302: Chapter 302 An Unexpected Old Friend

"You?" Yuan Zhen narrowed his eyes and looked at the newcomers.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, long time no see. Since you are here, it seems Senior He Buyu hasn't arrived yet," said a White-haired Elder in a hoarse voice.

Since Tianli Sect sent people here to rendezvous, it meant that He Buyu had not arrived yet.

Seeing this, the few of them immediately left.

"Trying to run? No way." Yuan Zhen threw a palm strike.

"You guys go first, I'll hold off Yuan Zhen." The White-haired Elder turned around with a strike, blocking Yuan Zhen.

The two instantly became entangled in a fierce battle.

Another Jinchen stood aside, his gaze shifting to the others, intending to make a move as well. However, since those few people didn't seem to plan on staying, he had no choice but to turn around and help Yuan Zhen.

Chen Changqing was somewhat confused by their actions.

Li Qingling on the side directly said, "Could these people be here to see if He Buyu has been here?"

Hearing this, Chen Changqing's heart stirred. "Seeing how readily they left, He Buyu probably hasn't appeared yet, and it's possible he won't appear from here either."

The two exchanged glances. Since they couldn't wait for He Buyu, they simply left, as they had no desire to be dragged into the conflict between Tianli Sect and Heiyuan Valley.

They departed quickly, heading towards the territory of Yunxia City. Yunxia City was located to the south of Tianli City, while Taoyuan City was to the southwest of Tianli City.

Despite Chen Changqing and his companion running here and there, they were actually all within the region of these few cities.

The only time they went rather far was to Yanhuo City.

Yanhuo City occupied the southwest of Tang Country and bordered the Fire Domain. However, Yanhuo City wasn't the only place bordering the Fire Domain; starting from the southwest of Tang Country all the way to several cities in the west, they all had contact with the Fire Domain.

As for the northwest, it bordered Zhao Country.

Regarding the vastness of its territory alone, the entire Tang Country could not be matched by ten Yan Countries.

These ten Yan Countries did not refer to the present Yan Country, but the Yan Country that occupied the lands of the Nine Provinces.

...

Over a month later, having crossed tens of thousands of miles of territory, they finally returned to Yunxia City.

Nearly two years had passed since they last left Yunxia City, and as for leaving Yan Country, it had been more than six years.

Over these full six years, both of their strengths had greatly advanced. If they returned to Yan Country, those capable of defeating Chen Changqing could be counted on one's fingers. That Fan Chen from back then could now be easily defeated by him.

If his cultivation entered the Late Stage of the Purple Mansion, let alone defeating him, he could easily defeat even an average Pseudo-Core Realm Expert.

Li Qingling's strength was also approaching the Late Stage of the Purple Mansion. Given time, both of their strengths could step into the False Core realm.

Parted for two years, Yunxia City was still as lively as ever.

Indeed, it was different from the lower cities; whether Cultivators or Mortals, the lower cities simply couldn't compare to the middle cities.

And this Wanjian Sect was likewise something Tianli Sect could not compare to.

Speaking of which, were those Cultivators from Badao Sect still targeting them?

As the two strolled through Yunxia City, they gathered information.

Unfortunately, no major events had truly occurred in Yunxia City these past two years. However, the shop they stayed in previously was reportedly taken over by someone. After secretly investigating the new shopkeeper, they found this person had no relation to Badao Sect.

They secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They didn't know if it was a matter of their luck, but wherever they went, they offended people!

Coming to Tang Country, they offended Badao Sect; when heading to Yanhuo City, they got into another fight with someone.

Now, they had even offended all the Golden Core forces of Heiyuan Valley thoroughly.

Along the way, they also forged a feud with Tianli Sect.

Put in someone else's shoes, they would probably be panicking and restless.

But for the two of them, when one has too many debts, they no longer weigh one down.

Besides, their Family was not located here either.

However, it was still best to disguise themselves wherever they went now, so as not to be encountered by Badao Sect. The only thing to worry about was Nightfall of Heiyuan Valley; this pack of mad dogs would do anything as long as the profits were sufficient.

If someone placed a bounty on them, those bloodhounds from Nightfall would truly come to Tang Country at all costs to assassinate them.

Sigh!

Never had they expected that, as dignified Purple Palace Cultivators, they would be reduced to a state where they couldn't even reveal their true faces to the world.

Reflecting on the journey all the way here, Li Qingling would look at Chen Changqing from time to time with a hint of heartache.

Aside from these recent years, she used to Cultivate in Yuxu Sect under the protection of Revered Master Junior Sister Bai Ye, so she generally didn't encounter any crises.

But thinking about how Chen Changqing had walked all this way without protection and burdened by his Family, yet still managed to reach this point, it was simply incredible.

Even back then, she learned through Chen Changqing that he had defeated Zhao Tiangang, who was at the Zifu Stage, with a Foundation Establishment 8th-tier cultivation. At that time, she didn't know how difficult it was behind the scenes.

Until now, when she and Chen Changqing were either being hunted down or embroiled in fights with others, with almost not a single moment to rest, did she truly understand how much pressure Chen Changqing had faced back then.

That the Family could reach this point today relied ninety percent on Chen Changqing's credit.

"Let's rest here for a period of time before leaving. The mission of this trip has already been successfully completed," said Li Qingling.

Hearing this, Chen Changqing glanced at her and nodded.

The two had just sat down in a teahouse when someone opposite the screen behind Chen Changqing said, "Haven't seen you in years, the two of you have really changed."

Chen Changqing and Li Qingling were instantly startled, putting some distance between themselves and the other party while staring straight at him.

This scene left everyone inside the teahouse puzzled.

"No need to be so scared, you two. We've met before," the other party continued.

Chen Changqing and the other looked at each other across the screen. They had already concealed their aura so that even Purple Palace Cultivators couldn't detect it, yet this person actually knew they were there.

The other party slowly stood up, stretched lazily, and when he turned his head, he still had a blade of grass clenched in his mouth.

But what made Chen Changqing and his companion feel strange wasn't this, but rather the person's appearance.

This person was a vendor they encountered decades ago when they first participated in the Taihe Assembly.

Back then, this man had been in the exact same slovenly appearance.

"Who exactly are you?" Chen Changqing casually cast a barrier of illusion. This barrier not only cut off sound but also confused the outside world.

In the eyes of the Cultivators outside, the three of them had returned to their respective seats.

"Wait, I have no malicious intent, nor do I want to fight. I just happened to run into you guys." The lazy man smiled awkwardly, completely lacking the demeanor of an expert.

"I see. Senior, we Juniors, as a couple, have offended you," Chen Changqing and Li Qingling apologized simultaneously.

If the other party wanted to make a move against them, given his unfathomable cultivation, he could definitely easily suppress or even kill the two of them.

After all, the only ones whose cultivation they couldn't see through were Golden Core Masters. There were definitely very few Pseudo-Core Realm Experts with this kind of ability, even if they had cultivated profound aura-concealing Cultivation Techniques.

If it could be explained that Li Qingling might not be able to detect a Pseudo-Core Realm Expert concealing their aura, he was different. His Divine Soul strength reached the Perfection of the 9th layer of the Purple Mansion, and even vaguely surpassed the level achievable by the Zifu Stage.

With such close-range contact, as long as he observed carefully, even if he couldn't see through everything, he would be able to tell if a Pseudo-Core Realm Expert was concealing their aura.