Fleeing

The grain ship left the river bend overnight, heading south with the current.

Tang Jiu extinguished all the lanterns beneath the canopy, leaving only a small light at the bow as they traveled by moonlight. He crouched at the stern, ears pricked for half the night. Only after confirming no one was tailing them did he finally relax.

"Young Master, no one followed us."

"Mm."

Lu Li sat cross-legged in the cabin, his eyes half-closed as Astral Qi circulated slowly through his body.

Second Layer of Qi Solidification.

The water in his Nine Apertures pool was full, and his Astral Qi had grown more than twice as potent. The blue-black seed of Poison Astral Qi deep within his sea of qi had also solidified further. With every inhale and exhale, his internal energy carried a faint, elusive poisonous aura.

He opened his eyes and took out the two items from his robes.

One was a black iron token, with the character "Xue" cast on the front and a cloud-patterned marking on the back. It felt heavy in his hand, cold to the touch.

The other was a palm-sized bronze cauldron, with three legs and two handles. Its surface was covered in densely packed runes, while its hollow belly was completely empty.

Lu Li brought the bronze cauldron closer to the lamplight and examined it carefully.

The runes were ancient and intricate, unlike any artifact he had seen from the great households of Qing Prefecture.

"Merging Cavern..."

He murmured the name, suddenly recalling something.

When Yin Duanyue had died in Qing Prefecture, he had possessed a similar bronze artifact. Lu Li had not paid it much attention at the time, and it had been taken away by the local authorities.

"A token..."

Lu Li turned the cauldron over. Two words were