Chapter 1495: Avoiding the Blockade

A few days later, Ye Liuyun and company's flying boat was suddenly intercepted by a squad of Nan Xiang Empire soldiers.

"Where are you headed?" the soldier asked.

"The Sunset Mountain Range." Guo Da replied.

"The Sunset Mountain Range has been sealed off lately. Come back in six months?" The soldier directly told them to turn back.

"What's going on?" Guo Da asked the soldier curiously.

"The Ninth Imperial Prince is coming to hunt and explore; idlers are forbidden from entering! I'm doing this for your own good, lest you become prey!" The soldier waved them off, urging them to leave quickly.

Guo Da, feeling helpless, had no choice but to pilot the flying boat away as a pretense.

After the flying boat had gone far off, Meng Zhangxing started cursing again.

"That brat Luo Tianming thinks the entire Southern Region is his backyard! He just declares a seal and it's done!"

"He seals his, we enter ours—what's the harm?" Ye Liuyun said indifferently.

"Yeah! The Sunset Mountain Range is huge; he couldn't possibly seal it all." Luo Yun also said.

Guo Da then changed direction, but after not going far, he was still stopped by soldiers manning a checkpoint.

"Let's go on foot! The flying boat is too conspicuous in the air. These soldiers have set up checkpoints everywhere—there's no way through!" Guo Da suggested.

So they abandoned the flying boat and proceeded on foot, first heading to a nearby town to gather information.

This town is called Sunset Town, the nearest rest and supply station to the Sunset Mountain Range.

Ye Liuyun and company wanted to find a tavern to gather news and then have a hearty meal.

Unexpectedly, every tavern they tried was packed. In the end they only found a small inn where they could grab something to eat.

While ordering, Ye Liuyun asked the waiter: "Why are there so many people here?"

"It's because of the mountain blockade! Normally the town isn't this crowded. These are martial cultivators who came to explore, stopped here and waiting to enter the mountains." The waiter remarked offhand.

While eating, Ye Liuyun and company also learned that these people were indeed martial cultivators stranded here.

Most had traveled from afar, unwilling to return empty-handed, so they were all studying routes into the mountains and how to avoid soldier patrols.

"Have you heard? Apparently the Chamber of Commerce sells maps of the Sunset Mountain Range, with markings for routes that evade the blockade."

"I already got that map. Just follow my lead when the time comes!"

Ye Liuyun heard many martial cultivators talking about that map.

"After we finish eating, let's also check out the Chamber of Commerce. Even if there's no blockade‑evading route, getting a full map of the Sunset Mountain Range wouldn't hurt!" Ye Liuyun said.

"Does that map really show a route that avoids the blockade?" Luo Yun asked curiously.

"I doubt it! If such a route really existed, how could it be so widely spread?" Guo Da analyzed.

"True, I also think it's not very credible." Ye Liuyun also said.

The inn was packed and noisy. Ye Liuyun and company hastily finished their meal and immediately rushed to the Chamber of Commerce to buy a map.

"Would you like a regular map, or one marked with a blockade‑evading route?" the shopkeeper asked with a smiling eyes.

Ye Liuyun felt this guy was nothing but a smile hiding a knife.

"What are the prices?" he asked offhand.

"A plain map of the Sunset Mountain Range costs ten spirit stones, but a map marked with a blockade‑evading route runs five hundred spirit stones!"

"Your business is doing great—just doodle a line and you can sell it for five hundred spirit stones!" Meng Zhangxing sneered.

The shopkeeper, hearing this, wasn't angry at all; he still smiled and said, "Someone has already used our map to evade the blockade and enter the mountains!"

"Give us one of each, then!" Ye Liuyun said, handing over the spirit stones.

He was worried Meng Zhangxing might say something unpleasant and provoke the shopkeeper into refusing to sell to them.

"All right!" the shopkeeper chuckled, producing two maps and handing them to Ye Liuuyn.

Ye Liuyun looked at the two maps and couldn't help but be a little surprised.

The two maps were actually identical; only one had an additional red line marked on it. Moreover, red lettering indicated the times when soldiers changed shifts at several points along the red line, as well as details on how to get through.

"If the shopkeeper didn't have an insider leaking information, he couldn't possibly have obtained this data!" Ye Liuyun thought, and felt the map might really allow entry into the Sunset Mountain Range.

After leaving the Chamber of Commerce, Ye Liuyun passed the map to everyone, having them memorize it.

After looking at it, everyone guessed the Chamber of Commerce shopkeeper had connections, obtaining the soldiers' shift‑change information.

"Then let's try following this route." Ye Liuyun also said.

Afterward, Ye Liuyun and company left the town and found a spot to barbecue some meat.

They calculated the distance and time; setting out now would be too early, so they decided to eat their fill first.

The town was too crowded; they really had nowhere to stay, so it was better to barbecue outside the town for some peace.

When they had almost finished eating, they also noticed that martial cultivators were streaming out of the town in groups, heading for the Sunset Mountain Range.

"With so many people taking the same route, won't they be exposed?" Guo Da doubted.

Ye Liuyun also found it strange. Even if those soldiers were puppets, they'd still notice something—how could so many people possibly get through?

"Let's follow them and see! No matter what, we won't set out today—we'll observe for a night and then decide." Ye Liuyun told the group.

So Ye Liuyun and company also set out, trailing far behind those martial cultivators.

The other martial cultivators also thought they were just out exploring, so nobody paid them any attention—only when they spotted A Ya would anyone give them a second glance.

Moreover, some even invited Ye Liuyun and company to join their party, but Ye Liuyun refused them all.

With so many martial cultivators on the move, not a single one had been spotted by the soldiers—Ye Liuyun felt even more puzzled.

Thus, upon just entering the Sunset Mountain Range, Ye Liuyun had everyone conceal themselves and switched to using divine sense to observe the martial cultivators' progress.

All he saw was those martial cultivators carefully following the map's route through the Mi Lin forest, truly encountering no soldiers at all.

Then, when the shift‑change time arrived, those soldiers first withdrew.

The martial cultivators seized the moment, surging forward to pass the checkpoint. Soon after, another squad of soldiers arrived and re‑manned the post.

Everything looks fine.

But Ye Liuyun noticed a clue.

Ye Liuyun sent Guo Da a Transmission Voice: "Have you noticed? This unit has nearly a thousand soldiers, but more than half of them are defending inside, not outside."