Liu Tianming took off his straw hat, "Last night I received your message and immediately started making arrangements, but not feeling reassured, I simply came myself."

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by the people from Chang Chun Temple?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Even if they discover me, what can they do to me? Let's not talk about this anymore. Brother Ming, as per the secret message you sent last night, I've arranged for ten identical carriages. They will soon leave the city in different directions for different destinations. The one we are in now is one of them, driven by an unknowing ordinary guard, you just go ahead and arrange it," Liu Tianming said, waving his hand and then speaking in a low voice.

Yuan Ming smiled, "You really went to a lot of trouble this time."

"With our relationship, why bother about this! Oh right, you better keep this safe." Liu Tianming took out a communication talisman and handed it to Yuan Ming.

He continued explaining, "This is a specially made two-way communication talisman, it bears my mana imprint. If you encounter any thorny issues outside, just contact me."

Yuan Ming nodded and accepted the communication talisman.

Seeing this, Liu Tianming smiled, stood up, and said, "It's unexpected, we haven't been together long and we already have to part again, Brother Ming, take care."

Yuan Ming clasped his fist towards him, and the two parted ways.

Soon, the carriage sped along, passing through the city gates under the signboard inscribed with "Qujiang," leaving a trail of rolling dust as it raced toward the sunrise.

At the city gate, a middle-aged city guard absentmindedly watched the distant carriage, turned his head to his colleague beside him, and said, "Did you hear about what happened at the abdication ceremony yesterday?"

"Of course, I heard. How could anyone in Qujiang City not know about such a big event?" The young colleague casually replied while picking his teeth with a bamboo stick.

"Alas, it's hard to say how Young Master Yuan trained; three years ago, he was just an ordinary person turned away by Chang Chun Temple due to poor aptitude, yet now he has somehow managed to defeat the State Preceptor. It's truly incredible," the middle-aged city guard exclaimed.

The young colleague threw the bamboo stick away, perked up, and said, "It's really baffling! Speaking of Young Master Yuan, I heard that the 'Young Master Sheng's Southern Journey' sold by Tianming Book Society is adapted from his experiences in the Southern Border. I've got to buy a copy after my shift ends to see if I can learn something from it."

"Give me a break, you?" the middle-aged city guard scoffed.

"If a person doesn't have dreams, they're no better than a salted fish, and at least a salted fish can still turn over!" the young colleague said nonchalantly.

The middle-aged city guard paused, then suddenly coughed twice and said,

"Ahem, well, when you do, grab a copy for your elder brother here too. I want to see what opportunities there are in the Southern Border."

...

A month later, Wo River City.

The city, named after its proximity to Wo River, wasn't large, but thanks to the port connecting north-south waterways bustling with countless passenger and cargo ships, it thrived exceptionally well.

Because of this, there were not a few who made their living off these water routes; Fifth Brother Wang was one such inconspicuous member.

His ancestors had fished for generations, and only with great difficulty did his family amass some savings. His father originally intended to expand the fishing business, but Fifth Brother Wang, loath to spend his days in the company of fishy smells, resolutely bought a passenger ship and turned to running a ferry business instead.

However, in this city, there were not one hundred but two hundred running a ferry business. Fifth Brother Wang's passenger ship had nothing novel about it, and customers were scarce, leaving him quickly caught in a deficit.

Now, he couldn't even afford to hire a helper; his entire family lived on the ship, helping with steering and sailing just to barely make ends meet.

Passing thirty-five, and facing daily complaints from his wife, the disappointed looks from his old father, and his growing son with an increasing appetite, Fifth Brother Wang felt immensely anxious, spending all day wandering the docks in search of passengers.

Today, just after noon, Fifth Brother Wang squeezed beside the porters resting at a tea stall, ordered a cup of free cold water, and sipped it while surveying the activities at the docks.

Typically, there wouldn't be any passengers at this time, but perhaps Fifth Brother Wang was lucky—indeed, he spotted a customer looking for a boat.

This person wore a plain, long robe; despite the simple attire, the phoenix-like eyes and sword-like eyebrows on his elegant face were quite extraordinary.

This person was none other than Yuan Ming, who had left the capital alone to evade retaliation from Chang Chun Temple.

Fifth Brother Wang's eyes lit up, and he quickly gulped down the cold water, hurriedly jogging over.

"Sir, do you need a boat?"

Having just finished speaking with another boatman, Yuan Ming nodded upon seeing Fifth Brother Wang approach, "Yes, I'm heading to Thunder City. Does your boat go there?"

Fifth Brother Wang immediately cheered up, noting the gentleman's demeanor; he should not be a stingy person, so he tentatively said, "Sir, Thunder City isn't an easy journey, the water currents are turbulent all the way, and it could damage the boat. Plus, I'd have to return empty!"

"I'm aware of that, which is why I asked if your boat goes. I'll charter it," Yuan Ming replied.

Fifth Brother Wang's eyes darted about, hesitated briefly, then held up four fingers, "It can go, but it will cost this much."

The price he quoted was more than double the usual rate.

