Chapter 301 - 204: Slaying Chu Xiong, New and Old Methods

Ye Hao did some calculations of his own and agreed with this assessment.

Either this was a coincidence.

Or someone had obtained information on their movements, was lying in wait, and had used them as bait.

No one was a fool; they quickly thought of Li Chang’an.

If that wasn’t the case,

why would Li Chang’an have insisted on getting the Huanghe Alliance’s operational intel?

"With Li Fan’s strength, could he really kill Chu Xiong and the other five before the rest of the Cultivators from Yellow Crane Immortal City arrived?"

"He could!"

Xiao Wantang nodded gravely.

"There’s no need to doubt Li Fan’s lethality."

"It seems we still underestimated him before."

...

At this moment, Li Chang’an had not returned to Changqing Mountain.

He had taken the Storage Pouches from Chu Xiong and the others and gone straight into the Black Dragon Mountain Range, using the aura of the entire mountain range to conceal his own.

After all, Chu Xiong was a Golden Core True Inheritance. He most likely had a Communication Treasure on him left by the Huang He Master, which was something Li Chang’an had to guard against.

Li Chang’an erased the restriction on Chu Xiong’s Storage Pouch and began to take inventory of the Treasures inside, searching for any suspicious items.

Over the next few hours, he constantly changed his location, discarding suspicious items one by one.

Having done all this, only then did Li Chang’an return to Changqing Mountain with peace of mind.

What he didn’t know was that not long after he left, the Huang He Master arrived in the Black Dragon Mountain Range, appearing at three locations where Li Chang’an had previously stopped.

At each of these three locations, he had discarded a suspicious item.

’So cautious.’

The Huang He Master raised his hand, and a Jade Pendant flew out from beneath the ground and into his palm.

This Jade Pendant was the Communication Treasure he had given to Chu Xiong, and it bore a trace of his own imprint.

"Who could it be? Black Crow?"

The Huang He Master’s eyes darkened as he subconsciously thought of that old friend of his.

...

「Several months later.」

Li Chang’an was still cultivating steadily on Changqing Mountain.

He received news that the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage was rallying various factions, planning to completely annihilate Ye Hao’s Huanghe Alliance.

But Ye Hao had already executed the spies within the Huanghe Alliance and led his followers to disperse. He refused to confront the forces of Yellow Crane Immortal City head-on, launching sneak attacks from the shadows every now and then.

’Ye Hao is quite capable. To be hunted by Yellow Crane Immortal City for so long without suffering any major losses...’

Li Chang’an received the latest news almost daily and had been following the matter closely.

It wasn’t just him; all the major powers around Yellow Crane Immortal City were paying attention, and even the Three Great Sects and the Seven Great Noble Families had turned their gazes this way.

Everyone wanted to know: was the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage up to the task or not?

Left with no other choice, the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage spared no expense to invite several Tier Two Top Grade Divination experts to deduce the precise location of the Huanghe Alliance’s leader, Ye Hao.

Originally, due to the incident where Wang Chunfeng had his lifespan shortened, these Cultivators who practiced Divination Skills were unwilling to accept Yellow Crane Immortal City’s request.

However, the Huang He Master was simply offering too much.

The vast number of Life-Extending Treasures and other Treasures needed for cultivation nearly blinded them with greed.

’Forget it. I’m just deducing the location of the leader of a Tribulation Cultivator faction. Nothing should go wrong.’

Almost all of the Divination Cultivators thought this way.

But soon, shocking news spread.

Of the more than ten Divination Cultivators hired by Yellow Crane Immortal City, over half had died on the spot while trying to divine Ye Hao’s location, bleeding from all seven orifices!

The few who survived also suffered a terrifying heavenly retribution.

They could no longer see, hear, or speak!

They were practically turned into cripples!

This news seemed to grow wings, spreading rapidly throughout the entire Zhao Country Cultivation Immortality Realm and causing a massive uproar.

After this, no Divination Cultivator dared to accept a request from Yellow Crane Immortal City again.

When Li Chang’an learned of this, he couldn’t help but sneer.

’They dared to divine Ye Hao? Those Divination Cultivators must have thought they had too long to live.’

For a while after that, the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage continued to target the Huanghe Alliance, but with little effect.

A dignified Golden Core Influence was trading blows back and forth with a mere Foundation Establishment Influence.

It was inevitable that people would start to talk.

There were even rumors that the Huang He Master had been severely injured in the last ambush and didn’t have long to live, which was why he had yet to make a move.

「Two months later.」

New information spread from Yellow Crane Immortal City.

The Huang He Master’s ninth disciple, Pei Yingyao, had come out of seclusion and officially announced her breakthrough to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

With her talent, she had the potential to reach the Golden Core realm in the future, adding another Golden Core Master to Yellow Crane Immortal City.

Various factions came one after another to offer their congratulations.

Yellow Crane Mountain was suddenly filled with a celebratory atmosphere, dispelling the recent gloom.

’Pei Yingyao clearly broke through to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment a long time ago, but she’s only announcing it now...’

Li Chang’an was lost in thought after hearing this news.

He guessed that Pei Yingyao had never intended to announce it at all.

But for the sake of Yellow Crane Immortal City, she had been forced to do so.

’Pei Yingyao has helped me many times, after all. I should go and give her a gift.’

After some thought, Li Chang’an selected a Gold Element Treasure from his Storage Pouch that was suitable for forging a sword and headed for Yellow Crane Immortal City.

Before long, he arrived once again on Yellow Crane Mountain and entered Pei Yingyao’s immortal cave.

Today, Pei Yingyao looked more weary than usual.

Li Chang’an presented his congratulatory gift, his voice tinged with concern.

"Elder Pei, why do you look so tired? Did something happen?"

"Why ask when you already know? You’re not one of those fools."

Pei Yingyao sighed softly.

Just as Li Chang’an had guessed, she was focused solely on her cultivation and had never thought of announcing her breakthrough, let alone dealing with guests from various factions.

But her eldest senior brother, He Qianshan, had come to her and asked her to announce it publicly to counteract the recent flood of negative news surrounding Yellow Crane Immortal City.

"Well, since you’re already here, sit down. I’ll share some of my insights on breaking through the minor realms of the Foundation Establishment Stage with you."

"Thank you, Elder!"

Li Chang’an sat to the side with a respectful expression.

The other guests had already left. Only he and Ji Mengyun remained, receiving very special treatment.

Afterward, Pei Yingyao began to speak about her breakthrough insights.

The Cultivation Technique she practiced was different from Li Chang’an’s.

"I cultivate a New Technique. Your Ancient Wood Health Cultivation Technique should be an Ancient Technique, but all roads lead to the same destination..."

The so-called New Technique was a type of Cultivation Technique that divided the Foundation Establishment Stage into nine layers.

In contrast, Li Chang’an’s Ancient Wood Evergreen Technique only divided the Foundation Establishment Stage into three realms: Early Stage, Middle Stage, and Late Stage.

He only needed to break through three times.

The New Technique required nine breakthroughs. It seemed more difficult, but was in fact easier.

The difficulty of breaking through these nine minor realms was far lower than that of the three Major Realms of the Ancient Technique.

For this very reason, most Cultivators in today’s Cultivation Immortality Realm would choose a New Technique.

"Li Chang’an, if you get the chance, you should switch to a New Technique. The Ancient Techniques are no longer suited for the current Cultivation Immortality Realm."