"Fellow Daoist Wang, I'll never forget that you saved my life. Let me serve you as a maid to repay you," Zhao Pin'er said.

Gu Changhuan had not expected that. He frowned. "No need. I'm used to traveling alone. You're safe now. Go where you like."

With that, he leaped onto the back of the Barbarian Bull Beast and prepared to leave.

Zhao Pin'er stared in astonishment, caught off guard by his indifference.

"Fellow Daoist, wait. I have one more favor to ask."

Gu Changhuan looked down at her in silence, waiting.

"I only ask you to take me to the nearest market, where I can hide from the Black Cloud Twin Fiends," she said quickly.

"If you help me, I'll tell you where to find an ancient cultivator's cave abode!"

An ancient cultivator's cave abode? Gu Changhuan considered it.

"Climb up. You can ride with me."

Fortunately, the Barbarian Bull Beast was large enough to keep some distance between them. He did not want to sit too close to a complete stranger.

The beast glanced back, and Gu Changhuan patted its big head.

"Let's go."

"Miss Zhao, is what you said about the cave abode true?"

Gu Changhuan stared intently at her, attempting to gauge the truth from her expression.

Zhao Pin'er blushed under his gaze. Then, as though remembering something, her expression grew sorrowful.

"I'm just a rogue cultivator, with little strength and no great beauty. No one of any importance in the Nine Perches Mountains. I don't dare hunt Demon Beasts, so I search the remote mountains and forests for older medicinal herbs to sell at the market for cultivation resources. One day, I lost my way while fleeing a beast and stumbled upon an ancient cultivator's cave abode."

Gu Changhuan nodded. It sounded plausible. Plenty of cultivators stumbled upon ancient cave abodes or secret realms by accident. Such opportunities depended on luck; they could not be forced.

She was being modest about her looks, though. Zhao Pin'er was among the five prettiest female cultivators he had met, although he had not met many. She had a gentle, delicate charm. Even pale from injury and depleted Spiritual Power, she was no less beautiful; her frailty only made her more appealing.

Unfortunately, having lived two lifetimes, Gu Changhuan cared little for looks.

"I was thrilled. I thought my chance had finally come! But the defensive formation still worked, and I couldn't break through on my own. I had to turn back. I decided to ask a few cultivators I knew to go with me another day."

At this, Gu Changhuan cast a strange look in her direction.

Surely she had not invited the so-called Black Cloud Twin Fiends along on that excursion?

"I invited only three people. I knew Fellow Daoist Jia best and trusted him, so he was the only late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator I asked. I thought I'd kept the secret well, but somehow the Black Cloud Twin Fiends heard about it.

"They're notorious for robbing other cultivators. Black Fiend is at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, and Cloud Fiend is at the eighth. They ambushed us on the road. Fellow Daoist Jia fought Cloud Fiend while Black Fiend killed our other two companions. I only survived because of Fellow Daoist Jia.

"But he couldn't fight them both. He wounded Cloud Fiend, but took such terrible wounds himself that he died. I would have died too if you hadn't come along."

Zhao Pin'er's grief appeared genuine; her previous demeanor suggested a deep affection for the fallen cultivator.

"You said they ambushed you on the road. Did they ask to join you in exploring the cave abode?"

Zhao Pin'er blinked, clearly startled by the question.

"They did not."

After that question, Gu Changhuan said nothing more. There was no telling what he was thinking.

"I swear that once we reach the market, I will tell you the exact location of the cave abode," she added hastily, terrified he might abandon her.

"What cultivation level do you think the owner had reached?" Gu Changhuan asked, probing for more information.

"I attacked the formation with a high-grade first-tier Golden Blade Talisman. It ranks among the top three offensive talismans of that tier, but the formation didn't change at all. I think its owner must have been at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Gu Changhuan weighed her words. If true, it was likely the legacy of a Foundation Establishment or Purple Mansion ancestor. He would have to inspect it himself to know for certain.

At nightfall, Zhao Pin'er suggested stopping to rest, since more Demon Beasts were active after dark. On his first journey alone, Gu Changhuan took her advice.

He built a modest fire and rested against the flank of the Barbarian Bull Beast, while Zhao Pin'er sat cross-legged nearby to recover her Spiritual Power.

The night passed without incident.

By morning, her complexion had improved significantly. Just as the two prepared to resume their journey, a hidden weapon whistled through the air from behind, driving straight toward Gu Changhuan's back!

Before the projectile could strike, the jade pendant at his waist flared with green light, intercepting the blow.

Gu Changhuan thought he heard jade crack. He looked down. The pendant was cracked and dull.

Gu Changhuan was furious. Gu Wanhao had given him that pendant on his seventh birthday. He had treasured it ever since, and now it was ruined.

In the nearby brush, the hidden attackers were equally stunned.

Who was this boy? He even had a protective treasure! Their employer had said nothing about his background. Was he from a cultivation clan? Never mind. What was a little risk with so much money at stake? His Storage Bag and their fee would let them live well for a while.

They failed to recognize him only because he wore plain traveling clothes lacking the family emblem, and the Barbarian Bull Beast was a recent addition allocated to clan members, unfamiliar to outsiders.

"Will you come out, or must I invite you?" Gu Changhuan asked coldly, staring at the nearby thicket.

Realizing they were exposed, the two figures stepped out one after the other.

Black Fiend was the burly, dark-faced man Gu Changhuan had met before. Cloud Fiend was a middle-aged cultivator dressed as a scholar, looking rather pale. His face seemed kindly, apart from the vicious gleam in his eyes.

Seeing them, Zhao Pin'er involuntarily took half a step backward.

They faced each other across the remains of last night's fire. For a moment, all was quiet.

Gu Changhuan had plenty of treasures, but also a third-layer cultivator to protect. Both Fiends were wounded. If they fought, the outcome was far from certain.

"Boy, I know you have plenty of treasures, but that doesn't mean you can beat the two of us," Black Fiend said first. "Hand over your Storage Bags. All we want is money. Give them to us, and we'll let you both live."