"Look at you bunch – young, inexperienced, and unprepared," Old Niu snorted as he scanned the trio from head to toe. "Are you even aware of how dangerous Ghost Fog Valley is? My conscience simply doesn't allow me to bring you into a place where you could very well lose your lives!"
"Isn't it just a matter of navigating our way within the valley?" Zhao Yunxiao asked. "As for the thieves and scavengers, that is a problem that cannot be circumvented with mere preparation. If that happens and we can't escape, we can just willingly give up our valuables to keep our lives."
"You think you can keep your lives with just that? What a joke!" the bald man from before commented loudly from his table, but Zhao Yunxiao pretended not to hear him.
"Even if it is just about navigating in the valley, I have seen far too many young people like you who simply refuse to listen to instructions at times, eventually meeting a tragic end," Old Niu shrugged. "If you want me to bring you along, that's fine. But you would have to promise to listen to my every word!"
"That isn't a problem as long as it is regarding navigation within the valley," Zhao Yunxiao nodded immediately. "That is what we are paying you for anyway."
"Correction – that is what 'I' am paying him for, not 'we'," Lou Yuan interjected.
Zhao Yunxiao pretended not to hear him as well.
"If that's the case, then fine," Old Niu reached out to keep away the five spirit stones. "But at any point during the trip, the moment you don't listen to me, the deal will be off. At that point, I will not be refunding the spirit stones."
"Understood," Zhao Yunxiao agreed without hesitation.
There was nothing to be worried about. He was not the one paying anyway.
They had already intended to enter the valley the next day, so Old Niu's suggestion worked out perfectly.
Now that they had their fill and even gotten a guide, the trio returned to their respective rooms that they had rented for the night – something that Lou Yuan was more than grateful for.
He had not slept comfortably in a bed for months, not even back at Stoneyard Hill, so he fell straight into the dream world the moment his head hit the pillow.
As for Zhao Yunxiao, he popped a Winterwarmth Pill and entered a state of light meditation.
This trip was taking a little longer than expected, so he could not help but feel that he was falling behind in terms of his cultivation.
In front of him, Zhao Yunxiao Two lit a lamp at the table and spent some time reviewing the halberd blueprint that he had come up with before, carefully recalculating just how many grimoire fruits he would need.
The last thing he wanted was to return to Purple Plum Mountain, only to find out that he had not brought back enough materials to complete the forging process!
When he was done, Zhao Yunxiao Two began to study the local terrain map and inspect his inventory, making sure that everything was in place.
Ever since he acquired the Earthen Clone Technique, Zhao Yunxiao had been trying to practise it at every opportunity he got.
Through weeks of relentless practice, he had slowly improved in his ability to divide his thoughts into two separate trains.
While it was still far from perfect, cultivating while controlling his clone to perform simple tasks like this was no longer something out of reach for the current Zhao Yunxiao.
This was proving to be a huge benefit for Zhao Yunxiao, allowing him to work on various tasks without having to sacrifice his daily cultivation in the process!
At the break of dawn, the trio promptly gathered back at the entrance to the inn, where Old Niu was already waiting.
Old Niu looked no different from yesterday – still wearing those slightly worn-out robes, still wearing a large hat, and still reeking of alcohol.
He even had a wine gourd hanging by his belt, a stark contrast to the other customers who had weapons at the ready instead.
Few words were exchanged except for the usual pleasantries.
Since they already knew each other's goals and responsibilities, there was no need for further clarification, and the group immediately set out for the nearby Ghost Fog Valley.
Ghost Fog Valley was located not far away from Green Bull Inn.
In fact, Green Bull Inn could be said to be right at the entrance to Ghost Fog Valley.
After walking for around five minutes, they could already see a layer of fog shrouding the path ahead.
"From here on, stick close to me if you don't want to get lost," Old Niu cautioned, and Zhao Yunxiao's group obediently did as they were told.
In fact, they did not actually have to do so since they could just lock onto Old Niu with their spiritual sense.
However, Old Niu had been rather adamant about them listening to his instructions the day before, so they decided not to undermine him right from the start.
The fog was relatively light initially, but rapidly grew thicker as they delved deeper into the valley.
Dirt paths gradually started to disappear, replaced by thick vegetation with protruding tree roots and rocks. Traces of footfall and civilisation slowly rescinded, overtaken by the pristine beauty of nature.
Of course, the presence of the thick fog also meant that no one could truly see the beauty for what it was.
Even Zhao Yunxiao could not help but frown.
The fog here was far thicker than he had expected. No wonder many people got lost in the valley and could not find their way out, eventually ending up losing their lives out here in the wilderness.
Yet despite the severe lack of visibility, Old Niu walked on without hesitation and made decisive turns at each fork in the road. He was navigating this maze-like valley in a manner that was almost as though his eyes could pierce right through the fog and lock onto their destination.
This was good and all, but Zhao Yunxiao quickly realised that something was amiss – Old Niu's pace was slowly getting faster and faster.
The rate of change was subtle, but it was there nevertheless.
After a while, it reached a stage where an ordinary mortal would have to sprint at full speed just to keep up!
Zhao Yunxiao glanced at Nie Hanchang, then at Lou Yuan. It would appear that they were keeping up perfectly, neither of them bothered by the increase in pace.
This was normal as well.
For cultivators, going at such a pace was not an issue, whatsoever.
Zhao Yunxiao was not sure about Lou Yuan's cultivation level, but there was no doubt that he was at least at the Foundation Building realm. In fact, considering his masterful control of energy, his cultivation level should at least be at the Essence Gathering realm as well.
