"Are you from the Martial Alliance?" Lei Yunshu asked abruptly.

Having just finished killing the other yaos, Lin Zheyu, who was walking toward Lei Yunshu, paused slightly in surprise. He was not truly surprised, though. His fighting style was hardly different from that of a martial artist, so it was only natural for Lei Yunshu to think along those lines.

Lin Zheyu had fought without any concealment, deliberately giving the other party reason to make such a guess. He had expected Lei Yunshu to assume he was originally a martial artist who had advanced to the Martial Innate realm before switching to the Immortal Dao. What he did not expect was that she would think he belonged to the Martial Alliance.

Now that was interesting.

Lin Zheyu smiled faintly and did not answer. Even without a reply, Lei Yunshu had already reached her own conclusion from his fighting style. Even if he was not from the Martial Alliance, there was a strong chance he was a Martial Innate realm martial artist who had later switched paths.

Lin Zheyu walked over slowly and asked, "Miss Lei, how long until you recover? The situation does not seem very good."

The endlessly appearing yaos were only a secondary concern. While killing them just now, two unfamiliar auras had appeared within his Perception Domain. Though they were well concealed, after the enhancement of his Perception Domain, Lin Zheyu still detected something amiss through subtle energy fluctuations and environmental details.

"Brother Xiao, you may leave first if you have matters to attend to," Lei Yunshu said after a brief silence, avoiding a direct answer.

"You are badly injured. How could I leave you here alone? That would not be the conduct of a gentleman. If you do not mind, I can take you out of here. This place has become dangerous. It seems others have set their sights on us," Lin Zheyu said.

At his words, Lei Yunshu's gaze tightened slightly. She had not sensed any other aura around them besides the two of them.

Someone has found this place? Is he bluffing, or is Xiao Yu's perception far superior to mine?

Her expression remained calm. After a moment of thought, she said slowly, "I cannot leave for now. I will have to trouble you next, Brother Xiao."

Her injuries were only one reason. The other was that she needed to protect the formation node here. While the destruction of a small number of nodes would not affect the overall formation, this was tied to her mission evaluation and would influence next year's resource allocation. She did not want to give it up so easily.

I don't know his purpose, but I'll use him to help guard this formation node. If he means no harm, I can reward him later, Lei Yunshu thought to herself.

She pushed her perception to the limit, sensing the surroundings, yet still found nothing. The Baleful Yin force here was too dense, greatly interfering with her spiritual sense.

"You are too polite, Miss Lei. Our meeting is fate, it was only a small effort," Lin Zheyu said with a light smile. Though he appeared relaxed, he had already pushed his Perception Domain to the limit, watching the movements of those two figures in secret.

These immortal cultivators... seem unable to detect my Perception Domain? Lin Zheyu speculated.

From the very beginning, Lin Zheyu had been observing Lei Yunshu's expressions and actions. Whether it was the two hidden in the dark or Lei Yunshu herself, none of them showed any abnormal reaction when he fully activated his Perception Domain. He suspected that they simply could not detect it.

"Miss Lei, your injuries have mostly recovered, haven't they? Is there another reason you are unwilling to leave?" Lin Zheyu probed casually.

When they first met, Lei Yunshu had indeed been badly injured. But as time passed, her aura strengthened rapidly. Lin Zheyu felt that even if she had not fully recovered, she should have no problem protecting herself.

"To be honest, I am carrying out a mission related to whether this space-time node can be closed. I cannot leave for now," Lei Yunshu said after some thought.

"I see. My family and friends are all in Great Wei, and my roots are there as well. Helping you is helping myself," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he vanished instantly. Lei Yunshu was startled. A loud boom erupted from the darkness in the distance, and her gaze sharpened. Sensing the sudden aura, her heart sank. If not for Xiao Yu this time, she would likely have been in grave danger.

"Ah!"

A red blade flashed like lightning, and two screams rang out. The battle lasted less than ten breaths before ending abruptly, leaving Lei Yunshu momentarily stunned.

"Hm, just a couple of minor lackeys," Lin Zheyu said as he reappeared within Lei Yunshu's sight.

Seeing how relaxed and at ease he was, Lei Yunshu fell silent.

"Thank you again for your help, Brother Xiao," Lei Yunshu said, her tone much gentler this time.

Lin Zheyu smiled and sat down leisurely to the side. In his hand, he played with the two storage pouches he had just obtained. They were similar to the previous ones, each likely holding about 1 cubic meter

***.

Time passed slowly... and in the blink of an eye, more than a day had gone by. The disturbances within the demon god barrier grew increasingly intense. Even Lin Zheyu felt a tremendous threat from the terrifying pressure coming from afar.

