The distance of several dozen li would only take two to three days for cultivators of the second realm if they used their pháp lực to augment their speed.
However, due to the presence of disciples in the first realm and those yet to enter cultivation, along with forty to fifty horse-drawn carriages, the progress was not swift.
If nothing unexpected occurred, it would likely take about five days to reach the market town several dozen li away.
"Fellow Daoist Ji need not worry. This road has never had any incidents in the hundreds of years since it was established," a young disciple seated on horseback said nonchalantly.
His name was Wu Chengqing, an inner disciple of the Jiuxuan Sect, possessing cultivation at the mid-stage of the Qi Sensing realm.
As for the other two inner disciples in the group, one was named Liu Donglai, and the other Wang Xiaoxuan, both at the early stage of the Qi Sensing realm.
At the mention of their sect, all three displayed pride on their faces, utterly disbelieving that any bandits would dare to launch an assassination attempt on their territory.
In fact, since the Jiuxuan Sect was founded, there had never been an instance of anyone daring to attack its disciples within a hundred li radius of its mountain gate.
Therefore, when they heard Ji Yuan solemnly informing them that someone might wish to assassinate him, the three did not show the slightest concern, precisely because they believed no one would dare to do such a thing.
Although the Jiuxuan Sect was not well-known in Lingyang Prefecture, this was only relatively speaking. At least within Feiyun Commandery, it absolutely held a hegemonic position, with no other sect capable of rivaling it.
It would be fortunate enough if they didn't bully other sects; how could any other sect dare to commit wrongdoing on Jiuxuan Sect's territory?
Seeing this, Ji Yuan shook his head with some helplessness. He did not entirely agree with the three's view. While it was unlikely under normal circumstances, the Jiuxuan Sect was currently in a critical period of advancement, and no one would be willing to watch it succeed.
Four of the five prefectures in Lingyang Prefecture already had sects with over a thousand years of history, each presided over by immortal figures. They would not welcome another "Sect" level peak to dilute the benefits they held.
Not to mention the hundreds upon thousands of sects within Lingyang Prefecture, among which there were at least twenty to thirty that could contend with the Jiuxuan Sect.
These sects would also not stand by and watch the Jiuxuan Sect surpass them and become a "Sect" level peak first.
Especially the sects within Feiyun Commandery; they would go to great lengths to prevent it, even if it meant crippling themselves.
This was because having one "Sect" level peak per commandery was a widely known rule. Even a commandery with the strongest and most profound destiny could not simultaneously house two "Sect" level peaks.
The current Feiyun Commandery did not yet have a "Sect" level peak presiding over it, so for any sect, there was a glimmer of hope.
If the Jiuxuan Sect successfully advanced, any other sect wishing to become a "Sect" level peak in the future would first have to bring it down. Otherwise, no matter how strong a sect's foundation and heritage were, they could not achieve the ultimate sublimation and take that step.
"Speaking of which, Fellow Daoist Ji's talent is truly astonishing. To have reached the second realm at such a young age truly makes us feel ashamed," Wu Chengqing said with a sigh of emotion, shaking his head.
The other two echoed his sentiment, lamenting that they had wasted years cultivating, spending a decade or two only to barely break through to the Qi Sensing realm.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan appeared humble, but inwardly he was already feeling cynical. The flattery in their words was obvious to anyone.
However, this was unavoidable. His background was not a secret within the Jiuxuan Sect; most inner disciples knew something of it.
In the eyes of these people, he might one day be in charge of a heritage peak, becoming a figure like the other nine peak lords.
Even if some unforeseen circumstances arose due to the thirty-year limit, with his talent at the age of fourteen or fifteen, he was at least destined to reach the peak of the third realm.
Therefore, regardless of the situation, it was worth it for them to seize this opportunity to build connections with him as much as possible, paving the way for their own futures.
"Perhaps in another twenty or thirty years, we will have to call you Martial Uncle Ji," Liu Donglai said with a bright smile.
If Ji Yuan successfully took charge of Xuantian Peak, he would be considered a disciple of the previous generation, on the same seniority level as the Sect Master. The disciples of this generation would then have to address him as Martial Uncle or Martial Nephew.
The other two voiced their agreement. The "fellow Daoist" of today would be the "Martial Uncle" of tomorrow, and in a few decades, it would be a rather pleasant anecdote to recall.
"I have a question. Could the three of you please enlighten me?" Ji Yuan suddenly changed the subject, as if something had come to mind. "May I ask if you have heard of an inner disciple named He Sanshu?"
It was this person who had produced three Spirit Nurturing Pills and recruited seven or eight outer disciples to accompany him to the northern region of Feiyun Commandery to search for several types of spiritual herbs.
Since Zhao Yuansong had also been invited, Ji Yuan was extremely concerned about him. Now that he had the opportunity, he wanted to learn more.
After all, this matter seemed suspicious from any angle; the task would not be as simple as Lin Miaoyi had stated.
"He Sanshu?" Wu Chengqing and the other two showed expressions of surprise.
It seemed they had not expected Ji Yuan to have any connection with this person, and they fell into a brief silence.
