Ambushed

The next day.

In a secluded corner of the Blue Brick Square, a young man slowly opened his eyes.

The young man was Xu Yan. After browsing the Blue Brick Square the previous night, he had not gone to an inn. Instead, like the other rogue cultivators running stalls, he had spent the night sitting cross-legged in the square.

After reaching out to brush the dust off his clothes, Xu Yan slowly stood up.

Looking around, he noticed that there were indeed far fewer cultivators, which reassured him that he had made the right decision.

Some rogue cultivators had had the same idea as him, and they were now cautiously making their way toward the exit of the Separation Valley Market.

Following a few rogue cultivators, he soon reached the exit of the Separation Valley Market. Two black-robed cultivators still stood guard, but leaving was not as troublesome as entering.

Following the directions, Xu Yan soon passed through the mist-shrouded stone forest and arrived in Inkstone City.

As soon as he left the Separation Valley Market, the sky darkened, and a fine drizzle began to fall.

Xu Yan stood on the street and, after making sure no cultivators were following him, blended into the crowd.

As a major city serving the surrounding hundreds of li, Inkstone City had a population of several hundred thousand mortals and was naturally bustling in the morning. Street stalls, singers, and acrobats lined the roads in an endless stream. All kinds of sounds mingled together in a lively clamor, painting a picture of the myriad facets of mortal life.

Before he began cultivating, Xu Yan might have found these things interesting. Now, however, he only wanted to find a secluded place to prepare for leaving Inkstone City.

Inkstone City was a mortal city under Qi Yun's control. Cultivators were forbidden from fighting within its walls, so it was relatively safe. Once outside Inkstone City, however, Qi Yun's authority no longer reached. If a cultivator attacked, each person could only rely on their own abilities.

After following the crowd down two streets, Xu Yan arrived at a secluded, nearly collapsed house in the northern part of the city.

The house had three rooms in total. Two had completely collapsed, and the only one remaining let drafts in from every direction. It looked as though it had been abandoned for a long time.

Xu Yan stopped to observe it for a while. After confirming that nothing was amiss, he slowly entered the only room that had not collapsed.

Once inside, Xu Yan slowly took the Storage Bag out of his robes.

To avoid attracting attention, Xu Yan could only choose a secluded spot like this.

Next, Xu Yan took out two Talisman Papers glowing with faint white light. He crouched down, lifted his trouser legs, and stuck the Talisman Papers onto his legs.

These were the two Swift Speed Talismans Du Fei had given him. Xu Yan put them on now as a precaution. After all, he was a novice at only the Second Layer of Qi Refining. No amount of caution was excessive.

If something unexpected happened, he would only need to circulate his magic power and activate the Swift Speed Talismans to escape in an instant.

After attaching the Swift Speed Talismans, Xu Yan started to leave the house. He had taken only a few steps outside when something occurred to him, and he went back in.

Inside the house.

Xu Yan once again took the Storage Bag out of his robes, retrieved a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and clenched it in his hand.

Spirit Stones could quickly replenish the magic power in his body. Only then did he feel somewhat reassured.

After he left the house, the rain grew heavier and heavier. Moisture rose in a hazy veil that shrouded the world in white. Xu Yan found a shop, bought a straw raincoat, and put it on before heading toward the city gate.

Xu Yan planned to return to Golden Rooster Mountain, find a secluded spot, and properly practice the Redfire Burning Art.

The most important thing when practicing spells was to find a secluded place with no cultivators nearby. Otherwise, if a cultivator with ill intentions appeared at a crucial moment, disaster would truly descend upon him.

As he saw it, Golden Rooster Mountain was where the Golden Light Daoist had chosen to recover from his injuries, so there should be no cultivators nearby. That was why he had decided to return there to practice his spells.

Soon, Xu Yan passed through the city gate and hurried toward Golden Rooster Mountain.

Just as Xu Yan left the Separation Valley Market, the short young man lurking outside Inkstone City noticed.

"Brother Qiu, that kid's out. My Spirit Marten is reacting!"

Hearing this, the scar-faced man, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, abruptly opened them. Cruelty showed on his face as he asked, "Where is he now?"

"He's still inside Inkstone City. It looks like he'll leave today. When he does, we'll follow him with the Spirit Marten's help and find somewhere secluded to finish him off."

The short young man kept his eyes fixed on Inkstone City as he slowly replied.

"Mm. Better to be careful." The scar-faced man nodded and stood up.

After leaving Inkstone City, Xu Yan felt a tension rise within him. This was his first time coming into contact with so many cultivators, and his unease was easy to imagine.

However, after traveling for several hours without incident, Xu Yan gradually relaxed.

After another half an incense stick's worth of travel, a mountain range shaped like a golden rooster standing on one leg appeared in Xu Yan's view. At the sight, joy stirred in his heart.

Perhaps I was being too nervous.

Xu Yan murmured inwardly. Seeing that he had almost reached his destination, he relaxed considerably.

He had no idea that, not far behind him, two cold gazes had followed him all the way from Inkstone City.

"Wang Liu, get ready to strike! This place is secluded enough!" A murderous gleam filled the scar-faced man's eyes as he watched the young man ahead of him as though looking at prey.

"Kill!"

At these words, the short young man's face twisted savagely. He swiftly pulled a blood-colored flying sword magic artifact from his Storage Bag, rapidly chanted an incantation, and pointed through the air at Xu Yan.

Whoosh!

The blood-red flying sword instantly became a streak of bloody light and shot toward Xu Yan!

At the same time, the scar-faced man took three magical nails gleaming with dark light from his Storage Bag and launched them with a burst of magic power. Specks of dark light immediately swept toward Xu Yan!

"Hm?" As Xu Yan traveled, he suddenly felt his soul tremble. His spiritual perception had always been keen, and he sensed an immense, unseen danger. A shapeless terror instantly flooded his heart. He had the feeling that if he kept moving forward, he would die on the spot!

"Run!"

Xu Yan instantly darted aside, narrowly avoiding the deadly flying sword!

Boom!

The red flying sword struck the ground. Earth and stone shattered, and the sword buried itself all the way to its hilt.

Pfft!

Xu Yan spat out a mouthful of blood. Although he had managed to dodge the Short Young Man's flying sword, one of Scarface's darkly gleaming magical nails had lodged in his shoulder.

The tremendous impact made him cough up blood and sent his entire body flying backward.

Taking advantage of that moment, Xu Yan finally saw who had attacked him from behind.

It's him!

Xu Yan cried out inwardly. With no time to spare for his injuries, he hurriedly channeled all his magic power toward the Swift Speed Talismans on the backs of his legs. A flash of white light appeared, and Xu Yan stumbled into a rapid dash in one direction.

The Short Young Man had initially revealed a cold smile when he saw Scarface hit Xu Yan. But the moment he saw Xu Yan activate the Swift Speed Talismans, his expression changed drastically.

"Damn it! He has Swift Speed Talismans!" the short young man exclaimed in alarm. Two Swift Speed Talismans cost ten low-grade spirit stones. Even they could not bear to buy them. Moreover, these talismans were so fast that cultivators who did not specialize in movement techniques had no hope of catching up.

Hearing this, the scar-faced man beside him remained entirely unperturbed. A smug look appeared on his face as he said, "He won't get far. This Soul-Devouring Nail is coated with hundred-year corpse poison. No one below Foundation Establishment can withstand it."