Tracking

Shi Ximing stood on the eaves, his body as light as a feather, his legs gleaming with azure light.

He had come to Great Xia this time for an inheritance.

His talent was not good. After more than twenty years of cultivation, he had only reached Qi Refining Stage 3.

This level was extremely awkward. Cultivators with Qi Refining cultivation who normally traveled outside were generally no weaker than this.

Yet he had spent so much time cultivating that he had not mastered many combat techniques. He did not even have the strength to rob others.

If not for the resources passed down by his ancestors, he might not even have reached Qi Refining Stage 3.

While idly reading through the notes left behind by his ancestors, he had come across a casual entry mentioning that one of his ancestor's good friends had suffered serious injuries and lost all hope of the immortal path, then returned to Great Xia.

The entry described how that friend had been fairly fortunate, obtaining a Superior-Grade Magic Tool while still in Early-Stage Qi Refining.

Even most Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators could not obtain a Superior-Grade Magic Tool, showing just how precious such tools were. Moreover, his ancestor's friend possessed a Superior-Grade Attack Magic Tool.

Perhaps Shi Ximing's ancestor had written it down merely as a memory, but when Shi Ximing saw it, his first thought was that if he could possess a Superior-Grade Attack Magic Tool, he could rob most low- and mid-level cultivators.

Although low-level cultivators could not sustain the use of a Superior-Grade Attack Magic Tool for long, even mid-level cultivators could not withstand an attack from a low-level cultivator wielding one without a good defensive magic artifact.

To him, this was his Immortal Fate, which was why he had come to Great Xia.

However, he had no connections in the mortal world. While inquiring about the descendants of his ancestor's good friend, word had leaked out.

Escort Chief Wang's ancestor had been the good friend of Shi Ximing's ancestor. The inheritance left behind by Escort Chief Wang's ancestor had become the foundation of the Wang Family.

The inheritance of Escort Chief Wang's ancestor was not merely an immortal cultivation inheritance; it also contained several top-tier martial arts inheritances.

In the cultivation world, top-tier martial arts inheritances were not worth much, but these several inheritances had produced generation after generation of experts in the Wang Family.

The Escort Chief Wang of this generation had even become a Grandmaster, and the Mighty Escort Agency was one of Great Xia's major escort agencies.

Escort Chief Wang also knew the importance of his ancestral inheritance. Upon learning that someone was asking about his ancestor, he took precautions.

That day, as he gathered the escort leaders of the agency and prepared countermeasures, Shi Ximing found them.

Seven escort leaders fought desperately to hold him back, allowing Escort Chief Wang to escape Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. Relying on his familiarity with the surroundings, he successfully evaded Shi Ximing's pursuit.

Shi Ximing did not expect Escort Chief Wang to be so cunning. A mortal Grandmaster was nothing before a Qi Refining Stage 3 cultivator like him. He had thought it would be as easy as turning his hand, but a moment of carelessness had allowed Escort Chief Wang to slip away.

The matter at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion had become rather serious. In particular, many scholars had been present, several Xiucai had been injured, and seven lives had been lost, causing the authorities to spare no effort in pursuing Shi Ximing.

Shi Ximing was not afraid of the authorities, but before obtaining what he wanted, he had no wish to provoke Great Xia's officials too severely.

If things went too far, the immortal sect behind Great Xia would send cultivators to deal with it.

Cultivators dispatched to carry out missions were not opponents someone as insignificant as a Qi Refining Stage 3 cultivator like him could handle.

For this reason, he did not cause any more trouble and merely used certain methods to track Escort Chief Wang.

Yet after searching nearly half of Nanling City, he still had not found Escort Chief Wang. This left him unable to remain rational.

Shi Ximing went to the Mighty Escort Agency and slaughtered everyone within. Then, using the blood of Escort Chief Wang's direct bloodline as a guide, he used a Low-Grade Bloodline Tracking Talisman.

Something that deeply disappointed him happened: the Low-Grade Bloodline Tracking Talisman upon which he had pinned his hopes failed to reveal Escort Chief Wang's exact location.

There were two possibilities. One was that Escort Chief Wang had left Nanling Prefecture and gone more than five hundred li away. The other was that Escort Chief Wang was already dead, which was why the Low-Grade Bloodline Tracking Talisman had failed.

Standing atop the eaves, Shi Ximing gritted his teeth and took out a new tracking talisman. Unlike the talisman he had used before, this one contained extraordinarily dense spiritual resonance.

This was a Mid-Grade Qi Tracking Talisman, one of the few items left behind by his ancestors.

One mid-grade talisman was worth a hundred low-grade talismans of the same kind. With Shi Ximing's Qi Refining Stage 3 strength, he was incapable of drawing mid-grade talismans himself.

Using a mid-grade talisman to track a mortal made his heart ache just thinking about it.

"Once I find you, I'll tear out your soul and refine your corpse into a Corpse Puppet!" he said reluctantly as he took out a piece of clothing from the Storage Bag at his waist.

The clothing had been found at the Mighty Escort Agency. It belonged to Escort Chief Wang and carried his aura.

He mobilized his Spiritual Power and activated the Intermediate Tracking Talisman in his hand. The talisman transformed into a ray of light that landed on the clothing. Then, through the Intermediate Tracking Talisman, he sensed Escort Chief Wang's route.

The Intermediate Tracking Talisman remained effective for three shichen. So long as Escort Chief Wang was still within Nanling City, Shi Ximing was confident he could find him.

Even if Escort Chief Wang was dead, every place he had passed through would leave behind spiritual resonance.

Shi Ximing had searched the Mighty Escort Agency and failed to find the Inheritance Treasure. After using some methods, he learned from Escort Chief Wang's family that Escort Chief Wang had taken an item with him.

Therefore, whether or not he found Escort Chief Wang himself, there was a high chance he could still find that item.

Shi Ximing applied another Low-Grade Body Lightening Talisman to himself, allowing him to maintain the effect of being as light as a feather.

In order to achieve his goal this time, he was being extravagantly wasteful. Talismans he normally could not bear to use were being consumed one after another.

Following the spiritual resonance clues provided by the Intermediate Tracking Talisman, his figure leaped from building to building throughout Nanling City.

Half a shichen later, he arrived outside the Government Office.

As he sensed the guidance of the Intermediate Tracking Talisman, he finally understood why he had failed to find Escort Chief Wang before.

Escort Chief Wang had hidden inside the Government Office. The most dangerous place was also the safest place.

Who would have known that the man both Shi Ximing and the authorities were searching for was hiding inside the authorities' Government Office?

Without the slightest hesitation, even if he were discovered by the authorities now, he had to enter.

The spiritual resonance pointed toward the Back Garden. He treated the tall courtyard walls as though they were nothing.

With a single leap, he cleared the wall. His feet stepped repeatedly atop the tree canopies as he pursued the spiritual resonance without touching the ground.

There was no one in the garden. Li Wenyuan had been extremely busy lately, and there were only Li Wenyuan and Li Shiming in the Li Family, with few servants.

Because of the major events that had occurred in Nanling Prefecture over the past few days, a large number of people had been sent out to investigate.

Shi Ximing's strength might have been weak by cultivator standards, but with the aid of the Low-Grade Body Lightening Talisman and his perception, he penetrated deep into the garden without alerting anyone.