"Captain Liu."
The moment the middle-aged man on horseback appeared, everyone else hurriedly greeted him with respect.
Yang Lingtian calmly stared straight at the man called Captain Liu and said, "Before you speak, discipline your subordinates first!"
Before Captain Liu could say anything, a burly man in front shouted first.
He glared at Yang Lingtian with a murderous look and bellowed, "Arrogant brat, how dare you speak to our Captain Liu like that!"
"You actually dared to disrespect our captain. Let me represent your mother and teach you a proper lesson!"
As he spoke, the burly man charged straight over and raised his palm to slap Yang Lingtian across the face.
Yang Lingtian's expression suddenly changed, and intense killing intent flickered in his eyes.
He immediately raised his hand and firmly caught the burly man's incoming palm. At the same time, his other hand clenched into a fist and slammed into the man's chest.
"Crack!"
As the sound of bones breaking rang out, Yang Lingtian caved in the burly man's chest with nothing but the strength of his physical body.
"Ah!"
A shriek suddenly rang out as the burly man howled in pain.
The ferocity that had originally filled his face vanished without a trace, leaving his entire face deathly pale.
Yang Lingtian then raised his leg and viciously kicked the burly man in the chest, carrying a sharp gust of force.
The burly man was sent flying high into the air before crashing to the ground more than ten meters away.
Dust billowed up as blood spurted from the burly man's mouth, his entire body curling into a ball.
The others froze for a long while at the sight. Then they all drew their weapons, intending to kill Yang Lingtian.
"Stop!" Captain Liu immediately shouted, stopping his enraged subordinates in time.
Captain Liu slowly stepped forward, his expression solemn as he looked at Yang Lingtian.
He asked, "Young friend, do you really only want to ask for directions, with no other intentions?"
"Yes." Yang Lingtian nodded slightly.
"Captain Liu, give this young brother a map!"
Before Captain Liu could reply, a somewhat aged voice came from the carriage behind them.
Although the voice was old, it was full of vigor.
Hearing it, Yang Lingtian looked back. There was something unfathomably deep about that voice.
Captain Liu, meanwhile, revealed a trace of reverence and cupped his hands slightly toward the person in the carriage. "Yes, Elder."
A sharp glint flashed through Yang Lingtian's eyes, and he could not help looking toward the carriage a few more times.
At that moment, an old man with a head of white hair looked at Yang Lingtian through the curtain of the carriage.
It was as though he had already seen straight through Yang Lingtian.
He was slightly astonished inwardly. This boy is only eighteen according to his bone age, yet he has already achieved Foundation Establishment. He can be considered a prodigy.
More importantly, there is actually a fluctuation of energy inside his body that I cannot see through. He must be someone who has encountered a great opportunity as well.
Now that I am facing a crisis, it is better to form more good connections.
At that moment, Captain Liu took a scroll from his Space Ring and handed it to Yang Lingtian.
Then he said, "This is a map of the Star-Moon Dynasty. Take it."
Yang Lingtian accepted the scroll and cupped his hands slightly. "Thank you!"
He then left in the opposite direction from the merchant caravan.
Captain Liu turned around and gave Yang Lingtian a deep look. After taking a deep breath, he waved his hand. "Move out!"
The entire merchant caravan set off once more.
At that moment, the aged voice suddenly rang beside Yang Lingtian's ear, as though someone had pressed close to his ear and whispered to him.
"Young man, you possess such strength at such a young age. Cultivate diligently."
"I believe that before long, you will become famous throughout the continent."
Yang Lingtian's expression shifted slightly, and he froze for a moment.
He then looked around, but there was no one beside him.
His gaze landed on the merchant caravan that was still moving in the distance.
He knew that the voice must have come from the person sitting inside the carriage.
However, he noticed that the dozens of mercenaries protecting the caravan seemed not to have heard those words at all.
Their expressions had not changed in the slightest. They continued forward just as before.
I'm the only one who can hear it? Is this directed transmission?
An incredulous look gradually appeared on Yang Lingtian's face. Could someone capable of this be a Nascent Soul old monster?
"Young man, if you ever come to Shenba City in the Heavenly Saint Empire, you can use this token to find me."
At that moment, the voice rang out again.
Then a token flashing with golden light flew out of the carriage window and landed securely in Yang Lingtian's hand.
The guards around the carriage saw the token fly toward Yang Lingtian, and their eyes filled with deep envy.
Mixed within that envy was a trace of confusion.
At this moment, Yang Lingtian's heart was already churning like a stormy sea.
He knew that the mysterious elder sitting inside the carriage was certainly a powerhouse of unfathomable strength.
He simply did not understand why such a powerhouse would have these people of low cultivation escorting him.
The carriage gradually disappeared into the distance. Looking at the token in his hand, Yang Lingtian knew that it was no ordinary object.
The entire token was made of purple gold, a rare material for refining spirit artifacts.
Based on the token itself alone, it was probably worth quite a lot of Spirit Stones.
