The arrivals were Qin Wu and two men dressed in coarse cloth. They were none other than Li Xiangyun's father and Chen Zhong's father.
Seeing the faint anticipation and joy on their faces, Lu Li figured Qin Wu had already relayed his words to them. He stood up to exchange pleasantries, weaving a few more well-intentioned lies to comfort the two men. Hearing this, they finally set their minds at ease.
At the dinner table, Lu Li spoke as little as possible to avoid slipping up and arousing their suspicion.
After a hasty meal, Lu Li took out a stack of silver notes and presented them to the three men. Seeing him produce so much wealth at once, they marveled at how he was truly someone who had entered an immortal sect. At the same time, the final trace of unease in their hearts vanished into thin air.
With these silver notes, they would have enough to live comfortably in the city for the rest of their lives.
On the small path at the eastern entrance of the village.
Qin Wu, holding Qin Ziyu in his arms, had followed him all the way here. "Little Li, be careful on the road. If you have time, come back with Ah Ren and the others to visit... Although Old Brother Chen and Junior Brother Li don't say it, I know they both miss their sons dearly."
Lu Li nodded. "I understand." He cupped his hands and added, "Uncle Qin, let's part here. I will be taking my leave."
"Alright, take good care of yourself out there."
"Goodbye, Big Brother Lu Li!" Qin Ziyu waved at him.
"Goodbye."
Lu Li waved back, mounted his horse, and galloped away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
Even as he hurried on his journey,
His destination, the Thunder Fire Mountain Range, had already descended into complete chaos.
Countless Rogue Cultivators were frantically plundering the spiritual herbs along the main ridge that had originally belonged to the six mountain strongholds. Slaughter and robbery could be seen everywhere. Among these people were many disciples who had originally belonged to those very strongholds.
There was only one reason for this chaotic scene.
The leaders of five out of the six mountain strongholds had vanished without a trace. The stronghold members had either fled or died. The only stronghold that had not been attacked, the Earth Tiger Stronghold, had also disbanded and fled at the first sign of trouble.
The Thunder Fire Mountain Range had once again become ownerless land.
Many Rogue Cultivators believed that some mighty figure, displeased with the practices of the six strongholds, had intentionally stepped in to punish them. Thus, while gloating over the strongholds' misfortune, they did not forget to rush up the main ridge to hunt for treasure.
At this moment, within the main hall of the Earth Tiger Stronghold.
A black-robed old man sat quietly in the seat of honor. He gazed calmly at the three black-clothed men standing below and asked, "Well? Still no clues?"
The three black-clothed men exchanged glances. The one on the far right bowed and said, "The bounty has been out for several days, yet no one has come forward with information. I am afraid... we have alerted the snake in the grass, and he has already fled upon hearing the wind."
Behind the three men sat thirteen neatly arranged coffins. Even though it was broad daylight, the sight remained thoroughly eerie.
The old man slowly stood up and glanced at the coffins behind them. "Forget it. Stirring up such a massive commotion here has likely already alarmed the Qingyang Sect. Let us return first and plan our next move."
"Yes, Great Elder!"
The three cupped their fists in obedience and stepped aside.
The black-robed old man walked straight forward and casually waved his hand, causing the dozen or so coffins to vanish in an instant. He muttered in a raspy voice, "Although we failed to catch that brat, harvesting so many materials means this trip was not entirely in vain!"
With that, he waved his hand once more. A small bronze coffin rapidly expanded. His figure blurred as he stepped steadily onto it. "Come up."
The three men rejoiced upon hearing this and leapt aboard one after another.
In a flash.
The four transformed into a streak of flowing light and shot straight into the heavens.
......
On this day, at the western gate of Shuiyun Town, a large black horse slowly trudged out of the settlement.
Seated on its back was a gray-robed old man holding a scroll of paper. He had a gaunt face, small nose and eyes, a mustache, and a goatee. A faint, contemplative look lingered in his eyes.
Arriving outside the town gate, he took a deep breath and muttered, "I wonder what treasure that brat obtained to actually have a bounty placed on his head. He truly makes this old man worry himself sick."
