Every "prisoner" admitted to the Heavenly Prison had a trace of their aura retained there, allowing their whereabouts to be pinpointed through supernatural arts.
Lin Qingqing held a bell in her hand and gave it a shake.
The bell contained a trace of the Demon Fox's aura and could be used to locate it. They had only been able to collect it once they had assembled enough people.
The Demon Fox was in the Cloudmist Mountains, some sixty li outside Skywave City.
Even though all of them were cultivators, only a fool would exhaust their Vital Breath traveling such a distance on foot, so Lin Qingqing procured a few horses from somewhere.
And so, an awkward scene unfolded outside the gates of the Heavenly Prison.
To be honest, Ye Wuyou was not much of a rider.
His only experience on horseback had been when his former self paid a whopping 150 at a tourist attraction for someone to lead him around on a horse.
His awkwardness in the saddle soon drew the others' attention.
Unlike the burly Xu Fang's disdain, Lin Qingqing's eyes sparkled with amusement as she said with a smile,
"Young master, why not ride with me? You can sit in front. I'm very good at riding."
Xu Fang clicked his tongue and muttered, "That damned woman goes into heat the moment she sees a pretty boy..."
[Pretty boy? Hearing this mockery, you sneer three times and shout, "Clearly, you don't get it! With this fine face of mine, even if I went to the Dragon-Phoenix House to work as a gigolo, I'd be the guest between countless beautiful women's thighs-the undisputed king of gigolos! How could a mere 'pretty boy' sum me up?"]
Ye Wuyou instinctively touched his face, goosebumps rising all over his body. He was utterly stunned.
Why would you say something like that in such an arrogant tone?
How keen were the senses of a Second Realm cultivator? In an instant, Lin Qingqing turned around, her smile vanishing as she pointed at Xu Fang and unleashed a furious tirade.
"What I do is none of your damned business! You spent every day thinking about the captain back then, but you were such a turtle you blushed just talking to her, and you have the nerve to criticize me?"
"Who! Who spent every day thinking about the captain? Who the hell blushed talking to her?"
"Oh, right, right, right. It was a dog."
Ignoring what seemed to be a very well-practiced argument, Ye Wuyou looked down at the restless steed beneath him, and a thought stirred.
One Ghost Hand after another extended from Ye Wuyou's body, their spectral blue forms gently winding around the horse like ropes and binding him tightly to it.
Of course, no one could see this uncanny scene.
The previously unruly steed suddenly gave a trembling snort and fell quiet in an instant.
[What petty scoundrel dares spy on you from the shadows? You immediately leap onto the building and drag them out...]
Ye Wuyou paused, then turned back expressionlessly. His gaze swept over a building beside the street before he spoke to the two who were still arguing.
"Let's go."
Lin Qingqing and Xu Fang stopped arguing and gave Ye Wuyou slightly surprised looks, but neither asked any questions.
The four of them followed the main road, gradually disappearing into the distance.
At the window of a building just one street away from the Heavenly Prison's gates, a man gave a softly surprised chuckle.
"Why are you laughing, sir?" an elderly voice asked in puzzlement.
It was Zhao Changhe, seated beside him with a game board before them, playing against the man inside the upper room.
Lu Qingshan withdrew his gaze and looked at the board. His voice was calm, but carried a hint of amusement.
"It's nothing. I saw something interesting."
Lu Qingshan had never imagined that the lad would actually use the "Uncanny" to ride a horse.
And that seemingly casual glance of his-had it really been casual?
"Go on. It's your move."
Zhao Changhe's mind was clearly elsewhere. He placed a piece at random and continued questioning him.
"Sir, you said earlier that you wanted to take that lad as your disciple. Did you mean it?"
"I did... perhaps."
Zhao Changhe could no longer sit still. "Sir, if that's what you're thinking, why haven't you gone to see him?"
"Good things take time." Lu Qingshan's tone remained calm.
Zhao Changhe pulled a long face and scratched his head.
Their Prison Warden was good in every respect: an excellent temperament, handsome looks, and formidable strength.
Though he was only in the Fifth Realm, as long as he remained in Skywave City, in Great Yan, he was an insurmountable mountain.
