"It seems my dear sister doesn't know what's going on down there either."
The woman in red seemed to believe Mu Xiaoyan's words and didn't press the issue further, glancing at the bearded man and suggesting, "Since that's the case, why don't we enter together to investigate? After all, it's our mission, wouldn't you agree, Brother Hu?"
"Hehe, naturally. We were patrolling this area anyway, and if we encounter a situation, how can we just leave?" The bearded man wasn't stupid; he also sensed that Mu Xiaoyan was hiding something, but since they were already here, they could just go down and see for themselves.
With that, he led the group, intending to follow a mountain crevice to enter the mountain and investigate.
Mu Xiaoyan's expression changed slightly, and she thought to herself that she couldn't let them enter the mountain and disturb Brother Zhang; that would be terrible.
"You can't go in," Mu Xiaoyan said, flashing in front of the group to block their path.
"What does the Daoist friend mean by this? Are you trying to stop us from patrolling this area?" The bearded man's face immediately darkened, and his entire aura condensed, unleashing the strength of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. The other five also looked coldly at Mu Xiaoyan.
"Since you fellow Daoists insist on going in, I won't hide it from you. There's an elder of mine cultivating inside the mountain, and I advise you not to disturb him. Otherwise, if you anger a Nascent Soul cultivator, you'll be risking your lives," Mu Xiaoyan said coldly and deliberately.
"What, there's a Nascent Soul cultivator here?" Hearing this, the bearded man and his group of six all changed their expressions slightly, and their escaping lights stopped, revealing a look of doubt and disbelief.
Mu Xiaoyan snorted; these words were only meant to buy some time.
"Brother Hu, what should we do now? Should we still go down to investigate? If there really is a Nascent Soul cultivator down there, we should leave quickly," one of the gloomy-faced men transmitted his voice.
"We are guards of the Immortal City. Even if there's a Nascent Soul cultivator here, they wouldn't do anything to us," another middle-aged man with a yellow face also transmitted his voice. "Moreover, the commotion below doesn't seem too big. It could be some kind of demon beast, or perhaps a secret treasure is about to be born. Are we really not going to go down and take a look?"
"Hehe, Daoist An has quite the imagination, even thinking of treasures being born. But don't forget, this girl in front of us doesn't seem to be lying. If there really is a Nascent Soul expert, wouldn't we be courting death by rashly disturbing them?" The woman in red sneered.
The leading bearded man was only listening to his companions' transmissions and didn't express his own opinion. But at this moment, he had already released his divine sense, entering the mountain along several mountain crevices to investigate.
At this time, he sensed that within the mountain, in addition to the chaotic spiritual energy fluctuations, there was also a strong icy spiritual energy, which he found somewhat strange.
In the Black Cloud Desert, even deep underground, there would never be such a powerful icy spiritual energy. Could it be that there really was some kind of extraordinary treasure hidden inside?
He couldn't help but glance again at Mu Xiaoyan, who was standing there expressionlessly, and then asked in a muffled voice, "Since the fairy says that there is a Nascent Soul senior cultivating below, we naturally wouldn't dare to disturb them. May I ask which senior is here? Perhaps we recognize them, and we can pay our respects when the senior comes out."
As soon as these words came out, his companions all looked at Mu Xiaoyan, waiting for an answer.
Mu Xiaoyan frowned, not knowing how to answer. She brought up the name of a Nascent Soul cultivator only to scare these people and prevent them from easily entering and disturbing Brother Zhang's battle against the ancient beast.
But Brother Zhang doesn't seem to have any famous title. She knew that Zhang Ling was originally a disciple of the Haoyuan Sect in the Cangyun Kingdom, but after all, he had just returned to the Twelve Immortal Cities.
"Hmph, what's this, Fairy, are you unwilling to reveal anything, or are you intentionally deceiving us?" Seeing that Mu Xiaoyan didn't answer, the bearded man and his group of six exchanged glances, their eyes becoming a bit colder.
Strong spiritual energy fluctuations emerged from each of their bodies, as if they were ready to fight at any moment.
The Three Treasures Earth Spirit Beast inside was also a Nascent Soul-level ancient beast. Even if Brother Zhang was strong, it would probably take him several hours, or even longer, to deal with it. If they were disturbed at a crucial moment in the fight, all their efforts might be in vain.
Mu Xiaoyan hesitated, her face unsightly. It seemed she couldn't stall these people any longer. She alone couldn't stop these six Golden Core cultivators.
"Hongyu, Hu Yue, what are you doing here?"
Just then, another muffled voice came from the sky. The voice wasn't loud, but it was as if someone was speaking right next to their ears, startling everyone present.
The group quickly turned around and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a red light flashing rapidly, approaching them.
