Chapter 60: Careful Preparations Turned into a Joke

Qin Anyu and the second shopkeeper chatted as they walked, the conversation mainly revolving around the medicinal herbs, scenery, culinary delights, and formidable factions of the Kingdom of Dali.

After walking over thirty li, when a city finally came into view ahead, Qin Anyu suddenly asked, "Second Shopkeeper, what is the relationship between your Qihuang Pharmacy and the Universal Gate?"

As he asked this, he locked his gaze on the second shopkeeper, while his peripheral vision kept watch over the expressions of the four guards.

A fleeting gloom crossed the second shopkeeper's eyes before he replied, "The Universal Gate can be considered one of our major clients. Every year, they procure a substantial quantity of medicinal herbs from Qihuang."

At his words, flashes of anger appeared on the faces of the four guards, lingering for half a second before vanishing.

Having observed these subtle expressions, Qin Anyu knew what to make of the situation. "Second Shopkeeper, you and your men should ride ahead."

The second shopkeeper had received a pigeon message and pushed two horses to death in his eagerness to fetch Ye Jiteteng for research. Now that the medicinal herbs were right beside him, he was told he could not travel back with them. Naturally unwilling, he bluntly insisted on journeying together.

It was only after Qin Anyu provided various reasons—saying they needed to ride ahead to prepare the herbs, that he and his companions would definitely arrive shortly, and that they had urgent personal matters to attend to first—that the second shopkeeper finally agreed to ride back ahead of time.

Once they had ridden out of earshot, Qin Lingxue asked, "Eldest Brother, are you planning to uproot the Universal Gate's stronghold in this city?"

She was indeed clever, immediately guessing Qin Anyu's intentions.

Qin Youqin spoke very directly. "Eldest Young Master needs a vast amount of medicinal herbs. Some might not even be available at Qihuang Pharmacy, but the Universal Gate is likely to have them. After all, they hail from the Chenqiao Plane, which is of a higher tier than the Lingqiao Plane, so they naturally know more."

Qin Anyu chuckled, "You mean we are going to rob them?"

She shook her head. "I wouldn't call it robbery. They keep sending assassins to hunt us down across the State of Song; paying some compensation is only right."

This young girl was grasping the true essence of the cultivation world, though she was learning it rather too quickly.

Still, with the Immortal Emperor Wuwo around, it was of no consequence.

The Kingdom of Dali was different from the State of Song. The State of Song had an emperor, and officials across provinces and prefectures were appointed directly by him, concentrating all power in his hands. In contrast, the Emperor of Dali held a position where nominal authority outweighed real power; most governance was controlled by various clans and factions. Even city lords were jointly nominated by the influential forces within their respective cities, requiring only a formal registration with the emperor. It was precisely this reason that led to vastly different administrative models across various cities.

For instance, at the very city Qin Anyu and his group were about to enter, every person had to pay one Dali copper coin just to pass through the gates.

Fortunately, the second shopkeeper had tipped them off earlier, and they had exchanged one tael of silver for a hundred copper coins, allowing them to enter at the most favorable rate.

The copper coin was simply a melon-seed-shaped piece of stamped copper, simple and crude. The exchange rate in the Kingdom of Dali was one tael of silver for one hundred copper coins, but travelers without copper coins were forced to exchange at a rate of only fifty for a tael at the city gate.

As they passed through the gates, Qin Lingxue murmured softly, "Eldest Brother, two people are staring at us with hostile intent."

Qin Anyu smiled. "If glares could kill, there would be no need for us to cultivate; we'd all just practice glaring."

The group strolled leisurely down the main street, occasionally stopping to buy small snacks. Whenever they spotted medicinal herbs, Qin Anyu would pause to inspect them, inquire about the prices, and occasionally purchase what he needed.

After walking through three streets in this manner, Qin Wushuang grew somewhat nervous. "Brother, the number of people following us is increasing. There are now thirty of them, and they all look malicious."

Qin Anyu gave a faint smile. "Does an elephant ever care about ants?"

