Chapter 17: Stalking

Beneath the giant tree.

Li Qing froze for a moment, and then a look of pleasant surprise appeared in his eyes.

Speak of the devil.

In the next instant, Li Qing's divine sense instantly released outward, and he discovered two cultivators dressed in black appearing in the distance.

He was very familiar with one of them; it was the thin, dark-skinned cultivator who had previously sold him the Deep Sea Thick Earth.

Although Li Qing's cultivation was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, due to his naturally powerful soul, his divine sense range reached a full sixty feet.

This range of divine sense was something only achievable in the late stages of Qi Refinement.

Before the two could even find Li Qing, their tracks had already been discovered by him.

"Black Shark, are you sure that rogue cultivator from before is here?"

Beside the thin, dark-skinned cultivator, a cultivator dressed in a black silk robe asked in a low voice.

This black-clad cultivator had a pair of fierce triangular eyes on his thin, long face, with flashes of ruthlessness occasionally appearing in his gaze.

"Don't worry, the Gray-Clad Butterfly won't make a mistake."

Black Shark looked confident.

"His strength was confirmed long ago; he's just a disciple of a small sect, fourth layer of Qi Refinement..." Black Shark said with a sinister expression.

This was not the first time Black Shark had utilized the special tracking function of the Gray-Clad Butterfly; he was extremely confident.

The Gray-Clad Butterfly was a special type of flying insect. Although it lacked the strength of a demon beast, its sense of smell was exceptionally keen.

Black Shark had used the Gray-Clad Butterfly's sense of smell for its insect eggs to track them all the way here.

At the time he sold his Deep Sea Thick Earth to Li Qing, he had secretly tampered with it.

The scent of the Gray-Clad Butterfly eggs had been smeared onto Li Qing's storage bag.

Initially, he had planned to wait for Li Qing to appear outside the market.

However, he hadn't expected that the man would delay leaving Giant Tree Island, forcing him to follow him inside to search for Li Qing's traces.

Li Qing's previous generous spending and attitude had confirmed his suspicions.

He was already certain that Li Qing was a "fat sheep" from a small sect.

Naturally, he would not miss such an opportunity.

Even though Black Shark himself possessed valuable large chunks of Deep Sea Thick Earth, human greed has no limits.

"Black Wind, you retreat far behind me in a moment..."

"I will try to lure him out of Giant Tree Island, and then we will strike at the usual spot," Black Shark whispered with a sinister look.

This area was within the controlled range of Giant Tree Island.

Although it was on the edge of the island, if a fight broke out, the sect disciples maintaining order would arrive quickly.

Striking here carried immense risk.

He knew of a small island nearby in an excellent location; only once they reached there would it be a real opportunity.

"Fine."

Black Wind nodded with a cruel grin.

Due to their special relationship, he trusted Black Shark completely.

Both he and Black Shark hailed from the same small cultivation clan.

Cultivation clans were a common type of force in the cultivation world. Unlike sects, cultivation clans often grew and expanded based on bloodlines.

While sects were more decentralized and individualistic, cultivation clans were comparatively more united.

As for strength, it had nothing to do with whether one belonged to a clan or a sect.

It was said that some powerful cultivation clans had long lineages and were high-and-mighty overlords in their own right.

The reason Black Wind and the other had left their clan was out of necessity.

In their original small clan, the competition for cultivation resources was brutal, and their aptitudes were quite mediocre.

Under such circumstances, for the sake of their own cultivation, they decided to venture out together to make a living as rogue cultivators.

After long periods of tempering in the cruel cultivation world, they had transformed from green novices into the ruthless rogue cultivators they were today.

However, neither of them felt a shred of regret.

If they hadn't left their clan, they would likely still be struggling in the early stages of Qi Refinement given their talent.

Now, Black Shark had become a fourth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, while Black Wind had reached the fifth layer.

To possess their current cultivation, a large amount of spirit stones was naturally required.

The means of obtaining spirit stones relied entirely on their ruthlessness, the most important of which was killing to seize treasures.

Over the years, dozens of cultivators had died at their hands.

From a distance, Li Qing watched the two with a cold expression.

When he saw one of them hide far away while Black Shark approached him alone, Li Qing roughly understood their plan.

The one who retreated was only at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement; seeing this, Li Qing felt relieved.

With his late-stage low-level body tempering cultivation, dealing with two mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators would not be a problem.

Besides, Li Qing had no need to engage them in a frontal battle.

The path of cultivation was inherently a matter of mutual slaughter and calculation between enemies.

Li Qing quietly returned beneath the giant tree, then sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting for the upcoming trap.

In the distance, Black Shark began searching for Li Qing's traces alone, and finally, he spotted a figure.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

A few distinct footsteps sounded.

This was a noise Black Shark made intentionally.

"Who goes there?"

Li Qing stood up, feigning a look of vigilance.

"Who are you?"

Black Shark also feigned a cautious demeanor and spoke first.

"Is it you?" Li Qing asked, feigning confusion.

Upon seeing and confirming it was Li Qing, a flash of joy crossed the depths of Black Shark's eyes.

"I didn't expect to run into fellow Daoist here!"

Black Shark said, pretending to be full of surprise.

"Heh."

Li Qing sneered inwardly, while his face remained cold as he watched Black Shark.

He was waiting for Black Shark's next performance.

Li Qing was still dressed in his bamboo hat, so Black Shark naturally could not see his unusual expression.

"I didn't realize fellow Daoist and I were so destined to meet here!"

Black Shark stepped forward with a smile to greet him.

Li Qing continued to watch Black Shark with feigned vigilance, remaining silent.

Seeing this reaction, Black Shark was not bothered in the slightest.

After all, this was a normal reaction.

The two did not know each other previously; if Li Qing had acted too calm, Black Shark would have instead become suspicious.

"I originally intended to find a quiet place to cultivate, but I didn't expect to encounter fellow Daoist. What true fate!" Black Shark continued to chuckle.

"It doesn't matter. We won't interfere with each other. I will just meditate to the side."

As soon as he finished speaking, Black Shark walked to the side and sat down cross-legged.

Seeing this, Li Qing also returned to his original position and sat down.

The two began to sit apart, each in a tacit understanding.

After a while, Black Shark finally couldn't help himself and began to strike up a conversation with Li Qing.

"Fellow Daoist, I saw the Deep Sea Thick Earth you purchased. Did you buy it to hand over to your sect?" Black Shark asked from a distance.

Seeing that Li Qing did not respond, Black Shark continued to ramble.

"Is fellow Daoist still interested in Deep Sea Thick Earth?" Black Shark continued to ask.

Upon hearing "Deep Sea Thick Earth," Li Qing knew that the main act had begun.

(End of Chapter)