Seeing that his companions were doing fine, Zhao Yunxiao chose not to mention anything for now.
But soon, he noticed that sweat was starting to form on Lou Yuan's forehead. Not just that, but Lou Yuan's breaths were starting to get faster and irregular.
It was clear that Lou Yuan was nearing his limit.
"P-Please slow down!" Zhao Yunxiao suddenly called out. "I... I can't take it anymore!"
Zhao Yunxiao stopped dead in his tracks, hanging his head low and panting heavily while bending over to rest his hands on his knees.
Nie Hanchang: "???"
Lou Yuan: "???"
The two of them had been moving alongside Zhao Yunxiao all this time, and had not sensed the slightest hint of struggle from him.
So, why did he break down like that all of a sudden?
"Hmm?" Old Niu turned around in surprise. "We aren't even going all that fast! Just this much, and you are already at your limit?"
"Y-Yeah! I can't go on anymore!" Zhao Yunxiao waved his hand in surrender. "Let's rest for a while, please!"
"This is why I have been reluctant to take up this job when I saw how young and unprepared you bunch are," Old Niu scoffed. "I guess there's no helping it. But it can get complicated if we stop for too long, so let's just rest for a few minutes."
"Complicated? In what sense?" Lou Yuan asked.
"Thieves and scavengers. Stopping for too long might attract them to our location, and it is troublesome once we get surrounded," Old Niu explained. "You bunch might be cultivators, but don't underestimate these people. Some of them are not that easy to deal with."
"Okay... just a few minutes will do," Zhao Yunxiao agreed gratefully between heavy breaths.
Zhao Yunxiao was not at all surprised that Old Niu had figured out that they were cultivators.
They might not have explicitly revealed that they were cultivators, but what they had done so far was more than telling enough.
"Then I will rest for a bit as well!" Nie Hanchang directly sat down on the ground. "How tiring!"
Zhao Yunxiao had to consciously suppress his smile from showing.
Lou Yuan still seemed confused, but it would appear that Nie Hanchang had caught onto what he was doing.
This Old Niu was not simple.
To be able to move at such a pace with ease, there was no doubt that he was someone at the Essence Gathering realm or above, or at least possessed strength at a similar level.
And Zhao Yunxiao could think of two possible reasons why he was gradually increasing his pace as they moved.
The more innocuous reason would be truly just to get to their destination faster.
However, there was no reason to subtly increase the pace if that was the case. Rather than that, they could simply go fast from the start, and choose to slow down if they could not handle the pace.
Therefore, it was more likely to be the second reason – Old Niu was secretly testing their capabilities.
And in this Ghost Fog Valley where it was not surprising for visitors to never find their way out, and where few would care to investigate what happened within... it was not difficult to guess why Old Niu might be testing them.
Regardless of whether his suspicions were true, it was always best to be wary.
Because of that, Zhao Yunxiao had decided to deliberately act like he was much weaker than he truly was.
This way, should his suspicions actually turn out to be true, there was still a possibility of gaining the upper hand by catching Old Niu by surprise!
Of course, it could also turn out not to be the case. That way, Zhao Yunxiao's current actions would only serve to delay their progress.
However, Zhao Yunxiao was someone who always believed in preparing for the worst.
If it meant that they could avoid the worst-case scenario by doing so, a slight delay to their progress was not too big of a cost.
As for the option of not hiring Old Niu altogether, that would make little difference to the end result.
Had Old Niu truly meant them any harm, Old Niu would have followed them into the valley regardless.
That was also exactly how it went with the bald man from yesterday and the rest of the Iron Sabres.
When they left Green Bull Inn earlier, Zhao Yunxiao could sense the Iron Sabres coming out from their hiding spots to secretly tail them from behind.
Unfortunately for them, they had probably never considered that Zhao Yunxiao's group would move at such a breakneck pace.
Within less than half an hour into their journey, they had already completely left the Iron Sabres in the dust!
But that was the Iron Sabres.
Had it been Old Niu who was tailing them, things would definitely be a lot trickier.
Rather than having to constantly worry about someone who was tailing them in secret, it might even be a better idea to have them join them in the open instead!
After a few minutes of rest, the group resumed their journey into the depths of the valley, once again starting slow, with Old Niu subtly picking up the pace.
And when the pace reached a similar level as before, Zhao Yunxiao made sure to call for a break to rest once again.
Consistency was important when trying to influence the beliefs of others.
Zhao Yunxiao did not know if Old Niu had fallen for it, but the latter at least agreed to rest each time.
Along the way, Old Niu constantly complained about how unprepared they were for the harsh terrain of Ghost Fog Valley, and reminded them how fortunate they were to have hired him to make up for their lack of preparations.
In response, Zhao Yunxiao's group shrugged off his words in a nonchalant manner, treating them as nothing but background noise.
Perhaps realising that he was not getting the acknowledgement he wanted, Old Niu eventually stopped complaining as well.
Just like that, the group of four continued deeper and deeper into the valley.
After hours of moving through the thick fog, they were finally greeted with some good news.
"Here is where I usually see that strange plant of yours," Old Niu stopped and said. "However, let me just say in advance that I don't always see it every time I visit this area. You can try looking around, but I am not going to bear any responsibility even if you end up not finding any!"
Zhao Yunxiao took a look around.
Well, it was not exactly looking since the thick fog prevented one from seeing anything past three metres.
Examining his surroundings with his spiritual sense, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a satisfied smile.
It would appear that Old Niu had not been lying to them. This was indeed the ideal type of habitat that grimoire plants were said to thrive in.
Now, he could only hope that they would be able to find one quickly and finally put an end to this long trip!