Cautious Probing

Cècè and Er Han hurried through the wind and snow. Before entering Great Li's territory, Cècè had already planned their route back to the Wasteland from Great Li. The vastly different scenery in western Great Li now only required a slight adjustment to the plan.

After all, the closer they got to the Wasteland, the fewer people they would see.

As for that Joy Lantern Priest who had taken a liking to Er Han and was relentlessly pursuing them, he was definitely doomed.

Great Li's unexpected willingness to expend resources and use Flying Boats to deliver grain to civilians meant they certainly wouldn't let the White Sun Evil Sacrifice, who specialized in stirring up trouble at the lowest levels, get away with it. Otherwise, what would be the point of all their efforts?

When Cècè saw the signal flares from the Western Desolation Army, she knew her plan to use others as a weapon would go far more smoothly than she had predicted. Great Li was taking what they were doing exceptionally seriously.

And indeed, that was the case.

The Great General of the Western Desolation had personally rushed to the location where the Joy Lantern Priest had appeared.

Even though this Great General knew that even if a few civilians died, it wouldn't be a major issue for him, difficult tasks often came with opportunities. Completing a task flawlessly was a great merit.

The person in the Eastern Palace, with their outstanding talent, had already become a renowned expert at just over a hundred years old. Furthermore, their supervision of the state and their actions had always been forceful. Giving them more responsibility at this time was truly giving them an opportunity.

Whether they could seize it or not depended entirely on them.

When the Great General of the Western Desolation arrived personally, the Joy Lantern Priest was already locked in combat with the soldiers of the Western Desolation Army and the scouts from the Shadow Division.

This fellow only had a few White Robed Dao Soldiers, but each of them was at least at the Nascent Transformation Realm, and there was even one Dao Soldier in the Supernatural Realm.

That Supernatural Realm Dao Soldier had awakened their supernatural abilities. During the battle, they fought with broad, powerful strokes. Under the enhancement of their supernatural abilities, even a Sword Cultivator of the same level found it difficult to break through their defenses for a while.

The opponent was retreating rapidly while fighting. How could the Great General of the Western Desolation let him escape?

Such a brazen scoundrel, if discovered today and allowed to escape, would dare to sneak in again tomorrow and cause a major incident.

The Great General of the Western Desolation descended from the sky, his entire body coiled with power, his eyes bloodshot. He grabbed the head of the Supernatural Realm Dao Soldier with one hand, unleashed the power in his palm, and crushed its head into its belly on the spot.

The Joy Lantern Priest, who had been fleeing frantically, had his eyes split with rage. His mentality instantly shattered. He was just a fifth-tier Joy Lantern Priest. Was it worth the Great General of the Western Desolation expending his strength and rushing all the way here to kill him personally?

Was it worth it?

The Great General of the Western Desolation laughed heartily, his steps like a dragon, his speed incredibly fast.

"I heard you scum like to harm Body Cultivators the most. Coincidentally, I myself primarily cultivate the body. Come, come, don't say I didn't give you a chance."

Although he said this, his actions did not seem like he was giving anyone a chance. His attacks were ruthless and decisive, using brute force to overcome all techniques. With one move, he crippled a White Robed Dao Soldier. In a few strides, he covered several miles and appeared before the Joy Lantern Priest.

Without giving the opponent a chance to use any secret techniques, the Great General of the Western Desolation moved both his hands. In the blink of an eye, the Joy Lantern Priest's limbs were detached from his body, his jaw was dislocated, his Sea of Qi was shattered, and he himself fell unconscious. The Great General of the Western Desolation held him like a dead dog.

When the people from the Shadow Division arrived, the Great General of the Western Desolation tossed the unconscious Joy Lantern Priest to them.

"You guys always brag that even a mute would talk once they get to you. Don't say I didn't give you a chance to earn merit. Take him. If you can't get any information, then stop bragging everywhere, lest you embarrass yourselves."

The person from the Shadow Division smiled and respectfully thanked the Great General of the Western Desolation, acting as if being insulted by him was an honor. If they hadn't discovered the Joy Lantern Priest in advance, they would have to take the blame.

Since the Eastern Palace had ordered these actions, Emperor Li had executed many people in the past few days. Two Censors, who used to thrive by spewing nonsense, had already been eliminated.

By this time, Cècè had already taken Er Han further north, traveling with a merchant caravan heading to Great Zhen.

The leader of the caravan was nominally the young master, but it was clear he was on his first long journey of this kind, likely accompanying them to gain experience. The actual management of the entire caravan was handled by the old steward.

"Sister Cècè, come in quickly! The wind and snow are getting worse. We won't reach the next town for another day."

On an ebony carriage, a young girl lifted the curtain and called out to Cècè outside.

Cècè smiled and nodded, readily agreeing, and got into the carriage.

The young girl appeared to be in her mid-teens, at an age of innocence and exuberance, yet she kept a stern face, pretending to be mature and authoritative, diligently trying to learn everything she needed to pay attention to on this journey.

Once inside the carriage, the young girl eagerly took Cècè's hand and asked in a low voice.

"Sister Cècè, how did you do it? I feel like your guards listen to you and respect you so much. My guards are all diligent, but they all treat me like a child."

"It's alright. If you keep learning diligently, they will respect you. No one can achieve it overnight."

"Did Sister Cècè also learn slowly?"

