you two as well?"
"Has anyone had any success yet?" Song Changsheng asked.
The man seemed eager to be rid of them, but still answered,
"The puppet showed up once. A fellow from the Lieyang Sect managed to rip off one of its arms. It fled east after that."
"Lieyang Sect…" Song Changsheng's brow furrowed. These people just wouldn't go away.
"Thanks for the info," he said, giving a respectful nod before setting off toward the east.
As expected, the further east they went, the more traces of cultivators they found.
The demon beasts of the Ten-Thousand Mountains were in for a hard time wherever human cultivators passed, nothing was left alive. Many second-rank beasts had already been slain.
Along the way, Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe gathered more and more intelligence, gaining a clearer understanding of the current situation in the mountains.
It turned out that not just the puppet had fled into the mountains the evil cultivator who kidnapped Xia Wanyun and the blood fiend who stole the bat demon king's offspring had both escaped here as well.
As a result, a flood of pursuers had poured into the mountains. Rough estimates suggested at least ten Purple Mansion cultivators and over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators were now hunting within. Several high-tier demon beasts had already fallen.
This was good news for the human side. With powerful Purple Mansion cultivators forging ahead, things would be much easier for Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe.
Suddenly, Song Changsheng came to a sharp halt in mid-air.
Xu Yunhe looked puzzled. "Did you find something, Brother Song?"
"Yes," Song Changsheng said, his expression serious. "But not the puppet it's the aura of that evil cultivator."
Xu Yunhe's expression turned grim. Even injured, a Purple Mansion cultivator was not someone they could afford to face.
"Can we go around him?" Xu Yunhe asked, frowning. This wasn't their target, after all.
"That might be difficult. There's already a fight happening up ahead."
"Then let's go take a look. Who knows? We might get something out of it," Xu Yunhe said, eyes lighting up. As a rogue cultivator, he had always believed that great rewards come with great risk.
"Very well," Song Changsheng nodded. A battle between Purple Mansion cultivators was a rare spectacle and for them, even witnessing it could be a fortuitous opportunity.
Once Song Changsheng confirmed the direction, he and Xu Yunhe quickly made their way over. Rather than flying openly through the sky where they'd be far too conspicuous they chose to descend and move along the ground.
As they drew closer, the fluctuations of the battle became increasingly intense. What puzzled Song Changsheng, however, was that he could sense multiple Foundation Establishment auras.
"Could it be that a bunch of Foundation cultivators are besieging that evil cultivator?" he muttered inwardly.
Sure enough, when they got close enough to see the situation clearly, it was just as Song Changsheng had suspected a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators had surrounded the evil cultivator. They had trapped him within a formation and were wearing him down slowly, bit by bit, draining his spiritual power.
Once his power was depleted, his death would be all but guaranteed.
"…The Lieyang Sect again? Why are they everywhere?" Song Changsheng frowned.
As his family's mortal enemy, he paid particular attention to any intelligence regarding the Lieyang Sect, and with just one glance, he recognized the group before him as the same Foundation Establishment cultivators that the sect had sent to Luoxia City.
He hadn't expected them to be so bold as to besiege a Purple Mansion cultivator and even more surprising, they had a chance of succeeding.
Rubbing his chin, Song Changsheng began to think of how to mess things up for the Lieyang Sect. After all, killing that evil cultivator came with the reward of the [Yin-Yang Purple Tree Core].
His family had already been struggling to breathe under the pressure of just one Purple Mansion cultivator from the Lieyang Sect. If they were allowed to add another one to their ranks, it would be an even bigger threat.
"What if I found a way to break their formation?" His eyes lingered on the three cultivators anchoring the formation from Lieyang Sect.
He still had two [Slaughter God's Flying Dagger] in his possession, and they were highly effective for sneak attacks. If he managed to kill even one of them, the formation would collapse, and the evil cultivator would be free.
Just as he was about to make his move
Xu Yunhe suddenly stopped him.
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