203: Chapter 203 Ignore them, let's go.

He sat on the bed for a while without continuing to meditate; the scene just now had stirred up some rather unpleasant memories.

Back then, when the messenger from the Wang family arrived at the Su Family gate riding a spirit horse, that expression, that condescending mockery, was exactly the same as the behavior of the Tianyang Sect Disciples on the street outside.

Conscription, to put it plainly, was forced labor.

When the Su Family was forced by the Wang family to hand over Cultivators to work as laborers in the spirit fields, he had endured it just like this.

He endured it back then because his Realm was not high enough to fight back.

What about now?

Su Chengyuan rubbed his thumb.

It was true that his Realm was Early Foundation Establishment Stage, but his Storage Pouch contained three pieces of supreme grade Magical Artifacts, two or three hundred sheets of second-tier High Grade Talismans, and over a hundred bottles of various Medicinal Pills.

Because of this long journey, his son had practically armed him to the teeth.

If he were alone, he might not have been able to stop himself from intervening in today's matter; at worst, he would just run away after finishing it.

They were just a few brats at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer; he could suppress them with one hand.

But he was not alone.

Following behind him were Zhao Shan, Li Shi, and those Guards at the Qi Refining Realm; these people were all direct subordinates carefully selected by Fang Zhenhai.

If he provoked the Golden Core Sect, the Tianyang Sect, in Tongbao City, the road ahead would be difficult to travel.

More importantly, he was out on this trip to handle his son's business.

Investigating the clues regarding the strange fire at Xuanhuo Ridge was the real priority.

Su Chengyuan suppressed those surging emotions, then closed his eyes, moving his thoughts away from the two pitiable middle-aged Cultivators outside the window.

He could not intervene.

It was not that he did not want to intervene, but that he could not.

Thus, time passed slowly, and nothing else happened that day.

Just past the Mao hour the next day, as a line of gray-white light appeared on the horizon, Su Chengyuan got up, went out, and woke up Zhao Shan next door.

"Pack up, let's go."

Zhao Shan moved quickly, and a quarter of an hour later, the dozen or so people had gathered on the first floor of the inn.

Li Shi settled the room bill and packed up the supplies purchased yesterday. The spirit horses were reloaded with cargo, and the team exited through the South Gate.

Outside the South Gate of Tongbao City was a wide official road. There were not many people entering or leaving in the morning, and the air was filled with morning mist and the damp scent of soil.

Su Chengyuan walked in the middle of the team, his gaze sweeping casually across the wilderness on both sides.

Everything was normal.

It was not until they had traveled about three miles from the city gate that the sound of dense footsteps came from behind.

Su Chengyuan did not turn his head, so Zhao Shan took a look for him.

"Mr. Su, a team has followed us from behind; they are from the Tianyang Sect."

Su Chengyuan turned his head slightly.

Sure enough, a team of about twenty people was emerging from the direction of the city gate, and their direction of travel was roughly the same as theirs.

At the front of the team walked seven or eight Tianyang Sect Disciples wearing fire-red Daoist robes, followed by twenty-some Cultivators at the Early Stage or Middle Stage of Qi Refining with varying expressions; some were frowning, some were numb and expressionless, and there were one or two young ones with red-rimmed eyes.

They must be the people he saw yesterday who were to be conscripted to the mine.

Su Chengyuan's gaze swept across the faces of those conscripts, lingering for less than a breath before he withdrew it.

"Ignore them, let's go our own way."

The two teams marched one after the other on the official road, separated by about a hundred zhang.

The Tianyang Sect side clearly noticed the team ahead flying the banner of a chamber of commerce, and a few Disciples whispered to each other for a while.

Su Chengyuan did not pay attention. Currently, there was only this one main road, and they should separate after traveling for a while. For now, as long as they did not interfere with each other, each going their own way would suffice.

But the problem lay with one person in the Tianyang Sect team.

That person was the leader among the seven or eight wearing fire-red Daoist robes; he had a Tenth Level of Qi Refining Realm, was in his early thirties, and had a plain and unremarkable appearance.

But he stared at the banner of the merchant team ahead for a long time.

Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.

These four words made his pupils contract sharply.

His name was Wei Ping, and he was once a Core Disciple of the Blazing Fire Sect, at the Tenth Level of Qi Refining.

