162: Chapter 162 Green Locust City, Spring's Blessing Fares

Zhou Tianchen smiled without a word. In the Scripture of Alchemy he cultivated, the art of Alchemy was merely a surface manifestation; the true core was to enter the Dao through pills and use fire as a weapon.

Qian Fire was not only a fire for Alchemy, but also a fire for combat. Paired with the divine abilities and techniques recorded in the scripture, he could unleash extremely powerful combat strength even without relying on his Realm.

However, since these matters involved Sect secrets, it was not appropriate for him to explain them in detail to outsiders.

"Senior, you praise me too highly," Zhou Tianchen said, cupping his hands. "This Junior merely took advantage of my Cultivation Technique and does not deserve such praise from you."

Seeing that he did not say much, Danchenzi did not press further. He merely nodded slightly, a flash of understanding passing through his eyes.

Everyone had their own secrets. Since Zhou Tianchen was unwilling to say more, he naturally would not force the issue.

Zhou Tianchen looked up at the sky and cupped his hands, saying, "This Junior still needs to rush back to Kunlun to prepare for the Cloud Sea Grand Ceremony, so I will not overstay my welcome. Thank you, Seniors, for your guidance and hospitality over the past few days. This Junior has benefited greatly."

Danchenzi nodded and said, "With the Cloud Sea Grand Ceremony approaching, you indeed should head back, young friend. This old man wishes you victory from the very start on this trip, and may you secure a place in the top five."

Zhou Tianchen cupped his hands in gratitude, turned, and walked out of the hall.

His figure passed through the layers of spiritual mist in Medicine King Valley, quickly disappearing at the end of the mountain path.

Danchenzi stood in front of the hall entrance, watching the figure recede into the distance. Only after a long while did he withdraw his gaze, look at Dan Qingzi, and speak slowly, "Old Qing, how far do you think this child can go?"

Dan Qingzi fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "This old man cannot see through him. His Dao of Alchemy has already reached a height that even we cannot hope to match. As for other aspects, they are even more incomprehensible."

Danchenzi nodded and said nothing more. He only sighed softly, his eyes filled with anticipation, emotion, and a trace of inexplicable complexity.

After leaving Medicine King Valley, Zhou Tianchen rode the wind all the way, sweeping toward Kunlun.

Clouds and mist surged beneath his feet, and mountains and rivers swept past rapidly below. His speed was much faster than when he had arrived.

In his mind, he was still replaying the fragments of his discussions on Alchemy with Danchenzi over the past few days.

The insights of a Heaven Rank Advanced Alchemist were indeed extraordinary. Many things he had previously only read about in the Scripture of Alchemy but had not fully understood were verified one by one during his exchanges with Danchenzi.

Although the height of the Scripture of Alchemy far exceeded the Heaven Rank Dao of Alchemy, Danchenzi's tens of thousands of years of accumulation and practical experience were still valuable assets that he could not replace in a short time.

"Central Plains Pill Tower."

Zhou Tianchen murmured to himself, a trace of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"A few years from now, if I can participate in that grand assembly, it wouldn't be a bad thing."

He accelerated, sweeping toward the Ten Thousand Mountains.

There was less than half a year left before the Cloud Sea Grand Ceremony. He needed to consolidate his cultivation further before then, fully digesting the insights he had gained from Danchenzi over the past few days.

—

In the northern part of the Southern Wasteland, at the border of the Xuanyuan Dynasty, lay Qinghuai City.

This city was not large, but because it was situated on a key route bordering the Xuanyuan Dynasty and the Zhouwu Dynasty, trade was frequent, making it quite bustling.

Yun Tianxiang stood with his hands behind his back under an old locust tree by the main street. His gaze slowly swept over the bustling crowd on the street, while his Divine Sense had already quietly enveloped the entire city.

It had been three days.

He had traversed more than half of the Southern Wasteland, following that faint, elusive Bloodline connection all the way, and had finally arrived at this city three days ago.

