(A request in advance for Sanjiang votes.)
More than two hours passed.
The night gradually darkened, and a bank of clouds appeared overhead, blotting out the moonlight...
The Lü Household cultivator was growing impatient with the wait.
"Huff!" A barely audible breath came from inside the Mountain Cave.
But with his cultivation at major completion of the Cultivation Realm, the Lü Household cultivator had far sharper hearing and caught it perfectly. His heart stirred. Well, well! He's finally asleep!
That was what he thought.
Just in case! A thought suddenly struck him. The Lü Household cultivator slapped his Storage Bag, and a small shield glowing blue appeared before him. A blue-glowing shortsword appeared in his other hand. Only then did he stoop and slip silently into the Mountain Cave...
As the Lü Household cultivator entered the Mountain Cave, he found the interior pitch-black. He could just make out a figure lying on the ground...
"Go!" A cold gleam flashed through his eyes. His fingers suddenly formed a series of seals, and the shortsword Magic Artifact in his hand flashed blue, turning into a lightning-like streak that shot straight at the figure on the ground...
Thump! With a muffled impact, the shortsword pierced straight through the figure's chest!
Got him! Delight filled the Lü Household cultivator's heart, but he instantly realized something seemed wrong!
At that very instant!
Whoosh! A figure suddenly flashed out beside the cave wall, both hands already glowing red!
Boom, boom, boom! A series of startlingly hot red flares erupted, and three red fireballs suddenly blasted toward the Lü Household cultivator!
"Oh no!" The Lü Household cultivator reacted quickly enough. He pointed a finger, and with a hum, blue light burst forth. His small blue shield flashed and spun, expanding into a shield several feet across to block his front!
In an instant!
Bang! Bang! Two tremendous bursts of red flame and blue light exploded. The entire Mountain Cave shook, sending countless stones and grains of sand raining down...
At the same time!
Boom! A blast sent sand and stones flying.
"Argh!" With a scream, the Lü Household cultivator was blasted backward, and a crater several feet across was blown into the ground.
He had only managed to block the two fireballs aimed at his front with the blue shield. The third had struck his feet directly!
"Argh!" The clothing around his feet was charred black, the flesh beneath a bloody mess. He screamed as his whole body started to collapse!
Just then.
"Hah!" The figure roared, clutching a red-glowing shortsword as he lunged straight at him. He was already upon the Lü Household cultivator.
"Wait! I'm...!" the Lü Household cultivator cried in utter terror, hurriedly placing his small blue shield before him.
But!
Thump! With a muffled burst, red light surged from the figure's body as he lashed out with a kick. The Lü Household cultivator's injured feet were already unsteady, and the pain was killing him.
"Argh!" With a scream, he stumbled and dropped to his knees.
"Die!" the figure roared. The red-glowing shortsword swept across the Lü Household cultivator's neck the instant it was exposed!
"Urgh!" The Lü Household cultivator felt his entire head soar as though riding clouds and mist. It struck the cave wall with a thump... His vision went black, and he knew nothing more.
Spurt! Blood gushed straight from the Lü Household cultivator's neck.
"Get lost!" The figure cursed and kicked the corpse away before emerging from the Mountain Cave. Who else could it have been but Wang Yan?
Wang Yan had long known that the Lü Household cultivator was following him. How could he possibly have gone to sleep for real? Everything had been a trap designed for this moment, sending the Lü Household cultivator to his death.
"If you want to hate someone, hate yourself. Who told you to attack me?!" Wang Yan looked at the severed head, its eyes wide with bitter, unresigned hatred, and spoke coldly in disdain. After killing several cultivators, he was becoming increasingly numb to killing. This was a world where people devoured one another. Either you ate others, or others ate you. Had he not discovered the Lü Household cultivator first, he would probably have been the one lying here with his head separated from his body, blood spilled across the ground, his eyes wide as he died full of hatred!
Even so.
Wang Yan still felt a lingering chill of fear. He had only been out for a few days, and danger was already everywhere.
Hmph! The Lü Household! Lü Zijun! Wang Yan could naturally guess what had happened. He had no grudge against this Lü Household cultivator; needless to say, Lü Zijun had sent him. He thought coldly to himself. Naturally, he would not have let the Lü Household cultivator off so easily. With that thought, he gave a cold snort and brooded inwardly...
Still, this was no place to linger.
Wang Yan retrieved the shortsword Magic Artifact and the animal hide he had used as a decoy from the cave, then searched the Lü Household cultivator's corpse. Finding a Storage Bag, he swiftly fled.
Although he was some distance from the Lü Family Marketplace, it was not all that far. If Lü Zijun came personally, his Core Condensation Realm cultivation would let him fly over on his sword and catch Wang Yan in no time. Naturally, the farther he went, the better.
"Tch! This fellow was a pauper!" Wang Yan checked the Lü Household cultivator's Storage Bag as he raced away. Both Magic Artifacts were only low-grade. The bag held just a few Spirit Stones, some nearly empty pill bottles, and several jade slips containing books. A glance showed that none of them were anything good, making him curse...
