58: Map delivered to your door

Deep within the Black Pine Forest, inside a naturally formed tree hollow.

The wind and snow outside were filtered through layers of dense pine needles, leaving only a faint whistling sound here.

Zhou Wannian sat cross-legged on a piece of dry animal hide, a campfire burning before him.

The fire wasn't large, just enough for warmth, and it didn't produce a conspicuous pillar of smoke.

"Squeak, squeak~"

Wangcai—the Golden-Haired Treasure-Hunting Rat—was holding half a piece of Spiritual Grain Cake, crumbs falling from its mouth as it ate.

Its small, black bean-like eyes glanced warily at the cave entrance from time to time; at the slightest stir, it would immediately curl its body into a ball.

"Stop looking, there's no one."

Zhou Wannian, holding the "Chen Family Precepts: Strict Self-Discipline Chapter" he had swiped from the Chen Family Treasury, said without looking up, "If you drop any more crumbs, I'll throw you out to feed the wolves."

Wangcai froze, immediately caught the falling crumbs with its tiny paws, and stuffed them back into its mouth aggrievedly.

Zhou Wannian ignored the drama-queen rat; his attention was entirely on the black-covered book in his hand.

By the firelight, he once again opened this "strange book."

Time had been tight in the treasury earlier, so he'd only caught a glimpse. Now, studying it carefully, Zhou Wannian felt more and more... "The Chen Family's Old Ancestor was a real savage."

The Dual Cultivation poses depicted in the book seemed absurd at first glance, even somewhat defying human anatomy.

"But if one set aside the blushing-inducing images and only looked at the spiritual power circulation routes marked alongside... 'This 'Old Tree Coiling Roots' move is actually teaching how to root one's Spiritual Qi into the Dantian and Qi Sea to form a stable 'Spiritual Root'."

"This 'Guanyin Sitting on Lotus' move is actually suspending the Divine Sense and visualizing oneself as a lotus pedestal to temper the stability of the Divine Soul."

Zhou Wannian gestured along as he marveled.

"The so-called 'Locking Yang into the Abdomen' is not some bedroom art at all, but an extremely sophisticated 'Spiritual Locking' technique! Through a specific breathing frequency and muscle contractions, it tightly locks the essence, Qi, and spirit within the body, not letting a single bit leak out."

"It's like... putting a 'turtle shell' over one's own body."

Zhou Wannian's eyes lit up.

This was practically an Advanced Cultivation Technique tailor-made for the Turtle Breathing Technique!

The Turtle Breathing Technique could only hide one's aura, but this Yang Locking Technique (let's call it that for now) could lock in vitality, delay aging, and even prevent injuries from worsening.

No wonder that Corpse Puppet Ancestor of the Chen Family could refine himself into that ghostly state without dying; it turns out he had this skill as a foundation.

"Practice it!"

Zhou Wannian decided immediately.

Since he was trapped in the wilderness and couldn't go anywhere anyway, he might as well take the opportunity to improve his survival capabilities.

Following the book's guidance, he adjusted his breathing and tried to control those few hidden Meridians in his body.

At first, it was somewhat obscure and even caused bouts of awkward physiological reactions. But as he gradually entered the state, a warm current began to gather in his lower abdomen, eventually forming a stable vortex that drew all the Spiritual Qi of his body around it, no longer dissipating outward.

One hour later.

Zhou Wannian opened his eyes.

At this moment, if he didn't actively release his Spiritual Pressure, he truly looked like a piece of dead wood, with even his heartbeat becoming extremely faint.

"It's done."

Zhou Wannian clenched his fists in satisfaction.

With this technique, it would be even harder for anyone to tell if he blended into a crowd of Mortals.

Just as he was about to finish his practice.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

Wangcai, who was gnawing on the cake, suddenly dropped its food, its golden fur bristling as it let out urgent cries toward a direction outside the tree hollow.

Someone was coming!

And with ill intent!

Zhou Wannian's gaze sharpened, and he instantly extinguished the campfire.

He scooped up Wangcai and tucked it into his robes, shrinking back against the darkest corner of the tree hollow while slapping an "Invisibility Talisman" on himself.

A moment later.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

A series of faint footsteps treading on the snow reached him.

"Big Brother, the fat sheep is just ahead. I saw him just now; he's an old man, alone, and hasn't registered with the Qingyun Sect yet."

A wretched voice sounded.

"Are you sure you didn't see wrong? If he's a pauper, I'll skin you alive," another gruff voice replied.

"I can't be wrong! The old man might be dressed poorly, but my 'Gold-Scenting Rat' smelled it—he has the scent of Medicinal Pills on him! And high-grade ones at that!"

Gold-Scenting Rat?

Zhou Wannian raised an eyebrow and looked down at Wangcai in his arms.

So they were peers.

Through the cracks in the tree hollow, he saw the newcomers.

Three in total.

The leader was a bald, burly man with a face full of scars, a Qi Refining Level Four Cultivator carrying a Ghost-Head Saber. To the left was a scrawny man at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, with a gray rat perched on his shoulder. To the right was a pockmarked brute, also at the Third Layer of Qi Refining.

This was a typical "Wilderness Hyena" squad.

Specifically targeting those who were alone or the poor souls who ducked into the woods to avoid inspections.

