The moon was dark and the wind was high, an elder and a youth,
Seeing the two figures standing at the entrance of the valley, Zhao Dabao knew his whereabouts must have been leaked.
He turned his head to look at the several robust men riding horses behind him.
Indeed, two of them appeared distracted.
Noticing Zhao Dabao's gaze, those two became even more flustered.
"Taoist Jin Xu," Zhao Dabao said, "I initially asked for your help as a precaution, but now it seems I may truly need your intervention."
Jin Xu nodded at his words.
He and Fatty Zhao had an agreement that he would not enter this formation, but his role was to ensure his safety.
"The one who looks like a young man is my cousin, Zhao Yan, the one who was promoted to be an Inner Sect officer in Medicine King Valley. Three years ago, he was already at the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core. The older one is Medicine King Valley's Third Elder, Yao Chen, a veteran at the Void Refinement Realm."
Zhao Dabao whispered to Jin Xu, briefing him about the two individuals.
The Void Refinement Realm, uncertain if he could withstand it.
Jin Xu's hands formed the controlling spell of Xuanxu Temple, and he sensed something. Hmm, he could feel it.
"If I can't hold out, then I'll summon Xuanxu Temple to take Zhao Dabao and flee."
Zhao Dabao naturally did not know what Jin Xu was thinking. If he did, he might have second thoughts about hiring this young Taoist.
While Jin Xu was pondering, the group arrived at the entrance of the valley.
As expected, those two distracted men directly positioned themselves behind Zhao Yan and Yao Chen.
"Fatty Zhao, instead of properly managing the Zhao family's assets in Gusu City, what are you doing running off to these desolate mountains in the middle of the night, paying respects at a grave?"
Zhao Yan looked arrogantly at Zhao Dabao and his company, who, except for the young Taoist, each held four sticks of tall incense, and couldn't resist mocking them.
Zhao Dabao did not get angry at the mockery; he maintained a cheerful expression.
But his words spared Zhao Yan no mercy.
"Cousin Zhao Yan, since you've been seeking knowledge away from home since you were young, you might not know. Our ancestor from this branch sought fortune here 300 years ago. Unfortunately, after entering the formation, amidst sounds of snaps and cries, he suffered three days and nights and never emerged."
At this point, Zhao Dabao paused deliberately, observing Zhao Yan, whose face was turning red with anger.
Only then did he continue.
"Your kin, not knowing any better, has prompted me to specially come here to offer incense on your behalf, lest others say the Zhao family raised unfilial descendants."
The story Zhao Dabao told was nonsense; he hadn't even been born 300 years ago.
But Zhao Yan didn't know this. Having lost his mother at a young age and being sent to Medicine King Valley for cultivation by his father at six, he rarely returned home.
Although he was extremely angry now, he did not know how to counter.
Just as he was fuming, he heard Fatty Zhao say, "However, cousin, since you're here today, it would be better for you to pay respects personally."
"Buy incense, cousin?"
"10 taels of gold per stick."
Awesome!
Ten carts of gold meant nothing to Fatty Zhao.
But for some reason, asking "Buy incense?" personally was very satisfying.
Standing behind Zhao Dabao and cultivating, Jin Xu, upon hearing those three words, opened his eyes and glanced at the expansive figure speaking freely in front of him.
Hmm, it seemed he had let the middleman make a profit.
In order to improve his cultivation efficiency and because his daily progress was slowing, the young Taoist had practiced a technique for cultivating anytime and anywhere.
In this dangerous world, every bit of additional strength gave him a greater sense of security.
Just as he closed his eyes to continue cultivating,
The elder beside Zhao Yan suddenly spoke.
"Yaner, don't listen to his nonsense. 300 years ago, this little fatty probably wasn't even born yet."
Seeing Yao Chen speak, Zhao Dabao did not dare to retort.
He could mock and tease Zhao Yan; even if he was a mortal and Zhao Yan a cultivator, after all, he was the legitimate son of the Zhao family head.
But Yao Chen was different; he was a genuine veteran of the Void Refinement Realm. To put it nicely, one must respect the powerful.
To put it bluntly, Zhao Dabao's father was at the Nascent Soul Realm and couldn't beat him.
Since Zhao Dabao remained silent, Yao Chen continued.