"Yes, I also learned slowly from knowing nothing. However, I didn't have as good conditions as you to learn in peace."

Cècè's expression became slightly distant. She smiled and said.

"My hometown is just a small city in the Kuihou Kingdom. It's not as stable as Great Li there. When we reach the next town, we will be leaving. You should learn well from the steward."

After a brief two-day interaction, Cècè and Er Han left, having hitched a ride, and entered the Wasteland.

Under the vast expanse of wind and snow, even the traces left by Er Han would soon be completely buried. They had at least safely entered the Wasteland.

As for whether they had left any traces, there was no need to think about it. As long as they had passed through, there would inevitably be some clues. Given the current situation in western Great Li, the people of Great Li would surely discover some.

Cècè didn't intend to hide completely. Being too timid would only make her seem hesitant.

As long as she could avoid being caught by the mad dogs of the White Sun Evil Sacrifice, she was willing to intentionally leave behind some things.

On Jinlan Mountain, Yu Ziqing was still busy with his tree-planting endeavor. He hadn't appeared in this chapter at all and was already bored to death.

His Body Refining had stalled due to a lack of resources, and his body had not yet recovered.

The after-effects of his transformation had slightly improved, but they were still severe.

The number of hungry ghosts remained high, and the tree-planting project was still more than half complete. Currently, it only encompassed the southern and eastern halves of Jinlan Mountain.

Another reason the plan couldn't proceed was that hungry ghosts hidden underground had sent information indicating activity on the west side of Jinlan Mountain. The other party seemed to have sensed something and ultimately bypassed the area.

Yu Ziqing's tree-planting endeavor would have to be temporarily halted.

Just as Old Yang had predicted, the stronger and more knowledgeable individuals were more hesitant to venture into the Wasteland, while the weaker, less informed ones were surprisingly courageous.

After recuperating in the village for a few days, Cècè and Er Han finally returned.

Cècè unfurled the Abyss of Despair at the edge of the village, placing all the items she had brought inside. The villagers began entering and exiting the Abyss of Despair to unload their cargo. The items for Old Yang were also handed over for him to personally inventory.

Old Yang was to handle any loose ends on-site to prevent their location from being detected.

Old Yang rummaged through the contents and chuckled. He opened his mouth and swallowed a piece of black metal with water-like patterns. After it circulated within his stomach, he spat it out again, and the metal turned pure black.

"To use a fifth-grade material to create a fake third-grade material is truly ingenious."

"Cècè, has the western region of Great Li become this chaotic? One-third of the items you procured have been tampered with and marked."

"I went to Kuihou Kingdom."

"Hmm?" Old Yang was slightly taken aback. After a moment's thought, he nodded in agreement.

Yu Ziqing didn't need to get involved in the matters being handled here. He followed Cècè into the village and listened as she reported on the events of the past few days.

"That's roughly how the procurement went. I felt it wasn't safe in Great Li, so I took it upon myself to go to Kuihou Kingdom. After all, I'm quite familiar with Kuihou Kingdom; I lived there from when I was five to fifteen years old."

"As for what happened later, when the western region of Great Li experienced the anomaly..."

"After that, I encountered a merchant caravan traveling along the border between the Wasteland and Great Li. At first, I thought they were from the Shadow Division, but later I realized they weren't. They were a different group. I interacted with them and only noticed a slight anomaly, though it's possible I was being overly cautious."

Cècè recounted the entire journey to Yu Ziqing in detail. Yu Ziqing didn't comment much. When traveling, one naturally had to adjust according to the actual situation; there was nothing to criticize.

Defrauding a Joy Lantern Priest was a minor matter, something he would have done himself if given the chance.

"Tell me about the anomaly you finally discovered."

"The old steward hid his strength, though I couldn't pinpoint exactly how much. I just felt his power was too great for the family he served. That's all. I wouldn't normally pay much attention to it, but one time, I happened to notice that he seemed to show great respect to the young master, who appeared to know nothing."

"Respect?"

"Yes, respect."

"Respect..." Yu Ziqing pondered for a moment, recalling the detailed account Cècè had given.

It was the clichéd story of an ordinary merchant caravan encountering a young lady accompanied by a Body Cultivator bodyguard and joining their convoy.

Of course, the issue was that this caravan traveled between Great Zhen and Great Li, sticking to routes close to the Wasteland...

"I don't think the anomalies lie in these details, but rather in how seamlessly they managed to get you to join their convoy, and even dared to let the young master share a carriage with you."

"It was so seamless that when you recount it now, you don't even find it particularly problematic that you were able to join the convoy in the first place."

"The reason they dared to let you share a carriage with the young master wasn't because you were friendly, appeared to be just a mortal, or were merely a newly initiated Spirit Refining cultivator. It was because the old steward was absolutely certain that you couldn't harm his young master."

Yu Ziqing suddenly smiled, then remembered Cècè's mention of the unexpected changes in the western region of Great Li.

"When you left, did they introduce themselves and leave you their contact information?"

"Yes, they did."

"Good. Stay in touch with them more often when you have free time. They clearly consider you a close confidante."

I was late returning because I took my cat, Da Ju, to the vet. I also want to remind all pet owners: if your cat, who usually eats as if they're trying to chew through the bowl, suddenly starts eating less, take them to the vet immediately.