Translator: AnubisTL
On a dark and windy night, the dense foliage of Giantwood Forest rustled violently in the gale.
Suddenly, a Forest Raven took flight, flapping its wings urgently toward the campsite.
Li Qing, whose divine sense had already spread out, immediately noticed the raven's approach. He was slightly startled and moved to intercept it.
But he was too late. The raven had already reached the campsite.
The elderly man in charge immediately grew alert, striking the bronze bell with one hand while calling out in a deep voice:
"Who goes there? Show yourself!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Figures emerged from the hastily erected tents, all appearing to be guards escorting the caravan.
The group was a motley crew. Some were cultivators, while others were surprisingly Martial Artists. Li Qing had never encountered such a mixed group since beginning his cultivation journey.
Having grown accustomed to the clear separation between immortals and mortals in the Azure Ridge Domain, he had never imagined cultivators and mortals would operate together.
"Old Man Mo, what's happening?"
"Someone's here? This remote wilderness isn't exactly a hotspot."
"Who's hiding in the shadows? If you've got the guts, come out!"
Several hot-tempered Martial Artists immediately began shouting, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
Several cultivators maintained their composure, despite their cultivation levels only being around the fourth or fifth layer of the qi refining realm. They didn't panic.
Li Qing absorbed all this information, fell silent for a moment, then signaled Fan Tong to step forward.
The most powerful among them was an elderly man at the eighth layer of the qi refining realm—a respectable level for a rogue cultivator.
Of course, this was still insufficient to pose any real threat to Li Qing, so he wasn't particularly worried about them.
Since he needed to gather information about the area anyway, he decided to reveal himself and make contact.
The Water Moon Merchant Guild party stared intently in the direction of the rustling in the dense forest, their expressions tense.
Soon, the flickering campfire illuminated the path ahead, and a majestic tiger strode slowly out of the woods.
Though Fan Tong had shrunk somewhat, he still appeared significantly larger than an ordinary tiger.
"A wild beast? No, a demon beast!"
"It's a tiger demon! Be careful!"
"There's a person riding on its back! Everyone, stay alert!"
Hearing the exclamations of alarm, Li Qing adopted a friendly expression and clasped his hands in a polite greeting toward the Water Moon Merchant Guild party.
"My apologies for the intrusion," he said. "I accidentally wandered into this forest and lost my way. I'm trying to leave now, but I'm not sure which direction to take."
The Water Moon Merchant Guild party exchanged glances before turning to Old Man Mo, the elder among them.
It was clear that this old man was the leader.
Old Man Mo gave Li Qing a deep look before speaking, "This is the Giantwood Forest. How did you wander in here, Daoist? If you wish to leave, simply head east and cross the forest."
The old man had sensed Li Qing's status as a cultivator, but what he perceived was only what Li Qing allowed him to see.
Li Qing had suppressed his aura to the sixth layer of the Qi Refining realm, making him appear like a young man who had recently embarked on the immortal path.
The name "Giantwood Forest" was indeed fitting.
Li Qing, who had initially planned to capture a mortal, pry open their Sea of Consciousness, and extract memories, temporarily shelved that idea.
"Thank you for the information, old man! I apologize for the disturbance and ask for your forgiveness!"
With that, Li Qing prepared to leave, letting the tiger escape.
Seeing Li Qing's decisive departure, Old Man Mo hesitated. "Wait, young Daoist! We are from the Water Moon Merchant Guild of Sunward City. If you don't mind, why not travel with us? The Giantwood Forest is vast and fraught with dangers. We could watch out for each other along the way."
As soon as these words were spoken, the young woman beside him blinked and began scrutinizing Li Qing. But when she noticed Shen Ningbing unconscious behind him, her brow furrowed involuntarily.
Li Qing, eager to seize this opportunity to gather more information, naturally accepted.
"Very well, I'll impose on your hospitality," Li Qing nodded, casually settling down beside a nearby campfire.
Hearing Li Qing's agreement, Old Man Mo smiled. "Mutual assistance is hardly an imposition. Such formalities are unnecessary."
He then addressed the other guards, "You all should rest now. I'll take the night watch."
The guards relaxed their vigilance slightly and retreated to their tents.
However, after such an incident, none of them could truly sleep. They remained alert, ears straining for any sounds outside their tents.
After all, encountering strangers in the wilderness was one of the most common causes of mishaps for caravan guards.
Old Man Mo continued with a genial smile, "Fellow Daoist, you've reached the sixth layer of the qi refining realm at such a young age. Your talent is truly remarkable. May I ask who your master is?"
Sixth layer of the qi refining realm!
Hearing Old Man Mo reveal Li Qing's cultivation level, many of the guards who had retreated to their tents felt a jolt of surprise. That was indeed a formidable level!
They hadn't expected Li Qing, who looked so young, to have already reached such a considerable level of cultivation.
The young woman standing nearby also widened her eyes slightly, a look of astonishment flickering across her face.
