Someone has come!
Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao both looked outside with surprise, but the courtyard door was firmly locked, so they couldn't see anything.
"The message I mentioned has arrived," Cao Yi added.
Just then, a respectful voice came from outside the courtyard: "Sir, the warrior Xiang has sent someone to report that a suspicious person has appeared near Peize."
"Got it, you can go," Cao Yi replied indifferently.
"Understood," the person answered and left.
"You all stay here; I'll be back soon," Cao Yi said before getting up and leaving the room.
For an ordinary person, it would take a while to get from the Lv Manor to the Peize area, but for Cao Yi, who possessed extraordinary physical abilities, it was nothing. In no time, he arrived at a makeshift thatched hut near Peize.
After leaving the small island, Xiang Yu had been living here, secretly watching for anyone trying to sneak around Peize.
With a soft sound, the door of the thatched hut opened, and the burly Xiang Yu stepped out.
"Daoist Priest, not long ago, a mysterious old man appeared nearby. As per your instructions, I only monitored him from a distance without approaching."
Mysterious movements! An old man!
It could only be either Cui Wenzi or the North Rock Mountain Man.
"Very well, where is he now?"
"In the woods five miles to the north."
"Take me there."
"Okay."
With Xiang Yu leading the way, Cao Yi quickly found the mysterious old man's hideout.
In the dark, dense forest stood a small tent that could barely fit one person, but it was completely empty inside.
Xiang Yu crouched down, reached in, and said, "There's only a bit of warmth left; he left some time ago."
"Let's search separately," Cao Yi said, then walked to the left.
Although it was night, Cao Yi could see far ahead. He searched quickly, and before long, he reached the edge of Peize. Walking along the shore for over a hundred steps, he suddenly stopped.
"Footprints."
In the sandy ground under the moonlight, there were several footprints leading to the water's edge, alongside traces of a bamboo raft.
There was no doubt that the mysterious old man had already entered Peize.
"Let me see whether you are Cui Wenzi or the North Rock Mountain Man," Cao Yi said, taking off the gourd from his waist and tossing it into the water, silently calling out "big." The purple-gold-red gourd visibly lengthened to over ten feet, lying across the shimmering water.
Cao Yi leaped lightly onto it.
"Set off."
As he gave the command, a stream of spiritual energy surged down, and the purple-gold-red gourd immediately began to cut through the waves, leaving a long wake behind.
As they traveled quickly, Cao Yi recalled something related to the gourd and asked, "Gourd, you can't be opened for three days; is it related to me forcibly putting Xiang Yu inside three days ago?"
When in the world of the Dragon Seeking Technique, the purple-gold-red gourd indicated that it could not actively hold living people.
The gourd shook, seemingly expressing discontent.
"I was careless; let me give you a bit more spiritual energy."
Cao Yi apologized and infused more spiritual energy into it.
The purple-gold-red gourd immediately settled down.
Peize wasn't particularly small or large, especially with the purple-gold-red gourd moving at full speed; in less than fifteen minutes, the small island and flickering firelight appeared under the watery moonlight.
The fire was undoubtedly a bonfire lit by the guards.
On the second day after the celestial star descended, the magistrate of Pei County dispatched forty men to guard the small island.
Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out from the small island, jarring in the dark night.
"What happened?"
Cao Yi frowned and increased the flow of spiritual energy.
The purple-gold-red gourd sped up, getting closer to the small island, where a group of people was seen surrounding an individual, repeatedly being knocked back.
The purple-gold-red gourd suddenly stopped; there were too many bamboo rafts in front of it, preventing further progress.
Cao Yi lightly jumped onto a bamboo raft and casually retrieved the purple-gold-red gourd.
In his line of sight, the fight wasn't particularly intense.
"Don't force me, I don't want to kill anyone," an impatient old man's voice rang out.
The guards, with responsibilities on their shoulders, ignored him, getting knocked away, getting back up, and returning to battle.
"Get away!"
The old man shoved a few people aside and charged toward the center of the small island.
Clearly, he was there for the celestial star.
The guards shouted and chased after him; protecting the celestial star was their duty.
Cao Yi calmly followed behind.
The small island wasn't large, and soon, the fast-moving old man reached the celestial star. Upon seeing it, he let out an unwilling roar, "How could this be? I've waited my whole life, only to be beaten to it by someone else."
The chasing guards surrounded him once again.
The old man, already furious, charged to the left, sending a guard flying over two zhang. He then rushed behind two more guards, slapping them hard, sending them flying as well.
Unlike before, these two did not get back up.
Seeing this, the guards were frightened and retreated to a distance.
The old man snorted and walked to the severed celestial star, examining it, hoping to find some clue.
"I don't believe you left no trace at all," the old man muttered.
"Ahem."
Having watched the commotion for a while, Cao Yi let out a light cough.
The old man abruptly turned around, and upon seeing Cao Yi walking out of the darkness, he paused for a moment and asked, "Who are you?"
"The person you are looking for," Cao Yi replied flatly.
The old man's expression shifted several times, narrowing his eyes as he said, "Did you wait here specifically for me?"
Cao Yi smiled and nodded.
"What makes me worthy of your concern?"
The old man clenched his fists tightly, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
Cao Yi opened the gourd, and with a thought, a tall and imposing figure with flowing black hair, wearing black armor and radiating coldness, wielding an exceptionally long giant axe appeared.
"If you want to fight, let's finish it quickly," Cao Yi said.
Upon seeing Ye Lvzhi Gu, the old man's pupils shrank, saying, "Such a thing should not exist in this world."
A bell rang.
Ye Lvzhi Gu opened his indifferent eyes and strode forward, holding the giant axe.
"Wait, I concede," the old man immediately backed down.
Cao Yi glanced at the guards standing uncertainly in the distance and said, "This is not the place for conversation."
Three minutes later.
In the vast and misty waters, a large gourd floated.
"What a great item, what a great item…"
The old man gazed at the purple-gold-red gourd beneath him, nearly drooling.
"Now we can talk, North Rock Mountain Man," Cao Yi said.
"I am not the North Rock Mountain Man; I am Cui Wenzi," the old man shook his head vigorously.
"Oh really?"
Cao Yi took out the tiger-shaped pendant he had gotten from Yi Xiaochuan.
"Tiger-shaped pendant."
Cui Wenzi blurted out.
Cao Yi smiled.
"Alright, I am Cui Wenzi, and I am also the North Rock Mountain Man," Cui Wenzi admitted frankly as he realized he had been exposed.
"Hand over the time-space treasure box. If the elixir of immortality is successfully refined, you can receive a portion," Cao Yi offered the terms.
Cui Wenzi revealed a knowing expression.
"You can also choose to refuse," Cao Yi directed his gaze toward Ye Lvzhi Gu standing nearby.