The Journey

The horse was probably startled by the Iron-backed Wolf, which is why it broke free from its reins.

After a moment of heartache over the spent silver, Shi Lan returned to the dilapidated temple.

Lu Chengye sat by the campfire. Judging by the expression on his face, he was clearly still bothered by his earlier panicked flight from the Demon Beast.

Song He directed the martial artists to skin and butcher the Iron-backed Wolf, packing the meat and hide separately.

After such an upheaval, Shi Lan lost all desire to sleep and chatted idly with Song He and the others.

"Brother Shi, why don't you travel with us? We're heading to the territory of the Holy Martial Immortal Sect," Lu Chengye said, having heard that Shi Lan was currently traveling alone with no particular destination.

Hearing Lu Chengye's words, Lu Lingshan quietly peeked her head out from under the covers, straining to listen.

Shi Lan considered it for a moment and declined Lu Chengye's kind offer. Following the group's current route would surely lead them towards Tenglong City, and if she went along, she might run into people from Tenglong City.

If she were found, it would be much harder to escape next time, and if the System then assigned her a task, she'd be truly stuck.

As the sky began to faintly whiten, Song He emerged from the dilapidated temple and instructed the martial artists to prepare their belongings.

Since the previous horse had bolted and disappeared after being spooked, Shi Lan discussed with Song He whether she could borrow one.

Song He agreed without hesitation. He selected the sturdiest horse from the herd, tied several bags of cured Wolf meat to it, and led it to Shi Lan.

Song He pushed away the silver Shi Lan offered, shaking his head.

"Young Brother Shi, there's no need for money. By rights, you saved the lives of my young master and mistress, and we should offer a generous reward. However, we don't know how long our journey will be, and we must be frugal with our travel expenses. Please don't be offended. If you have time in the future, you can come find us at Immortal Martial City at the foot of the Holy Martial Immortal Sect mountain gate, and we will surely reward you handsomely then."

"Senior Song is too kind. Then I will shamelessly accept this horse." Shi Lan did not refuse and readily accepted Song He's goodwill.

"Brother Shi, Demon Beasts are rampant these days. Please take care," Lu Chengye said from the side.

After Lu Lingshan emerged from the dilapidated temple, she had gotten into a carriage and remained silent.

"Young Master Lu, I wish you early success in cultivating Righteous Qi. We shall part ways here. Senior Song, farewell." With that, Shi Lan tightened the long box on her back, mounted the horse, and rode forward.

Lu Lingshan lifted the curtain and watched Shi Lan's departing back, silently offering a wish.

"Safe travels."

Shi Lan rode on aimlessly. Thanks to Song He's reminder, she no longer headed directly west but shifted her direction slightly.

After finishing her dry rations, Shi Lan took out the Wolf meat to roast.

She hadn't expected much, but the Wolf meat tasted surprisingly good. Moreover, after eating it, Shi Lan felt her strength had increased considerably.

Shi Lan circulated the Jade Body Forging Technique, which seemed to become more fluid, and her understanding of the Vajra Divine Fist also accelerated.

As days passed, Shi Lan's strength naturally advanced to the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm, and she barely felt any bottleneck.

This unexpected smoothness made Shi Lan feel something was amiss. She summoned her status panel and, upon seeing it, indeed discovered an anomaly.

Host: Shi Lan
Cultivation: Body Tempering Realm Level 5
Talent: 8 (Once in a century)
Techniques: Vajra Divine Fist (Minor Accomplishment), Jade Body Forging Technique (Level 2)
Spiritual Power: Heavenly Eye Qi Observation Technique (3 Stars)
Combat Power Evaluation: Novice in Martial Arts

Noticing the change in her talent, Shi Lan pondered for a while and realized it must be related to that Dust Cleansing Pill.

Improved talent was, by all accounts, a good thing.

Shi Lan continued to advance, practicing martial arts in her spare time. Gradually, she noticed an increase in the number of Demon Beasts appearing around her, and she began encountering waves of refugees.

Those who traveled on foot or by horse were certainly not yet in the Foundation Realm. Most of these refugees were ordinary people; martial artists were rarely seen.

Compared to Song He and his group whom she had met earlier, these refugees looked much more miserable, their faces weathered, their expressions uneasy, some even ragged and emaciated.

Upon seeing these refugees, Shi Lan generally chose to avoid them from a distance. She currently lacked the ability to help them and did not wish to attract trouble.

The weather had entered July, and the sun in the sky felt like a furnace. To avoid the sun's harshness, Shi Lan now wore a Conical Hat with a white veil on her head.

As usual, Shi Lan sat on her horse, riding slowly.

Taking a mouthful of water, Shi Lan wiped the sweat from her forehead. She looked around, preparing to find a shady spot to escape the heat, when suddenly a beast's roar, mixed with a flurry of screams, came from ahead.

"Giddy up!"

Shi Lan frowned, let out a low cry, and urged her horse forward.

The commotion clearly indicated someone was being attacked by a Demon Beast, and she couldn't just ignore it.

As Shi Lan approached the source of the noise, the beast's roars turned into shrill screams, and then abruptly ceased.

When Shi Lan arrived and took in the scene, she was slightly stunned.

A tiger-like Demon Beast, over ten feet long, lay in a pool of blood. It had been split in half from its forehead, with a charred cut.

Near the Demon Beast's corpse, a dozen or so ragged refugees stood or crouched, trembling all over, their expressions panicked.

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

Another one of these wounds.

Shi Lan had seen this type of wound more than ten times since leaving the ruined temple in the wilderness and arriving here. It was clear that the attacker had been following her, or rather, protecting her.

"Many thanks to the immortal for saving our lives!"

"Thank you, immortal!"

The refugees came to their senses and, upon seeing Shi Lan, immediately knelt and kowtowed repeatedly, their expressions filled with gratitude.

They had just seen a beam of light fly from Shi Lan's direction and cut the ferocious tiger demon in half. When they then noticed Shi Lan's attire was different from that of ordinary refugees, they assumed Shi Lan had made the attack.

Martial artists at the Foundation Realm were not common. Considering the entire population of Chengtian Domain, they were one in a hundred thousand.

These refugees had not seen much of the world. The strongest martial artists they had ever seen could only lift a few hundred jin.

How could they have witnessed something like just now, where with a swish, before the person even arrived, the tiger demon was already dead on the spot? Such power—wasn't it the work of an immortal?

Shi Lan looked at the line of people kneeling and kowtowing. She was momentarily flustered. She quickly dismounted and went to the group, explaining for a long time before clearing up the misunderstanding.

After confirming that Shi Lan had not been the one who attacked, the refugees' attitude immediately underwent a drastic change. They surrounded the tiger demon's corpse, looking at Shi Lan with vigilant expressions.

Some even threatened her, telling her to leave quickly.

Requesting recommendation tickets and collections~