Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 92: Unexpected Changes During the Mountain Patrol, the True Colors Revealed
In the Lotus Moon Valley market, Zhao Wuji finally sold the Dragon Tiger Pill in his hand for the high price of eleven source crystals.

Suddenly, his powerful spiritual senses detected several subtle gazes sweeping over him from the crowd.

He calmly put away the Source Crystal, then lightly tapped the Cold Soul Flying Sword at his waist with his fingertips. The sword trembled slightly, as if giving a warning.

"Junior Brother Zhao, your pill business is booming! Congratulations on your fortune!"

A disciple in blue robes stepped forward from the crowd, his four cloud-patterned jade pendant at his waist gleaming brightly. He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, his gaze falling on the three spiritual patterns on Zhao Wuji's waist pendant, and asked in surprise.

"Junior Brother Zhao has actually advanced to the Three Clouds Realm. Congratulations! It seems that it won't be long before I have to call him Senior Brother."

Zhao Wuji sensed the spiritual power emanating from the other party and his heart tightened, but he still greeted him with a gentle bow: "Senior brother, you flatter me. This is just a small business."

"Dragon Tiger Pills are valuable items; this is no small business."

The blue-robed disciple smiled, then suddenly spoke in a mysterious tone, "Are there any more Dragon-Tiger Pills? I can take them all, at ten source crystals per pill, how about that?"

Zhao Wuji shook his head, "Senior brother is late. There was only one Dragon Tiger Pill left from the last one, and it's already sold out. If senior brother is interested, you can help collect the medicinal materials, and I can help refine it. I will only charge for the pill or the cost of refining it."

He didn't quite understand the man's intentions yet, but he didn't rule out any possibility of making a decision, thinking that having more friends meant having more options.

However, he would not take out any more Dragon Tiger Pills, as money can be tempting, and he wanted to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

If Hua Qingshuang were still on the mountain and nothing unexpected had happened, he would dare to come out and sell more Dragon Tiger Pills tonight.

But nowadays, it's best to only take what you need and protect yourself wisely.

Upon hearing Zhao Wuji's words, the other fellow disciples dispersed.

Zhao Wuji greeted his fellow disciples with a smile, but his hands moved swiftly as he packed up the remaining medicine bottles in a blue cloth and left.

He gained a lot from this trip to the market.

Perhaps because of its prestigious reputation, not only did it sell one Dragon Tiger Pill, but other pills such as Bigu Pill and even Golden Spear Fiery Pill also sold out.

This transaction rate is much higher than that of some of the alchemists from the Ziyun Palace who hawk their wares in the market.

It even attracted alchemists from the Purple Cloud Palace, who bought several Golden Spear Fiery Pills, intending to go back and study his methods.

"I only got fifteen source crystals, plus one Earth Escape Talisman, one Water Mirror Talisman, and two Recording Beads on this trip, and someone's already targeting me? That can't be right."

Even after leaving the market, Zhao Wuji could still vaguely sense several pairs of eyes observing him from the shadows.

I couldn't help but feel surprised and awe.

Even though the fate of Peak Master Hua is currently unknown, there has been no news of his soul tablet being broken in the cave.

Moreover, his own strength is considered quite formidable among the Blue Robe True Disciples.

Although there are more than ten source crystals, they shouldn't be enough to make one dizzy.

There must be something fishy in it.

He stopped wandering around and went to the Spirit Monitoring Hall to make up for the four Origin Crystals he owed before returning to his cave.

The remaining eleven source crystals should be enough for a while, as long as you don't practice spells more than ten times a day.

At night, when the moon was hidden and the stars were fading, Zhao Wuji made hand seals and activated the Marriage Dream Technique.

A wisp of divine thought, like smoke and mist, followed the aura of the blue-robed senior brother encountered in the market, and sneaked into his dream to observe his purpose for coming today.

This time he was very cautious, having previously only infiltrated the dreams of cultivators with lower cultivation levels than himself.

But this time, his target was of similar strength to him, and quite powerful.

Once signs of someone sending messages in a dream are detected, potential problems will arise.

Thoughts pierced through two layers of dream barriers, and the dreamscape became vaguely visible. But then...

The dream was like rippling water, when a startled "Eh!" came from the depths, and the scene suddenly distorted and changed.

Zhao Wuji immediately stopped his thoughts, hovering like a thin mist outside the last layer of dream barrier, observing from a distance.

In a fleeting glimpse, through the haze, I seemed to see the black jade plaque of the Lingcai Hall in my dream.

A man stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves embroidered with gold thread, as if giving instructions.

The scene suddenly shattered like a mirror, then transformed into trivial matters.

