This hunched old man was as short as an eight- or nine-year-old child, dressed in tattered rags, his clothes patched and repatched countless times. His aged face was like sun-dried orange peel, wrinkled and creased, giving the impression of someone at death's door.
But Jiang Chen didn't dare let his guard down.
Because this old man had appeared far too mysteriously. Even with Jiang Chen's powerful spiritual sense, he hadn't detected how the man had crept over. It wasn't until the old man had encroached upon his territory that he finally noticed.
When the hunched old man saw Jiang Chen approaching, he abruptly planted his walking stick against the ground, swayed his body, and drifted several hundred meters away in an instant.
Jiang Chen's expression shifted, and he flicked his sleeve.
Tsss!
Piercing sounds of rushing air echoed through the void. The air currents swept from Jiang Chen's sleeve actually contained the power of the Feiyu Mirror, slowing the flow of the void itself.
In that void, a cluster of fine, dense silver needles—nearly transparent—were forcibly brought to a halt about seven or eight meters in front of Jiang Chen, suspended in midair.
Jiang Chen was furious. This old man had actually ambushed him!
Judging by how eerily these silver needles moved, they clearly contained a deadly poison. Moreover, they were transparent—completely invisible to the naked eye. If not for Jiang Chen's powerful spiritual sense and the Feiyu Mirror's ability to slow things down, a moment of carelessness could have cost him dearly.
Lin Yanyu, seeing the silver needles suspended in the air, turned pale. "Fellow Daoist Huang, be careful! Those needles are coated in deadly poison."
Jiang Chen let out a cold snort, glaring toward where the hunched old man had gone. The old man tumbled and rolled through the grass like a burrowing gopher, then vanished without a trace.
Enraged, Jiang Chen slapped his palm forward, sending a surge of concealed force that shattered the silver needles into dust.
He wasn't afraid of the poison itself—he feared that if the needles had struck a vital point before he could react, the consequences would have been devastating.
He had no enmity with this person, yet the man had gone straight for a killing blow. Such viciousness naturally ignited Jiang Chen's fury.
After scanning the area, he found nothing—only the chaotic commotion of the scene, with no trail to follow.
"A cunning one, alright." Jiang Chen was secretly startled. For the attacker to escape so easily under these circumstances—this was no simple character.
The nearby cultivators, having witnessed the ambush on Jiang Chen, felt a chill run through them. Until now, none of them had felt particularly on guard.
But in an instant, the atmosphere had grown complicated.
Someone was launching sneak attacks!
Once word spread, every cultivator in the outer perimeter grew tense.
They had thought everyone could coexist peacefully, but now this had happened.
Ironically, Jiang Chen himself—after sweeping the area with his spiritual sense and finding no leads—let out a few cold laughs and returned to his original position.
Huang'er asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"Heh, that shameless rat. It won't be so easy to hurt me." Jiang Chen deliberately raised his voice. "He could burrow underground—that's how he got lucky and escaped. If there's a next time, I'll make sure he learns what regret truly means."
Huang'er knew Jiang Chen's capabilities. Ordinary poison needles couldn't easily harm him.
Lin Yanyu's expression was somewhat complicated, but he didn't leave. Instead, he moved even closer to Jiang Chen and his group.
After this incident, Jiang Chen was on full alert.
However, the hunched old man never appeared again, as if he had never been at the valley entrance at all.
"Fellow Daoist Huang, is it? My master requests your presence."
Jiang Chen had barely settled in when a young man in black robes appeared at the edge of his territory, speaking cautiously.
"Who is your master?" Jiang Chen frowned.
"My master is King Shangping."
King Shangping? Jiang Chen's brow furrowed. The human domain was vast, and he had only been to a few places and knew only a handful of notable figures.
Who was this King Shangping?
Lin Yanyu hurried over and whispered a few words in Jiang Chen's ear.
After listening, a meaningful smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face. He waved his hand. "Lead the way."
As he spoke, he glanced back at Huang'er.
Huang'er smiled faintly. "Go ahead. I'll be right here."
Though Huang'er couldn't take action, Jiang Chen was well aware of her martial cultivation. Even Cao Jin, a true disciple of a first-rank sect, had been easily defeated by her. Jiang Chen really didn't need to worry about her.
"I'll be right back." Jiang Chen turned to Lin Yanyu. "Stay here."
Lin Yanyu had wanted to follow—not out of nosiness, but because he was worried Jiang Chen might suffer a loss. However, seeing that Jiang Chen's tone brooked no argument, he took two steps before stopping. "Be careful, Fellow Daoist Huang. There are many people here, and the situation is complicated."
Jiang Chen waved dismissively and followed the young man in black.
The young man in black didn't pull any tricks. He led Jiang Chen to an apricot grove on the left side of the valley entrance. The moment they entered the grove, the scene before Jiang Chen's eyes shifted dramatically—they had stepped into a formation array that created a strange, self-contained space.