204: Chapter 204 Mistaken Identity?

The person receiving the message was a rugged-looking middle-aged Cultivator, wearing ordinary gray casual clothes, but the spiritual energy fluctuations around his body were steady and heavy—a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

This person was named Meng Li, a former Core Elder of the Blazing Fire Sect, and now one of the two Foundation Establishment Elders stationed in Tongbao City by the Tianyang Sect.

"Four Seas Chamber of Commerce..."

Meng Li read the contents of the Jade Slip several times, his face twitching violently, unsure if it was from excitement or hatred.

What was the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce? It was the mother of Zhenpin Pavilion.

What was Zhenpin Pavilion? It was the hand that stabbed the Blazing Fire Sect in the back.

Back when the Four Sects Alliance attacked the Blazing Fire Sect, Zhenpin Pavilion publicly announced that they would provide Medicinal Pill supplies to the allied forces; that strike hit the Blazing Fire Sect right in their lifeline.

Without that batch of supreme grade Medicinal Pills, the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the allied forces could not have maintained such high-intensity continuous combat, and the course of the war might have been completely different.

Even earlier, Zhenpin Pavilion only supplied supreme grade Medicinal Pills to the Four Sects Alliance, exclusively shutting the Blazing Fire Sect out.

The Disciples of the Four Sects relied on a steady stream of supreme grade qi gathering pills and body tempering pills to polish their Foundation, their cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds, while the Qi Refining Disciples of the Blazing Fire Sect could only struggle along using their own Medium Grade and Low Grade goods.

Over the years, the cultivation gap between the lower-level Disciples of both sides grew wider and wider, and as one grew and the other waned, the Blazing Fire Sect's influence in Qinghe Prefecture shrank rapidly.

To put it bluntly, this was also one of the main catalysts for the Blazing Fire Sect taking a risk and colluding with an outside prefecture back then.

After all, if they didn't act, the disadvantage in the Medicinal Pill line alone would be enough to make them the lowest of the five Sects within a hundred years.

Enemies, truly tangible enemies.

He walked to the neighboring courtyard and pushed open the door.

Another Foundation Establishment Mid-stage Elder stationed in Tongbao City was meditating; he opened his eyes, full of inquiry.

"What is it?"

"People from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce have passed through Tongbao City, a caravan with Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

That Elder was stunned for a moment: "Four Seas Chamber of Commerce? Which Four Seas Chamber of Commerce?"

"Which one else could it be?" Meng Li's tone sank, "The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce from Qinghe Prefecture, the owner of Zhenpin Pavilion, the culprits who caused us to leave our homes and run to this place."

Upon hearing this, the Elder's eyes widened, veins popped from his temples to his neck, and his teeth ground together with a creaking sound.

"Good, good, very good! How many of them are there, and what is their cultivation?"

"Wei Ping said he couldn't see through them, there's a high probability of Foundation Establishment Cultivators." Meng Li handed over the Jade Slip, "That's all the information."

The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Pursue?"

Meng Li shook his head: "Not yet. Wei Ping said there are at least five people whose cultivation he couldn't see through, which means there's a high probability there is more than one Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the team. Although we have one Late Foundation Establishment Stage and one Mid-stage, if the other side also has a Late Foundation Establishment Stage or even more people, acting rashly is still unstable."

He paused and made a decision.

"Send the news back to the Sect."

"Send to the Sect? Just for a passing caravan?"

"Have you forgotten about what happened back then?" Meng Li's voice was very low, "The Sect Master hates the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and Zhenpin Pavilion to the bone and once said that if he doesn't uproot them in this lifetime, he will never give up. Do you think he will consider this a small matter if he hears this news?"

The other party said nothing more.

"But we must figure out their background first, otherwise it won't be easy for the Sect to send people over." Meng Li stood up, preparing to go out, "Like this, I will personally follow them to test their strength. You stay here and keep watch, wait for my news."

A quarter of an hour later, Meng Li changed into a dusty traveler's outfit, exited the south gate of Tongbao City, and headed straight in the direction where Su Chengyuan's caravan had left, according to the information.

He was a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, and his speed while flying on his Magical Artifact was extremely fast.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the silhouette of the caravan moving along the fork in the road ahead came into his view.

Meng Li did not hide or conceal himself.

He urged his sword light, swept straight past the flank of the caravan, and landed thirty zhang in front of the team, directly blocking the path of the Chamber of Commerce.