People often said that an army of ants could crush an elephant to death, but no one had ever witnessed it—it was merely a comforting notion. In reality, an elephant would collapse an anthill and squash ants to death without a second thought if it wasn't careful.

Nevertheless, a swarm of ants could still be a nuisance.

Over the course of the next half street, because of the lingering crowd of followers, local merchants shut their doors and suspended business.

Qin Anyu exhaled a breath of stifled irritation and walked straight toward the stronghold of the Universal Gate.

Seeing them walk into the alley where the stronghold was located, their pursuers actually took it upon themselves to provide "escort service": blocking both ends of the alley and shouting fiercely at curious passersby and residents who dared to peek out.

Upon reaching the entrance of the stronghold, they found the courtyard gates wide open. Inside sat more than forty cultivators, all in the Qi Condensation stage. The highest among them was at the late Qi Condensation stage; he sat by himself while the others stood, all casting mocking glances at the four newcomers.

Clearly, they had made all preparations and been waiting for a long time.

With a smile, Qin Anyu stepped across the threshold and came to a halt a zhang away from the leader. "Not bad, your aura of superiority is quite high."

Then, his face turning cold, he asked indifferently, "Where is Zhou Wuqi? Where are my parents?"

Hearing the first half of his sentence, the late Qi Condensation cultivator was about to burst into laughter, but the sudden shift in demeanor froze the muscles he had just gathered for a grin. Two seconds later, his expression morphed into extreme fury. "Audacious! Entering the territory of the Universal Gate and still daring to act so arrogant."

He waved a hand. "Shut the gates, surround them, and capture them!"

Remaining seated, he cut a figure of absolute composure.

Qin Anyu glanced around at the courtyard walls. They were only two zhang high—enough for early-stage cultivators to escape over, but mid- and late-stage ones would have to stay and fight. He remarked calmly, "The early-stage ones might escape, but the mid and late-stage ones must stay."

Qin Youqin and Qin Lingxue responded almost simultaneously, "Understood!"

At that moment, the dozens of people who had been tailing them also surged through the gates. After slamming the doors shut, they formed a line in front of the entrance, drawing their weapons in defense—evidently aiming to prevent Qin Anyu and his group from fleeing through the gate.

This struck him as rather absurd. If they really wanted to escape, wouldn't they just jump the courtyard walls?

Of course, the ones destined to flee were definitely not his group, but the members of the Universal Gate.

Qin Anyu unbuckled his clumsy sword, instantly relieving his body of a five-hundred-jin burden. He then adjusted the sword's weight to fifty jin, feeling light as a feather.

Carrying heavier weights while traveling was conducive to body refinement; lightening the load before battle made it easier to dispatch enemies.

Qin Anyu opened his mouth to question them again, but the late Qi Condensation cultivator waved a hand, cutting him off. "Attack!"

That air of superiority outshone even the Immortal Emperor Wuwo.

Twelve mid-Qi Condensation cultivators lunged forward with weapons drawn. Six charged straight at Qin Anyu, while the other six bypassed him and rushed toward Qin Wushuang and the two behind him.

It had to be said that the Universal Gate possessed considerable strength. A mere stronghold in this small city boasted so many Qi Condensation practitioners, complete with a late-stage master—someone he had never even encountered back in Tanzhou Prefecture.

In a split second, he moved as well, swift as lightning and agile as a leopard.

With all the combat footwork from his memories fused together, his body instinctively executed the fastest and most agile movements without requiring conscious thought—a pure, subconscious reflex.

This must have been one of the perks of soul-seizing.

*Clang, bang, crash!*

*Swoosh, clatter, thud!*

Not only did the six mid-Qi Condensation cultivators lunging at him crash to the ground, but even two of the ones attempting to bypass him were intercepted and slain on the spot due to their sluggish speed.

Around him, eight arms gripping weapons and eight legs severed from their owners tumbled to the ground.

"Ah..."

Wails echoed across the courtyard, while the sounds of clashing metal continued.