In the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of them. It was actually a red, glittering flying boat, with a messy-haired, red-nosed old man with white hair standing on it, holding a white jade wine pot in his hand.
"Ah, it's actually Third Elder. Juniors greet Third Elder," the woman in red immediately recognized the old man's appearance and bowed respectfully.
The bearded man and the others didn't dare to be negligent either. Even Mu Xiaoyan seemed to recognize the old man and bowed in salute as well.
"Reporting to Third Elder, we were attracted by the commotion here," Hu Yue quickly explained.
"Oh, then have you investigated what happened here?" The red-nosed old man glanced at the now-calm mountain below and asked casually.
"Third Elder, we haven't had time to investigate the situation below. But this fairy said that there is a Nascent Soul senior cultivating in the mountain, and we don't dare to disturb them," the woman in red said, glancing at Mu Xiaoyan.
The red-nosed old man glanced at Mu Xiaoyan, but before he could ask in detail, he suddenly sensed something, and his gaze turned to a certain mountain crevice that had been cracked by the tremors, and he said in a deep voice, "Which fellow Daoist is here? Why not come out and meet me?"
As soon as the words came out, the woman in red and the other five naturally realized that there really was a Nascent Soul expert below, and their expressions changed slightly, revealing some complex and fortunate expressions.
After waiting for a few breaths, a clear and cold voice came from below. "So it's Daoist Chiyun of Yanhai Immortal City."
"Haha, it seems that the fellow Daoist recognizes me, but your voice sounds a bit unfamiliar. May I ask what fellow Daoist is called?" The red-nosed old man stroked his beard and said loudly.
"My surname is Zhang, just an insignificant rogue cultivator," as another voice came from the mountain, a yellow escaping light flew out from it, instantly floating opposite the red-faced old man, revealing a young man, who cupped his fist slightly towards the old man.
The red-nosed old man's eyes lit up, looking up and down at Zhang Ling. This suddenly appearing young man looked young, but was extremely unfamiliar, not a Nascent Soul cultivator he recognized.
"So it's Daoist Zhang, I am Chiyun," the old man returned the greeting.
Zhang Ling hadn't seen the red-nosed old man, but he knew that this person was the Third Elder of Yanhai Immortal City, Layman Chiyun, with a Nascent Soul early-stage cultivation.
A few days ago, he had collected information and seen a portion of the portraits of Nascent Soul cultivators from the Twelve Immortal Cities in a jade slip, so it wasn't strange that he could recognize this person.
"May I ask, Daoist Zhang, what happened with the commotion here?"
Layman Chiyun glanced at the nearby mountains, which were full of ravines and had been destroyed, and inquired.
"I was just slaying a few demon beasts in the mountain, and I didn't expect to alarm Daoist Chiyun," Zhang Ling replied casually.
"So that's how it is. It seems that there is nothing going on here," Layman Chiyun stroked his beard, his eyes flickering, and he turned to look at the woman in red and the bearded man and the others, saying, "Hu Yue, go do what you need to do. There's nothing going on here. Oh, right, don't forget the task that the city lord gave you."
Hu Yue and the other six naturally wouldn't say anything more, and quickly responded, turning into escaping lights and leaving.
"I see that Daoist friend is a bit unfamiliar. You don't seem to be a cultivator from around here," Layman Chiyun smiled at Zhang Ling again and asked about his origins.
Zhang Ling hesitated for a moment and said, "I haven't been active in the Immortal City for nearly a hundred years, but I stayed in Yanhai City for a while in my early years." After all, he was about to return to the Haoyuan Sect, and there was nothing to hide about his identity. There was no need to hide it either.
This person was the Third Elder of Yanhai City, and if he intended to investigate, it would be easy to find out some information. Two hundred years ago, he had guarded a small array node in Yanhai City for a long time.
Hearing this, Layman Chiyun's eyes lit up and he smiled. He chatted with Zhang Ling for a few more words. In his words, he also invited Zhang Ling to visit his cave.
"Thank you for the invitation, Daoist friend, but I still have some trivial matters to deal with. If there is an opportunity, I will definitely visit," Zhang Ling didn't flatly refuse, but said euphemistically.
"Then I will quietly wait for Daoist friend," Layman Chiyun didn't press him too much upon seeing this, and after exchanging a few more words, he left, riding his red light flying boat.
Zhang Ling watched this person leave, his face returning to calmness. He stood in mid-air for a long time without speaking, pondering in his heart.
This Layman Chiyun's words had a bit of meaning of drawing him in. It was very likely that he saw that he was a rogue cultivator and wanted him to join Yanhai City.
