Illusionary Tracing Formation

The Medicine Slave, with a touch of surprise, turned and approached Ye Tong. He opened his palm and said, "Young Master, those people were quite well-off. I actually found this among the things they left behind."

Silver Crystals? They actually had Silver Crystals?

Ye Tong's eyes lit up abruptly.

He longed to obtain Silver Crystals because absorbing the spiritual energy contained within them could accelerate his cultivation speed. Originally, Ye Tong had planned to venture deeper into the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range, gather more rare and exotic fruits, hunt more ferocious beasts, and then sell them to purchase Silver Crystals. He never expected that a ridiculous robbery attempt would result in a Silver Crystal being delivered right to his doorstep.

This was truly a godsend!

Ye Tong grabbed the Silver Crystal and, circulating the little Vital Energy remaining in his body, slowly drew out the spiritual energy within the Silver Crystal, guiding it into his meridians.

Absorption, refinement.

The process became slow, but the amount of Vital Energy in Ye Tong's body increased several times faster than before. Previously, it would take him half a day to recover his Vital Energy, but after absorbing the spiritual energy from the Silver Crystal, it only took him a little over an hour to recover completely.

"Young Master, how is it?"

The Medicine Slave noticed Ye Tong waking from his cultivation and immediately asked.

Ye Tong said with satisfaction, "Absorbing the spiritual energy within Silver Crystals truly allows for twice the results with half the effort in cultivation. I'll use this Silver Crystal first, and I'll buy some more for you later."

The Medicine Slave smiled and said, "It's all up to the Young Master's decision."

That night.

The two spent the night by the lake. Apart from a few large wild beasts that caused some disturbance, which the Medicine Slave easily drove away, they encountered no further danger. After a full night of cultivation, the Vital Energy within Ye Tong had increased significantly. Through his research, he discovered that if he absorbed all the spiritual energy within this Silver Crystal, the amount of Vital Energy in his body would roughly double.

"Half a month."

Ye Tong was confident that absorbing all the spiritual energy from the Silver Crystal would take about half a month. By then, his cultivation would advance further, breaking through to the Qi Refining Fourth Level.

The Medicine Slave looked confused and asked, "What do you mean?"

Ye Tong smiled slightly, not answering his question. Instead, he posed a question: "Medicine Slave, have you ever consumed pills that increase cultivation?"

The Medicine Slave nodded. "Of course, I have. Although my master was most skilled at refining poisons, he also refined some pills to increase cultivation. That's right, our Precious Medicine Workshop has pills to increase cultivation!"

"What? Our Precious Medicine Workshop has pills to increase cultivation?"

Ye Tong's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Say that again!"

The Medicine Slave replied, "Our Precious Medicine Workshop does have pills to increase cultivation. I didn't tell you before because I noticed you didn't seem to care much about your cultivation level, dedicating almost all your attention to detoxification."

"I..."

A sense of despair welled up in Ye Tong's heart. His previous self was truly... muddled. Ye Tong took a deep breath and inquired, "What is the effect of each pill, and how many are there?"

The Medicine Slave said, "Given your current cultivation, the medicinal power contained in one pill would be enough to rupture your meridians. As for the quantity..."

"Not many?"

Ye Tong asked, noticing the Medicine Slave's hesitation.

"Many."

The Medicine Slave replied.

Upon hearing this, Ye Tong immediately said, "With so many pills to increase cultivation, why would we need to risk our lives in the depths of the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range? Pack up, we're going back."

The Medicine Slave gave a wry smile and said, "Young Master, we cannot go back."

Ye Tong inquired, "Are you worried about the Tong family?"

The Medicine Slave shook his head. "In this old servant's eyes, the Tong family is merely a clown. Even if we return now, the Tong family members wouldn't dare to openly attack us. What I mean to say is, that big fire should have destroyed those pills. Even if we go back, there will be no pills left."

"Destroyed?"

Ye Tong's voice suddenly rose several octaves.

The Medicine Slave nodded, a bitter smile on his face. "It should be. When I was clearing the ruins, I noticed the porcelain bottles that stored the pills had obvious signs of burning. From this, I can conclude that the pills inside are likely destroyed."

What a waste!

Ye Tong felt like crying, wishing he could grab the Medicine Slave and beat him up. Pills whose medicinal effects could rupture his meridians were undoubtedly valuable, yet they were all gone in a blaze?

His heart ached, his very flesh felt the pain.

Ye Tong silently recited the Clear Heart Mantra more than ten times before he could alleviate the negative emotions. With a grim expression, he walked towards the direction of the third mountain, "Let's travel, let's enter the mountain."

The Medicine Slave chuckled awkwardly and followed behind in silence.

The mountain peaks within the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range grew taller and steeper the further they went. After the two crossed mountains and ridges, drove away wild beasts, navigated through poisonous miasmas, and crossed swamps, they arrived at the mountainside of the fifth mountain as night fell once more.

A cool breeze blew, carrying the fragrance of flowers.

Although the Medicine Slave's cultivation was strong, Ye Tong did not let down his guard. Half a day prior, he had felt a vague sense of unease, as if he were being watched by something. After performing divination, the result indicated that no danger would be encountered today.

"Young Master."

