Caravans and Acquaintances

Chapter 148 Caravans and Acquaintances

The northern border of Zhou Kingdom.

There is a desolate area between Wan Yao Ridge and the surrounding area.

The spiritual energy here is scarce, and there are few people around; it's like a wild and desolate place.

After flying for a while, Jiang Yun noticed that the terrain was gradually becoming more treacherous.

The continuous mountain range ahead resembles a sleeping dragon, lying across the horizon.

About an incense stick later, Jiang Yun's figure slowly descended below the clouds.

Before him lay the boundless Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

The Wan Yao Ridge is filled with countless mountains that stretch endlessly in the east, west, north, and south. From a distance, it looks like a plateau lying across Jiang Yun's path.

"The Ten Thousand Demon Ridge is a series of mountains, with countless mountain ranges stretching for more than 100,000 miles. Even if a Core Formation cultivator travels at full speed, it would take several years to cross the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge."

"If the Qixi Mountains, which cover two thousand miles of fertile land, were placed in the Wan Yao Ridge, they would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean."

Suspended beneath the clouds, Jiang Yun gazed into the distance, and the sight of the Myriad Demon Ridge ahead broadened his horizons.

Countless mountain peaks soared into the clouds, a truly magnificent sight.

"No wonder it's the dividing line between North and South."

"However, the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom knows very little about the area north of Wan Yao Ridge. I'm afraid only Nascent Soul cultivators know what lies north of Wan Yao Ridge."

"After all, there are many third-tier demonic beasts in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, and even some fourth-tier demonic beasts. It is very dangerous to cross the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge. If you are not careful, you will die at the hands of the demonic beasts."

The endless Wan Yao Ridge separates the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom from the unknown lands to the north.

The great cultivation nations of Zhou, Chu, Jing, Shu, and Huai are all located south of Wan Yao Ridge.

As for what the area north of Wan Yao Ridge is like, even the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom knows very little.

Perhaps only a powerful sect like the Seven Great Sects could know the information about the area north of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

When I was gathering intelligence that day, I asked Wen Changqing this question.

Wen Changqing simply shook his head, unaware of any information regarding the northern part of Wan Yao Ridge.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yun took out the jade slip that Wen Changqing had given him, which recorded the exploration route, and began to examine it carefully with his divine sense.

The jade slip marked some relatively safe areas within thousands of miles of the Wan Yao Ridge.

"According to Brother Wen's jade slip, fly westward for several hundred miles from here, and there is a Black Wind Mountain Range."

"Most cultivators from the Zhou Kingdom's cultivation world who want to venture into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge choose to enter from the Black Wind Mountain Range."

Jiang Yun thought for a moment.

This is his first time visiting Wan Yao Ling, so he can't just blindly rush in.

It's safer to enter using the route that people used to take.

"Let's start from the Black Wind Mountains and then slowly venture deeper."

"This is, after all, the territory of the demon race, and it is impossible to fly and shuttle about recklessly."

Having determined his route, Jiang Yun didn't linger. His figure transformed into a ray of starlight and flew westward.

After flying hundreds of miles, they finally arrived at the Black Wind Mountains.

Jiang Yun observed his surroundings, then concealed his aura and entered the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge from the Black Wind Mountains.

Upon entering the outer perimeter of Wan Yao Ridge, follow the guidance in Wen Changqing's jade slip and choose a relatively safe route that has been explored by predecessors.

In the Black Wind Mountains, Jiang Yun did find many second-tier demonic beasts, but he ignored them.

The demon race reveres the strong and has a strong sense of territory. If they do not choose to submit, these second-tier demon beasts can only survive in the outer areas of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge and in barren regions.

"We've only been in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge for an hour, and we've already discovered so many second-tier demonic beasts."

"I'm afraid if we venture a few thousand miles further, we'll encounter third-tier demonic beasts."

Jiang Yun ventured deeper into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge along the predetermined route, proceeding cautiously while remaining vigilant against potential threats from other cultivators.

After all, Jiang Yun wasn't the only one who knew about this route deep into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

After a night, Jiang Yun was able to cross the Black Wind Mountains and arrive at a dense forest.

Flying above this dense forest, his divine sense suddenly detected traces of cultivators' activities not far ahead, and there were quite a few of them.

Jiang Yun stopped and focused his mind to scan the area with his divine sense.

Thirty miles ahead, in a relatively open clearing in the woods, a caravan of about twenty people was resting.

This caravan was quite large. In addition to the monks resting at the camp, there were more than ten monks who looked like guards scattered around to keep watch.

These guards were quite powerful, with the lowest being at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and two of them even reaching the late-Foundation Establishment stage.

"This should be a merchant caravan from the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom. Although they have a large number of people, there is only one Core Formation cultivator among them."

"Therefore, they only dared to operate near the Black Wind Mountains and did not dare to go too deep."

