302: Chapter 302 Gathering News at the Teahouse

With every impact, blood seeped from Ye Tian's mouth and nose, but his gaze remained fierce and unyielding. He channeled all the anger and frustration of the past few days into the momentum for his Breakthrough!

"Open for me!!"

Ye Tian roared inwardly. In the next moment, he felt a surge of power fill his entire body. His previously agonizingly painful Meridians began to heal rapidly, and his Soul damage recovered by thirty percent.

Ninth Stage of the True Martial Realm, achieved!

At the moment of the Breakthrough, Ye Tian's aura surged violently. His sharp Sword Intent spread uncontrollably, blowing away the surrounding dust and gravel.

He snapped his eyes open. Though his face was still pale, his strength was more than double what it had been at the Eighth Stage!

He immediately inspected his internal state and found that not only had his cultivation broken through, but his Meridians had become even tougher through the process of destruction and reconstruction.

"Finally... the Ninth Stage."

Ye Tian exhaled a long breath of turbid Qi.

He felt that about thirty percent of his strength had returned, giving him the basic ability to move and protect himself.

"Senior Brother! You broke through?!"

Hou Xiaojie felt the change in Ye Tian's aura and ran over in pleasant surprise.

"Yeah, I finally pulled through."

Ye Tian nodded and patted Xiao Jie's head. "We must leave here as soon as possible. Can you walk?"

"I can do it!" Hou Xiaojie said through gritted teeth.

Ye Tian shouldered the jingji sword, picked up the Dragon Ape again, and led Hou Xiaojie along the passage toward the direction where the sound of wind and water was coming from.

After walking for about another half a day, a faint light appeared ahead, along with the sound of flowing water.

They emerged from a rock crevice behind a waterfall.

Outside was a mountain stream with abundant water, flanked by steep cliffs. No people or Vicious Beasts were in sight.

Judging by the position of the sun, it should be noon.

"We're finally out..."

Hou Xiaojie took a deep breath of fresh air, instantly feeling incredibly refreshed.

Ye Tian, however, did not dare to be careless. He first vigilantly observed the surroundings, and after confirming it was safe, he identified their direction.

They should currently be in the deep mountains about a hundred miles northwest of Luoxia Slope.

"Let's find a place to rest first. You need to recover, and the little Dragon needs a more stable environment."

Ye Tian led Hou Xiaojie downstream along the mountain stream, searching for a suitable hiding place.

Soon after, they found a shallow cave under a cliff. The cave wasn't deep, but it was dry and hidden, with a small mountain spring seeping from a crack in the ceiling, making it an ideal temporary resting spot.

Ye Tian set up a few simple warning Restrictions at the cave entrance and then entered the cave with Hou Xiaojie.

He checked Hou Xiaojie's injuries again and infused him with True Yuan to accelerate his recovery.

The Dragon Ape's condition was still not optimistic, but at least its vital signs were slightly more stable than before.

"Xiao Jie, you stay here and watch over the little Dragon. I'll go out to gather some news and find some food and medicinal herbs," Ye Tian said to Hou Xiaojie.

"Senior Brother, be careful!" Hou Xiaojie said worriedly.

Ye Tian changed into a set of clean, ordinary cloth clothes and used mud to slightly alter his skin tone and facial contours, suppressing his aura to around the third or fourth stage of the True Martial Realm.

He wrapped the jingji sword in cloth, slung it across his back, and then quietly left the cave.

He didn't dare go to large towns, heading only toward the mountains where there might be small villages or hunter gathering points.

About an hour later, he saw a tea stall by the mountain road, where several passing merchants and woodcutters were resting.

Ye Tian walked over, ordered a bowl of coarse tea, and sat in a corner, silently listening to their conversation.

"Did you hear? Wanren Sword Pavilion has really gone all out this time! A 'Northern Region Pursuit Order'! How many years has it been since we've seen one?"

"Tell me about it, the reward is terrifyingly high! A million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and your choice of Earth Rank Cultivation Techniques! My goodness, that's enough for us to spend for hundreds of lifetimes!"

"Who are they chasing? Such a huge commotion?"

"A young man named Ye Tian, supposedly a sword Dao Genius and a Disciple of the Liuli Xuan Sect! But he offended Wanren Sword Pavilion and Shadow Calamity Tower, caused a huge scene at Lijian Villa, killed a Sword Pavilion Elder, and even escaped from Pavilion Master Ling's hands!"

