bookbashuk Chapter 247 Hidden in the Wild
Chapter 247 Hidden in the Wild
"Everyone's already gone, why aren't you coming out?" After a moment, Nalan Yu's eyes flashed, she came back to her senses, and said calmly.
"Haha, I noticed that Fairy Nalan was deep in thought, so I didn't dare to disturb her."
An aged voice suddenly emanated from one of the walls around the room. Immediately, a wall twisted and rippled like water, slowly forming a crystalline light gate.
Immediately afterwards, the portal split open in two, and an old man in white robes with no beard stepped out of the portal. In a flash, he appeared in front of Nalan Yu and sat down directly on the wooden chair where Du Fan had been sitting, with a big smile on his face.
"Brother He, did you find anything with this young man? Could he be a disciple of some Golden Core senior on Crescent Island who couldn't come forward himself, so he sent a junior to do things for him?" Nalan Yu didn't mince words and went straight to the point as soon as the old man sat down.
"That kid just took out nearly 30,000 spirit stones. Under normal circumstances, that would exceed the wealth of a Golden Core cultivator."
"And judging from how swiftly he spends his money, these spirit stones certainly can't be the entire fortune of the person behind this young man." The white-robed elder said slowly. Although he didn't answer directly, the meaning behind his words was quite clear.
"Indeed, even a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage probably couldn't accomplish such a grand undertaking. Could it be a Nascent Soul expert?" Nalan Yu's expression changed, as if she had suddenly thought of something.
"If we're talking about Nascent Soul level experts on Crescent Island, there's only one: Crescent Island Master Lin Shuyue."
I've heard that Island Master Lin recently accepted a new disciple. It's said that this disciple has extraordinary talent in cultivation, possessing three spiritual roots.
The only regret is that this person had no prior cultivation experience, which not only wasted many years of cultivation time, but also left him with impurities and insufficient acquired spiritual energy, which is truly a pity.
"If one wants to achieve great things late in life, one must use some extraordinary methods. In that case, it makes sense that Island Master Lin collected some demon cores for him." After pondering for a moment, the old man surnamed He slowly spoke.
"That's unlikely. Senior Lin is the lord of an island. Getting a demon core would be as simple as saying a word to him."
Moreover, after thousands of years of development, a medium-sized island would likely have a mountain of demon cores in its reserves. How could it possibly be short of demon cores? Let alone sending spirit stones to an outside force like us!
"What Fairy Nalan said makes sense; it was I who hadn't considered things carefully." The white-robed elder smiled awkwardly, then his eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice:
"Besides Island Master Lin, the only other entities with such wealth are the various powerful and entrenched forces on Crescent Island. Could it be that someone has heard rumors we don't know about and is trying to stockpile goods, hoping to make a fortune later?"
"Brother He is referring to the mists of the East Sea, right? Such matters are beyond our knowledge. Alright, there's no need for us to continue speculating here. By the time Wei Feng and the other two return, we'll be able to confirm about 70-80% of the truth," Nalan Yu said, changing the subject.
Upon hearing this, the elderly man surnamed He sighed softly, but did not dwell on the topic any further. Instead, he spoke to the woman about the recent business matters of Riyuelou.
About two hours later, the two men in green robes who had seen Du Fan off returned to the VIP room. Their faces were pale, their bodies trembled slightly, and their eyes held a hint of shame and trepidation.
"Reporting to Senior Nalan and Senior He, we...we lost them." One of them stepped forward, not daring to look directly at the two in front of him, and lowered his head sharply, speaking with fear and a forced smile.
"What? Useless!" The white-robed old man suddenly stood up, roaring, his anger reaching its peak.
Although Nalan Yu sat there without speaking, her eyes were slightly narrowed, her chest rose and fell slightly, and an extremely dangerous aura slowly emanated from her.
……
From the void by the river, a figure slowly emerged. It was a man, dressed in a green robe with his hair loose and flowing over his shoulders.
At this moment, the man in the green robe was slowly removing a plain-looking ring from his finger, muttering to himself:
"If the people from the Sun and Moon Pavilion send a Foundation Establishment expert to follow me, I might really have no way to do anything. I can't just waste that piece of talisman wood that only has one strike left here."
Fortunately, the other party was only two Qi Refining stage cultivators. Even if they were at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, shaking them off wouldn't be difficult for me.
