Chapter 64: An Unexpected Pursuit

“Brother Li, don’t forget about my wife!”
After the two of them left Silver Maple City together, Cao Mang set off for the Crimson Serpent Mountains a thousand miles away.
Before parting, Cao Mang reminded him once more, insisting that spirit stones weren’t an issue—he would think of a way to earn them.
Li Guanxuan could only nod, half amused and half exasperated, indicating he would see what he could do, but there was no guarantee he could accomplish such a daunting task.
Finding a suitable wife for Cao Mang…
That was no easy feat.
But if he didn’t, this traditional craftsman and mentor would not only be fuming with rage but smoke might well start pouring from his ears; the calluses on his hands would multiply yet again.
Li Guanxuan understood all too well the agony of having no one to whom he could pass on his hard-earned skills, knowledge bottled up with nowhere to go.
In his previous life and during the first half of this one, he had endured exactly the same thing.

Suddenly, a terrifying pressure descended from above.
Li Guanxuan’s expression changed dramatically; he immediately urged his second-tier flying vessel to the ground, moving as fast as his entire reserve of magical power allowed.
“Late Foundation Establishment!”
Staring at the receding figure on the horizon, Li Guanxuan recognized the familiar robes of Joy Mountain and instantly deduced the person’s identity.
Within Silver Maple City, the only cultivator possessing such cultivation at the peak of Foundation Establishment was the head of Joy Mountain.
Li Guanxuan withdrew his gaze, his face grave.
Though he was now at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement, faced with a cultivator at the apex of Foundation Establishment, he could only look up as if before a giant.
“This may be the closest I ever get to the head of Joy Mountain…”
Li Guanxuan gave a resigned smile. Fortunately, the other seemed in a hurry and paid him no mind.
Yet…
Judging by the direction, it looked as if the head of Joy Mountain was heading straight for Qing’an City.
Li Guanxuan flew low on his sword, pondering the purpose behind this journey.
Could it be the head of Joy Mountain was preparing for a decisive return?
“I wonder what’s happening in Qing’an City. Is the Falling Moon Valley still hanging on? And what of Blood Hand Sect, Assassins’ Tower, Blue Thunder Sect… How are these factions faring?”
In recent years, Li Guanxuan had devoted all his energy to breaking through to the eighth layer of Qi Refinement and enhancing his alchemy, leaving little attention for news from Qing’an City.
That eastern Joy Mountain had once been the very place where the Velvet Blossom Spirit Tree had taken root.
Qin Jiyue and Wen Rongxin had gone there, and only then had the Velvet Blossom appeared in them.
“I’ll have to ask Brother Zheng about the situation there when I get a chance.”
Li Guanxuan gathered his thoughts. After flying some distance at low altitude and making sure there was no lingering threat, he summoned his second-tier flying vessel and sped away.
…
Arriving at the appointed spot, Li Guanxuan immediately sensed a familiar presence as soon as he appeared.

