Fortunately, although there was no Spirit Medicine that could increase one’s cultivation base, he discovered two other medicinal herbs used to refine the Vessel Continuation Pill in the Zhang family’s herb district.
The ingredients for an auxiliary Elixir like the Vessel Continuation Pill weren’t actually hard to find; what was hard to find was a Pill Master capable of Alchemy.
"Let’s do this: within five days, move half of the items here and deliver them to the Ye family. As for the previous tribute list, it’s void."
"Half?" Patriarch Zhang almost fainted.
"What? Am I asking for too little?"
"No. Not at all." Patriarch Zhang didn’t dare to argue. If Ye Xuan demanded even more, it would really hurt his wallet.
"Remember, if I don’t see the tribute this time, you know the consequences."
"Within five days, I will definitely have someone deliver it. No, I will deliver it personally! To show my sincerity."
Ye Xuan nodded and asked, "Who were those two middle-aged men at the town entrance just now?"
"Them? I don’t know either."
Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes. "You don’t know? Then why were you so respectful, calling them ’my lord’ left and right?"
Patriarch Zhang wanted to cry but had no tears. "The moment those two arrived at the Zhang Family Main Town, they killed two Elders of the Zhang family. Their strength is simply too terrifying. What else could I do but be respectful?"
"So you really don’t know them. Then do you think they came from a Two-Star Main Town or a Three-Star Main Town?"
"Probably not. I know all the lords from the Two-Star Main Towns, and they don’t have that clan crest. As for the lords from the Three-Star Main Towns, I’ve never heard of anyone having a Golden-Winged Roc as their crest either. Unless, of course, they come from a Two-Star or Three-Star Main Town in a much further region."
Ye Xuan nodded and asked, "What are they doing here?"
"Well..."
"What? Is it inconvenient to say?"
"It’s convenient, very convenient! It’s actually nothing much. They just wanted us to help them find a group of fleeing bandits. Those bandits fled along this route past the Zhang family. The two lords said that it’s highly likely they will continue to play bandit kings on a mountain in this region and rob people on the road. They told us to notify them the moment we spot them."
"Bandits?" Ye Xuan shook his head slightly. What kind of bandits could be so blind as to dare offend those two middle-aged men?
"Alright, prepare a Beast Vehicle for me. I’m heading back to the Ye family."
"I’ll prepare it right away!" Patriarch Zhang’s eyes lit up, eager for Ye Xuan to leave immediately.
Twenty minutes later.
A Beast Vehicle drove out of the Zhang Family Main Town. Inside the carriage, Ye Xuan furrowed his brows.
He hadn’t obtained any Spirit Medicine at the Zhang family, so how could he rapidly increase his cultivation? By killing rank-four Beasts? However, whether in the Secret Realm of the Zhang family or the Ye family, the number of rank-four Beasts was very scarce. Where could he find a large number of rank-four Beasts? Even in the Asura Forest, there weren’t many.
Wait, a Three-Star Main Town!
Ye Xuan knew that Three-Star Main Towns also had Secret Realms. In those Secret Realms, the highest-level Beasts would definitely be rank-five, perhaps even rank-six. In other words, the number of rank-four Beasts there would undoubtedly be higher than in a One-Star Main Town. Others might not know the location of a Three-Star Main Town, but the Zhang family surely did.
It was decided. Once he returned and rested for a while, he planned to go check out a Three-Star Main Town.
The journey continued in silence. Inside the carriage, Ye Xuan kept carving Arrays. He used his Spiritual Qi to erase the patterns of the Guardian Array in the carriage and then began to carve a Killing Array and an Illusion Array.
With his previous experience, he could now lay down small-scale Killing Arrays and Illusion Arrays at a fairly fast speed. However, these Arrays were too low in level. They were merely rank-one Arrays that could only trap cultivators in the Mortal Spirit Realm. To increase their power, he had to make alterations to the fundamental Arrays. This was easier said than done.
