19: My prey, your bird

Stepping out of the heavy main gate of the City Lord’s Mansion, the warm afternoon sun embraced him once more.

Only then did Lu Yuan realize that the back of his blue cloth Dao robe was already soaked with cold sweat, clinging to his body, icy cold.

He did not look back.

His steps remained steady, and he turned into a secluded narrow alley, neither fast nor slow.

Leaning against the mottled wall, he finally let out a long, turbid breath.

The breath condensed into a fleeting white mist in the cool air.

Every breath exchanged with a Golden Core Cultivator was no different from walking on a knife's edge.

He had won the gamble.

But an even larger vortex had already completely swallowed him.

With a slight movement of his mind, the ethereal blue panel of the Great Dao Options Exchange quietly unfurled in his Sea of Consciousness.

The vague entry concerning “Heavenly Secret Pavilion” still lay quietly deep within the panel.

Lu Yuan forced himself to avert his gaze, focusing all his attention on the current task.

In the search bar, he silently entered the seven characters: “Liu Xuan’s Manual of the Dao of Alchemy.”

The panel refreshed instantly.

【High-Value Event Related Item: Liu Xuan’s Manual of the Dao of Alchemy】

【Status of Target: Lost, In Circulation】

Below it, a line of purchasable services followed.

【Service: Purchase movement trajectory map of the ‘Manual’ within the past twelve hours】

【Price: 10 karma points】

Payment.

Compared to the trust of a Golden Core Cultivator, these 10 karma points were merely the most basic investment cost.

The moment the karma points were deducted, a translucent light-screen map slowly unfurled before his eyes.

It was a detailed topographic map of the Danyang City vicinity.

A very thin red line originated from the epicenter of the chaotic battle at the Cinnabar Gold Ore Vein, winding and twisting, finally pinpointing a slum on the west side of Danyang City.

At the end of the red line, a name was marked: Zhao Si.

Qi Refinement Stage Seven.

A name as inconspicuous as dust at the lowest level of the cultivation world.

Lu Yuan gazed at this trajectory line.

This Zhao Si was extremely meticulous.

After obtaining the treasure, he did not immediately enter the city to fence it; instead, he circled several times outside the city, changing his hiding place three times midway, before finally, silently, sneaking into the mixed-up slum.

Any traditional method relying on scent tracking or subtle clues was, by now, a dead end.

But for Lu Yuan, this was merely the beginning of data analysis.

He continued to scrutinize Zhao Si’s movement patterns.

Every three days, the red line would move a short distance towards the market, where he would purchase Bigu Pill (Bìgǔ Dān) and a few basic Talismans, then quickly return.

This was the most authentic portrayal of a Loose Cultivator struggling to survive on meager resources in the cracks.

Go directly to the slum to act?

The risk was too high.

It was crowded and chaotic there; once a commotion arose, the city guards would arrive immediately, and it might even alert other forces also secretly searching for the Manual.

Lu Yuan’s fingers lightly tapped his knee, his deductions in his Sea of Consciousness as fast as lightning.

A moment later, he abandoned all thoughts of active pursuit.

He opened the Exchange, his gaze fixed on a brand new options product.

Hunters chase prey.

But a trader only needs to appear at the right time, in the right place, and wait for the final delivery of the price.

He paid 1 Karma Point.

【‘Call Option’ purchase successful】

【Target: ‘Zhao Si’ will appear in Flowing Cloud Market two days later】

【Exercise Condition: Target appears】

【Exercise Benefit: Real-time lock on target’s location】

Having completed all this, Lu Yuan straightened up, patted non-existent dust from his Dao robe, and his expression returned to its usual stillness and calm.

He turned and walked towards Flowing Cloud Market… Two days later.

On the second floor of a teahouse facing the street in Flowing Cloud Market.

Lu Yuan picked a corner by the window and ordered a pot of the cheapest coarse tea.

His gaze was leisurely, seemingly appreciating the comings and goings on the street, but in reality, the corner of his eye had transformed into an invisible net, covering the entrance of the market.

Time, in the mist of the tea, passed drop by drop.

The tea in the cup went from scalding hot to warm, and then from warm to cold.

Just as the setting sun stretched the shadows of pedestrians long and dusk was about to descend, a figure finally entered his field of vision.

The person wore a patched gray short jacket, was slightly plump, with a hint of the cunningness of a commoner on his face, and walked with a slight limp in his right foot.

He mingled in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, indistinguishable from those Mortals bustling for a living.

If not for the cold lock-on prompt from the Exchange, Lu Yuan would never have connected him with that treasure, valuable enough to tempt a Golden Core Cultivator.

Zhao Si.

He had arrived.

This person was extremely cautious, lingering at the market entrance for a full stick of incense, repeatedly confirming he wasn't being followed, before limping into an alley selling low-grade Talismans.

Lu Yuan put down his teacup.

A few copper coins from the Mortal world made a barely audible clink on the table.

His figure had silently merged into the shadows of the teahouse stairs.

He was ready to cast his net.

But just as Lu Yuan locked onto Zhao Si's aura, precisely calculating the best moment to act and the escape route,

his footsteps paused without warning.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar figure, one who absolutely should not have been there.

It was a woman in a black cloak, her silhouette obscured by the wide robes.

She stood at the other end of the alley, across the surging crowd, her gaze also fixed on Zhao Si.

That aloof aura, detached from the mundane world, Lu Yuan could not be mistaken.

It was her.

The mysterious female Cultivator who had bought the “Stellar Iron” at the auction.

The mantis stalks the cicada.

Unaware of the oriole behind.

Lu Yuan’s figure slowly retreated like ink into deeper, darker shadows.

He looked at the woman, then at Zhao Si, who was arguing with the stall owner, red-faced, over the price of a few Fireball Talismans.

A chill, once again, crept up his spine.

This woman, her tracking methods were silent, without a trace, far more professional than he had imagined.

She was here too.

A coincidence?

Or… had the “Heavenly Secret Pavilion” he had casually fabricated already attracted its true owner?

The fog over the entire chessboard suddenly thickened tenfold.