After leaving the tomb, Dongfang Zheng’s face immediately lit up with a big smile without those annoying people around. “We really hit the jackpot this time. The sect leader will probably be too excited to sleep for days.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Li Tan replied casually.
Dongfang Zheng asked somewhat puzzled, “What’s wrong with you? You don’t seem very enthusiastic.”
“It’s like this. There’s something I should probably tell Senior now.”
“What is it? Did you think of a way to lift the restrictions on the stone book ahead of time?”
“Senior is like Dora. Such things aren’t something you can figure out just by thinking. Actually, I have something to deal with in the capital. We might have to part ways here.”
Li Tan smiled bitterly.
Dongfang Zheng’s smile immediately froze as he worriedly asked, “I understand Tianlang Sect can’t keep you, but there’s no need to leave so hastily, right? At least go back and say goodbye. Miss would really like to see you.”
“There’s no need. I’ve already done everything I should. Going back now would only add to the sadness.”
Li Tan said firmly.
Dongfang Zheng knew he couldn’t persuade him and sighed in slight disappointment, “It seems Tianlang Sect is smaller in your eyes than I thought.” Li Tan remained silent.
After a brief silence, Dongfang Zheng asked again, “Is there anything you’d like to say? I can convey it back for you.”
“Nothing.”
“Alright then, let me send you to Fancheng.”
Li Tan shook his head, “No need. There’s no need to see me off.”
“Fine,” Dongfang Zheng mumbled something softly, then asked tentatively, “You should be close to breaking through to the middle stage of innate realm now, right?”
Li Tan shook his head.
“Oh, that’s okay. With your talent, you’ll surely find a great master in the capital. Then you won’t have to worry about cultivation issues anymore. Take these with you.”
With a flick of his finger, Dongfang Zheng summoned a large chest from his ring, which landed heavily on the ground.
Without even opening the lid, one could recognize the contents as spirit stones from the dense spiritual energy.
“Don’t refuse. I hate that kind of modesty. What you’ve given us this time is far more valuable than these.”
Li Tan gave a faint smile and accepted it without hesitation, directly storing the chest into the Desolate Tower. He then bowed to Dongfang Zheng in farewell, saying, “Very well, I shall take my leave now. To avoid any unforeseen incidents, Senior should return to the Tianlang Sect as soon as possible.”
Dongfang Zheng nodded and walked westward, soon disappearing from sight.
Li Tan gazed westward for a moment, then turned resolutely toward the capital.
Fancheng was quite far from the capital of the Xia Dynasty. Li Tan planned to take a slight detour to visit Li Jiaying and the others. It had been over a month since he last saw them, and truthfully, he missed that little girl quite a bit.
They had parted ways in the morning, but by the time he reached Fancheng, it was already dusk. Although this was partly due to not using much spiritual energy, at this pace, it would probably take him forever to reach the capital.
Li Tan decided to take the opportunity to buy a good horse in Fancheng, but after searching around, he couldn’t find any place selling horses.
As it was getting dark, Li Tan, unwilling to waste time the next day, decisively stopped a passing mercenary to ask, “Excuse me, where can I buy a horse?”
The mercenary turned around, but instead of answering, he happily laughed, “What a coincidence! I should have met you here.”
Huh?
Do we know each other?
Li Tan looked puzzled, racking his brain but failing to recall any information about this person.
The mercenary didn’t seem offended at being completely forgotten. He cheerfully introduced himself, “It’s me! We met in the desert last time. Oh, right, my son participated in Tianlang Sect’s recruitment with you not long ago. I even asked him to greet you. Don’t you remember?”
His son, Qiu Jue! Li Tan suddenly realized, recalling this mercenary he had only briefly met. He said awkwardly, “Ahem, it’s quite a coincidence to run into you among so many people.”
The mercenary curiously asked, “Are you here in Fancheng to buy grain?”
This was a misunderstanding, but Li Tan didn’t bother to explain much and simply decided to go along with it, “Exactly.”
The mercenary’s expression suddenly turned somewhat worried as he asked hesitantly, “By the way, how is my son doing now? Has he been bullied?”
