Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Rong Shu’s Trail Detected

Several days later.

Somewhere within the herb garden.

The middle-aged man reported to the youth before him: young master, we have already searched several key areas of the herb garden, but we still have not found a single suspicious person.

The youth said: bring out the map of the secret realm.

His gaze fell to a corner of the map, then he pointed and asked the middle-aged man: what about the west? Have we searched it?

The middle-aged man replied: we have not searched the west, because during the previous two openings of the secret realm that side was already probed. Not only is the density of spirit herbs low there, but beasts run rampant and the paths are treacherous, so few cultivators are willing to go. The information gathered is limited.

He added: perhaps only those who get lost, or novices unfamiliar with the secret realm, would be over there. After all, in this area, whether it is the herb garden, the Scripture Tower, or Li Rong Mountain, all have enormous pull for cultivators. Compared to the western region where nothing has yet been discovered, most people prefer immediate gains. Young master, are you thinking that the little thief might do the opposite and hide in the west?

Because the youth suddenly raised this question, the middle-aged man naturally thought of the same point.

The youth stared hard at the map as if to bore a hole through it: we have searched here for so long and found no one, so he must be hiding in some corner.

The middle-aged man said: then I will make arrangements at once.

He hesitated, then added: only, we have posted a heavy bounty for so many days. Some cultivators, seeing no progress, are likely starting to give up.

The youth waved his hand: it does not matter.

He said calmly: I never expected those wastes to help me recover the Fire Spirit Tribulation Fruit. I want that little thief to know I am looking for him. When people are flustered and tense, they always slip up.

The middle-aged man understood. Though the young master was arrogant and domineering, he was not some brainless fool. Otherwise the clan would never have chosen him as heir. He had thought that after this setback the young master would lose his composure, but unexpectedly he was still calm enough to think through a countermeasure.

Collecting his thoughts, the middle-aged man reported the next matter: young master, according to your orders, this servant has already captured a wisp of the little thief’s aura left in the herb garden.

He continued: although it is only a single trace, it is enough to set the Chaos Compass in motion to lead us to him.

With that, the middle-aged man presented with both hands a palm-sized, pitch-black device similar to a south-pointing compass.

Good, the youth’s eyes brightened as he reached out to take the Chaos Compass, then immediately infused spiritual energy to activate it.

Once activated, the Chaos Compass’s pointer began to turn slowly… finally, the needle tip settled pointing west.

Seeing this, the youth said at once: the west. He is in the west.

He had been stewing for days; at last there was real progress.

Notify the other cultivators who want the bounty to head for the western region, he said, and force that little thief out bit by bit.

Yes, young master.

…

At that very moment, Rong Shu, who had no idea her movements had been exposed and whom the youth imagined to be living in panic and fear, was wielding an Exotic Flame while facing the encirclement of several beasts at once.

Rong Shu guided clusters of Exotic Flame shaped like blue snow lotuses to drift toward the beasts.

The blue snow-lotus flames were crystal-clear and swayed with elegant poise, beautiful yet seemingly fragile, like delicate glasswork. But the instant they were about to touch a beast, the dreamlike lotuses burst with a pop, baring ferocious fangs and heavily devouring the beasts.

A chorus of roars rang out as the beasts howled in pain.

At the side, Rong Shu moved the Exotic Flame at will and in the end burned every beast to charcoal.

Not bad, she said, satisfied as she recalled the Exotic Flame; for now I have the basics under control.

These days, Rong Shu was either refining pills or working toward fluency with the Exotic Flame. At present she could be considered a third-rank alchemist; after a while she could attempt to break into fourth rank. As for mastering the Exotic Flame, with her Fire Spiritual Root aptitude improved and the Fire Spirit assisting, Rong Shu could already apply it skillfully. The follow-up cultivation with the Exotic Flame would be to develop its abilities and power step by step.

After she finished cleaning the scene, making sure she left not a single trace, Rong Shu prepared to depart.

Suddenly she halted, her gaze cutting sharply toward the east.

One… two… three, Rong Shu counted, her expression subtly changing.

At several points one thousand meters out, where she had set formations, there were traces of someone passing.

Eight hundred meters… six hundred meters, she calculated, and her heart tightened. She immediately drew out her small Flying Boat and sped off in the opposite direction.

Moments after Rong Shu left, several figures arrived. Judging by their auras, they were all at about the Foundation Establishment Stage.

She is not here?

She ran?

They took out their Nine Palace Mirrors, which all displayed the same reading at once.

West.

They stowed the Nine Palace Mirrors and continued racing forward.

…

Elsewhere, even though Rong Shu changed direction again and again, there were still little tails following her—and as time went on, the tails only multiplied.

Gradually she tasted the clue and felt something was off: [Strange, why is their search so precise that they can lock onto my position again and again?]

Every time Rong Shu changed course, the cultivators chasing her also shifted direction, neatly matching the route she took to flee.

Her thoughts sank: [Is it that youth? He really does have some special means on hand.]

[So many days have passed and only now does this method begin to show itself… it likely has many limits, such as not lasting long.]

But that was only her guess. She could not pin her hopes on the enemy making mistakes.

[Do I really have to leave the secret realm?]

For safety’s sake, leaving would of course be best. But a few days ago Rong Shu learned that cultivators outside had also caught wind of the matter and were “looping around to catch the wind” across the wasteland, clearly aiming for that five hundred thousand Spirit Stones. The middle-aged man beside the youth looked like a house servant; if so, there was likely a force behind him, and he had probably already notified his subordinates to lie in wait outside.

