Chapter Sixty-Seven: Finding Zhang San

After listening to the fragments provided by Ouyang Qihua, Zixuan was now convinced that beneath the Celestial Pool, a powerful restriction had been set by some master. He had always been fascinated by such mysterious formations, and the thought of unraveling the enigma beneath the pool made him eager to explore it himself. However, now was not the best time; he would wait until Yaya had been found before making any decisions.

Tang Wei, on the other hand, was driven purely by curiosity about the unknown, wishing to solve the mystery. In her heart, she believed that with the existence of her spatial ability, she could evade any danger. So, she too resolved to explore the pool when the opportunity arose. Regardless of their differing motives, both had made up their minds; it was only a matter of when they would set out.

This group, utterly engrossed in the story, had unwittingly come to a halt. When everyone finally snapped back to reality, they realized dusk was falling and they had ventured deep into the primeval forest. For the sake of safety, they needed to find a place to settle for the night.

Tang Wei took her phone from her bag and checked it, only to find it had no signal. Alas! It seemed that high-tech devices were mere ornaments at critical moments. At times like this, she had to rely on the most primitive tools—a compass. Though, her compass was hardly conventional; it was a refined artifact used to guide through mist. Using it in this ancient forest was a bit of overkill.

“This artifact not only points the way, but can detect the presence of life forms hundreds or even thousands of meters away. The red needle indicates direction; the black needle detects ordinary life forms, like animals or regular people passing by; and the blue needle usually remains still—only moving when it senses spiritual energy. For instance, if there’s a spiritual nexus or a cultivator nearby, it will point toward them.” Tang Wei took out the artifact from her spatial bracelet and showed it off in front of Yunqian. Thanks to the spatial bracelet's cover, no one suspected anything unusual.

Yunqian carefully took the artifact from Tang Wei, examining it from every angle, testing it on one person and then another, only to find that it didn’t move at all! She tossed it back to Tang Wei and sat down, unimpressed. “Sister! This thing doesn’t work at all! Look at us, so many cultivators here, and it hasn’t moved a bit.”

Though they differed in age by about ten years and had contrasting personalities, perhaps due to their simple outlooks, the two had bonded deeply during their time together and were now best friends. Naturally, their conversation had become more uninhibited.

“Oh, you’re so dense! If it reacted to people nearby, what would be the point? It’d just spin around us all day and never detect anyone else. What use would it be then?” Tang Wei nudged her, sitting down beside her and laughingly scolded.

“How do you test it then?” Yunqian, intrigued by her response, took the artifact from her again.

Before Tang Wei could answer, Zixuan urged them, “What are you two sitting around for? Hurry up, it’s getting late—we need to find a place to camp.”

“Why bother looking? Let’s just camp here,” Tang Wei replied impatiently.

“Sister Chen, this is an uphill area and there’s no water nearby, not a good place to camp!” Ouyang Qianru, seeing Zixuan rebuffed, rushed to help him out. Tang Wei felt a pang of annoyance, especially seeing her standing so close to Zixuan; her temper flared, but she wasn’t like Yunqian and couldn’t throw a tantrum.

Yunqian, noticing Tang Wei’s sour expression, quickly intervened, “What does it matter to us? There are so many men here—they can figure it out! And besides, ‘Sister Chen’ is my name for her, why are you calling her that too? How did everyone become so shameless?”

Ouyang Yunqian was infuriated, but recalled her father’s advice: men didn’t just like pretty women, but also those who were gentle and considerate. Remembering this, she glanced at Zixuan, then suppressed her anger and said softly, “I didn’t mean anything, just stating the facts. Yunqian, why are you so upset?”

Yunqian rolled her eyes at her pretentiousness and ignored her, turning to Tang Wei. “Sister, let’s not bother with her, let’s keep testing this.”

Tang Wei took a deep breath, thinking to herself, “Why am I so irritable lately? If I don’t like Ouyang Qianru, I should just ignore her. Why get angry? Yes! From now on, I’ll just pretend she doesn’t exist!” Having decided, she truly didn’t spare her another glance, suppressing her discomfort and smiling at Yunqian. “This artifact ignores anyone within ten meters. If you really want to test it, have someone walk farther away.”

