109: Dagushan

Late at night, in a sparse forest outside the city, Xu Sanyan shifted his thoughts and opened his panel, upgrading his Breath Concealment Technique from Uninitiated to Perfection.

It cost a total of ninety-six points of "Qi," leaving him with three hundred and eighty-five points of "Qi" remaining.

He then sat cross-legged, took out a Spirit Stone, and began to absorb it.

Suddenly, footsteps came from the distance. Xu Sanyan looked up vigilantly, only to see a figure in red walking out of the forest; it was none other than Qin Manyang.

Qin Manyang casually tossed him a parcel. "This is the twenty percent I promised you, a total of two hundred Spirit Stones."

Xu Sanyan caught it in one go. "Many thanks."

"Let's go quickly, don't let the Yue Family catch up." Qin Manyang grabbed Xu Sanyan and began to run.

"You killed him?" Xu Sanyan asked in surprise, seeing her urgent demeanor.

He had thought that Qin Manyang would at most teach the man a lesson; he hadn't expected her to be so ruthless. She had originally warned him not to cause trouble in Yue Family City, yet she had turned around and slaughtered the man herself.

"That brat tried to drug me; should I keep him around for the New Year?" Qin Manyang curled her lips, her tone full of disdain.

Xu Sanyan nodded. Just as he was about to stand up, Qin Manyang turned around abruptly. In the dark night, a cold gleam of sword light struck straight towards them, exuding a chilling intent in the night sky.

Qin Manyang threw out a bell to block in front of her. With a loud "clang," the middle-aged Cultivator stepped back to steady himself, holding his sword with one hand. "Hmph, daring to commit crimes in Yue Family City? You're courting death!"

Xu Sanyan took a glance, pulled back, and turned to run. Even Qin Manyang hadn't noticed someone following her, which meant the newcomer's cultivation was definitely higher than hers, and even higher than his own. If he didn't run now, when would he?

Furthermore, this was Yue Family territory, and the enemy's reinforcements would be endless. Once entangled, it would be difficult to leave.

"If we join forces, we don't need to fear him!" Qin Manyang called out hurriedly when she saw him about to run.

Xu Sanyan didn't say a word and increased his speed slightly, because he saw several more people arriving in the distance.

He didn't know what Qin Manyang had done in the city to cause the Yue Family to hunt her down with such fanfare, but he had only taken two hundred Spirit Stones; it was completely not worth risking his life for.

"Hmph, none of you will escape!" The middle-aged Cultivator entangled Qin Manyang and shouted to the people behind him, "Don't let that man run, go chase him!"

"Yes!" Several people darted into the night, pursuing Xu Sanyan.

Xu Sanyan summoned the Fiend hidden behind him to block the pursuers and ran deep into the forest. He didn't intend to keep the Fiend anymore; as long as it could delay them for a moment, that was enough.

He had long realized that Qin Manyang was a person who acted without regard for consequences and followed her own whims; trouble would come sooner or later, though he hadn't expected it to be fulfilled so quickly.

Qin Manyang's style of doing things was indeed very similar to the Chixin Lineage of the Tongxin Demon Sect that she spoke of.

"Hah!" A delicate shout faintly echoed in the night sky. Judging by the voice, it should be Qin Manyang's; the battle over there must be very intense.

Xu Sanyan only focused on charging forward. In a short while, he could no longer sense the Fiend; it must have been killed.

"Don't run!" A useless remark came from behind.

Xu Sanyan didn't even bother to respond. He took a moment to look back and saw three figures closely following him.

The speed of both sides was similar, remaining at a distance that was neither too far nor too close. Xu Sanyan couldn't shake them off, and they couldn't catch up to him.

However, Xu Sanyan knew this was not a long-term solution. Once the middle-aged Cultivator dealt with Qin Manyang and caught up, he would be in danger.

As time passed, Xu Sanyan no longer knew where he had run to, but the people behind him were still in close pursuit.

