Chapter 29: Fleeting Chance
Li Yan turned and walked back toward the valley, his mind filled with frustration.
He'd likely missed a golden opportunity to escape.
"How could I have been so careless? I already knew how dangerous my situation was, and yet I let my guard down. Thank heavens I asked today!"
At any given moment, his life could be at risk, who knew when Strategist Ji's fire poison might erupt, prompting him to butcher this "pig" he'd been raising?
"No, if there's a chance, I can't hesitate again. I have to move. I'll leave after this. Any more delay, and I'll regret it forever."
Li Yan quickly returned to his room. Packing was simple: a few sets of clothes, and his salary for the past two months, which he kept in a brown wicker box at the head of the table. A quick bundle would do.
But carrying a bundle on his back would attract attention. He decided to tuck the few dozen taels of silver into his robe instead, avoiding unnecessary notice.
Though he hadn't left the valley for two months, the stipend for his position as Vice Commander of Resistance was still delivered regularly by Chen An and the others, which reassured him. Now that he planned to escape, he'd certainly need silver to survive outside.
What he didn't yet know, however, was that leaving the valley wouldn't be so simple, even with Ji absent. Chen An and Li Yin were under strict orders not to let him out without permission.
Lately, Li Yan's cultivation of the Guishui True Scripture had gone shockingly well, as if heaven itself favored him. No wonder it was one of the ancient immortal techniques, and one tailored perfectly to his spiritual root.
In just ten or so days, he already felt his Water-element spiritual power growing rapidly. Though he couldn't yet look inside his own dantian, he could clearly sense that about a fifth of it had already been filled, his body was sharper, stronger, and more responsive.
This cultivation speed was nothing short of terrifying. If it continued like this, he thought, he might reach the peak of first level Qi Condensation in less than a year.
That thought wasn't entirely wrong, but not fully correct either.
The reason he was progressing so fast was twofold:
First, the technique was perfectly matched to his spiritual root, his compatibility with the Guishui True Scripture was like a fish in water. Especially in the beginning, when cultivating from nothing, the rate of increase was naturally fast.
Second, his Water-element "vat" in the dantian was still very small, so it filled quickly, making it seem like a huge leap in progress.
As Li Yan finished packing, he suddenly heard footsteps outside.
He thought to himself:
"Lunch. Better eat well, who knows when I'll get another proper meal? Better fill my belly before making a run for it."
After tidying up, he stood and walked to the door.
But just as he reached for the handle, a familiar voice rang out:
"Li Yan, I heard you were looking for me?"
The moment that voice entered his ears, it was like a bolt from the blue Li Yan froze, his mind buzzing.
Who else could that voice belong to but Strategist Ji?
In that instant, Li Yan felt like he had fallen into an abyss.
Fortunately, he retained enough composure to steady himself. Putting on a dazed expression, he opened the door. After all, he knew his teacher could release his divine sense at will but he hadn't felt it just now, which gave him a sliver of hope.
"Eh? Teacher, you've returned!"
When he opened the door and saw Ji's face clearly, Li Yan blinked in feigned surprise before quickly putting on a look of joy.
Ji nodded.
"Ah, I had urgent matters to attend to, so I went out. When I returned just now, I heard from Chen An that you were looking for me, so I came to check in."
"Yes, I had a few questions about cultivation I hoped to ask you."
But Ji did not look well. His clothes were tattered in several places, and there were faint bloodstains here and there. His originally ashen face now carried veins of black energy, making him look even more gaunt.
After Li Yan left that day, Ji made up his mind: he would follow the map's location and check it out.
His fire poison had become increasingly difficult to suppress, and if there were any chance the jade book contained a true poison-based immortal technique, he had to take it.
So he set off westward, deep into the Great Qing Mountains.
But fate is fickle, and human plans often fall short.
As it turned out, Li Yan was terribly unlucky.
Ji's planned round trip would have covered nearly 30,000 li. Even moving several times faster than an ordinary person, it should have taken him two to three months, considering time needed to search.
But disaster struck early.
After traveling a few thousand li into the mountains, Ji unexpectedly encountered a first-rank, mid-stage demon beast. Normally, such creatures appeared deeper inside, closer to the 10,000-li range.
And Ji was always cautious. As a member of the "Immortal-Seeking Lineage," he'd studied many concealment techniques, using herbs, terrain, and rivers to mask his presence.
Had he lacked such skills, this lineage would've been long extinct, how could they have scoured barren lands for immortals otherwise?
But this time, by terrible luck, a severely wounded demon beast had limped its way near the mountain's edge. It had a limp and deep, bone-exposing wounds, yet it still happened to cross paths with Ji.
Caught completely off guard, Ji had no time to hide.
That mid-stage beast was equivalent to a Qi Condensation level fourth to fifth cultivator.
The creature had been injured during a territorial battle, and when it sensed Ji's aura, clearly far weaker than its own, it flew into a fury, determined to slaughter him.
Ji, only at third-level Qi Condensation, had no chance of victory. But luckily, the beast's injuries limited its speed, allowing Ji to flee.
However, the beast was enraged and relentless. Having finally found a target to vent its fury on, it chased Ji all the way to the edge of the Great Qing Mountains.
Several times along the way, it closed the distance, forcing Ji to use every ounce of strength, from immortal arts to mundane martial skills, just to stay alive.
Finally, at the very border of the Great Qing Mountains, Ji was able to breathe again.
Because beasts and ghosts from within Great Qing rarely step beyond its bounds.
