Xu Yang's cultivation had temporarily come to a halt. Without resources like Spirit Stones and pills to support him, his progress was far too slow. At this rate, he could train until his dying day and still never break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
It seemed it was time to leave and make his way in the world of cultivation. Once Xu Yang had made up his mind, he acted at once. He packed the manuals from the bookshelf into his Qiankun Bag, went to one side of the stone bed, and pressed his hand against a round stone.
With a rumble, the stone bed slowly sank into the ground. In a short while, it had vanished, leaving a large hole in its place. Xu Yang stepped down into it and followed the carved stairs, soon reaching the bottom.
At the bottom was a long passage. Xu Yang followed it and soon came to a place where there had originally been two tunnels. One had already collapsed. Xu Yang knew that the collapsed tunnel led straight to the main hall he had entered that day.
That hall had been a false tomb set up by Old Man Tianjue. The moment the bones inside were damaged, the mechanism would activate and destroy the hall. The other tunnel led directly outside. It was the escape route Old Man Tianjue had left for his true successor.
Xu Yang followed the tunnel onward. Along the way, he came across the monsters in the maze. They were all dead now. Old Man Tianjue had raised them using a special forbidden art, keeping them sealed until intruders appeared.
Once awakened, they would unleash their full potential and become incredibly ferocious. When that potential was exhausted, they would die. After walking a little farther, Xu Yang reached a stone wall. The tunnel ended there.
He knocked on the wall and found it wasn't very thick. Immediately channeling Gang Qi into both hands, he struck it with all his strength. With a tremendous crash, the wall shattered beneath his blows, and chunks of stone flew outward as beams of sunlight poured in.
Xu Yang shielded his face with one hand and looked outside. The landscape was desolate, with dead leaves and withered branches strewn across the ground. He stared in surprise, then quickly realized he had spent about half a year in the underground cave abode. It must be the dead of winter now.
Seeing this, Xu Yang leaped out of the cave. He turned and looked around. This wasn't where he had climbed up the mountain; it had to be another path, because he didn't recognize it at all.
Xu Yang followed the narrow path down the mountain. The whole way was silent, without a soul in sight. Only at the foot of the mountain did he recognize his surroundings. This was where he had spent the night before, but now it was in disarray, clear evidence of a fierce battle.
Back then, Lei Dong and the others had tried to break out of the main hall. Had they succeeded? Could they all have been wiped out? Xu Yang didn't feel attached to them. He had stopped considering them his companions the moment they abandoned him. Now, he was merely curious.
After looking around and finding nothing, Xu Yang headed for Mountain City. With his current strength, he reached the city gates in about an hour. The gates were still open, and he paid the entrance fee before walking into the city.
He went straight to the Shunfeng Escort Agency's compound in the western part of the city, only to find it had a new owner. The old Shunfeng Escort Agency sign had been taken down and replaced with one bearing the name Fire Venerable Mansion.
Xu Yang found this strange. Had the Shunfeng Escort Agency really suffered a total defeat? With the imperial court backing them, they shouldn't have been so easily beaten. His curiosity piqued, he leaped over the wall and entered the compound.
Xu Yang soon found what he was looking for. Two people were talking in a study. He peered in and recognized them both: Fire Venerable and Zhang Yi. Xu Yang was delighted. Now he could find out what had happened after the main hall collapsed.
Xu Yang quietly pushed open the door and walked in. The two men inside were immediately alerted. With a roar, they charged at him. Xu Yang laughed and swung both hands at them. With two sharp smacks, the pair flew back even faster than they had charged.
Xu Yang followed close behind and tapped each of them with a finger, immobilizing them. Fire Venerable stared at him in alarm and stammered, "Who are you? Why did you attack us? Aren't you afraid the Yin Moon Hall will take revenge?"
Hearing Fire Venerable's words, Xu Yang was taken aback, then laughed. "I didn't expect you to be so forgetful, Fire Venerable. We've only been apart for half a year, and you've already forgotten me? Surely you haven't forgotten me, Zhang Yi?"
Zhang Yi, his face full of fear, stiffened at Xu Yang's question. He studied Xu Yang closely, then his eyes widened in shock. "You're Xu Yang! How can it be you? Weren't you killed on Cangwu Mountain?"
Xu Yang smiled at Zhang Yi. "I survived a great disaster. I'm lucky to be alive." His expression suddenly darkened. "I'm the one asking questions now, not you. If you want to live, tell me what happened after the main hall collapsed."
