Chapter 201: Road Encounter

201. Chapter 201: Road Encounter

Three months later.

Yang Family Fort.

This name sounds like a mere mortal village or small town, yet it is quite famous in the Da Yu Cultivation World.

Because, because Yang Family Fort, although its location is still considered within the central region of the Da Yu Cultivation World.

To the south lies the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, to the north is the territory ruled by the Seven Star Sword Sect, and further inland is the Gobi desert, which belongs to the Giant Wood Sect.

Thus Yang Family Fort is a convergence point of multiple forces, essentially a transportation hub.

Of course, the most important thing is that Yang Family Fort itself is quite powerful; its ancestors once produced a Golden Core True Person, and although it has slightly declined now, there are still two Fake Core True Persons stationed there.

With such strength, Yang Family Fort, besides its own stronghold, also controls three nearby cultivation markets and various mines, spirit fields, and so on.

Nearby Foundation Establishment families and Qi‑refining Scattered Cultivators all revere Yang Family Fort.

Within this thousand‑mile radius, Yang Family is a giant monopoly, absolute in its word.

But in recent years, Yang Family Fort has not been doing well.

The reason is simple: as the Demon Sect Evil Cultivators launched a massive invasion, fully occupying the Southwest Region and shifting the battlefield to the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, Yang Family Fort's domain became very close to the front line, even directly adjoining it.

The areas nearest the battlefield naturally supplied the most conscripts; one of Yang Family Fort's two Fake Core True Persons was assigned to the front, heading to the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

Furthermore, Evil Cultivators continually breach the Cloud Mist Mountain Range's blockade, causing chaos deep within the interior of the Da Yu Cultivation World; a few, like the Young Master Yin San, pursue special objectives, while the majority simply wreak havoc nearby.

Thus, in recent years, the Cloud Mist Mountain Range often shows traces of Evil Cultivators.

Evil Cultivators are harder to deal with and more threatening than Robber Cultivators.

Robber Cultivators only loot property and do not intend to kill, whereas Evil Cultivators frequently commit slaughter.

In the past decade or so, Yang Family Fort has become considerably desolate.

Many Scattered Cultivators chose to leave, fleeing this dangerous place, and the Yang family along with numerous minor families have already covertly relocated some of their offspring as a precaution.

……

"At my current pace, it will take another month and a half to reach Panlong Immortal City."

Xiao Zhangqing gazed at the towering, massive city of Yang Family Fort ahead, with no intention of staying.

Had he just left Nanshan Fang and encountered an immortal city of this scale, he would inevitably have entered to experience the local customs and then looked around for equipment that the system could extract powerful skills from.

But now, Xiao Zhangqing has little interest.

Although Yang Family Fort's scale is decent, it is far smaller than Character: Liyang Immortal City, probably less than a tenth of its size.

Not to mention comparing it with Panlong Immortal City, Xiao Zhangqing's destination.

Panlong Immortal City, as the headquarters of the Seven Star Sword Sect, is one of the most magnificent megacities in the Da Yu Cultivation World, on par with Xingyue Palace's Wangyue Immortal City.

Panlong Immortal City and Wangyue Immortal City are unique fixtures in the Da Yu Cultivation World.

The status of these two immortal cities is akin to that of the Seven Star Sword Sect and Xingyue Palace in the Da Yu Cultivation World; no other sect or clan can compare.

Although Character: Liyang Immortal City is also massive, being the premier city of Scattered Cultivators, no one ever compares it with those two immortal cities.

Even native cultivators of Character: Liyang Immortal City only claim it is among the top three cities in the Da Yu Cultivation World.

Being in the top three essentially means third.

There are two or three other immortal cities whose scale is comparable to Character: Liyang's, and they likewise only dare to boast that they rank among the top three in the Da Yu Cultivation World.

With Panlong Immortal City and Wangyue Immortal City present, other immortal cities can only compete for third place.

After much deliberation, Xiao Zhangqing decided to go to Panlong Immortal City himself rather than send a clone, partly to witness its splendor and see if suitable equipment might be found.

As for Yang Family Fort, even its strongest are only at the Fake Core True Person level, with merely two of them; Xiao Zhangqing does not believe such a city can provide equipment useful to him.

After all, at his current strength, Fake Core True Persons are already beneath his notice.

He doesn't even need to employ the system, nor summon a clone or the power of a Longevity Stone; with his own methods, he can easily crush Fake Core True Persons.

"Keep moving onward."

Xiao Zhangqing prepared to pilot his flying vessel, bypassing Yang Family Fort and heading north.

Before departure, he deliberately purchased a second‑tier supreme flying vessel in Character: Liyang Immortal City; it is fast, consumes little energy or mana, so the journey never tires him, and he need not rest.

Without incident, Xiao Zhangqing bypassed Yang Family Fort and continued forward, but after flying just over a hundred li, a surge of combat aura suddenly emanated ahead.

Xiao Zhangqing's divine sense activated, quickly perceiving the general situation.

It seemed a group of cultivators were pursuing a male and a female cultivator.

