Since she couldn't get any details from the landlady, Shi Yu didn't plan to linger. Just as they were about to leave, the warmhearted landlady—still worried—chased after them and earnestly advised, “If you young gentlemen insist on entering the ancient desert, you'd best travel with a caravan. It's much safer that way.”
Shi Yu thought that made sense. They were unfamiliar with the area, and relying solely on a rather vague map, finding the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts would likely take some doing. She asked, “Ma'am, do you have any caravan to recommend?”
The landlady thought for a moment, lowered her voice, and pointed ahead. “Follow this road straight for about fifty li, and you'll see a stronghold, a resting place for passing caravans. In one of those caravans, there's a young lady named Su Guanying. She's sharp and kindhearted. You can seek to join her caravan.”
Shi Yu nodded, making a note of it, and handed her a handful of spirit stones as thanks.
Running a business here was no easy task, so while the landlady felt a little bashful, she didn't refuse and carefully tucked away the spirit stones. “Safe travels, gentlemen!”
Watching them walk away, the landlady let out a gentle sigh. “To come to the Wangliang Ancient Desert for practical experience... I wonder how their elders could let them roam freely. They probably snuck out together on a whim... Sigh, I hope nothing bad happens to them.”
Meanwhile, Shi Yu and her group headed straight in the direction the landlady had pointed.
In the ancient desert, wind and sand raged fiercely. Because the earth element among the Five Elements was unusually active here, aside from Earth-attribute cultivators, most others were affected. Their bodies felt heavier than in the outside world, making footwork and escape techniques difficult to execute.
Traveling by cloud boat was out of the question. Not only was it difficult to discern directions amid the overwhelming sandstorm, but under the influence of the active earth element, a cloud boat would plummet heavily back to the ground as soon as it took off.
Shi Yu had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, which allowed her to command escape light. Although she couldn't fly freely through the air, traveling via artifact-assisted escape light—such as sword flight—would usually be convenient. Here, however, even that method was restricted, leaving them with no choice but to travel on foot.
Fortunately, fifty li was not too far, and in the blink of an eye, they had already covered half the distance.
Just as they drew near the stronghold mentioned by the tea shop landlady, Shi Yu raised her eyes to see a group of figures rush out from behind the surrounding earth mounds, encircling the four of them.
She couldn't help muttering softly, “They followed us all this way, only to pop out now, honestly...”
This group consisted of the very cultivators who had been secretly eyeing them with ill intent back at the Ancient Desert Tea Shop.
Possessing cultivation bases merely in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm and deceived by the artifact's illusion, they perceived Shi Yu and her group as having at most seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivation. Seeing how fair-skinned and tender they looked, with such refined air, they assumed these young men were inexperienced fledglings from prominent families who had snuck out for adventure without knowing the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. Greed had instantly taken hold, prompting them to treat the four as fat sheep ripe for slaughter and follow them all this way.
With the cultivation and divine sense of Shi Yu and her companions, they had noticed the group from the very start. They had simply pretended not to notice, intending to deal with them once they reached a deserted spot.
The bandits had followed them for tens of li before finally jumping out to act, clearly harboring the exact same idea.
“Halt! Take off your spirit robes and throw over all your storage rings!” the lead cultivator shouted, eyes gleaming with greed and ferocity.
Still somewhat wary of these “aristocratic scions” who might possess deep backgrounds, profound techniques, or unpredictable trump cards, the bandits stared intently and remained cautious. Rather than rushing forward blindly, they released their aura to intimidate them, hoping the boys would prove sensible and obediently do as told.
Seven or eight cultivators unleashed their aura at once to intimidate them. Every single one had at least a seventh-layer Qi Refining Realm cultivation, while the strongest among them had reached Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection.
Yet the four youths stood there lazily, without a trace of fear on their faces. Even the youngest among them rolled his eyes, looking completely unbothered and fearless.
“You ignorant fools! You're asking for death!” Seeing this, the lead bandit grew furious. He drew his artifact and slowly advanced on Shi Yu's group, with the rest following suit and tightening the circle.
“Running into us grandpas today is just your bad luck!”
“Be smart and hand over your valuables on your own. Maybe then we'll leave you an intact corpse, hahaha!”
Ji Yu stood beside Mo Tong, digging in his ear. “The wind is too loud, I couldn't hear. What are you saying?”
“You little brat!”
