Chapter Fifteen: Keep as Far Away as Possible

After confirming this was not ancient Huaxia on Earth, Xiao Wenzi lost interest in the conversations of ordinary people. He needed to find a safe place to cultivate and break through. After all, his own cultivation level was fundamental; the higher it was, the more likely he could find cultivators to siphon blood from.

As for continuing to ambush mortals in the night to exchange for system coins, Xiao Wenzi had no such intention. He had gained plenty today, still had over six hundred system coins left, and He County was only three hundred li from Wo Niu Village—not truly safe. If the cultivators summoned by the Wang family arrived and heard of the mosquito demon causing trouble here, he would be in danger.

“This place is quite nice; I’ll just cultivate here,” he decided.

He County, with its population exceeding a hundred thousand, was not lacking in wealthy gentry like Lord Wang. Xiao Wenzi flew away from the inn and casually searched for a while, soon finding a grand residence with gardens and waterside pavilions. Atop a secluded artificial hill, scattered with water-drop caves of various sizes, Xiao Wenzi selected one and flew inside.

Having found a temporary cave mansion and not lacking system coins for now, he could focus on cultivating and improving his strength as much as possible.

With a hum, a droplet of blue-red liquid appeared, which Xiao Wenzi swallowed. As the Blood Spirit Technique circulated, it transformed into inexhaustible demon spirit power.

The further he progressed in cultivation, the harder it became. Five drops of Rock Spirit Essence allowed him to break into the early stage of Demon Qi Realm, Layer One; a dozen drops pushed him into the mid-stage. Yet, after a few days, when Xiao Wenzi had exchanged all six hundred system coins for Rock Spirit Essence and consumed them, his cultivation only stabilized at the late stage of Layer One, with no sign of breaking through to Layer Two.

When consuming several drops at once no longer made his body swell and the heat generated was minimal, Xiao Wenzi realized that Rock Spirit Essence would be of limited help for future breakthroughs—unless he could exchange for a higher-tier Demon Gathering Pill.

But Demon Gathering Pills required Layer One system coins to exchange. In other words, from today onward, he would need to find a way to feed on the blood of Qi Refining cultivators, or else his progress would stall.

Of course, if he had enough Demon Gathering Stones and Rock Spirit Essence to assist his cultivation, perhaps he could break through the bottleneck and enter Layer Two of the Demon Qi Realm.

Three days and nights had passed since he began cultivating with exchanged Rock Spirit Essence, and it was still nighttime.

Seeing no immediate breakthrough, Xiao Wenzi decided to wander around, hoping to find a map or overhear idle chatter about cultivator sects in this world.

After all, cultivators rarely stayed among the mundane. Even if he wanted to feed on the blood of a rookie Qi Refining cultivator, he had to find them first, didn’t he?

He flew out of the unknown gentry’s garden estate and began searching for commercial shops, since those were most likely to have maps.

As for finding clues about cultivators, that depended on luck. No matter how anxious he was, he couldn’t converse with mortals.

He could communicate with cultivators, as long as he could cultivate spiritual sense and use his mind to exchange thoughts. But if there really were cultivators nearby, Xiao Wenzi wouldn’t dare approach them in his current state.

Time slowly slipped by. Deep in the night, an inconspicuous little mosquito flitted along streets lined with shops, skillfully avoiding webs, toads, geckos, and other traps.

Actually, after reaching the late stage of Layer One in the Demon Qi Realm, even without deliberately avoiding sensed threats, Xiao Wenzi could emit his aura to scare them off or even strike them with his claws.

But he preferred not to engage in needless conflict, so he was as cautious as possible. With so many insects in the night, predators wouldn’t specifically target him.

His efforts paid off. After visiting more than a dozen shops, Xiao Wenzi finally found a room with a map of the northern part of Tian Nan Prefecture hanging inside.

Judging by the still-wet ink, he understood why this map had not been rolled up like the others on the shelves—it must have been made just that day.

This was good news for him. No matter who the shopkeeper was, or which skilled hand had painted the map, Xiao Wenzi was grateful.

Cultivators had photographic memories, and since practicing the Blood Spirit Technique, his recall had grown much stronger. With a few glances, he nearly memorized all the counties, towns, and mountains around He County.

“Wait… the Green Peak Mountains—is the Green Mountain Sect that the Wang family went to summon help from located within this vast range?”

Though the map had no markings for cultivation sects, the Green Peak Mountains, only a few hundred li from He County, caught Xiao Wenzi’s attention.

The range lay to the northeast, on the far side of Qing Tian Town.

Wo Niu Village was too small to be marked, but judging by his travels, it was less than a hundred li from Qing Tian Town and even closer to the Green Peak Mountains than He County—hard not to connect the two.

If this was true, to avoid cultivators from Green Mountain Sect, he would need to head southwest, toward Qing County or Peng County.

Calculating the time, barring accidents, and recalling what the two young maids had said, the Wang family should have already reached Green Mountain Sect. The immortal master was likely searching for him now. To avoid danger, it would be best to leave tomorrow.

Thinking carefully, Xiao Wenzi flew south during the night, aiming for the city gate to see if he could catch a ride.

As dawn approached, Xiao Wenzi finally arrived at the southern gate, hanging in the shadow of the archway, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Everything was ready; he just needed a passing merchant caravan to comfortably leave He County.

After two or three days, the rumored Black Scarf Bandit had not appeared again. Though the magistrate’s men sent to contact other towns had not returned, some merchants could no longer resist leaving the city.

Xiao Wenzi did not wait long before a caravan bearing the Qing County Liu Family Escort Agency’s banner rolled out of the southern gate. Without hesitation, he dropped from the archway and flew onto a wagon piled with crates.

The Liu Family Escort Agency was far more formidable than the seven or eight-man Changfeng Escort—they had dozens of guards, and their merchants were notable figures in Qing County.

Xiao Wenzi didn’t know who the young man in luxurious robes traveling in the central carriage was, nor did he care, so long as he could hitch a ride and leave danger behind.

“Report, chief! A caravan of several dozen wagons and horses has left He County’s southern gate—they seem headed for Qing County. Shall we send men to intercept and kill them? Please advise, chief.”

Soon after the Liu Family Escort Agency departed He County, in a dense forest several dozen li away, a bandit scout knelt on one knee before Chu Hong, reporting in a low voice.