"Alright, let's forget everything else for now and find a way out of this place. It's too dangerous here. We should join a sect or find some backing—because if that crazy woman's plan actually succeeds, then nearly twenty percent of all cultivators in the Central Continent will vanish within days."
He activated his sensing technique, spreading his spiritual awareness across the nearby area, searching for anyone trying to retreat.
Suddenly—Boom! Boom!
The deep toll of a bell echoed across the land.
A wave of excitement rippled through the scattered crowd. Some casual cultivators who had been loitering nearby suddenly grew animated. Their eyes lit up with excitement as they hastily packed their belongings into their storage rings and took to the skies, flying in the direction of the drums and bells.
Even the small-time merchants, who had been selling talismans and low-grade pills at makeshift stalls, had vanished. Their booths now stood abandoned, the dust settling in silence.
Su Chen narrowed his eyes.
"So... that bell was an alarm," he muttered. "Looks like the tomb raid is about to begin."
He watched the sky filled with streaks of light as cultivators rushed toward what might very well be their deaths.
"For the first time... I'm seeing people eager to die."
Su Chen casually walked toward a merchant's caravan—a group that had already finished packing their goods and seemed ready to leave. Their supplies had clearly run out, and they were preparing to head back. The merchant cart was no ordinary one; it was a mobile fortress drawn by a spirit beast horse with rugged brown skin and a single horn jutting from its forehead. Its steady gait and muscular build gave off a powerful aura, clearly not just a decorative mount.
After making sure no one was watching, Su Chen stopped near the back of the cart. He brought his hands together and quietly activated the Earth Escape Technique from the Five Elements Scripture. His body sank silently into the ground, vanishing into the earth beneath the cart.
The merchant, unaware of the extra passenger now hidden below his vehicle, steered the cart forward. Conveniently, they were headed in the opposite direction from the tomb raid—exactly where Su Chen wanted to go.
What Su Chen didn't know was that high above, hidden behind clouds and illusion arrays, a powerful detection formation had just been activated. It scanned the skies for anyone attempting to flee the area from above.
Fortunately for him, he hadn't tried to fly.
A rare stroke of luck—one that might have just saved his life.
As the caravan moved forward, picking up speed, Su Chen simply stayed concealed beneath it, conserving his energy and letting the earth carry him along. The spirit horses galloped at a consistent pace—faster than most mortal animals but not fast enough to escape trouble forever.
And trouble came soon enough.
About halfway through the forest, shadowy figures appeared among the trees. Bandits. Cultivators in tattered robes, some masked, others grinning with yellow teeth. They emerged from the brush with crude weapons, spirit ropes, and wicked laughter.
"Leave the goods and we'll let you live," one of them shouted, his spiritual pressure pressing down on the guards like a falling boulder.
The caravan came to a halt. The merchant began to panic, his guards drawing their swords with grim expressions. A brief scuffle broke out. Blades clashed, qi flared, shouts filled the forest.
But Su Chen?
He remained completely silent beneath the cart, watching through a crack in the floorboards.
"Not my problem," he muttered under his breath.
With his presence hidden and his qi restrained, no one sensed him. Not the bandits, not the guards, not even the horses.
Eventually, a few guards were injured, some goods were stolen, and the bandits disappeared into the trees, laughing as they vanished with their loot. The merchant was left cursing under his breath, but thankfully, the cart was intact, and they still had their lives.
Su Chen stayed still, his eyes closed as he listened to the rumbling wheels above.
"I'm not a hero," he whispered. "I'm just trying to survive."
And with that, the cart rolled on, deeper into the forest, carrying Su Chen toward whatever safety—or chaos—lay ahead.
After four days of slow, bumpy travel through dense forests, winding roads, and more than a few sleepless nights for the merchant guards, the caravan finally approached the gates of Green Willow City—a mid-sized trade city nestled between two mountain ranges. Its walls were high and covered in moss, and the tall watchtowers had crossbow-wielding guards surveying every passing traveler with sharp eyes.
At the gate, a city guard in light armor stepped forward and raised a hand.
