Xiao Yan stood in front of the unremarkable courtyard house. The night wind blew in from the alley entrance, causing the stems of a few withered grasses on the courtyard wall to sway gently.
He didn't knock on the door immediately, nor did he rush to use his senses to investigate the situation in the courtyard.
He simply stood quietly on the smooth, mirror-like Bluestone Platform in front of the door, worn smooth by the passage of time.
He had been searching for this house for far too long.
From Spirit City to Star Dou Great Forest, from Star Dou Great Forest to Star Chasing City, and from Star Chasing City all the way to Heaven Dou City.
Xiao Yan's gaze was fixed on the courtyard in front of him.
The courtyard looked quite ordinary, with blue bricks and gray tiles, low walls, and not even a plaque at the entrance.
Unidentified vines climbed all over the courtyard wall, their leaves swaying gently in the night breeze, making a soft rustling sound.
Several clumps of moss grew at the base of the wall, gleaming with Youyou green light under the moonlight.
Such residences are commonplace in the Heaven Dou City and are quite unremarkable.
It's the kind of place you wouldn't even glance at even if you walked past it a hundred times.
But as Xiao Yan's Spiritual Soul Power reached out to sense it, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
The arc was extremely shallow and faint, yet it appeared exceptionally firm under the moonlight.
"Such a subtle formation..."
His Spiritual Soul Power was greatly enhanced in the Dou Qi Continent.
During the time he was recuperating at the Starfall Pavilion, although Venerable Feng did not directly teach him any techniques, he used his own Dou Qi to nourish the Soul Origin while he was regulating his meridians, which subtly improved his soul perception to a new level.
More importantly, he obtained the " Soul Refining Technique," a scroll of soul-type Dou Technique specifically designed to temper Spiritual Soul Power.
After cultivation, the precision and breadth of one's soul perception far surpass those of others at the same level.
Therefore, through his deliberate probing, he was naturally able to sense something unusual in the courtyard.
The anomaly was extremely faint, so faint that he would probably have overlooked it if he hadn't deliberately investigated it.
It was a thin, delicate energy film covering the entire mansion, as thin as a cicada's wing.
It doesn't simply isolate itself from external detection; instead, it uses layers of subtle energy ripples to disguise the internal Soul Power fluctuations as the natural aura of an ordinary dwelling.
The frequency of those ripples was tuned to be extremely precise, perfectly resonating with the energy fluctuations of the surrounding environment.
Even if Soul Master at the Soul Douluo level came to investigate, unless they deliberately probed the interior of the house with their Soul Power and searched it inch by inch, they would not be able to detect any obvious abnormalities.
However, Xiao Yan's Spiritual Soul Power is fundamentally different from the Soul Power detection of Soul Master.
Soul Master's Soul Power Perception detects the strength and attributes of energy, while his Soul Perception detects the essence and structure of energy.
Under his soul perception, that layer of disguise array was like an intricately crafted mask.
No matter how realistic a mask is painted, it is ultimately worn on the face, not the face itself.
He could clearly discern the true aura hidden beneath the formation.
His Spiritual Soul Power extended into the courtyard, spreading out silently like an invisible spider web.
When his soul sensed through the disguise array, he could feel an extremely faint resistance, like the surface tension he felt when his fingers ran across the surface of water.
The resistance vanished in an instant, and his senses had already penetrated into the interior of the house.
Soon, several auras were sensed in the courtyard.
He could clearly sense a total of five people, and there seemed to be others deeper inside.
Four of the auras were distributed in different locations within the residence.
Two lines were on the ground and two were underground, spreading out in a fan shape, clearly indicating that they were hidden sentry posts responsible for vigilance.
The strongest one, according to Xiao Yan's perception, should also be a power at the Soul Emperor level.
The aura was calm and restrained, and the fluctuations of Soul Power were regular and sustained, clearly indicating that the person was meditating and cultivating.
The others were Soul King and Soul Ancestor Sects. Although their auras were not as powerful as the Soul Emperor's, they were all solid and well-trained.
As he was about to meet Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Yan suppressed his excitement.
After taking a deep breath, he lifted his leg and walked towards the courtyard gate.
His steps were neither fast nor slow, each one firm and steady, as if he were measuring the end of this wait with his footsteps.
As he reached the door, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers.
"Knock knock knock!"
Three crisp knocks echoed in the quiet night.
His knuckles struck the brass ring on the door, producing a dull, lingering echo that carried far down the alley.
Almost at the same moment, Xiao Yan clearly felt a slight fluctuation in the Soul Power within the courtyard.
The ripple was extremely brief, like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake; the ripples were quickly suppressed by a hand after only two circles had spread.
The fact that he was an uninvited guest clearly surprised the Soul Master in the courtyard.
After all, this is already an extremely remote area in the Heaven Dou City.
Most of the neighbors were merchants and craftsmen who went out early and returned late, and they would go home and sleep as soon as it got dark.
Unless someone deliberately seeks it out, very few people would accidentally wander into this place.
