Chapter Two: Enemy Tracks Revealed in the Thousand-Fold Valleys

Several storage bags were summoned into Jiang Sheng's hand out of thin air.

Opening the bags and sensing their contents, Jiang Sheng chuckled, "These people really specialize in preying on fat sheep; to think they've accumulated so much."

Inside the storage bags of these roving cultivators, Jiang Sheng discovered dozens of bottles of various elixirs for Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment, along with elementary spiritual rice, a batch of spiritual herbs, several incomplete scrolls of cultivation techniques, and an antique treasure map fragment.

Clearly, the treasure map fragments distributed by these roving cultivators were all forged by matching this genuine fragment.

Yet these roving cultivators were exceptionally clever. On one hand, they produced a batch of fragments to be sold at various auction houses, setting the starting price at a hundred spirit stones to directly screen out impoverished rogue cultivators.

Anyone who could afford the fragment and travel there was bound to be a wealthy and leisurely scion of a noble family or a disciple of a major sect.

Any veteran cultivator with even a shred of Jianghu experience would naturally ignore such petty tricks, meaning those attracted were inevitably arrogant youngsters relying on their backgrounds while taking their first steps into the world.

And these naive youngsters possessed spirit stones and elixirs; each was arrogant yet lacked the experience of traveling the Jianghu, making them prime fat sheep.

Once these fat sheep were lured in, subordinates would be dispatched to stage an ambush, tricking the fat sheep into playing the hero who intervenes for justice.

This not only satisfied the fat sheep's psychological desire to roam the Jianghu and uphold chivalry, but also naturally prompted the "rescued person" to offer the fragment as a reward.

With this combination of tactics, those fat sheep naturally delivered themselves right to the door.

Moreover, this method was utterly useless against veteran Jianghu figures, and even a slightly clever newcomer could eventually see through it. Put bluntly, it was designed specifically to fleece wealthy fools.

Clearly, these roving cultivators had succeeded many times before, failing only this once, which cost them their lives and fortunes.

Having sorted out the cause and effect, Jiang Sheng tossed the fragment to Lin Fan, "This fragment is genuine."

Lin Fan looked at the palm-sized fragment in his hand, hesitated for a few moments, and finally stowed it away. "Let's go. Thousandfold Valley is not close."

Thousandfold Valley was located in the southeast of the Chu State, forming the natural border between the Chu and Zheng States.

Spanning tens of thousands of miles, Thousandfold Valley was filled with countless towering mountains and steep peaks, while poisonous miasmas, marshes, venomous insects, and ferocious beasts were too numerous to count.

From Qingyang County in the Wei State to Thousandfold Valley in southeastern Chu was a distant journey of over one hundred thousand miles.

Leaving Mang Mountain, Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan flew directly toward the Chu State.

Over such a distance of more than one hundred thousand miles, encountering some trouble along the way was inevitable; whether it was blind roving cultivators or various demonic beasts, delays were bound to happen.

Although Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan traveled at a brisk pace, even so, it would still take a full month.

This was also the reason why Lin Fan and Mu Chan had agreed upon a three-month period—to account for potential troubles encountered along the way.

Every day, Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan spent the greater part of their time traveling, while the remaining time was dedicated to meditation and adjusting their breath.

After enduring wind and dew on the road for over half a month, they finally entered the borders of the Chu State.

"If both of us had already formed Upper-Grade Golden Elixirs, why would we need to spend over a month braving wind and dew for a mere hundred thousand miles?" Lin Fan could not help sighing with emotion.

"Rather than that, what if both of us had already condensed Nascent Souls, spanning a thousand miles in a single step and crossing hundreds of thousands of miles in a single day? Would that not be even more exhilarating?" Jiang Sheng smiled.

Lin Fan laughed heartily, then turned serious. "Brother Yuanchen, let us rest here for now and continue our journey tomorrow."

"For the past half month, the only time you and I could rest for a bit was during our morning and evening cultivation sessions, spending all other remaining time on the road. Continuing like this will mentally exhaust us, and should any situation arise, our reactions will inevitably be delayed."

Jiang Sheng surveyed the surroundings and nodded. "Very well. There seems to be a town ahead; shall we head in?"

"The wilderness is indeed not as safe as villages and towns. Let's go in and find a household to spend the night." Lin Fan did not refuse.

Although the nations of Qi, Wei, and Chu were vast realms with populations numbering in the hundreds of millions, a single prefecture still spanned over ten thousand miles. Consequently, both cultivators and commoners of various states were concentrated within towns and cities, while the wilderness inevitably bred many monsters and spirits.

Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan certainly did not fear ordinary monsters and spirits, but troubles that could be avoided were best avoided.

The two entered the town, rested for a night at an inn, and resumed their journey the next day.

At this point, more than half of the journey was completed, and both Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan remained highly vigilant without letting down their guard.

"Brother Yuanchen, among the Seven Maritime Nations, the Chu State is situated in the southwest. The country has many mountains, and both cultivators and commoners possess a wild, untamed rustic aura."

"The commoners and cultivators of Chu are primarily based on local noble families; a single family is a hegemon in its own right. Therefore, the Chu State has many noble families and few sects."

"At the same time, the people of Chu are mostly straightforward and fiery in temperament, and starting a fight over a disagreement is quite common. Furthermore, they are extremely clannish and xenophobic, so we must be cautious."

"When encountering trouble, avoid it if you can; if it cannot be avoided, handle it cleanly and decisively."

Listening to Lin Fan's account of the situation in the Chu State, Jiang Sheng nodded. "Rest assured, Brother Yunxuan, I understand what to do."

The Chu State had twelve major surnames in total, which divided all the territory of the Chu State among themselves.

The royal surname Xiong, the Zhuang family who had controlled the chancellorship for generations, and the Xiang family who had controlled military power for generations were unquestionably the three largest surnames in the Chu State.

Following them, families such as Jing, Ma, Lan, Zhong, Wu, and Hong mostly attached themselves to these three major surnames, each forming a faction.

It could be said that whether the political situation of the Chu State remained stable depended on whether these three factions—royal power, ministerial power, and military power—could maintain a balance.

As Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan headed toward Thousandfold Valley, their route would inevitably pass through the territories of the Jing, Zhong, and Hong families.

To avoid trouble, the two deliberately bypassed the main cities of the three families, yet encountering cultivators from these families remained inevitable.

When they met reasonable and sensible ones, they would naturally take a detour and let the matter drop.

However, when encountering those who looked for trouble out of boredom, deeming bullying others uninteresting and seeking excitement and amusement, Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan did not hold back.

Of course, those fools who believed they could act lawlessly and do whatever they pleased simply because they were on their own turf were a small minority.

Which of these major surnames had not endured in the Chu State for thousands of years? Whether core family descendants or collateral branches, most possessed sharp judgment.

They had not encountered much trouble along the way; having crossed tens of thousands of miles, Thousandfold Valley finally appeared before their eyes.

Stretching for tens of thousands of miles, Thousandfold Valley consisted mostly of towering mountains and steep peaks exceeding a thousand zhang in height. Misty clouds drifted around their midsections, making it impossible to clearly see the scenery within from outside the valley.

Dense forests, poisonous miasmas, vines, and wild grasses were everywhere.

"Should we enter directly now, or wait for that Fairy Mu?" Jiang Sheng asked.

"Let's go in first and wait near the secret realm," Lin Fan said.

Sensing the aura of Thousandfold Valley, Jiang Sheng frowned slightly. "In this Thousandfold Valley stretching for tens of thousands of miles, Golden Elixir realm entities are not rare, and there are even a few Nascent Soul realm entities. We must still be cautious in our actions."

"Rest assured, Brother Yuanchen, I have already found a safe path. Just follow me," Lin Fan smiled.