"Halt. Entry fee: five low-grade spirit stones per cart."
The merchant quickly jumped down, trying to keep his tone respectful but clearly annoyed. "Five? It was three last month!"
The guard gave him a look. "Then you should've come last month."
Grumbling, the merchant fished out the spirit stones from his storage ring and handed them over. The guard didn't bother inspecting too closely—he just stepped aside and waved them through.
With the creak of wheels and snorts from the spirit horses, the cart rolled past the city gates and into the bustling main street of Green Willow City.
And then, beneath the cart, the earth shifted.
A quiet ripple of spiritual energy pulsed underground, and a moment later, a figure emerged unnoticed in a shadowed alley between two buildings. Su Chen climbed out of the ground with practiced ease, his body coated in a fine layer of dirt. He dusted off his robes, muttering to himself.
"Four days underground... My spine's going to rebel against me."
He patted his sleeves, straightened his collar, and looked around.
The moment Su Chen emerged from the ground, a gentle breeze brushed against his face, carrying with it the scent of blooming flowers and damp soil. The spring sun hung high above Green Willow City—warm but not oppressive—casting a soft golden glow over the stone streets. Petals from nearby peach trees drifted lazily through the air, and cultivators moved at a relaxed pace, some sipping tea beneath colorful awnings, others chatting under the shade of blossoming trees.
Su Chen glanced around the bustling street, his gaze drifting toward a quaint roadside tea stall nestled beneath a flowering peach tree. The scent of freshly brewed spiritual tea wafted through the air—calming, fragrant, with a faint trace of medicinal qi. A few rogue cultivators and merchants sat there, sipping leisurely and murmuring about the recent disaster in the Brightfire Expanse.
Su Chen's throat felt dry. Four days underground had left him craving something warm and clean.
He walked over to the stall and reached into his storage ring. A moment later, he frowned slightly.
High-grade spirit stones. All of them.
Su Chen shook his head. "These people probably can't break this."
Figures. No common stall owner would carry enough currency to change a high-grade spirit stone.
Exhaling slowly, Su Chen glanced toward the upper end of the avenue. There, rising above the rest of the city like a jewel in the mud, stood the Cloud Phoenix Inn—an extravagant, multi-story structure built from spirit wood and reinforced with shimmering formation lines. It was the kind of place frequented by elite sect disciples, wandering immortals, and rich merchants who never needed to ask the price.
"If I'm going to spend big," Su Chen muttered to himself, "I might as well enjoy it."
With one final glance at the humble tea stall, he turned on his heel and walked toward the grand inn, his robes fluttering gently in the spring breeze.
After all, he had money—just not the kind ordinary folk could use.
Despite the pleasant weather, the streets buzzed with tense conversation—not casual chatter, but hushed whispers laced with fear and disbelief.
"...Did you hear? Over ten thousand cultivators vanished in the Brightfire Expanse…"
"They say even a Deity realm expert from the Thousand Peaks Pavilion was torn apart on the spot! Not even a complete corpse was left behind!"
"That forest's cursed. No one who entered came back."
"Even top disciples from the Six Major Sects and rogue geniuses were wiped out… It's chaos now. The balance of power is crumbling."
Su Chen slowed his steps, passing by a group of cultivators clustered outside a teahouse. Their faces were pale, and though some sweat trickled down from anxiety, others looked… hopeful.
A different kind of rumor was spreading.
"I heard the Six Major Sects are planning to hold recruitment trials soon. With so many dead, they need fresh blood."
Under the awning of a spice shop, Su Chen paused and blended into the crowd, listening in silence.
So… she actually did it, he thought, eyes narrowing slightly. That woman really succeeded. I don't know how many more like her exist in the Upper Realm.
A long breath escaped his lips, half-exasperated, half-resigned. He looked up at the sky, where gentle clouds drifted across a serene blue canvas. The weather was calm—just the way he liked it.
His voice was quiet, but there was a trace of genuine disbelief in it. Not at the devastation, but at the fact that he was still alive… while so many, far stronger than him, had died without a trace.
"What a terrifying woman," he murmured. "I hope I never see her again."