The Sect Master of the Incomplete Gate retreated, pressing a hand to the wound on his shoulder. His followers, missing arms and legs, all fled without a word, leaving not a soul behind.
Lü Bufan steadied his surging blood and qi, then quietly watched the old bald man turn the Mirage Pearl over and over in his hands like a child...
"Senior, aren't you curious why I came looking for you?"
The old bald man stood about six feet tall. Judging by his aura, he was a second-realm rogue cultivator at the very most, and his clothes were so ragged that he looked like a beggar.
"You little brat, how exactly did you find me?"
Lü Bufan said, "I have no other strengths, just slightly sharper senses than most people. I noticed that this strange beast sculpture was different from its surroundings, and... its eyes seemed alive. They kept staring fixedly at me from the moment I came in."
The old bald man muttered, "Looks like I'll have to improve it again... What did you come looking for me for? Your aura is strange. There's the stink of the Immortal Sect, but something else too... Who exactly are you?"
Lü Bufan cupped his hands. "I count as half a member of the Immortal Sect, just a minor attendant... I came here to find someone. A few friends ran into trouble in the Northern Immortal Sect's Cultivator Market and need rescuing."
The old bald man sneered. "Aren't you an attendant, an Immortal Sect lackey yourself? If even you can't do anything, do you think us lonely ghosts and wandering spirits in Heavenly Capital Ghost City can?"
Lü Bufan chuckled. "Naturally, an expert directed me to seek you out, Senior."
"Oh? Who?"
Lü Bufan said softly, "An elder of the Southern Immortal