For the next few days, Lü Zhong spent nearly all his ti on Talisman Making.
He moved from making Cleaning Talismans to Arrow Avoidance Talismans, and after finishing those, he started on Evil Exorcism Talismans.
He didn’t waste his spare ti either. He used it to review the Magic Skills he had already learned. He also found the ti to visit a shop and purchase a batch of supplentary Pills with various effects, such as Replenishing Qi, detoxification, and healing.
During this ti, rumors that the Five Spirits Sect was about to go to war with the Qingyang Sect beca increasingly widespread throughout the market, causing a huge stir.
Finally, on the tenth day, a shocking piece of news broke.
It turned out that the Five Spirits Sect had officially declared war on the Qingyang Sect half a month ago.
Just as the market was reeling from the shock, Lü Zhong had already set off with a caravan early in the morning. Many other cultivators from Qingliu Square were traveling with them. They all shared the sa goal of escaping the impending disaster and were heading for Yanling Mountain Market.
...
The caravan Lü Zhong joined was called "Treasure Workshop" and had a good reputation. He had only dared to join them after making nurous inquiries to ensure they were trustworthy.
Treasure Workshop was quite large. It had about twenty cultivators, all of whom looked like combat experts. Factoring in the mortal attendants and Martial Artist riders, the caravan’s total number was close to a thousand people.
The caravan’s steward had the highest cultivation in the group. According to information Lü Zhong had secretly gathered, this Steward, nad Wang Cang, was quite powerful. A decade ago, he was already at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
After all this ti, his cultivation could only be higher.
The caravan had twelve large, enclosed wagons, all crafted from ironwood.
Each wagon was about ten feet wide and thirty feet long. A vehicle so large and heavy couldn’t be pulled by ordinary livestock. Instead, each one was drawn by two massive Brute Oxen.
At that mont, Lü Zhong’s gaze fell upon the Brute Oxen pulling the wagon in front of him, his eyes filled with curiosity. ’I wouldn’t have known just by hearing about them... so this is a Spiritual Beast? I’m surprised it’s so docile...’
The Brute Oxen were similar in size to a Steel-maned Boar, nearly twenty feet long and ten feet tall.
According to his Qi Observation Skill, they were clearly Tier One Demon Beasts.
Yet here these Demon Beasts were, dutifully pulling the wagons, looking for all the world like hardworking, uncomplaining oxen.
’Is it because they’ve been tad into Spiritual Beasts?’ Lü Zhong wondered.
Once a Demon Beast was tad, it could be called a Spiritual Beast.
Spiritual Beasts were an indispensable part of the Cultivation Realm. They were the primary source of at for cultivators and the main raw material for making Talisman Paper. They also produced large quantities of artifact refining materials, influencing every aspect of the Cultivation Realm.
And that was without even ntioning their use for pulling wagons and carrying passengers. It was safe to say that without Spiritual Beasts, the Cultivation Realm would grind to a halt.
...
The caravan continued north, picking up more people along the way.
They were ordinary Loose Cultivators. Although they could pay a fee in Spirit Stones to travel with the caravan, they didn’t enjoy the privilege of riding in the wagons like Lü Zhong. They had to walk on their own two feet.
The first day of the journey passed uneventfully, as they traveled across open plains with clear lines of sight.
As evening fell, the Treasure Workshop caravan set up camp as planned at a place called Dingfeng Slope.
The campsite offered a wide, open view, making it easy to spot threats from any direction. Judging by the many piles of charcoal ash on the ground, it was clearly a frequent overnight stop, full of signs of human activity.
Once the wagons had been arranged in a defensive circle, a group of people suddenly erged from the dense woods to the west and started walking toward them.
Lü Zhong wasn’t the first to notice them. The Treasure Workshop caravan clearly had cultivators who practiced the Qi Observation Skill, tasked with scouting the surroundings, and they had already sent out a warning signal.
Three whistling arrows were fired imdiately.
"Halt! State your business!"
Bows and crossbows were drawn en masse. The caravan reacted instantly, its Martial Artists and riders assuming defensive stances.
As for the cultivators, however, not one of them made an appearance.
There was a stir among the approaching group. After a mont, a figure was pushed forward—a young man in slightly tidier clothes, holding a faintly glowing Jade Token.
"I... I have a Trade Order. We’re from Anshi Castle. Can we trade with you?"
"Toss it over. Let see," ca Steward Wang’s voice.
Lü Zhong watched from the side as the caravan verified the group’s identity. Once confird, they actually began to trade.
The group, who appeared to be Wilderness Independent Cultivators, had brought various raw Spiritual Objects to trade. They had aged Spirit dicines suitable for Alchemy, gathered spirit wood and Spirit Ores, and even ho-grown Spirit Rice and self-made Talisman Paper.
They traded these items with Treasure Workshop. A small portion was exchanged for Spirit Stones, but most of it was bartered for finished goods like Pills, Magical Artifacts, and Talismans.
Both parties got what they needed, and the trade was quickly concluded.
Lü Zhong had previously wondered why the caravan’s route was so regular. Now he understood the reason.
Their main purpose was likely to acquire goods.
However, Lü Zhong could also tell that Treasure Workshop didn’t seem to trade with just any Wilderness Independent Cultivator. They would only do business with those who could present one of these so-called "Trade Orders."
Since he wasn’t part of the caravan, he had no way of knowing the reason for this.
...
After a night’s rest, the caravan set out again at dawn.
The rest of the journey was not as smooth as the first day.
Not long after leaving Dingfeng Slope, they reached a rugged mountain path. To keep the wagons from overturning, the caravan had to advance slowly. The stretch was only a few miles long, yet it took them a full six hours to cross.
They had just made it through when they entered a forest of towering, ancient trees.
The colossal trees here were so thick it would take ten people to encircle their trunks, and they towered hundreds of feet into the air. Their dense canopies blotted out the sun, casting the path below in a gloomy darkness.
Strange sounds echoed around the caravan from ti to ti.
If you ignored them, the sounds would persist, unsettlingly loud.
But if you turned to look, you would find nothing, and the sounds would only grow stranger and more unnerving.
But Steward Wang of Treasure Workshop acted as if he noticed nothing and did not order the caravan to stop.
The deeper the caravan ventured into the forest, the thicker the layer of fallen leaves on the ground beca. It was like walking on a carpet, but the soft, rotting leaves would give way underfoot. The strange sensation was unsettling, making one fear what monsters might be lurking beneath.
Gradually, the surrounding light grew even dimr.
The caravan continued to press on, but Lü Zhong could now sense that sothing was wrong.
At the sa ti, the caravan’s cultivators, who had remained hidden until now, suddenly appeared alongside Steward Wang. Every one of them wore an incredibly grim expression.
Steward Wang, dressed in his fine robes, summoned a Magic Ring and shouted:
"Everyone, we have a problem."
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