Zhai Bairong was stunned for a moment before he regained his senses. Seeing Nie Shiyun’s eager expression, he couldn’t help but sigh.
"What idea do you have now?"
Nie Shiyun beckoned him over, and Zhai Bairong leaned in to listen as Nie Shiyun whispered his plan.
As Zhai Bairong listened, he fell into deep thought, nodding occasionally.
"Five hundred thousand immortal crystals is certainly a lot, but I'm not so easily blinded by greed. However, now that Ao Fan has left the Lan family and has at most a few lackeys with him, he's at his most gullible."
This point required a bit of investigation. If Ao Fan were accompanied by a Mahayana Stage senior, they would have to abandon the plan immediately. But if he was still with those young Integration Stage cultivators from the Lan family, as Nie Shiyun had seen before, then there was an opening to exploit.
"Our cultivation has progressed rapidly lately; it’s time to put our advancement on the agenda."
Zhai Bairong was still pondering, but hearing this, he finally nodded hesitantly. "Alright, let's advance first. I'll go to the town to sell some pills to supplement the immortal crystals needed for the breakthrough. It’s best if you don't sell the magical treasures you've refined for now, lest someone recognizes your handiwork."
Seeing him agree, Nie Shiyun immediately chimed in, saying he would prepare the formations. Having lived in the space for so long, his cultivation had reached a plateau, and since he couldn't sell his refined treasures for the time being, he picked up the study of arrays, which he had set aside for a while.
Thanks to the many books Madam Shang had lent him previously, although he wasn't yet at the level of a Grade 3 Artifact Refiner, his temporary review during this period of idleness had brought his Array Master rank to Grade 2.
Of course, this was only Nie Shiyun's own estimate; he had never gone to the Array Masters Guild for an assessment.
Previously, he hadn't considered arrays as a primary means of livelihood, so he hadn't bothered to spend extra money on the assessment. Now, Nie Shiyun felt fortunate for that. Because he had never mentioned it to anyone, mid-tier cultivators—including Ao Fan—had no idea he was proficient in arrays.
Nie Shiyun had been suppressing his cultivation base all this time. Ao Fan and the Lan family likely wouldn't expect him to advance now. After all, a cultivator's advancement was no small matter. First, it required pills for assistance; second, it was best to have an advancement formation; and third, it needed immortal crystals to condense spiritual energy, along with other protective treasures. In their view, with people stationed at every shop, trading house, and guild in the mid-tier towns, Nie Shiyun wouldn't have the conditions to advance even if his cultivation reached the threshold.
While the Lan family and Ao Fan were both thinking that Nie Shiyun couldn't stay hidden for much longer, he and his partner had already prepared their formations and pills in the outskirts.
Ordinary cultivators preferred flat, comfortable open spaces for their advancements. However, Nie Shiyun was a wanted man. Fearing that he might be spotted by passersby in an open area, he and Zhai Bairong headed to a densely forested mountain. The demonic beasts halfway up the mountain weren't particularly fierce. While one person stayed within the formation, the other could guard them and easily deal with any nearby beasts.
As the tribulation lightning drew near, the small demonic beasts that occasionally harassed them fled until not a single one remained. Though their cultivation was negligible, their animal instincts told them to run as far as possible before being caught in the lightning's wake.
On such an uninhabited mountain, the spiritual energy of the trees was particularly thick, which served as a boost for Zhai Bairong, who possessed a wood spiritual root.
It hadn't been long since he reached the Void Refinement Stage, but he had surged forward during this time by utilizing the abundant cultivation time within the jade pendant. Nie Shiyun knew Zhai Bairong felt a sense of crisis because of his own precarious situation and wanted to raise his cultivation as soon as possible. Had Zhai Bairong not repeatedly assured him that his advancement felt like a natural progression, Nie Shiyun would likely have made him wait a bit longer.
In the end, it turned out Nie Shiyun had worried too much. Zhai Bairong’s advancement was as simple as eating or drinking, concluding without any danger. He estimated that his own breakthrough from the Great Perfection of Void Refinement might be more of a struggle than Zhai Bairong's.
"That went smoothly."
As Zhai Bairong stepped out of the formation, he heard Nie Shiyun’s gratified words. He smiled as well, for once not being overly modest. "I told you, I was in good condition and had full confidence."
Nie Shiyun looked at the smile on Zhai Bairong’s face—confident but not arrogant. It was exactly the look he loved most.
"Quickly, don't just daze off. Although it's common for rogue cultivators to advance in the wild, your situation is dangerous. It's better to finish quickly." Seeing Nie Shiyun smiling and staring at him again, Zhai Bairong couldn't guess his exact thoughts, but he knew they were related to him. He urged Nie Shiyun forward, pushing him to check the formation for any flaws before starting his own advancement.
Because Zhai Bairong’s breakthrough had been so smooth, the formation was almost entirely undamaged. Nie Shiyun spent only an hour repairing it before stepping inside.
Advancing from the Great Perfection of Void Refinement was naturally well within his grasp, though Nie Shiyun was still scarred by several bolts of tribulation lightning. Compared to the past, when he had to retreat into the space to recover after every two waves of lightning, this was like child's play in his eyes.