Xu Yang raised a hand and pointed. Fire Venerable, standing off to the side, immediately fainted. Then Xu Yang said to Zhang Yi, "Don't try anything clever. I'll ask Fire Venerable again in a moment. All right, you can talk. Of course, if you want to die, you can keep quiet."
At once, Zhang Yi's face turned ashen, and he recounted what had happened that day. Xu Yang then knocked him unconscious, revived Fire Venerable, and questioned him again. After hearing Fire Venerable's account, Xu Yang struck them both with his palms and killed them, just to make sure they wouldn't cause trouble later.
According to the two men, Lei Dong and the others had escaped the cave abode when the main hall collapsed. But outside Cangwu Mountain, Prince Fu's troops had them surrounded on all sides. They were too few in number to break through.
With no other choice, they played hide-and-seek with the enemy in Cangwu Mountain. In the end, all of the Shunfeng Escort Agency's subordinates were killed, leaving only Lei Dong and the other experts. Just as they were about to be overwhelmed, reinforcements from the Shunfeng Escort Agency arrived in time. After a fierce battle, the agency suffered heavy losses, and even its young chief escort, Lei Yue, was killed.
In the end, Lei Dong and the others withdrew from Cangwu Mountain in bitter defeat. The Shunfeng Escort Agency's strength had been greatly diminished by the battle, while the Yin Moon Hall had gained nothing. All the treasure in the cave abode lay buried beneath the mountain. At least they had completely uprooted the Shunfeng Escort Agency's forces in Mountain City, cutting off one of its arms.
Xu Yang shook his head and sighed. He hadn't expected Lei Yue to die. The Shunfeng Escort Agency was bound to face internal turmoil now. Zhao Qiankun surely wouldn't let such a golden opportunity slip by.
Xu Yang then left and headed east. He stopped before a vast estate and quietly studied it for a while before turning away. He had already sensed there wasn't a single person inside. It seemed Yao Yao and the others were no longer there.
Walking through the bustling streets of Mountain City, Xu Yang felt strangely out of place among the crowds. It was as if he and these people belonged to two different worlds. He shook his head, realizing that his outlook had changed. He had set foot on the path of cultivation and now had hope of transcending the ordinary. He was no longer an ordinary person.
Noticing the change in his mindset, Xu Yang's heart sank. His keen sixth sense told him this wasn't a good thing. Now that he thought about it, perhaps his strength had risen too quickly, leaving his foundation unstable and his state of mind lagging behind.
Cultivation wasn't so easy. If one's state of mind couldn't keep up, at best one would hit a bottleneck; at worst, inner demons would arise and lead to cultivation deviation. Now that he had recognized his shortcomings, he naturally had to find a way to address them. But he was only a Rogue Cultivator and had no idea how.
At the thought of Rogue Cultivators, Xu Yang's heart stirred. He immediately took a token from his Qiankun Bag. It was pitch-black. With his current knowledge, he could tell it was a communication token. As long as he infused it with Gang Qi, he could send a message to its owner.
Xu Yang was delighted. He immediately found an inn and took a room. Once the attendant had shown him inside, Xu Yang sent him away and eagerly took out the token. He slowly infused it with Gang Qi.
As the Gang Qi flowed in, the patterns on the token lit up one after another. Then they formed a Talisman, which flew up from the token and vanished before Xu Yang's eyes.
Seeing the Talisman disappear, Xu Yang knew it must be heading to its owner. All he had to do now was wait. Surely the cultivator would arrive before long.
Sure enough, three hours later, the token in front of Xu Yang emitted a beam of light. Xu Yang, who had been meditating cross-legged, immediately opened his eyes and picked it up. He felt a message pass from the token to him. Xu Yang stirred his divine sense to receive it, and a booming voice rang out in his mind: "Come find me on the hill ten li north of the city."
After listening, Xu Yang tucked the token into his clothes, got up, and hurried north. Once outside the city, he immediately pushed his speed to the limit. In only a short while, he reached his destination. A small hill came into view. Xu Yang stopped, then slowly walked up it.
At the same time, Xu Yang summoned all the Gang Qi in his body, ready to strike like lightning at any moment. The cultivation world was too cruel for him to let his guard down. It was best to be careful in all things.
Soon, Xu Yang reached the top of the hill. He looked up and saw a burly man standing ahead. His limbs bulged with muscle, his face was broad and brutish, and he looked fiercely imposing. He was glaring straight at Xu Yang with a pair of wide-open eyes.
Xu Yang was stunned. He had never imagined the man would look like this. He had always thought the token's owner would be an imposing old man or a handsome, free-spirited scholar.
Xu Yang thought bitterly, It seems I've been misled by novels and storybooks. I must never let my imagination run wild again.
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