But... people who spoke in riddles really deserved to die.
Still hoping to take Ye Wuyou as his own disciple, Zhao Changhe made one final attempt.
"Sir, I'm just saying, I've observed that lad. He usually acts like a layabout, but deep down, he's the sort to put his life on the line at the drop of a hat. He isn't really suited to your cultivation method..."
Lu Qingshan paid no mind. After some consideration, he gently placed a piece on the board.
"Changhe, what I intend to teach him isn't actually a cultivation method or a supernatural art..."
"Here, let me introduce everyone. This big lug is Xu Fang, Second Realm, but he's a body cultivator who's trained his brain into mush. He's always running his foul mouth. He was just lucky he ended up in the Heavenly Prison back then. With that personality, he wouldn't last three days in an outside cultivation sect."
Lin Qingqing made no effort to lower her voice during the introduction. Xu Fang stiffened slightly and looked ready to flare up again.
But Lin Qingqing promptly ignored him and pointed at the pale-faced man who had not spoken since they met.
"This one, we call him Bai Changzai. Second Realm, but he specializes in Talisman Arts, with an endless array of tricks. Anyway, if there's danger, you definitely won't see him on the front line."
Bai Changzai gave Ye Wuyou a slight nod. Still without saying a word, he counted that as his greeting.
"As for me..." Lin Qingqing puffed out her chest slightly, looking exceedingly proud.
"I'm also in the Second Realm, but my field of cultivation is Formation Arts." With that, Lin Qingqing raised her chin with aloof satisfaction, seemingly waiting for praise.
Yet Ye Wuyou showed no reaction at all, looking faintly puzzled.
Formation Arts... what about them?
From beside them came Xu Fang's barely concealed sneer. "Give it a rest. That lad doesn't understand, but you're just a Second Realm formation practitioner, so stop blowing your own trumpet. You can't set up advanced formations, and your low-level ones are barely better than nothing. Embarrassing."
"Will you die if you keep your pig-brained mouth shut? Are Second Realm formation practitioners eating your family's rice? This takes talent, you know! Do you think just anyone can become a formation practitioner? That busted brain of yours could never learn it! All you can do is train your body!"
Both of them had tempers that ignited at a spark. Only Bai Changzai remained silent, seemingly long accustomed to it.
Ye Wuyou continued onward, but he now had a rough idea of how these so-called teams within the Heavenly Prison were organized.
Cultivators pursued different paths. There were powerful sword cultivators like Lu Caiwei, and physicians specializing in medicine like Chun Tao...
The other three in his team were Xu Fang, a body cultivator; Bai Changzai, a specialist in Talisman Arts; and Lin Qingqing, who studied Formation Arts.
It was a fairly sensible combination... though having a physician as well would have been better.
Unfortunately, he could not swap anyone out.
The sixty-odd li journey was far from smooth, but they had already covered nearly half of it. In the distance, they could faintly make out mountain forests wreathed in cloud and mist.
The sky had also begun to darken.
But they were no longer on the main road. This was a narrow mountain trail, surrounded by peaks, so naturally there could be no inn.
"We should reach the foot of Cloudmist Mountain in another few hours. I remember there's a village there where we can rest," Lin Qingqing said, glancing at the map.
No one objected.
The mountain wind swept past, carrying the deep chill of the forest.
The narrator's familiar barking suddenly sounded in his mind.
[The mountains are cold enough as it is, yet this beast has delivered itself right to your doorstep. Feeling a little hungry, you show no restraint...]
The steed beneath him let out a delighted neigh.
The terrifying bonds that had wound around it throughout the journey had finally vanished.
Ye Wuyou leaped off the horse.
In his mind flashed the kick Zhao Changhe had delivered from the air on that snowy night.
Boom!
A crater roughly a zhang wide smashed open in the ground before them. The tremendous force blasted dirt into the air, scattering it everywhere.
"You little bastard! What are you doing?" Xu Fang looked furious. He had been at the front, and dirt had sprayed all over his face.
Yet in the next instant, accompanying the thunderous crash came a furious roar!
A strange demon beast covered in sharp armor plates crouched in the middle of the trail, blood still streaming from its head as it stared fiercely at them.
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