As a result, Tang Tian and the others didn't know much about Zhang Ming. Although they were curious, this Zhang Ming had been almost like a mute on their journey. After nodding to them at the Hall of Deacons, he had remained silent, so low-key that he was almost negligible.
This also displeased Tang Tian. He was a powerful cultivator on the verge of Foundation Establishment. For a fifth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator to show no awe in his presence was unacceptable.
Tian Denghu, on the other hand, was quite talkative. He was very polite to Tang Tian and Wu Yizhen, constantly asking this and that at the beginning. But as Feng Tao's mood fell, and she became preoccupied with worry and unwilling to speak much on the road, he gradually fell silent, his eyes constantly glancing towards Feng Tao. This made Tang Tian look down on Tian Denghu as well.
'Don't you have a clue? The distance between you two will only grow wider. Once a Heaven Spirit Root matures, even someone like me who started on the immortal path earlier can't compare. For you two to insist on coming along, hehe, when an enemy comes, unless Martial Uncle Fang is willing to protect you, if you perish, you can only blame yourselves. Especially that Zhang Ming, to dare come out with such strength. Spirit stones aren't that easy to earn. Among the six Qi Condensation disciples who died escorting the magical treasure last time, the weakest was at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, hmph!'
Tang Tian sneered inwardly. He felt that one of these two was crazy for spirit stones, and the other was blinded by infatuation, both having lost their reason. Feng Tao hadn't told him what benefits she would give Li Yan and the other, but he assumed it was undoubtedly spirit stones.
Fang Guangjun at the front was lamenting the benefits of a sect. His own aptitude was also good, but he was unwilling to be restrained when he was young. In addition, the cultivation method he obtained was not weak, so he missed the opportunity to join a sect. When he was still hovering at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation in his late thirties, it was already difficult to find a sect to join. Later, in order to reach Foundation Establishment, he had no choice but to secretly kill people and seize treasures everywhere to obtain more cultivation resources.
Fortunately, the Forsaken Continent had many races, and he often changed places. In addition, his experience in roaming the martial world was already very seasoned. As soon as there was any sign of trouble, he would be like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring and quickly flee. He managed to escape many pursuits.
After many years of walking on the edge of death, he finally accumulated a lot of resources, but heaven did not grant his wish, and he failed his first attempt at Foundation Establishment. After that, he fell into a slump for a period of time, wandering in the mortal world all day, and had already planned to give up and just be a wealthy man among mortals. But after five years of such a muddle-headed life, he suddenly became extremely tired of mortal life. At one dawn, he set foot on the immortal path again.
After another thirty years of constantly killing and plundering, he finally used all his savings to obtain a "Dustless Pill." Coupled with another one he had chanced upon, he succeeded in his second attempt at Foundation Establishment after failing the first time. Logically speaking, Guangjun's immortal path should have been very smooth.
It should be known that among cultivators who fail their first attempt at Foundation Establishment, more than ninety percent fail again. For him to succeed was considered a blessing from heaven. The moment he succeeded in Foundation Establishment, he really thought that from then on, he would be a truly powerful cultivator, able to roam the heavens and the earth, and get many things he couldn't get before.
But the result surprised him. The consumption of resources for cultivation after Foundation Establishment was even greater, increasing at a rate several times faster than before. His previous methods were simply not enough to support his cultivation. His foundation was the third from the bottom, the "Combatant's Way Foundation Establishment." Although it was a bit higher than the weakest Foundation Establishment, it was much worse than a strong one.
Even if he killed those with the weakest Foundation Establishment, he couldn't get much benefit from them. Those people were even poorer than him. He couldn't beat the strong Foundation Establishment cultivators, and a moment of carelessness would mean he was just delivering a gift to someone else.
After much deliberation, Fang Guangjun finally joined Falling Star Valley with his Foundation Establishment identity. Although the benefits he had received so far had not yet manifested, with his status, he could at least view some cultivation methods that were relatively precious to him.
'It all depends on how this mission goes. If it goes well, not only will I get a handsome sum of spirit stones, but the reward will be the real prize.'
Fang Guangjun stood at the front, his mind filled with fluctuating thoughts. He couldn't let any problems arise in this mission. There were quite a few people outside who wanted to make a move on Falling Star Valley, and he knew which races they were. However, the sect had just swept through the nearby area. Even if the enemy wanted to gather their forces again, they would have some scruples in the short term.
After Li Yan respectfully greeted Fang Guangjun at the beginning and nodded to the others, he had been following at the very back of the group, his head down and silent. To others, it might seem that he felt a bit inferior due to his cultivation level.
Li Yan's Divine Sense only swept over them briefly, and he already had an idea. Although the cultivator named Fang Guangjun was only at the initial-stage Foundation Establishment, he had been at this stage for at least twenty years. From the fluctuation of the spiritual power from his body, his strength was much stronger than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the circulation speed of his spiritual power was very fast. It was clear at a glance that he was someone who often fought with others and was sensitive to his surroundings.
Among the rest, Tang Tian should not be far from Foundation Establishment, but this was only based on the aura from his body. For a person to reach Foundation Establishment, it depended not only on strength but also on luck, as well as supplementary pills and so on. Otherwise, Li Wuyi wouldn't have been stuck at the Pseudo-Core stage for so long, not daring to condense his Golden Core. So, it wouldn't be surprising if Tang Tian reached Foundation Establishment tomorrow, or it might take several years, or even decades, with no result. That would also be reasonable.
There was a trace of malevolent aura clinging to Tang Tian's body. This was the result of his cultivation being too low to refine it, which meant he had recently killed some kind of living creature. This was also someone who had experienced bloodshed. With his strength in a second-rate sect, he was indeed considered very strong among the younger generation.
As for that Wu Yizhen, Li Yan felt that the strength of her spiritual power could only be considered average. It didn't exceed others of her realm by much. Among those of the same rank, she was neither strong nor weak.
After scanning these three strangers, Li Yan paid them no more attention and began to think about his own affairs. All the people here combined wouldn't be enough for him to even move a thought. He wouldn't even need to act; all of them would be instantly poisoned to death. As for how to poison them, Li Yan had dozens of methods, all of which would send them on the road to the underworld without them even noticing.
At this moment, Li Yan was thinking about the recent matter of Falling Star Valley disciples being ambushed and killed outside. Although he had heard that it was the work of those foreign cultivators, he didn't know the specific reason. Falling Star Valley hadn't given any explanation either.
"Is this a feud between clans or competition between sects? I hope it doesn't ruin my plans. If Falling Star Valley can't hold on, what should I do? Should I find another place, or should I wait until the two sides are in a full-blown war, when Falling Star Valley is too busy to care, and sneak into the underground of the 'Shattered Star Grotto'..."
Li Yan was constantly thinking in his heart. He had been having a headache over this matter recently. His luck was simply too weak to describe. As for whether he, as a human cultivator, should contribute to Falling Star Valley, Li Yan hadn't even thought about it. He only wanted to find Zhao Min and then find a way to leave the Forsaken Continent as soon as possible. He was just a minor cultivator. What did he care about the battles between clans? As long as it didn't involve him, it was better to stand by and watch. Protecting oneself was the kingly way.
As the group traveled, each with their own thoughts, they finally arrived at the Feng family's territory before dawn. This made Feng Tao and the others extremely envious of the Foundation Establishment cultivator's flying magical treasure. If they had to fly over on their own spirit artifacts, who knows how many days it would take. Of course, in Li Yan's eyes, Fang Guangjun's shield magical treasure could only be considered very ordinary. If he was willing, he could have arrived here in half a day.
On the way, they did not encounter any ambushes. Instead, they met a patrol team from Falling Star Valley. It was also a team of thirteen led by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. After a brief exchange, Fang Guangjun and the others felt much more at ease, and their journey afterward sped up considerably.
Because just today, Sect Master Lin Xinghe had personally killed four foreign Foundation Establishment cultivators hidden nearby. It was initially judged that these foreign cultivators were composed of two races, with about thirty or so people, including six Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the rest were all experts at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation or above. It was unknown if it was because Falling Star Valley's search had been too tight in recent days, but they wanted to concentrate all their forces to ambush a certain patrol team. Unexpectedly, Lin Xinghe sensed their auras and led people to surround them.
The result was predictable. However, less than five breaths after Lin Xinghe acted, someone suddenly concealed their aura and arrived, quickly engaging him in a fight. This allowed the other foreign cultivators to take the opportunity to flee in all directions. Lin Xinghe himself had brought less than seven people, so for a moment, they were unable to block them all. The team Fang Guangjun and the others met was one that had come to block them after receiving a voice transmission talisman.
When they first heard this, Fang Guangjun and the others were terrified. Dozens of people had escaped, including two Foundation Establishment cultivators. If their group had encountered them, it would have been more than just bad luck. However, they later learned that those people had already scattered and fled, and that Sect Master Lin Xinghe was nearby, pursuing that expert. This put their minds at ease. The enemies now were probably like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. Even if they saw their group, they probably wouldn't dare to come out.
As for whether the other party would send out Golden Core experts again, they were still within Falling Star Valley's sphere of influence. If the other party really did that, they wouldn't need to hide their identities and sneak in. That would be a direct public battle between the two sides. The relationship between the White Demon Clan and the Human Clan had always been good.
When the Foundation Establishment cultivator heard that the Feng family was being attacked by ghost creatures, although he was also a little surprised, he couldn't assist. After all, Falling Star Valley's own affairs were already in a mess. He could only give them a few words of advice before leaving in a hurry with his men.
Some things that Fang Guangjun could think of, Tang Tian and the others didn't necessarily know. So, seeing their expressions change, Fang Guangjun chuckled.
"It seems this matter with the sect is about to pass. There are quite a few foreign clans who want to make a move on Falling Star Valley. I've heard that this has happened many times before. This time, it's just to further test Falling Star Valley's attitude and some bottom lines. Otherwise, why would only one Golden Core expert come to tie up the Sect Master? They would have definitely sent a few more Golden Core experts to besiege him."
Seeing the relieved expressions on the others' faces, Li Yan still remained silent. Although he had learned a lot about the Forsaken Continent, it had only been less than two years. Many things were forcibly memorized and then slowly sorted out by combining them with other information. Therefore, Li Yan couldn't assess the situation and immediately connect what was happening in Falling Star Valley with some of the rumors.
Li Yan also didn't understand the meaning behind Fang Guangjun's "testing some bottom lines." It wasn't actually referring to Falling Star Valley.