According to ancient records, millions of years ago, demon beasts and spirits once poured out of the mountains, plunging ordinary mortals into despair.
A fierce battle ensued, with heavy casualties on both sides, even esteemed Core Formation cultivators, as well as third-rank demonic beasts and Ghost Kings, fell in the conflict.
Eventually, a deal was struck between several Nascent Soul ancestors and fourth-rank demon kings and ghost emperors.
No one knew the exact terms of the pact, but since then, the monsters remained deep in the mountains, rarely appearing in the mundane world.
So when Ji crossed the boundary, the beast stopped in its tracks, unwilling or unable to follow. It simply howled in frustration, then vanished back into the wilds.
Ji, though alive, was left furious and humiliated.
Not only had he found no immortal technique, he had nearly died and worse, used up a large portion of his spiritual power, making it nearly impossible to suppress his fire poison.
He was now in a critical state. Even stabilizing his energy would take months of recuperation.
With no other option, he had returned defeated to the residence, where he now needed to calm his qi and suppress the poison… before considering what came next.
If Strategist Ji recovered well, and Li Yan had not yet reached the peak of first-level Qi Condensation, he would return to the Great Qing Mountains for another attempt. He refused to believe he could be so unlucky twice. Next time, he would proceed cautiously from the start, not make the same careless mistake again.
When Ji first returned to the valley, Chen An and Li Yin had immediately come out to greet him.
Upon seeing his ashen complexion, tattered clothes, and the bloodstains, they didn't dare ask questions. They could only make silent guesses.
"Could Lord Ji have gone into Meng Kingdom territory again? But what kind of opponent could leave him in this state? Don't tell me Meng Kingdom has its own martial artist like Strategist Ji now?"
Of course, these speculations stayed firmly in their minds, they dared not voice them aloud. Instead, they simply reported that Li Yan had been asking for him.
Ji only nodded, then asked about Li Yan's recent behavior.
Chen An carefully responded:
"Lately, the young master's moods have been... rather erratic."
Ji nodded again, he was already aware of that.
Chen An hesitated a bit before adding:
"Also, the young master recently requested brush, ink, and paper, and has been frequently copying poems and essays. It struck us as odd. I've saved all the copied pages... but we weren't sure what to do with them."
Ji's eyes narrowed slightly but remained calm.
"Bring those pages here. I want to take a look."
He already had a good guess what was going on, but he still wanted to confirm it himself.
Soon, Chen An and Li Yin carried in two large chests. Ji opened one and casually flipped through several pages.
As expected, it was just scattered quotes, passages and lines from the literary books he kept on his bookshelf. The writing was sloppy and jumbled, clearly random excerpts copied without much care. And the handwriting was, frankly, an eyesore.
After flipping through a dozen sheets, Ji placed them back and instructed:
"These are useless. Just things Li Yan wrote to calm his mind. In the future, burn these pages for firewood in the kitchen."
He knew perfectly well what this was. Li Yan's internal agitation had nowhere to vent, and he had instinctively sought an outlet to soothe his restlessness, a method Ji himself had used in the past.
Then, Ji headed straight for Li Yan's room. He intended to hear what Li Yan wanted, and then begin his own seclusion and recovery. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't even meet with Li Yan again during that time.
He didn't use divine sense to inspect Li Yan in advance, not because he trusted him but because his injuries were severe, and extending his divine sense would only worsen things.
At the doorway, Li Yan stared at the disheveled Ji, unsure of what had happened but certain of one thing: his window of escape was gone. Regret surged in his heart.
Looking at Ji's current state, it was obvious he wouldn't be leaving the residence again anytime soon.
"Teacher, what happened to you?"
Li Yan asked with a show of concern, part of it feigned, part of it genuine. After all, he did want to know where Ji had been these past ten days.
Ji forced a faint smile.
"I had some business and took a long trip. Unexpectedly, I encountered a strong foe along the way. I killed him, but I suffered some injuries. With some rest, I'll recover. Now, what did you need from me?"
Half-truth, half-lie.
Hearing this, Li Yan cursed silently. 'What a pity. Whoever hurt him must've been a cultivator. If only they'd killed him outright... that would've been ideal. Damn it, I really did miss a perfect chance to escape!'
But aloud, he said smoothly:
"Ah, it was nothing major, just some cultivation problems I wanted to ask you about. I won't disturb your recovery, Teacher."
He bowed.
But Ji frowned.
"This is no small matter. If it concerns your cultivation, then speak. I'm listening."
Li Yan had no choice but to invite him in.
Once Ji was seated, Li Yan stood respectfully to the side and began racking his brain. Based on the Wood Yin Art, he came up with five or six questions, framing them as points of confusion in his cultivation.
Ji listened carefully and nodded. These were indeed common issues that arose during first-level cultivation. He answered each one patiently.
Li Yan listened intently, his face serious, occasionally asking follow-up questions, probing deeper. This pleased Ji greatly, even making him feel, briefly, that his injuries weren't so bad.
After about one cup of tea's time, Li Yan's face lit up with understanding. He bowed again with apparent gratitude.
Ji nodded with satisfaction.
"Continue working hard. I hope to see you reach the second level soon. If that happens, then even if I... pass on, you'll have some means to protect yourself in this world."
As he spoke, there was a hint of sorrow on his face.
Li Yan's expression shifted. He immediately said:
"Teacher, with your cultivation, a period of rest will surely restore your health. I will also redouble my efforts, so I may repay your kindness to our sect."
(Chapter End)