Yuan Ming didn't point it out and said, "That's fine, but I need to leave immediately."

"No problem, my whole family is on the boat, we can leave right away!" Fifth Brother Wang was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, leading Yuan Ming onto his boat.

The boat was not large, but it was tidy; the deck was divided into six rooms, all empty save the one that housed Fifth Brother Wang's family.

Yuan Ming randomly chose a room to settle into, instructed Fifth Brother Wang not to disturb him unless necessary, and that meals should just be left at the door, then sent him off to start the boat.

After Fifth Brother Wang left, Yuan Ming silently performed the "Moonlight Technique," releasing a soul crow to monitor from the air, and summoned Hua Zhi from the Spiritual Beast Bag to hide beneath the cabin, only then did he feel somewhat relieved.

For the past month, he had been traveling by carriage and horse, changing disguises and constantly on the move, almost always on the road with very few stops.

Now aboard this boat, floating downstream along the waterway, he no longer needed to switch between carriages and horses, gaining some intervals for rest.

As his tightly wound feelings slightly relaxed, Yuan Ming summoned the Stealing Heaven Tripod and inserted a stick of Black Incense made from new materials and lit it.

Amid the curling smoke, Yuan Ming recalled his father's face in his mind, and soon was able to possess him.

Compared to a month ago, Yuan Zuochong's appearance had not changed much. At the moment, he was sitting in his study, writing a memorial.

"Your servant, Yuan Zuochong, petitions for retirement..."

Soon, he finished writing the memorial, exhaled a light breath, picked up the document, reread it once, and then tucked it away.

After pondering for a moment, Yuan Zuochong suddenly took out the communication talisman Yuan Ming had left him, studied it for a long time, and finally set it down.

"I wonder how Ming'er is doing now. With his cultivation, courage, insight, and experiences from the Southern Border, even if he encounters any trouble, it should not be too difficult for him."

A long sigh fell.

At that moment, Yuan Ming ended the possession, returning to his own body, but his heart was overwhelmed with desolation.

He quickly gathered his emotions; since his home should be safe for the time being, he also needed to make some plans for the road ahead.

His Divine Sense entered his Storage Ring, briefly inventoried it, and found that the Elixirs and Talismans he had prepared earlier were almost all used up, leaving not much left, and those currently useful to him were a few bottles of Foundation Establishment Stage Elixirs scraped together from Elder Meng Shan and Xu Changqing.

As for the "Copper Skin Pills" from Liu Su, they would also have to wait until he found a suitable Body Refinement Technique before he could use them.

In terms of Spirit Stones, counting them up, he still had over two thousand, which seemed like a lot, but were insufficient for purchasing items like Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation elixirs.

Apart from these, he still had quite a few magical tools.

He had one top-grade magical tool, the Nameless Black Needle, and around a dozen Mid and Lower Grade magical tools, including the Cold Star Sword, Nine-Ring Gold Saber, Short Jade Dagger, and the Golden Snake Sword.

Yuan Ming selected some of the tools he wouldn't need and planned to look for a market in Thunder City to sell them for Spirit Stones, then began to go through some spiritual materials in his Storage Bag.

Among them, the materials for incense making were mostly used up, and he would need to find a way to replenish them in Thunder City. He also took out a few spiritual materials that had been forgotten by Yuan Ming and looked them over as well.

The first was an earthy yellow shell and a gray silk mass the size of a human head, which he had obtained from an Elder's Storage Bag at the Black Rock City Market by chance.

Following that was a Fire-Red Curved Horn, obtained by Yuan Ming while on a mission in Biluo Cave; though its origin was unknown, Master Huo Lian had judged that its grade might even be above Mid Grade.

Last was the Golden Pattern Leopard Skin, a trophy from a creature Yuan Ming had hunted, which as a Second Lower Rank fierce beast, was also quite valuable.

As he sorted through items, Yuan Ming suddenly found a green sphere, the Heart-splitting Bomb he had bought at the Ghost Market in Black Rock City.

Initially, he had bought three; one was used on Elder Meng Shan, another against a Vortex Beast, and the effects were indeed impressive. Now, with only one left, he wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary.

This magical tool was exclusive to the Five Thunder Sect of Zhao Country. Thunder Continent bordered Zhao Country, so it was possible that Heart-splitting Bombs might also circulate in the market there.

With his mind made up, Yuan Ming carefully stored the Heart-splitting Bomb and then organized the remaining talismans and materials. At last, he completed inventorying the contents of the ring.

He shifted his consciousness to the soul crow, seeing that Fifth Brother Wang's boat had already left the dock and was now moving northward along the Wo River. His family hadn't tried to engage him in conversation, which suited his preferences, so he withdrew his consciousness and began his cultivation.

An hour later, Yuan Ming sighed, frowning as he detached from the cultivation state.

Since obtaining the complete "Nine Elements Technique" from Liu Tianming, although he had been cultivating it for a while and his cultivation had somewhat improved, compared to the rapid progress during the Qi Refinement Realm, there was a considerable lack.

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