Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Chapter 336: Chapter 324: Encountering Bandit Cultivators

"Anyone headed to the Shangyuan Immortal Manor? All aboard, we’re leaving now!"

"Yinfeng Valley! Anyone going to Yinfeng Valley?"

"Any Daoists not yet on board, hurry up! We’re about to set sail..."

Two cultivators, their robes embroidered with the character for "Vessel" and wooden signs in their hands, were shouting at the top of their lungs.

The familiar scene sent Zhao Lin into a daze. It felt just like taking a minibus in his past life.

"Excuse me, Daoist, where are you headed?"

Seeing Zhao Lin look over, a dark-skinned cultivator asked.

"How much to Yinfeng Valley?"

Zhao Lin asked, glancing at the Spiritual Vessel docked at the pier.

"Three hundred Spirit Coins."

The dark-faced cultivator held up three fingers.

"How much?"

Zhao Lin froze, thinking he had misheard. He asked again.

The dark-faced cultivator smiled. "Three hundred Spirit Coins a head. It’s a fair price, honest for all."

"’Honest for all?’"

Zhao Lin almost laughed in anger. ’Is that really how you use that phrase?’

He suppressed his temper and said, "I came from Shangyuan County. That was over a thousand li, and it only cost fifty Spirit Coins. It’s just over two hundred li to Yinfeng Valley, and you’re charging three hundred?"

The dark-faced cultivator’s face was still plastered with a grin. "Three hundred Spirit Coins isn’t that much. The yin energy in Yinfeng Valley is incredibly dense. A single trip on the Spiritual Vessel consumes a lot of Spirit Stones, so of course it’s more expensive than other places."

"That’s the first I’ve heard of it."

Zhao Lin finally understood why those two cultivators from before had been so furious. This vessel station was a total racket, exploiting their monopoly to gouge customers.

’They say harsh lands breed hardened people. It seems the Cultivation Realm is no different.’

"How about thirty?"

"Are you messing with me, Daoist?"

The dark-faced cultivator’s smile vanished, and his tone turned cold. "This is the only vessel station for three hundred li in any direction. If you don’t take our Spiritual Vessel, you’ll have to walk."

Zhao Lin turned and walked away. ’If I spend three hundred Spirit Coins on this Spiritual Vessel,’ he thought, ’I won’t even have enough to get back.’

Although he had a few dozen Spirit Stones on him, they were for replenishing his Spiritual Power in the small world and couldn’t be used casually.

Besides, the vessel station was obviously running a scam. Even if he had the money, he wouldn’t take their vessel.

The dark-faced cultivator’s expression changed. His eyes narrowed as he said pointedly, "Daoist, it may only be a little over two hundred li, but the land is wild and the road is treacherous. It’s not an easy walk!"

"Thanks for the warning."

Zhao Lin replied without looking back.

Without the Spiritual Vessel, his only option was to travel on foot.

He walked into the market for a look around. When he saw a shop selling maps of the Western Ox Continent, he asked the clerk inside, "How much for a map?"

There was only one clerk in the shop, who was leaning on the counter in a daze. When he saw Zhao Lin enter, he quickly straightened up and replied, "One Spirit Coin, sir."

Zhao Lin handed him two Spirit Coins. "I’d like to ask you something."

The clerk’s face lit up. He pocketed the Spirit Coins and said, "Go ahead, sir."

"Are there really bandit cultivators in Yinfeng Valley?"

"Yes. In the past six months, several cultivators traveling alone have been robbed."

Zhao Lin frowned. "Doesn’t the county government do anything about it?"

The clerk shook his head. "It’s not that they don’t care. Our Qiuyang County only has a little over two hundred cultivators in total, and most of them raise Yin Scorpions for a living. The Patrol Hall has less than ten people, so they’re completely understaffed."

"Besides, these two bandit cultivators only rob, they don’t kill, which makes it hard to justify calling for guards from other counties. The Patrol Hall has launched several manhunts, but they’ve never been able to find them. That’s why they posted the bounty notice."

"I see."

Zhao Lin nodded, starting to get the picture.