"Brother Zhang, are you alright?" A flash of spiritual light appeared beside him, and Mu Xiaoyan also flew over.
"I'm fine. Are you familiar with this Third Elder?" Zhang Ling responded and asked about Layman Chiyun's situation.
"Ah, Brother wants to ask about Third Elder's affairs. Little Sister does know some. Layman Chiyun joined Yanhai City four hundred years ago and can be regarded as the nominal deputy city lord of Yanhai City. Many of the Immortal City's affairs are handled by this Third Elder," Xiaoyan then talked about the current situation of Yanhai City.
It was similar to the information Zhang Ling had learned, only more specific.
Yanhai City currently had four Nascent Soul cultivators guarding it, and its strength was in the middle range among the Twelve Immortal Cities, which was the same as it was two hundred years ago, with no major changes.
It was just that recently, the main city of the Twelve Immortal Cities, Tianmu City, had sent several envoys who seemed to be discussing something. Although no specific news had come out, some people speculated that something big was about to happen.
At the same time, many Golden Core elders in the Immortal City had recently been dispatched to patrol the surrounding areas, as if they were guarding against something.
After chatting for a few words, the two also flew away on their escaping lights. In order not to attract attention, Zhang Ling suppressed his strength to the late stage of the Golden Core again. Nothing happened along the way, and they returned to Yanhai City.
For the first two days after returning, Zhang Ling was treating Wu Yun's injuries in Mu Xiaoyan's bamboo forest.
Wu Yun didn't have too many injuries on his body. A healing pill was enough to recover, but the troublesome thing was that his divine soul was in a state of deep illusion. This kind of injury was a bit tricky for Mu Xiaoyan, but it was nothing to Zhang Ling.
Using powerful divine sense to invade this person's sea of consciousness could awaken Wu Yun. This was a simple and crude method that any Nascent Soul cultivator could do. But it would inevitably cause some damage to his divine soul.
So Zhang Ling thought about it, took out a Spirit Awakening Pill and had Wu Yun swallow it, and finally used his divine sense to invade his sea of consciousness and slowly guide him to awaken.
Although it took some time, doing so would not leave any hidden dangers. On the contrary, due to the medicinal power of the Spirit Awakening Pill, this person could also receive some benefits.
If it weren't for the close relationship between this person and Mu Xiaoyan, Zhang Ling wouldn't have wasted a Spirit Awakening Pill.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving me."
After Wu Yun woke up, he immediately saluted Zhang Ling, expressing his gratitude for saving his life.
"If it weren't for this girl's sake, I wouldn't have bothered with this matter," Zhang Ling sat in front of a bamboo table, sipped a cup of tea, and said casually.
"Yes, you actually dared to provoke a Nascent Soul-level ancient beast. If it weren't for Brother Zhang's help, you would have died long ago," Mu Xiaoyan immediately interjected, saying anxiously.
"Xiaoyan, don't be angry. I didn't know I would encounter such a powerful ancient beast, and I was also bewitched. Fortunately, you didn't go with us at the time, otherwise we would have all died there," Wu Yun said with a bitter face, explaining stiffly.
"Hmph, I told you before that the Immortal City was unstable recently and told you to cultivate peacefully. You just wouldn't listen," Xiaoyan pretended to be angry and snorted.
Wu Yun laughed dryly and quickly comforted and promised, "I will definitely listen to you from now on and cultivate properly."
Zhang Ling sat next to them, listening to the two of them, one sentence after another, and felt even more that their relationship was extraordinary.
Wu Yun looked like a strong man, but in front of Mu Xiaoyan, he seemed to be half a head shorter, and the words he spoke were a bit nonsensical, appearing dull.
"Haha, alright, you two. Daoist Wu, please tell me how you discovered that place," Zhang Ling smiled strangely, appropriately interrupting the conversation between the two, and asked about the main business.
"Since Senior Zhang wants to ask about this matter, this junior will definitely tell you the truth. The ancient cultivator's cave in the Bewildering Forest was discovered by a friend of mine surnamed Chen a few months ago. At that time, the restriction formation under that cliff was quite powerful, so we gathered manpower and entered it to explore for treasures three days ago. At first, it was fine, and we encountered some low-level demon beasts.
But when we entered the innermost part of that cultivator's cave, we were caught in a yellow mist, and we saw a huge bronze cauldron inside. In the end, we were trapped. If I hadn't activated the message jade that Xiaoyan gave me at the last moment, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to wait for Senior to save me."
"We thought there were some spiritual medicines in that bronze cauldron, but we didn't expect it to be an ancient beast. By the way, this is something we got from a stone room in the cave. Senior can take a look."
Wu Yun roughly recounted their experiences and took out a few jade slips and a red long sword.
