It had been a full five hours before Ji Yuan’s pháp lực was fully restored, and he adjusted his condition to its peak.
The middle-aged man surnamed Chen and the young man, after consuming precious elixirs, had also successfully stabilized their internal injuries and recovered quite well, at least possessing some ability to protect themselves.
Unlike when they first met, when even a casual strike from two wild cultivators of the mountains and marshes could send them to the ground.
“Since you have also recovered somewhat, I will take Daoist Zhou and leave now.”
Ji Yuan slowly stood up and said to the two who had awakened before him.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man surnamed Chen frowned and said almost without thinking, “I will go with you.”
As an elder of a sect, he clearly could not allow a genius disciple of his sect to go alone with someone of unknown origins into perilous territory.
Even though he was currently heavily injured, with only thirty to forty percent of his peak strength, he still had to stay close to offer some assistance.
As soon as this was said, Ji Yuan’s face immediately showed a hint of impatience. It wasn’t what they had agreed upon earlier, and the other party’s sudden change of mind naturally made him feel a little displeased.
Moreover, if he were to let the other party follow, the young man would inevitably not be left behind. Then he would have to take care of two more people, and things would become even more troublesome and unpredictable.
After all, the place they were going was not a hidden blessed land discovered by the five of them, but a treasure land where spiritual light could be seen flickering from more than ten miles away.
Furthermore, the other party had admitted earlier that there were quite a few cultivators gathered around that blessed land. It was hard to guarantee that none of them had obtained something similar to the jade token, which could be used to enter the protective mountain array.
What’s more, the other party’s proposal made Ji Yuan unable to help but suspect if they intended to go back on their word, using his strength to obtain some fortuitous encounter.
“Uncle-Master Chen, please rest assured and take junior brother with you first to reunite with our fellow disciples.”
Seeing the person beside him frown slightly, Zhou Lianying quickly spoke to comfort him, saying that she would be fine.
While speaking, she kept winking at him, fearing that if her uncle-master insisted, this transaction would end in vain.
At that time, they would truly gain nothing, holding the key to enter the treasury in their hands, but only able to look on helplessly.
Even if they wanted to sell it at a high price, as soon as they revealed they had this item, cultivators would swarm them. Let alone selling it for a good price, whether they could keep their lives would be a problem.
After a round of persuasion, the middle-aged man surnamed Chen finally relented, but still insisted on following until outside the blessed land. He could not enter the protective mountain array, but he had to guard outside.
“Consider it so that I can be more at ease. I cannot watch a junior of my sect leave alone with someone else.”
He sighed and then said with a serious expression.
Ji Yuan cast him an annoyed glance, thinking, what does your peace of mind have to do with me?
“As you wish.”
He said unhappily and turned to leave, not caring if the people behind him would follow.
At worst, when they reached the vicinity of the blessed land, he could find another way to see if he could enter the protective mountain array.
As for the two bottles of precious healing elixirs he had given earlier, it was given.
He, the current master of the Xuan Tian Temple, was not short of money!
Seeing that he was angry, Zhou Lianying cast a slightly resentful look at her uncle-master beside her, then quickly hurried to catch up, fearing that the other party would really leave and never mention the jade token in his hand again.
She could disregard any fortuitous encounters within that blessed land, but the spiritual spring that could improve physique and spiritual roots was something she absolutely could not miss!
Seeing this, the middle-aged man surnamed Chen’s eyes flickered with a subtle expression, and he then quickly followed with the young man, silently trailing a few steps behind.
It was only a distance of dozens of miles, and with their cultivation, it only took them a little over an hour. After leaving this forest, they could see a mountain peak covered in spiritual light in the distance.
The entire mountain peak stood in a pit that was dozens of feet deep, looking considerably larger than his Xuan Tian Peak, estimated to be around two hundred zhang tall.
This was almost reaching the sky, covering the entire ancient dojo. If not for the deep pit here, a small section of the mountain peak might have been visible from the ground.
Looking from afar, they could see that a large number of cultivators had already gathered around the mountain peak, at least sixty to seventy in number.
Ji Yuan stood at the edge of the giant pit, opened his pháp nhãn, and carefully observed the distant mountain peak, his shock intensifying.
