The Journey

The horse had probably been spooked by the iron-backed wolves, because it had broken free of its reins.

Feeling a pang over the silver she had spent, Shi Lan returned to the ruined temple.

Lu Chengye sat beside the fire. From the look on his face, it was obvious he was still brooding over how he had fled in panic when they faced the demonic beasts.

Song He directed the martial artists to skin and butcher the iron-backed wolves, then pack the hides and meat separately.

After all the commotion, Shi Lan was no longer sleepy. She chatted idly with Song He and Lu Chengye.

"Brother Shi, why don't you come with us? We're heading to the territory of the Shengwu Immortal Sect," Lu Chengye invited her, having heard that Shi Lan was traveling alone without any particular destination.

Hearing Lu Chengye's words, Lu Lingshan quietly poked her head out from under the covers and listened closely.

Shi Lan considered it, then declined Lu Chengye's kind offer. Judging by the route they were taking, they were certainly heading in the direction of Tenglong City. If she went with them, she might run into people from Tenglong City.

If they found her, sneaking out again next time might not be so easy. And if the system gave her another mission then, she'd be completely at a loss.

As the sky began to pale, Song He left the ruined temple to help the martial artists get ready for the journey.

Since the horse that had been spooked earlier had vanished, Shi Lan asked Song He if he could spare her another one.

Song He agreed without hesitation. He picked out the strongest horse in the herd, tied several bags of cured wolf meat to it, and led it over to Shi Lan.

Song He pushed away the silver Shi Lan offered and shook his head.

"Little Brother Shi, there's no need for silver. You saved my young master and young miss this time, so by rights we should reward you handsomely. But we don't know how much longer our journey will take, so we have to watch every penny. I hope you won't take offense. If you have time in the future, come find us in Immortal Martial City, at the foot of the Shengwu Immortal Sect's mountain gate. We'll surely reward you then."

"Senior Song, you're too kind. I'll accept the horse, then." Shi Lan didn't refuse and readily accepted Song He's kindness.

"Brother Shi, demonic beasts are running rampant these days. Please take good care of yourself," Lu Chengye said from nearby.

After leaving the ruined temple, Lu Lingshan climbed into a carriage and went quiet.

"Master Lu, I hope you cultivate your righteous qi soon. We'll part ways here. Farewell, Senior Song." With that, Shi Lan tightened the long case on her back, swung onto the horse, and rode away.

Lu Lingshan lifted the carriage curtain and watched Shi Lan's departing figure, silently wishing her well.

"Safe travels."

Shi Lan continued onward without any particular destination. Taking Song He's advice, she no longer headed straight west but changed her course slightly.

Once she had finished her rations, Shi Lan took out the wolf meat and roasted it.

She hadn't expected it to taste like much, but the wolf meat was surprisingly delicious. After eating it, Shi Lan felt that her strength had increased considerably.

As she circulated the Jade Forging Art, it seemed to come more and more naturally to her, and her understanding of the Vajra Divine Fist improved much faster as well.

As the days passed, Shi Lan's strength advanced as smoothly as water following its natural course, and she entered the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm. She had barely even felt a bottleneck.

The unexpected ease of her progress made Shi Lan feel that something was amiss. She summoned her attribute panel, and sure enough, she found an anomaly.

Host: Shi Lan

Cultivation: Body Tempering Realm, fifth level

Root Bone: 8 (once in a century)

Techniques: Vajra Divine Fist (minor mastery), Jade Forging Art (second level)

Divine Ability: Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique (three stars)

Strength Evaluation: A novice in the martial path

After discovering the change in her Root Bone, Shi Lan thought for a moment and realized it must have been related to the Dust-Cleansing Pill.

A better Root Bone was a good thing no matter how she looked at it.

Shi Lan made time to practice martial arts as she continued onward. Gradually, she noticed that demonic beasts were appearing more often, and she began encountering groups of refugees fleeing for their lives.

Anyone who still had to travel on foot or by horse had yet to reach the Xiantian Realm. Most of these refugees were ordinary people, and martial artists were few and far between.

Compared to Song He and the others she had met some time ago, these refugees looked much worse off. Their faces were weathered and anxious; some were even dressed in rags, gaunt and sallow.

Whenever Shi Lan saw refugees, she generally chose to keep her distance. She had no way to help them right now and didn't want to invite trouble.

It was already July, and the sun overhead was like a blazing furnace. To shield herself from its scorching rays, Shi Lan now wore a bamboo hat with a white veil.

As usual, Shi Lan sat astride her horse and rode along at a leisurely pace.

She took a swig of water and wiped the light sweat from her forehead. As she looked around for somewhere shady to escape the heat, a beast's roar suddenly rang out ahead, mixed with a chorus of screams.

"Hyah!"

Shi Lan frowned, called out sharply, and urged her horse forward.

The commotion clearly meant someone was under attack by a demonic beast. She couldn't simply turn a blind eye.

Just as Shi Lan was nearing the source of the noise, the beast's roar turned into a bloodcurdling wail, then abruptly fell silent.

When Shi Lan arrived and saw what had happened, she paused in surprise.

A tiger-shaped demonic beast, over three meters long, lay in a pool of blood. Someone had cleaved it in half from the forehead down, leaving its wound charred black.

Near the beast's corpse, more than a dozen ragged refugees stood or crouched, trembling all over, their faces stricken with terror.

Shi Lan's gaze darkened as she looked at the wound on the beast.

The same kind of wound again.

From the ruined temple in the wilderness to here, Shi Lan had seen this kind of wound more than a dozen times along the way. Clearly, whoever was striking had been following her—or rather, protecting her.

"Thank you for saving our lives, Immortal!"

"Thank you, Immortal!"

The refugees came to their senses. When they saw Shi Lan, they dropped to their knees and kowtowed again and again, their faces full of gratitude.

They had just seen a streak of light fly from Shi Lan's direction and cut the ferocious tiger demon in half. Seeing that Shi Lan was dressed differently from the other refugees, they assumed she had been the one to strike.

Xiantian Realm martial artists were actually quite rare. Across the entire population of the Chengtian Domain, there was not one in a hundred thousand.

These refugees had seen little of the world. The strongest martial artist they had ever seen could do no more than lift a few hundred jin.

How could they compare that to what they had just witnessed? With a swish, before anyone had even arrived, the tiger demon had already been killed. Someone that powerful had to be an immortal!

Seeing the group kneeling in a row and kowtowing, Shi Lan was at a loss. She hurriedly dismounted and ran over to them. It took a long explanation before she cleared up the misunderstanding.

Once they realized Shi Lan hadn't been the one who struck, their attitude toward her changed completely. They gathered around the tiger demon's corpse and watched her warily.

Some even threatened her, telling her to leave at once.