Chapter 13: I Was Just Passing By

Thirty years old. It was a rainy day. He had just used his last few spirit stones to exchange for a bottle of low-grade healing pills. As he came out of the alley, an old man wearing a bamboo hat stopped him.

Outside was a nameless bamboo forest. Zhao Qian had first heard of this place twenty months ago, in the black market of Yunze Market.

“Want to get rich?”

The old man’s voice was very hoarse.

Zhao Qian almost struck at him with his sword. In the world of cultivation, such an opening line was nine times out of ten a trap.

But then the old man said one word.

“Silvermoon Grass.”

Zhao Qian’s sword paused.

Silvermoon Grass—he had seen a record of it in a tattered Elixir Manual: it took a hundred years to mature. Once refined into a pill, it could wash the marrow and temper the body, with a very high probability of improving one’s Spirit Root.

“Are you thinking, ‘A good thing like this would fall into someone like my hands?’”

The old man grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth.

“You’re right, it wouldn’t. But this one is different.”

The old man told him that this Silvermoon Grass grew in a naturally formed Hidden Spiritual Terrain, which was why it had not been discovered by any major power. The reason he knew about it was because twenty years ago, he had personally witnessed the strange phenomenon of that bamboo forest glowing under the moonlight.

“Why tell me?”

“I’ve waited twenty years. I don’t want it to rot in the ground.”

Zhao Qian hesitated for a full two days.

In the end, what made up his mind was not the temptation of improving his Spirit Root, but another, more practical reason.

His cultivation had been stuck at Peak Foundation Establishment for twenty years, and he could not break through.

Even if the Silvermoon Grass wasn’t refined into a pill, the Lunar Essence it contained could be directly absorbed and refined, which would be enough to help him break through the Golden Core bottleneck.

He arrived at Qingshi Town.

He found two fellow rogue cultivator friends who were also at a dead end. The three of them sold their last possessions, bought some healing pills, and hurried all the way from Yunze Market.

Following that strange fragrance, they found the bamboo forest, and then discovered that the Silvermoon Grass still needed a full day and night to fully mature.

For that day and night, they guarded the bamboo forest without leaving for even a moment.

What Zhao Qian did not know was that the old man had ulterior motives.

***

Gu Li paid the bill and walked out of the inn with Wan’er.

In the early morning, Qingshi Town was shrouded in a thin layer of mist. There were not many pedestrians on the streets yet. A few breakfast stalls had just been set up, steam rising white from the steamers.

Wan’er followed behind Gu Li, her steps much lighter.

That bowl of noodles—she had eaten her fill.

Even though the noodles had already clumped, even though the soup base was just pork bones and scallions, it was the best meal she had had in over a decade.

The two of them walked along the dirt road out of town.

Passing by a steamed bun stall, Gu Li’s steps faltered slightly, but he held back and did not buy any.

He had already eaten his fill from the noodles.

And the satisfaction in Wan’er’s eyes was obvious enough. He did not want to add to the sense of debt he felt toward her.

Leaving the town, the distant mountains were shrouded in a faint blue mist, looming in and out of sight.

Gu Li kept walking.

Not fast, not slow. His pace was leisurely.

Wan’er followed behind. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke up.

“Senior, those two people last night…”

“Hmm?”

“They weren’t coming after us. They seemed to be looking for something.”

Gu Li did not stop walking, but a thought stirred in his mind.

Looking for something?

He pondered for a moment, then replied calmly, “Don’t mind them.”

Wan’er obediently responded and said no more.

They walked for about an hour. The sun gradually rose, the mist burned off, and the sky was clear and washed clean.

Gu Li walked in front, appearing calm on the surface, but his mind never stopped churning.

Two cultivators appearing in a mortal town—that was no simple matter.

Although there was no strict boundary between the cultivation world and the mortal world, cultivators rarely set foot in places populated by mortals.

Not because they looked down on mortals, but because the Spiritual Qi in the mortal realm was too thin to be of any benefit to cultivation.

Those two people sneaking into Qingshi Town in the dead of night—it could not have been just for sightseeing.

Gu Li thought of two possibilities.

One, they were passing through.

Cultivators traveling might occasionally stay at mortal inns; that was normal.

But if they were just passing through, why skulk around the town before dawn? They could have just checked in openly.

The other possibility was that they were looking for something.

What could be worth a cultivator coming to a mortal town like this?

A spiritual object? A rare treasure? Or something else?

Gu Li’s heart rate quickened slightly, but he quickly calmed down again.

Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with him.

Right now, the most important thing was to maintain Wan’er’s Fantasy Value, stabilize his cultivation, and think about other things once he had enough strength.

As for spiritual objects, he would hear about them and let them be.

Another hour or so passed.

Wan’er, following behind, suddenly furrowed her brows. Her Spiritual Sense shot out, her expression changed slightly, and she quickly stepped forward, calling softly:

“Senior!”

Gu Li stopped at the sound and turned to look at her, his expression indifferent.

“What is it?”

“I sense them. Ahead, there’s a bamboo forest, and they’re inside!”