Jiang Yun's heart stirred slightly.

Although Wan Yao Ridge is dangerous, it also has many natural medicinal herbs and materials, and merchants often organize people to go deep into the area to collect or hunt monsters.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yun ignored it.

He merely scanned the area with his divine sense and made no other move, continuing his journey deeper into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

Although the caravan had a large number of people, there was only one Core Formation cultivator among them, and he was only at the early stage of Core Formation, so he wouldn't pose any threat to him.

Jiang Yun quickly flew over the caravan.

Unbeknownst to him, Jiang Yun had already traveled more than two thousand miles into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge since leaving the Black Wind Mountains.

"If we go another thousand miles, the jade slip containing Brother Wen's route will be useless."

"It seems that he only ventured into the area of ​​3,000 li of Wan Yao Ling back then."

Jiang Yun landed in mid-air above a waterfall and carved out a cave behind the flowing water.

He set off from Canglan Immortal City and has been traveling ever since, without taking a break.

We are about to enter the Wan Yao Ridge, which is three thousand miles away. At that time, there will be third-tier demonic beasts. It would be better to rest for a while.

After resting for several days and recovering to his peak condition, Jiang Yun continued to venture deeper into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

On this day, we will soon arrive at a point three thousand miles from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

Jiang Yun spotted another team ahead.

This team only has eight people, but they are all Core Formation cultivators.

Two of them possessed cultivation levels that even he couldn't discern; they were likely late-stage Core Formation cultivators.

"It's probably a caravan made up of Core Formation cultivators."

"Should we go deeper into the Demon Ridge with them, or continue alone?"

"If one were to continue deeper, one could use concealment and breath-concealing techniques to move forward, but this would consume a lot of energy."

Jiang Yun sensed someone ahead and stopped to think.

The jade slip that Wen Changqing gave him became useless here.

He will have to explore and adventure on his own from now on.

There is a merchant guild composed of Core Formation cultivators ahead. It would be excellent if we could travel together for a while.

After all, this caravan was clearly quite powerful, and its ability to venture deep into this area suggests that its objective was not simple.

Just as Jiang Yun was considering whether to go around or approach and make contact, a voice came from beside him.

The voice didn't actually come from beside his ear, but rather from within Jiang Yun's sea of ​​consciousness.

Clearly, when Jiang Yun used his divine sense to investigate, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator in the caravan had already detected his divine sense and discovered him.

"Which fellow cultivator is here? Please show yourself!"

The voice of that late-stage Core Formation cultivator suddenly rang in Jiang Yun's mind.

Seeing that he had been discovered, Jiang Yun no longer considered whether to continue alone and fled directly towards the caravan's camp.

Soon, his figure appeared outside the camp.

Outside the camp, eight Core Formation cultivators had been waiting for Jiang Yun for quite some time.

"Huh? This person's spiritual sense is so powerful."

"How could he be a fake Core Formation cultivator?"

The late-stage Core Formation cultivator who had previously discovered Jiang Yun couldn't help but exclaim in surprise upon seeing him, a look of astonishment on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou? What are you doing here?"

At this moment, a woman in the caravan saw Jiang Yun and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Fairy Yao?"

Jiang Yun looked in the direction of the sound and saw a beautiful and refined woman in a light blue dress smiling at him.

This person was Yao Ling.

Standing next to Yao Ling was an old woman.

The old woman and the other old man were the leaders of this caravan, and they both had the cultivation level of the late Core Formation stage.

The old man among them was the cultivator who discovered Jiang Yun and made him appear.

"Fairy Yao, I didn't expect to meet you here." Jiang Yun smiled slightly and greeted you with a cupped hand.

Yao Ling smiled and nodded, glancing at the old woman and the old man beside her.

"Master, Senior Zhao." Yao Ling bowed and introduced, "This is Fellow Daoist Zhou Yun, a body cultivator in the mid-stage of Core Formation. I have known him for many years."

Yao Ling told a little lie, saying that she and Jiang Yun had known each other for many years.

They deliberately revealed that Jiang Yun was a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, attempting to get the team to accept Jiang Yun.

"Oh? A body cultivator at the mid-stage of Core Formation?"

Upon hearing this, everyone re-examined Jiang Yun and couldn't help but look at him with new respect.

Who would have thought that this person was actually a body cultivator in the mid-stage of Core Formation?

These days, body cultivators are extremely rare, let alone those in the Core Formation stage.

"My name is Zhou Yun, and I greet you fellow Daoists."

Jiang Yun, neither humble nor arrogant, immediately cupped his hands in greeting.

"I am passing through this place in search of an opportunity. I used my divine sense to detect danger and had no intention of offending you."

The late-stage Core Formation cultivator surnamed Zhao sized up Jiang Yun for a moment.

Seeing that he and Yao Ling were familiar with each other, he lowered his guard a bit.

