Chapter 00360: The Hunted Rogue Cultivator
# The Hunted Rogue Cultivator
Chapter 360
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 360: The Hunted Rogue Cultivator
A few days later, Lan Xiaobu had no choice but to wake Yu Ruo.
"Have we left the bottom of that canyon?" Yu Ruo asked as soon as she emerged, sensing the lush green mountains and vibrant life around her.
"Yes, but I have no idea where we are. Can you try to locate Liu Li?" Lan Xiaobu replied.
In truth, Lan Xiaobu was growing increasingly anxious.
If they couldn’t find Liu Li soon, he would have to return to the Lingwei Immortal Domain.
The situation there was uncertain, and with so many powerful forces eyeing the Five Realms Immortal World, he had no idea what had become of it.
"Alright," Yu Ruo said, taking out a white jade talisman.
She tapped her forehead, and a drop of blood fell onto the talisman.
After a series of hand seals, a faint red arrow appeared on the talisman.
"This arrow points in the direction of Liu Li. The clearer the arrow, the closer we are to her," Yu Ruo explained, her face pale.
Lan Xiaobu felt a pang of guilt.
"I’m sorry, Yu Ruo. I’ve caused you to damage your primordial spirit."
Yu Ruo had only recently entered the Spirit Refining Realm, which allowed her to use her essence blood to create such a talisman.
Otherwise, she could only provide a rough direction.
However, creating this talisman had taken a significant toll on her.
Yu Ruo forced a smile.
"Brother Lan, this is the least I can do for you. I’d like to enter the True Spirit World to cultivate."
Her smile was strained, but her pale face masked it well.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t notice.
"You’ve already helped me a lot. Without you, I’d still be stuck at the bottom of that canyon. Go and cultivate. With this talisman, I’m sure I can find Liu Li."
Yu Ruo nodded.
"The blood arrow on the talisman has a trace, which means Liu Li isn’t too far from us, and we’re in the same realm."
"That’s good to hear," Lan Xiaobu said, relieved.
He had been worried that they had been transported to some unknown place.
---
Yu Ruo entered the True Spirit World to continue her cultivation, while Lan Xiaobu followed the blood arrow’s direction to search for Liu Li.
With his cultivation level, Lan Xiaobu moved swiftly through the mountains, which were devoid of any powerful immortal beasts.
In just a few days, the blood arrow became even clearer, and Lan Xiaobu finally left the mountain range.
His divine sense swept over a group of people for the first time.
Not just one person, but three Great Luo Golden Immortals, one of whom was holding a man captive.
Gong Yunqi? Lan Xiaobu recognized the captive immediately.
Gong Yunqi’s cultivation had already fallen to its lowest point, and he wasn’t a body-refining cultivator.
The long-distance teleportation had clearly not been kind to him, unlike Lan Xiaobu, who had the advantage of being a body-refining cultivator with plenty of healing pills.
Even if his body was injured, it wasn’t a big deal for him.
Lan Xiaobu landed in front of the three Great Luo Golden Immortals.
The trio immediately became alert, spreading out to surround him.
They couldn’t discern Lan Xiaobu’s exact cultivation level, which made them cautious.
If they had known his true strength, they might have fled immediately.
"A rogue cultivator?" one of the Great Luo Golden Immortals, a late-stage cultivator, said after sizing up Lan Xiaobu.
Rogue cultivator? What did that mean?
"Attack!" Seeing Lan Xiaobu’s confusion, the three of them struck simultaneously, their magical treasures hurtling toward him.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t even bother to summon his own treasures.
He simply threw three punches.
The three treasures slowed down mid-air, almost coming to a complete stop.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Each punch landed squarely on its target.
Two of the Great Luo Golden Immortals exploded into clouds of blood, while the third had his legs shattered by Lan Xiaobu’s punch.
He collapsed to the ground, staring at Lan Xiaobu in terror.
These three had intended to destroy his Purple Palace.
Lan Xiaobu wasn’t about to show them any mercy.
"Senior, we’re from the Gu Emperor’s Palace…" the surviving Great Luo Golden Immortal stammered, his face ashen.
If they had known Lan Xiaobu was this powerful, they would never have attacked.
But in the southern region of Mo Xuan, how many rogue cultivators above the Immortal King level could there be? They had just captured an Immortal Emperor rogue cultivator, and now another one had appeared?
The Gu Emperor’s Palace? Lan Xiaobu immediately thought of the Xing Emperor’s Palace and the Qi Emperor’s Palace.
The Gu Emperor’s Palace was one of the four great emperor palaces.
"So what if you’re from the Gu Emperor’s Palace? You dare to lay hands on my friend? You’ve got some nerve," Lan Xiaobu said coldly as he tossed a Purple Gold Healing Pill into Gong Yunqi’s mouth.
Gong Yunqi’s bones were shattered, and his body was in terrible shape, but in Lan Xiaobu’s eyes, it wasn’t a fatal injury.
His Purple Palace and dantian were intact, and the rest of his injuries could heal quickly.
The biggest issue was that Gong Yunqi’s cultivation hadn’t fully recovered.
These four Great Luo Golden Immortals had some guts, daring to parade around with an Immortal Emperor whose Purple Palace hadn’t even been destroyed.
"Brother Xiaobu, I didn’t expect you to save me again," Gong Yunqi said as he opened his eyes and saw Lan Xiaobu.
He knew immediately that Lan Xiaobu had rescued him.
