Three days later, Chenshi.
Qin Tiexin stood outside the gate of Liuyun Sect, with Edgeless tied behind his back with a thick strip of cloth. The blade was wrapped in burlap, but it could still be seen from the outline that it was a heavy knife. He changed into a dark gray outfit, with Storage Bag hanging on his waist, and thick-soled boots on his feet, waiting.
Just as Chenshi arrived, a man walked up the stone steps outside the mountain gate.
He looks about thirty years old, has a short beard, dark skin, wears the coarse cloth of an ordinary merchant, and has a dagger draped over his shoulders. He looks like a mortal who comes to do business in the town at the foot of the mountain.
Qin Tiexin glanced at it, didn't care, and continued to wait.
Suddenly, Chen Xi's voice came to his ears, and his voice was very low. "Junior brother Qin, it's me. Don't look around, the person in front of you is me. The appearance yesterday was exposed, and I have changed my clothes today."
Qin Tiexin:"..."
He looked at the "vendor". The other person blinked at him, with a familiar vigilance and erratic look in his eyes.
"Senior brother," Qin Tiexin whispered, "I'm ready and can go."
Chen Xi - now in the form of a merchant - walked up to him and looked him up and down. His eyes rested on the knife wrapped behind his back for a moment, then he looked at his height of more than nine feet, dark skin, and short stubble hair, and shook his head.
"No."
"Where can't it work?"
"Your outfit is too obvious." Chen Xi spoke quickly, "He is nine feet tall, carries a big knife on his back, has dark skin and strong muscles. His features are so prominent that once the enemy targets him, he will not be able to run away."
Qin Tiexin thought to himself, where did I get my enemy from?
Chen Xi pointed at the knife behind his back. "Can't this one be stored in Storage Bag?"
"Master asked me to hold it often and communicate with Edgeless." Qin Tiexin paused, "And Storage Bag is not big enough to hold Edgeless."
Chen Xi frowned and thought for a while, then took out a piece of yellow talisman paper from the sash on his shoulder - which was actually a disguised Storage Bag. The cinnabar pattern on the talisman paper was complicated, while Spiritual Qi was restrained.
He walked up behind Qin Tiexin and slapped the talisman on the coarse cloth outside Edgeless.
The talisman paper ignited when it touched the knife, turning into a wisp of green smoke, winding up the blade. In the blink of an eye, the green smoke dissipated, and the Edgeless behind Qin Tiexin changed its appearance - it was no longer in the shape of a long knife, but a thick round shield, dark blue, with signs of damage on the edge. It looked like an old shield that had been used for many years.
"This is a 'shape-changing talisman', a small blinding trick that cannot be seen through the golden core." Chen Xi explained, "When you get back from the mission, I will get you a larger storage ring, which should be able to fit in it."
"No need." Qin Tiexin said, "Master asked me to hold it often and treat it as exercise."
Chen Xi didn't insist and nodded. "It's up to you. But remember, a shield is more low-key than a sword. When you go out in the future, try not to let others see that you are using a knife."
Qin Tiexin should be downloaded.
"How do we get there?" he asked, "Fly?"
He knew that Foundation Establishment Realm monks could fly in the air, much faster than riding a horse.
Chen Xi shook his head after hearing this, with a serious expression. "Flying? It's too dangerous. Junior brother, remember, try not to fly in the future. You are a living target in the sky. You can be attacked from all directions, and you have no place to hide. Moreover, the fluctuations in spiritual power are obvious and can be sensed dozens of miles away."
"Then..."
"Run away." Chen Xi took out two more talismans from his sash. They were yellow paper with red lines, each about the size of a palm. "These are the 'divine walking talismans' I refined in advance. If you stick them on your legs, you can run two hundred miles in an hour, which is not much slower than flying."
He handed a talisman to Qin Tiexin: "Just stick it on your calf and inject a little spiritual power to activate it."
Qin Tiexin took the talisman, lifted up his trouser leg, and attached it to the outside of his right calf. After injecting spiritual power, the talisman paper shimmered and pressed against his skin, feeling warm. He could feel that the muscles in his legs were slightly tense, as if they were ready to exert force at any time.
Chen Xi also posted a picture for himself, and then said, "You lead the way from the front, and I will lead the way from behind. Remember, take the official road, don't take shortcuts and take small roads. Our Liuyun Sect has good security here, and the official road has a wide view, so it is not easy to be ambushed."
Qin Tiexin nodded, identified the direction, and stepped forward.
As soon as he took the first step, he felt something different - his legs seemed to be pushed by an invisible force, his steps naturally became larger, and his speed increased sharply. He quickly adjusted his center of gravity and stabilized his body.
Chen Xi followed behind, looking left and right as he ran, his eyes alert. After running for a few miles, he suddenly said, "Junior brother, pay attention to the rhythm of your breathing. The magic walking talisman is driven by spiritual power, not all by yourself. Breathing should be deep and long, and match the pace."
Qin Tiexin adjusted as instructed. Sure enough, after breathing smoothly, the burden of running became much lighter.
The two of them ran quickly along the official road. The morning breeze blew against their faces, and the scenery on the roadside quickly retreated. At first, Qin Tiexin was a little uncomfortable - the speed was too fast, and it was easy to lose control when turning. Once he almost hit a tree on the side of the road. But after running for half an hour, he gradually mastered the trick: tilt his center of gravity forward, land lightly with the soles of his feet, and slow down in advance when turning.
