38: Chapter 38 A Shocking Appearance of an Evil Cultivator

Seven-colored escaping lights wove through countless peaks; it was strikingly Chen Changqing and his group. They had already left Qinghe Market for about half a month, having traveled roughly three-quarters of the journey.

"We have already arrived within the borders of Taihe Prefecture. Logically speaking, we should at least encounter Cultivators from other Foundation Establishment families, but the road has been far too quiet. We haven't even seen a single shadow up to now," Chen Yuanwu said doubtfully while driving the qingyang sword.

Hearing this, everyone wore contemplative expressions. It did seem to be the case; surely not every Foundation Establishment Family was escorted by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, right?

Take the Foundation Establishment families of Qinghe County alone. The Wang Family and the Zhou Family, just like the Chen Family, were certainly led by Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivators. As for the Li Family and the Zhao Family, these two families had more Foundation Establishment Cultivators, so sending one out to escort would not be a problem.

Moreover, this road was not only traveled by Cultivators from Qinghe County. Longchuan County, adjacent to Qinghe County, was destined to take this route if they wanted to come to Taihe Market. Although their group had been delayed for a few days because of Chen Changqing, it shouldn't be to the point where they hadn't encountered a single Family. This was truly bizarre; could they have encountered some irresistible factor on the road?

Thinking of this, a trace of doubt arose in everyone's hearts, but since they had already come this far, they couldn't just leave without discovering anything. After all, this was the Family's first time participating in the Taihe Assembly hosted by the Foundation Establishment families of Taihe Prefecture. If they didn't go because of such a matter, the Chen Family would lose all face among the Foundation Establishment families by then.

"Let's go rest for a while," Chen Yuanjin said, glancing at the three people at the very back, Chen Changyue. Their cultivation level was only at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining, and their Cultivation Technique was also quite ordinary, so their mana was not as abundant as that of the others. Besides, traveling was not something to rush; as long as they arrived at Taihe Market within the stipulated time limit to participate in the Taihe Assembly, it would be fine.

Everyone found a relatively secluded cave. Aside from Chen Yuanjin, Chen Changqing, and Li Qingling, the rest of the people sat cross-legged on the spot to recover their mana.

"Sixth Aunt, we might need to be a bit more careful on the road ahead. I have a bad premonition," Chen Changqing walked to Chen Yuanjin's side and whispered a reminder.

Chen Yuanjin nodded with a solemn expression, "I know. The whole journey has been too strange, or rather, far too quiet. Once they finish recovering their mana, we will walk slowly on the subsequent road and try our best to ensure we always have sufficient mana."

"Understood." Chen Changqing agreed and went back to join Li Qingling.

On this trip out, he carried enough talisman papers and Magical Artifacts on him. Even against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he dared to fight, so the problem wasn't too big.

An hour later, after everyone's mana had recovered, they set off again.

This time, the speed of several people was deliberately slowed down, constantly prepared to deal with situations that might arise next.

When they passed by a village, the entire village was as silent as death, so several people went down to investigate.

Chen Changqing pushed open the doors of some houses as he walked. Inside was disorderly and messy, with clothes and items scattered everywhere, but not a single person or other livestock was to be seen.

"Strange, what did this place suffer from? Not even a trace of life can be perceived," Chen Changqing asked doubtfully.

"Could it be Demonic Cultivators?" Li Qingling stood beside him, her brows slightly furrowed as she asked.

"This is Taihe Prefecture territory after all, and there are no less than ten Foundation Establishment factions alone. How could these demonic Cultivators dare to cause trouble here? I feel it shouldn't be them," Chen Changxuan walked over and explained.

"It's hard to say. If it's at this border area, even if demonic Cultivators run amok, those Foundation Establishment families and even the Xuantian Sect might not be able to appear in time. Furthermore, the beast tide is about to erupt. Every time the world falls into chaos, these demonic Cultivators will swarm out from all places," Chen Yuanjin was also observing everything in the village and explained to several people.

"I see," Chen Changxuan nodded.

"Then are we going back or...?" Chen Changyue spoke up at this moment. He felt that if demonic Cultivators truly appeared, continuing forward would likely lead to danger, and it was even possible that the entire army would be wiped out. This was because the methods of demonic Cultivators were too treacherous; even Chen Yuanjin did not dare say she could steadily win against a demonic Cultivator of the same Realm.

"The most important thing now is whether there are demonic Cultivators staring at us from the dark. If there are, going back now might not necessarily be safe either, and we are not far from Taihe Market anyway. By then, we can report to the Xuantian Sect and let them clean up this group of demonic Cultivators. In the future when the beast tide erupts, our rear will also be much quieter," Chen Yuanjin said calmly.

Anyway, they had already come here. Not continuing forward might lead to an even greater crisis, because she felt that a huge net behind her was binding everyone tightly within Taihe Prefecture. If they hadn't seen the scene of this village, they might have run back.

After everyone left, several black-robed Cultivators appeared abruptly. The aura radiating from their bodies was at least Qi Condensation 7th Layer, and there was even a presence at the Perfection of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

One of the black-robed Cultivators asked: "Senior Brother Yu, we've followed them all the way, aren't we going to make a move yet?"

That Senior Brother Yu's mouth revealed a chilling sneer, and then he said: "No rush. With their speed, they simply cannot escape our grasp. The most important thing now is to wait for the Junior Martial Uncles to launch a sneak attack on the major Foundation Establishment families of Taihe Prefecture.

When the major families of Taihe Prefecture and the Xuantian Sect have no time to bother with us, that will be the timing for us to make a move."

Hearing this, a trace of burning passion appeared in the eyes of several black-robed Cultivators. As long as they ambushed and killed this team of Cultivators, the resources and treasures they would obtain would be enough for them to squander for a dozen years.

Some time ago, they had encountered several families in total. The first one seemed to be a declining Foundation Establishment Family in Longchuan County, seemingly called the Guan Family. The leading Cultivator was merely at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, plus another Cultivator at the Qi Condensation 7th Layer. The strength of the other four Cultivators was also not strong, all being at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. They slaughtered them without any effort. The second team was very strong, almost causing their entire group to be buried there; fortunately, they left only after three fellow apprentice brothers died in the end.

As for the third team, it was said to be a newly-risen Family in Qinghe County, whose strength was stronger than the first Family they encountered. There was one Ninth Layer of Qi Refining and one Cultivator at the Perfection of the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, and the other four were also around the fourth and fifth layers of Qi Refining. It was just that several of their fellow apprentice brothers were healing their injuries at the time, so they didn't make a move against this team.

And then came the fourth team right before their eyes.

Although there were the most people, their strength didn't seem to be anything special either. At most, that female Cultivator possessed something that made him feel a bit threatened, while the other six were not worth fearing. It was just that because the second team had definitely reported the situation here to factions like the Xuantian Sect, if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator were to appear when they made a move now, then they would be dead for sure.