Chapter 165

Chapter 165: Leaving

Regarding Zhou Luo’s explanation, Qi Chuan did not believe it at all.

In his eyes, the other party must have known the growth location of that main ingredient, but simply did not want to say it for some reason.

Whether it was due to his own reasons or those of the person behind him.

Qi Chuan was resolved to obtain that main ingredient.

This was his best chance to enter the inner sect, and he had to seize it.

If not for upholding Zhen Yuan Tower’s reputation and fearing the person behind the other party and Qinyuan Sect, he might have taken action just then to capture him.

At this moment, watching the other party leave, Qi Chuan wore a cold expression.

He gently crushed a communication talisman.

Not long after, a figure appeared in the room.

The figure was entirely black, standing in the shadows, and would not be noticed if not observed carefully.

"Follow that person, and find out who is behind him," Qi Chuan ordered.

The other party did not reply, only silently vanishing from the spot.

Qi Chuan’s gaze was deep, and he showed killing intent on his face.

To investigate the other party’s true background, he did not hesitate to use Zhen Yuan Tower’s "shadow."

If things still weren’t clear, he would have to personally take action to capture him for questioning.

Of course, this absolutely could not be done within the market area.

After all, the people from Qinyuan Sect were still watching.

Thinking this, Qi Chuan took out a golden letter, intending to report the matter to his sect.

It would be best to have the sect send a Foundation Establishment cultivator skilled in soul searching, so he could easily obtain all the information about the other party.

…

Leaving Zhen Yuan Tower, Zhou Luo did not pause for even a moment, walking quickly toward Tian Xia Restaurant.

The conversation just now had seemed calm, but undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface.

Zhou Luo felt that the other party would certainly not let it rest peacefully.

Because since the other party was willing to reveal his background, it meant he was determined to pull him in or absorb him.

Now that he had rejected the other party.

If it were him, he would never allow such an uncertain factor to exist.

Moreover, the other party clearly craved that main ingredient intensely, and since he had not let him succeed, he would inevitably face pursuit afterward.

The reason the other party had not acted immediately was perhaps due to some caution.

No matter what he feared, he himself had to get back to Tian Xia Restaurant as fast as possible.

He figured that given the restaurant’s reputation, the other party should not dare to do anything rash.

In the end, it was all because he had underestimated the importance of the Lifespan Pill.

Little did he expect that a simple transaction would actually uncover another huge problem.

Zhou Luo felt his luck was really quite bad.

The most urgent matter now was to return quickly, facing challenges as they arose.

As he rushed toward Tian Xia Restaurant, he remained completely unaware that in the shadow beside him, someone had been silently following him all along.

Like a second shadow of his.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Luo safely returned to his room, and this made him heave a long sigh of relief.

"No, I still need to make some more preparations."

Although this transaction had been completely successful, that uneasy feeling kept lingering in his heart.

At the moment, he had many hidden cards on him, but if he encountered a Foundation Establishment strong person, he feared they would be utterly useless.

That was right.

After meeting Elder Qi, a Foundation Establishment cultivator today, he had already included him in the list of people to guard against.

He could not gamble on the possibility that the other party would not get personally involved.

Therefore, before venturing out next time, he definitely needed to be fully prepared.

Fortunately, Tian Xia Restaurant provided shelter, or he would have had to run away immediately.

In dealing with Foundation Establishment strong people, besides the treasure and Bone Corruption Powder, other means were hardly effective.

Among the four major skills of cultivation, only formations could truly affect a Foundation Establishment strong person.

Because potions were more about enhancing oneself, and while spiritual symbols were convenient to use, a Foundation Establishment strong person could easily neutralize them.

Only formations, though they required time to set up, once completed, could unleash significant power.

This was why formations were ranked first among the four major skills.

Zhou Luo had no intention of relying on a formation to kill the other party, as that was impossible.

He only planned to set up a trapping formation, so he could employ other methods.

In the path of formations, they were divided into six major types based on function.

These were the attack type, the protective type, the practice support type, the prohibition type, the spatial type, and the trapping formation type.

Among them, the most commonly used were the attack type and the protective type.

For this trip out, Zhou Luo had prepared all formation materials for these two types.

Against opponents of the same level, these formations could exert power several times greater than themselves.

But against overwhelming enemies, they were utterly ineffective.

For example, a top-grade formation, when driven by Zhou Luo as a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, could withstand attacks from cultivators at the Qi Refinement seventh level or even eighth level.

Yet if he encountered a cultivator like Liu Fu Chen at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, the other party could completely ignore his attacks and destroy his defenses.

This was why, back when he had faced him, he chose not to set up other formations but instead planned to hide.

Against enemies of that level, only trapping formations could play a good role.

Although such formations were not strong in attack or defense, they excelled in briefly trapping the opponent, buying enough time for the array maker.

If back then, he had possessed the materials for the trapping formation, he wouldn’t have needed to activate the treasure at all; the Bone Corruption Powder alone would have been enough to deal with his opponent.

Now, if he really encountered a Foundation Establishment expert making a move, materials for the trapping formation were definitely essential to prepare.

Even if he couldn’t defeat them, buying a little time to escape was still possible.

Zhou Luo stared pensively at the VIP token belonging to Tian Xia Restaurant, then listed a heap of materials on a jade slip and summoned the establishment’s beautiful waitress.

"Esteemed VIP, is there anything I can assist you with?" the beautiful waitress inquired politely.

"Could you help me purchase some materials?" Zhou Luo asked.

He had already decided to stay holed up in the restaurant for the next few days to lay low, while also making preparations for some other strategies.

When the time was ripe, he would find an opportunity to slip away quietly.

This might just help him avoid a conflict.

"Of course," the other party didn’t refuse.

"My apologies for the trouble." Zhou Luo handed her the jade slip and pre-paid five medium-quality spiritual stones.

That evening, the beautiful waitress knocked on his door holding a storage bag.

Zhou Luo took the bag, expressed his thanks once more, and handed her twenty ordinary spiritual stones.

Beyond serving as payment for the errand, these stones were primarily meant to gain some goodwill with her.

This would make it easier for him to gather information about the outside world from her in the coming days.

Returning to his room, he carefully inspected the materials, relaxing only after confirming nothing else had been mixed in.

For the next three days, Zhou Luo remained in the room, studying his escape plan.

During this period, Zhen Yuan Tower was unusually quiet.

But the quieter it was, the more it signified something was wrong.

It was impossible that the other side had taken no action against him.

Most likely, they were keeping a silent vigil right outside the restaurant at this very moment.

He had to leave absolutely undetected, and after slipping away, he needed to have the route planned.

It not only had to facilitate setting up his formations but also be reasonably close to the location of the Dragon Blood Grass and the dual cultivation technique. That way, he could act swiftly and return to Jiang City.

Zhou Luo hadn’t anticipated encountering enemies during this outing who were each more terrifying than the last.

Double-checking his planned escape route, Zhou Luo took a deep breath. He took out spiritual symbols like the Disguise Symbol and Concealment Symbol designed for hiding one’s presence and stuck them all over his body.

He also put on that mask, then, thoroughly equipped, he left the restaurant.