"The Heavenly Saint Empire? Could it be one of the three great empires of the Shenwu Continent?"
"Just what is the identity of this mysterious elder?" Yang Lingtian murmured softly.
He knew very little about the Heavenly Saint Empire. After all, his predecessor had never even left Tianchen City and had only seen records of it in some books.
However, he knew that he was still within the Star-Moon Dynasty.
Tianchen City was merely a third-grade city within the Star-Moon Dynasty.
Eighty percent of all the cities in the Star-Moon Dynasty were third-grade cities. The rest were the relatively fewer second-grade and first-grade cities.
Yang Lingtian did not know why the elder had given him the token.
But since the elder had given it to him, if he ever had the chance to go to the Heavenly Saint Empire, he could visit the elder. In an unfamiliar place, it would not hurt to have someone to seek out.
Yang Lingtian took out the map and located a nearby third-grade city called Qingfeng City.
He followed the official road toward Qingfeng City.
Two days later, he finally arrived at Qingfeng City.
This place was quite far from Tianchen City. Presumably, the Lei Family's influence could not reach this far.
Yang Lingtian strolled through the streets, his curious gaze constantly sweeping over the roadside stalls on both sides.
Suddenly, the Chaos Bead inside his dantian began to tremble violently.
Yang Lingtian's expression changed dramatically. This was the first time the Chaos Bead had shaken so inexplicably, and he had no idea what was happening.
At that moment, a strange feeling suddenly surged through Yang Lingtian's mind. He seemed to be able to sense an excited emotion coming from the Chaos Bead.
Then a wondrous feeling suddenly entered his mind, as though it had appeared out of thin air.
Yang Lingtian could clearly sense that the Chaos Bead in his dantian had formed a subtle connection with him.
This connection was similar to a spiritual connection.
Suddenly, a childlike voice rang out in his mind.
"Quick, Golden Feather Stone! There's Golden Feather Stone ahead!"
The voice appeared for only an instant before falling silent again.
No matter how Yang Lingtian called out in his mind, no further voice came.
However, the Chaos Bead in his dantian continued to tremble slightly.
Yang Lingtian looked up and locked his gaze onto a fist-sized black stone in a corner of one of the roadside stalls.
Because he had formed some kind of connection with the Chaos Bead, he could also sense that this black stone seemed extraordinary.
The black stone was round overall and looked no different from an ordinary stone.
Yang Lingtian slowly walked over. At that moment, he could clearly sense the Chaos Bead's joyful emotions.
After looking at the black stone, Yang Lingtian reached out and casually touched it, pretending to be merely taking a look.
When he picked it up, he realized that the black stone was extraordinarily heavy.
An ordinary person probably would not even be able to lift it. It weighed more than the combined weight of several people.
When he held the black stone in his hand, he could clearly sense the excitement and joy coming from the Chaos Bead.
"Young brother, have you taken a fancy to this strange stone?" the stall owner asked with a smile.
Yang Lingtian put down the black stone and asked, "What kind of stone is this? Why is it so heavy, and what exactly is it used for?"
The stall owner chuckled awkwardly. "I don't know either."
"All I know is that it's exceptionally heavy. It should not be an ordinary object."
"Then where did you get this black stone?" Yang Lingtian continued asking.
The stall owner pondered for a moment before saying, "Many people have asked me, but I never told them."
"I feel that we are fated to meet, so I'll tell you."
"I actually picked this stone up in the Monster Beast Mountain Range. It was very heavy, so I thought it might be some kind of treasure and brought it back."
Seeing that Yang Lingtian seemed very interested in the black stone, the stall owner continued, "Young brother, why don't you buy it?"
"I've had this black stone for several years. I normally don't even take it out."
"It's just that I've been short on Spirit Stones lately, so I had no choice but to put it out for sale."
"This black stone must be an extraordinary treasure. If you buy it, you definitely won't regret it."
Yang Lingtian picked up the black stone again and examined it carefully.
Then he looked at the stall owner and asked, "How many Spirit Stones do you intend to sell it for?"
His tone was extremely calm, as though he was merely curious about the black stone and did not consider it indispensable.
"Well..." The stall owner hesitated. He knew that the black stone was probably no ordinary object.
But he truly did not know what the stone was useful for.
He had once consulted many books about rare treasures, but he still had not found an answer.
He had even asked several friends with higher cultivation, but they had all been equally clueless.
He had set up his stall for a long time, and although some people had been curious about the stone, they all turned around and left without another word after hearing his asking price.
He had once asked for ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, but the other party had walked away with a dark expression.
He very much wanted to sell it for a good price, but he was also afraid that if he quoted too high a price, the person before him would likewise turn around and leave.
After hesitating for a long while, the stall owner said, "How about this? You name a price. If it's suitable, I'll sell it to you directly."
Hearing this, Yang Lingtian did not want to waste words and immediately named a price. "Twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones!"
Before you continue