"Heh, I'm just a rogue cultivator from the mountains and forests," Li Qing said, his eyes flashing with a hint of melancholy. "I've only managed to reach the sixth layer of the qi refining realm through my own trial and error."
He knew they were probing his origins, but with the Lingyun Sect already destroyed, he didn't want to carelessly reveal his identity as a Lingyun sect disciple.
"That's truly remarkable!" Old Man Mo exclaimed in surprise. "To reach the sixth layer of the qi refining realm through self-exploration alone—your innate talent for cultivation must be extraordinary!"
Li Qing simply shook his head with a wry smile, offering no further explanation.
Old Man Mo's gaze toward Li Qing grew more fervent. He pressed on, "May I ask your name, Fellow Daoist? And what's the situation with this immortal beside you?"
"I am Li Qingzhou," Li Qing replied. "This is a fellow Daoist traveling with me. We encountered a dangerous demon beast in the forest, and she was knocked unconscious. She hasn't woken up yet."
Li Qing casually fabricated an excuse, which sounded remarkably plausible.
After all, in this vast forest teeming with spiritual energy, the likelihood of encountering demon beasts was quite high.
"I see. Then it's truly fortunate you escaped unscathed!" Old Man Mo nodded in agreement, glancing at Li Qing's injured left leg. It didn't seem like a lie.
As they chatted, Li Qing's first night in the Giantwood Forest quickly passed.
At dawn, he resumed traveling with the Water Moon Merchant Guild.
During this time, Shen Ningbing finally awoke from her deep unconsciousness. Her complexion was pale, suggesting she would need considerable time to recover.
To prevent her from revealing anything unusual, Li Qing immediately used an Aura Concealment Talisman on her while the others weren't paying attention. He then sent her a telepathic warning:
"Junior Sister Shen, we're in unfamiliar territory. Before we understand the situation, you should conceal your aura."
Shen Ningbing reacted swiftly. Upon awakening, she refrained from using her spiritual energy and immediately suppressed her aura, maintaining the appearance of a fifth-layer qi refining realm cultivator.
"Senior Brother Shen, where are we?" Shen Ningbing asked softly, her head slightly bowed, subtly using divine sense to transmit her question to Li Qing.
Hearing this, Li Qing nearly rolled his eyes. You're the one who activated the talisman! Why are you asking me?!
"I don't know," he replied mentally. "I was about to ask you the same thing. After activating the Void-Piercing Talisman, did you have any idea where it would transport us?"
"No," Shen Ningbing transmitted back. "The Void-Piercing Talisman is an ancient treasure talisman lost long ago. My master gave it to me for self-preservation. I've never used it before, so I have no idea where it would teleport us."
"However, one thing I'm certain of is that using this talisman would transport us an extremely long distance!"
Li Qing then shared everything he knew with Shen Ningbing, including the need for her to adopt a false name and conceal her identity as a Lingyun Sect disciple.
After Shen Ningbing absorbed this information, she fell silent, reverting to her usual cold and aloof demeanor.
The guards escorting the caravan occasionally glanced back, their curiosity piqued by Li Qing's unusual group: two humans and a tiger.
Li Qing paid them little mind. His motives for joining the Water Moon Merchant Guild were simple.
As a newcomer to this land, he was utterly unfamiliar with the terrain and customs. He hoped to gather basic information about the surrounding area and gain entry into the local cultivation world.
He had no desire to repeat his initial foray into the immortal dao, when he had spent nearly two years searching Small Jade Ridge before finally locating Longevity Valley, home of the Liu Clan.
For the next few days, their journey proceeded without incident. It was clear that Old Man Mo and his group were intimately familiar with the giant tree forest, having carefully planned their route.
Li Qing began to ingratiate himself with the others. Drawing on his years of experience navigating the mortal world, he managed to pry some information from the more straightforward Martial Artists.
After six or seven days, thanks to the Water Moon Merchant Guild's extensive experience, they actually emerged from the Giantwood Forest unscathed!
Gazing at the vast, azure sky beyond the Giantwood Forest, Li Qing fell into a daze.
So this place truly wasn't the Azure Ridge Domain. This was the Great Wilderness Domain, a vast realm where immortals and mortals coexisted!
Unlike the Azure Ridge Domain, where mortals remained completely unaware of immortals and the two realms remained separate, in this great domain, there was no need to seek out a so-called immortal realm. Even ordinary mortals were well-versed in the domain's immortal sect structures.
With a little inquiry, one could easily learn the locations of immortal sects and their dao lineages—a stark contrast to the Azure Ridge Domain, where finding traces of immortals was as difficult as ascending to heaven!
"Heh heh heh, we've finally emerged from the giant tree forest! Now, we just need to board these boats and follow the river downstream to Sunward City!" Old Man Mo said, pulling several wooden boats from his storage pouches.
The other mortal martial artists showed no surprise, their expressions suggesting this was a common occurrence.
"If you two don't mind, why not join us on our journey to Sunward City? I extend an invitation from the Water Moon Merchant Guild for you to be our guests."
(End of the Chapter)
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