The Pursuit

Since then, my father has carried that treasure with him at all times and never let it leave his side. And indeed, just as the old beggar said, my father has never suffered any serious health problems from fighting with others since he was a child, regardless of whether he won or lost!

But this time he died instantly! Unless the person who killed my father was no ordinary person, I absolutely refuse to believe that my father was so easily killed by a few mere bandits!

Upon hearing this, Fang Mancang pondered for a moment and said:

"No wonder, Dali, the only one who escaped back then, said that your father held out for a long time by himself to buy them time to escape..."

Fang Manliang asked her, puzzled:

Why didn't you tell Jianghe He about this when he was around?

Gu Yuxiao was furious:

"My father passed away at the time, and I was busy with the funeral arrangements and feeling very sad. Besides, this was something my father had mentioned to me a few years ago, so how could I have imagined it at that moment? It was only because I recently heard about the rampant banditry that I suddenly remembered it. I had originally planned to tell him today, but who would have thought that he would lie to me and go ahead with the trip!"

She became very angry as she spoke, her words laced with resentment.

"What if the other party is truly a cultivator, and their cultivation level is higher than Boss Qin's?!"

Hearing their question-and-answer exchange, Lin Xiao knew the gist of the matter without even asking, and immediately asked:

Do you know roughly where those bandits might appear?

Fang Manliang quickly stepped forward and said:

"I know!"

Lin Xiao nodded at him:

"Alright, then lead us after them now."

"I want to go too!"

Seeing that Gu Yuxiao was also going, only a month later, she was already at the Qi Refining Second Layer, but it was obvious that she had just advanced not long ago and her realm was not very stable yet.

So he thought for a moment and asked:

"Have you learned the Concealment Technique?"

Gu Yuxiao nodded firmly:

"Yes! I can also Body Immobilization Technique!" Although she could only immobilize an adult for a moment, she didn't say it.

Lin Xiao thought that since Gu Yuxiao's father, a mere mortal, was able to stop those bandits with his life, allowing a bodyguard to escape, their cultivation level probably wasn't too high. He figured he could just let them stay on the spirit boat. If things went wrong, he had the newly acquired teleportation array.

So he agreed to Gu Yuxiao.

Fang Mancang, on the other hand, stayed behind at the escort agency to oversee its business.

After leading them out of the county town, Lin Xiao arrived at a secluded forest and took out the spirit boat he had previously crafted.

With Fang Manliang and Gu Yuxiao, both at the first or second level of Qi Refining, on their backs, they definitely couldn't walk; it would be too slow.

Under the astonished gazes of the two, Lin Xiao tossed the palm-sized spirit boat to the ground, whereupon it instantly expanded, growing to a size capable of holding six or seven people in the blink of an eye.

This spirit boat can be sized to suit different needs.

Lin Xiao didn't turn it up too high; he wanted to conserve his Spiritual Power.

Jiang Youfu, however, showed no surprise on his face. Looking at Gu Yuxiao and Fang Manliang's astonishment, he secretly gloated: Isn't Brother Xiao amazing?

This morning, Brother Xiao complained that he was walking too slowly, so he used this spirit boat to bring him here.

The four boarded the spirit boat, and with Fang Manliang's guidance, Lin Xiao steered the boat forward at high speed.

Lin Xiao is quite different now than he was when he first Foundation Establishment. Although he hasn't advanced to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage yet, his cultivation has become much more solid and profound.

It's just that I haven't been cultivating enough lately, relying entirely on the auto-cultivation function, so I'm still a while away from advancing to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

But Lin Xiao glanced at his own data panel in the system:

[Host: Lin Xiao (AFK cultivation activated)]

[Qualifications: Outstanding Talent]

[Gender: Male]

[Bone age: 12 years]

[Cultivation Level: 92996/100000 (Foundation Establishment Early Stage - Foundation Establishment Middle Stage)]

[Mental Techniques: "Original Essence Heart Sutra" (Comprehension 1024/10000), "Peach Blossom Spring Myriad Void Instruction" (Comprehension 30/100)]

[Cultivation Method: Swordsmanship in the Clouds]

[Law Technique: Purification Technique, Hundred Beasts Spirit Speech, Body Immobilization Technique, Cloud Soaring Technique, Concealment Technique, Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare...]

If he focuses on his cultivation recently, he will advance to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage in no time.

Therefore, he can now control this spirit boat, carrying three people, for hundreds of miles without any effort, and it doesn't even consume one percent of the Spiritual Power in his body.

Moreover, while maneuvering the spirit boat, he also extended his Divine Sense to ensure that no one was around, lest others see their small boat flying in the sky and be frightened into a madness.

Half an hour later, the spirit boat had already traveled nearly two hundred miles.

When they arrived near the area where the bandits had been frequently seen, following Fang Manliang's directions, Lin Xiao lowered the spirit boat and put everyone down.

Gu Yuxiao immediately ran to the side and hugged a tree to vomit.

Lin Xiao felt somewhat embarrassed.

When he first went up, he saw that no one seemed to be acting strangely, and Miss Gu was sitting upright with a stern expression, not moving at all.

He had admired the girl's composure at the time, but he never expected that she would get seasick. Now, thinking back, he realized that she wasn't sitting upright and serious at all; she was clearly stiff and afraid to move, as if she would vomit if she moved.

It seems that although she has cultivated to the Qi Refining Second Layer, she must not have properly studied how to use Spiritual Power to regulate her body, which is why she felt dizzy on the spirit boat.

Lin Xiao remembered that she had only Qi Refining Second Layer, yet she already knew several Law Technique, so he guessed that this girl must have spent all her time on Law Technique.

Seeing her distress, Jiang Youfu took a green fruit from his purse and handed it to her, saying:

"Here, have some. This fruit is juicy and has a sweet aroma; eating it might help relieve some of the heat."

Gu Yuxiao used Dust Removal Technique on her mouth after spitting out the fruit, then took the fruit and thanked him.

Fang Manliang was looking around, while Lin Xiao also spread his Divine Sense around, searching for Qin Jianghe's whereabouts.

However, after the first rough sweep, Lin Xiao found nothing.

Could Jianghe He have used Concealment Technique?

Furthermore, the Peach Leaf Pendant he possessed could conceal his cultivation level and Spiritual Power, which gave Lin Xiao a headache.

He once again extended his Divine Sense, this time carefully searching every corner.

Although the Concealment Technique is very useful, generally speaking, unless someone's cultivation level is far greater than the user's, others will basically not be able to detect them as long as the user does not use their Spiritual Power elsewhere.

However, for Lin Xiao, the creator of the Law Technique, it is still possible for him to find some clues if he really wants to.

However, even after searching the entire area and even changing locations several times, he still couldn't find it.

Moreover, he found no trace of Qin Jianghe, nor of the so-called bandits.

According to Fang Manliang, Jianghe set off last night, so at his pace, the distance of less than two hundred li should not take him more than a few hours.

It's impossible that they haven't arrived by now.

Could it be that these bandits aren't here, Fang Manliang to the wrong place?