Once he decided to reveal himself, Han Lingyun knew he had to execute the three disciples. He couldn’t let one alert his elders and potentially create future troubles.

Han Lingyun sighed. What was done was done. There was no turning back.

‘Let’s not waste time here. I need to collect their belongings and hide the evidence just in case.’

Han Lingyun first picked up the array materials used by the girl and stored them back in the pouch she had taken them from. He then undressed the headless body from his disciple robe and put it on.

Han Lingyun rapidly gathered all the three disciples’ belongings and left the bodies to rot further away in the forest. He only left the tokens with the bodies. The White Tiger Sect could monitor one’s position with the tokens so Han Lingyun wouldn’t take any risks with these little jewels of formations. It would be best if wild animals or magic beasts came to feast on the bodies.

Their belongings amounted to a few mid-grade spirit crystals, 3 swords, one array disk, a couple of formation flags, dozens of pills that came in all sorts of colors, one talisman, some water, a bit of dried meat and a map of the surrounding forest with the areas to absolutely avoid.

This last find excited Han Lingyun the most.

‘This detailed map will add another layer of safety to my trip. Oh, this gorge is impossible to traverse on a flying treasure because it’s filled with nests of Giant vultures! Good thing I learned this beforehand. And there are the territories of the local sects on the map too. Great! I just hope that this map covers an area that includes my destination.

Hmm, a couple of regions have been marked in another color. These could be the zones for hunting missions. Let’s see, Crazed Warthog and beasts that resemble big red panthers.

Ah in this zone, among other beasts, one can find Blood Panthers and Crazed Warthogs! That must be it, I should be here right now. I could be wrong, but I don’t see any other name that seems to fit with the red panther I saw. And this Blood panther is only found here.’

On the back of the map, each beast had a short description with some habits.

‘So that’s why we can’t find it elsewhere. This blood panther only stays in the caves of this region because of the specific sediment can produce a special herb named the Blood Pumping Grass

There should be some of these herbs around, but it’s a shame I don’t have any use for them, it only serves as a tonic a man’s performances in bed…

Anyway, the main thing is that I know my precise location. Let’s compare with the map the old geezer gave me. This would put me here. It seems that even with my precautions, I have deviated substantially from the correct path!

And my destination is… a forbidden zone?!

That’s right, it actually isn’t too surprising. If this is the territory of a powerful cultivator, it’s only natural for it to be a forbidden zone for outsiders. I just hope that I won’t have to risk my life again to make it.,

Han Lingyun pocketed the qi crystals, array disk, the flags, the map and one sword. ‘Those pouches are rather practical! As for the rest… I don’t know how to use those pills, if one is to be consumed or should be used as a miniature bomb. There is no point in taking those away. Same for that talisman, I don’t know how to activate it and I don’t know its use. Trying to use it will probably result in more harm than good.’

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Finally, out of the three swords, Han Lingyun only chose one. He had immediately found how to circulate his qi in the sword to fly on the one that belonged to the burly man. ‘The other two swords seem to function slightly differently. I would prefer to keep all three, but these disciples only flew with one weapon each. It could raise some questions if I flew with another sword in hand. I’ll only take this one then.’

The young man then rapidly cleaned his face with some water, buried the remaining loot and stepped on the flying sword.

It was much easier to follow a direction when flying straight rather than when struggling in the forest. Han Lingyun still took some detours to avoid the areas where he was most likely to cross paths with other cultivators just in case.

It only took Han Lingyun a couple hours to face the forbidden zone, his destination. This time, there had been no further twists and turns, a result which had elated Han Lingyun.

He wanted to relax after the stressful journey, but his expression changed as he sized up the scene in front of him. It was so imposing Han Lingyun felt compelled to land. The whole area was draped in a white fog and the skies rumbled with menacing clouds and intermittent purple lightning. Ominous and unwelcoming were the adjectives that came to Han Lingyun’s mind.

‘I wonder if this is some kind of extremely powerful array or a natural phenomenon. Anyway, that’s my destination so I guess I have no choice but to enter. What’s even more bizarre is that according to the protector, there should be a mountain behind the fog but the terrain all around is flat.’

Han Lingyun ignored his doubts and penetrated the impenetrable fog. He stayed on foot to better react to any changes. But as soon as he took his first steps inside, nearly all sound faded. The powerful thunder suddenly became a very distant low echo. This change made his adrenaline level skyrocket, his five senses focusing on the slightest changes. But apart from the faint whispering of the thunder, the only element he could pick was the soft sound of his steps on the soil.

The visibility was dropping with every step and after a couple of meters, Han Lingyun couldn’t even see the ground he was standing on. Only a sea of grey fog. Han Lingyun stopped and took a breath, he decided to walk backwards for 20 steps.

‘Unsurprisingly, I’m still in the fog. This indeed seems to be a formation, and at a level I cannot begin to understand. At least I’m glad I didn’t blindly fly in with my sword. My most likely outcome would have been to crash after being disoriented. I guess my only choice is to blindly walk forward.’

Han Lingyun thus began slowly walking, step after step, for what felt like an unending journey. Other than the monotonous walk with no prospect of finding an exit, there was another issue plaguing him, one he felt ashamed admitting.

‘I need to sit down. I am actually seasick…’

Han Lingyun fell on his bottom. ‘Ugh, that won’t do. My senses are completely messed up. I can’t even tell how much time has passed since I entered.’

Han Lingyun laid on the rocky ground and closed his eyes. He actually felt better like this, and his unease died down. A thought suddenly traversed his mind and Han Lingyun reached for his pouch to take out the box he was meant to bring to this mysterious figure.

When his hands touched the box, green particles appeared and began slowly floating in a certain direction. The fog didn’t prevent Han Lingyun from being able to see the green particles clearly.

Han Lingyun sighed. ‘Why haven’t I thought of the box before? My stupidity sometimes really amazes me.’

He was grumbling inside but he immediately jumped on his feet and followed the green lights closely. It didn’t take Han Lingyun 5 minutes to leave the cloud and the sight that greeted him took his breath away.

A grandiose mountain towered over him, with snow covering at least half of it. Its shape was unnaturally close to that of a cone. There were no clouds directly above it, but dark clouds circled around at terrifying speeds with purple lightning occasionally sizzling into view.

‘It’s even more impressive from the inside! Is no one coming to welcome me? Well, I feel that my objective is at the top of the mountain.’

Han Lingyun didn’t dally further. He stepped on his flying sword and started ascending rapidly. The temperature fell down as he ascended. Mid-way up the mountain, Han Lingyun estimated the temperature to be at -25 degrees Celsius which made him worry for the conditions at the summit.

Yes, Qi condensation cultivators had incomparable bodies to normal humans, but they weren’t immune to absolute cold. The air was already thining out considerably too. ‘I have roughly passed the halfway point and I should have climbed 10 thousand meters already. In what sort of terrifying place is that person residing in?’

Thankfully, the temperature stopped decreasing when Han Lingyun still had a quarter to go, just when he was beginning to find the cold unbearable. The air was still thining out with the height though, and the young boy had to breathe loudly.

With only a couple of hundreds of meters to the summit, the temperature had warmed up enough for the stones to no longer be covered in snow. There were no clouds above his head at this altitude, leaving a perfectly clear sky.

‘I’m finally about to make it. Hehe, after all I went through to get here, I’m really curious to discover this mysterious figure.’