Cultivation: From Menial Laborer to Immortal Venerable

Before leaving, he glanced at Wu Zongxu's corpse. The storage pouch at his waist was nowhere to be seen. He wondered when that Brother Gao had taken it.

Just a few steps after leaving the alley, a roar came from the distance.

Immediately after, the light shield covering Red Leaf Square suddenly disappeared. The entire grand formation had abruptly shut down.

Seeing this, Zhou Xun was overjoyed. He and the Wang Erniu couple quickly ran towards the closest point outside the square.

After leaving the market, they continued on their way.

At this point, they didn't care about the direction; their best strategy was to get away from the market first.

They ran for over a hundred miles before finally stopping, finding a hidden cave, and hiding inside.

At night, visibility was limited, and they couldn't see far, making it easy to escape.

Although cultivators possessed divine sense, the range for late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators was only a little over ten zhang, and for Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was no more than a hundred zhang.

This was not as far as the eyes could see. Moreover, cultivators' five senses were powerful, allowing them to see farther than ordinary people.

Therefore, daytime was not a good time for traveling.

Inside the cave, Zhou Xun and the others took Qi Recovery Pills and began meditating to regulate their breathing.

After a long while, their meditation was complete.

Lin Xue'e came to Zhou Xun's side, bowed respectfully, and said thankfully:

"If not for Big Brother yesterday, my husband, I, and Yin Yin would have met with misfortune!"

"Erniu and I are like brothers, Sister-in-law. There's no need for such formality!" Zhou Xun waved his hand.

Saving them yesterday was a result of his careful consideration; he had only acted after confirming he could defeat that group.

"My husband and I have no way to repay you. This formation manual is a relic from my mother. Today, we give it to Big Brother to express our gratitude!" As she spoke, she handed a jade slip to Zhou Xun.

"A formation manual!"

Among the hundred arts of cultivation, if one were to speak of the highest threshold, it would undoubtedly be the formation master.

The minimum requirement for studying formations was possessing divine sense, which was why late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators could generally begin learning.

Therefore, formation masters had always been synonymous with nobility in the cultivation world.

Their status was no less than that of pill refinement masters.

Furthermore, once a formation master set up a grand formation, fighting beyond one's level was commonplace.

"This was left by Sister-in-law's mother. How can I take something she cherishes? Please take it back!" Zhou Xun shook his head.

"Big Brother, please don't refuse. My husband and I are dull-witted; we can't even examine this jade slip. Big Brother has awakened divine sense, so it's perfect for you. If Big Brother is truly troubled, perhaps you could make a copy?"

Saying this, she took out a blank jade slip from her storage pouch.

Zhou Xun considered this for a moment. He was indeed interested in this formation, so he nodded and agreed.

He copied the formation inheritance called "Primordial Array Unraveling."

Afterward, they rested in the cave, taking turns keeping watch.

Zhou Xun, exhausted from a night of travel, soon fell into a deep sleep.

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, he heard Wang Erniu's tense voice in his ear:

"Big Brother, it sounds like someone's coming!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xun sat up abruptly.

He took out the magic artifact, the Goldfly Twin Blades, and held it in his hand.

He slowly crept towards the cave entrance.

The Wang Erniu couple did the same, each taking out their magic artifacts and holding them, ready to fight at any moment.

He pushed aside the dense vines at the cave entrance and looked towards the source of the commotion.

He saw more than a dozen cultivators searching their way up the foot of the mountain.

"Search quickly, search thoroughly. Don't let that little vixen escape. She's a big catch!" a lewd voice that Zhou Xun recognized.

"Wei Shangren!"

Zhou Xun frowned.

It seemed fate had brought them together again. Why had he come here?

He immediately concealed himself and continued to observe.

"One, two, three..."

There were eleven in total, with four in the middle stages of Qi Condensation.

Wei Shangren's elder brother, Wei Shangli, was among them.

From their conversation, it seemed they were chasing a woman here.

He immediately lowered his voice and asked Lin Xue'e, who was beside him:

"Sister-in-law, are there any other young women in your clan with relatively high status?"

Since she was called "little lady," her age naturally couldn't be too great. The fact that she was being pursued by so many of Wei Shangren's cultivators meant her status was certainly not low.

"A young woman of high status? In our generation, besides Eldest Cousin, there's only Fourteenth Uncle's daughter. But she's currently at the Spirit Herb Pavilion in White Cloud Immortal City, not Red Leaf Square!"

"That means Eldest Cousin also fled here!" Lin Xue'e became anxious upon realizing this outcome.

"No, Erniu, Brother, we have to save her!"

So, Lin Xue'e's Eldest Cousin is Lin Xueying! Zhou Xun thought to himself.

What a coincidence, she came here too!

But the issue now isn't whether to save her or not. With the way these cultivators are searching, they'll soon discover the mountain cave where we're hiding.

Therefore, whether I want to save her or not, I have no choice but to act!

As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm!

Since I have to act, I must choose the right moment.

He then looked at the Wang Erniu couple beside him.

One of them was at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, and the other was at the peak of the third level. Coupled with the mid-grade spirit artifacts they held, their combat power was considerable.

In the short term, it wouldn't be difficult for each of them to contend with two cultivators of the same level.

And that young lady from the Lin family, who was hiding, was a cultivator at the peak of the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Even injured, she could still contend with a cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation.

If we calculate it this way, as long as I strike first and catch them off guard, killing one mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator, our side's strength won't be too far behind.

We can fight and retreat, and there's a high probability we can get away unharmed.

So, he raised his head and began to give instructions:

"Erniu, Sister-in-law, you and I will hide here. When the searchers get close, we'll attack together, kill a few of them first, and then find your Eldest Cousin to escape with!"

Upon hearing this, both Wang Erniu and his wife's eyes lit up with hope. It was a very feasible plan, so they nodded, gripped their spirit artifacts, and held their breath as they waited by the cave entrance.

The searchers below first spread out into a line. Once they entered the forest, they actually paired up, with one searching and the other holding a semi-spirit artifact shield for defense.

At the same time, Wei Shangli and four other mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators followed closely behind. The four formed a defensive triangle, mutually supporting each other.

They also served as support for the cultivators searching ahead.

The young lady from the Lin family was a cultivator at the peak of the fifth level of Qi Condensation and had a fine spirit artifact in her possession.

During the previous pursuit, she had managed to kill several of them.

To prevent the young lady from the Lin family from suddenly launching a counter-attack and causing further casualties during this search, Wei Shangli proposed this plan.

This way, it would be foolproof. Once Lin Xueying was spotted, the four of them would surround her.

This plan was mature, steady, and showed great composure.

However, it inadvertently disrupted Zhou Xun's plan.

"Brother, what do we do?" Wang Erniu asked softly.

Seeing this, Zhou Xun also felt the situation was tricky.

Four mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, forming a defensive triangle, with both offensive and defensive capabilities, were extremely difficult to deal with. Even with his current combat power, if he got caught in their formation, he might not be able to escape.

Just then, the monkey-faced youth and the long-faced man had already approached within ten feet of the mountain cave. They would soon be able to search this area!

They wouldn't believe that these vines could block their search.

At a loss for what to do, Zhou Xun's peripheral vision swept across Lin Xue'e, and his eyes lit up. An idea immediately sprang to mind.

He spoke:

"I have a method, but Sister-in-law might have to take some risks!"

"Brother, just tell me what to do!" Lin Xue'e said without hesitation.