In the inn courtyard beneath the night sky.
Occasional snorts came from the stable to the side, but apart from that, the courtyard was silent and still.
A chilly gust of wind swept withered leaves past the inn's entrance hall;
the lanterns hanging along the corridor swayed slightly, their candlelight flickering dimly and brightly.
Suddenly, the inn's originally tightly shut main door was pushed open from the inside, emitting a creaking sound.
Immediately after, a youth dressed in plain clothes stepped slowly from inside the inn into the courtyard, placing his hands behind his back as if strolling leisurely through a garden.
Then, he walked unhurriedly like this to the very center of the inn's courtyard before coming to a stop.
"Will the esteemed one not reveal themselves?"
The youth spoke softly in the courtyard.
His entire demeanor was calm and composed, exuding an intangible aura of authority befitting a superior, even though he only wore ordinary plain clothes and appeared to be merely fifteen years old.
He was either a great cultivator with extremely profound cultivation, or a heaven-chosen talent born from a major sect.
"Could it be the esteemed one requires me to say it a second time?"
The youth's expression remained unruffled as he spoke again with the same calm tone.
A rustling sound of dry leaves came from the large tree beside the inn, followed by dozens of withered leaves drifting through the air, slowly falling to the ground.
A figure clad in black leaped down from the tree, landing lightly in the inn's main courtyard without even stirring a speck of dust beneath its feet.
The black-clad, masked figure stood roughly seven or eight zhang away from the youth.
This black-clad person was extremely confident in his own physical skills and the technique he used to conceal his aura.
Since the other party had been able to detect him, it meant the other's cultivation level was most likely not below his own.
After hesitating for a moment, he chose to reveal himself proactively.
The black-clad person stood over eight zhang away from the youth, highly vigilant, ready at any moment to draw the blade at his waist and strike toward the youth.
But the youth merely stood there, unmoved.
"Dare I ask, who exactly is the esteemed one?"
The black-clad person asked toward the youth's direction.
"I will give you one chance to leave."
The youth did not answer the black-clad person's question, only saying this.
The black-clad person's brow furrowed slightly beneath his mask;
he did not dare act rashly, but he also had no intention of simply leaving like this.
Although the other party's performance was indeed suspicious, he would not be so easily intimidated by the other's deliberate mystification.
The youth dressed in plain clothes began to pace slowly in the courtyard, then spoke softly:
"I don't care what grievances you have with the people of Biqiu Sect, or what exactly you intend to do. What I want to say is that right now, Biqiu Sect is still useful to me."
As he spoke, the plain-clothed youth paused briefly for an instant:
"As long as Biqiu Sect remains useful to me for even one day, I will not allow anyone to lay a finger on it. Do you understand?"
Hearing this, the black-clad person gave no indication, remaining silent for several breaths before finally snorting coldly:
"The esteemed one speaks with quite the imposing tone."
Chen Yan's heart sank slightly;
clearly, relying solely on presence and empty words would not be enough to persuade the other to retreat.
However, he still had a backup plan.
Chen Yan slowly raised his right hand, and from the tip of his right index finger, a wisp of spiritual energy emerged:
"The chance to leave comes only once."
The black-clad person's heartbeat stopped for a moment, his pupils constricting.
Cold sweat instantly trickled down his spine, and even his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
He saw it.
He saw everything.
Just now, he had seen the youth before him produce an extremely fine thread of spiritual energy from his fingertip.
This could only mean one thing.
The other party was a cultivator of the Unity Realm or above—a practitioner of the upper three realms!
A super great power who could take his measly life with just a breath, a top-tier existence who could even serve as a Grand Elder within any of the Five Great Sects!
The black-clad person quickly realized the sole reason he was still standing here.
That was the other party's merciful heart.
"Senior!"
The black-clad person immediately straightened his posture and respectfully bowed toward Chen Yan's direction:
"This junior is Li Zhong, Deputy Sect Leader of Wind Sand Manor. I truly did not know Biqiu Sect currently enjoys Senior's favor. Today's offense was most presumptuous. I beg Senior to be magnanimous. This junior guarantees that from now on, all members of my Wind Sand Manor will obey Senior's every command without question!"
As for why the black-clad person proactively reported his sect's name, it was quite understandable.
The other party was a great power of the upper three realms.
If he truly wished to seek revenge, even without revealing his sect affiliation, an upper three realms great power could easily uncover his background.
Rather than that, it was better to volunteer the information.
"Obeying every command is unnecessary."
Chen Yan said calmly:
"Just don't appear before me again."
"Yes!"
The black-clad person replied. As Deputy Sect Leader of Wind Sand Manor, he felt a twinge of regret in his heart for missing this chance to latch onto a powerful patron.
But he dared not voice any objection. Since the senior told him to scram, he had to scram.
Thus, a few breaths later, the black-clad person's figure vanished without a trace.
Seeing the black-clad person leave, Chen Yan still maintained that same calm, unperturbed expression, walking back into the inn with his hands behind his back.
He secretly let out a sigh of relief.
This way, the danger should be averted, right?
He couldn't run, and he couldn't win in a fight.
This was the best method Chen Yan could think of.
With his current cultivation at the early Body Forging Realm stage, and having undergone extensive spiritual energy tempering, Chen Yan could already manage to gather a minuscule amount of true qi just outside his muscles and bones.
Then, Chen Yan used the Great Derivation Art to forcibly derive that tiny amount of true qi on his body's surface into spiritual energy.
Although this incredibly faint thread of spiritual energy couldn't even crush an ant, relying on it, Chen Yan had still managed to scare off that black-clad person.
After all, any cultivator with a bit of common sense knew that in this world, only upper three realm cultivators could directly utilize spiritual energy.
How terrifying is that?
Putting himself slightly in the black-clad person's shoes, Chen Yan gave a light chuckle, then shook his head.
As for Wind Sand Manor.
Chen Yan had never heard of this sect.
When that Deputy Sect Leader Li Zhong of Wind Sand Manor believed Chen Yan was an upper three realms cultivator, his first reaction was to want to pledge allegiance.
Chen Yan naturally refused.
Because one lie naturally requires an even bigger lie to cover it up.
If the truth were exposed, it might invite some rather unnecessary trouble.
Chen Yan had no need to take that risk, especially now when he hadn't yet recovered his cultivation.
It was best to maintain distance from everyone else, including Biqiu Sect, which he was about to join.
Chen Yan's current plan was simply to join Biqiu Sect, become an inner disciple of Biqiu Sect, then use Biqiu Sect's cultivation resources to break through to the Qi Circulation Realm as soon as possible and restore his own cultivation.
Then, once his cultivation was fully restored, he would immediately make his escape.
Chen Yan thought to himself.