Led by Jiang Long and Jiang Shi, the thirty members of the Jiang Clan’s hunting patrol braved the rain, departing Jiang Family Town to hunt for Jiang Han.
They were in no rush to enter the mountains. After all, the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range was exceptionally dangerous at night. They did not believe Jiang Han had the courage to risk spending the night surrounded by countless Demon Beasts.
Centering their search on the ruined temple, Jiang Long and Jiang Shi divided their men into three groups. They equipped themselves with signal fireworks and spread out. The moment anyone encountered Jiang Han, they would launch a signal into the sky, and the others would rush to their aid.
The torrential rain fell for the entire night. Jiang Long, Jiang Shi, and the others searched through the darkness, yet they found absolutely nothing.
The downpour had washed away every last trace of Jiang Han. Coupled with the terrible visibility of the night, they were completely unable to uncover a single clue to his whereabouts.
The following day, notices bearing Jiang Han’s portrait were posted across all the neighboring towns and villages. The moment the bounties went up, the major clans in the surrounding area were sent into an uproar…
Countless martial artists from various clans moved like hounds catching a scent. Five hundred Profound Stones was no small fortune; it was enough to purchase a decent Dharma Artifact or several high-grade Pills.
Most importantly, the notice stated that Jiang Han was only at the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm, though he supposedly cultivated a demonic art with bizarre, evil techniques. This tempted countless people. He was merely at the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm-even with some minor tricks, how strong could he possibly be? One had to understand that successfully hunting a powerful rank-two Demon Beast would not even fetch five hundred Profound Stones.
Jiang Han was worth more than a rank-two Demon Beast.
Instantly, the wilderness, the outer fringes of the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range, and any terrain offering concealment were swarming with martial artists. By a conservative estimate, over a hundred people from the neighboring towns and villages were searching for him.
Half a day later, explosive news spread like wildfire: Jiang Han had actually killed five members of the Jiang Clan. But most shocking of all, his father turned out to be Jiang Henshui.
Who was Jiang Henshui?
He was an existence who had single-handedly suppressed an entire generation of the surrounding clans. If Jiang Henshui had not vanished, he would likely have already become a high-ranking authority in Yunmeng Pavilion, perhaps even an Elder.
But… how could Jiang Henshui’s son be so utterly fearless?
He actually dared to slaughter his own kin? And Jiang Xiaotian was just as bold, decisively issuing an execution order. Was he not afraid that Jiang Henshui was still alive? What if he returned to Jiang Family Town and tore him limb from limb?
The gambling dens in town had already opened wagers on how many days Jiang Han could survive. However, the odds overwhelmingly favored his death within three days. Of course, if Jiang Han managed to survive for half a month, the payout reached a staggering one to one hundred.
No one favored Jiang Han’s chances, even if he was Jiang Henshui’s son.
With the Jiang Clan deploying thirty martial artists and over a hundred outsiders joining the hunt, surviving for three days was already his absolute limit.
Something astonishing happened. After an entire day of mass searching, the corpses of Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao were finally recovered, yet Jiang Han seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth.
The terrain surrounding Jiang Family Town was actually quite peculiar. It resembled a massive valley enclosed by mountains on three sides. The dozens of towns and villages within Yunmeng Pavilion’s sphere of influence were essentially ringed by the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range.
If Jiang Han wished to escape this region, he only had two paths. The first was to cross through dozens of towns and villages to exit through the sole “valley mouth.” The second was to plunge into the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range and traverse it to reach the territories of other major powers.
The first path was obviously impossible. Crossing so many settlements undetected would take at least two days, making it entirely unfeasible.
The second path was even more perilous. Traversing the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range required crossing several towering peaks infested with rank-two and rank-three Demon Beasts. Given Jiang Han’s strength, venturing that deep meant certain death.
Therefore, Jiang Han absolutely had to be hiding; they simply did not know which obscure corner he had holed up in.
“Hold on, little Jiang Han!”