The sky gradually brightened. Xu Sanyan had run for an entire night; even with his Physique, he was somewhat exhausted, but fortunately, he could still persist.

However, the three people behind him were almost unable to keep up. They were three youths, two men and one woman. They didn't look very old, but their actual ages must be quite high; for their cultivation to be on par with Xu Sanyan, they must be at least fifty or sixty years old.

The three exchanged glances, and one of the women spoke, "This brat runs really fast. Should we still chase?"

The other two didn't stop their pace, their faces showing hesitation. "Ahead is Da Gu Mountain. If we chase to Da Gu Mountain and still haven't caught him, we will withdraw; that way we'll have something to report when we return."

"Fine," the other two had no objections.

With their cultivation, and after a night of pursuit, they were already well over a thousand miles away from Yue Family City.

Xu Sanyan looked up ahead. A solitary black mountain lay before him. The mountain range wasn't high, and the trees on it were sparse. To him, this was just an ordinary mountain range, showing no signs of anything unusual.

When he stepped one foot into the mountain range's territory, he was instantly stunned on the spot, and the scene before his eyes suddenly changed.

He didn't know when, but the black mountain had disappeared, replaced by a lush green meadow. On the meadow stood a school, surrounded by a fence forming an empty courtyard. There were seven or eight bamboo houses arranged horizontally, and the sound of clear, rhythmic reading came from within.

"The Saint says, filial piety and fraternal duty come first, respect teachers and elders, live in harmony with neighbors..."

Xu Sanyan's eyes suddenly became vacant, and he walked mechanically towards the bamboo house. He pushed open the bamboo door, and the reading sound stopped instantly, as if someone had forcibly pressed a mute button. The Old Gentleman on the podium turned his head ninety degrees, looking sideways at Xu Sanyan with an expressionless face, and dozens of children in the classroom were all staring at him without blinking.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

"You are late." The Old Gentleman spoke slowly, his voice extremely shrill, like the sound of fingernails scratching against glass.

Xu Sanyan's eyes flickered, confused for a moment, and then a moment of clarity appeared again; two wills were constantly fighting for control of his body.

"You must be punished, ten strikes of the ruler."

As the Old Gentleman spoke, he walked over slowly holding a ruler. Xu Sanyan uncontrollably extended his hand, standing in front of the door like a real student.

"Slap, slap, slap, slap..."

As the ruler struck his hand, a piercing pain immediately surged. Each strike felt as if it was passing through his body and hitting his Divine Soul. That bone-deep pain made his body twitch uncontrollably.

Every time he received a strike of the ruler, Xu Sanyan would experience a moment of clarity, but would immediately lose his consciousness again.

After the ten strikes were finished, Xu Sanyan's height changed from nearly seven feet to less than six feet. His sturdy muscles also shrank, and even his appearance became much younger.

It was as if... he had returned to his youth.

"Take your seat."

The Old Gentleman spoke, and Xu Sanyan walked straight to an empty seat. Books had been placed on the desk at some unknown point in time.

"The Saint says, revere Heaven and Earth, respect ghosts and gods..." The clear, rhythmic reading resumed, and Xu Sanyan mingled among the students, reciting diligently...

Outside Da Gu Mountain, the three pursuers had serious expressions. After exchanging glances, they looked at Xu Sanyan, who was not far away. The distance between them was less than one hundred meters, but the three of them also sensed something unusual and dared not continue the pursuit.

The woman spoke, "After entering Da Gu Mountain, no one has ever come out. We don't know what will happen inside. In the early years, even the Soul Cultivators of the Lu Family were trapped inside. We..."

One man nodded, "We must not act rashly. I have a treasure that might be worth a try."

As he spoke, he took a rope out of his Storage Pouch. He whispered and chanted softly. The rope, like a living snake, constantly lengthened. He held one end in his hand while the other end quickly probed into Da Gu Mountain, sweeping towards Xu Sanyan.