Almost everywhere on the mountain peak, spiritual light flickered. Although the mountain body was intact and undamaged, some pavilions and towers had successively rotted and collapsed into ruins over the thousands of years.
It was precisely because of this that the spiritual items stored within were directly exposed to this world.
A rough count showed that in the direction he was standing, there were more than ten spiritual lights of varying strengths, extending from the foot of the mountain to the summit.
And anything that could emit such spiritual light was at least a top-grade magical artifact!
“To enter the protective mountain array, one can only do so from the main gate.”
Zhou Lianying walked to his side, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan’s brows involuntarily furrowed. This was something that neither the wild cultivators of the mountains and marshes nor the people around him had mentioned before.
Although he had already guessed this in his heart, it still made him somewhat displeased that it was only brought up now.
“If there is anything else, just say it directly. Continuing to conceal things will not benefit either of us.”
Ji Yuan said with a solemn expression, directly expressing his dissatisfaction.
He could naturally see through the other party’s intentions. It was nothing more than fearing that he would change his mind and refuse to cooperate if he knew in advance.
After all, to forcibly break into the protective mountain array under the watchful eyes of dozens of cultivators was almost impossible unless one was at the peak of the second realm or above.
“Besides this matter, there is truly nothing else to conceal.”
Zhou Lianying quickly assured him that there was absolutely nothing else she was hiding.
Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Ji Yuan nodded slightly, then walked down into the giant pit without a word, his body sliding down the inclined slope to the bottom.
A moment later, the three behind him also arrived at the bottom of the giant pit, following him unhurriedly towards the mountain peak ahead.
As they got closer, they found that at the main gate, about twenty cultivators in white robes were strictly guarding the area. Anyone who approached would attract their vigilant gaze.
“It’s cultivators from the Wangyue Sect!”
Zhou Lianying whispered from the side.
He nodded, naturally recognizing the cultivators in pale moon-white robes with moon wheels floating beside them.
At the same time, he noticed that the eyes of the middle-aged man surnamed Chen and the young man showed intense hatred and hostility upon seeing these people.
Although Zhou Lianying’s reaction was not as obvious, her expression was also quite unnatural, and she couldn’t help but steal glances, her slender hands unconsciously clenching.
It was clear that these three had some past grievances with the cultivators of the Wangyue Sect, and the two sides seemed to have a deep animosity.
This scene gave rise to many thoughts in Ji Yuan’s mind, and he immediately thought of various possibilities.
Combined with Zhou Lianying’s determination to obtain that spiritual spring and the inadvertent accents of the three, it was not difficult to guess their identities.
“Which sect from Qinghe County are they from?”
He muttered to himself, and information about several sects flashed through his mind.
Unfortunately, the three were not wearing the attire of their own sect, nor did they display anything that could represent their sect, otherwise, he would not have to rack his brains guessing.
However, it was certain that the three absolutely hailed from a sect in Qinghe County, perhaps one of the three sects second only to the Wangyue Sect.
“A total of thirteen second-realm cultivators and fifteen first-realm cultivators.”
Putting away his thoughts, Ji Yuan’s gaze returned to the Wangyue Sect cultivators guarding the main gate.
The first-realm cultivators could be ignored, as they posed no significant threat.
The main concern was the thirteen second-realm cultivators, which were a force that had to be taken seriously anywhere.
Among these people, he could sense at least five who had the cultivation of the middle stage of the Spirit Gathering realm, and it was not ruled out that others were hiding their cultivation.
Under such circumstances, let alone bringing people to charge through, even he himself would have almost no chance of succeeding.
“What should we do?”
Zhou Lianying asked softly.
At this moment, a hint of unease also appeared in her eyes, as if she was afraid that the person beside her would choose to give up because of this.
After all, fortuitous encounters were good, but one had to be able to enjoy them. With more than ten second-realm cultivators guarding the area, rashly attempting to break through would only be a futile sacrifice, handing over their savings to the other party.
“We definitely can’t do it on our own.”
Ji Yuan said in a deep voice, while constantly scanning his surroundings.
The current plan was to see if he could incite the surrounding cultivators to put pressure on the Wangyue Sect, or to directly cause a conflict. A melee would be the best outcome.
