Chapter 452 - 425: Tailing

Chapter 452: Chapter 425: Tailing

Night had fallen by the time he left Skeleton Ridge.

Li Yuan followed an old hunting path along the western edge of the Ghost Mist Forest, his pace unhurried. He maintained the aura and rhythm expected of a late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator. Dense woods flanked the mountain path, their branches and leaves rustling against each other in the night wind, creating a low, susurrant sound. Occasionally, loose stones would tumble down the slope and disappear into the deeper darkness below.

The passive perception of his Dark Evil Insight constantly scanned his surroundings.

Two extremely faint signals of Demonic Qi had been tailing him from a distance ever since he left the rendezvous point, neither closing in nor falling away. His pursuers were clearly experienced, maintaining a distance of about three hundred zhang—not so close as to risk exposure, but near enough to follow immediately should their target deviate from the expected route.

Two at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm.

Li Yuan’s expression remained calm, but he already had a rough idea of the situation.

An ordinary market supervisor, even one at late-stage Foundation Establishment, would have struggled to detect two trackers of the same realm who were deliberately concealing their auras at such a distance. The fact that they dared to follow so brazenly meant they were confident he couldn’t spot them.

Unfortunately for them, they were tailing the wrong person.

Li Yuan’s figure suddenly sank, and he vanished silently into the ground.

Earth Escape Technique.

A little over twenty breaths later.

The two sources of Demonic Qi arrived one after another at the spot where Li Yuan had disappeared.

The man in front stopped first, seeming to notice the sudden disappearance of their target’s aura. His voice was a low whisper.

"Where did he go?"

The second man hurried to catch up. He swept his Divine Sense across the valley, his brow furrowing.

"He vanished after entering the valley. A concealment Magical Artifact?"

"Doesn’t seem like it..."

Before he could finish, a thick layer of frost instantly coated the loose gravel path. A sheet of azure ice erupted from the ground, freezing both men’s lower bodies solid. Bone-chilling cold invaded their meridians, forcefully slowing the circulation of their protective Demonic Qi.

Ice Seal Skill.

The freezing power didn’t just stay on the surface. It spread along the channels where their Demonic Qi was most concentrated, coating their Spirit Veins like a thin but viscous film of ice, making it even harder for the already frozen men to break free.

Li Yuan emerged from the ground. Seeing the terrified faces of the two men, who were now too frozen to even speak, he flicked a finger, and the frosty air grew even colder.

[Ice Seal Skill: Proficient → Minor Achievement]

A moment later, Li Yuan walked over to the two corpses. He first scanned the area repeatedly with his Divine Sense to confirm there was no third person before stooping down to collect his spoils.

The first man’s storage pouch didn’t contain much.

A few dozen Mid-grade Spirit Stones, a Tier One Top Grade bone-blade Magical Artifact, several bottles of healing and energy-restoring pills, and a few common Demon Dao Talismans. Judging by his equipment, he indeed seemed like a member of an outer squad from the Evil Slaying Sect, tasked with tracking and clean-up duties.

The second man’s storage pouch was clearly much fuller.

There were nearly a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones, along with a Tier Two Low Grade short-spear Magical Artifact. What caught his eye the most was a black wooden box at the bottom of the pouch. Two layers of Sealing Spirit Talismans were stuck to its surface, clearly indicating it was used to store something important.

Li Yuan tore off the sealing talismans and opened the box.

Several items were neatly arranged inside.

There were three Array Discs engraved with complex Array Patterns, two beast-hide scrolls documenting the flow of Array Patterns, a small vial of ground, ancient material residue, and a fist-sized, jet-black piece of ore.

Li Yuan first picked up the three Array Discs.

The discs were made of an archaic material, their edges heavily worn. Although the Spirit Patterns on their surfaces were incomplete, he could still see that their structure was vastly different from common Demon Dao arrays, leaning more toward some ancient sect’s system. The flow of the Array Patterns on the two beast-hide scrolls was also quite sophisticated. Though they were only partial copies, the logic connecting many of the nodes was similar to the Profound Nether Sect fragments he had obtained earlier.

’These were clearly not just random, collected junk.’

’The Evil Slaying Sect is deliberately collecting Array Dao materials originating from the same source as the Profound Nether Sect.’

After inspecting each of the Array Disc fragments and beast-hide scrolls, Li Yuan put them into his own storage pouch. Only then did his gaze fall upon the jet-black ore.

There was a Restriction seal on the ore, which Li Yuan casually wiped away.

The surface of the ore was cool and smooth, like a piece of solidified black jade. Within a three-chi radius, his trait perception was immediately triggered.

A panel appeared.

[Detectable Equipable Item: Void Stone (Complete)]

[Equipment Trait Preview: Portable Void (Blue)]

[Effect: Gain a portable space based on current Cultivation; perception and application of spatial power are greatly enhanced]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Absorb 100,000 Low Grade Spirit Stones (0/100,000)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]

’A blue trait.’

Li Yuan’s gaze sharpened.

’The value of a portable space goes without saying.’

’If I can equip it successfully, I’ll no longer need to carry my most important items in a storage pouch. Instead, I can store them directly in a personal, independent space bound to me.’

’It’s far superior to ordinary storage-type Magical Artifacts in terms of both security and concealment.’

The second effect, however, was what interested him even more.

’Perception and application of spatial power are greatly enhanced.’

’This means the cutting precision of my Void-Rending Slash, as well as my control over the Earth Escape Technique and other teleportation-type skills, could all be raised to a new level.’