The caravan stopped abruptly.

Zhao Shan was the first to react, summoning his Magical Artifact to hover in front of him, his spiritual energy surging, and he stood entirely in front of Su Chengyuan.

Li Shi simultaneously moved from the rear Guard position to the left flank, already holding two Talismans in his hand.

The other two Foundation Establishment Mid-stage Guards also summoned their respective Magical Artifacts, the four of them surrounding Su Chengyuan in the middle, looking at this suddenly appearing Foundation Establishment Cultivator as if facing a great enemy.

Although the dozen or so Late Qi Refining Stage Guards were confused, they all simultaneously summoned their respective Magical Artifacts and vigilantly spread out their formation.

Meng Li did not attack.

He stood in place, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in the caravan one by one, while simultaneously spreading out his Late Foundation Establishment Stage Divine Sense without any concealment, shrouding the entire team within it.

This Divine Sense came quickly and arrogantly; the cultivation Realms of Su Chengyuan, Zhao Shan, and the other two Foundation Establishment Mid-stage Guards were laid bare under this sweep.

In the world of Cultivation, using Divine Sense to investigate another person's cultivation without permission was already a blatant act of provocation.

Zhao Shan's Flying Sword hummed, spiritual energy poured to the peak, and the tip of the sword pointed directly at Meng Li.

The edges of the Talisman in Li Shi's hand were already glowing; in another half-breath, it would be activated.

The other two Foundation Establishment Mid-stage Guards also had their Magical Artifacts in hand, Killing Intent fully revealed, waiting only for a signal to act.

But Zhao Shan had been a Guard commander for many years after all; at the last moment, he suppressed his anger and shouted in a deep voice: "Who are you, Your Excellency, and why are you blocking our path?"

Meng Li frowned, feigning a sudden realization, and cupped his hands: "Fellow Daoists, I am truly sorry, I have mistaken you for someone else. I was originally looking for an old friend, and from afar, I thought I saw a figure in your team that looked like him, but upon getting closer, I realized it was not. I have offended you, farewell."

After speaking, he turned and flew away, disappearing at the end of the road in the blink of an eye.

Clean and efficient, coming and going like the wind.

This scene left the members of the Chamber of Commerce looking at each other in confusion, but they all felt that this matter was definitely not as simple as the other party claimed.

Zhao Shan did not put away his sword, his gaze fixed on the direction the other party had disappeared, and it was quite a while before he slowly retracted his Flying Sword.

"Mr. Su, this person's cultivation is Late Foundation Establishment Stage; I'm afraid he has no good intentions." Li Shi, who was on the side, said at this moment; he had sensed it the moment the other party's Divine Sense swept over.

The two had equivalent cultivation, but looking at the other party's Divine Sense strength, he wasn't sure he could win in a one-on-one fight, which was why he didn't act immediately.

Furthermore, he didn't know the other party's purpose, so acting rashly was unwise.

Su Chengyuan nodded and did not speak.

He was thinking about one thing.

From leaving Tianlan Province City until now, in a journey of more than a month, the troubles encountered along the way were nothing more than minor characters like Yao Beasts blocking the road and Loose Cultivators robbing them.

Never had a stranger with Late Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation actively approached the caravan.

But today, two groups had come within half a day.

First, there was that Tenth Level of Qi Refining Tianyang Sect Disciple outside the city gate; that person had actively quickened his pace to come up and strike up a conversation. The questions asked seemed casual, but in retrospect, it was clearly fishing for their background.

Although their caravan hadn't intended to hide anything, and they were indeed using the Chamber of Commerce as a cover, they actually did have the intention of opening up a trade route. Of course, that was a matter for later, to be discussed after completing the mission.

But now another Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator came, directly blocking the road, using Divine Sense to sweep them from head to toe, and then running away after dropping the line "I have mistaken you for someone else."

Mistaken identity?

A Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, whose Divine Sense covers several miles, needs to rush within thirty zhang to block the road and investigate just to confirm someone's appearance?

This behavior seemed strange no matter how you looked at it.

Su Chengyuan strung these two events together, and a chill spread across his back.

The first was to fish for information, the second was to test their bottom line.

It looked like a coherent action, so was the Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator just now also from the Tianyang Sect? But why?

They didn't know the Tianyang Sect, and the Tianyang Sect shouldn't know them.