However, this idea had various limitations in its execution, the most important of which was the lack of a sufficiently weighty reason.
“Do you know how many people that jade token can bring into the protective mountain array?”
He suddenly seemed to recall something and turned to look at the young girl beside him.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lianying was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied, “After activating the jade token, it can emit a halo covering a radius of about ten feet. Those within the halo should be able to enter.”
She had not truly tried it, so she could only answer based on her intuition, but she estimated that there should not be any mistakes.
Ji Yuan nodded slightly, and at this moment, he was contemplating whether to return to the place where the Nine Xuan Sect disciples entered the dojo as quickly as possible.
With his strength alone, he indeed could not forcibly break through the Wangyue Sect’s guard, but if he brought a group of Nine Xuan Sect disciples, it would be a different story.
However, this round trip would take at least several hours, and it was possible that something unexpected would happen here.
Suddenly, Ji Yuan noticed a somewhat furtive figure among the many cultivators, who was observing everyone’s expressions and even approaching certain individuals from time to time.
However, it was not seen that he had any conversation with them, only staying by their side for a moment before turning and leaving.
An idea flashed in his mind, and he immediately turned to Zhou Lianying beside him and said in a low voice, “Give me the jade token.”
Upon hearing this, she was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth and took out the jade token, discreetly handing it over while hiding it in her sleeve.
As their fingers inevitably touched when he took the jade token, ripples spread across Ji Yuan’s state of mind, and even his breathing involuntarily became heavier.
However, this anomaly was suppressed in an instant. After taking the jade token, he regained his nonchalant expression.
Although his appearance was normal, he thought to himself that it would be best to finish this matter quickly and then part ways forever.
“What are you planning to do?”
Zhou Lianying suppressed her own unease and asked with a somewhat complex gaze.
There was a mixture of bewilderment, confusion, and various other emotions.
To be honest, she didn’t know why, with just a word from him, she had handed over the jade token. This was equivalent to giving all the initiative to him.
If the young Daoist priest in front of her suddenly changed his mind, took the jade token, and did not fulfill his promise, choosing to go back on his word, she would not even be able to demand an explanation or justice.
“You’ll know in a moment.”
Ji Yuan replied distractedly, his gaze fixed on a furtive figure not far away.
After pondering for a moment, he quietly vibrated the pháp lực within his body, immediately attracting the attention of seven or eight cultivators around him, including that figure.
Their gazes met in mid-air. He gave a smile, then subtly twisted his wrist. The jade token flashed and disappeared in his sleeve.
This action naturally fell into the eyes of that person. The person’s eyes suddenly brightened, and then he walked over without hesitation.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan frowned slightly, surprised that this person would walk towards him so openly. He quickly pretended to casually glance around.
As expected, many cultivators were already casting suspicious glances their way.
“Fellow Daoist, do you need to buy some talismans and elixirs? I guarantee they are of good quality and low price!”
As soon as this person approached, a thick smile appeared on his face. His voice was not loud but could be clearly heard by the surrounding cultivators.
Upon hearing this, several gazes indeed shifted away. Cultivators like this who sold consumables in ruins were quite common. They were usually not very strong but were adept at self-preservation and escape.
These types of people, unable to compete for fortuitous encounters, turned to selling things, specializing in providing elixirs and other consumables, and could earn quite a lot on a trip.
“No need!”
Ji Yuan’s face turned cold, and he glanced at him with a hint of impatience.
Seeing this, the person’s smile intensified. He quickly stepped forward and whispered that he had good things, including not only elixirs and talismans but also many items collected from this place.
After a few words, Ji Yuan cooperatively showed a look of interest. The person immediately proposed to go to a more secluded place so he could show the items for inspection.
As he spoke, he pointed to the bundle on his back, revealing a mysterious smile.
So Ji Yuan nodded, called out to the few people beside him, and followed them towards a secluded place in the distance.
Zhou Lianying, following behind him, although she tried her best to appear calm, a hint of shock still appeared in her eyes.
It was one thing for that furtive-looking person, but she was surprised that the handsome young Daoist priest could lie so smoothly. At least, she couldn’t see any flaws at all.