12: Chapter 12 Considered an old man

Ye Xuan stood by the inn window, pushed it open, and looked out at the surrounding town.

The small town looked like it only had a hundred households, yet there were quite a lot of pedestrians on the road.

"Fellow Daoists, don't miss out as you pass by! This is the only shop, the only one! My Blood Coagulation Pills are only fifty spirit stones each! Top-quality spiritual medicine, don't miss out as you pass by!"

"Don't listen to that brat's nonsense. A few days ago, Old Man Wang's son bought his Blood Coagulation Pills, and ended up exploding to death after taking them. My spiritual artifacts here are the real quality goods. Come and take a look, youngsters!"

The elderly men peddling spiritual medicines and artifacts were on the verge of fighting. Their sharp words made the passing cultivators unsure of what to believe, and from time to time, young cultivators would still be fooled, buying a few bottles of pills of dubious authenticity before heading on their way.

However, Ye Xuan's gaze was not on them, but on the Magic Beast Forest two thousand li away.

Countless towering trees, endless mountain ranges, and the sky thick with flying magic beasts.

Waves of magic beast roars drifted through the air, audible even from the inn thousands of li away.

It was clear just how dangerous the Magic Beast Forest was.

"I'll slip away in a bit and just find a mercenary squad familiar with the outer perimeter to tag along with."

Ye Xuan pondered. Although earth spirit milk was a decent grade-four spiritual medicine, it was far inferior to the inheritance of the mysterious tomb.

Now, he just hoped those three scoundrels in the room next door would hurry up and die.

It was truly disgusting.

Ye Xuan went to the room next door and knocked on the door. It took quite a while before the door was opened, and Li Qing walked out, disheveled and looking thoroughly displeased.

"Senior Brother Ye, aren't you resting?"

Li Qing's breathing was a bit rapid, and the flush on his face had not yet faded; who knew what kind of shameful things he had been doing.

"Junior Brother Li, I came out early and didn't prepare any healing pills. I specifically came to tell you that I'm going out for a stroll to prepare for tomorrow."

"Is that all? It's fine, Senior Brother Ye, go ahead. Riding horses all day exhausted me; I need to get some good rest and don't dare to keep tossing about."

Thinking it was something important, Li Qing brushed him off with a couple of sentences, then slammed the door shut and immediately began a new round of battle.

"You can't even walk when you see a woman; no wonder they say you have the look of impending doom."

Ye Xuan shook his head, not bothering to waste any more time.

Whatever they did next had nothing to do with him; it would be best if they died.

Afterward, Ye Xuan went to the town market and found an old man selling maps.

"Old sir, I would like a map of Duanyue Cliff in the Magic Beast Forest. The more detailed, the better."

Along the way, Ye Xuan had observed everyone, finding that most of the people around him were just labeled as passersby; only he was special.

The old man at the stall wore a grey robe, and as he sat on the ground, his aged face looked somewhat extraordinary.

[Name: Grandpa Zhang] [Age: 80] [Realm: True Profound Realm, Fifth Stage] [Physique: Medium Grade] [Fate: Ill-fated in later years (Black)] [Life Destiny: "Phoenix Empress" (Supporting Character)] [Favorability: 60] [Recent Fortune: Three days later, in order to save his good friend's daughter, he will be killed by Commander An Ran of the Azure Dragon Mercenary Group.]

A new script, huh? Interesting.

Ye Xuan's eyes lit up.

"Young man, you want to go to Duanyue Cliff? That place is far too dangerous. There are at least ten fourth-rank spirit beasts guarding it. Without the strength of the Spirit Profound Realm, going there is just throwing your life away."

After hearing Ye Xuan's request, the white-robed old man, Grandpa Zhang, had a flicker of worry in his cloudy eyes: "Young man, you really need to think this over."

"Old sir, if I did not have confidence, I certainly would not go."

Hearing this, Ye Xuan felt a bit touched. They were just strangers who had just met, yet this man was actually concerned for him.

He would absolutely not give up on Danri Cliff; not everyone could have the opportunity to encounter an Emperor's tomb.

"You kid… I knew you wouldn't listen. I don't have a very detailed map of Duanyue Cliff either," Grandpa Zhang said regretfully, shaking his head.

"You don't have a detailed one? In that case, old sir, do you have a detailed map of the outer perimeter of the Magic Beast Forest?"

Ye Xuan stroked his chin, feeling slightly disappointed. Without a very detailed map, it would increase the difficulty of finding the Emperor's tomb.

Time was running out, which was disadvantageous to him.

It was a pity that Ye Xuan didn't have extraordinary luck; he could only brace himself and search one place at a time. This was the worst-case scenario.

"Old sir, here are ten Blood Coagulation Pills. Please accept them."

Ye Xuan took out a medicine bottle and placed it in front of the old man.

"Young man, wait a moment. I know who has the map of Danri Cliff." Grandpa Zhang called out to Ye Xuan, then hesitated before saying, "To get the map from that person, you must have the strength of the Spirit Profound Realm."

Hearing this, Ye Xuan's mouth curled up, and he released a trace of his aura.

"This is?! Lingxuan? Young man, you?!"

The old man's expression suddenly turned serious: "This aura… you must be a disciple of the Cangqiong Holy Land, no wonder you have such strength."

"Since you have such strength, then dealing with the Azure Dragon mercenary leader, Commander An Ran, shouldn't be a problem."

Ye Xuan didn't care about his image and plopped down opposite the old man to listen to him explain what had happened.

The old man had a good friend named Wang Zhen, who possessed a detailed map of Duanyue Cliff.

However, Wang Zhen had passed away ten days ago, and his granddaughter, Feng Xueni, had been targeted by Commander An Ran, who wanted to forcibly take her as a concubine.

Feng Xueni must have the detailed map of Danri Cliff in her possession, so they had to rescue her first.

"Sigh, that child Xueni has a bitter fate. She was abandoned in the town by her father before she was even three years old. If it weren't for my good friend Wang Zhen kindly adopting her…"

The old man suddenly knelt in front of Ye Xuan with a thud and said, "Young man, I know this is sudden, but I hope you can help me. I am willing to use all my worldly possessions to ask for your help."

The old man didn't want to be unable to face his old friend Wang Zhen after he died, and tears streamed down his face.

"Old sir, what are you doing? Get up quickly. Since you met me today, it means we are fated, so I will naturally help you resolve this trouble."

Ye Xuan was startled and quickly pulled the old man up, not letting him truly bow before him: "I will certainly not let such a scoundrel get away with this."

His current cultivation was infinitely close to the Spirit Profound Realm; average Spirit Profound Realm cultivators were absolutely no match for him.

The Azure Dragon mercenary leader, Commander An Ran, was only at the ninth stage of the True Profound Realm. In such a backwater place, what kind of powerful cultivators could there be? Therefore, Ye Xuan concluded that An Ran was no match for him.

"If it weren't for Young Master Ye today, I'm afraid I really wouldn't know how to face my departed friend."

"Old sir, there's no need to say more. Such a villain deserves to be executed by everyone; it's merely a small effort on my part."

The old man hurriedly packed up his stall and kept thanking Ye Xuan along the way.

If an ordinary person encountered such a matter and had sufficient strength, they would certainly step in.

Furthermore, Ye Xuan felt that by following the old man, he would definitely be able to find an important character in his life's destiny.

Anyone who saw such destiny information would certainly not miss out on it.

What harm could there be in following along?

Helping a little bit to gain a massive opportunity—what a worthwhile deal.