"What's going on? Why isn't he coming any farther in?"
"Oh, calm down. Our little snack is right in front of us now. There's no way he can escape."
"I'm just puzzled. Why's this mortal acting so twitchy? He suddenly changed direction, then stopped right in front of the formation. Seriously, could our concealment formation have failed? Can he see us?"
"No, the formation's working fine."
The demonic cultivators murmured among themselves. Only You Sha's brow furrowed deeply again. Looking into the eyes of the young man outside the formation, he somehow kept feeling that the man had seen him...
Just as the demonic cultivators lost patience and were about to seize Chen Xun and drag him straight inside.
Chen Xun rubbed his chin and spoke. "What are you all crouching here muttering about?"
The demonic cultivators: "..."
Holy shit!
The demonic cultivators snapped out of their stupor, curses spilling from their mouths in shock. They fell backward onto their bottoms and stared at Chen Xun outside the formation in utter disbelief.
What did he mean? Could he really see them, or was he merely acting crazy and talking to himself?
But the demonic cultivators no longer dared deceive themselves. Deep down, they believed the former. There was no way this was such a coincidence.
At that moment, even You Sha felt his scalp prickle, his heartbeat quicken, and his whole body crawl.
You Sha steeled himself and asked, "Y-you can see us?"
Chen Xun nodded. "Of course."
At those words, the demonic cultivators' expressions changed, and the way they looked at Chen Xun changed completely as well.
He was no mortal at all!
And no one below Spirit Transformation could hope to see through their concealment formation!
The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
You Sha swallowed. "How is that possible? Our concealment formation..."
Before he could finish, Chen Xun pointed at the invisible barrier before him. "Oh, you mean this?"
With that, Chen Xun gave it a light poke, and the barrier shattered and dissipated.
Immediately afterward, the formation flags planted nearby exploded with a bang at the same instant, falling haphazardly to the ground, utterly ruined.
Now You Sha and the other demonic cultivators turned deathly pale, their gazes filled with terror as they stared at Chen Xun!
C-could he be at the Spirit Transformation Stage?
There was a thud.
You Sha's legs gave out, and he was the first to drop to his knees, trembling.
The hundreds of demonic cultivators also prostrated themselves, terror consuming their hearts!
Why!
Why had a Spirit Transformation Stage senior appeared in the Heavenly Dao Sect's territory!
They had never seen or heard of a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator who looked like this!
"Senior, spare our lives!"
You Sha hurriedly pleaded in a trembling voice.
Chen Xun smiled. "Weren't you going to drink my blood? So I came over. What are you doing now? Not drinking anymore?"
The demonic cultivators nearly fainted from fright. Sure enough, the concealment formation had blocked nothing. This man had even heard their talk of drinking his blood.
Seeing that there seemed to be no room left to maneuver, You Sha and the other demonic cultivators instinctively wanted to resist. Yet faced with the young man's leisurely smile, they could not summon even a shred of courage.
Seeing that these demonic cultivators were too frightened even to speak, Chen Xun lost interest and turned to leave.
"Forget it."
You Sha and the other demonic cultivators let out a huge sigh of relief. As though all their strength had been drained away, they slumped to the ground and watched Chen Xun leave.
"F-farewell, Senior."
Suddenly!
You Sha and the others' pupils quaked, and their hearts clenched!
The wooden sword on the departing young man's back suddenly shot into the sky!
Like a beam of light, it thrust toward them with a keenness that sent an icy chill straight through the crowns of their heads!
Swish-
The next moment, hundreds of heads flew up in unison, then dropped to the ground shortly afterward.
Every head bore the same expression: terror and despair, eyes wide with horror, unable to close even in death.
Whoosh.
The wooden sword swept back in an instant and slipped into the cloth sheath on Chen Xun's back, falling still once more.
Chen Xun paused, then continued walking without looking back, covering a thousand miles with each step. He chuckled to himself.
"I wasn't going to hold it against you, but my sword wouldn't spare you. Nothing I could do about that."
After leaving the Heavenly Dao Sect's territory, Chen Xun happened upon a Spirit Market.
What was a Spirit Market? It was a place where cultivators traded. Both purchases with spirit stones and barter were accepted there. As long as one had spirit stones, one could buy all manner of cultivation resources.
The moment Chen Xun entered the Spirit Market, he drew numerous startled, flickering gazes.
That was because almost every cultivator in the Spirit Market wore a bamboo hat or a veil, while some even wore masks. After all, anyone who found a treasure in the Spirit Market could easily become a target.
Someone as open and aboveboard as Chen Xun was truly rare, and quite startling indeed.
Naturally, Chen Xun paid no heed to those gazes and walked straight on.
Most visitors to the Spirit Market were rogue cultivators. Only a small number belonged to cultivation lineages or sects.
This also reflected the difficulties rogue cultivators faced. For someone like Zhao Ting, who had joined a sect, obtaining resources was relatively convenient.
Still, everything had its advantages and disadvantages. Being a rogue cultivator had its benefits, as did joining a sect.
At the very least, sect disciples were nowhere near as free and unfettered as rogue cultivators.
The Spirit Market was very quiet. Apart from footsteps and faint voices, there were no other sounds.
The cultivators tending stalls also sat cross-legged in silence. Not one called out to attract customers. It was indeed quite different from the mortal world.
For once, Chen Xun stopped in front of a stall.
To Chen Xun, the other treasures in the Spirit Market were so much dross; a single glance was enough for him to lose interest. But this stall was different. It actually sold wine.
A masked cultivator sat cross-legged behind the stall. Noticing a cultivator stop before him, he opened his eyes and looked up. When he saw the young man without any disguise at all, he visibly froze for a moment.
"You're an interesting fellow, fellow Daoist."
The cultivator spoke.
Chen Xun surveyed the wine on the stall and smiled. "What makes you say that?"
The cultivator said, "In this entire Spirit Market, you're probably the only one showing your face."
Chen Xun crouched down and picked up a wine flask from the stall. He uncorked it and brought it to his nose for a sniff before saying, "What difference does showing my face make? And what difference does hiding it make?"
The cultivator faltered before replying, "None. It's simply that I admire your courage, fellow Daoist."
The corners of Chen Xun's mouth curled into a smile as he raised the flask in his hand. "This wine is quite good. I never expected to find it for sale in such an out-of-the-way Spirit Market."
This wine was even a little better than the wine Nangong Yao, the Heavenly Dao Sect's master, had given Chen Xun. That was why Chen Xun said so.
The cultivator's eyes brightened. "You know wine as well, fellow Daoist?"
Chen Xun said, "At the very least, its fragrance is rich and mellow. It contains over a hundred ingredients, yet its aroma is remarkably pure. And this wine must have been aged for quite a few years."
As the cultivator looked at Chen Xun, appreciation gradually appeared in his eyes.
Chen Xun asked, "How much does this wine cost? I'll buy it."
Unexpectedly, the cultivator waved a hand and smiled. "You're an interesting fellow, fellow Daoist, and you understand wine. This flask of Hundred Flavors of the Mortal World is my gift to you. Consider it a gesture of friendship."
Slightly surprised, Chen Xun gave the cultivator a meaningful look.
"Are you sure you want to be friends with me?"
Before you continue