130: Chapter 131 The Aftermath of the Auction

"As expected of a former direct descendant of Xiyun Pavilion. Even with your cultivation level dropped, such keen insight is still startling."

Chen Qingyuan felt a chill in his heart. Knowing that further concealment before this person was futile, he simply relaxed and cupped his hands in a frank salute.

"So it is Elder Quan. I have made a fool of myself before you, Senior."

Elder Quan's murky eyes flickered; it seemed he hadn't expected Chen Qingyuan to admit it so cleanly.

With a light chuckle, he slowly stepped forward. His withered fingers casually brushed through the air toward Chen Qingyuan's hair bun.

A wisp of golden thread flashed from his sleeve and vanished.

Chen Qingyuan instinctively stepped back half a pace. Just as he was about to speak, he saw that something had appeared on Elder Quan's fingertip!

A rice-grain-sized, completely transparent insect was curled up on his fingertip, motionless, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Look,"

Elder Quan held the insect up before Chen Qingyuan's eyes, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"These little things love to hide in hair and disturb one's peace. You should be more careful in the future, young friend."

A tracking spiritual insect!

Chen Qingyuan's pupils shrank, and a chill instantly shot up from his spine to the top of his head!

He didn't even know when someone had planted such a secretive tracking method on him!

If not for Elder Quan pointing it out, even if he had used the teleportation array, his whereabouts might not have been completely hidden!

Elder Quan applied a little pressure with his fingertips, and the sleeping spiritual insect instantly turned to dust.

He then clapped his hands, brushed off the dust, and said meaningfully,

"Although Yunmeng Immortal City is good, it is not a place to stay for long. Take care of yourself, young friend."

Before the words had even faded, and without waiting for Chen Qingyuan to respond, he turned around.

His slightly hunched figure blended into the endless stream of people in the blink of an eye and disappeared.

Chen Qingyuan stood frozen in place, feeling that his back had been completely soaked with cold sweat.

Was Elder Quan's appearance and warning an act of kindness out of consideration for that previous pot of wine, or did it have another meaning?

He had no way to judge! The waters of this Immortal Realm were deeper and murkier than he had imagined, and human hearts were even more unpredictable!

Even though he was cautious time and again, he still could not avoid the prying eyes of those with ulterior motives and their endless, bizarre methods.

But regardless, one thing was certain now—he had to leave immediately!

The tracking spiritual insect had been destroyed; the person who planted it would surely sense it.

It was like beating the grass to startle the snake; he was not a hunter and had no ability to catch the snake, so he could only run as fast as he could!

There was not much time left for him!

Chen Qingyuan had always been decisive.

With a plan in mind, he hesitated no longer. He stopped trying to deliberately conceal his movements and sped toward the direction of the Ascension Pavilion in his memory.

Little did he know!

Just moments after he left, a figure wearing a purple dress with a slender, graceful figure appeared.

She quietly appeared at the street corner where he had just been talking with Elder Quan.

This woman had a beautiful face, but a lingering, inescapable gloom hung between her brows.

Looking in the direction where Chen Qingyuan had disappeared, her Phoenix eyes were full of shock and confusion.

"'Hidden Spirit Insect' aura... has it completely disappeared?"

She muttered to herself, her voice filled with disbelief and bewilderment,

"This insect is a secret transmission of my sect. It is formless and intangible; even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would find it extremely difficult to detect."

"How did he, a mere Loose Cultivator at the Qi Refinement Stage, manage to do it?"

At this moment, her gaze flickered uncertainly. If she were not in Yunmeng Immortal City, restricted by the iron laws of Xiyun Pavilion,

she would have already taken action to capture Chen Qingyuan herself, even if it meant searching his soul to get to the bottom of it.

"Teleportation Hall... Hmph, good kid, don't let me find out who you are!"

The woman in purple immediately understood Chen Qingyuan's intention. Although she was unwilling, she was helpless.

Once the teleportation array was activated, the destination was random. Unless a tracking mark had been planted in advance or one could predict the teleportation point beforehand,

there was no way to track him.

She cast one last sullen look in the direction of the Teleportation Hall before her figure slowly merged into the sea of people.

...

Bang!

Chen Qingyuan was "spat out" from mid-air and landed heavily in a desolate mountain stream, sending gravel splashing everywhere.

But he did not delay for a moment. Enduring the discomfort brought by the space teleportation, he quickly flipped up.

He immediately restrained his Qi and vigilantly looked around.

What he saw, however, made his heart sink.

He saw that he was in a strange, primitive mountain forest, surrounded by towering ancient trees and tangled vines.

In the distance, mountain ranges were layered, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

"Where is this?"

His mind began to rapidly recall the map.

"Around Red Willow Lake, there are hundreds of areas the size of Lifeng Plain."

"But the terrain and topography are mostly barren plains, deserts, and marshes. Areas dominated by mountain forests can be counted on one's fingers..."

"Looking at the types of trees and the direction of the mountain ranges, it somewhat resembles the rumored 'Black Wind Mountain Range'?"

"If it really is this place, it's not far from Lifeng Plain!"

Going further south from Wind Erosion Gully is the Black Wind Mountain Range. With Wind Erosion Gully blocking the wind and sand from the barren plains,

it rarely has this kind of terrain, though it is rumored that the Spiritual Qi here is thin, and there are no major powers."

But regardless! He had finally left Yunmeng Immortal City.

Seemingly confirming there was no danger, Chen Qingyuan completely relaxed.

He walked leisurely to the side of the mountain stream, scooped up a handful of clear stream water, and prepared to calm himself down to think about the next route.

The stream water was ice-cold, which refreshed his spirit.

However, just at that moment!

Swish!

A sharp Sword Qi emerged from the shadow behind him without warning, aiming straight for his heart!

This strike was fast and ruthless; it was clearly from an old hand at using a sword.

"Damn it!"

He didn't want to die!

At the final instant before the Sword Qi hit his body, Chen Qingyuan, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, lunged forward to the side and narrowly avoided it!

"Pfft!"

The Sword Qi brushed past his ribs, leaving a burning, bloody scratch.

One strike failed!

A Cultivator wearing gray tight-fitting clothes slowly revealed his figure.

He held a long sword in his hand, and a drop of blood was slowly dripping from the tip of the sword to the ground.

This gray-clad Cultivator looked at Chen Qingyuan; there was no annoyance in his eyes for the failed sneak attack, but rather an intriguing sense of amusement.

"Not a bad reaction."

"It seems that the posture you just displayed was deliberately done for me to see?"

Chen Qingyuan flipped up with lingering fear, the blazing sun mirror spinning at his side, and did not answer.

Deep inside, he was calculating rapidly,

"How could this person be faster than the teleportation and wait here in advance? Could his tracking method be something even Elder Quan failed to detect?"

"Or is it... that the random teleportation array wasn't fucking random at all?!"

A huge sense of powerlessness and anger surged into his heart.

"Damn it... these people, none of them are good, as expected..."

Seeing that he did not answer, the gray-clad Cultivator did not mind. He shook his head slowly, his tone filled with regret.

"Pity, no matter how alert you are, you are ultimately just a Qi Refinement Cultivator. In the face of absolute strength, all struggles are futile."

As he spoke, he raised his sword, the tip pointing at Chen Qingyuan from afar.

"Hand over the item obtained at the auction, and I can consider giving you a quick death."