"Since you've also come to Ten Thousand Demon Ridge seeking opportunities, and you even know Yao Ling, then come with us."

Old Zhao spoke calmly, his tone conveying an undeniable authority.

In this dangerous Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, having an additional body cultivator at the mid-stage of Core Formation would make the area even stronger.

He naturally wouldn't kick Jiang Yun out, and more importantly, Jiang Yun and Yao Ling knew each other.

Even if he doesn't give Yao Ling face, he still has to give face to Master Yao Ling.

"Thank you," Jiang Yun nodded lightly, thus joining the caravan.

Upon seeing this, Yao Ling quickly stepped forward, her eyes sparkling with undisguised joy.

"This is my master, True Person Lengyue." She introduced them one by one: "This is Senior Zhao from the Thousand Leaves Sword Sect, who is also the Grand Elder of a merchant guild."

Jiang Yun bowed slightly and greeted them in turn.

As for the other five people, they were all wearing the same clothes and were members of the chamber of commerce to which Zhao Lao belonged.

After getting to know each other, the group rested on the spot.

Master Lengyue and Elder Zhao closed their eyes to rest.

The others were talking about something.

Yao Ling and Jiang Yun sat together, marveling at what a coincidence it was.

It hasn't even been half a year since we parted ways at Xuan Dan Zhenren's cave, and we've already met again at Wan Yao Ridge.

"My master needed the inner core of a mid-level third-tier water-attribute demon beast, so he came to this Ten Thousand Demon Ridge." Yao Ling explained softly with a smile, "It just so happened that the merchant guild where Senior Zhao is located needed a Purple Nether Grass, so they were passing through our Xuan Shuang Sect's territory on their way to Ten Thousand Demon Ridge."

"My master and I met them on the way, and that's how we ended up traveling with Senior Zhao's caravan."

Jiang Yun nodded.

So that's what happened.

Yao Ling's master, Fairy Leng Yue, needs a water-attribute demon beast's inner core.

Old Zhao needed the Purple Nether Grass. The two teams met on the outskirts of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge and ventured deeper into it together.

"I never expected to meet Fellow Daoist Zhou here," Yao Ling said with a smile. "The Ten Thousand Demon Ridge is extremely dangerous. With you and me together, plus my master and Senior Zhao guarding the area, it's much safer than if you were alone."

"That's true, after all, they are two seniors in the late stage of Core Formation." Jiang Yun nodded.

At this moment, a cultivator from the Merchant Guild who was in the early stage of Core Formation walked over and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you have come at just the right time."

"This time we have Elder Zhao in charge, plus Fairy Yao and her apprentice."

"In this Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, even if you encounter a demon king, you can escape unscathed. You can rest assured that you are with us."

""

"Thank you," Jiang Yun replied with a smile, but secretly she was making her own plans.

Old Zhao's business guild's mission is to find spiritual herbs, which means they will deliberately avoid those extremely dangerous monster lairs, and the route may be relatively safe.

This might not be a good thing for Jiang Yun.

What he needs is the inner core of a third-tier demon beast. If he follows them around searching for spiritual herbs, he will miss the opportunity to hunt demon beasts.

"However, having a late-stage Core Formation expert clearing the way is exactly what I wanted," Jiang Yun thought to himself.

"Follow them for a while, then find an excuse to break away from the caravan and hunt monsters on your own."

Having made up his mind, Jiang Yun prepared to accompany the team deeper into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge for a period of time.

Soon, the day was over.

The caravan set off again, with Jiang Yun in the middle, heading deeper into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

During this time, he traveled through the Wan Yao Ridge with the caravan for several days.

They did encounter quite a few third-tier demonic beasts along the way, but under the intimidation of the two late-stage Core Formation cultivators, most of the demonic beasts kept their distance and no battles broke out.

The caravan did not pursue these Tier 3 low-level monsters, because these low-level monsters were not their target.

Yao Ling's master, Master Leng Yue, although his target is a mid-level third-tier demon beast, actually wants a water-attribute inner core.

Therefore, they will not act rashly without discovering a water-attribute monster.

"We've already ventured four thousand miles into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, and third-tier demonic beasts are starting to appear frequently."

"It's time to break away from the caravan and act on our own."

Jiang Yun secretly began to plan, preparing to find an opportunity to leave the group.

These people don't want the inner core of a third-tier low-level demon beast, but he needs it.

Looking down from the mountain peak, there is a large canyon about 30 miles ahead.

"The Falling Star Valley is just ahead. According to intelligence, the Purple Nether Grass we're looking for grows in this valley," a Core Formation cultivator from the caravan said, pointing ahead.

Old Zhao nodded slightly and solemnly instructed, "Falling Star Valley has a complex terrain that makes it easy for monsters to hide. Everyone, be on high alert."

"6

We'll rest here for the night and head into the canyon to find the Purple Ghost Grass early tomorrow morning.

",