Zhao Wuji knew that if he did not break through the three layers of dream barriers, the other party's dream would not change according to his will.

However, this person had a strong will and sensed the risk, so his thoughts quietly receded like the tide.

"Elder Liang from the Spiritual Materials Hall, who, like Master Yan, received the Peak Division Token, is from the Spiritual Materials Hall."

Zhao Wuji sat in his cave, pondering, but still couldn't figure out whether the person who gave the instructions to his senior brother in blue robes was Elder Liang.

If so, what is the purpose of the other party sending a disciple to purchase the Dragon-Tiger Pill in his possession?
"Senior Sister Mao is from the Spirit Materials Hall."

He secretly kept this in mind, then took out a jar of imperial wine and began cultivating while drinking it.

For the next three days, Cold Moon Peak was calm and peaceful, but the cave within remained unsettled.

It is said that Gulou Pass in the northern border of Xuan Kingdom has fallen. Many of the gray-robed and green-robed disciples sent out earlier have suffered heavy casualties, and the list of casualties is updated daily.

The cave master ordered that a group of blue-robed disciples be dispatched to the border with magical artifact array plates to repel the cultivators from Yunfeng Cave Heaven.

Under these circumstances, even some of the blue-robed disciples within the Linglang Cave Heaven are in grave danger.

Once on the battlefield, chaos reigns, and swords and spears have no eyes.

When cultivators fight in a spiritually barren environment, once their spiritual energy is exhausted, they may die at the hands of mortal martial artists if they are not careful, which would be truly tragic.

Although Zhao Wuji heard the commotion outside, he remained calm and focused on his cultivation in his cave, undisturbed by the disturbances.

He was already very skilled at cultivating and fighting in a spiritless environment.

With the Yin-Yang Pearl on him, even if his spiritual energy is exhausted, he can still use the Yin and Yang energies to cast spells.

Therefore, if he were really sent to the battlefield, he wouldn't be particularly nervous. At worst, if he couldn't win, he could use invisibility to hide in a pile of corpses. Unless it was a great master like Master Hua, no one could find him.

Therefore, he is currently just enduring the torment within the cave.

He meditates quietly in his cave every day, remaining in seclusion.

At dawn, I gather a wisp of purple aura from the east and incorporate it into the Yang Pearl.

At dusk, he refined three parts of the Yin energy, transforming it into a wisp of Yin energy.

Interpreting the fortune of the Flower Peak Master at midnight using a dream about marriage.
As long as we can weather this turbulent period and wait for Peak Master Hua to return unharmed, then peace and tranquility will return. As for temporarily leaving the grotto, that's impossible.

Even though the spiritual energy in the cave has become thinner recently, it is still there. Moreover, it is easier to collect and exchange resources within the cave, which will make it easier for him to unleash more Earthly Fiend Techniques and accumulate Yin-Yang Pearls.

However, on the fourth day, a recruitment notice from the sect was quickly issued.

"Zhao Wuji, a true disciple of Hanyue Peak, is hereby ordered to participate in the mountain patrol mission immediately and inspect the nodes of the mountain protection array."

Zhao Wuji looked at the conscription order in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze fell on Elder Liang's seal at the end and he couldn't help but be wary.

"Junior brother, please don't worry." Dai Zhiyun gently flicked her sleeves, smiling brightly: "Compared to those fellow disciples who were sent to the battlefield, patrolling the mountain is already a great blessing."

Her gaze swept over the three-cloud-patterned jade pendant at Zhao Wuji's waist: "Thanks to your timely breakthrough, otherwise..."

Before they could finish speaking, they both understood each other perfectly.

If it were two cloud patterns, they would probably be bathed in blood at Gulou Pass by now.

Zhao Wuji nodded and smiled, "I hope that when we return from our patrol, the Peak Master will also be back."

He immediately instructed Xiaoyue to stay in the cave and handle the medicine, and not to go anywhere for the time being. Then, he took his magical artifacts and went with Dai Zhiyun to the Affairs Hall to report.

An hour later, outside the Hall of Affairs, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.

Zhao Wuji, with the True Inheritance Token hanging from his waist, waited for the patrol team to assemble when suddenly a loud laugh broke through the fog.

"Junior Brother Zhao! It's fate that we meet again!"

Then, a blue-robed cultivator, whom they had met in the market before, strode over, four cloud patterns on his sleeves gleaming: "I am Yu Zishan from the Spirit Materials Hall. I am honored to be temporarily appointed as the patrol captain by Elder Liang."

Zhao Wuji looked at the blue-robed cultivator he had encountered in the market and became wary.

This person actually became the captain of his patrol team this time?

Moreover, his gaze swept almost imperceptibly over the other three team members.