A day passed, and Nie Shiyun successfully advanced.
Previously, as a lone Void Refinement cultivator, he had to be cautious about many things. Now that they were both in the Integration Stage—even if only at the early stage—their confidence had grown significantly.
Integration Stage cultivators were considered quite high-level among rogue cultivators. Within families and sects, reaching the Integration Stage signaled that a cultivator had great potential. Those further up at the Mahayana Stage could often hold positions as elders or branch family heads in the Middle Layer, living a life free of worries. However, many preferred to be the tail of a phoenix rather than the head of a chicken, choosing to struggle in the Upper Layer to seek opportunities to become True Immortals, Golden Immortals, or even Immortal Emperors.
If nothing else, as long as the Mahayana cultivators of the major families didn't intervene, even if Nie Shiyun were exposed, the two of them were confident they could contend with the younger generation of the various families and sects long enough to escape.
After Nie Shiyun absorbed the sweet dew that followed the lightning tribulation, the two of them dismantled the surrounding restrictions and quickly fled the area, regardless of whether anyone was nearby.
Nie Shiyun didn't implement his plan immediately after his advancement. Instead, he buried himself in his books on arrays.
Zhai Bairong knew he needed to make preparations and tactfully refrained from disturbing him, spending his time refining pills and meditating. Occasionally, when he finished a session and went to check on him, he would see Nie Shiyun still there, motionless, gesturing and sketching. Over the years, Zhai Bairong had learned to recognize some basic array patterns, but the level of the arrays Nie Shiyun was currently practicing had risen; he could only understand the framework, while the details remained a mystery.
In this unhurried, leisurely life, half a year quickly passed.
On this day, Ao Fan was indulging himself in a restaurant as usual. However, he was no longer in Pinghe City, but in another place called Duxian City.
Ever since he had left Pinghe City in a fit of rage over the Lan family's incompetence, he had traveled through many towns tracking Nie Shiyun's whereabouts, but to no avail. Although he constantly thought about reclaiming his precious scale and killing Nie Shiyun, Ao Fan—who had been pampered since childhood and never took cultivation to heart—lacked the patience to chase a missing cultivator for so long. Within two months, he began frequenting the restaurants and antique shops of various towns. He called it "investigating," but in reality, he was just playing around.
The only ones suffering were the two cultivators ordered by the Lan family to follow him. When Ao Fan left Pinghe City, the Lan family's upper management was actually quite relieved. However, fearing he might cause trouble outside, they sent two Integration Stage cultivators from the family to look after him.
From taking care of his daily needs to taking turns scouting for information on Nie Shiyun, only to be cursed at by Ao Fan when there was no progress—even though Nie Shiyun had no personal grudge against these two, after half a year, they were beginning to develop a psychological complex regarding that familiar name.
"Boss, how's business?"
"Oh, it's the two seniors from the Lan family!" The owner of the trading house looked up and saw the two Lan family cultivators walking in with listless expressions. He knew this was their daily routine.
In fact, the Lan family had already sent word to merchants in every town to report any news directly. But Ao Fan, being idle himself, couldn't stand to see his companions enjoying themselves; he only felt satisfied when he saw them busy searching for Nie Shiyun.
"Anything unusual today? Has anyone bought Disguise Pills? Any suspicious cultivators passing through?" the two asked in succession, their faces etched with fatigue.
"Same as usual, nothing," the boss reported in a low voice. "No anonymous transactions either..."
He didn't dare let the other customers hear. After all, the reason anonymous transactions commanded a higher fee than usual was precisely because of their confidentiality. If others heard him reporting such things, his future business would suffer.
"...Sigh. Thanks anyway." The two Lan family members hadn't expected much. They sighed and prepared to leave.
As they were about to walk out of the trading house, a cultivator suddenly called out to them from behind with a hint of hesitation.
"Excuse me... are you the seniors from the Lan family?"
The two turned around and scanned the person before them. The newcomer was handsome and upright, though his clothes were a bit shabby, and he seemed somewhat restrained. His cultivation was at the Integration Stage like theirs, though only at the early stage. Strictly speaking, he could indeed call them seniors.
"Dispense with the formalities. What is it? Do you have business with us?"
"I heard that Young Master Ao Fan is currently in this city. Could you two seniors introduce me? I might... know something about the person he's looking for."
The man's voice wasn't loud, but it struck the two Lan family cultivators like a bolt of lightning.
"Truly!?"
"This isn't the place to talk. Follow us!"
"Very well..."
They didn't take him directly to Ao Fan but questioned him privately first. It wasn't as if no cultivators had claimed to have news before. They had excitedly brought people over in the past, only for the information to be vague—some weren't even sure what Nie Shiyun looked like. It was clear they were just trying their luck.
Approaching the questioning with extreme caution, the two Lan family cultivators received unexpectedly accurate answers. This man could describe not only Nie Shiyun's appearance but even his tone of voice and mannerisms. Having seen Nie Shiyun in Pinghe City, they felt that this cultivator had at least truly met him.
"You say you saw him near your cave dwelling a few months ago and spent
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 181 | Luring the Dragon | Novela.app | Novela.app