The Chenghua Sect had over a hundred thousand cultivators; it was inevitable that some would be criminals. And because the territory was so vast, cultivators from other sects and even Loose Cultivators would sometimes come looking for easy pickings.

’So there really are bandits lurking about,’ he thought. ’But I came out here for a mission, so I can’t afford to be timid. If I wanted an easy life, I would have stayed at the Spirit Dao Institute.’

Zhao Lin left the shop and headed straight for the northwest.

It was still morning. If he kept a good pace, he could reach Yinfeng Valley before nightfall.

The two cultivators soliciting customers in front of the Spiritual Vessel watched Zhao Lin’s retreating figure.

The cultivator on the left said, "That kid’s pretty stubborn. I really thought he’d come back."

The dark-faced cultivator snorted. "A puny Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator, daring to travel alone. If he can’t bear to part with three hundred Spirit Coins, then we’ll just have to make him pay a much higher price!"

The cultivator on the left lowered his voice. "You’re planning to..."

The dark-faced cultivator nodded. "You keep watch here. I’m going to notify Song the Third that an easy mark is heading his way!"

With that, he left the vessel station and circled around to the other side of a hill. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, he took a grayish-white talisman from his robes.

The dark-faced cultivator quickly scrawled a line of text on it with a charcoal pencil, then slapped a palm against it, infusing it with Mana.

The talisman fluttered in the wind, rolled itself into a tube, and shot off like an arrow from a bow, flying straight toward Yinfeng Valley.

The dark-faced cultivator sneered and muttered to himself, ’Let’s see which you value more: your money or your life!’

Meanwhile, Zhao Lin was consulting his map as he hurried toward Yinfeng Valley.

He was being extra careful, deliberately deviating from the route on the map. He would rather take a detour to avoid any bandit cultivators.

’Those two cultivators who stormed off earlier must be traveling on foot, too. Should I try to catch up and travel with them?’

The thought flashed through his mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

’I’m a newcomer here; I don’t know the land or the people. I have no idea what their character is like. Worst-case scenario, what if they’re in league with the bandits? If I went looking for them, I’d be walking right into a trap.’

Zhao Lin picked up his pace, darting through the mountain forest while simultaneously emitting ultrasonic waves to monitor his surroundings.

At the Qi Refining Third Layer, his Divine Sense could reach a distance of thirty zhang. His echolocation, however, was far more reliable, with a range exceeding one hundred zhang.

However, the high mountains, dense forests, and complex terrain interfered with his ultrasound to some extent, but the same could be said for Divine Sense.

As he ventured deeper, the mountains grew more treacherous, and the trees became taller and more densely packed.

Zhao Lin didn’t travel at full speed, ensuring he could react in time if he encountered any danger.

’My cultivation is only at the Qi Refining Third Layer. Forget bandits; even an ordinary cultivator might get ideas if they came across me.’

As he crossed a small mountain and passed through a valley, Zhao Lin’s expression suddenly changed. He stopped in his tracks, drew the iron ruler from his waist, and gripped it tightly.

The ultrasonic waves he had just sent out seemed to have detected a faint movement. Something was peeking out from behind a large tree.

The forest was silent. After observing for a moment, Zhao Lin suddenly turned and bolted back the way he came.

’Whether there’s someone up ahead or not, the first move is to run. With my speed, unless I run into a Foundation Establishment Realm expert, no one should be able to catch me.’

"Stop! We just want your money, not your life."

The moment Zhao Lin moved, a man stepped out from behind a large tree ahead. With bulging eyes and buck teeth, he was extremely ugly and strongly resembled the portrait of the bandit on the wanted poster.

The bug-eyed cultivator held a broken halberd tip in his hand and shouted, "Run again and I’ll use my magic weapon!"

Zhao Lin acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, dashing toward a nearby bamboo grove. But after only a dozen steps, he skidded to a halt and slowly backed away.

A handsome cultivator emerged from the bamboo grove. Dressed in a blue satin robe and holding a folding fan, he carried himself with a dashing air, but his eyes held a sinister glint.

The two of them, one in front and one behind, had Zhao Lin trapped between them.