He took the time to look back at Chen Xi. This senior brother ran extremely calmly. Not only did he walk steadily, he also had the energy to look around - glancing at the woods on the left, staring at the hillside on the right, and occasionally looking up to see if there were any unusual birds in the sky.
An hour later, the two arrived at the outskirts of Black Cloud Ridge.
The official road bifurcates here, one continues forward to other towns, and the other turns into the mountains and becomes a narrow mountain road. Beside the road is a stone tablet with the three words "Black Cloud ling" engraved on it. The handwriting is a bit blurry.
Qin Tiexin stopped, and Chen Xi also stopped.
At the entrance to the mountain road, there were scattered some torn cloth strips, broken carriage shafts, and dark red blood stains, which had dried and turned black. There was a faint fishy smell in the air, mixed with the moisture of the vegetation in the mountains.
"We're here." Chen Xi whispered, "You can't use the magic talisman if you go further in. The mountain road is rugged, and it's easy to lose control when pushing the talisman."
Qin Tiexin tore off the magical talisman on his leg. After the talisman left the skin, its light dimmed and turned into ordinary yellow paper. He took it in Storage Bag and asked, "Now go into the mountain?"
"No." Chen Xi shook his head, "That's too dangerous. Send a scout first to take a look."
He put down his shoulder bag and took out a wooden ball the size of a pigeon egg from the storage ring on his right ring finger. The surface of the wooden ball was smooth and engraved with fine lines.
Chen Xi held the wooden ball in his palm, clasped his hands together, and muttered something. After a few breaths, he opened his palms - the wooden ball was gone, replaced by a vivid gray bird. The bird was only the size of a palm, with delicate feathers, and its eyes were two black jade grains of rice, which shimmered when it turned.
"Go."
Chen Xi gave a soft drink and pinched Method Formula. The bird flapped its wings and flew up, circled twice in the air, then flew towards Black Cloud Lingshan Road, disappearing among the trees in the blink of an eye.
After doing this, Chen Xi took out a bronze mirror from his arms. The mirror surface was blurred and the edge was engraved with Bagua patterns. He injected spiritual power, and the mirror surface rippled like water waves, and then a picture emerged - exactly what he saw from the eyes of the bird: trees, mountain roads, and rocks, passing quickly as the bird flew.
Qin Tiexin was stunned for a moment.
"This is a 'mirror' for spying on puppets." Chen Xi explained, staring at the mirror, "Let the little bird help us explore the situation first. Find out where the wolves are, how many there are, what kind of cultivation the leader has, and whether there are any other dangers around."
As he spoke, he adjusted the perspective of the mirror. In the picture, the bird was flying at low altitude along the mountain road, sometimes turning left and sometimes right to avoid the dense branches.
Qin Tiexin stood aside, looking at the changing scene in the mirror, and then at Chen Xi's focused profile, feeling an indescribable feeling in his heart.
In this half day - from the disguise, to the shape-changing talisman to disguise Edgeless, to the magic walking talisman on the road, and now to the detection puppet and truth-seeing mirror - he probably learned more from Chen Xi than he did in the previous year combined.
Not Cultivation Method, not combat skills.
It's a... way of living.
In the world of cultivation, how to walk, how to rush, how to explore, how to save your life.
Chen Xi seemed to feel his gaze, turned to look at him, and smiled, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Qin Tiexin shook his head, "I just feel... senior brother knows a lot."
"They were all forced out." Chen Xi looked at the mirror again and said calmly, "I have carried out forty-three sect missions, encountered eleven ambushes, been poisoned three times, and been trapped by illusions twice. Every time I survived, I learned a little more."
He paused and added, "Junior brother, remember, in the world of cultivation, those who live longer are not necessarily the strongest, but they must be the most careful."
Qin Tiexin nodded and took note of it.
The picture in the mirror continued to change. The bird flew over a pile of rocks, and a valley appeared in front of it. There was wolf droppings at the mouth of the valley, which was fresh. Several gray shadows could be vaguely seen moving in the valley.
Chen Xi looked serious. "I found it."
He controlled the bird to hover behind a rock, adjusted its viewing angle, and observed carefully.
In the picture, deep in the valley, there are about fifteen or six iron-backed wolves lying or walking. Their fur is gray and black, and the hair on their shoulders and back is extremely thick and hard, as if they are covered with a layer of iron armor. They are larger than ordinary wild wolves, and the smallest one is about the size of a calf.
Three of them are exceptionally strong, nearly five feet tall at the shoulder, with exposed fangs and fierce eyes.
And at the deepest point, on a huge rock, lies a giant wolf.
The wolf was almost twice the size of the other wolves, more than seven feet tall at the shoulders, and its fur was not gray-black, but dark golden. It closed its eyes and seemed to be resting, but even through the mirror, you could feel the pressure.
Chen Xi stared at the dark golden giant wolf and frowned.
"Leader...Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, it's almost the late stage."
He whispered, his tone solemn.
Qin Tiexin also stared at the mirror. The dark golden giant wolf suddenly opened its eyes, and its golden pupils looked straight in the direction where the bird was hiding.
Chen Xi's expression changed. "I've been discovered!"
He immediately Hand Seals, and the picture in the mirror shook - the bird quickly lifted up and flew high into the sky. But the next moment, a cyan light flashed through the picture, and the speed was so fast that it became blurry.
"Crack."
The mirror went dark and the picture disappeared.
The bird was destroyed.