Vampire Progenitor of the Immortal World

Chapter 96: Chapter 73 : A way out

As he continued walking through the market, the sounds of restless animals began to reach him from farther ahead. Among the noise, he could hear the occasional growl and the muffled sounds of wolves, as though several wild creatures were being restrained nearby.

When Ethan got close enough to see what was happening, he found a merchant standing beside several cages containing small spirit beasts.

One of the cages held several young wolves. Most of them shifted restlessly within the confined space, making low sounds as they pressed against the bars.

The largest among them remained quiet.

As Ethan passed, it slowly raised its head, its eyes following him for several moments before it lowered its head again.

Nearby, two cultivators spoke beside a leather-covered cart. One wore a crescent-shaped silver ornament on his belt, while the other packed several bundles of dried meat into the cart.

"...heard they’re heading farther east."

"East?" The second man glanced up from the bundle in his hands. "You mean past Lunar Echo?"

"That’s what I heard."

He gave a quiet snort. "Then they’re going to have a problem. Those people don’t take kindly to strangers wandering around their beast routes."

"Maybe they know that already."

"Maybe."

The second cultivator shrugged and went back to packing the dried meat.

Ethan continued along the market road, leaving the conversation behind as quickly as it had reached him. The voices of the two cultivators soon blended into the surrounding noise, swallowed by the countless sounds filling the busy street.

A few steps later, something else caught his attention.

A map stall.

The stall consisted of a wooden table beneath a faded cloth canopy. Rolled maps were stacked in bundles along one side, while several others lay spread across the table, their edges held down by small stones. Behind the table, a few larger maps made from treated animal hide hung from a simple wooden frame, their surfaces marked with roads, mountains, rivers, and scattered settlements.

An elderly woman sat behind the stall. She wore a plain brown robe, her gray hair tied loosely behind her head. Her narrow, weathered face carried the quiet composure of someone accustomed to spending long hours dealing with passing travelers.

Ethan’s Blood Perception brushed against her almost instinctively.

Body Tempering.

The woman glanced up as he approached. Ethan stopped in front of the stall and glanced over the maps spread across the table.

"I’m looking for a map. What kind do you have?"

The woman looked up at him. Her gaze lingered for a moment before she sensed the depth of his cultivation. Her expression changed almost imperceptibly, and she straightened slightly behind the table.

"Senior, I have maps covering the surrounding prefectures," she said respectfully. "There are also larger regional maps that cover areas farther east and west."

Ethan glanced toward the rolled maps behind her.

"What’s the difference between them?"

"The regional maps cover a much wider area, but the details are more limited. The smaller ones show the roads, towns, and important locations within each prefecture."

Ethan considered that for a moment.

"I’ll take a look at the regional ones."

Ethan picked up one of the larger maps and looked over its rolled edges.

"How much for this one?"

The woman glanced at the map in his hand before answering.

"Three silver, Senior."

Ethan looked at her.

"Three?"

She hesitated briefly, then nodded. "The larger regional maps take more time to prepare. Some of the information comes from travelers, but the important routes have to be checked before I can sell them as reliable."

Ethan’s eyes moved over the other maps.

"Still seems expensive."

The woman gave a small, apologetic smile. "I understand, Senior. But if I lower it much more, I’d barely recover the cost of putting it together."

She paused, then pointed toward a smaller bundle.

"If you only need the nearby areas, those are cheaper."

Ethan glanced at the smaller maps.

"How much?"

"One silver."

He considered it for a moment.

"Three silver for the larger one, then."

The woman nodded. "It covers much more of the region."

Ethan placed the three silver pieces on the table.

The woman carefully gathered them before handing him the rolled-up map.

"Travel safely, Senior."

Ethan gave a small nod and moved away from the stall. He found an empty patch near the edge of the gathering and crouched beneath the shelter of a wagon. The map was larger than he expected, so he spread it across the ground and placed one hand over a corner to keep the wind from lifting it. His eyes moved slowly across the markings, following the mountains, rivers, roads, and settlements as he familiarized himself with the region.

Azure Cloud territory occupied a large portion of the map, its roads and settlements becoming more scattered toward the outer edges. Beyond it, the other major territories gradually came into view. The Crimson Purge Sect occupied the opposing side, while Lunar Echo lay farther along the other direction. Between them was a broad stretch of land marked Scoundrel’s Ridge, with a small note beneath the name:

Grey Region - outside the authority of the major sects.

