131: Discovering Yao Delong's whereabouts

Yao Delong glanced at her sideways, lowered his voice, and spoke with his usual mockery:

"Yo, Saintess, can't take it already? I was still counting on you to serve me by pouring tea, fetching water, and making my bed. It seems your physique doesn't want to leave me, does it?"

He laughed deliberately.

Xin Yuelan snapped her head up, her blood-red eyes glaring fiercely at him through her mask as she growled through gritted teeth: "Isn't it because of you, you bastard! You even sealed my Physical Body strength!"

Her voice was filled with grievance and anger.

Yao Delong, however, ignored her glare. His gaze swept over Ma Lei, who was commanding the caravan ahead, and he quickened his pace, moving toward him unobtrusively.

"Captain Ma."

Yao Delong sent a voice transmission, and at the same time, flipped his palm to quietly pass over a few Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, which were brimming with Spiritual Qi and far superior to Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Ma Lei felt his palm sink and looked down, a flash of surprise and understanding instantly crossing his eyes.

Mid-Grade Spirit Stones! This kid really had deep pockets! He quietly put away the Spirit Stones and replied via voice transmission: "Brother, what is it?"

"My maid is weak, and after all, she is a Mortal. This mountain road is truly difficult to traverse. I wonder if you could find a place for her to rest on the back of one of the pack beasts?" Yao Delong said politely.

Ma Lei understood and thought to himself that this kid was quite attentive to his maid, walking himself while letting her ride a pack beast? But, having taken someone's money, he should make things convenient for them. He nodded readily: "Small matter! Follow me."

Soon, Ma Lei cleared a relatively stable space shielded by cargo on the back of a large, docile pack beast.

Yao Delong thanked him, turned, and walked over to the panting Xin Yuelan. Without a word, a gentle surge of Yuan energy welled up, lifting her up gently and placing her steadily into the space on the pack beast's back.

The sudden lift and landing startled Xin Yuelan slightly, but upon feeling the steady gait of the pack beast beneath her and the relief of no longer needing to trek herself, her tense body subconsciously relaxed a little.

Through her mask, she cast a complex look at the back of Yao Delong as he walked with the caravan below, and that imperceptible "change of opinion" in her heart quietly grew a little more.

This guy, his mouth is poisonous, but the things he does... they don't seem so heartless, do they?

The caravan continued deep into the mountain range. At first, it was relatively calm, but as the sun rose higher and they ventured deeper into the forest, the Demonic Qi permeating the air became increasingly dense.

Soon, attacks followed one after another.

"Roar!"

With a sharp screech, several black shadows swooped down from the dense canopy like ghosts, heading straight for the caravan's flank!

They were several Fourth-Rank Yao Beasts—Shadow-Claw Bats, with extremely fast speed and claws gleaming with a ghostly light!

"You beasts are courting death!" A cold, sharp shout rang out.

A green figure appeared in the air above the flank as if teleporting—it was Li Chen!

He didn't even draw his saber; he simply joined his palms like a blade and slashed through the air!

Chi! Chi! Chi!

Several strands of green Saber Qi, condensed into substance, appeared out of thin air, fast as lightning, and struck the necks of those Shadow-Claw Bats with pinpoint precision!

Pu! Pu! Pu!

Blood splashed, and several hideous avian heads shot into the sky. The headless corpses fell to the ground with momentum, twitched a few times, and then went still.

The entire process was clean and efficient; from the moment the Yao Beasts swooped down to their deaths, it was only in the blink of an eye!

Low exclamations of awe and reverence arose from the caravan. When a Golden Core Perfection Cultivator strikes, it is truly extraordinary!

In Biqu City, undercurrents were surging.

Inside an inconspicuous teahouse by the street, the crowd was noisy. Several local Cultivators were excitedly discussing the number one major event in the city recently.

"Have you heard? City Lord Han's deadly Demonic Qi poison has actually been cured!" A man with a thick beard slapped the table, his face full of wonder.

"Really? Didn't they say that even Master Zhou was helpless against it?" The person beside him looked skeptical.

"It's absolutely true!" The bearded man lowered his voice, acting mysterious. "According to news from the City Lord's Mansion, a mysterious Alchemist stepped in and used some kind of extremely powerful Pill Fire to forcefully refine and remove the Demonic Qi poison inside City Lord Han's body! I heard they even refined a Sixth-Rank Medium Grade Spirit Pill on the spot. Tsk tsk, that scene..."

"Sixth-Rank Medium Grade?!" Everyone gasped. "Could it have been refined by Master Zhou?"

"Doesn't seem like it!" Another person shook his head and interjected. "The rumors say it wasn't Master Zhou! But as for who exactly it was, the City Lord's Mansion is keeping their lips very tight; not a single bit of information has leaked out."

In the corner, a man in gray, looking like an ordinary tea guest with his aura well-concealed, paused slightly as he held his teacup. He was a secret agent from the Heavenly Demon Sect who had infiltrated Biqu City.

He listened quietly, a flash of light in his eyes. A mysterious Alchemist? Skilled in controlling fire? Able to expel Demonic Qi poison that even Master Zhou found troublesome? And refined a Sixth-Rank Spirit Pill?

These points highly coincided with the characteristics of the suspicious target described by Elder Liu Sha who had abducted the Saintess—Yao Delong!

Especially since they, the Devilish Sect, knew best about the Demonic Qi poison that Han Tianzheng had been afflicted with; it also contained extremely insidious Devilish Qi! Ordinary Pill Fire could not possibly purge it clean, unless one also possessed... the power of supreme Yang and purity!

"Too coincidental..." The agent's thoughts raced, and he was almost certain.

He put down a few copper coins, rose quietly, and like a drop of water merging into the sea, quickly disappeared into the flow of people in Biqu City.

Inside a hidden cave far from Biqu City.

"What? Han Tianzheng's poison is cured? And there's a mysterious Alchemist?"

After hearing the agent's report, Liu Sha's face instantly turned as dark as water. He stood up abruptly, a fierce light appearing in his eyes. "Expelling Devilish Qi... mysterious Pill Fire... it can't be wrong! It must be that little thief Yao Delong!"

He paced back and forth, the more he thought about it, the more he felt the possibility was extremely high.

"Good! Very good! Not only did he abduct the Saintess, but he also dared to ruin our Devilish Sect's major plans by detoxifying Han Tianzheng! This brat must die!"

He gritted his teeth and immediately issued an order: "Pass the order down! All personnel near Biqu City, get moving! Block all major roads leading out of Biqu City, especially in the southeast direction! Keep a close watch! Once you discover a suspicious target, especially one with a white-haired woman or someone with an abnormal aura, kill them without mercy! It is better to kill by mistake than to let one slip by!"

"Yes!" In the shadows of the cave, several figures acknowledged the order and retreated silently.

Liu Sha took out another communication Talisman shimmering with dark Devilish patterns and quickly branded the news of Han Tianzheng's impending recovery into it. The Talisman turned into a streak of black light, broke through the air, and shot straight toward the depths of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Yao Delong... let's see where you can escape to!" Liu Sha stared in the direction where the Talisman light disappeared, a ferocious sneer on his face.

Meanwhile, deep in the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range, thousands of miles away, the caravan set up camp in a relatively open river valley.

A day of trekking, and more than half the journey was over. Although Yao Beast attacks were frequent during the day, the highest rank was only the Fifth Rank. Under the joint efforts of the guards and the occasional deterrent strikes from Li Chen, they did not cause too much trouble.

At this moment, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the forest a golden red, and campfires dotted the campsite. The sounds of people and beasts intertwined, permeating the air with a sense of fatigue and relaxation from having survived the day.