Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Sudden Change at the Wild Temple

Lin Changheng was instantly pleased.

Yet, his tone remained nonchalant. "Please bring them all out for me to inspect. If there are no issues, I’ll purchase the entire lot."

"Right away!"

Liu Fengxiu beamed, his old eyes crinkling into slits, and he quickly rose to comply.

Lin Changheng proceeded to inspect all the Essence Blood. Once he confirmed everything was in order, he took out ninety Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

The original price was ninety-three, but Liu Fengxiu had proactively waived the small remainder.

"Excellent. Be sure to put these away safely."

Liu Fengxiu collected the Spirit Stones, and seeing that Lin Changheng was about to leave, he quickly rose to see him out.

He walked him all the way to the door.

Only then did Lin Changheng stop. "I expect to visit about once a year from now on. I’d like to ask you, Shopkeeper Liu, to help me stock up on some Demon Beast Essence Blood. Flame-tailed Spirit Fox is fine, but Essence Blood from other Muddy Evil Bloodlines will work as well."

"Of course! Of course!"

Liu Fengxiu readily agreed.

"This is far enough."

Lin Changheng gave a wave of his hand, melted into the crowd, and disappeared.

When he next appeared, he was already outside the Marketplace entrance, leaning against an old tree, waiting.

He had changed his clothes, yet his new outfit was identical to the one he wore when he first arrived.

The sun was high overhead, and its scorching heat felt almost searing on the skin.

It was clearly noon, the appointed hour for his departure with the Xu Family’s caravan.

"Over here."

Soon, someone called out to him. Looking up, he saw it was none other than the Steward of the Xu Family caravan, beckoning him over.

Lin Changheng walked over, exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, and then, as arranged, settled into the empty carriage of the pack-horse wagon.

He closed his eyes to meditate. After less than an hour, he heard a sudden stir.

Lin Changheng opened his eyes to see a woman in a veiled hat nimbly boarding the carriage. She lifted the curtain, and their eyes met.

Their eyes met, and they both nodded simultaneously. Without a word, they each took a seat on opposite sides.

They waited for a long while longer.

The old man in the bamboo hat who had previously shared the ride did not appear. Instead, the Steward’s voice came from outside the carriage. "The appointed time is up. We’re not waiting any longer. Let’s move out."

"Any later and we’ll be forced to spend the night in the wilderness, which is far from safe."

Seeing no objection from the two inside the carriage, the Steward shouted a command, and the caravan of pack-horse wagons lurched into motion.

Yet the ride was surprisingly smooth, with hardly any jostling.

...

「Three days passed in a flash.」

The caravan’s journey was peaceful and uneventful.

It was, after all, a familiar and well-trodden path.

It was now nighttime,

and the members of the Xu Family caravan had stopped to rest their horses at an abandoned temple.

Of the dozen or so people, two were posted as hidden sentries outside, while the rest gathered around three campfires.

By the innermost campfire, Lin Changheng and the Female Cultivator sat side-by-side, each closing their eyes and meditating.

The area was silent, save for faint snores and the occasional crackle of the campfire, which sent sparks flying and cast flickering shadows on the dilapidated temple walls.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Lin Changheng’s eyes snapped open, his sharp, hawk-like gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

The Female Cultivator, seeming to notice as well, slowly opened her eyes. A strange glint appeared in them as she whispered, "Fellow Daoist, have you sensed something?"

’It’s a little too quiet outside...’

She, too, had realized it.

Lin Changheng didn’t respond. His gaze was fixed on the Xu Family Cultivator leaning against the temple door. He watched as the man’s face slowly lost its ruddy color, a faint, bluish-black hue spreading across it like a spider’s web.

This was due to the extremely keen sensitivity to Poison his body had gained from the Poison Transformation Technique: Ascension.

No one else had noticed—not even the victim himself, who was dying in his sleep. Yet he had been the first to sense it.

"It’s poison! Someone is poisoning us!"

