Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Target, Phoenix Lake
Qin Li looked up, confused, at Fang Haonan. With his strength, he could have overheard their conversation, but he had refrained out of courtesy. However, seeing Fang Haonan’s excitement, his curiosity was piqued. "Something I’d be interested in? If you don’t mind, Fang, do tell!"
"Heh, of course it’s convenient! Nothing inconvenient about it. Word is that the water level at Phoenix Lake has suddenly dropped by more than half for some reason, revealing a massive ancient ruin. And get this—it even alarmed His Majesty the Emperor! He’s dispatched seventeen Celestial Level Martial Artists, fifty Earth Level Martial Artists, and two hundred High-Tier Profound Level cultivators. They’re on their way here right now. I never expected that old emperor to have such a keen nose for news. If it weren’t for some inside information from the Imperial Capital, we locals would still be in the dark. Man, what a failure on our part!"
Qin Li was somewhat stunned. "He sent that many experts..." he said.
Fang Haonan glanced at Qin Li and shook his head. "That’s not a lot!" Then, he shot a furtive look around and released his Primordial Power. After sensing nothing out of the ordinary, he said conspiratorially, "If I were the old emperor, I’d send even more elites! Did you know that the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable combat skill you practice came from that place? The formula for the Celestial Profound Pill is most likely in there too. If he got that Pill Formula, he could use the resources of the entire nation. What kind of medicinal herbs couldn’t he find? He wouldn’t need much—just build a force of five thousand people, all at the Celestial Level. Who in the entire continent could stand against that?"
In truth, Eldest Young Master Fang was only about twenty years old. In Qin Li’s eyes, he was just an immature little kid. ’Young people can be a bit foolish sometimes, it’s nothing to worry about.’
Still, the fact that this matter was causing such a stir intrigued Qin Li. ’After all, I still know too little about this world. And the best way to increase my strength, besides fighting, is to go on an adventure!’
With that thought, Qin Li made his decision. He declined Fang Haonan’s invitation to travel with the Fang Family’s party and returned home.
Early the next morning, Qin Li hurried to the Hunter Guild. To his disappointment, he didn’t run into Hu and his group. The scruffy old man who had sold him the Cultivation Technique was also nowhere to be seen.
Qin Li asked around and learned that the scruffy old man hadn’t been seen in over ten days. A thought flickered in Qin Li’s mind. Connecting this to the Royal Family’s actions, a vague theory began to form. ’Could it be that this Divine-level Combat Skill has been in the hands of the Royal Family all along?’
As he continued to practice the Only I am Venerable Combat Skill, Qin Li felt more and more certain that he didn’t have the complete version. ’The real Secret Manual must have something more to it!’
He had already mastered everything in his current manual, and he had a feeling that the Only I am Venerable Combat Skill definitely had a second level... and perhaps even higher ones!
But he had no idea how to break through the first level. He had snuck out of the city a few times to practice in secluded spots, and he was confident that if he were to face a Martial Artist like Qin Shisan again, he could cut him down without needing any schemes or tricks.
And yet, the current Qin Li was still just a Profound Level Martial Artist!
All his confidence stemmed from the power of the Only I am Venerable Combat Skill. Its inconceivable attack patterns and method of circulating Primordial Power were fundamentally different from any other combat skill in this world.
Qin Li had originally planned to ask the scruffy old man about it, but he had unexpectedly disappeared.
’But this time, at Phoenix Lake, I’ll probably get to the bottom of many things, right?’
With this in mind, Qin Li went to the Hunter Guild and bought a map to Phoenix Lake, along with some basic adventuring supplies. Then, all by himself, he quietly left Yellow Sand City and headed toward Phoenix Lake.
The moment he was outside the city, Qin Li sensed several people furtively tailing him. A cold smile touched his lips as his body shot forward. His somewhat lean figure instantly blurred into an afterimage, darting toward the woods.
As the saying goes: never give chase into a forest. It means that if your target enters the woods, you should never follow rashly, as you’re likely to fall into their trap and suffer a great loss.
However, the Martial Artists tailing Qin Li clearly lacked this awareness. Seeing that their supposedly easy prey, that little piece of trash, had spotted them right after leaving the city, they grew anxious. Ignoring the fact that it was broad daylight, they began to chase after him frantically.
Due to Yellow Sand City’s climate, snow rarely stuck around. So, even though it was still winter, the snow on the ground had long since melted. Qin Li was simply too fast, and in a moment of carelessness, his pursuers let him slip into the dense jungle and vanish from sight.
