Immortal Path Space

Chapter 275: Formation of the Caravan

After Wang Hong arrived in Azure Void City, he gathered his trusted subordinates.

After discussing recent developments with them for a while, Wang Hong spoke up, "I'm planning to form a caravan and travel to various cities to explore. Do any of you have any objections or suggestions?"

Upon hearing Wang Hong's plan to form a caravan, his subordinates became excited, their faces flushed with enthusiasm.

"Great! Let's build the most powerful caravan in the entire Cultivation World and spread its reputation far and wide," Skinny Monkey exclaimed eagerly, being the first to speak up.

"We have more than ten Foundation Building cultivators currently idle. We can take them along to sharpen their skills and prevent them from getting rusty. Additionally, we can also take those one hundred newcomers out to gain some experience and broaden their horizons," Luo Zhongjie added. Wang Hong had previously tasked him with recruiting one hundred new members, and after over a decade of training, they had all reached the later stages of Qi Cultivation.

When they were first recruited, these youngsters were barely teenagers and were like blank slates. Over the past decade, they had been continuously trained by Luo Zhongjie. Now that the opportunity had come, it was only natural to take them on a journey for more experience.

After some discussion, they decided to gather Spiritual Herbs, Spirit Pills, and even Skinny Monkey's Spirit Wine from Azure Void City and head to the city of Thousand Crafts Pavilion. Azure Void City specialized in Alchemy, while the city of Thousand Crafts Pavilion excelled in refining tools. This collaboration would allow them to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Over a month later, the group set out from Azure Void City in a grand procession. Almost all their visible strength was mobilized for this journey.

All one hundred newcomers were brought along, divided into ten teams, each led by a Foundation Building cultivator. In addition to Wang Hong, He Yuan, and Luo Zhongjie, there were a total of thirteen Foundation Building cultivators. Skinny Monkey also wanted to join, but Wang Hong didn't agree.

He Yuan had already fully recovered from his previous injuries, and with Wang Hong's support over the years, he had reached the mid-stage of Foundation Building.

The caravan consisted of over ten carts pulled by large camel-like creatures called Cow. These Cows were known for their size and gentle temperament, making them ideal for transporting goods in the Cultivation World.

Due to the limited storage capacity of Storage Bags and the fact that some items in the Cultivation World were quite large, several carts in the caravan were filled with large crates, each containing numerous bulging Storage Bags.

Of course, the most valuable items were carried by the individuals themselves.

Most of these supplies had been purchased from the Immortal Way Trading Company. Otherwise, with the resources of Wang Hong's three shops alone, it would have been impossible to gather such a large quantity of goods.

As they embarked on their journey, Wang Hong sat on the back of Little Peng, hovering in the sky. They had traveled for several days without any trouble. There were no signs of treasure-seeking cultivators on the road, perhaps because they were intimidated by their large group.

However, several hundred miles ahead of them, a group of treasure-seeking cultivators had gathered.

In recent years, due to poor business prospects, treasure-seeking cultivators had been attacking and merging with each other, resulting in the formation of several large treasure-hunting teams.

Now, inside a mountain cave, dozens of cultivators had gathered, led by a burly man in the later stages of Foundation Building. His skin was slightly tanned, and his eyes resembled bronze bells. His right ear was missing from the root, likely severed during a previous fight, giving him a more ferocious appearance.

"Report to Chief Changshan, a caravan with over a hundred people and fifteen carts is approaching from the direction of Azure Void City. They bear the banner of the East Zhou Trading Company."

The man with the ferocious appearance, surnamed Chang, had gathered dozens of treasure-seeking cultivators and claimed this territory as their exclusive hunting ground for robbing and killing.

He referred to himself as Chief of the Mountain. When other treasure-seeking cultivators entered this area, they either joined his group or faced annihilation.

"East Zhou Trading Company? Never heard of it. Kill them!" Changshan ordered. Despite having only a Foundation Building cultivation level, he had managed to occupy this territory and engage in murder and robbery for a long time, indicating he had some tricks up his sleeve.

For lone travelers, they were mercilessly killed, and their bodies were obliterated to leave no trace. However, when dealing with caravans passing through, they would assess the situation and choose their targets carefully, following the principle of "picking the weak and sparing the strong."

To Chief Changshan, these caravans he had never heard of were as common as dirt. They believed these were just small factions and robbing them would pose no challenge.

So, they set up an ambush on the path the caravan was sure to take.

Meanwhile, Wang Hong and his group continued on their journey. Ahead, there was a narrow canyon with an entrance that was only a few yards wide, appearing equally narrow from the inside. This terrain was very familiar to Wang Hong and his companions—a perfect location for an ambush.

As they reached the entrance of the canyon, they halted their progress. Wang Hong guided Little Peng to fly directly above the canyon, allowing him to have a bird's-eye view. While the canyon wasn't very high, the elevated position allowed him to see everything inside reasonably clearly.

However, Little Peng's vision was even sharper. It quickly spotted something and used its claws to point Wang Hong in the right direction. Wang Hong then noticed faint figures on the cliff below.

He immediately activated a Transmission Talisman, providing a brief update on the situation to his group waiting at the canyon entrance. He urged them to prepare and descended with Little Peng.

Their presence had already been noticed by Chief Changshan's group, who were no longer hiding. They readied their Spiritual Weapons, waiting for Wang Hong and Little Peng to come closer before launching their attack.

However, Wang Hong and Little Peng remained about fifty to sixty yards away from them in the air, and Chief Changshan's group dared not approach. Instead, they circled in the sky for a moment, dropped a few Talismans, and fled.

"Hahaha! This kid is scared out of his wits! Throwing Talismans from that far away? Useless!" Chief Changshan laughed heartily.

"Hahaha!" The other treasure-seeking cultivators joined in, watching Wang Hong's hasty departure.

By the time these Talismans reached them, they had already dissipated to the point where a simple breath could extinguish them. They posed no threat at all.

Most Foundation Building cultivators had a Divine Sense range of only twenty or thirty yards. Even Wang Hong, with a stronger Divine Sense, had a range of only about thirty yards in the later stages of Foundation Building. When activated Talismans were out of their detection range, they would gradually lose control and dissipate.

"Hahaha! Let's go after him! First, we'll kill this kid, and then we'll deal with the ones waiting at the canyon," Chief Changshan shouted and took the lead, flying toward Wang Hong.

Since they had already been discovered, there was no need to continue hiding. They decided to engage in a full-fledged battle.

However, after chasing for a while, they realized that Wang Hong and Little Peng were exceptionally slippery and impossible to encircle. The large bird's aerial agility far surpassed what Foundation Building cultivators could achieve when flying on their artifacts.

Little Peng alternated between soaring upward, diving straight down, or executing 180-degree turns. It performed all sorts of acrobatic maneuvers—forward, backward, sideways, and even spirals. It was like a performance of aerial acrobatics.

Occasionally, the two of them could even hear the excited roars coming from Wang Hong and Little Peng.

[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]