250: Chapter 250 Matters of Seeking Refuge Are Not My Responsibility

At that time, Su Chengyuan's group had already left Ten Thousand Snakes Valley for a full ten days.

The sixteen of them traveled east along the forested ridges, bypassing several cities and flying nearly forty thousand li.

Many Medicinal Pills were consumed, but fortunately, no one pursued them, and they encountered no trouble on the way.

Su Chengyuan and Zhao Shan's two teams were only a few hundred li apart, usually contacting each other via communication talisman and agreeing to meet outside Tongbao City.

Two days later, the teams met in a withered forest a hundred li northwest of Tongbao City.

The seventeen people sat cross-legged deep in the withered forest to rest.

The atmosphere now was completely different from ten days ago when they had just withdrawn from Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.

Back then, everyone was high-strung, speaking in hushed voices and constantly monitoring their surroundings with Divine Sense, fearing that a Golden Core True Person might suddenly fly down from the sky and crush them all into meat paste.

But after traveling over forty thousand li in ten days with everything going smoothly, now that they had reached this area, their tension gradually eased.

During their idle chat, the group of Loose Cultivators brought up the matter of the spirit burst pills; at the time, they were too busy fleeing for their lives to pay much attention to it.

Thinking back now, after their cultivation fell back to their original Realm, they didn't suffer from any side effects of swallowing Medicinal Pills to forcibly raise their Realm.

This left those Loose Cultivators clicking their tongues in wonder, and a few even asked Zhao Shan privately if it was possible to get a few more of these Medicinal Pills.

Zhao Shan didn't pay them any mind—well, it wasn't that he ignored them, but he just put on a look of knowing nothing, not that he would have known anyway.

An hour later, Su Chengyuan began to instruct everyone to take stock of their respective spiritual power reserves and remaining Medicinal Pills.

Supplies were not an issue; the Storage Pouch Su Cheng had prepared for Su Chengyuan contained a complete variety of Medicinal Pills, and he had later sent a pile of resources through Zhao Shan, which was more than enough to support the sixteen of them on their journey and in their cultivation.

Since these people were all here to escort and protect him, he was naturally responsible for these matters; furthermore, he had developed some ideas regarding this group of Loose Cultivators, thinking he might be able to recruit them as his own.

Su Chengyuan and Li Shi crouched under a withered tree, using spiritual power to construct a simple route map as the two of them gestured together.

Once they passed Tongbao City and headed northeast for over ten thousand li, they would enter the heartland of Tianlan Province.

Within a range of tens of thousands of li from the Prefecture City, the top-tier forces of Tianlan Province would all occupy territory there because of the numerous Spiritual Veins and mineral veins in the vicinity; of course, most resources were held by Nascent Soul Great Sects and Golden Core Forces.

But precisely because of this, the various forces were intertwined and their conflicts of interest were deeply entrenched; outsiders can easily step into a 'pitfall' if they are not careful.

Li Shi tapped his finger on the map at Ningyuan Prefecture: "Once we pass Ningyuan Prefecture, even the Xuanyin Sect Elder would have to think twice if he wanted to pursue us."

“That may be so, but it's better to be safe than sorry; we should still be careful.”

Li Shi gave an affirmative grunt and began to sit cross-legged to rest.

Su Chengyuan did the same; they would continue their journey in another hour.

Zhao Shan, who was not far away, approached and crouched down beside him.

"Mr. Su, everyone is asking about the arrangements for later, and whether we can enter a city to rest for a few days and resupply."

"No, tell everyone to hold on a bit longer; we will only truly be safe once we cross through Ningyuan Prefecture." Su Chengyuan shook his head, indicating that now was not the time to relax.

“By the way, tell them we will resume our journey in an hour.”

Zhao Shan naturally followed orders and didn't feel the slightest bit frustrated; he had only come over to convey the words of those Loose Cultivators.

This was because he found the mindset of those twelve Loose Cultivators quite interesting.

Having spent time together day and night during this period, their conversations had become more casual.

For instance, when they talked about when they were first hired, most of them had the idea of making a large sum of Spirit Stones and then leaving; after all, they had signed a three-month short-term contract, and they would owe nothing to each other once the job was done.

But the ordeal in Ten Thousand Snakes Valley had built a degree of trust and tacit understanding among them.

What they cared about even more were the things they had witnessed during this process.

That single Medicinal Pill had directly raised their cultivation by a minor stage temporarily without any side effects; such a thing was unheard of on the market.

Then there were those high-quality qi recovery pills and biling pills, which clearly weren't things that ordinary Alchemists could refine.

The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was surely more than just a merchant group; the influence behind it was likely terrifyingly vast.

Needless to say, all of this was related to the target of their mission, Su Chengyuan.

Despite having only an Early Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, he was the head of the Chamber, and his combat relied not on brute force but on a complete set of tactical deployments and the heavy consumption of trump cards.

To put it simply, aside from his own cultivation being a bit low, this person was strong in all aspects.

The Loose Cultivators weren't stupid; such wealth and pill foundation could never be sustained by the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce alone.

Before the Chamber recruited them, they had intentionally or otherwise hinted that the Chamber had people from the Danding Sect behind it.

The Loose Cultivators had been skeptical at the time, thinking it was just a case of using a tiger's skin as a banner to bluff.

But no one thought that now; taking those Medicinal Pills as an example, was there any force in Tianlan Province besides the Danding Sect that could refine them?

Thus, Zheng Bei was the first to have the idea.

He shuffled over to sit beside Zhao Shan and chatted idly for a few moments.

First, he praised Zhao Shan for his beautiful use of the Flying Sword, then mentioned how he had spent most of his life as a Loose Cultivator House guard, living day to day.

It took him a long time before he finally got to the point.

"Brother Zhao, I've discussed it with Fellow Daoist Ma Qian; is your Chamber still short of people?"

Zhao Shan was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then he opened his mouth and looked at Zheng Bei, his expression slowly turning to one of excitement.

"We are, how could we not be?" He answered quickly, but then he realized he couldn't make the decision on this matter, so he didn't say anything more.

Zheng Bei had originally been delighted to see Zhao Shan's expression, but when no further words followed, he could only continue: "As you've seen, everyone has cooperated well enough these past few days. After the battle in Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, the brothers' morale has changed. Working for your Chamber is more promising than fighting alone outside; everyone can see that clearly."

Zhao Shan rubbed his hands helplessly and replied: "Joining is not under my control; wait until we return to the Prefecture City and see the President."

It wasn't that he didn't want to recruit them; the Chamber was currently in need of manpower, and these twelve people were at minimum at Foundation Establishment Mid-stage. It would naturally be great if they stayed, as the Chamber's strength would also be greatly enhanced.

But how could such a thing be decided by a mere Guard Commander like him?

Zheng Bei caught the underlying meaning and didn't press further, simply cupping his hands to Zhao Shan before retreating.

Ma Qian and several others also spoke with Zhao Shan one after another; their wording differed, but their meaning was the same—they all wanted to stay.

Zhao Shan gave everyone the same answer about returning to the Prefecture City first, treating everyone equally.

Su Chengyuan naturally overheard this, but he remained silent; they were currently fleeing, so everything would wait until they returned to the Prefecture City.

However, Su Chengyuan silently made a mental note of the matter.

These twelve Foundation Establishment Cultivators each had the blood of Xuanyin Sect Disciples on their hands, which meant they were already in the same boat as the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.

In truth, after doing what they did, they hardly had any other choice.

(The next chapter will be a bit late.)