"Good!"
The five men stopped talking, bowed their heads to eat, only to see Lao Wu raising his hand and calling the server again,
"Server, another pot of wine!"
Lao Er frowned,
"Lao Wu, restrain yourself; we are out on a mission, and the business at hand is crucial. Do not indulge in drink!"
The one called Lao Wu appeared unconcerned,
"Second Brother, it's rare for us to come down the mountain. If we capture our quarry tonight and have to return to the sect immediately, we should enjoy a meal while we can!"
Cultivators of the righteous path prize self-restraint and severance of desires and emotions. By the Foundation Establishment Stage, they can fast for three to five months, and upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage, they can go without eating or drinking for years, refraining from worldly matters as much as possible. However, most Evil Cultivators cherish freedom of their natural instincts, and believe in indulging their desires to reach enlightenment: they kill if they revel in slaughter, gamble if they love gambling, and surround themselves with beautiful women if they are driven by lust. Thus, seeking breakthroughs amidst indulgence, those of the evil path rarely constrain their desires!
Lao Er wanted to continue persuading, but noticing the gloomy expression of the eldest brother, he did not say more and frowned, closing his mouth. After the five had finished their meal and gone upstairs, the adjacent room was already occupied by the trio of Confucian scholars. Sitting in their room, they released their Divine Senses and waited until they heard several steady breaths from the neighboring rooms, then the one known as eldest brother took out a small compass.
The eldest brother spoke solemnly to the others,
"This Treasure-Seeking Compass was given to me by the sect leader. He had once seen the Tongxuan Sect's leader use the Tongxuan Treasure Mirror. It is said to be incredibly powerful. At that time, the sect leader sealed the aura of the mirror within this compass, showing great foresight. Thankfully, as soon as that treasure appeared in the world, this compass emitted a warning signal..."
After finishing his words, he placed the compass on the tabletop and saw it vibrate slightly, emitting a low buzzing sound,
"The sect leader said that as long as the compass is activated, anything we seek within fifty miles can be found..."
Seeing this, Lao Wu asked,
"Big Brother, if we had this great tool, why didn't you use it before?"
The eldest brother replied,
"This device is a secret treasure of our sect, rumored to be modeled after an ancient artifact from the Immortal Realm. Though merely a copy, its power is not to be underestimated. The sect leader regards it as a treasure that secures the sect. If it weren't for our current mission to find the Tongxuan Bright Mirror, he would never allow us to use it; and I would not dare to flaunt it lightly!"
Upon saying this, he glared at Lao Wu and added,
"If it weren't for your reckless killing that attracted the attention of the Spirit Clearing Guards, I wouldn't have had to hide it!"
Luckily, they managed to shake off the three pursuing Spirit Clearing Guards in the mountains. If they were caught, not only would they fail to find the Treasure Mirror, but they would also lose the Treasure-Seeking Compass and then the brothers would only have death as their apology.
Lao Wu touched his nose and said nothing. The eldest brother continued,
"But this isn't solely because of you... Activating this device consumes an immense amount of mana. With my current level of cultivation, I can only activate it three times at most; and after the third time, I would need to meditate in seclusion for a month to recover my mana. Unless it is necessary, I would not activate it lightly... I didn't know how far the Old Taoist Priest and his disciple had fled, so I dared not use it. Now that we're in the city, Xuancheng City isn't too large—so long as they haven't left, I should be able to find them..."
Without further conversation, he placed the compass on the tabletop, started to perform the Magical Incantation, and then pointed at it. The compass, seemingly made of neither wood nor stone, suddenly blazed with a brilliant white light, dazzling and fierce, almost as if a bright moon had arisen within the small inn room. Following that, the white light even penetrated through the crevices of the rooftop, shining straight up into the sky. The five men, looking at this, became somewhat alarmed,
"Big Brother, this commotion is really big. Won't it attract the attention of the Spirit Clearing Guards in the city?"
The eldest brother nodded, his brows furrowing deeply,
"I didn't expect it to be so noticeable!"
They had already drawn the tracking of the Spirit Clearing Guards behind them; and if they were to attract those within the city, the situation would indeed become quite troublesome. Fortunately, the brilliant light did not last long and vanished in a few breaths. The five men leaned in to look and saw a white dot appear on the compass, pointing directly toward the South City. They were overjoyed,
"Big Brother, have we found it?"
"Yes!"
The one called Big Brother also showed a pleased expression and carefully observed the compass. Initially, the small white dot on the surface flickered slowly, but then it began to move rapidly,
"Not good, the Old Taoist Priest must have sensed us. He is trying to escape. Let's go, quickly!"
All of them rose to their feet at once. To avoid drawing the attention of the Spirit Clearing Guards, they dared not use Flight Light in the city. Thankfully, being Great Cultivators with strong bodies, and having practiced some mortal movement techniques, they rapidly moved in single file out of the inn's window. In a few breaths, their figures disappeared into the dark alleyway, unaware that close behind them, yet at a safe distance, three figures had cloaked their presence and were silently following them, floating on the wind.