Faint water vapor billowed around Qingzhou as his pupils imperceptibly narrowed into vertical slits, cold light flickering within them.
Seeing that a clash was imminent, Shi Yu flipped her hand beneath her sleeve, causing a tiny flick of flame to appear on each of her five slender fingers.
Just as she was about to flick the spiritual fire to finish them off, a clear shouted rebuke echoed from the distant slope: “Stop!”
Shi Yu looked up toward the sound and saw a figure rushing down the wind-swept slope at extreme speed, arriving before them in the blink of an eye.
It was a woman dressed in a dark gown with a cloak draped over her shoulders. She held a silver spear wrapped in restriction runes that shimmered with a cold glint. She had a striking, handsome face filled with heroic spirit, her bright, sharp eyes coldly glaring at the bandit cultivators.
The moment she appeared, the bandit cultivators recognized her. Their expressions changed dramatically, and filled with fear as well as vexation over their ruined opportunity, they stumbled backward.
The lead cultivator's expression flickered as he calculated in his mind: This woman is also at Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection. Since she came alone, we might be able to handle her, but the stronghold isn't far from here, so her caravan crew must be nearby... Forget it, today is just bad luck.
He raised a hand to signal his companions to fall back, stowed his artifact with a stiff expression, and cupped his hands to the woman. “So it's Miss Su. Forgive my rudeness. We were merely joking around with these young brothers just now, with no ill intent.”
Saying that, he even cupped his hands to Shi Yu's group. “Don't mind us, young brothers. We only wanted to spar with you a bit.”
Shi Yu and her companions found this laughable. They glanced at the bandits without deigning to reply.
This blatant contempt caused rage to surge through the bandit leader once more, but he forced himself to hold back from attacking, thinking to himself: Just wait until Su Guanying leaves, then I'll show you!
The lead cultivator swept an unwilling gaze over Shi Yu and her companions before raising his hand. “Let's go!”
The woman in the cloak held her spear firmly, vigilantly watching their retreating backs.
Once she was certain they were far enough away, the woman stepped forward. “Are you all right? Bandits frequently commit robbery in the ancient desert, and with recent unexpected turns of events, things are especially turbulent... Seeing how young you are, you should be far more careful.”
Shi Yu thanked her for her kindness. After exchanging introductions, they learned that this woman was indeed the Miss Su mentioned by the tea shop landlady.
The prefectures bordering Wanchou Prefecture, aside from Changyuan Prefecture, included Changhe and Huining Prefectures. Su Guanying hailed from the Su Clan of Huining Prefecture. She led a merchant caravan that frequently traded within the ancient desert, earning her quite a reputation in these parts.
She usually maintained good relations with righteous cultivators while refraining from making things overly difficult for evil cultivators or foreign races; so long as they didn't cross her bottom line, she remained easy to get along with.
Today, she was resting with her caravan at the stronghold, preparing to venture deep into the ancient desert tomorrow to purchase rare spiritual herbs and materials. Having just come out to catch some fresh air, she happened to see Shi Yu and the other young people surrounded by bandits. Outraged, she immediately stepped in to save them.
After chatting for a bit, Su Guanying felt uneasy about leaving the youngsters on their own and suggested, “There is a stronghold not far ahead. Why don't you come with me first, and then decide on your plans?”
Shi Yu had intended to do so anyway, so she voiced her thanks and accepted.
Su Guanying nodded and was about to lead them forward when Qingzhou clutched his stomach and whispered, “I need to relieve myself. Could you wait for me a moment?”
Their current disguised auras were all at the Qi Refining Realm. Cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm were not yet capable of complete inedia, so needing to relieve oneself was natural. Su Guanying was therefore not surprised and simply instructed, “Just take care of it nearby. Those bandits might not have gone far, so make it quick.”
Qingzhou nodded and darted off, his figure disappearing behind a mound of earth.
Shi Yu naturally knew what he was actually doing. When those bandits had left earlier, their eyes had held a subtle ferocity, clearly unwilling to let the matter rest and only holding back because Su Guanying was present. Though these people posed zero threat to them, leaving them alive was still a potential nuisance, so eliminating them was for the best.
In under the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Qingzhou returned. He exchanged a glance with Shi Yu, his expression remarkably gentle. A faint scent of blood clung to him, but as the wind and sand blew over, it vanished without a trace.
Suspecting nothing, Su Guanying stood up and said, “Let's go.”
Rate on N.U.
