"Ziyuan Secret Realm is collapsing?"
Hearing the old man reveal one secret after another, Chen Changming was shocked. He could no longer keep his composure.
"That's right. This entire medicinal field is filled with spirit herbs over a thousand years old. They were the lifeblood of the Medicine Sect in its heyday, and they made extensive preparations long ago. Once all the spirit herbs are dug up, the fluctuations in spiritual energy will throw the entire secret realm into chaos. The space will begin to collapse at the medicinal field and spread outward, eventually causing the whole secret realm to crumble."
The old man spoke gravely. "The collapse will happen very quickly. Those Qi Refining guards have frail bodies and won't be able to withstand the destructive force created by the collapse of space..."
"You mean I can withstand it?"
Chen Changming sneered.
The old man said, "Young man, your body is extremely strong, and your movement technique is swift. You should be able to escape after claiming your share."
"If I go out, won't I just be walking into a trap?"
Chen Changming shook his head.
"Young man, that pool of water from earlier is an ancient teleportation array built by the Medicine Sect. It can take you directly to the Yan Kingdom."
The old man spoke eagerly. "Before I disappear, I can help you activate the teleportation array."
Teleport to the Yan Kingdom?
Chen Changming fell silent.
Every word from the old man was astonishing.
He couldn't believe it.
After a moment,
"What are your motives?" he asked coldly.
Chen Changming didn't believe the old man was doing this merely to save his own life. There had to be more to it.
"I was once a member of the Ouyang Family in the Yan Kingdom, but I fell in battle within the Yue Kingdom a thousand years ago..."
The old man looked sorrowful and sighed. "So many years have passed. My family has probably fallen into decline by now. I want you to go to the Yan Kingdom and deliver my Storage Ring to my family."
Chen Changming gave him a half-smile. "If I kill you, won't I get the ring anyway?"
"Heh. I hid the ring. Even if you kill me, you won't get it. It'll crumble along with the secret realm in the end."
The old man spoke calmly.
Clearly, he had planned everything out long ago and wasn't afraid of the young man's threats at all.
He was about to die anyway. If he threw caution to the wind, there was no threat he needed to fear.
"Fine. I'll work with you."
After a moment of silence, Chen Changming finally nodded.
He was surrounded by enemies on all sides and could no longer stay in the Yue Kingdom. If he could seize some spirit herbs amid the chaos and then leave, he would be safe once he reached the Yan Kingdom.
He had heard of the Yan Kingdom, too.
It bordered the Yue Kingdom and lay in the southern part of the Northern Region.
"Then it's a deal."
The old man smiled.
"Let's go. I'll accompany you to the teleportation array..."
Chen Changming flew over, closing the distance between them.
The old man clearly had his own designs, so Chen Changming couldn't let him out of sight. During the three days before the old man disappeared, Chen Changming planned to stay by his side the entire time.
"Young man, you're certainly a cautious one."
The old man seemed rather impressed. He turned and flew toward the pool, with the young man following close behind.
Three days later.
After the old man had finished making all the arrangements, he gave Chen Changming a Teleportation Token and a Storage Ring. He told him where to find the Ouyang Family, then his illusory body slowly faded away.
Chen Changming silently returned to his cave dwelling.
The ring the old man had left behind surely concealed some secret, but Chen Changming was powerless to open it for now.
"From today on, I need to prepare for battle..."
The young man gently ran his fingers over the ring and murmured to himself. A determined look appeared in his eyes.
When Ziyuan Secret Realm collapsed, he would have to seize as many spirit herbs as he could. With those resources, his days would be much easier once he reached the Yan Kingdom.
Over the next three months,
Chen Changming went to the medicinal field every few days and spent the rest of his time cultivating the Dragon Glide Step.
Whether he could outrun the collapse of the secret realm depended on the third strengthening of his Dragon Glide Step.
"Dragon Glide Step, ten thousand times!"
Two months later, his Dragon Glide Step underwent its third strengthening.
This time, its power surged tenfold, while its spiritual energy consumption increased by only fivefold.
"It seems the effects of strengthening differ from one technique to another..."
The young man thought to himself.
Breaking through with the Dragon Glide Step gave Chen Changming a tremendous boost in confidence. Afterward, he continued cultivating the Evergreen Art.
For the first two months, he had taken one "Pigeon Egg" each day, each one comparable to a High-grade Spirit Gathering Pill, and had also kept up his cultivation of the Evergreen Art. During the final month, Chen Changming devoted himself entirely to cultivating the Evergreen Art. By the time the spirit herbs matured, although his cultivation had not broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, the spiritual energy in his dantian had grown even stronger.
This had quietly given his strength another small boost.
As a result,
the young man grew even more confident.
He now had the advantage of knowing what was coming while his enemies remained in the dark.
The people from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and the Four Seas Merchant Alliance had no idea that he was an unexpected variable.
"The spirit herbs are about to mature..."
That day, the young man wandered over to the medicinal field. After looking it over, he smiled at one of the guards.
"Mm. It should be within the next few days."
The guard smiled.
Chen Changming casually surveyed his surroundings and noticed a faint glimmer in the eyes of many people.
"We have Fellow Daoist Chen to thank for that. Otherwise, they wouldn't have matured so soon," another guard said.
"That's right. Fellow Daoist Chen's Cloud Rain Art is truly masterful. We're impressed."
Someone else smiled and showered him with praise.
"You're all too kind, fellow Daoists."
Chen Changming cupped his hands with a smile, then drifted away.
Since the spirit herbs were about to mature, he didn't plan to return to his cave dwelling. Instead, he went straight to a mountain range ten li away and hid himself on high ground.
From there, he could look down over the entire medicinal field.
If anything stirred, he would see it all clearly.
Two days later,
An incredibly rich medicinal fragrance spread out from the medicinal field.
"The spirit herbs are ripe!"
Someone shouted excitedly. "Quick, go inform the young lady!"
Pfft!
A sword appeared out of nowhere, slicing the man's neck in two.
His head rolled along the ground, his eyes stretched wide. In shock, it cried out, "Li Changfeng, you..."
The rest of his words never came.
The surrounding guards drew their weapons, each of them on high alert.
"There's a traitor!"
One guard shouted angrily.
Li Changfeng leisurely raised his sword and gave a sinister smile. "Everyone from the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, it's time to make your move."
"Kill!"
In an instant, roughly three-fifths of the people suddenly attacked the rest.
"Four Seas Merchant Alliance, you're despicable!"
A male guard was struck by a sword and desperately fled toward the outside.
"Think you can run?"
A bow appeared in Li Changfeng's hand. He drew the bowstring with all his might, then released it.
Whoosh!
A gleaming arrow shot out.
In an instant, it struck the fleeing man. A massive bloody hole burst open in his back, killing him on the spot.
After firing that arrow, Li Changfeng also panted a few times, seemingly having spent a considerable amount of energy.
A scream rang out as a man from the Four Seas Merchant Alliance was killed by someone from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
Li Changfeng fired another arrow, killing the attacker on the spot.
At that moment, someone charged at Li Changfeng, and the two immediately clashed.
The entire valley became a battlefield, but everyone tacitly avoided damaging the medicinal field.
After all, whether they belonged to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion or the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, their target was these precious spirit herbs.