After swallowing anti-poison pills, the two entered Thousandfold Valley.

Surrounded by heavy poisonous miasmas and clouds that obscured the distance, neither Lin Fan nor Jiang Sheng dared to fly too high, and could only continuously dodge vines and living creatures within the lush primeval forest.

"That secret realm is only a few thousand miles from the valley entrance, but its advantage lies in its concealment; it hasn't been discovered yet. Such a secret realm would be extremely hard to find if Fairy Mu hadn't informed us," Lin Fan said while nimbly dodging various traps and demonic beasts in the dense forest, even having the leisure to chat with Jiang Sheng.

Jiang Sheng still held some doubts in his heart. "Why would Fairy Mu inform you of such an opportunity?"

Lin Fan fell silent for a moment before speaking, "Fairy Mu's family situation is somewhat special, and she was driven to no other choice. If she cannot condense a Golden Elixir as soon as possible, her future outcome will not be pleasant."

"I see. You understand it quite thoroughly indeed," Jiang Sheng chuckled softly.

"All worldly matters are simply tempering for the Dao heart. Jiang Yuanchen, you will inevitably have to go through this trial as well," Lin Fan said, appearing quite carefree.

Jiang Sheng could not help shaking his head. He understood his own situation best; matters of romance and affection were destined to have nothing to do with him.

chatting and laughing, the two flew swiftly through the forest and poisonous miasmas for an hour.

Suddenly, Lin Fan seemed to discover something and came to a halt.

Realizing something was amiss, Jiang Sheng immediately summoned the Qingping Sword. "Is something wrong with the situation?"

"This path is wrong; I've walked it before," Lin Fan said, a flame blade already materializing in his palm.

The two stood quietly in the dense forest, spreading out their divine sense.

"There is too much poisonous miasma and fog; divine sense cannot spread very far."

"Indeed. If my prediction is correct, I'm afraid you and I have stepped into a trap."

As the two spoke, they heard the faint sound of friction echoing through the thick fog.

Although the sound was extremely subtle, traces of it were still captured by the two!

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, flames dozens of feet high ignited on the flame blade in Lin Fan's hand. With a single slash, the scorching blade radiance surged against the wind, dispersing the poisonous miasma along the path.

With a shrill, miserable wail, a patch of greenish blood mist sprayed out from the miasma, immediately corroding the moss on the ground with a sizzling sound.

Immediately following this, chattering noises echoed continuously around them, and faint pair after pair of ghostly green eyes appeared and vanished into the surroundings.

"These demonic monkeys must be driven by someone. Those capable of keeping and driving demonic monkeys are either from the Ma family or the Hong family," Lin Fan said.

Jiang Sheng rapidly transmitted his voice: "I am not familiar with this environment. If I directly annihilate these demonic monkeys and provoke the person behind them, Brother Yunxuan, are you confident you can kill the person behind them with a single blow?"

Lin Fan nodded.

Without further ado, Jiang Sheng flicked his sleeves, and two talismans flew out, instantly transforming into two thirty-zhang fire dragons that roared as they surged forward.

The two fire dragons, complete with scales and claws, each charged toward demonic monkeys from different directions. Upon suddenly seeing the fire dragons rushing at them, the demonic monkeys panicked and shrieked wildly.

Even so, these demonic monkeys still did not flee. They seemed to be driven by something even more terrifying, and no matter how terrified they were, they dared not retreat.

The fire dragons spewed flames that spread for dozens of feet. The demonic monkeys desperately spat out venom to resist, but to no avail.

Within the span of just a few breaths, the two fire dragons had wiped out half of these demonic monkeys.

As Jiang Sheng urged them once more, the fire dragons expanded further, dyeing the surrounding poisonous miasmas a fiery red.

Wrapped in fire clouds and accompanied by scorching flames, the two fire dragons displayed immense might.

The person hiding within the miasma finally could not help leaking a trace of aura.

"We've been waiting for you!"