Leaving the secret realm was not the same as entering it. To exit one had to reach a specific teleportation gate, and the exit point outside was also fixed. For now the secret realm had not closed. Under normal circumstances there was no reason to leave so soon. Those cultivators who did exit were all tightly watched; at the slightest suspicious move, dozens of burly men would swarm them and drag them off to claim the reward. Only when the secret realm ended and everyone was teleported out together, when the numbers were overwhelming, could Rong Shu take the chance to slip away.

[Since he has a tracking method, then I…]

While piloting the small Flying Boat to run, Rong Shu poked the Little Hamster sleeping in her arms.

Poked awake, the Little Hamster blinked at her in a daze: gu?

Yan Yan, give me a Space Teleportation, she said.

…

After Rong Shu used Space Teleportation, the cultivators who had been pursuing her stared at the newly transmitted location and were instantly bewildered.

What is going on? How did this person suddenly end up so far away?

We were this close to catching them.

Looks like those five hundred thousand Spirit Stones are not easy money. We do not even know whether our target is a man or a woman or what they look like…

Who cares; we will know once we get them.

…

It was not only the cultivators who were puzzled. The youth and the middle-aged man who were sending out directional updates were even more shocked.

Young master, this person’s movement pattern is strange, said the middle-aged man. How did he suddenly jump from one place to another… unless—

The youth’s eyes darkened: unless he has a spatial-type treasure.

If he carried a spatial treasure, then this person’s identity and background were rather intriguing. The youth had thought he was merely chasing an ignorant little thief, but now it turned out the thief carried a spatial treasure on his person. Even the family behind the youth would not casually hand him such a thing.

Suddenly this got interesting, the youth said with a crooked smile and a look of certainty in his eyes: we must capture him.

Compared to a Fire Spirit Tribulation Fruit that might already have been eaten, the value of a spatial treasure was greater.

Uncle Feng, put the cat-and-mouse game aside. We must get the spatial treasure on this person.

Up to now the youth had been driving other cultivators to chase while he himself remained a lofty onlooker, savoring the thief’s sorry state to vent his anger. But now he no longer felt like playing.

Yes, young master.

Just as the youth was preparing to make the arrest himself, he glanced at the Chaos Compass—then froze in astonishment the next second.

Impossible.

The aura was still there.

So why could it no longer detect the man’s whereabouts?

…

Elsewhere, with the Little Hamster’s help, Rong Shu shook off the cultivators pursuing her again and again. Now she did not need to dash about in panic; as long as she timed it right and had the Little Hamster use Space Teleportation, it was enough.

Even so, Rong Shu knew that running by teleporting forever was no solution. Space Teleportation was the Little Hamster’s ability; she did not know whether using it too often would burden him. For the moment, however, there was no better method. She could only keep dodging the pursuers behind her.

During this period, masked and with altered figure, Rong Shu picked an easy mark from among the many cultivators chasing her. After beating him soundly several times, she learned from his mouth that the youth held a tracking treasure, which was why her position kept getting exposed.

Once she had the information she wanted, Rong Shu slit the cultivator’s throat without hesitation. Terror was the last expression frozen on his face. Coolly, she burned the corpse to ash with the Exotic Flame and, after disposing of the dregs and scraps, left the spot.

So you want to join the hunt and then go collect the reward?

Rong Shu felt it was a fine idea and trusted those cultivators had also prepared themselves to enrage her and be killed in return.

She would be anything but polite.

I hope the youth’s tracking method fails soon, she thought.

Perched on the trunk of a luxuriant tree, Rong Shu was in the middle of weighing her options when the Little Hamster tugged at her collar.

She answered out of habit: people are coming? Then use Space Teleportation.

A heartbeat later, her figure vanished from the tree, and the cultivators who arrived once again found nothing.

Damn it.

How is he like a rabbit?

…

Most of the cultivators chasing Rong Shu were coming from the east, south, and north, so she generally ran west. The Little Hamster’s Space Teleportation was not perfectly stable; sometimes it would drop them into one of those three directions, and they might land right in front of cultivators. With each teleport, Rong Shu was prepared for an accidental encounter.

But this time…

Rong Shu teleported into a pitch-dark passage with not a soul before or behind.

She blinked, momentarily blank: [Where is this?]

[The handbook jade slip does not mention this place at all…]

Rong Shu took out the handbook jade slip and rifled through it at speed. She had read it several times over these days and already memorized its general contents. Reading it again yielded no answer.

She put the jade slip away and began to move along the passage.

As she walked, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.

Her first reaction was not delight but caution; inch by inch she felt her way toward it.

Hiss. When she saw the source of the light, Rong Shu drew a sharp breath.

High on a sheer cliff face a cave opening had been hewn, and the passage within stretched deeper inside.

Hooking her fingers into the cliff wall for purchase, Rong Shu carefully peeked down at the white, mist-choked abyss below, where the cliff bottom could not be seen at all.

[Am I at the base of the cliff… no, in the middle of it?]

She turned back to the pitch-dark passage that seemed to swallow sight and an unbelievable thought surfaced.

[Could this be… a cave abode no one has ever found?]

It was built into the middle of the cliff—neither at the top nor the bottom. And since the secret realm permitted only cultivators below the Golden Core Stage to enter, they had no ability to fly through the air. Even if one had a Flying Magic Treasure for travel, no one would be idle enough to inch their way along the cliff face to investigate. What was more, a concealment array was laid here. Outsiders could not enter—could not even see the cave abode.

Fire Spirit, Rong Shu called.

The Fire Spirit popped out and looked at her in puzzlement: huh?

Rong Shu jerked her chin toward the black passage and said: you go first and light the way.

Huh?!