When the Sect was destroyed, he followed the Sect Master and the Golden Core Ancestors and escaped to Canglan Prefecture via a teleportation array, changing his identity to become a member of the Tianyang Sect.

Core Disciples of the Blazing Fire Sect were no strangers to the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.

Back then, when the Zhenpin Pavilion emerged and stirred up the situation in Qinghe Prefecture, followed by the Alliance of four Sects attacking the Blazing Fire Sect, the Zhenpin Pavilion publicly took a side and handed a large batch of Medicinal Pills to the coalition forces.

This hatred was something the Tianyang Sect, from top to bottom, from the Golden Core Ancestors to the Core Disciples of Qi Refining, could not forget.

At that time, most of the low-level Disciples remained in Qinghe Prefecture, and only Elders and Disciples like them left. Most of the Disciples beside him had only joined the Sect in the last two years, so they did not know about the events in Qinghe Prefecture back then.

Wei Ping tried to secretly observe the breathing and spiritual power fluctuations of the personnel in the merchant team ahead, wanting to probe their true strength.

However, the auras of those core figures in the opposing group were as deep as a pool, and the spiritual power circulating around their bodies was airtight.

With his Tenth Level of Qi Refining discernment and perception, he was actually unable to see through their specific depths at all.

Wei Ping's expression changed slightly. Although he could not see clearly, the intuition honed by Cultivators licking blood on the tip of a knife told him that this merchant team definitely hid tough characters with a Realm far higher than his, and it was highly probable that there were Foundation Establishment Cultivators in charge.

As for exactly how many Foundation Establishment Cultivators there were, or what Realm they were in, he naturally had no way of knowing.

But the name "Four Seas Chamber of Commerce" truly made him feel as if he were on pins and needles.

He had to confirm whether this chamber of commerce was indeed that mortal enemy from Qinghe Prefecture.

To get to the bottom of it, he made a prompt decision to lead his team to speed up, seemingly unintentionally blocking the front side of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce team.

"Fellow Daoists, please stop." Wei Ping stepped forward two paces and cupped his hands in a friendly manner. "I am Wei Ping, a Core Disciple of the Tianyang Sect. You all look very unfamiliar; when did a Four Seas Chamber of Commerce appear in the territory of Tongbao City?"

Zhao Shan stepped forward, shielding Su Chengyuan at his side without leaving a trace, and returned the salute, replying, "Fellow Daoist Wei is too polite. Our Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is not a local merchant; our headquarters is located in Tianlan Province City. We are on this trip under orders to head to an outer prefecture to open up new trade routes, and we happened to pass through Tongbao City to resupply."

Tianlan Province City.

Upon hearing these four words, a monstrous wave suddenly surged in the depths of Wei Ping's heart, and a hatred that made him want to eat their flesh alive rushed straight to his brain.

It really was them!

But he was worthy of being a Core Disciple at the Tenth Level of Qi Refining; his Heart-Nature had long been tempered to be deep and composed.

Even though murderous intent surged within his heart, there was not a trace of a flaw on his face; instead, he nodded very amiably, "So you are travelers passing through. Then I wish you all a safe journey."

After saying this, he did not continue to pester them further, and after exchanging a few polite words, he turned around and returned to the Tianyang Sect group.

A quarter of an hour later, the two teams arrived at a fork in the road.

The main force of the Tianyang Sect had to take the conscripts westward toward the mine. Even though Wei Ping wished he could skin and bone this group on the spot, in order not to alert the enemy, he could only rein in his steps according to the rules.

He parted ways with the merchant team at the intersection, watching helplessly as Su Chengyuan and his party continued to travel southeast along the official road.

After putting a sufficiently safe distance between them, Wei Ping quickly pulled a messaging Jade Slip from his bosom and injected spiritual power into it.

"Reporting to Elder, I encountered a team from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce outside the South Gate of Tongbao City. There are about twenty people, three spirit horses, and they are flying the banner of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.

I have probed them in person, and the other party personally verified that they are from Tianlan Province City; it is undoubtedly that same Zhenpin Pavilion from Qinghe Prefecture back then.

It is highly probable that there are several Foundation Establishment Cultivators in charge within the team. As for the specific number and their Realms, I am lacking in discernment and truly could not probe them out.

The merchant team is currently heading southeast, and their pace is not fast."

The Jade Slip left his hand and turned into a stream of light, and this message containing hidden murderous intent traveled across dozens of miles of wilderness, landing in a residence within Tongbao City.