The sky had yet to fully brighten, but several people were already waiting on the outskirts of the market.
When Li Yuan arrived, Formation Master Zhou was looking down at an array disk the size of his palm. Uncle Qu carried a lantern, its flame swaying faintly in the morning wind, while several Guard Squad cultivators stood nearby.
He Shou was among them as well. When he saw Li Yuan approach, he merely lifted his chin.
"Everyone's here. Let's go."
Before coming, Li Yuan had removed the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art and equipped the Warning Talisman instead.
Nothing changed when he equipped it. Li Yuan guessed it would only react once danger appeared.
It was not as though Li Yuan had not considered removing the Spirit-Containing Yuyang Stone and leaving it at home.
But it could increase the power of fire-element spells by more than ten percent. If danger truly arose, it would be useful.
Besides, if such a large stone was left in his room and someone discovered it, it would be hard to explain, though that possibility was small.
Compared to that, the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art leaned more toward cultivation and offered less direct improvement in battle.
The group left the market just as the sky at the horizon began to pale.
The mountain road was still the same mountain road, but they moved faster than last time. They had explored the area ahead twice already, and Li Yuan more or less knew which stretches were flat and which were likely to conceal Demonic Beasts.
Only when they reached the valley entrance did Formation Master Zhou slow down.
They encountered no trouble along the way.
The forest ahead had already been cleared several times. Even the common small animals had become much scarcer. Now and