"Is there something wrong with this person?" Seeing their expressions, Ji Yuan was taken aback and immediately had a guess.
Hearing this, Wang Xiaoxuan let out a soft snort, a hint of coldness on her face.
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this He Sanshu a vile tumor within the inner sect. He only engages in dirty business," she said with no pretense of politeness.
This person often took on sect missions at the Qiankun Pavilion and would then use heavy bribes to find helpers. After the task was completed, he would renege on his promises, reducing the agreed-upon rewards by more than half, and sometimes even giving only meager compensation.
Initially, many people, out of consideration for fellow disciples, did not pursue the matter further. This gave him the opportunity to deceive over a dozen to twenty inner disciples.
Later, when the truth was exposed, He Sanshu's reputation within the inner sect was completely ruined. No one was willing to associate with him, and in many missions, if his name appeared, most would choose to withdraw.
"I've heard that in recent years, He Sanshu has found it difficult to dupe people in the inner sect, so he has turned his attention to outer disciples," Wang Xiaoxuan said with a cold laugh. "Given this shameless character, those outer disciples naturally received nothing. Many even lost their own savings because of it."
Moreover, with his status as an inner disciple, those outer disciples who were cheated dared not speak out, nor even spread the word, for fear of provoking him.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan was instead relieved. It only meant that the promised rewards were not received, which could be considered a wasted trip, far better than facing unexplained danger.
Thus, he no longer had to worry excessively about whether Zhao Yuansong would encounter any danger.
That evening, after traveling about ten li, the entire group stopped to rest in a spacious clearing.
Although this distance would not cause fatigue for cultivators of the first and second realms, the group still included dozens of handyman disciples who had not yet entered cultivation. Naturally, they needed to be taken care of.
Furthermore, although cultivators still had some vision in the dark, traveling at night always carried some risks.
Wu Chengqing and the other two might not believe anyone would dare to commit violence within Jiuxuan Sect's territory, but they did not lack caution. Those who could stand out from hundreds of talented outer disciples and cultivate to the Qi Sensing realm were certainly not foolish.
As for Ji Yuan, being away from the sect, he dared not fully immerse himself in cultivation. He maintained a significant portion of his attention on guarding their surroundings, while the remainder circulated his cultivation technique, continuously nourishing the Xuantian Devouring Spirit Pagoda in his dantian and the six Heavy Water Pearls in his acupoints with his pháp lực.
When the night passed without any incident, and not even a rustle of wind was heard, Ji Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves from the night relaxing.
At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel. The nourishing of magical artifacts overnight should have depleted some of his pháp lực, but with the augmentation of the six opened acupoints, he not only suffered no loss but his spiritual energy was even more abundant.
"I wonder what it would be like if, using the secret method of the Nine Yuan Heavy Water Sutra, the remaining thirty Heavy Water Pearls were all infused into the acupoints?" he murmured to himself, squinting at the rising sun.
With only six acupoints open, the effects were already marvelous. He could hardly imagine what it would be like with thirty-six acupoints fully opened. At that point, he would likely be constantly in a state of absorbing spiritual energy and improving his cultivation without conscious effort.
Not to mention that each opened acupoint, guided by the secret method, would provide a boost to himself, significantly amplifying the power of his Dao techniques and divine abilities, as well as the activation of magical treasures and artifacts.
"Fellow Daoist Ji, we are departing!" Wu Chengqing called out.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan waved in response and then sat on a cart, looking with envy at the over ten people who had mounted their horses.
Unfortunately, he was still under fifteen years old. While his cultivation realm was indeed high, his height was also quite short. If he sat on a horse, his feet wouldn't even reach the stirrups.
Thus, he naturally could not gallop freely on horseback like everyone else.
At this moment, after breakfast, the group of dozens of people set off again in a grand procession, without any stops along the way, only pausing at noon to light a fire, cook, and eat heartily.
In fact, since last night, Ji Yuan had noticed that the ingredients carried by the Jiuxuan Sect disciples were all items containing spiritual energy. Even when traveling outside the mountain gate, they were still extremely particular.
This was also the norm for cultivators. Unless absolutely necessary, they would rarely consume mortal food to avoid contamination by impure energies that could affect their physical bodies and shake their Dao cultivation foundation.
However, only cultivators with substantial resources or those backed by sects and powers could afford such meticulousness.
Ordinary rogue cultivators, and even those living in the wild, did not care so much. Having something to eat was already fortunate. Their usual resources were all spent on magical artifacts, pills, and other items, leaving no spare money to purchase such provisions.
Although eating and drinking might not seem like much expense, even at the cheapest rate, a meal would cost twenty to thirty taels of silver.
Over the years, this would amount to a considerable sum, which ordinary cultivators could not afford.
This was why rogue cultivators and those living in the wild often couldn't compare to cultivators with established backgrounds. Not only was their innate talent not particularly good, but with various restrictions, even cultivation had become an extremely difficult endeavor.
While many Jiuxuan Sect disciples were busy preparing lunch, Ji Yuan had already wandered off alone around the temporary encampment, remaining vigilant for anyone hidden nearby.