Yet Wang Yan understood. Although the Ma Family cultivators he had killed were also at major completion of the Cultivation Realm, they had clearly been direct-line descendants, with a different standing in their lineage. This Lü Household cultivator had merely guarded the Cultivator Market. He seemed to be an ordinary Outer Clan disciple who had successfully advanced, someone of low status, so naturally he could not compare with those direct-line Ma Family descendants. This left Wang Yan rather rueful. Even if he had passed the Wang Household's Back Mountain Trial a few months ago, he might eventually have ended up just like this Lü Household cultivator, guarding gates and patrolling...
In just over two hours, Wang Yan crossed several mountains at an astonishing pace. He was already dozens of li from the Lü Family Marketplace, and he had changed direction several times along the way. He had run far enough that he naturally no longer needed to worry about Lü Zijun catching up.
If Lü Zijun really did catch up.
With Lü Zijun's Core Condensation Realm cultivation, even the Water-Fire Blast Card would have difficulty hitting him. Wang Yan would have no choice but to submit to capture.
"Ah! Time for a rest!" After keeping busy for most of the night, Wang Yan was tired. His cultivation was only at minor completion of the Cultivation Realm. Although he was approaching major completion, he had not reached it yet, and running dozens of li had naturally worn him out. Not daring to rest anywhere too exposed, he climbed into a tree, concealed himself, and sat on a branch to cultivate.
"Hey, you little brat, what are you planning to do from now on?" the Card Fairy suddenly asked Wang Yan.
"What? Find somewhere to cultivate properly, of course!" Wang Yan could not sit in meditation up in the tree, so he could only lean against it and rest for a while first. With his cultivation, going two or three days without sleep was no problem, but he had consumed rather a lot of Magic Power. Hearing her question, he hurriedly answered.
"Then where do you want to cultivate?" the Card Fairy pressed. After a pause, she added, "You should know that although pills are very important to an immortal cultivator's cultivation, finding a suitable place with abundant spiritual energy is also extremely important. It helps you cultivate faster! And as far as I know, wherever you go, places with abundant spiritual energy suitable for cultivation are occupied by powerful cultivators or major sects. Even places with fairly ordinary spiritual energy are occupied by great lineages! A suitable place for you to cultivate won't be that easy to find."
"Huh? Is that so?" Wang Yan murmured. "That's true. I did decide earlier to join a sect to cultivate, but that doesn't seem feasible!" Her words suddenly seemed to remind him of something, and he hurriedly asked, "Card Fairy, do you mean I should join the Firecloud Sect? Or do you have another recommendation?"
"That's my little brat! You understood what I meant!" the Card Fairy praised him. After a pause, she hurried on, "From what those cultivators said, you can join once your cultivation reaches Full Completion of the Cultivation Realm. There don't seem to be any other requirements! You could give it a try!"
"But I'm only at minor completion of the Cultivation Realm. I'm still far from major completion! I'm afraid I won't reach Full Completion of the Cultivation Realm in time!" Wang Yan said with a frown.
"No! Weren't those cultivators all buying pills to cultivate and push for Full Completion of the Cultivation Realm? That should mean there's still plenty of time before recruitment ends!" the Card Fairy continued.
"Oh! That's true, but most of those cultivators seemed to be at major completion of the Cultivation Realm. I'm only at minor completion. By the time I cultivate to that level, I'm afraid it'll still be too late!" Wang Yan continued.
"Ah! Just find somewhere to ask around!" the Card Fairy said hastily. "From the sound of it, the Firecloud Sect seems to specialize in fire-type cultivation methods. It would be excellent if you could go there and collect some Fire Type spells!"
"Hm? Collect Fire Type spells?" Wang Yan's heart stirred at her words, and he asked in confusion, "What do you mean, collect Fire Type spells?"
"Ah! Didn't I say I would teach you how to master spells quickly? Next, I'm going to teach you to craft a kind of spell-sealing card!" the Card Fairy hurriedly replied.
"A spell-sealing card? What kind of card is that? Is it used to seal spells?" Wang Yan remembered that she had indeed mentioned this and hurriedly asked.
"This spell-sealing... Hm? Someone's coming. Quiet, conceal your aura!" Just as the Card Fairy was about to answer, she seemed to notice something and spoke in a low voice.
"Mm!" Wang Yan hurriedly acknowledged her warning, crouched down, and suppressed his aura. The aura-concealment spell was one of the spells every cultivator had to learn. Wang Yan had known it even before practicing a fire-type cultivation method. It hid his aura to keep cultivators from discovering him, and it was still very useful against cultivators below the Cultivation Realm...
Just then...
"Damn it! Where did that fellow run off to?" A faint voice came from the distance, cursing furiously.
Tch! Could there be more pursuers? Wang Yan thought after hearing those words, and worry stirred in his heart.
Before you continue