Shaking his head, he casually tossed the paper scroll into the tall grass by the roadside.
He then clamped his legs against the horse. "Tch." Seeing the beast refuse to move, he frowned and delivered a sharp slap to its rump. "Hyah!"
Instantly, the black horse let out a long neigh and broke into a frantic gallop.
He rode with reckless speed.
Before long, the man and horse arrived at Biri Forest.
The shadows of the trees blurred backward as they sped through the woods, yet the old man sat on horseback as steady as an old dog.
Until...
A black-clad rider approached from the opposite direction. Only then did he suddenly snap his eyes open and yank the reins, forcing the large black horse to rear up on its hind legs. At the same time, he roared, "Halt! You brat, stop right there for this old man!"
The galloping youth on horseback was slightly startled and similarly hauled back on his reins.
With two heavy thuds, both horses slammed their hooves into the dirt at the same time.
Lu Li was instantly overcome with wild joy as he stared at Wu De. "Old man, you truly are my lucky star!"
Wasn't this perfect? He had just been fretting over the sheer size of the Thunder Fire Mountain Range and worrying about not being able to find him. Who would have thought the other party would willingly deliver himself right to his doorstep?
Wu De looked at Lu Li with a strange expression. "Lucky star? What do you mean by that?"
"Ahem, nothing much. I just haven't seen you in many days and missed you dearly. Where are you planning to go?"
"Missed me?" Wu De immediately felt that this brat harbored ill intentions. His small eyes darted around before he suddenly smiled. "Wasn't this old man worried about your safety? I was just on my way to warn you."
"Warn me?"
"You brat, you don't know yet, do you? The Thunder Fire Mountain Range is in complete chaos right now. Someone is offering a high price for any clues regarding your whereabouts, yet you actually dare to run in that direction..."
"Such a thing has happened!" Lu Li's expression involuntarily changed upon hearing this. "What exactly transpired?"
"Tch, look how frightened you are. Let's find a place to sit and talk." Wu De scoffed as he dismounted.
Half-believing and half-doubting, Lu Li followed Wu De to the side of the road and sat down. He immediately asked again, "Old man, what on earth is going on?"
Wu De stared intently at Lu Li and said, "A group of mysterious people arrived at the Thunder Fire Mountain Range. With the speed of a thunderbolt, they took away the leaders of all the major strongholds and issued a bounty for your capture..."
Wu De did not deliberately conceal anything, pouring out every piece of information he knew in a single breath.
When Lu Li first heard this, he felt as if the sky was falling. He had only just sent Chen Zhong to the Earth Tiger Stronghold, yet such a disaster had already occurred.
But by the time Wu De finished speaking, Lu Li could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It turned out that the group of mysterious people had swept from the middle section of the mountain range's southern side toward the eastern section. They then crossed the mountains to the northern side and swept in reverse, from the eastern section of the northern face to the western section.
As a result, the Earth Tiger Stronghold, located in the western section of the southern side, was left for last. Precisely because of this time difference, the leaders of the Earth Tiger Stronghold had decisively chosen to disband their forces and flee.
As for Chen Zhong and his group, according to Wu De, they had fled west toward Xizhou.
The only reason Wu De knew of Lu Li's whereabouts was because he had used his glib tongue to con Chen Zhong. He had claimed to share a life-and-death friendship with Lu Li, convincing Chen Zhong of his sincerity and tricking him into entrusting the crucial task of delivering the warning to Wu De.
Lu Li did not blame Chen Zhong for this. After all, this old man had indeed gone through quite a few ordeals with him, making his words very easy to believe-especially regarding the matter with Zhang Song.
Chen Zhong and Lu Li had experienced that event together. When Wu De mentioned that he and Lu Li had killed Zhang Song together, Chen Zhong's doubts about Wu De had instantly vanished by seventy or eighty percent.
Combined with his own lacking cultivation base, Chen Zhong ultimately had no choice but to let Wu De deliver the message.
However, what Lu Li could not quite figure out was... aside from swindling people, this old man did not seem to have a warm heart, did he?
Could it be... he had ulterior motives regarding him?