The five or six men behind him chased into the woods but couldn’t find a trace of Qin Li after a long while. They couldn’t help but gather together, all wearing vexed expressions.
One of them, a pockmarked middle-aged man with a cold gaze and radiating killing intent, cursed aloud. "That little bastard is as slippery as an eel! He just got away like that. Is that Divine-level Combat Skill really so powerful?"
"Obviously! If it wasn’t powerful, would the Master have sent so many people to search for it?" a young man in green robes with an arrogant face retorted indignantly. "We were supposed to find that little punk and figure out why he hasn’t undergone Nirvana. We could’ve even pinned the blame on the Qin Family. Dammit!"
"Alright, that’s enough out of you. We’re not assassins, so it’s no great shame to lose him. It’s not like he won’t come back. It’s just a pity his mother left. If she were still here, we could’ve just grabbed her. I doubt the kid would’ve stayed quiet then. For now, let’s just go back and wait for the people the Master is sending."
The group departed, cursing and muttering. The woods returned to silence, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind. A moment later, the same group that had just left suddenly rushed back from all directions at extreme speed, only to stare at each other in dismay.
"He’s really not here!"
"Dammit, he’s fast!"
"Alright, alright, let’s head back to the city for a drink. I gotta say, the women here in Yellow Sand City are pretty good, especially the sounds they make... tsk tsk..."
"..."
A long while later, a pile of dead leaves and twigs that had accumulated for who knows how many years stirred slightly. A figure crawled out from underneath, patting the leaves and dirt from his clothes while muttering to himself, "I thought it was people sent by Qin Feng or that Little Demoness from the Mo Family. I never expected them to be from the Royal Family. It seems this nobody has quite a bit of face, huh!"
As Qin Li grumbled, he wiped the cold sweat from his brow. The spot where those men had been standing was barely a dozen meters away! If not for the fact that the Innate Purple Qi in his body was vastly different from Primordial Power and emitted no fluctuations, he would have been discovered long ago.
Furthermore, if his patience had been just a little bit weaker, he would have been caught by their feint when they circled back.
"And they say they’re not assassins. You guys are the very definition of assassins!" Qin Li shook his head with a wry smile. Among the men just now, at least two were Earth Level Martial Artists or higher, and the rest were all High-Tier Profound Level. He had sensed this when they first gathered. It was also because of them that Qin Li discovered another benefit of his Innate Purple Qi: not only could it shield him from detection, but it could also sense the Primordial Power fluctuations of others!
The Primordial Power fluctuations of three of them were slightly stronger than those of Qin Feng and Qin Hu. As for the other two, especially when they were on high alert, their fluctuations were several times stronger than those of the Profound Level Martial Artists.
For that reason, Qin Li hadn’t dared to show himself. He was confident he could handle one Earth Level opponent, but against two Earth Level and several Profound Level Martial Artists, he stood no chance.
However, his forbearance had not been in vain. At the very least, he now knew that he had attracted the attention of certain people. He thought to himself, ’This is perfect. I’ll just disappear for a while. Everyone will probably assume I’ve gone somewhere to hide and undergo Nirvana!’
Thinking of this, a derisive smile appeared on Qin Li’s face. He then headed deeper into the jungle. By the next day, Qin Li had transformed into a handsome young man in his early twenties, with sharp, sword-like eyebrows and bright, star-like eyes.
Disguise wasn’t the old Daoist’s specialty, but with so many years of history, the monastery was bound to have some hidden gems tucked away. Coincidentally, Qin Li had always loved learning all sorts of new things since he was a child...
The main reason Qin Li dared to travel alone was that almost every influential person in Yellow Sand City now knew about the ruins. The various families had all dispatched large parties, ostensibly to assist the nation and His Majesty the Emperor in his treasure hunt. In reality, however, everyone knew just how much of that was for the public good and how much was for private gain.
Under these circumstances, a large number of Martial Artists were flooding into the jungles leading to Phoenix Lake. There were, in fact, quite a few people ahead of Qin Li, so he was by no means the one sticking his neck out.
Qin Li’s goal was simple: to broaden his horizons. If he could snag an opportunity, he certainly wouldn’t pass it up. But if he couldn’t gain any benefits, he wouldn’t be discouraged either.
After all, the most important thing was to stay alive.
As Qin Li was thinking this, the sounds of a fight suddenly drifted from up ahead. A crisp, clear young woman’s voice was loudly and constantly cheering someone on, her tone filled with excitement.
Qin Li’s expression turned a little strange. ’They’re like lingering ghosts,’ he thought. ’I run into them everywhere I go.’
