" Yang Zhen? You really are Yang Zhen?"
Yang Zhen's shout brought five people, none of whom seemed to be a group, except for a young man and woman who came together.
The man appeared refined and cultured, while the woman seemed to be from a distinguished family; they were clearly of considerable status.
The one who asked the question was an old man, hunched over, leaning on a deer-head cane. He looked somewhat aloof, but he had the right to be.
This was a Half-Step Great Saint, accompanied by a disciple who looked at Yang Zhen with curiosity.
Yang Zhen only glanced at the other one before ignoring him. He was probably a Rogue Cultivator from the neighborhood, keeping his distance and seemingly just there to watch the show.
Yang Zhen grinned, showing the standard honest expression of the big brother next door, and said, "Everyone, I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you so much. I wonder where you are going?"
The old man's lips twitched, and he glanced at Yang Zhen sideways before asking again, "Are you really Yang Zhen?"
Yang Zhen nodded with an honest expression and said, "Yes, it's genuine, a product that doesn't require inspection. Senior, could you tell me where Qianyuan Ridge is?"
Upon hearing this, the old man's expression changed. He looked at Yang Zhen strangely and warily, staring into Yang Zhen's eyes as he asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Oh my?
Yang Zhen became interested. Not only did the old man's expression change, but the expressions of the others also changed, especially the woman among the two young people. She gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes full of curiosity.
Could there be something strange about Qianyuan Ridge?
Seeing the same blank look on Yang Zhen's face, the old man asked again, " Yang Zhen, are you really going to Qianyuan Ridge?"
Yang Zhen asked, puzzled, "Can't I go? What kind of place is Qianyuan Ridge?"
The group exchanged bewildered glances. The woman among the young men and women spoke up, "Young Master Yang, are you aware that it seems everyone in the entire Central Court is looking for you?"
"It's not that it seems like..." Yang Zhen said with a pout, "To be precise, everyone in the entire Central Court is looking for the little girl, but she's not with me right now. By the way, what exactly is Qianyuan Ridge? Why do you all have such surprised expressions on your faces?"
The young woman suppressed a laugh and said, "The young lady Young Master Yang mentioned must be the Holy Maiden Hua, right? That's right, everyone in the Central Court is searching for the Holy Maiden Hua. And Qianyuan Ridge originally had nothing to do with the Holy Maiden Hua, but..."
"But an appraisal conference is about to be held there. If people find out you're going there, it will definitely cause a huge sensation," the old man said with a cold snort, his strange look growing stronger.
Yang Zhen suddenly felt that the way these people looked at him was as if they were guarding against fire, theft, and Yang Zhen.
Damn it, am I Sage of Saunter that scary? What kind of treasure appraisal event is this? It's like I'm going to rob Sage of Saunter of everything.
Huh?
Yang Zhen's eyes lit up, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "Senior, you're joking. I just heard that the name Qianyuan Ridge sounds nice, so I was just asking. We still have to go to the Northern Region, so we won't bother you any longer. We really aren't going to Qianyuan Ridge, so please don't misunderstand."
As he spoke, the Shameless Cat kicked the Shameless Cat's butt and said, "What are you standing there for? Say goodbye to your senior, or you'll miss the No. 2 bus to the Northern Region."
"Huh?" The Shameless Cat was taken aback. Just as it was about to speak, it saw Yang Zhen blink and said, "Oh, why are you suddenly going back to the Northern Region? Old man, see you later!"
As they spoke, the two people and the cat hurriedly left the group, leaving everyone completely bewildered.
"Oh no! Yang Zhen is going to Qianyuan Ridge! He absolutely has to go to Qianyuan Ridge! Quickly, go and inform the Yaoguang Holy Land!" The old man's expression changed, and he hurriedly flew away on his sword—no, he flew away on his deer-headed cane.
The two young people exchanged a wry smile. The man said, "It seems we should report this to the Holy Land as soon as possible, otherwise it might cause some trouble."
The young woman chuckled and said, "Senior brother, you're overthinking it. Even the two Holy Lords couldn't fathom the secrets of this supreme treasure. How could Yang Zhen possibly disrupt such a grand event? Even if he did go, he would mostly just cause some commotion."
"That's hard to say. Everyone is terrified of Yang Zhen these days. There aren't many Celestial Phenomenon Realm cultivators who can kill a Saint. Moreover, the Black Lotus Holy Land is searching everywhere for Yang Zhen's whereabouts. Once they find out that Yang Zhen is going to Qianyuan Ridge, things will probably get quite lively."
The young woman seemed to remember something, covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "Judging from Yang Zhen's expression just now, he didn't seem to know where Qianyuan Ridge was. Maybe they couldn't find out."
"Is there anything Yang Zhen couldn't find out?" The young man gave a wry smile and said, "In any case, this matter must be taken seriously."
After the two left, the expression on the face of the Rogue Cultivator not far away gradually changed, and he yelled, " Yang Zhen is going to cause trouble! Yang Zhen is going to cause trouble at Qianyuan Ridge!"
"Achoo!"
Yang Zhen sneezed, rubbed his nose, and muttered to himself, "Damn it, can cultivators really catch colds?"
"Kid, I don't know if you have a cold or not, but we still don't seem to have figured out exactly where Qianyuan Ridge is."
The Shameless Cat swaggered ahead, not worried at all about being discovered.
Yang Zhen scoffed and said, "Can't you be a little more flexible?"
"How can we adapt?" Han Yan'er asked, her face full of curiosity.
"Look, someone's coming!" Yang Zhen's eyes lit up, and she pulled the Shameless Cat along, saying, "Hide with me, Little Dao Addict, go ask for directions. Remember to act like a weak woman."
Han Yan'er was stunned for a moment, glared at Yang Zhen, nodded, and walked thoughtfully toward the person who came.
Not long after, to the utter bewilderment of the two Celestial Phenomenon Realm cultivators, Shameless Cat Han Yan'er returned, covered in bruises and Yang Zhen, having beaten them both to a pulp.
"H-how... did you get the information?" Yang Zhen asked cautiously.
Who knows what nonsense those two cultivators said that nearly got them slashed by Han Yan'er's sword.
Han Yan'er glared and said, "Men are all the same!"
Yang Zhen was instantly enraged. He slung the Great Deficiency Sword over his shoulder and charged towards the two cultivators, but Han Yan'er pulled him back, saying, "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to chop those two bastards up! No one will dare mess with my Little Dao Addict!" Yang Zhen exclaimed, his beard bristling and eyes wide.
Han Yan'er glared at Yang Zhen, then turned her head and said, "Who's your Little Dao Addict? Those two cultivators... they were just talking too much, and I got impatient with them, so I gave them a little punishment."
My goodness, that was hardly a small punishment!
However, those two bastards had only themselves to blame. With Yang Zhen's ears now, what sound couldn't he hear? Yet those two bastards gave irrelevant answers, digging deep into Han Yan'er's family history in various ways. Could you ask such a thing to her face?
The men in this world really should study how to strike up a conversation!
You're asking for it!
This kind of thing is something I, the "Sage of Saunter," have studied quite well. I don't even bother asking; I just treat the Little Dao Addict like my own woman. That's called subtle influence. See? Isn't it very effective?