If it's something that's deliberately sought out, then it's even more alarming.
Xiao Yan was able to sense several auras in the courtyard and reacted quickly after a brief moment of surprise.
One of the auras withdrew from the cultivation state, and the fluctuations of Soul Power suddenly became more rapid.
The other two auras approached the courtyard gate simultaneously, their footsteps extremely light yet their movements incredibly fast.
There was still one aura that hadn't moved, but Xiao Yan could sense that aura's attention was completely locked on the direction of the courtyard gate.
Soon, footsteps and a hoarse voice echoed in the courtyard.
Who is it?
The voice was hoarse and deep, carrying a hint of impatience at being woken up, and a touch of just the right amount of languor.
It sounds like an ordinary middle-aged man being woken up from his sleep.
But Xiao Yan could sense the wariness hidden beneath that voice.
His voice was so steady, so calm, that it didn't sound like someone who had just woken up.
The person who is truly awakened will speak with a slightly muffled and groggy voice.
Although the person's voice was hoarse, every word was clear, and each syllable was precisely controlled by the brain.
As the voice rang out, the courtyard gate in front of Xiao Yan opened slightly.
The crack in the door was only about three fingers wide, just enough to reveal a face. Then, a somewhat weathered face appeared before Xiao Yan.
He was a middle-aged man around thirty years old, with an ordinary face, rough skin, and a few shallow crow's feet at the corners of his eyes.
He was dressed in a blue long-sleeved, fitted outfit with tight cuffs and a black belt around his waist.
His hair was a little messy, as if he had just gotten out of bed and casually brushed it aside.
Those eyes weren't large, with slightly drooping eyelids, and their gaze carried a hint of displeasure at being disturbed, along with a wary scrutiny of a stranger.
I'm looking for someone.
Xiao Yan gave the other person a smile.
His smile was gentle and natural, and combined with his disguised face, he looked like an ordinary traveler who had gotten lost and stumbled into this secluded alley in the dead of night.
Before the other party could react, he reached out and gently pushed the courtyard gate.
His movements appeared casual, yet the force was just right.
Just enough to push open the slightly ajar wooden door without offending the person behind it.
But the middle-aged man behind the door clearly didn't think so.
He hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary young man to push the door open and walk in. For a moment, his fingers tightened slightly on the latch, and his knuckles tapped lightly on the inside of the door.
That was a coded signal used to transmit signals inside the Dark Hall.
One knock means "Something's up," two knocks mean "Danger," and three knocks mean "It's on our side."
He knocked once.
The courtyard gate was pushed open completely, and Xiao Yan was able to see the face of the person in front of him and the layout of the courtyard behind him.
The front yard wasn't large, and in the center stood an old locust tree with a dense canopy that cast a large shadow under the moonlight.
Under the tree was a stone table and several stone benches, on which sat a pot of chilled tea and several teacups.
The kitchen and woodshed are on the east side of the courtyard, a row of side rooms is on the west side, and the main house is directly opposite the courtyard gate.
Several strings of dried chili peppers and corn hung on the courtyard wall, and several bundles of firewood and farm tools were piled at the base of the wall.
It looked like an ordinary farmhouse, with nothing unusual about it.
Xiao Yan had already determined that the middle-aged man's Soul Power fluctuations indicated he was at the Soul King stage when he sensed him earlier.
Observing closely now, one can better sense how the Soul Power operates within the other person's body.
Fluent and stable performance, with a solid foundation, are qualities that can only be acquired through long-term systematic training.
Seeing Xiao Yan walking in uninvited, the middle-aged man's brows knitted together tightly, his eyebrows twisted into a shallow "Sichuan", and a hint of impatience appeared on his face.
Beneath that impatience lay a deeply hidden sense of vigilance and worry.
He turned sideways, half-blocking Xiao Yan's path, his tone more rigid than before:
"Kid, the person you're looking for isn't here. You've come to the wrong place, haven't you?"
It's inappropriate for an outsider like you to barge in.
Suppressing his anger, the middle-aged man continued speaking to Xiao Yan.
Although his tone was harsh, he did not take immediate action, but instead probed with words first.
This is the standard procedure for members of the Dark Hall when dealing with uninvited guests.
First, confirm the other party's identity and purpose before deciding on the next step.
If the other party is just an ordinary person who has gone astray, send them away; but if the other party is a spy from the Spirit Hall, then they cannot be left alive.
Xiao Yan's gaze passed over the middle-aged man's shoulder and looked into the courtyard.
Two other people were sitting at a stone table under an old locust tree not far away.
One of the figures, sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, had his back ramrod straight and exuded an aura of calm and composure.
The man appeared to be in his early forties, with a resolute face, a short beard, and slightly closed eyes, seemingly unconcerned about the commotion at the courtyard gate.
But Xiao Yan's senses were incredibly sharp; he could clearly perceive the state of the Soul Power circulating within the other party's body.
A ready-to-fight stance, seemingly relaxed, but in reality, every nerve is taut.
It was the aura of the Soul Emperor that Xiao Yan sensed.