“Who?”

“The two cultivators from last night!”

Wan’er’s Spiritual Sense was sharp; she had already locked onto their positions. Her pretty face turned slightly pale.

Gu Li’s heart leaped.

Should they take a detour?

The thought had just formed when he suppressed it.

In front of Wan’er, he had always maintained the image of a calm, unfathomable Great Master. If he showed any sign of fear now, that persona would collapse.

In just an instant, Gu Li steadied his mind. His face remained unruffled, as if he had expected this all along, and he simply said calmly:

“It’s fine.”

Seeing his calm expression with no trace of surprise, a look of admiration filled Wan’er’s eyes.

‘Truly, Senior is unfathomably profound!’

‘He must have sensed it long ago.’

‘And now he walks on so calmly—it’s not a blind approach, but a confident one.’

‘And I was actually worried. How shallow of me.’

[Ding! Target Wan’er’s Fantasy Value toward the Host has increased!]

Huh?

This girl’s Fantasy Value increased again?

He hadn’t done anything.

Still, the fact that this girl could detect the location of those two people surprised him.

Gu Li took a deep breath and made his decision.

“Keep going.”

Wan’er was momentarily taken aback. She found it even harder to guess Senior’s intentions.

‘A Great Master like Senior probably doesn’t care about other people’s opportunities. He might have some other plan.’

She didn’t ask further; she just nodded.

“Yes, Senior.”

After about the time it takes to burn half a joss stick, the two reached the bamboo forest.

The forest was large, dense bamboo blocking out the sky and sun, with only a single narrow path barely wide enough for one person hidden within.

The moment Gu Li stepped into the bamboo forest, he suddenly felt a faint ripple of Spiritual Qi.

If his cultivation hadn’t reached Peak Foundation Establishment, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

Wan’er obviously sensed it too. She paused slightly in her step, looked at Gu Li, and seemed to want to say something.

Gu Li said nothing, only continued forward.

Deep in the bamboo forest, the fluctuation of Spiritual Qi grew more and more obvious.

His face remained impassive, but he slowed his pace slightly.

Just then, a faint sound came from ahead.

It sounded like people talking.

Gu Li stopped and listened.

Wan’er stopped as well. Her Spiritual Sense was keener than Gu Li’s, and she quickly pinpointed the source of the sound.

“Senior,” Wan’er whispered, “up ahead. Those two people.”

Gu Li nodded, and then stepped forward again.

He walked unhurriedly, his robes brushing gently through the bamboo.

Suddenly, the space opened up ahead.

In the clearing stood a dilapidated stone pavilion. Inside the pavilion were three people.

One was a middle-aged man with narrow eyes and sharp brows, looking about forty years old. The other two were much younger, around twenty.

Hearing footsteps, all three turned their heads at once.

Six gazes fell on Gu Li, then swept over Wan’er behind him.

The middle-aged man frowned slightly. His gaze lingered on Gu Li for a moment, as if assessing his cultivation.

Peak Foundation Establishment.

His frown deepened.

That was considered a decent level of cultivation among rogue cultivators.

Then his gaze shifted to Wan’er.

Late Foundation Establishment.

Two Foundation Establishment cultivators, a man and a woman, appearing in this desolate bamboo forest in the middle of nowhere.

Coincidence, or were they after the same thing?

The man’s right hand quietly gripped the Dharma artifact at his waist, but his face put on a friendly smile.

“Fellow Daoists,” the man clasped his hands, “may I ask where you have come from?”

Gu Li stopped, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the three of them.

The System Panel popped up.

[Target One: Zhao Qian]

[Cultivation: Peak Foundation Establishment]

[Spirit Root: Mid-grade Earth Spirit Root]

[Target Two: Liu Yi]

[Cultivation: Late Foundation Establishment]

[Spirit Root: Low-grade Fire Spirit Root]

[Target Three: Zhou Ping]

[Cultivation: Late Foundation Establishment]

[Spirit Root: Low-grade Metal Spirit Root]

Gu Li breathed a slight sigh of relief inside.

Not Golden Core. That was manageable.

His face remained expressionless as he replied flatly:

“Just passing through.”

Zhao Qian’s gaze swept over Gu Li’s face twice, trying to find a flaw in that expressionless mask, but he found nothing.

That face was as calm as still water.

Zhao Qian felt a slight unease.

A Peak Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator, facing three cultivators of the same level—even if he wasn’t afraid, he should at least show some wariness.

But this man stood there, showing no emotion at all.

Such casual confidence was either an act or meant he truly didn’t see them as a threat.

Zhao Qian leaned toward the former.

But that woman was also Late Foundation Establishment; her combat strength couldn’t be underestimated.

If it came to a real fight, the outcome was uncertain.

And they hadn’t come here to fight.

Zhao Qian’s smile deepened another degree.

“Ah, just passing through.”

Zhao Qian chuckled.

“I am but a rogue cultivator named Zhao Qian. These two are my companions. May I ask how to address you two, Fellow Daoists?”