This man in the green robe was none other than Du Fan, who had recently left the cultivation market through the secret passage of the Sun and Moon Tower and then escaped far away with the help of the invisibility ring.
"The influence of the Sun and Moon Pavilion is definitely not small. My performance just now was indeed too amazing. They will definitely send more people. It is not advisable to stay here for long."
Du Fan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he quickly made a decision. He immediately moved, unleashing his speed, and sped off in one direction.
Three days later, Du Fan stood atop a hill, his gaze falling on a mountain path in the distance, where bandits were robbing villagers.
Du Fan showed no intention of helping those in need; instead, he rested his chin on his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"That bandit leader is actually a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining... The great hermit lives in the city, the lesser hermit lives in the wilderness. So this saying can also be applied here. This is not a bad idea."
Du Fan's eyes flashed with a strange light, and his mind raced as he began to plan his escape from Langlin Valley.
After a long while, the light in Du Fan's eyes gradually dimmed, and he sighed, "If I intend to stay on Crescent Island forever, then I can do that."
However, I will never stay here forever. I will definitely find a way to leave and return to the Nine Provinces Continent in the future!
If that's the case, then this path of no return isn't suitable for me, but as a short-term refuge, it's still a good option.
Thinking of this, Du Fan smiled slightly, ignored the bandits in front of him, turned around, and transformed into a streak of green light, disappearing in an instant.
In less than half a day, Du Fan found a bandit's den. When his divine sense swept over the bandit leader, his expression became somewhat strange. After a moment's thought, he left without saying a word.
Half a day later, Du Fan appeared in a black mountain. Deep in the mountain, there was a stronghold, which was obviously a powerful bandit stronghold with as many as seven or eight hundred people.
After a short while, Du Fan emerged from the mountain stronghold, having bypassed numerous checkpoints, looking dejected. He muttered to himself:
"There are actually three cultivators among this bandit group, and the leader's cultivation has even reached the second level of the Qi Refining stage. It seems that there are quite a few cultivators who do this kind of thing..."
They must all know each other's identities, but it seems the other ordinary bandits are unaware of them.
"Demon cores are different from pills. Once ingested, they must be refined in one go. This process is completely uncontrollable, unlike pills which can be temporarily suppressed. Now that I am about to break through my realm, I must not be careless about this matter."
This process may take a long time, ranging from several months to more than half a year, and there are still unknown variables involved. Absolute safety must be guaranteed, and the process must not be disturbed.
Even if I were to run deep into the mountains and break open a cave, I still couldn't guarantee complete safety. For example, last time, that cliffside cave was extremely well hidden, and I was careful enough, but it was still found by the people from that mysterious organization.
Actually, the previous village was not bad, but it was still not perfect.
If I were to undergo months of seclusion to break through my cultivation, I would no longer be able to roam the farmland. But if I were to stay in a villager's home and not leave the house for months, it would inevitably arouse their suspicion, and the consequences would be considerable..."
"At present, it seems that apart from infiltrating bandit dens, there really is no better way."
"I'll try finding two more bandit groups. If that doesn't work, I'll use the Concealing Spirit Technique to lower my cultivation level and join a large mountain stronghold. I'll just have to pay some benefits." Du Fan sighed, then his figure flickered and he darted down the mountain.
……
Two days later, Du Fan discovered a small group of bandits in a bamboo forest. The group numbered around a hundred, which was exactly the size of Du Fan's target.
Most importantly, this band of bandits, from their leader to their henchmen, were all ordinary people; there were no cultivators among them.
With a broad smile, Du Fan immediately patted his storage bag, took out a set of ordinary clothes to change into, and then swaggered straight towards the bandits' hideout.
The bandits' lair was located deep in a bamboo forest. The village was surrounded by thick bamboo poles, forming a fence, and the area inside was about a thousand acres.
The houses in the village are simply built from green bamboo poles, numbering over a hundred. From a distance, the numerous bamboo houses are arranged in an orderly fashion, lush with greenery, creating a unique and picturesque scene.
To Du Fan's slight surprise, in addition to the more than one hundred burly-looking bandits, there were also many non-combatant groups such as old men, women and children in the village.
Among the elderly, most of them would lean back in their chairs, holding palm-leaf fans, drinking tea and chatting.
The women were either washing clothes or cooking outside the bamboo houses, and some were drying vegetables and other items outside their houses. In short, they were all busy with their own things, giving people the impression of virtuous women, and making people feel more at peace just by looking at them.