’If I encounter more spatial arts or Magical Artifacts in the future, this trait will only become more valuable.’

The condition for permanence was also straightforward.

’One hundred thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones. That’s only a thousand Mid-grade ones. It’s not a small number, but with my current savings, it’s still within an acceptable range.’

Li Yuan kept the Void Stone on his person. After breaking the Restriction seal, the object pulsed with spatial power and couldn’t be placed inside a storage pouch.

After clearing out the wooden box, Li Yuan continued to inspect the items the two men had carried on their persons.

Soon, he found a communication jade slip in a hidden pocket of the leader’s inner robe.

The jade slip was of ordinary quality, not a high-tier, specially refined encrypted device like the one from before. However, its surface was covered with a layer of fine, regular pulses of Demonic Qi—a common internal encryption method used by the Evil Slaying Sect.

Li Yuan placed the jade slip in his palm and circulated his Demon Essence Skill, slowly injecting a wisp of Demonic Qi with a similar frequency.

A moment later, the encryption layer peeled away silently.

There were four records inside.

After reading them, Li Yuan slowly put the jade slip away.

’The Evil Slaying Sect has already noticed there’s a problem.’

’After Chen Yi received the intelligence, the Primordial Yang Sect acted swiftly, taking down two of the western-line nodes in a short period. From the Evil Slaying Sect’s perspective, such efficiency was no longer a mere coincidence. Someone must have leaked internal information.’

’These two trackers were most likely the first step in their investigation.’

But now, they no longer had the chance to bring any information back.

Li Yuan flicked a finger, sending out a wisp of the Flame of Flame Fiend.

The flame landed on the corpses and the surrounding blood-stained gravel, spreading rapidly but making little sound. Moments later, the two bodies were reduced to ashes, along with the lingering bloodstains and footprints on the ground. He then used his Spiritual Power to shatter the remaining ice, clearing away any trace of the cold energy that still lingered in the narrow valley.

Once he confirmed there were no flaws left at the scene, Li Yuan turned and left.

The night passed without incident.

「The next day, outside the outpost.」

It was the same secluded spot as before, with knee-high wild grass and mist drifting in the distance. Chen Yi arrived right on time. As soon as he landed, he glanced at Li Yuan and noticed his expression was a shade more serious than usual.

"Did something happen?" he asked in a low voice.

"The Evil Slaying Sect has made a move."

Li Yuan wasted no words, directly handing over a prepared jade slip.

The contents of the jade slip had been edited, retaining only the core intelligence related to the Evil Slaying Sect’s investigation: the trackers’ identities, the surveillance order targeting him, and the internal notice about the two western-line rendezvous points being compromised, the suspected information leak, and the suspension of all external contact.

As for the Void Stone, Array Disc fragments, and beast-hide scrolls—items closely related to his own future plans—he had omitted them entirely.

Chen Yi took the jade slip and probed it with his Divine Sense. His expression darkened with each passing moment.

"They reacted this quickly?"

"Faster than I expected," Li Yuan said. "After the two western-line rendezvous points were taken out, the news got back to their inner circle. They now suspect someone has accessed the roster and are starting to trace things back from there."

Chen Yi frowned and remained silent for several breaths.

Then, he took a long wooden box from his storage pouch and handed it over.

"This is the reward from the higher-ups. The intelligence you sent back was highly valuable. This is a Core Formation material. If you make more progress, the Sect will increase the rewards."

Li Yuan took the wooden box but didn’t open it on the spot, instead putting it directly into his storage pouch.

Obtaining the first Core Formation material meant his cooperation with the Primordial Yang Sect had officially entered a deeper phase. At least in the eyes of the Sect backing Chen Yi, he was no longer a dispensable peripheral informant, but someone who could consistently provide high-value intelligence.

’This is good for me.’

’But it also means I’ll have to be even more careful about what I hand over in the future.’

’I need to make the Primordial Yang Sect keep upping the ante, without revealing my own trump cards and true objectives.’

"One more thing," Li Yuan said, looking at Chen Yi. "Just because the Evil Slaying Sect has suspended external contact doesn’t mean their operations in Liangzhou have stopped. With their main rendezvous points gone, they’re more likely to break down their supply gathering and personnel movements into smaller, more concealed channels."

Chen Yi nodded.

"I understand. I’ll remind the Sect that our patrols can’t just focus on the obvious rendezvous points anymore; we have to watch out for those fragmented channels too."

Li Yuan didn’t elaborate further.

’Information about the Tier Three Breaking Charm, the Profound Nether Sect’s Array Dao fragments, and the Evil Slaying Sect’s continued acquisition of ancient array auxiliary materials—none of that can be handed over for now. At least, not yet. That information is my capital for deeper infiltration later, and a necessary buffer to maintain between myself and the Primordial Yang Sect.’

The two exchanged a few more words in low voices. After confirming there were no new mission assignments for the time being, they parted ways.

「Back at the stone house.」

The moment the door closed, the Concealment Array activated, immediately sealing off all external Spiritual Waves.

Li Yuan first took out the wooden box and opened it for a look.

Inside, a pale golden medicinal herb lay quietly sealed within a Spirit Jade Box. Fine, cloud-like patterns flowed across its surface. Its medicinal properties were gentle yet potent—truly a high-quality Core Formation material.

’The Core Formation jade slip said this thing can increase the success rate by thirty percent.’

Li Yuan sealed it up again and continued his cultivation.