Guarding the west gate of Liluo Immortal City were cultivators from the Clan Alliance. Their leader was a Female Cultivator at Early-stage Core Formation who spent all day in her room, using male cultivators as Furnace Cauldrons, seemingly to suppress a hidden injury.

There was nothing unusual about her; in fact, she seemed completely unconcerned with outside affairs.

Under the Female Cultivator’s command were two guard teams, each led by Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The two teams rotated shifts, guarding the city gate day and night to prevent Evil Cultivators—primarily Sinful Cultivators—from sneaking into the city.

He reviewed the moment he entered the city using his Time Reversal ability.

It had been a false alarm.

He ended the memory replay and returned to the present.

Lü Zhong let out a sigh of relief. ’I guess I was just being paranoid,’ he thought.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard footsteps approaching.

"Is this the place?"

"That’s right. This is the location given in the secret letter."

"Good. Once we catch this big fish, I’ll report it to the higher-ups and get you promoted to Commander!" Led by an ordinary cultivator, a red-haired, middle-aged man wearing an ornate headdress entered the area with a group of his confidants.

’A big fish?’

Lü Zhong thought to himself, ’They couldn’t possibly be talking about me, right?’

He immediately hid himself to avoid being discovered by the newly arrived cultivator.

The man’s cultivation was on par with his own; he was a seasoned Early-stage Core Formation cultivator.

Lü Zhong had no desire to clash with the red-haired man.

Whether he could win or not was one thing; what mattered most was that his location could not be revealed.

He had no desire to become like the protagonist of some novel, hunted from east to west, never knowing a moment of peace, forced to flee from place to place like a stray dog.

Perhaps it was due to the layers of broken walls between them, or perhaps they simply never imagined anyone else would be there.

Lü Zhong’s presence remained undetected by the group.

The red-haired man remained in the center of the ruins, and his confidants spread out around him. They all centered on a dry well, each an expert at Concealing Breath and Traces. They seemed to have formed some kind of array, lurking silently as if waiting for something to appear.

Watching from the shadows, Lü Zhong was frustrated.

He had come here to investigate a potential risk, but had instead walked right into another incident.

From their conversation, it seemed they had received news of a Sinful Cultivator sneaking in, so they’d set an ambush here. They were trying to catch a big fish: an important figure from the Western Border Alliance.

Now, he found himself caught in their encirclement, and escape would not be easy.

’What should I do?’

Lü Zhong’s mind raced, already formulating a plan.

This was where his earlier memory replay of the west gate could come in handy.

Liluo Immortal City was protected by a Grand Array, making it as impregnable as a fortress, but he had already figured out a way to get through the gate.

The key was a Control Token. Seizing it would allow him to open a passage out of the city.

The Token was in the hands of the Female Cultivator of Core Formation who guarded the gate.

Getting the Token wouldn’t be difficult; the woman was suffering from a hidden ailment.

If he could trigger it, she would be completely at his mercy.

Soon, the moon passed its zenith.

"Why isn’t he here yet? Chanyu Qiong, are you trying to trick me?"

The red-haired man’s eyes flashed with menace as he glared at the skinny cultivator beside him, causing the latter to shudder in fear.

Chanyu Qiong suppressed his terror and explained to the middle-aged man, "Elder Ling, the information I received said that Master Flowing Sword would come to the city tonight, when the moon is at its peak, to receive a shipment of supplies for the Sinful Cultivators! Look, this is the secret letter. I swear it’s authentic!"

Ling Tongxiao glanced at the secret letter. It was indeed in the format commonly used by Sinful Cultivators. He let out a cold snort.

"I figured you wouldn’t dare to pull any tricks!"

He had undertaken this trip for the sole purpose of capturing Master Flowing Sword.

The man was a founder of the Western Border Alliance and a thorn in the side of the True Central Sect, which had placed a massive bounty on his head.

This achievement would be enough to earn him passage through Immortal Prison Pass.

’If I can capture this man alive, I can finally leave this godforsaken place!’ Ling Tongxiao thought to himself.

The strange phenomena in the Western Realm were getting worse, and staying here was equivalent to having his path to the Dao cut short.

He was the most talented genius the Ling Family had produced in thousands of years. But because of the scarcity of Spiritual Objects in the Western Realm, he had been trapped at the Early-stage Core Formation realm for a century after breaking through.

He saw no hope for his future.

Only by reaching Central Earth could his cultivation continue to advance.

He might even get a glimpse of the Supreme Nascent Soul Path.

That was why, after receiving the news, Ling Tongxiao had informed no one else, fearing he would have to share the credit. He cast aside his own duties and personally led his confidants here to set this ambush.

Finally!

A series of rustling sounds broke the silence.

Several figures emerged from the dry well.

One of them was none other than Master Flowing Sword.