336: cooperate?

The two people and one Four-Headed Dog scurried through the dense forest. The sky was slightly dim at this moment, and the forest was not yet that dangerous. Moreover, with the Four-Headed Dog scouting ahead, they could detect and avoid wild beasts in advance.

“Hoo~ hoo~”

Xun An Cai’s breathing was somewhat rapid, but she gritted her teeth and ran silently without a sound.

Days of travel combined with continuous fighting had long exhausted her physical strength, and now having to carry Xu Sanyan only added to her burden.

But even so, she never thought of abandoning Xu Sanyan in this dense forest, nor did she ever think of giving up on finding reinforcements.

Both were her most precious treasures; one was her man, and the other was her tribe. Neither could be given up.

Xun An Cai cheered herself on in her heart, and her footsteps quickened a bit.

Xu Sanyan was already dizzy and disoriented, his stomach had nothing left to vomit, and the excessive consumption of Soul Power caused a stinging pain in his brain, making him feel drowsy.

The Four-Headed Dog, on the other hand, was in the best condition. It still looked energetic, its four heads vigilantly scanning the surroundings, leading the way for the two.

“Let’s rest for a bit…”

Xu Sanyan’s tone was somewhat pleading. Even if Xun An Cai could hold on, he was about to give out.

“We can’t rest. The Clan Chief and the others are waiting for me to save them.” Even though she was already out of breath, her tone remained firm.

Xun An Cai suddenly remembered something and asked, “You said if the Clan Chief gave up the prey, would they be able to escape?”

Xu Sanyan shook his head. Given how things had developed, giving up the prey would no longer change anything.

Unless they had made up their minds early on to only kill and not covet the prey, they might have been able to retreat safely, but now it was too late.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was beginning to set, which meant that the Snake Clan had likely already received the news by now.

Suddenly, Xu Sanyan’s body stiffened. He looked up at her, “My time is almost up. Be careful on your own.”

“So fast?”

Xun An Cai was a little surprised. According to past experience, he usually returned after three days, but it had only been a little over two days, not yet three.

But she also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that he was going back. Without the burden of Xu Sanyan, she could return to the tribe faster.

“I’ll come again in a few days. By then, I hope you’ve completed your fifth prayer.” Xu Sanyan leaned up and kissed her as encouragement.

Of course, he kissed her on the cheek.

“Mm, you be careful too.”

Xun An Cai pouted, wanting to return his kiss, but Xu Sanyan naturally turned his face away.

Swish—

Xun An Cai felt her shoulder lighten, and Xu Sanyan’s figure was gone.

...

Twenty miles outside Qianqiu City, at the foot of a small mountain.

“Bang—”

The boulder sprang open, and Xu Sanyan emerged from it, his face pale. He squinted and looked up at the sky, the scorching sunlight warming his body.

“Ah…”

Xu Sanyan comfortably took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and pulled out a handful of Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch to restore his magical power.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a Soul Crystal to restore his Divine Soul power. Soul Crystals were one less each time he used one, so he was a bit reluctant.

After a long while, the Spirit Stones and Soul Crystal in his hand both turned to dust. He crushed them casually, feeling the abundant magical power within his body, and only then did he feel a sense of security.

Through these few trips to the Secret Realm, he had also summarized some rules: the time spent in the Secret Realm was not fixed, but determined by the amount of magical power he infused.

This time, he infused less, so he only stayed for two and a half days before returning.

Actually, this was good too. He could stay as long as he wanted. When his cultivation became profound in the future, he might be able to stay for even longer.

However, there was also a problem: each time Xu Sanyan entered the Secret Realm, he would appear at the location where he last left. Since he returned in the wild this time, he would appear in the wild next time.

With his mere two prayers’ worth of strength, the wild was still full of dangers for him. He needed to be careful next time he went.

He carefully wrapped the secret realm fruit and then strode towards Qianqiu City.

Half an hour later, as soon as Xu Sanyan stepped through the city gate, his eyes suddenly moved. He quickly ducked into a small alley on the street and peeked out at a group of people not far away.

There were five people in this group: four young people and an old man, who were just coming out of a merchant’s shop.

He recognized two of them: Lu Wang and his sister Princess Lu WanZhe, whom he had parted ways with not long ago in the Hundred Saints Secret Realm.

“Could they also be looking for me?”

Xu Sanyan secretly guessed in his heart. The four young people were nothing to fear, but the old man was somewhat unfathomable; his cultivation should be above his own.

There were many Cultivators on the street at the moment, and the Lu family did not notice him. They continued to chat amongst themselves, and Xu Sanyan concentrated on eavesdropping, hearing only idle chatter.

Watching the group disappear from sight, Xu Sanyan frowned and walked towards the Inner city.

He had just sent off the Gan Country people, and then the Lu family arrived, one after another, giving him no peace.

The Inner city guards recognized him, knowing he was the Third Madam’s excellent son-in-law, and did not obstruct him much.

Entering the Inner city and returning home, Xu Sanyan noticed traces of disturbance on his bedroom door, realizing that Wang Zixuan must have been there.

The flow of time inside and outside the Secret Realm was the same. He had stayed in the Secret Realm for two and a half days, meaning he had been gone for two and a half days in this world.

Pushing open the door, Xu Sanyan was immediately startled—there was someone in the room!

He hadn’t noticed anything from outside the door!

“What are you doing here?”

Xu Sanyan looked at Zuoqiu Zhen, who was sitting on the head of the bed, and slightly furrowed his brow. He didn’t want to deal with this person. They had agreed earlier not to interfere with each other, so why was she at his house now?

Zuoqiu Zhen put away the book in her hand, glanced at him, and pointed to a wooden chair nearby, “Sit.”

Her demeanor made it seem as if she were the owner of the place.

“What do you want from me?” Xu Sanyan asked again, his guard raised.

Zuoqiu Zhen smiled, pulled out a piece of rough paper from somewhere, and casually tossed it to him.

Xu Sanyan did not reach out to take it. He used his magical power to suspend the paper in mid-air. Upon closer inspection, he saw many crooked lines drawn on it.

The lines were simple and messy, yet there was order in the chaos, and he could vaguely make out that it was a map.

He looked closely, slowly discovering some clues, and said in a strange tone, “This is… Qianqiu City?”

Why would this woman draw a map of Qianqiu City?

“That’s right.” Zuoqiu Zhen nodded in admission.

Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes, “What are you going to do?”

“Cooperate with you.”

“Hmm?”

Xu Sanyan sized up her figure, “How do we cooperate?”

If it was a physical compensation, that wouldn’t do.

Zuoqiu Zhen did not answer directly. Instead, she pointed outside and asked, “Do you know why I sought refuge here?”

Xu Sanyan pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head, “I don’t know.”

Zuoqiu Zhen pointed to the rough drawing, “Because this Qianqiu City… is a grand Formation!”

“A grand Formation?”

Xu Sanyan became even more confused. He didn’t know much about Formations; he could only tell that the Inner city of Qianqiu City had a city-protecting grand Formation, but as for what kind of Formation it was, he had no idea.