These people's cultivation was not low; they were Foundation Establishment cultivators, clearly not obscure Scattered Cultivators. The fleeing male and female were heading toward Yang Family Fort, but given the circumstances, the remaining hundred‑plus li was unreachable.

Both had already sustained serious injuries and were blocked and surrounded.

During the three months of travel, Xiao Zhangqing had encountered a few combat skirmishes; under normal circumstances, unless it was Robber Cultivators blocking the road to rob, he would not intervene.

After all, love, hatred, grudges, and profit battles constantly occur in the Cultivation World; Xiao Zhangqing is not a judge, how could he discern and assess them.

It is best to respect others' destinies.

However, just as Xiao Zhangqing was about to avoid this combat and take a detour, he noticed this situation seemed different from the previous encounters.

……

……

"Friend ahead, please halt. My brother and I are core disciples of Yang Family Fort, now being pursued by villains; if you can lend a hand, we will repay you greatly afterward!"

An anxious male voice reached Xiao Zhangqing's ears.

The other pursued woman was even more clever, not urging Xiao Zhangqing to intervene; after all, the pursuers were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, some even in the later stages, making a rescue difficult even for a top Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The female cultivator transmitted: "Please, friend, go to Yang Family Fort to relay a message, saying 'Yang Fang, Yang Wei' siblings are being chased, request the Fake Core Ancestor to come rescue…"

It truly was someone from Yang Family Fort.

Just as Xiao Zhangqing temporarily halted his vessel, contemplating whether to intervene, two streaks of evading light with clearly hostile intent surged toward him.

Before the figures arrived, a black flash already thrust fiercely at Xiao Zhangqing's flying vessel.

"And there are those who take the initiative to strike at me?"

Xiao Zhangqing saw this and smiled.

In the past few months, in the duels he encountered, as long as he didn't want to join and kept his distance, no one would deliberately hunt him down; today, however, was different.

He naturally paid no heed to the attack, seeing that the black flash was a rather potent conical hidden weapon, its power equivalent to a full‑force strike from a mid‑stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Xiao Zhangqing didn't even step out of the Flying Boat; he simply brushed his hand, a flash of sword light streaked across, cleaving the conical hidden weapon and sending it flying back.

"Sword cultivator?"

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators who came to hunt Xiao Zhangqing were instantly startled.

Besides being shocked by Xiao Zhangqing's strength and his casual deflection of their attack, they estimated his power to be late‑stage Foundation Establishment.

Yet what terrified the two most was Xiao Zhangqing's counterattack, which was Sword Qi! In the Western Region of the Da Yu Cultivation World, the most dangerous to provoke are Sword cultivators, especially those of the Seven Star Sword Sect! Xiao Zhangqing's casual strike gave no clue to his exact identity.

But if they were unlucky and truly faced a disciple of the Seven Star Sword Sect, that would be trouble.

"Could it be someone from the Seven Star Sword Sect?"

"If they really are from the Seven Star Sword Sect, does their appearance here mean they've already uncovered something?"

"Nevertheless, even if they are indeed disciples of the Seven Star Sword Sect, the treasure on the Yang siblings today cannot be let out!"

The two exchanged glances and quickly reached a tacit agreement through their eyes.

"Which Dao Companion are you? Please disembark from the Flying Boat for a meeting!"

One of them called out loudly.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhangqing retracted the Flying Boat, stepped out, and, with keen interest, surveyed the two men and the four who were surrounding the Yang siblings from behind.

Seeing Xiao Zhangqing's unfamiliar appearance and attire, which did not match a Seven Star Sword Sect disciple, the two relaxed their expressions slightly.

"May I ask, Dao Companion, are you a disciple of the Seven Star Sword Sect?"

The two still confirmed once more.

Xiao Zhangqing replied calmly, "I am not a disciple of the Seven Star Sword Sect."

The two showed a smile, then with solemn authority said, "We are disciples of the Giant Wood Sect. These Yang siblings, unaware of life and death, have come onto our Giant Wood Sect territory to commit misdeeds; we have tracked them here all the way. Even if the Fake Pill Patriarch of Yang Family Fortress himself were present, he could not guarantee the siblings' lives. Should he dare to shelter them, the entire Yang Family Fortress would face annihilation. Therefore, we hope you, Dao Companion, will not intervene, and simply depart, as if you had not seen anything."

Although the Giant Wood Sect does not have the illustrious reputation of the Seven Star Sword Sect, it is nonetheless the first echelon under the Nascent Soul sect, and its deterrent power in this Western Region remains sufficient.

As long as they declare their sect affiliation and the other party is not a Seven Star Sword Sect disciple, they will mostly retreat when faced with difficulty and dare not offend.

Yet Xiao Zhangqing seemed to ignore it entirely, as if he had never heard the name Giant Wood Sect.

He simply gazed at the Yang siblings from afar and said, "If you two are willing to offer the treasure you carry to me, I will intervene to save your lives. How does that sound?"

"Whoa!" At his words, whether the Yang siblings or the few from the Giant Wood Sect, everyone's complexion changed in an instant. (End of chapter)