Within a gloomy gorge.
Li Ping and his companion waited patiently. That wait lasted an entire year.
Throughout that year, they stayed somewhere without a spirit vein, so cultivation was naturally out of the question.
Drawing spirit talismans consumed a great deal of magical power. If Yan Liming left, Li Ping might not have time to recover, so he chose not to draw any.
In fact, he spent most of that year refining pills.
More than ten years earlier, he had already begun steadily gathering the spirit herbs needed to refine the second-tier mid-grade Essence-Gathering Pill.
But he had been busy cultivating back then and had no time for alchemy, so those spirit herbs had remained in his Storage Bag.
Only now, after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment middle stage, did he need to absorb enough innate spirit vigor from second-tier mid-grade pills to cultivate the Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art and advance to the Foundation Establishment late stage.
With nothing to do in the gorge, this was the perfect opportunity to begin refining pills.
As for Yan Hengchuan, he was deeply concerned about Yan Liming's movements, so he constantly used his secret art to silently track changes in Yan Liming's location.
To his frustration, Yan Liming seemed addicted to staying with the Blackwater Tribe and showed no intention of leaving. This only made him increasingly restless.
Fortunately, one day, just as he was almost unable to contain himself any longer-
He suddenly sensed the location of Yan Liming's aura begin to change. Yan Liming had left the Blackwater Tribe.
Realizing this, Yan Hengchuan hurriedly called into the blood mist, "Grandmaster, that old devil Yan Liming is on the move!"
"Oh?" An astonished voice came from the blood mist.
Then, with a whoosh, the blood mist dispersed, revealing Li Ping.