The Female Cultivator’s gaze followed his. Shocked by what she saw, she immediately circulated her Magical Power and let out a sharp cry.

Reinforced by her Magical Power, her normally soft voice boomed like a great temple bell, ringing in everyone’s ears.

Everyone shot to their feet instantly.

They hadn’t been sleeping deeply and were instantly awake. They subconsciously drew their Magical Artifacts, eyes scanning their surroundings warily, ready to face the enemy.

Lin Changheng, meanwhile, took a subtle step back, positioning himself behind the others.

The next instant, a series of clatters rang out—the sound of Magical Artifacts falling to the ground.

The poison had already reached the hearts of two Xu Family Cultivators with lower Cultivation. Their strength failed them, making them unable to grip their Magical Artifacts, and they swayed before collapsing limply to the ground.

"Who is it?! Show yourself, you coward! How dare you resort to poison?!"

The caravan’s Steward was furious. As a Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer expert, he was enraged that he hadn’t noticed a thing. It was an utter humiliation.

He pulled out two bottles of Antitoxic Pills, uncorked one, and tossed a pill into his mouth before throwing the bottles to the others to share.

Simultaneously, his left hand formed a seal while his right made a gesture, unleashing the Gale Skill. A powerful gust of wind whipped up from behind him, howling as it rushed back out through the temple entrance.

The three campfires were instantly extinguished, and the wind whipped at everyone’s robes. In a single gust, all the poisonous gas that had seeped in from outside was swept completely away.

The gale carried the gas and expelled it from the temple entrance.

By the time the Magic ended, the contents of the two bottles of Antitoxic Pills had been distributed and consumed.

Although Lin Changheng hadn’t been poisoned and had no fear of it thanks to his Poison Transformation Technique: Ascension, he saw the Female Cultivator beside him swallow a pill and offer the bottle to him.

He hesitated for a moment but didn’t refuse, taking a pill and swallowing it as well.

"I’ll go out and have a look!"

The caravan Steward ordered everyone to meditate and neutralize the poison. He himself dashed out of the abandoned temple, disappearing in a flash.

Lin Changheng, just like everyone else, closed his eyes and sat cross-legged in meditation. Inwardly, however, he was sighing to himself.

’This Cultivation Realm is truly a dangerous place. Even traveling with a group of Cultivators and under the protection of a Late Stage, Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer expert, we still get ambushed by Tribulation Cultivators attempting to poison us.’

’And this poison... colorless, odorless, and it even slipped past the Steward’s senses. I wonder what kind it is?’

’If I hadn’t sensed it in advance, at least half the caravan would have died in their sleep, completely unaware.’

’Even a Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer expert’s Magical Power is useless against something like this.’

’This won’t do.’

A sense of urgency struck Lin Changheng. ’I can’t wait until I’m back with the family to absorb it!’

’I have to find a chance soon to use Metamorphosis on all the Flame-tailed Spirit Fox Essence Blood. Only when I’ve grasped the Fire Manipulation Divine Power True Intent will I have some peace of mind.’

Just as Lin Changheng was having these thoughts,

a figure in fine robes returned, entering the temple with a dark expression on his face.

In his hands, the caravan Steward held two corpses, their faces a deathly bluish-black. It was the sentries who had been posted outside; they had already died from the poison.

He had found nothing else.

Clearly, the Steward’s pursuit had yielded no results.

"I caught a glimpse of a figure in the distant woods, but I didn’t dare give chase. I feared it was a ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain."

The Steward explained, seeing everyone’s eyes on him.

The others nodded repeatedly, showing their agreement.

Clearly, their own lives were more important than revenge at that moment.

"Sigh... we’ll take them back for a proper burial. I’ll stand watch tonight. Tomorrow, we head back to the family at full speed."

The caravan Steward looked at the three corpses, his anger giving way to dejection. The few others who had collapsed from the poison had taken the Antitoxic Pills in time; though they weren’t conscious yet, their lives were at least out of danger.