First encounter with a rogue cultivator

Only after the young man and girl vanished from sight did Xu Yan feel at ease.

Luckily, those two weren't evil cultivators!

After that encounter, Xu Yan's desire to rest immediately faded. He stood up, ready to continue on his way.

Besides, he had learned something from the pair: quite a few cultivators would be heading to Inkstone City soon.

The news put Xu Yan on edge. He had never encountered a scene like that before.

Glancing in the direction the two had left, Xu Yan suppressed those thoughts and slowly followed.

Inkstone City lay in the northwest of Fufeng Commandery. It was built beside a mountain range rich in a certain ink-colored ore, which gave the city its name.

Between Inkstone City and the mountains stretched a vast valley called Separation Valley. The cultivators' market stood there and was also known as the Separation Valley Market.

To reach the Separation Valley Market, one had to enter Inkstone City, so Xu Yan had simply assumed the market was inside the city. He could hardly be blamed for that. A year ago, Golden Light Daoist had only taken him through briefly, leaving him unfamiliar with the details.

As Xu Yan drew closer to Inkstone City, he noticed more figures on the main road.

The auras that occasionally emanated from them secretly startled him.

He had just counted them to himself. In roughly two hours, he had already seen five groups of cultivators.

Fortunately, seeing his ragged appearance, these cultivators merely took him for an ordinary mortal beggar and paid him no heed. Their gazes swept over Xu Yan as though he were worthless grass, cold and indifferent.

These cultivators' assumptions suited Xu Yan perfectly. With his cultivation still so low, he wanted to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

"Young fellow Daoist, please wait!"

Xu Yan was walking along when a voice suddenly called out from far behind him.

At the sound, Xu Yan stopped and turned to look behind him.

A plump boy in pale blue Daoist robes was hurrying toward him.

Just one glance made Xu Yan's expression change in alarm.

Though the boy looked rather bulky, he moved incredibly fast. When Xu Yan first looked, he was still dozens of yards away, yet in the blink of an eye, he had arrived right in front of him.

At the sight, Xu Yan hastily retreated a few steps, his right hand quietly settling on the storage pouch inside his robes.

These wild hills were the perfect place to murder someone and rob them, so Xu Yan had no choice but to remain on guard.

The plump boy in blue had now stopped before Xu Yan. Seeing his wariness, he immediately offered an honest, good-natured smile and cupped his hands. "Don't worry, young fellow Daoist. I mean no harm."

When Xu Yan remained unmoved, the plump boy cupped his hands again and continued, "You're heading to the Separation Valley Market too, aren't you? I'm Du Fei of the Du Household at Falling Moon Slope. Greetings, fellow Daoist. Since you're traveling alone, why don't we go together? This is my first visit to the Separation Valley Market, and I'm not very familiar with the way."

With that, the plump boy bent down and reached toward his legs.

Soon, the plump boy removed two Talisman Papers glowing with white light from the backs of his legs.

Xu Yan had been watching this plump boy who had appeared out of nowhere with constant vigilance. Only at this sight did he relax a little. By voluntarily peeling off the Talisman Papers, the boy was showing that he meant no harm.

Xu Yan stared fixedly at the two Talisman Papers in the plump boy's hands, filled with envy. He had already guessed that the boy's astonishing speed had probably come from their power.

To his regret, he had not found a single Talisman Paper in Golden Light Daoist's Storage Bag.

Still, the plump boy's actions eased some of Xu Yan's wariness. Questions remained, however, and he did not relax completely. After glancing at the boy, Xu Yan asked coldly, "How did you know I was a cultivator?"

He was intensely curious about this. Neither the pair of cultivator siblings earlier nor the five groups afterward had discovered that he was a cultivator.

Moreover, he could sense that the plump boy's cultivation was lower than that of the siblings. Xu Yan could not even feel much of a threat from him.

His cultivation is probably about the same as mine! That was another reason Xu Yan had begun to relax.

At Xu Yan's question, the plump boy gave a good-natured smile. "Hehe, my Du Household has a hereditary Qi-Appraisal Technique. Your cultivation may be a little too pitiful to look at, fellow Daoist, but it still can't escape my discerning eyes."

Seeing Xu Yan's expression shift slightly, the boy immediately offered an apologetic smile. "Fellow Daoist, I really mean no harm. I just want to go to the Separation Valley Market up ahead with you."

With that, the plump boy scratched his head awkwardly.

Xu Yan stared hard at him until the boy began to feel unnerved. Only then did his expression soften a little. "This is your first time traveling far from home, isn't it?"

"Hehe, you saw right through me, fellow Daoist. Please don't take offense. From a distance, I saw that you were only at the peak of the first level of Qi Refining, so you wouldn't pose a threat to me. That's why I decided to travel with you." The plump boy gave an embarrassed smile.

Hearing him state his cultivation so precisely, Xu Yan was inwardly shocked and marveled at how formidable the boy's Qi-Appraisal Technique truly was. His face betrayed nothing, however. He glanced at the boy and asked, "May I ask what your cultivation level is?"

The plump boy scratched the back of his head and grinned. "I'm nothing special. My cultivation has just reached the Second Layer of Qi Refining."

Only now did Xu Yan feel at ease, certain that this boy, like him, was traveling far from home for the first time. Seeing that he meant no harm, Xu Yan began to consider traveling with him. "In that case, let's go together. I'm heading to the Separation Valley Market too."

Xu Yan had another reason for joining the plump boy. He had only just entered the Cultivation World. Although the Separation Fire Jade Token had given him a basic understanding of cultivation, he still knew very little about the world as a whole. He intended to gather some information from the boy.

Seeing Xu Yan agree so readily, the plump boy's face lit up with delight. He truly had not lied: this was his first time sneaking away from home. As for the Du Household at Falling Moon Slope, that was merely an identity he had invented.

His surname really was Du, but he was a rogue cultivator. At home, he had a father who was also a rogue cultivator, at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. Apart from him, he had no other family.

Seeing the plump boy's reaction, Xu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He now intended to draw some information from him and learn more about cultivators.

"May I ask why you're going to the Separation Valley Market, fellow Daoist?" Xu Yan asked casually as he led the boy toward Inkstone City.

"The Separation Valley Market will be bustling soon. Lots of cultivators will gather there. I want to take a look at the cultivation methods and spells of other cultivation lineages, and trade for some medicinal pills I need."

“Mm.” Xu Yan nodded lightly. That matched his expectations.

Yet the boy's words implied that something important would soon be happening at the Separation Valley Market. Just as Xu Yan was wondering about it, the boy spoke beside him.

“Did you know that two major events are about to take place at the Separation Valley Market, fellow Daoist?”