Ethan’s finger followed several roads leading away from Azure Cloud territory. Some continued toward the Crimson Purge side, while others passed through the Grey Region before reaching farther territories. He studied them for a while, noticing how the roads became fewer and the settlements more scattered around Scoundrel’s Ridge. The farther he traced them, the more the region seemed to open into mountains and wilderness.

He stopped there for a moment.

The Crimson Purge Sect was not a direction he wanted to take. If Azure Cloud was already looking for him, fleeing toward the territory of a Demonic Sect would be too obvious. It might even draw more attention than staying where he was.

His finger moved back across the map, passing over Scoundrel’s Ridge before following the roads toward Lunar Echo.

That route was longer.

But perhaps that was exactly what he needed.

Lunar Echo was another major sect, and Ethan had no reason to assume they would welcome him. Still, if he reached their sphere of influence, Azure Cloud could no longer pursue him as freely as they could within their own territory. At the very least, they would have to consider what it meant to send people into another major sect’s domain.

Ethan eyes followed one of the roads farther east. It crossed a river, passed through several smaller settlements, and eventually approached the edge of Lunar Echo’s territory.

He looked at the route for another moment. It was longer, but less predictable, and that made it the safer choice.

Ethan folded the map.

For now, Lunar Echo was the better choice.

He didn’t rush to leave.

Instead, he stayed until the temporary gathering began to quiet down.

Some merchants extinguished their lamps, while others tied down their belongings for the night. Several cultivators left before midnight, their figures gradually disappearing along the roads.

Those who remained either settled down to rest or prepared to depart before dawn.

Ethan waited until the roads around the gathering grew darker and the flow of people thinned.

Then he left.

The next several days passed quietly.

Ethan traveled alone, following the routes marked on his map while keeping to the less traveled paths whenever the terrain allowed. He no longer avoided settlements as automatically as he had before. With the map in hand, he could at least choose which roads to take and which places to pass through.

On the third day, the road brought him to a river.

Ethan stopped beneath the trees and looked across the water. The river was broad, but the opposite bank was clearly visible through the morning mist. According to the map, a bridge should have crossed somewhere ahead.

He followed the road until he found it, or rather, what remained of it. Several broken wooden posts stood near the riverbank, half-submerged in the water, while the bridge itself was gone, leaving only a few pieces of weathered timber caught among the rocks.

He looked across the river, watching the current move steadily toward the distance. The other side wasn’t particularly far, but crossing it would still take some thought. His gaze lingered on the water as something he had been meaning to try came back to him.

After his breakthrough, his control over Qi felt different. It responded more naturally to his movements, and he hadn’t yet had a proper chance to test just how much that difference mattered. His eyes moved across the river again, and this time, as he began considering how he could make the crossing useful.

His gaze moved across the river again. His eyes soon settled on several sturdy branches beneath the trees, and an idea began to take shape. If he could use them as brief footholds, the crossing would give him a chance to test how much control he actually had over his Qi.

Ethan picked up one of the branches and snapped away the smaller twigs before tossing it into the river. It landed on the water and immediately began drifting downstream with the current. He watched its movement, gauging the speed of the flow before picking up another branch and throwing it farther ahead, this time accounting for the current as he released it.

The second branch landed several steps beyond the first and began drifting as well.

Ethan’s gaze followed both of them.

They wouldn’t stay in place for long, but that was part of what Ethan wanted to test. He watched the branches drift with the current, judging their movement and the distance between them. Then he bent slightly, shifting his weight forward as he gathered Qi into his legs. He waited until the first branch drifted into position before pushing off from the bank.

His foot landed on it for only a moment. The branch immediately sank beneath his weight, but Ethan was already moving. He pushed off again, his body carrying him toward the next branch as the current pulled the first one away behind him.

His foot touched the second for barely a moment before he launched himself toward the next one, Qi flowing through his legs as he adjusted his balance in midair.

The branch rolled beneath him, forcing Ethan to adjust in midair. He redirected the Qi flowing through his legs, making a small correction to his balance before landing on the next branch.

This time, it barely sank.

Ethan’s eyes flickered with interest.

The difference was subtle, but he could feel it. His Qi responded almost as naturally as his own movements now, allowing him to control how much force he used instead of simply pouring it into his body.

He pushed off again.

The next branch drifted beneath him, and Ethan landed on it for only an instant before springing forward. He repeated the movement, adjusting his balance with each step as the branches shifted beneath him and the current carried them downstream.

He was already nearing the opposite bank.

With one final push, Ethan cleared the remaining distance and landed lightly on solid ground. He turned to look back as the branches drifted away with the current, gradually disappearing farther downstream. A faint smile touched his face as he watched them go.

His Qi control really had improved.

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