Thinking of the previous events, Li Tan smiled slightly and said, “Don’t worry. He’s doing very well now. I believe he’ll be able to enter the outer sect in the future.”
Li Tan had only said this casually to reassure the mercenary, but unexpectedly, upon hearing these words, the mercenary’s body trembled violently. He grabbed Li Tan’s shoulders excitedly, shaking him back and forth. “Really? Really?”
“Of course, it’s true.”
Li Tan looked at the mercenary in slight surprise.
He hadn’t expected that merely saying there was a possibility of entering the outer sect would make this mercenary so excited.
“Great, great! My useless little brat can finally make something of himself.”
The mercenary mumbled softly, his face beaming with joy.
Li Tan carefully reminded him, “Being an outer sect disciple might not be as good as you imagine.”
The mercenary gently shook his head, “I know, but no matter how bad or difficult it is, it’s still better than being a useless mercenary like me, living a life of constant danger. That’s exactly why I sent him to Tianlang Sect.” Actually, without meeting Li Tan, the possibility of Qiu Jue entering the outer sect was almost zero. Yet, for such a slim chance, the mercenary was willing to sacrifice everything?
Li Tan fell silent, momentarily unsure how to evaluate such behavior—whether it was right or wrong.
After a short while, the mercenary snapped out of his joy and scratched the back of his head apologetically, “Sorry, sorry, I got too excited just now and embarrassed myself. You wanted to buy a horse, right?”
Li Tan nodded.
The mercenary shook his head and said, “I advise you to give up on that idea. This area is all desert, and ordinary horses can’t run here. Camels can walk, but they’re too slow. For ordinary people, it’s fine, but you, as a cultivator, can walk faster than them.”
Li Tan slightly frowned, “I need to go to the capital to handle a task assigned by the sect. It’s quite far. Without a mount, it will waste a lot of time. Is there really no way? Money isn’t an issue.”
The mercenary thought with a troubled expression, “The only horses that can run here are scale horses, but those creatures are not only hard to find but also extremely difficult to tame. No one would put them up for sale. If you really need to travel a long distance, you can only go with a merchant caravan.”
“Please tell me more.”
Fancheng borders the demon territory, and merchants often transport goods from the demon race to the inland. Most of these caravans are composed of ordinary people. To avoid encountering bandits, they usually hire a high-level expert at the innate realm as their leader.
“I see. Then where can I find a merchant caravan?”
“Usually, you go to the Independent Cultivator Alliance to take on tasks. But yesterday, I just happened to rescue a merchant from a sand crab. He’s currently looking for a leader. I can introduce you to him.”
Li Tan’s face showed a smile, “Then I’ll trouble you, Uncle.”
“Just call me Brother. What ‘Uncle’? I’m not that old.”
The mercenary grinned broadly, giving Li Tan’s shoulder a hearty slap.
That night, Li Tan met with the merchant caravan’s boss.
The boss was a thin middle-aged man. Upon meeting, he warmly welcomed Li Tan with tea and water, chatting for quite a while before cautiously asking, “May I ask, what level is Master Li currently at?”
“Middle stage of innate realm.”
Li Tan casually replied while sipping his tea.
The merchant boss immediately beamed with joy, becoming even more enthusiastic, “Please, please be our leader.”
Li Tan gently swirled his teacup.
The merchant boss earnestly said, “As for the payment, we can discuss it.”
“I won’t take your money.”
“Ah, okay, I’ll give Master Li spirit stones then.”
Li Tan shook his head again, “Not spirit stones either.”
The merchant boss started to panic, “But I don’t have anything else that Master Li would be interested in…”
Li Tan explained, “You misunderstood. What I meant was that I won’t take any payment from you. But I do have a small request.”
The merchant boss exhaled in relief and curiously asked, “What request?”
Li Tan asked in return, “You’re heading to the capital, right?”
The merchant boss nodded.
Li Tan said, “On the way, please make a slight detour. I have something to take care of at the Weiyang Pavilion.”
Weiyang Pavilion was a faction stronger than Tianlang Sect. It wasn’t far from Linjiang. Previously, he had instructed Li Zhen to go there first with his recommendation letter.
If everything went as planned, Li Jiaying and the others should already be outer sect disciples of Weiyang Pavilion by now.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage