In Li Yan's Divine Sense, he found that there was still a trace of the long-faced young man to be found, but he was getting further and further away, on the verge of disappearing from his Divine Sense…
Faced with this situation, Li Yan actually felt a little relieved.
"From the looks of it, they shouldn't be a group!"
Li Yan was worried about being besieged by two Nascent Soul cultivators at the same time. His experience in the Chaotic Flow Space could not compare to that of veteran Nascent Soul cultivators, which meant he couldn't fully exert his strength. However, Li Yan would not truly ignore the long-faced young man just because he was far away.
"Hehehe, this fellow Daoist looks very unfamiliar. I wonder what I should call you?"
The black-robed middle-aged man raised his sword-like eyebrows and was the first to speak.
After hearing this, Li Yan did not answer immediately. The language the person in front of him was using was not the language of the Desolate Moon Continent, but a rather ancient common tongue of the cultivation world. Li Yan had also heard from Wei Zhongran and Mo Qing that one would encounter cultivators from different realms in the Chaotic Flow Space. Unless they encountered cultivators from their own realm, they would all speak the common tongue of the immortal world.
It was not unheard of for misunderstandings to arise due to language barriers. You say chicken, he says duck. And here, where there was already mutual vigilance, a moment of suspicion could lead to a fight.
Li Yan frowned. The reason he didn't answer was not because he didn't understand the other's words, but because this person had clearly flown over after sensing that someone was fighting here. He couldn't see what the other's intentions were.
Seeing that Li Yan did not answer, the black-robed middle-aged man continued.
"My name is Shi Pozhu. I sensed that someone was fighting here just now, so I came over to take a look. I'm relatively familiar with this area, but this is the first time I've seen you, fellow Daoist, which is why I asked. It was a bit abrupt of me."
Hearing the other's explanation, Li Yan's heart stirred.
'Shi... Pozhu... momentum... like... splitting bamboo... I wonder if this person's name is real or fake?'
Only then did Li Yan speak faintly.
"I don't recognize you either!"
After saying that, he flew in another direction, while secretly remaining on guard.
"This fellow Daoist, this must be your first time deep in the Chaotic Flow Space, right?"
Shi Pozhu's voice came from behind.
Hearing this, Li Yan's heart tightened, but his face remained expressionless. He had now pulled a distance of three or four hundred zhang from the other. He stopped in mid-air, looked back, and said noncommittally.
"Fellow Daoist Shi, what can I do for you?"
"Hehehe, I wouldn't dare to presume to give advice. I just guessed from your movements just now. If it were an old hand who had been wandering in the Chaotic Flow Space for years, even in a strange place, they could quickly judge some common phenomena based on experience, and wouldn't be so cautious about everything around them. Also, fellow Daoist, you were just ambushed by Ge'ergan!"
Shi Pozhu was still standing where he was, his arms crossed over his chest.
'He could accurately judge just from the speed of my retreat. This person is probably not just coincidentally nearby. At the very least, he is relatively familiar with this place…'
Li Yan's eyes flickered, and then a smile appeared on his face.
"My name is Zhang Ming. I wonder if fellow Daoist Shi could enlighten me as to who that Ge'ergan is?"
Li Yan neither admitted nor denied Shi Pozhu's judgment, but instead asked about the person he had mentioned. Since Shi Pozhu could say the name of the ambusher, he probably had no qualms about that person.
"That kid Ge'ergan is from the 'Jiajing Minor Realm.' The cultivation resources in their realm are not that good. So, the Nascent Soul cultivators there like to enter the Chaotic Flow Space. Besides looking for some rare cultivation materials, another main purpose is to ambush and kill other Nascent Soul cultivators. That's an easier way to get rich rewards! Because Ge'ergan himself is only at the initial Nascent Soul stage and is a very cautious person, the targets he chooses are usually selected after careful observation. Nine times out of ten, they are initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. He especially likes to prey on fellow Daoists who have just entered the Chaotic Flow Space for not long, hehehe…"
At this point, Shi Pozhu stopped talking and just smiled at Li Yan, the meaning self-evident.
Li Yan was enlightened. The other had seen that he was a newcomer in the Chaotic Flow Space not just because he was too cautious, but also because he had been treated as a fat sheep by that Ge'ergan. If what Shi Pozhu said was true, and that Ge'ergan did this for a living, then his eyes would definitely be even more discerning. It was not strange that he had attacked him.
Li Yan nodded and swept his Divine Sense in the direction Ge'ergan had fled.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, no need to look. Ge'ergan missed his one strike, which means fellow Daoist's strength is very high. He won't attack again for a short time. He has always been like this, cherishing his own little life very much!"
Shi Pozhu seemed to have seen through Li Yan's thoughts and added another sentence.
"Why are you explaining this to me? We are strangers!"
Li Yan did not believe that the other would be so kind as to help. He wanted to guess the other's true intentions from his answer.
Hearing this, a look of surprise clearly appeared on Shi Pozhu's face. He then laughed heartily.
"Hahaha, it seems I have been meddling in other people's business! However, I did indeed come over because I sensed the fluctuation of spiritual energy here. There aren't many opportunities to pick up a bargain in the Chaotic Flow Space, but you have to try when you have the chance. But obviously not this time…"
As he spoke, he swept his gaze over Li Yan.
'This person is rather frank. He wanted to take advantage of someone being injured in a fight and then make a move if the opportunity arose!'
Li Yan understood the reason why the other had appeared so quickly.
"However, telling you about Ge'ergan was not to help you, but to make this kid's name infamous, so that everyone will hunt him down. He ambushed me back then too!"
Shi Pozhu then continued, a hint of gloom flashing in his eyes at the same time.
"Oh, so that's how it is. Then you also have a grudge against that Ge'ergan. I wonder if you can reveal some information about this person to me, or I can buy it with spirit stones!"
Li Yan's eyes flickered a few times. He was the best at stealth and ambush, but when that Ge'ergan had ambushed him, he hadn't been able to find a trace of the other before he attacked. This had made him a little alarmed. If he could get some information about the other, it would be excellent no matter what.
"Fellow Daoist wants to know about Ge'ergan? It's not difficult, actually. But I wonder if fellow Daoist Zhang can answer a question for me first?"
This time, Shi Pozhu did not answer Li Yan directly, but asked a question in return, and then stared at Li Yan with burning eyes.
"Fellow Daoist wants to exchange information, I see. However, I'd better hear it first. Otherwise, it's best to trade with spirit stones!"
Li Yan's expression did not change much at Shi Pozhu's counter-question, making it impossible for others to guess what he was thinking.
"If I'm not mistaken, is fellow Daoist Zhang's main cultivation method a water-attribute one?"
Shi Pozhu did not beat around the bush and asked directly.
At this question, Li Yan was stunned. But after looking around, he had a guess in his heart.
"Is that the question fellow Daoist Shi wanted to ask?"
"Can fellow Daoist Zhang answer? I want to see if it's the same as what I'm thinking. If it's suitable, I have a deal to discuss with fellow Daoist Zhang in detail. After that, I will tell you everything I know about Ge'ergan for free."
Shi Pozhu stared at Li Yan.
"Then what if my answer is not the same as what fellow Daoist Shi is thinking?"
"I will naturally judge whether what fellow Daoist says is true or false. Then the content I give to fellow Daoist... will also need fellow Daoist Zhang to judge its authenticity. How about it?"
Li Yan pondered for a moment and then nodded. At the same time, he was already guessing some of the other's intentions in his heart.
'After failing to pick up a bargain, he wants to make a deal, and it's related to a water-attribute cultivation method?'
Although Li Yan's escape speed here was not as good as his opponent's, he was not afraid of a fight. If there was a dangerous place like a black hole nearby, once he used a powerful immortal art, the opponent would be too busy dodging.
"That's right, my main cultivation is a water-attribute method!"
Hearing this, a look of surprise and joy immediately appeared on Shi Pozhu's face.
"I knew I wasn't mistaken! Fellow Daoist Zhang, I have a deal here, I wonder if you are willing?"
Although he had sensed the residual traces of water-attribute spiritual power from the fight here when he came over, and he also remembered that Ge'ergan did not have a water-attribute spiritual root, cultivators with a Saintly Spiritual Root were almost legendary in this world. Nine out of ten cultivators were multi-spiritual root. If it was a cultivator who did not primarily cultivate a water-attribute method, but could only use water-attribute magical treasures, it was really not what he needed. This was why he had been willing to talk more with Li Yan earlier.
"What deal?" Li Yan said expressionlessly.
"To be honest, I entered the Chaotic Flow Space this time to find a 'Libei Beast.' I've been here for forty-one years. Not long ago, I just discovered the nest of a 'Libei Beast.' And I also managed to injure that starfall beast in an ambush, but unfortunately, it still escaped. After a long chase, it escaped into its own lair. That 'Libei Beast's' nest is built in a dilapidated ruin, with a layer of formation restriction protecting the outside. I don't know how it can enter and exit freely. And I have been trying to break it for a long time without success. However, although my attainments in formations are average, I do have a few formation-breaking magical treasures to assist me. The reason I can't break it immediately is that there is a formation that requires the help of a fellow Daoist who cultivates a pure water-attribute cultivation method. If fellow Daoist Zhang is willing to help, I will not only tell you everything I know about Ge'ergan, but also give you five hundred high-grade spirit stones. What do you think, fellow Daoist Zhang?"
Hearing this, Li Yan was shocked. In order to traverse the Chaotic Flow Space, he had of course read as many classics as possible about it. He had read information about some starfall beasts, and the "Libei Beast" was one of the particularly difficult ones. Its body was agile, shaped like a fox, and it was good at using the power of the wind attribute of heaven and earth to travel with the wind, coming and going without a trace. Its attacks were also unpredictable. It was known for being difficult to deal with and cunning.
The classics had said: "When fighting it, it is best to focus on defending oneself and consuming its magical power. Attacking it head-on is a bad strategy."
Therefore, Li Yan was a little surprised to hear this. He had not expected that he had only been in the Chaotic Flow Space for a short time, and there was a "Libei Beast" nearby.
'I wonder what this person wants to find a 'Libei Beast' for? I heard that apart from the young beasts which are easier to refine, the adult starfall beasts, because they have been wandering in the harsh environment of the Chaotic Flow Space for a long time, their will is so strong that even a Spirit Transformation cultivator would have a hard time refining them successfully…'
As for the dilapidated ruin Shi Pozhu had mentioned, Li Yan also knew about it. There were also ruins in the Chaotic Flow Space. Most of them were remnants left behind after the destruction of some ancient continents, mostly existing in some large meteorite fragments, drifting in the endless void.
There was another type of ruin that was built by some true immortals! Those immortals walked in the Chaotic Flow Space for a long time. When they found some particularly sturdy meteorite fragments, they might build a cave residence on them, and then protect it with restrictions, using it as a temporary resting place. This type of ruin was in itself a kind of treasure. Perhaps there were rare treasures left by the former immortals inside.
'Shi Pozhu said that the "Libei Beast" entered a ruin. He wants to break the restriction there so badly, not just to capture that starfall beast.'
Li Yan thought to himself, but he had already spoken faintly.
"Assist you in capturing a 'Libei Beast'? But I wonder what rank that starfall beast is?"
Seeing Li Yan ask about the rank of the starfall beast, Shi Pozhu was overjoyed. It seemed that the other might be willing to help.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang should be very familiar with the 'Libei Beast.' Please rest assured, its rank is only at the peak of the third rank. Otherwise, with my ability, even if I wanted to capture a 'Libei Beast' of the same rank, I would not be able to withstand its formless and shadowless attacks."
"But how can fellow Daoist be sure that there is only one in that lair?" Li Yan was unmoved and continued to press.
"Hehehe... I have been breaking the formation there for three years. With the constant casting of arts, it would inevitably affect the 'Libei Beast' inside. If there were other 'Libei Beasts,' they could only be of a lower rank than that one. Otherwise, they would have come out and killed me long ago! With this explanation, I wonder what fellow Daoist Zhang thinks?" There was a hint of anticipation in Shi Pozhu's eyes.
"I'm afraid I can't agree to this matter. I have urgent matters to attend to and cannot stay here for long. Fellow Daoist Shi should just answer my previous question. I still have to set off as soon as possible!"
Li Yan immediately shook his head. He had no intention of capturing any "Libei Beast." He just wanted to leave the Chaotic Flow Space as soon as possible and find Gong Chenying.
Seeing Li Yan refuse, a hint of anxiety flashed in Shi Pozhu's eyes. He quickly waved his hand, as if trying to stop Li Yan from a distance.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, please wait..."
A fierce glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes, and his voice became icy.
"What? I have already answered one of your questions. This was a condition we agreed on beforehand! I don't know the location of the ruin you mentioned, so I naturally won't leak it. And finally! Whether I am willing to trade with you, that also depends on my own willingness. Does fellow Daoist want to force me?"