Stowing away his flying vessel, Li Guanxuan rode his sword closer and found Fang Xingzhi in a mountain cave, looking rather battered.
At the moment, Fang Xingzhi wore a tattered black robe, his face smeared with dirt and ash, but his wicked, intense eyes glinted fiercely, full of murderous energy.
“On the run again?”
Li Guanxuan teased, tossing him a bottle of healing pills as he leaned against the cave entrance.
Fang Xingzhi gave a cold, mocking laugh. “In the past year, I killed two young heirs of the Beastmaster You family, but one managed to escape. I never found his soul-bound beast.”
Li Guanxuan raised an eyebrow and flung a purification talisman at Fang Xingzhi, letting it meld into his body.
As shimmering ripples spread, wisps of black smoke seeped out…
In that instant, Fang Xingzhi’s face changed dramatically.
He was being tracked!
“Idiot.”
Li Guanxuan cursed, showing no sign of panic—his gaze was cold and steady.
He stepped forward, seized Fang Xingzhi by the collar, slapped a stealth talisman onto his forehead, and immediately carried him away on his sword, leaving the cave.
Initially, Li Guanxuan hadn’t sensed any real danger, but upon hearing Fang Xingzhi boast about killing the Beastmaster You heirs and letting one escape, his cautious instincts went on high alert.
When Fang Xingzhi killed, he would inevitably be stained with blood.
If no one had escaped, it would be one thing—but with a survivor, the Beastmaster clan would certainly seek out their elders, form a bloodline mark, and slowly track the killer’s location before sending men to hunt him down.
Li Guanxuan, born to a great cultivation family, was all too familiar with such methods.
His second-tier flying vessel tore through the sky as he flung Fang Xingzhi onto the deck, summoning two explosive puppets and adopting a grim expression.
Fang Xingzhi, pale, realized the gravity of his mistake and couldn’t help but look back.
A thunderous roar echoed—the cave where he had lain moments earlier was blasted to dust by successive waves of magical attacks.
Fang Xingzhi’s heart skipped a beat.
If not for Li Guanxuan’s quick reaction, they would now be corpses.
“They… must know I’m not dead yet,” Fang Xingzhi said in a low voice.
The magic attacks were powerful enough to reduce a mountaintop to powder, but a cultivator at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refinement had a body far beyond the ordinary; even after such a barrage, at the very least a corpse would remain.
Failing to find his body, the Beastmaster You clan would know Fang Xingzhi still lived.
“Of course I know.”
Li Guanxuan’s tone was icy. “Thankfully, the Beastmaster You clan isn’t that formidable—just five peak Qi Refinement cultivators this time. If they’d sent a Foundation Establishment-level elder, we’d both be dead.”
Fang Xingzhi nodded heavily, offering no rebuttal.
He also had a good idea of the Beastmaster You clan’s strength.
Their ancestor was a cultivator at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, the clan leader at the fourth, and the four other elders all at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment.
To kill a mere demonic cultivator at Qi Refinement, they wouldn’t dispatch any elders.

Glancing behind, Li Guanxuan saw that the Beastmaster You clan’s men hadn’t followed and said, “Take out your first-tier flying vessel—we need to switch rides, or they’ll track me.”
Condensing a bloodline mark took time before they could precisely pinpoint the killer.
The Beastmaster You clan had clearly been tracking Fang Xingzhi for some time already.
In all that time, Fang Xingzhi had been completely unaware, only escaping when the five pursuers were nearly upon him—someone else must have noticed, saving Fang Xingzhi in the nick of time.
After hastily fleeing on his second-tier flying vessel, Li Guanxuan, not wanting to be identified, insisted Fang Xingzhi switch to his own first-tier flying vessel.
Fang Xingzhi nodded slightly; he didn’t wish to drag Li Guanxuan down with him. He summoned the first-tier vessel and climbed aboard.
Li Guanxuan stowed away his own vessel, boarded Fang Xingzhi’s, and tossed over a small vial, saying,
“Two high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills. I’m off—take care of yourself.”
With that, he slapped another purification talisman on both of them and, without looking back, soared away on his sword in another direction.
Until he could fully overpower the Beastmaster You clan, he would not risk exposing himself.
After all, he didn’t want his wives to suffer a life on the run.
He had fulfilled his promise; whether Fang Xingzhi survived now depended on his own fortune.
Fang Xingzhi watched Li Guanxuan’s departing figure, mouth opening as if to speak. Only when the man vanished from sight did he murmur softly,
“Thank you…”
If not for Li Guanxuan, he would have lost not only the Foundation Establishment Pills but his life as well.
The man had helped him greatly…
Fang Xingzhi engraved this debt in his heart.
…
Barely a quarter of an hour after Li Guanxuan left, he sensed the five peak Qi Refinement cultivators of the Beastmaster You clan chasing after Fang Xingzhi, completely unaware of his own presence.
“I can’t go back to Silver Maple City—best to hide out in Merchant Valley City for a few days and swap my vessel as well.”
Li Guanxuan began to replay every detail from the cave in his mind. He had only leaned against the entrance; at most, he’d left some footprints…
Aura!
The aura of swordflight!
Li Guanxuan cursed himself—he’d forgotten to erase his presence when he left.
But it was too late; perhaps the five pursuers had even glimpsed his true face.
“I’d better ask my bargain master for help—see if there’s a way to conceal my aura, or I’ll have to rely on stealth talismans every day.”
Li Guanxuan heaved a long sigh.