"A restriction?"
As soon as Ye Beixuan flew to the cave entrance, he sensed the restriction there. However, for him now, it wasn't much of a challenge.
"To think someone used a restriction like this to hide the Xuánhuáng Fruit. No wonder it was discovered in my last life—seems the person who set it up wasn't much of an expert."
As he spoke, he took out a Breaking Talisman Pearl from his storage ring—a treasure he'd picked up at a black market.
In the past year or so, although Ye Beixuan's cultivation hadn't improved much, he'd encountered many lucky chances and obtained quite a few treasures. This gave him confidence to travel all this way in search of the Xuánhuáng Fruit.
"Break!"
With a loud shout, Ye Beixuan sent the Breaking Talisman Pearl crashing into the restriction at the cave entrance.
Rumble!
With a thunderous boom, the Breaking Talisman Pearl destroyed the restriction and blasted open a large hole at the cave's mouth.
Success!
Looking at the newly opened entrance, Ye Beixuan saw a ray of light shooting toward him from the shattered restriction.
"That's the mark left by the restriction!"
He narrowed his eyes and muttered, "So the person who set this up left a backdoor. Looks like I shouldn't linger here."
Ye Beixuan quickly flew into the cave, sweeping aside obstacles with a few forceful palm strikes.
At the same time that he broke the restriction, in a city a hundred li away—
An old man's eyes snapped open. Staring at a broken jade slip, his face changed drastically. "Damn! The restriction around the Xuánhuáng Fruit has been broken. I can't let it fall into someone else's hands—that treasure is my key to reaching the Path Union Realm!"
He shouted, "A Da, A Er, A San!"
"We're here!"
Three figures instantly appeared in the room, each at the peak of the Heaven Origin Realm.
The old man commanded sternly, "You three, come with me."
"Yes, Grand Elder!"
In an instant, the four vanished into the night, flying toward the cliff where the Xuánhuáng Fruit was hidden.
Back with Ye Beixuan—after getting the Xuánhuáng Fruit, he quickly mapped out his escape route in his mind. Just over two hundred li away was Yunlan City at the foot of Yunlan Sect's mountain, guarded by Path Union Realm experts.
As long as he could get into Yunlan City and erase the tracking mark, the person who set the restriction wouldn't be able to find him.
Heading for Yunlan City wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision—after all, Yunlan Sect was a half-saint force. If they had discovered the Xuánhuáng Fruit, they'd never have used such a simple restriction.
In his past life, Yunlan Sect only reacted after the Xuánhuáng Fruit had already appeared, shocked that such a spiritual treasure had been under their noses.
In the end, the fruit was snatched by a genius from a holy land, and Yunlan Sect became a laughingstock among many factions—for missing a treasure right under their eyes.
Two hours later, dawn broke. Ye Beixuan had already flown over two hundred li, now just twenty-odd li from Yunlan City. In no time, he'd reach safety. Looking at the city drawing nearer, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a powerful aura lock onto him.
A brief probe with his spiritual sense revealed several auras rapidly approaching—they'd catch up within moments.
Without looking back, he sped up, fleeing toward Yunlan City like an arrow leaving the bowstring.
Behind him, seeing Ye Beixuan's sudden burst of speed, the old man's face turned ashen. He shouted angrily, "Thief, stop right there!"
His voice echoed for dozens of li, causing cultivators on the ground to look up—four cultivators were chasing a young man through the sky.
"Isn't that the Grand Elder of the Beilan Zhan Clan? Why is he chasing a mere Dao Foundation junior?"
"Huh, that kid doesn't seem ordinary. For someone at the Dao Foundation Realm, he's unbelievably fast."
"Speed is meaningless—how could a Dao Foundation junior possibly escape a Path Union Realm expert?"
"Well, it's not every morning you get to see a show like this."
"…"
On the official road outside Yunlan City, a burly man was riding a majestic white tiger, heading slowly toward the city.
Wherever man and tiger passed, passersby scattered in fear—the white tiger's Heaven Origin Realm aura sent shivers through everyone nearby.
The burly man on the tiger's back heard the loud shout from the sky and instinctively looked up.
When he saw the young cultivator's face clearly, his usual roguish expression vanished without a trace, replaced by excitement.
"Fifth Junior Brother, I didn't expect to meet you here."
This fierce man riding the tiger was none other than Cao Youqian. Seeing Ye Beixuan getting closer to the ground, he reached out and grabbed Ye Beixuan right over to his side.
Ye Beixuan was completely unprepared. The moment he felt that terrifying strength, he couldn't help but shout inwardly, 'This is bad! There's an enemy in front too?'
His first instinct was to reach for the sword jade at his waist.
"Junior Brother Ye, it seems your situation is a bit dire!"
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice interrupted Ye Beixuan's movement. Looking up, he saw a familiar face beaming at him.
Sensing the pursuers drawing closer, Ye Beixuan quickly said, "Second Senior Brother, there's no time to explain. Head for the city—otherwise we'll waste Master's sword intent for nothing!"
Cao Youqian grinned and pointed to the four people flying toward them in the distance. "You don't think I'd need to use Master's treasure just to deal with these four wastes, do you?"
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone around heard him clearly.
All eyes turned to Cao Youqian.
Ye Beixuan paused, then came to his senses and asked, "Senior Brother, those are Path Union Realm experts—you can really handle them?"
In his memory and with his spiritual sense, Cao Youqian's cultivation was at the True Fate Realm. Even if his senior brother could fight across realms, it shouldn't be possible to leap two whole stages.
"No problem. Just stand here and don't move. I'll deal with them in a moment."
Cao Youqian then set his gaze on Elder Zhan and his group. "So it's you four bullying my junior brother?"
Elder Zhan looked at the young man riding a peak Heaven Origin Realm tiger demon, frowning slightly.
This young man's cultivation was clearly at the True Fate Realm, but his depth and aura were anything but ordinary. Someone who could have a Heaven Origin Realm tiger as a mount was definitely no ordinary disciple. He was likely from a major power, and provoking someone like this would not be wise for the Zhan Clan. It would be better to extract some benefits instead.
He cupped his fists and said, "Sir, your junior brother stole my treasure first. As long as he returns it, I won't press the issue."
Ye Beixuan was about to explain, but Cao Youqian raised his hand to stop him and replied with a grin, "My junior brother already handed his storage ring to me. What exactly did he steal?"
"Xuan…"
Elder Zhan had just uttered a syllable when he realized something was wrong. If he said "Xuánhuáng Fruit" here, the Zhan Clan could never protect it.
"Hand over his storage ring and let me inspect it. Then I'll know."
"Heh."
Cao Youqian chuckled. "No need for all that trouble. How about I take out all the treasures from his storage ring and you have a look?"
With that, Cao Youqian took out a thousand-year spiritual herb from his own storage ring.
"Is it this Seven Star Fruit?"
Elder Zhan shook his head at the Seven Star Fruit.
"Then maybe this Nine-Twist Spirit Ginseng?"
Cao Youqian pulled out a spirit ginseng from his storage ring.
"No…"
Elder Zhan was about to refuse, but when he caught a whiff of the ginseng's scent, he realized this was a thousand-year spiritual herb—even more valuable to him than the Xuánhuáng Fruit.
"Is that so?"
Cao Youqian smiled, put the Nine-Twist Spirit Ginseng away, and said unhurriedly, "You know, liars are punished by the heavens."
Elder Zhan now realized he was being toyed with. "You brat, you're making a fool of me!!"
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