But the moment he stepped into Qingkui City, the Bloodline connection suddenly snapped, as if an invisible barrier had completely isolated that wisp of aura. No matter how he searched, he could find no trace of it.

He did not give up. He stayed in this city for three days, walking through every street and corner, but that wisp of aura never appeared again.

"Could I have searched in the wrong direction?" Yun Tianxiang murmured to himself, his brow furrowing slightly.

After Awakening his memories of his past life, he relied on a Bloodline Secret Technique from his memory to refine a Bloodline Jade Talisman using his own essence blood. With the help of the talisman, he could perceive the general direction of a Bloodline of the same source.

Although it could not provide a precise location, it could at least point out the direction.

Three days ago, when the talisman's pointer pointed toward Qingkui City, he thought he had finally found the whereabouts of his younger brother, Yun Tianque.

But the moment he stepped into the city, the pointer began to spin wildly, as if that wisp of aura was shielded by something.

Or perhaps, that wisp of aura had already dissipated in the city.

Yun Tianxiang looked up at the sky. Twilight was falling, and the western horizon was dyed with a layer of dark red.

He withdrew his gaze and was about to turn and leave.

Suddenly, his steps paused. The talisman, which had been silent all this time, trembled gently in his breast pocket.

The trembling was extremely subtle. Had he not been paying attention with his Divine Sense at all times, he would have almost missed it.

Yun Tianxiang took out the jade talisman, cradled it in his palm, and looked down. He saw the spiritual light on the surface of the talisman flickering extremely weakly, like a candle in the wind, dimming and brightening unpredictably.

But the pointer was no longer spinning wildly; instead, it pointed toward the east of the city.

Yun Tianxiang's gaze sharpened. His Divine Sense extended along the direction pointed by the jade talisman, covering every inch of ground to the east of the city.

A moment later, his expression changed slightly.

A few miles outside the east gate of the city, a carriage was traveling slowly along the official road.

It was a carriage drawn by two Yao Beasts. The carriage canopy was covered in blue cloth, printed with an ancient seal character, which was faintly recognizable as the outline of the character 'Xie'.

Sitting on the carriage shafts were two middle-aged men, their bodies enveloped in the aura of the Soul Transformation Stage. They were chatting idly, their demeanors relaxed.

The cultivation of these two could be considered not weak in this Qingkui City.

But Yun Tianxiang's gaze did not fall on them; his perception landed precisely inside the carriage's canopy.

The carriage was piled with sacks and wooden boxes, all containing sealed medicinal herbs, emitting a mixed herbal scent. Judging by the purity and quantity of that scent, this carriage of herbs was probably not some cheap stuff.

But what he was paying attention to at this moment was not the herbs themselves, but an extremely faint trace of aura mixed among them.

It was a Bloodline aura of the same source as Yun Tianque, faint and elusive, as if it were merely a trace accidentally stained onto the sacks or the carriage boards.

Yun Tianxiang sensed an extremely subtle metallic smell of blood in that wisp of aura, as if it had been dried for a long time.

A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, his figure vanished from where he stood.

A few miles outside the east gate of Qingkui City, the official road wound along, with barren fields on both sides.

The carriage moved slowly through the twilight, its wheels making a creaking sound as they rolled over the dirt road. The two middle-aged men sitting on the shafts were chatting idly.

"We've run through three cities on this trip and finally collected enough medicinal herbs for the Family Head. We can rest for a few days when we get back."

"Rest? In your dreams. The manager said that as soon as this batch of herbs is delivered, there will be new errands immediately. Lately, the higher-ups have been pressing hard, so I'm afraid it won't be that easy to rest."

"Pressing hard? Isn't it just because the refining of Medicinal Pills has been a bit slow? Those few kinds of herbs are rare goods, how could they be so easy to find?"

"Who knows? Anyway, we just follow orders. Don't nose around."

"True."

Before the words could fully settle, a gray figure appeared at some point several Zhang in front of the carriage, standing right in the middle of the official road.