The Medicine Slave took out a dry, hard meat patty and offered it to Ye Tong.

Ye Tong took it and asked, "Do you have a sense of danger? It feels like something is lurking around us."

The Medicine Slave replied, "Someone is following us. When we rested midway, this old servant went back to investigate but found nothing. The other party should be a strong individual in the Innate Realm."

Someone was following them?

Ye Tong recalled the previous divination result and realized the other party had no hostile intentions towards him. However, being followed like this made him somewhat uncomfortable. He took out four pieces of Jade, studied the terrain of the area, and then set up an illusionary formation within a radius of several hundred meters.

Then.

Ye Tong carved a line of text onto a tree and said in a deep voice, "Let's keep moving. Stay alert. If you notice anyone following us, remember to tell me."

"Okay!"

The Medicine Slave nodded gently.

A quarter of an hour later.

A beautiful figure appeared in the area. When she arrived under the large tree with the carving, her breathtakingly beautiful face showed an expression of amused exasperation.

"You must have had a difficult time following me all this way. You can rest here tonight!"

Rest my foot!

Mu Qianlan had an arrangement with Chang Wu, the manager of Warm Medicine Hall. She was supposed to buy the Iron Ring Grass from Warm Medicine Hall within three days. When she arrived, she learned that Ye Tong had already bought it.

She was very curious about where Ye Tong would settle after the Precious Medicine Workshop was burned down. While she was inquiring, she encountered Tong Kaishan leading many servants, all searching for Ye Tong. Judging by their demeanor, they seemed intent on harming Ye Tong.

Later, Mu Qianlan found Tong Kaishan, severely injured and with one arm severed. From him, she learned Ye Tong's whereabouts: the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range. She was on a training journey without a fixed destination, so Mu Qianlan made a decisive choice. She passed through Shili Pavilion and then entered the mountain range.

However, what frustrated Mu Qianlan was that not only did she fail to catch up to Ye Tong, but she also encountered four exhibitionists who were naked in broad daylight and even tried to rob her. When she met the gaze of those four pairs of lustful eyes, she didn't hesitate for a moment. Her sword was drawn, and she directly castrated them, leaving them alive but emasculated.

Unexpectedly, she obtained information about Ye Tong from the four men and also learned that none of them were wearing even a scrap of cloth, and the instigators were Ye Tong and the Medicine Slave.

Therefore.

Mu Qianlan, with an exasperated smile, continued her pursuit. She finally caught up to the two half a day ago and had been silently tailing them, wanting to see what interesting things Ye Tong and his companion would encounter next.

"It should be the old slave from the Precious Medicine Workshop."

Mu Qianlan believed that only an expert in the Innate Realm could have detected her. And the old slave beside Ye Tong was such an expert.

"Never mind!"

"Since I've been discovered, there's no need to hide my tracks anymore."

"Exploring the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range together isn't a bad option."

Mu Qianlan identified the direction and quickly pursued them.

However, after a quarter of an hour, her expression became extremely peculiar. Looking at the writing on the tree in front of her, she was completely stunned. She was sure she hadn't gotten lost. Following the clues left by Ye Tong and the Medicine Slave, she had been confident she would catch up soon. But what was happening now?

Mu Qianlan refused to believe it and flashed forward to pursue them again.

Leaving repeatedly, returning repeatedly.

After a full five attempts, she finally realized with disbelief that she was likely trapped within an array formation. This formation had a dual function: illusion and entrapment.

"Ye Tong..."

Mu Qianlan roared in exasperation. Having witnessed Ye Tong's array formation skills, she could guess with her hair follicles that this formation trapping her was his doing.

Sunrise and sunset, the stars shifted.

On the fifth day since Ye Tong and the Medicine Slave entered the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range, they finally crossed ten mountains and entered a valley forest.

The beauty of mountains.

It lies in their majestic height, steepness, precipitous cliffs, and overlapping peaks; in the clouds shrouding the treetops, mist flowing through ravines, green forests rustling in the wind, white water rushing through streams; in the lush green vegetation, the melodious chirping of birds within, the faint light of dawn, and the hues of sunset.

Like a painted scroll, like a poem.

Ye Tong loved this environment. The omnipresent vitality seemed to cleanse his soul, and even the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy subtly increased.

The Medicine Slave slowly took down the dragon-headed staff from his back, tilted his ear to listen, and his expression became somewhat solemn.

"Young Master."

Ye Tong asked, "What is it?"

The Medicine Slave said, "A few miles away, there are cultivators fighting. There are quite a few of them, and their strength is considerable."

Ye Tong had not yet witnessed cultivators fighting in large numbers after integrating his memories. After a brief thought, he said, "Let's sneak closer and observe from the shadows. I'm very curious about the battles between cultivators."

The Medicine Slave hesitated, "If I'm not mistaken, those fighting cultivators are almost all experts in the Innate Realm, and some might even be stronger than me. If we rush over rashly, they could easily discover us and become hostile. Young Master, perhaps we should detour and avoid causing trouble."

Ye Tong shook his head and said, "When powerful individuals clash, observing their fighting styles and techniques is very beneficial to me. If we want to become stronger in the future, we will inevitably have to fight enemies. Witnessing it beforehand will help us be prepared."