On the left was a tall, thin man; on the right was a short, stocky monk; and at the end followed a thin, reserved young man.

He had sensed the presence of the first two of these three team members in the market before.

He bowed and smiled calmly, "So it's Senior Brother Yu from the Spirit Materials Hall. Now that you're the team leader, please take good care of me."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Yu Zishan laughed and flicked out a jade slip map from his sleeve: "The eighteen array points of the Hengyun Mountains must be inspected within three days."

This time we're short on time and have a heavy task. Although patrolling the mountains isn't as dangerous as the border patrols, we'll be doing cross-patrols. My four junior brothers, you'll have a tough time this time. Let's set off now.

With a wave of his hand, Yu Zishan led a four-person team out of the cave.

Zhao Wuji glanced at Dai Zhiyun, who had also been assigned to another team in the distance. Not knowing her situation, he could only send a telepathic message.

"Senior Sister Dai, be careful!"

Not far away, Dai Zhiyun paused, looked back at Zhao Wuji's departing figure, and smiled slightly, thinking it was just an ordinary farewell greeting.

Inside the imperial palace of the Xuan Kingdom.

The purple-gold incense burner emitted fragrant mist of ambergris.

Empress Yu Lanxi lightly raised her jade fingers, and a green jade paper crane flew through the curtain and landed steadily in her palm.

"Wow—"

A delicate hand brushed across the paper crane, and three lines of sacred text floated up as it unfurled:

"The young man surnamed Zhao has already been promoted to the rank of Third Grade Yun. He cannot be sent to the border; he can only be transferred to patrol the mountains."

"Hua Qingshuang is trapped but not dead; the only option is to capture her alive."

"Remember! Even if this child has problems, hand him over to the criminal justice department for judgment."

"Hua Qingshuang, from the Criminal Law Hall."

Yu Lanxi parted her lips slightly, each word seemingly chilled by ice.

His fingertips suddenly tightened.

"Oh!"

The paper cranes exploded into a sky full of sparks, reflecting the hatred in her eyes like the spitting tongue of a venomous snake.

As the phoenix robe billowed, the nine-phoenix golden hairpin jingled, and the figure vanished in a rainbow.

For Zhao Wuji, patrolling the mountain was actually the simplest and easiest task.

He only needs to use guiding techniques and the method of finding the earth's energy veins to grasp the energy veins within a radius of dozens of miles and determine whether it is safe.

In this way, one person can form a patrol team, and can check three key points of the formation in half a day, making it easy to complete the patrol mission.

However, being with his fellow disciples like Yu Zishan, he had no choice but to conceal his supernatural powers and act as if nothing was amiss.

He followed closely behind the group, feigning politeness while observing the "carefully arranged" group from the sidelines, wondering what their true intentions were.

Yu Zishan would deliberately strike up conversations with him, exchanging stories of his past experiences entering the grotto, as if he intended to explore his past.

The two assistants were always recording the patrol route, their eyes darting around, but their thoughts were clearly at odds.

Only the disciples of the Spirit Medicine Garden were trembling with fear, as if they had been forcibly brought in to make up the numbers, and they were extremely eager to please and respect Yu Zishan.

After patrolling the mountain peacefully for two days, they arrived at the "Dragon Spine Cliff" array eye deep in the Hengyun Mountains and inspected several array nodes.

At this moment, Yu Zishan seemed to finally reveal the fangs beneath his seemingly magnanimous facade. He leaped onto a green rock, stood with his hands behind his back, his blue robe fluttering in the mountain wind, and wore a warm smile on his face: "Fellow junior brothers, with your senior brother here these past two days, no mountain spirits or wild monsters dare to approach. This peace and security...shouldn't we offer some thanks?"

The sharp-mouthed cultivator immediately understood and took out a brocade pouch from his robes, presenting it with both hands: "Senior Brother Yu works hard day and night. This is a 'Mind-Concentrating Incense' that I obtained by chance. Please accept it."

Another middle-aged man with a square face hurriedly presented a jade box, as if it were a tacit agreement: "I have a hundred-year-old Solomon's Seal here, as a token of my respect to my senior brother."

Witnessing this scene, Zhao Wuji's heart stirred slightly. "Did they target me when I was selling elixirs in the market last time?"

If it's just about asking for some benefits, that's fine, but after all this trouble, is that all you're after?
At this moment, the disciple of the Spirit Medicine Garden hurriedly pulled out a source crystal, but was stopped by the sharp-mouthed cultivator with a stern voice: "Wait!"

He grinned maliciously and held up three fingers: "New recruit rule—tribulation fee tripled! What, no one taught you that?"

"Trillion?"

Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly.
(End of this chapter)