Ji Yuan asked a handyman for directions and then quickly arrived at a separate courtyard within the Vast Star Manor.
At this moment, the heavily injured Zhao Yuansong was receiving treatment from an alchemist. Outside his room, a crowd of outer disciples had already gathered.
Seeing a new face appear, the disciples immediately looked wary, their expressions rather unfriendly.
However, one person's gaze slightly sharpened. After a moment of hesitation, he walked out from the crowd.
"This… Fellow Daoist, I didn't expect to meet again so soon."
Lin Miaoyi stepped forward a few paces. Her complexion looked somewhat pale, and even her aura was fluctuating, clearly indicating she had sustained considerable injuries.
Yet, instead of recuperating, she stood with the other disciples, anxiously guarding the entrance.
"What happened to Fellow Daoist Zhao?"
Ji Yuan immediately asked, "Wasn't he invited by you to go to the northern region with an inner disciple to search for spiritual herbs?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Miaoyi couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. Their original plan was indeed as such, but they encountered an accident as soon as they arrived in the northern part of Feiyun County.
Because they traveled at full speed, and everyone was a cultivator, it only took them seven or eight days to reach a vast mountain range in the north.
Their luck was also excellent. In just five or six days, they found three of the required spiritual herbs. They only needed to find one or two more, and their mission would be successfully completed.
But as they discovered the fourth spiritual herb, they encountered cultivators from the neighboring Qinghe County. An argument quickly escalated into a fight, resulting in the death of two outer disciples on the spot, and the rest were injured and forced to retreat.
"Among their seven people, there were three cultivators at the second realm. Under Senior Brother Zhao's fierce display, we were initially capable of fighting."
Lin Miaoyi's face was filled with sorrow, and a hint of anger flickered in her eyes.
Indeed, with the several magical artifacts on Zhao Yuansong's person, combined with his mastered sword intent, he could still put up a fight against two cultivators of the same realm.
Not to mention he also possessed three valuable talismans. If used skillfully, coupled with the assistance of the accompanying inner disciple, they might have even managed to kill one or two of the opposing three.
However, the current situation was quite different from what was expected. Zhao Yuansong and his companions were instead pursued for over a hundred miles.
"What unexpected turn of events occurred?"
Ji Yuan asked with a grave tone.
At this question, Lin Miaoyi's expression became one of suppressed rage. Under the persuasion of the surrounding ten-plus outer disciples, she finally let out a long sigh.
"In the beginning, Senior Brother He Sanshu from the inner sect turned and fled without hesitation, completely disregarding our lives!"
She said with great indignation, "We joined forces with Senior Brother Zhao, but we were ultimately no match for three cultivators at the second realm and four at the late stage of the Enlightenment realm."
In the end, it was Zhao Yuansong who seized an opportunity and used a valuable talisman, killing one of the second-realm cultivators from the opposing side, allowing them to escape.
But in this initial battle, their side had already lost two outer disciples, and the rest were all injured, with Zhao Yuansong being the most severely wounded.
"Why didn't you seek help from the local sects?"
Ji Yuan asked with a frown, while suppressing the anger within him.
He had already heard from Wu Chengqing and others about the inner disciple named He Sanshu. His reputation within the inner sect was notoriously bad; he was not only untrustworthy but also cowardly.
He never participated in any missions that involved even a slight risk, but he often cheated his fellow disciples into undertaking safer tasks.
"The opponent had far more than seven people. As soon as we escaped, we encountered their fellow disciples. We were constantly intercepted and pursued, and we had no opportunity to seek help from nearby sects."
Lin Miaoyi shook her head. All the way, they could only take secluded mountain paths, daring not to approach any inhabited areas, for fear of being discovered by these Qinghe County cultivators.
Conservatively, the enemy had at least nearly ten second-realm cultivators, and the number of first-realm cultivators was even greater, definitely not less than twenty to thirty.
After hearing Lin Miaoyi's account, several disciples here showed looks of anger.
Since when did the disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect, within the territory of Feiyun County, become so helpless and chased like this?
If they didn't bully others like this, it would already be considered good sect conduct!
"There aren't many sects in Qinghe County with such strength."
Someone said in a deep voice.
Compared to disciples who often cultivated in the mountains and rarely had the opportunity to travel, these outer disciples stationed in the market towns had access to significantly more information.
For instance, in Qinghe County, there were no more than a handful of forces and sects capable of fielding ten second-realm cultivators and twenty to thirty first-realm cultivators simultaneously.
Qinghe County, being the weakest and least fortunate in Lingyang Prefecture, even had only one sect with a Golden Core great cultivator, while other forces had at most a few third-realm cultivators.
"The strongest sect in Qinghe County, Moon Gazing Sect, and below it, Flame Mountain, Qinghe Sect, and Lingyun Temple, all possess this strength."
The disciple who spoke earlier continued.
At the same time, a group of disciples began to express righteous indignation, denouncing the sects of Qinghe County and questioning their intentions. Were they trying to mobilize the entire county's sects to break ties with their Nine Xuan Sect and declare war?
Ji Yuan watched silently from the side, not joining their debate, nor agreeing with their speculations.
Firstly, even if Qinghe County miraculously united all its sects, it would still be no match for the Nine Xuan Sect. They could simply dispatch a few Golden Core great cultivators, and the matter would be settled.
Secondly, even if all the sects in Qinghe County went mad, the imperial court would not stand idly by, watching the sects of two prefectures within its territory engage in a bloody war.
The most crucial point was that Ji Yuan felt the matter was too peculiar. Even if by some slim chance such a scenario occurred, the enemy would not be so arrogant as to pursue Nine Xuan Sect disciples so openly within Feiyun County.
