Translator: CinderTL
Xun Ancai, Xu Sanyan, and their four-headed dog darted through the dense forest. Dusk had begun to settle, but the forest wasn't yet too dangerous. The four-headed dog, acting as their scout, could detect and avoid wild beasts in advance.
"Huff... huff..."
Xun Ancai's breathing grew ragged, but she gritted her teeth and ran silently onward, bearing Xu Sanyan on her back.
Days of relentless travel and constant fighting had long exhausted her physical reserves. Carrying Xu Sanyan only added to her burden.
Yet even under such strain, she never considered abandoning Xu Sanyan in the forest, nor did she entertain the thought of giving up on seeking reinforcements.
Both were her most precious treasures: Xu Sanyan, her man, and her tribe, neither of which she could bear to lose.
I have to keep going, Xun Ancai urged herself inwardly, quickening her pace.
Xu Sanyan was already delirious. His stomach was empty, and the excessive depletion of his soul power had left his head throbbing with pain, leaving him dazed and disoriented.
The four-headed dog, by contrast, seemed as energetic as ever, its four heads vigilantly scanning their surroundings as it led the way.
"Let's rest for a moment..." Xu Sanyan pleaded, his voice weak. Even if Xun Ancai could endure, he was nearing his breaking point.
"I can't rest. The clan chief and the others are waiting for me to rescue them." Even though she was gasping for breath, her voice remained firm.
Xun Ancai suddenly remembered something and asked, "If the clan chief had abandoned the prey, could he have escaped?"
Xu Sanyan shook his head. Now that things had progressed this far, abandoning the prey wouldn't make any difference.
Unless they had made the decision early on to only kill and not covet the prey, they might have been able to retreat safely. But now it was too late.
He glanced at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, indicating that the Snake Clan had likely already received the news.
Suddenly, Xu Sanyan froze, lifting his head to look at her. "My time is almost up. Be careful."
"So soon?" Xun Ancai was surprised. Based on past experience, he usually returned after three days, but it had only been a little over two days this time.
Yet she also felt a secret sense of relief. With Xu Sanyan gone, she could return to the tribe faster.
"I'll come back in a few days. By then, I hope you've completed your fifth blessing." Xu Sanyan leaned in and kissed her cheek, a gesture of encouragement.
Of course, it was just a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay, you be careful too."
Xun Ancai pouted, wanting to return the kiss, but Xu Sanyan naturally turned his face away.
Whoosh—
Xun Ancai felt the weight on her shoulder vanish. Xu Sanyan had disappeared.
Twenty miles outside Thousand Autumns City, at the foot of a low mountain:
Bang!
A massive boulder sprang aside, and Xu Sanyan emerged, his face pale. He squinted up at the sky, the scorching sunlight warming his body.
"Ah..."
Xu Sanyan took a deep, comfortable breath, exhaling slowly. He retrieved a handful of spirit stones from his storage pouch to replenish his spiritual power.
After a moment's thought, he also pulled out a soul crystal to restore his divine soul power. Soul crystals were a finite resource, and he felt a pang of reluctance at using one.
After a long while, the spirit stones and soul crystal in his hand had crumbled to dust. He crushed the remnants, feeling the spiritual power surging within him, and finally felt a measure of security.
Through his repeated ventures into the secret realm, Xu Sanyan had discerned a pattern: the duration of his stay wasn't fixed, but rather determined by the amount of spiritual power he channeled into it.
This time, he had channeled less power, resulting in a return after only two and a half days.
In truth, this was advantageous. He could stay as long as he wished, and as his cultivation level deepened, he might be able to remain even longer in the future.
There was one problem: Xu Sanyan always reappeared in the secret realm at the same location where he had last left. Since he had returned from the wilderness this time, he would reappear there next time.
With his meager cultivation level of only two blessings, the wilderness remained fraught with danger for him. He would need to be extra cautious on his next visit.
After carefully wrapping the secret realm fruit, he strode toward Thousand Autumns City.
Half an hour later, just as Xu Sanyan stepped through the city gate, his eyes suddenly flickered. He swiftly ducked into a narrow alleyway and peered out at a group of people approaching in the distance.
The group consisted of five individuals: four young people and an old man, emerging from a merchant's shop.
Xu Sanyan recognized two of them: Lu Wang and his sister Lu Wanzhe, whom he had parted ways with in the Hundred Saints Secret Realm not long ago.
Could they be here looking for me? Xu Sanyan wondered inwardly. The four young people posed no threat, but the old man was more enigmatic, his cultivation level likely surpassing Xu Sanyan's own.
The street was bustling with cultivators, and the Lu Family members didn't notice him. They continued chatting casually among themselves. Xu Sanyan strained his ears to eavesdrop, but their conversation was merely idle chatter.
Watching the group disappear from sight, Xu Sanyan frowned and headed toward the inner city.
He had just seen off the people from the Qian Kingdom when the Lu Family arrived, one wave after another, giving him no peace.
The inner city guards recognized him as the Third Madam's favored son-in-law and didn't stop him.
After entering the inner city and returning home, Xu Sanyan noticed signs that the bedroom door had been disturbed, confirming Wang Zixuan had been there.
Time flowed at the same rate inside and outside the secret realm. He had spent two and a half days in the secret realm, which meant he had been gone from this world for the same duration.
Pushing open the door, Xu Sanyan froze. Someone was in the room!
He hadn't sensed anyone outside the door at all!
"What are you doing here?" Xu Sanyan asked, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at Zuoqiu Zhen, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. He had no desire to deal with her; they had previously agreed to leave each other alone. Why was she at his house now?
Zuoqiu Zhen closed the book in her hand and glanced at him, then pointed to a wooden chair nearby. "Sit."
Her demeanor suggested she was the master of the house.
"What do you want?" Xu Sanyan asked again, his guard rising.
Zuoqiu Zhen smiled and produced a piece of rough paper from somewhere, tossing it casually to him.
Xu Sanyan didn't reach out to catch the paper. Instead, he channeled his spiritual power to suspend it in mid-air. He stared intently at the crude, crooked lines scrawled across the page.
Though the lines were simple and chaotic, there was an underlying order to the chaos. He could vaguely discern that it was a map.
As he studied it closely, he gradually noticed some peculiar details. In a strange tone, he murmured, "This is... Thousand Autumns City?"
Why would this woman draw a map of Thousand Autumns City?
"Correct," Zuoqiu Zhen nodded in confirmation.
Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
"To collaborate with you."
"Hmm?"
Xu Sanyan sized her up, his gaze lingering on her figure. "How would we collaborate?"
If she's offering herself as payment, that won't work.
Zuoqiu Zhen didn't answer directly. Instead, she pointed outside and asked, "Do you know why I chose to hide here?"
Xu Sanyan pondered briefly before shaking his head slowly. "No, I don't."
Zuoqiu Zhen pointed to the rough sketch. "Because Thousand Autumns City... is a Great Formation!"
"A Great Formation?"
Xu Sanyan grew even more puzzled. He knew little about formations, only that the inner city of Thousand Autumns City was protected by a city-defense formation. As for the specific type of formation, he had no clue.
(End of the Chapter)
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