"This nameless formation in Lezi Mountain has lasted for many years, and even the head of Kunlun Immortal Palace returned without success. I came specially today after hearing from Yaner that a clan brother of his, as a mortal, intends to break the formation. I'm here to witness it myself."
With that, he stepped aside to clear the path into the valley.
With the support of his master, Zhao Yan regained his earlier arrogance, "Fatty Zhao, break the formation!"
Zhao Dabao let out a sigh of relief. If they had really started fighting outside the valley, he wouldn't have had any good solutions and could only pin his hopes on the seemingly unreliable young Taoist.
Now that these two were letting them in, things would be much easier.
Fatty Zhao and Jin Xu, along with their group, entered the valley. After walking for several dozen meters, a thick fog appeared ahead.
Looking at the dense fog in front of them,
Zhao Dabao explained to the little Taoist,
"This is the rogue formation. Little Taoist, keep an eye on that old and young pair for me, I'm going to start now."
Jin Xu responded affirmatively, his curiosity also piqued.
He wondered if what the fatty had told him on the road was true.
Zhao Dabao turned around and called over a muscular leader, whispering a few words to him. The man walked into the thick fog with an expression of tragic resolve.
"Pfft, Fatty Zhao, are you planning to fill up the formation with bodies?"
Zhao Yan jeered from the side.
Suddenly, the formation was filled with slapping sounds, "smack, smack, smack, smack", accompanied by the muscular man's screams of pain.
The rogue formation was terrifying indeed!
Jin Xu felt his hair stand on end.
It was so twisted—what kind of demon could have left behind such a perverted formation?
About half a cup of tea's time passed before the screams and slapping sounds stopped.
A staggering figure emerged from the mist!
!!!
Surprise was written all over Zhao Yan's face, while Third Elder Yao Chen's eyes shone with a sharp light.
Despite looking miserable, the man had made it out alive!
As soon as the figure emerged, Zhao Dabao hurried over. The muscular man's clothes were intact, and he had no injuries on his body, but...
But his face was swollen like a pig's head, as if he had been slapped dozens of times, with only a slit remaining for his eyes, and several teeth missing.
"How did it go? Did you see it?"
Zhao Dabao asked, steadying the muscular man. He urgently called for his men to bring the already prepared medicine for injuries.
"I saw it, it's indeed there, young master," the man said indistinctly through swollen lips.
Zhao Dabao seemed to have practiced understanding such speech, as he comprehended immediately,
"Young master, I can't take it anymore," the muscular man said before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.
Zhao Dabao instructed the others to take the muscular man away for careful treatment.
Then he picked two more muscular men and ordered them into the formation.
The two also bore expressions of grave determination.
Another half a cup of tea's time later, two more muscular men, faces bruised and swollen like pig's heads, staggered out, supporting each other.
This time, these two did better than the first; it seemed they had rehearsed beforehand. One of them informed Zhao Dabao of the location of the Enlightenment Pill, and the other provided the route to take.
After several repetitions, almost none of the muscular men Zhao Fatty had brought with him could stand anymore.
But his gains were not small; by correlating the words spoken by his men as they exited the formation, he had verified the location of the Enlightenment Pill within the formation and learned the shortest route to take to retrieve it.
Zhao Yan, who stood aside, was dumbfounded.
He transmitted a message to his master,
"Master, I don't understand what this fatty is trying to do."
"It's not important. Wait until he finishes his performance, then go up and take him down. Find out the secret of how his men could exit the formation, and then..."
"Isn't that inappropriate, Master? After all, his father is the Clan Leader. And besides, that little Taoist by his side looks like he could be a hermit of great attainment. What if..."
"Hmph, after we return this time, his father will no longer be the Clan Leader. What is there to fear? As for that little Taoist, he doesn't show even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power. All bark and no bite."
Third Elder Yao Chen had noticed Jin Xu early on at the entrance of the valley, because the aura of the little Taoist was indeed too conspicuous. But even with his investigation skill, he didn't detect any trace of spiritual power from Jin Xu.
In the end, he was convinced that this was just an ordinary Taoist with a somewhat ethereal aura.
"Even if he's hiding his strength, his actual age is a tangible fact. A mere eighteen-year-old boy couldn't possibly overcome someone in the Void Refinement Realm like me!" Third Elder of Medicine King Valley thought to himself.