He had previously addressed Lan Xiaobu as "Daoist Lan," but now Lan Xiaobu’s strength and methods had earned his respect.
He was certain that Lan Xiaobu wasn’t an Immortal Emperor, or even an Immortal Venerable.
The reason Lan Xiaobu had been able to slap Liu Yanjin away was because his cultivation had fully recovered, unlike theirs, which was less than a tenth of its former strength.
Lan Xiaobu chuckled.
"Didn’t they know you were an Immortal Emperor? How dare they treat you like this?"
Gong Yunqi sighed.
"Of course they knew I was an Immortal Emperor. Otherwise, they would’ve killed me outright. The reason they didn’t destroy my dantian was because they wanted to take me back to refine an Auxiliary Emperor Pill. I overheard them talking, but I couldn’t move."
How ruthless.
The most crucial ingredient for an Auxiliary Emperor Pill was a living Immortal Emperor.
"Senior, spare me…" The surviving Great Luo Golden Immortal knew his chances of survival were slim, but he still begged for mercy.
"Tell me, what’s a rogue cultivator? If you don’t, I’ll just search your soul," Lan Xiaobu said indifferently.
Hearing Lan Xiaobu interrogate the Great Luo Golden Immortal, Gong Yunqi quickly sat up to heal.
The area was teeming with life, a far cry from the canyon’s depths.
Even without immortal spiritual energy, he could recover quickly here.
Besides, Lan Xiaobu had just given him a Purple Gold Healing Pill.
"Senior, in this region, only those from the Four Emperor Palaces and the Divine Cloud Immortal Pool have marks. Anyone without a mark is considered a rogue cultivator and can be hunted down by anyone," the Great Luo Golden Immortal explained hurriedly.
Lan Xiaobu noticed the character "Gu" branded on the man’s forehead, much like a criminal’s mark.
Now Lan Xiaobu understood why the southern region of Mo Xuan was dominated by the Four Emperor Palaces and the Divine Cloud Immortal Pool.
Anyone not affiliated with these five factions was considered a rogue cultivator and fair game for killing.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu’s thoughtful expression, the Great Luo Golden Immortal quickly added, "If you’ve just arrived in the southern region, I can guarantee you a position in the Gu Emperor’s Palace, even as an external affairs elder."
"The Gu Emperor’s Palace? I just hope they don’t provoke me," Lan Xiaobu said before tossing a ball of fire at the man.
The Great Luo Golden Immortal didn’t even have time to scream before he was reduced to nothingness.
After waiting for about an hour, Gong Yunqi let out a long roar, as if venting some of his frustration.
He then jumped up and landed next to one of the Great Luo Golden Immortals, retrieving his own storage ring.
"Just a measly Great Luo Golden Immortal, daring to take my ring? You’re asking for death," Gong Yunqi muttered as he pocketed his ring.
His cultivation hadn’t fully recovered, but in a place like this, with enough immortal spiritual energy, it was only a matter of time.
Knowing Gong Yunqi was short on resources, Lan Xiaobu handed him another storage ring.
"Brother Gong, here are some resources to help you recover your cultivation. Use them for now."
"Thanks," Gong Yunqi said without hesitation.
He scanned the ring with his divine sense and laughed.
"Brother Xiaobu, I’ll take advantage of your generosity. There’s so much here. Give me three days, and I’ll be back to full strength. You must have your own business here, right? This disgusting place—let’s stick together. Those so-called Four Emperor Palaces? In my eyes, they’re nothing."
"Brother Gong, there are some healing pills in there. If you need more, I have plenty," Lan Xiaobu said, hoping Gong Yunqi would recover quickly.
In a place where anyone without a mark from the Four Emperor Palaces or the Divine Cloud Immortal Pool was a target, Lan Xiaobu knew he needed a strong ally.
With only the strength of a third-level Immortal King, he wouldn’t get far on his own.
Gong Yunqi wasn’t exaggerating.
With the abundance of immortal crystals and pills, he fully recovered his strength in just three days.
---
Starfall Immortal City.
Lan Xiaobu and Gong Yunqi swaggered into the city.
After three months of travel, the blood arrow on Lan Xiaobu’s jade talisman was as clear as if it had been carved into the surface.
This meant Liu Li was somewhere near Starfall Immortal City.
"This dump of a place is really something. Brother Xiaobu, even though we’re in the city now, be prepared. We might be surrounded by a bunch of trash at any moment," Gong Yunqi grumbled as they entered.
If not for Gong Yunqi’s overwhelming aura, they would’ve had to fight off countless attackers along the way.
Anyone without a mark was considered a rogue cultivator, and rogue cultivators were fair game.
Gong Yunqi’s warning about being surrounded was because everyone in the city bore some kind of mark.
Aside from rogue cultivators, those from the Four Emperor Palaces and the Divine Cloud Immortal Pool all had identifiers.
The Four Emperor Palaces’ marks were usually on the forehead, while the Divine Cloud Immortal Pool’s mark was below the ear.
Lan Xiaobu and Gong Yunqi had no marks, so they were immediately recognized as rogue cultivators upon entering.
"I came here to fight," Lan Xiaobu said calmly.
He had set up a ninth-level Entrapping Kill Formation outside Starfall Immortal City.
Even if a group of Immortal Emperors showed up, they wouldn’t be able to touch him.
As for ordinary Immortal Emperors, he could kill as many as he wanted within his formation.
(That’s all for today’s update.
Goodnight, everyone!)
(End of Chapter)