Time passed.
Just as Ye Xuan was carefully sensing the Arrays, the Beast Vehicle suddenly slammed the brakes.
"What’s going on?" Ye Xuan frowned and asked.
"Patriarch, it seems we’ve encountered bandits," Tang Long replied.
"Bandits?" Ye Xuan pulled back the curtain.
By now, the sky had turned completely dark. A full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the earth. Under the moonlight, five burly men had appeared. Some held Meteor Hammers, while others wielded large broadswords. They blocked Ye Xuan’s path, clearly coming with ill intentions.
"I was wondering what was making such a huge commotion; it turns out to be a rank-three, tier-six Walking Beast Iron-toothed Leopard pulling the cart. Perfect, we need a means of transportation. You two, get the hell down right now! Your grandpa here is claiming this Beast Vehicle!"
One of the burly men pointed his blade at Tang Long. Then, he swung it fiercely.
BOOM!
A blade aura burst forth, carving a deep trench into the earth right next to the carriage. This was obviously meant to be a show of force to intimidate Ye Xuan and Tang Long.
"Third Brother, why bother scaring them? If you’re going to kill them, just do it. Our tracks can’t be discovered; those two might still be hunting us."
A man holding a spiked mace suddenly spoke up. He had one eye covered and seemed to be the leader of the group.
At his words, Third Brother looked a bit surprised. "Big Brother, no way, right? We’ve already run so far. They’re still chasing us? Didn’t we just accidentally rob their goods? Is there really a need to hunt us down so relentlessly? Could there be some incredible treasure hidden in that batch of goods? Big Brother, all those goods are in your Qiankun Bag. You should inspect them carefully again."
"Do you even need to say that? Over the past few days, I’ve checked them many times. Other than some Spiritual Soul Crystals and those few spirit-grade Spirit Medicines that can directly elevate one’s cultivation base, it’s just some gold, silver, jewelry, swords, guns, and sticks. Although there are spirit-grade weapons as well, with their strength, they shouldn’t care so much about spirit-grade Spirit Medicines and weapons to chase us this relentlessly."
"Then why are those people still stubbornly after us? Damn it, are they that petty?"
"Let’s drop the subject. Third Brother, kill them, and let’s keep moving. I refuse to believe they’ll really chase us to the ends of the earth. I know an Alchemy Master in the south; let’s see if he can refine a Super Spirit Pill. Otherwise, these few spirit-grade Spirit Medicines aren’t nearly enough to split among us."
The conversation between the men fell clearly into Ye Xuan’s ears. He narrowed his eyes. Weren’t these bandits the exact same people those two middle-aged men were looking for?
Judging by their auras, these men were all at the Super Spirit Realm, but they really didn’t seem worth the relentless pursuit of those two experts.
Unless, of course, those two were the type to seek revenge for the slightest grievance. Anyone who dared to steal their goods was walking into a dead end, and they would hunt the thieves down relentlessly, no matter the distance or obstacles.
Shaking his head to stop his train of thought, Ye Xuan turned to Tang Long. "Fall back first. Retreat a bit further away so you don’t get caught in the crossfire."
Saying this, Ye Xuan jumped off the Beast Vehicle. Tang Long immediately drove the carriage, turned it around, and quickly retreated.
"Hm? This brat seems to want to stop us!"
"He really doesn’t know what’s good for him. Then just die."
Third Brother, gripping his large broadsword, unleashed a brilliant glow of Spiritual Qi from his body. In the next moment, an earth-shattering streak of light slashed down directly at Ye Xuan’s head.
Just as the blade was about to land, Ye Xuan’s body was cloaked by a Divine Demon Statue. Following that, he extended his right hand and gently flicked the Spiritual Qi broadsword.
The originally majestic and imposing strike dissipated in an instant. The immense kinetic force even sent Third Brother’s body staggering backward uncontrollably.
"Third Brother, stop playing around. This brat isn’t simple!" the bandit leader warned.