However, the truth of the matter was not his primary concern. Compared to these things, he was more worried about the heavily injured Zhao Yuansong.
After about half an hour, the door of the room was finally pushed open. An old man and two inner disciples walked out one after another.
Disregarding the gazes of others, Ji Yuan stepped forward, presented his identity token, stated that he was a close friend of Zhao Yuansong, and then directly entered the small room, closing the door behind him.
This action naturally drew the full attention of the more than ten disciples. However, due to the effect of the steward's token, no one dared to say anything further.
In terms of status alone, even an ordinary inner disciple was a notch below a peak steward, let alone a group of outer disciples.
As soon as Ji Yuan entered the room, he saw Zhao Yuansong sitting on the bed. However, apart from a somewhat ashen complexion, there was nothing else to indicate any discomfort.
Even to his spiritual sense, Zhao Yuansong's aura had barely dropped. At most, the magic power within him was somewhat depleted, which could be recovered in a few days.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan's brows furrowed deeply. According to Lin Miaoyi, Zhao Yuansong had indeed suffered severe injuries, some of which were almost fatal. He had exerted his utmost effort to lead a few outer disciples back to the market town.
Yet, the situation before him was clearly vastly different from what Lin Miaoyi had described!
"I never expected you to be the first person I would see."
Sensing someone approaching the room, Zhao Yuansong opened his eyes and said with surprise.
He watched as Ji Yuan brought a chair and sat down in front of him, then let out a wry smile, "How did you end up here?"
Even if disciples in the market town sent messages to the sect via flying swords, unless a third-realm cultivator traveled by bird at the fastest speed, it would still take several days for an ordinary second-realm cultivator to arrive.
"I came out to contact Mingxin Pavilion," Ji Yuan said vaguely, then quickly asked, "What exactly is going on with you?"
Hearing this, Zhao Yuansong hesitated for a moment, but then seemed to recall something and lost all his reservations.
After a brief pause, he began to speak, "You can listen to this, and if you're interested, I can take you along to try your luck. But you must absolutely not spread it around. Just use Lin Miaoyi's explanation."
Ji Yuan raised an eyebrow, his doubts intensifying.
Then, under Ji Yuan's gaze, Zhao Yuansong recounted everything that had happened in detail from beginning to end.
When their group arrived at a mountain range in the northern part of Feiyun County, they had indeed successfully found three spiritual herbs. As they were discovering the fourth, they encountered a group of cultivators from Qinghe County.
An argument quickly escalated into a fight, and then the inner disciple He Sanshu, sensing the unfavorable turn of events, decisively fled, paying no heed to his fellow disciples.
Under pressure, Zhao Yuansong found an opportunity and decisively used the Heaven Sword Talisman Ji Yuan had given him, killing one of the second-realm cultivators and severely wounding another with the talisman's residual power.
Up to this point, it was largely consistent with Lin Miaoyi's account. The only difference was in the details; one was more detailed, while the other was somewhat vague and general.
"And as we were fighting, the remaining power of the Heaven Sword Talisman seemed to strike a weak point, causing the ground within a radius of over ten zhang to collapse."
Zhao Yuansong took a deep breath, then said gravely, "No one expected that buried beneath our feet, there was the cave dwelling of an ancient cultivator!"
It should have belonged to an ancient cultivator who excelled in earth-based techniques, otherwise, why would an ordinary person build their cave dwelling underground?
However, although a long time had passed, this cave dwelling had already become dilapidated, which was why the residual power of the Heaven Sword Talisman had created a large hole in its ceiling.
"The original owner of this cave dwelling was likely a peak Golden Core realm great cultivator. In the area we entered alone, we saw many precious spiritual herbs."
Zhao Yuansong's eyes revealed a hint of recollection.
The place they fell into was precisely the medicinal field within the cave dwelling. Despite the passage of a long time, because they were all earth-attribute spiritual herbs, a large portion of them were still alive.
Moreover, these spiritual herbs were at least thousands of years old. Even a single stalk, if taken outside, would be worth more than an ordinary magical artifact!
However, even under the erosion of time, some formations and restrictions remained in the medicinal field. It was precisely by relying on these that they speculated that the owner of this place should have been a peak Golden Core realm great cultivator.
"A second-realm cultivator, blinded by greed, directly rushed towards the closest spiritual herb. As a result, he was directly annihilated by the residual restrictions, without even the slightest ability to resist."
Zhao Yuansong said with some emotion.
To be able to set up restrictions that, after thousands of years, could still easily kill a second-realm cultivator could only be the work of a peak Golden Core great cultivator.
It was even possible that it was the cave dwelling of a supreme being, because thousands of years ago, this mountain range was also a treasure land for cultivation, with a spiritual energy density no less than that of the current Nine Xuan Sect's mountain gate.
However, with the passage of time and the excessive extraction by countless cultivators, the spiritual energy had greatly weakened. Although it was more abundant than in most secular places, it was no longer as astonishing as it was thousands of years ago.
And for such a treasure land, it seemed not impossible for a supreme being to have built a cave dwelling here to cultivate.
"What happened afterward?"
Ji Yuan was also full of emotion at this moment, marveling at the other party's incredible luck in encountering the ancient cultivator's cave dwelling, belonging to at least a peak Golden Core or even a supreme being.
"Although the opponent only had one second-realm cultivator left, I was also heavily injured, and my magic power was greatly depleted."
Zhao Yuansong shook his head, "Even with the talisman you gave me, I could only guarantee myself an unassailable position. Killing one second-realm cultivator and four late-stage first-realm cultivators was still somewhat unlikely."