“Really?” Yunqian exclaimed excitedly, then called out, “Xuan Yuanzhe, walk farther away so I can test it!”

“Why me?” Xuan Yuanzhe grumbled, refusing to move.

Yunqian jumped up, ran to his side, and pushed him outward, saying, “Come on! We’re close, so who else would I ask?”

Reluctantly, Xuan Yuanzhe walked away, turning back occasionally to look at them. Once satisfied, Yunqian returned to Tang Wei’s side, repeatedly calling, “Go farther, farther! Okay, okay—wow! Sister, look! It’s really moving!” The blue needle swiftly pointed toward Xuan Yuanzhe, and Yunqian shouted excitedly.

The others, except Zixuan, grew curious. They’d paid attention when Tang Wei had first explained it, but now, hearing Yunqian’s cries, their curiosity was piqued and they gathered around. Only Zixuan sat beneath a tree, indifferent, eyes closed in meditation.

Once everyone had had their fill, Xuan Yuanzhe ran back, snatched the artifact from Yunqian, and said, “Now it’s my turn—you go over there!” Though he’d been reluctant at first, now he didn’t hesitate; clearly, he wanted to see for himself.

But Yunqian refused to cooperate, lazily saying, “Why me? I won’t go! If you want to see, find someone else—I’m not interested.”

That finally angered Xuan Yuanzhe, who shouted, “Just now, you wanted to test me, and I went over there obediently. Now it’s my turn, so you should go!”

Yunqian, shameless as ever, refused and mocked him, “When you went, I never said we’d switch—I didn’t make you go. It’s your own choice, not my problem.”

“You—” Xuan Yuanzhe was about to argue further, when he suddenly shouted with excitement, “Shiyi, look! Both the black and blue needles are moving!”

“Let me see!” Yunqian jumped up, ran over, and tried to snatch it.

“Go away! You’ve already seen it!” Xuan Yuanzhe dodged desperately; one tried to grab, the other to escape, but neither succeeded. Eventually, they each held one side of the artifact and brought it together to Tang Wei. The others, who had scattered, gathered again out of curiosity.

Tang Wei glanced at it casually and said, “It probably means a cultivator is approaching, accompanied by an ordinary person or an animal.”

After her explanation, everyone began staring in the direction indicated by the needles. Sure enough, within five minutes, rustling sounds came from the bushes. The grass parted, and five people emerged from that direction, one of them leading a large animal, uncertain whether it was a wolf or a dog. They walked straight up to Ouyang Qihua and reported, “Young Master, you and Miss should wait for news at the foot of the mountain. Why did you come up here?”

“I met some acquaintances with Qianru, so we decided to search together. Why are you here? Any progress on the search?” Ouyang Qihua answered gravely, asking his own questions, a stark contrast to his earlier playful demeanor.

“We sensed the Young Master’s tracking talisman nearby, so we came to check. We haven’t found the person yet, but everyone is in position. I believe we’ll locate Zhang San within a day,” the newcomer reported clearly.

After a few more brief questions, Ouyang Qihua sent them off. The group marveled at the artifact’s wonders, and Tang Wei complimented their homemade tracking talisman. Everyone laughed, and Yunqian and Xuan Yuanzhe had their fill playing with Tang Wei’s artifact. The group began to address their accommodation for the night.

Since Tang Wei wanted to camp right there, Zixuan didn’t argue. He surveyed the weeds nearby and gestured to her. After living together for five years, though not sharing meals or beds, they had grown accustomed to each other under the same roof. Tang Wei could tell what he was thinking from his gestures, so she sat still and quickly extended a vine from her hand, whipping it a few times. Except for the thick trees, all the weeds in front were instantly cleared!

The others were stunned, unable to speak for a long time, until Zixuan called for camp to be set up. They finally recovered and began pitching tents slowly, still inwardly amazed: “No wonder he’s in the fasting stage—such power!”

So the group camped in place for the night. With Tang Wei’s artifact compass, safety was no issue; the four men rotated guard duty through the night. The next day, after packing up, they set off easily, bickering and bantering as they walked. Time passed quickly, and by four or five in the afternoon, someone from the Xuan Yuan family reported they had found Zhang San in a mountain valley. Upon hearing the news, the group hurried off in that direction.