"Hiss... that powerful? He managed to escape from Ling Juexiao?"

"Who knows? Anyway, the entire Northern Region is in an uproar now. Wanted posters are plastered all over city gates, relay stations, and taverns in every town. I heard even some old monsters who have been in seclusion for years and assassin organizations are tempted."

"Sigh, in this world, young people don't know how to be patient. Offending a major power... what a pity..."

"What's there to be pity? Maybe he already fled the Northern Region. Oh, I also heard that Wanren Sword Pavilion and Shadow Calamity Tower have sent a large number of people to step up searches in a few specific places, something like... the Land of Flowing Fire and the Earth Fire Demon Abyss, saying that Ye Tian might go there to heal or find something."

"Who cares? It has nothing to do with us anyway. Drink tea, drink tea..."

Ye Tian lowered his head to drink his tea, but his heart sank.

The situation was worse than he had imagined!

Once the 'Northern Region Pursuit Order' was issued, he had practically become the public enemy of the entire Northern Region, making it truly difficult to move even an inch.

Furthermore, Ling Juexiao was indeed cunning; he had actually guessed that Ye Tian might head to fire-attribute dangerous lands and had already begun focusing his deployment on the Land of Flowing Fire and the Earth Fire Demon Abyss!

"I must be even more careful... I definitely have to go to the Land of Flowing Fire, but I must plan thoroughly."

Ye Tian paid for the tea and quietly left.

He caught two wild rabbits in the nearby woods, gathered some healing herbs, and then quickly returned to the cave.

Handing the food to Hou Xiaojie to prepare, Ye Tian began to organize his thoughts.

The road ahead was difficult, but he had no choice.

The Land of Flowing Fire held the hope of the 'fire spirit marrow liquid' needed to save the Dragon Ape, yet it was also a place where Ling Juexiao had focused his defenses.

"I must first fully recover from my injuries, and then... find a way to cross the blockade and enter the Land of Flowing Fire."

Ye Tian took out the herbs and, combined with Medicinal Pills, began to heal with all his might.

Over the next few days, Ye Tian and Hou Xiaojie remained hidden in this secluded cave.

While healing, Ye Tian also consolidated his cultivation and tried to explore new ways of fighting.

Hou Xiaojie's injuries also improved rapidly with Ye Tian's help.

Three days later, Ye Tian's injuries were mostly healed, and his cultivation was stable at the Early Stage of the Ninth Stage of the True Martial Realm.

Hou Xiaojie had also basically regained the ability to move.

Only the Dragon Ape remained in a deep sleep, its aura weak.

He couldn't wait any longer.

"Xiao Jie, we leave tonight. North, to the Land of Flowing Fire."

Ye Tian looked at the darkening sky outside the cave and spoke in a deep voice.

As night fell, two figures quietly left the cave and headed north.

However, what they didn't know was that less than half a day after they left, a group of people dressed in Xuanjing Division uniforms, led by a black-clad Junior Banner Officer, arrived in this mountainous area and began a dragnet search...

Ye Tian led Hou Xiaojie, carrying the unconscious Dragon Ape on his back, as they traversed through the mountain ridges and dense forests.

After breaking through to the Ninth Stage of the True Martial Realm, his strength had not only increased greatly, but his endurance for long-distance travel had also improved significantly.

When the Taixu Star-Shift Steps were deployed, he truly moved like shifting stars and flashing lightning. Under the cover of darkness, he left almost no trace.

Most of Hou Xiaojie's injuries had healed. He followed behind Ye Tian with gritted teeth; although it was difficult, his eyes were full of determination.

He knew that his Senior Brother was seeking a chance of survival for the Dragon Ape and was also carving out a blood-soaked path for them.

They traveled north, hiding by day and moving by night, specifically choosing desolate mountains and wild ridges, trying their best to avoid any places where there might be people.

Even so, Ye Tian could still feel an increasingly tight sense of pressure.

In the few remote mountain villages they passed, wanted posters of him were plastered on the walls at the village entrances, with the reward amount being staggeringly high.

The mountain folk and hunters they occasionally encountered would always mention the 'Northern Region Pursuit Order' and that 'audacious Ye Tian' in their conversations.

"Ling Juexiao... what a grand move."

This was not just for revenge and treasure; it was to completely nail him down in the Northern Region, with no hope of ever rising again!