"I clearly saw firelight just now, how is it gone?"

The scrawny man looked around in confusion. "Big Brother, could the old man have run away?"

"He can't run far."

The bald man gave a sinister laugh. "The forest is full of snow; there will be footprints wherever he runs. Split up and search! When you find him, chop him down immediately, no need for talk!"

The three dispersed, searching toward the tree hollow in a fan formation.

The gray rat on the scrawny man's shoulder twitched its nose incessantly before staring straight at the large tree where Zhou Wannian was, letting out "squeak squeak" shrieks.

"Here he is!"

The scrawny man was overjoyed, pulling out a dagger and rushing over.

Inside the tree hollow.

Zhou Wannian sighed.

"I originally wanted to be a quiet, handsome man, but you just had to force my hand."

He didn't use a Thunder Talisman (too much noise, easy to attract the Qingyun Sect).

Nor did he use a Flying Sword (too much of a waste of spiritual power).

He simply pulled out a handful of... Soul-Confusing Powder from his robes.

This was a low-life item bought from the black market; useless against high-level Cultivators, but a Divine Artifact against these low-level Robber Cultivators who only knew how to rely on brute force.

The moment the scrawny man poked his head into the tree hollow.

"Whoosh—"

Zhou Wannian blew out a forceful breath.

A large cloud of white powder blew directly into the scrawny man's face.

"Cough, cough, cough! What..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes rolled back, and he slumped down.

"Third Brother?!"

The bald man and the pockmarked man behind heard the noise and immediately closed in alertly.

"The target is tough! Attack together!"

The bald man roared and swung his saber at the tree hollow.

Boom!

The tree hollow was split open, wood chips flying everywhere.

But it was empty inside.

"Where is he?"

The bald man was stunned.

Just then, he felt a chill at the back of his neck.

A dagger without any spiritual power fluctuations yet incredibly sharp was lightly pressed against his carotid artery.

"Don't move."

A raspy, old voice sounded in his ear. "Move once, and I'll bleed you."

The bald man froze, cold sweat breaking out instantly.

This movement... this speed... definitely a big shot at the Late Stage of Qi Refining!

"Se... Senior, spare my life!"

The bald man knelt on the spot. "This little one failed to recognize your greatness! I'll leave right now! Right now!"

Seeing this, the pockmarked man turned to run.

"Freeze."

Zhou Wannian casually threw out an Immobilization Talisman, freezing the pockmarked man in place.

Then, he kicked the back of the bald man's knees, forcing him to kneel in the snow.

"Speak up."

Zhou Wannian still maintained his invisible state, his voice echoing unpredictably. "What do you do? How many more people like you are around here?"

"We... we are 'Ferrymen'!"

The bald man didn't dare hide anything and spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube. "We specialize in 'escorting' Loose Cultivators in this area who don't want to be checked by the Qingyun Sect... some pay to be sent off, and those without money just... just..."

"Just get killed?" Zhou Wannian snorted coldly.

"No, no, no! That's only a tiny minority!" the bald man hurriedly defended.

"Enough, I'm not interested in your business."

Zhou Wannian interrupted him. "I'm asking you, if I want to go to the Thousand Star Sea Region without taking the main roads, is there a hidden route?"

"Yes! Yes!"

The bald man, as if grasping a life-saving straw, hurriedly pulled a crumpled animal-hide map from his robes. "This is the 'black path' my brothers and I have mapped out over many years! It marks all the safe points, supply stations, and even where the Yao Beast dens are—all very clearly!"

"As long as you follow this path, I guarantee you'll avoid the Qingyun Sect's patrols and reach an abandoned pier by the East Sea! There are Black Ships there heading to the Thousand Star Sea Region!"

Zhou Wannian took the map and glanced at it.

It was indeed very detailed.

Although these Robber Cultivators had poor character, they were truly professional when it came to escaping and finding loopholes.

"I'll take the map."

Zhou Wannian tucked the map into his robes. "In exchange..."

He flicked his finger.

Two dark Medicinal Pills flew into the mouths of the bald man and the pockmarked man.

*Gulp.*

The two swallowed instinctively.

"This is the 'Three-Day Intestine-Rupturing Pill'."

Zhou Wannian began to intimidate them. "Within three days, if you don't have the antidote, your intestines will rupture and you'll die. Now, leave your storage pouches and get lost."

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for sparing our lives, Senior!"

The bald man and the pockmarked man didn't dare ask more, hurriedly unfastening their storage pouches and throwing them on the ground, then dragging the still-unconscious scrawny man as they scrambled away.

As for whether that pill was really an intestine-rupturing pill... well, they were definitely going to have diarrhea for three days.

Zhou Wannian picked up the storage pouches and checked them.

Aside from a few hundred Spirit Stones and some miscellaneous items, the most valuable thing was that map.

"An unexpected boon."

Looking at the winding red route on the map that perfectly bypassed all checkpoints, a slight smile appeared at the corners of Zhou Wannian's mouth.

"Wangcai, good job."

He patted the rat in his arms that had performed a great service.

"With this, our path to the Thousand Star Sea Region is cleared."

"Let's go; while it's still dark, we'll travel."

Man and rat once again vanished into the wind and snow.