Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 254: Chapter 198: Xie Yuan’s Gift (Part 2)

Seeing that the leader hadn’t noticed a thing, Xie Yuan relaxed the hand hidden inside his sleeve and thought,

’Then I’ll let you live a little while longer.’

He glanced toward the distant ruins of the ancient city. The sky had already grown dark, and the ruins stretched across the center of the basin like the skeleton of a giant beast.

A glint appeared in Xie Yuan’s eyes. He made his decision and strode in that direction.

’Since I’m already here, I might as well go take a look!’

"Jia the Second, where are you going?"

Li Gou’Er asked casually when he saw him move.

"To relieve myself... oh, right, take a shit. What, you wanna come?"

Xie Yuan said with a lazy grin, perfectly mimicking Jia the Second.

Li Gou’Er pinched his nose, a look of disgust on his face.

"Get lost! Go do your business far away from here. Don’t stink up the place for the rest of us!"

"Heh, maybe I’ll go take a dump right at the entrance of your tent."

"Piss off!"

Xie Yuan walked away with a grin.

Li Gou’Er watched him walk toward the distant ruins and melt into the night until he was gone, and an inexplicable sense of panic washed over him.

It was as if Jia the Second had been slowly devoured by the city’s ruins, vanishing completely.

He shuddered and muttered to himself,

"This place is so damn creepy. I hope we leave soon... That Jia the Second, he’s really something else. How dare he go in that direction to take a crap? Weren’t we forbidden from going over there...?"

Xie Yuan’s figure had already blended into the twilight. To anyone below the level of a Grandmaster, he was utterly invisible to the naked eye. Even a Grandmaster might not notice anything amiss with just a passing glance.

He activated his Cloud Dragon Step and sprinted silently through the night. In just a few moments, he reached the outer perimeter of the ruins.

He watched the elite bandits patrolling on guard duty. Their leaders all had deep reserves of energy and flourishing Blood Qi. Xie Yuan’s eyes narrowed.

’Lu the Third has over a thousand bandits under his command, but I’d guess there aren’t many at the Second Training of Qi and Blood. At most a few dozen. I’m afraid they’re all here, aren’t they?’

He carefully avoided the dense patrols and moved deeper into the ruins.

The bandits at the Second Training of Qi and Blood were completely oblivious. Xie Yuan walked slowly across the sandy ground between the ruins, his gaze sweeping over the crumbling walls. Aside from the heavy weight of ages, he discovered nothing of note.

’Perhaps countless years ago, this was a great city in the Western Regions. It seems to have been completely buried under the sand. If this area hadn’t sunken, it would never have seen the light of day again.’

Xie Yuan moved deeper step by step, avoiding all the guards without arousing anyone’s suspicion.

With his Body Technique, he soon reached the temple at the very heart of the ruins.

He looked at the relatively intact structure, its dome still rising majestically above the rest of the city. Xie Yuan admired it quietly for a moment before his gaze fell upon a small tent near the entrance.

’Qi Blood Third Transformation...’

Xie Yuan noted silently.

He could sense a figure sitting cross-legged inside. The aura emanating from their body was so potent he could feel it from a great distance, impossible to fully suppress.

Xie Yuan had seen many Grandmasters, watched top experts from the Flying Dragon List spar, and had even crossed blades with a Grandmaster for real. His standards were naturally quite high.

But he also understood that in the true martial world, Grandmasters were as elusive as mythical dragons. The Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm was the mainstream, the backbone of power, the highest level of expert most people would ever encounter.

And within that realm, the Qi Blood Third Transformation—the peak of human physical limits, a single step away from the Grandmaster realm—was undoubtedly the ceiling.

Even on a global scale, an expert in the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm could be called a great master, commanding respect and honorable treatment wherever they went.

Xie Yuan wasn’t arrogant enough to think he was at that level just because he had encountered many Grandmasters.

He considered himself fairly decent for someone in the Qi Blood First Transformation Realm, but he knew he couldn’t face the warriors of the Second Transformation Realm he’d just seen, let alone this Third Transformation enemy before him. After all, he had only broken through less than two months ago, and cultivation was not a journey completed in a single leap.

This person in particular had a surging aura. Even from this distance, Xie Yuan could truly feel the Two-Layer Mountain gap between them.

’Lu the Third’s son? It seems he was meticulously groomed by his father.’

Xie Yuan knew that a major bandit leader like Lu the Third was bound to have sons scattered all over. But clearly, this one was his true son, his real heir.

Yet even an expert of this caliber was completely unaware of Xie Yuan, who stood quietly in the distance, sizing him up.

Xie Yuan’s gaze swept the area for a moment before turning to the temple, its main gate long gone. He peered into the pitch-black hall within.

With his eyesight, he should have been able to make out some silhouettes even in the dim light, as long as a sliver of starlight or moonlight was present.

Strangely, however, when his gaze pierced the entrance, he saw nothing but absolute darkness. The longer he stared, the more it felt like looking into a vortex, and he began to feel dizzy.

He shook his head, tore his gaze away, and thought with a chill,

’It really is strange!’

’Perhaps this is the true entrance to the ruins. It just hasn’t opened yet, which is why there’s no sign of anything.’

Xie Yuan pondered for a moment. Now that he had seen Lu the Third’s true objective, well...

He cautiously assessed the situation and decided against venturing inside.

He knew there might be a treasure inside that could help one advance to the Grandmaster realm, but there was no telling what would happen if he rushed in blindly.

It wasn’t as if Xie Yuan’s own progress had stalled. With his talent, methodical cultivation was sufficient. Reaching the Grandmaster realm was only a matter of time, so there was no need to take such a risk.

’But if I’m not going to have it, then neither is Lu the Third!’

A glint flashed in Xie Yuan’s eyes as he reached a hand inside his robes.

When he had made his escape earlier, he had recovered all of his belongings, including his sword and satchel.

He pulled his hand out, revealing a large black sphere. It was the high-grade Thunder Bomb from Jiangnan’s Thunderclap Hall, a gift from Pei Yu.

’I don’t know if this thing will have any effect, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll just toss it in and find out.’

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