In many of the gambling dens, certain patrons were silently praying for him. They had bet on his survival past three days, and some had even put money on him lasting half a month.
The longer Jiang Han survived, the more silver lined their pockets.
…
Jiang Han had indeed not gone far. He couldn’t. Jiang Li was still in Jiang Family Town.
He had hidden himself in a place no one else knew existed-a secret shared only between him and his sister.
This sanctuary was just outside Jiang Family Town, a mere seven or eight li away. He was tucked inside a cave concealed behind a small waterfall, a spot he had stumbled upon by accident while playing with Jiang Li a few years ago.
Jiang Han was not stupid; on the contrary, he was highly intelligent. He knew the deaths of Jiang Hu’s group would send Jiang Xiaotian into a blinding rage. The Jiang Clan would undoubtedly dispatch men to hunt him down. He simply hadn’t anticipated that Jiang Xiaotian would post a public bounty, drawing martial artists from neighboring towns into the manhunt.
At this moment, Jiang Han was secluded in the small cave behind the waterfall, sitting cross-legged in cultivation.
Several bottles and jars rested beside him, all looted from Jiang Hu, Jiang Xiong, and the others. There were healing salves, Pills to aid cultivation, and even… a bottle of medicine meant for bedroom pleasure.
Jiang Han had originally intended to hide here for a day or two. But after tallying his spoils, he decided to enter Secluded Cultivation here for four days. He had brought plenty of dry rations, so he had no worries about food or water. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Han Shiqi’s arrival was still twelve days away. He had time.
He knew he only had one chance to spirit Jiang Li away, so he could not take risks lightly. He had to plan his moves with absolute precision.
Since their parents’ disappearance, the siblings had been left with no one to rely on. Even affording their daily necessities was a struggle; using Pills for cultivation was something he had never even dared to dream of.
Backed by the towering tree of the Third Elder’s faction, Jiang Hu and the others never worried for food or clothing, and had actually carried five bottles of Pills on their persons. Jiang Han had already been at the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm for some time. With the aid of these Pills, he was confident that breaking through to the sixth level would not be an issue. This would grant him much greater certainty in rescuing Jiang Li.
The cultivation systems of the human race across the Nine Provinces Continent were largely identical. They all centered on opening the nine great Secret Caches within the body. Unlocking a single Secret Cache equated to breaking through a major realm.
Purple Mansion, Profound Nether, Mountain and Sea, Reincarnation, Heavenly Being, Void Piercing, Earth Immortal, Divine Descent, and Immortal!
After unlocking a Secret Cache, a martial artist needed to construct a nine-tiered Divine Altar within it. This not only stabilized the Secret Cache but also allowed for the accumulation of vast amounts of Profound Energy, thereby tempering the body and granting supreme combat prowess.
Constructing a single tier of the Divine Altar represented a breakthrough into the next minor realm.
Jiang Han had unlocked the Purple Mansion Secret Cache and constructed a five-tiered Divine Altar. Now, he needed to cultivate his Profound Energy to build the sixth tier. Once it was fully formed, he would step into the sixth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
As he refined Pill after Pill, the Profound Energy within his body steadily increased. Atop the five-tiered Divine Altar sitting within his Purple Mansion Secret Cache, the sixth tier began to slowly take shape.
Time flew by.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Jiang Han did not take a single step out of the cave. People occasionally passed by the area, but they merely cast casual glances at the waterfall before hurrying along.
At an indeterminate moment, Jiang Han’s eyes snapped open. A radiant light flashed in his pupils, and a smile stretched across his face.
After three days and nights of bitter cultivation and the refinement of five bottles of Pills, Jiang Han had finally completed another tier of the Divine Altar, breaking through to the sixth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
“I’ll head out tonight!”
Jiang Han estimated that after three days, the intensity of the manhunt should have died down considerably. It was time to venture into the mountains once more.
He was going to hunt the third Demon Beast depicted on the Heavenly Beast Cauldron-the Earth Dragon Beast.