"Thank you for your help during this time, Brother Xiao," Lei Yunshu said with a long exhale as she stood and gave him a solemn salute.

Over the past two days, he had helped her kill many enemies and yaos, allowing her to recover in peace.

"You are too polite, Miss Lei," Lin Zheyu said with a wave of his hand and a smile.

In just these two days, by simply staying here, he had obtained six storage pouches. One of them came from a barbarian, made of some unknown exotic beast hide and engraved with rough, mysterious runes. It was entirely different in style from the formation patterns used by immortal cultivators. If he had gone searching on his own, he would not have encountered so many people in two days. This time, he had benefited from Lei Yunshu, who had drawn enemies in by acting as bait.

"Since you have mostly recovered, I will take my leave," Lin Zheyu said with a carefree smile.

"Brother Xiao, please wait. May I ask where you reside? I will surely visit and repay your help," Lei Yunshu said sincerely with a cupped-fist salute.

Although she had remained wary of Lin Zheyu over the past two days, he had shown no unusual behavior and did not seem to have any ulterior motive.

"I have no fixed residence and travel everywhere. It was only a small effort, so no need to take it to heart," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

He was retreating to advance, avoiding appearing too calculating and drawing suspicion. In truth, Lin Zheyu sought nothing from Lei Yunshu. He only wanted to use her as a way to enter the circle of immortal cultivators.

"This is my token. If you ever need help, you can bring it to the Lei Family in Guanghua City to find me," Lei Yunshu said, no longer insisting, as she took out a jade pendant and handed it over.

"We will meet again!" Lin Zheyu said with a smile as he accepted the jade pendant and returned the salute. Then he turned away freely and disappeared into the darkness.

"A chivalrous man?" Lei Yunshu murmured as she looked in the direction he had left, a faint smile appearing on her face.

She had seen quite a number of Martial Innate realm martial artists who had switched to the Immortal Dao. These martial artists possessed strong temperaments and considerable latent potential. People like Xiao Yu, who roamed the world and drew their blade when facing injustice, were not uncommon to her. In Lei Yunshu's mind, Lin Zheyu had already been placed among them.

"But the aura around him feels somewhat strange... Is he walking the path of Immortal Martial Cultivation?" Lei Yunshu murmured.

So-called Immortal Martial meant that after reaching the Martial Innate realm, one did not switch to the Immortal Dao, but continued along the original martial cultivation path and principles. This path had already been proven unworkable. Yet many experts still refused to give up, persisting stubbornly. Most of the powerhouses within the Martial Alliance cultivated this Immortal Martial path rather than the traditional Immortal Dao.

An interesting fellow. I hope we meet again.

She looked toward the space-time node, gripping the sword in her hand tightly as spirit power flowed steadily within her body. Lin Zheyu had left. From here on, she would have to rely on herself.

***

"Honestly... I only declined out of courtesy; you could have insisted a bit more," Lin Zheyu muttered under his breath. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He had just acted in character, putting on a carefree front and declining Lei Yunshu's goodwill. He had not expected her to stop insisting. This left all the words he had prepared unsaid.

"Still, it wasn't a complete loss. At least I found out where the immortal cultivators' market is," Lin Zheyu said, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Over the past two days, he had gathered quite a bit of information through casual conversation. By asking indirectly, Lin Zheyu finally learned the location of a nearby immortal cultivator market from Lei Yunshu. In her view, the market was not a secret, so she told him without hesitation. She usually did not hide things as long as they did not involve important matters.

This also gave Lin Zheyu a basic understanding of the Immortal Dao, though it remained superficial. He had to ask indirectly and could not be too blunt, or he would expose the fact that he knew nothing about the cultivation world.

"No wonder immortal cultivators are rarely seen in the mortal world. They all operate within blessed lands. Even their markets are located in ruined blessed lands... how extravagant," Lin Zheyu remarked.

That was right. Immortal markets were not in the mortal world but located within ruined blessed lands. In ancient times, the Immortal Dao was immensely prosperous, with countless powerful blessed grotto-heavens. Over time, most of these places had deteriorated, their spirit veins exhausted and their spiritual qi depleted, becoming even thinner than that of the outside world.

Even so, these ruined blessed grotto-heavens still held considerable value. By restoring parts of their original formations, they could isolate the Baleful Yin force from the outside, turning them into subspaces almost free of spiritual qi and Baleful Yin force, safe from its corrosion.

I should find time to take a look at this so-called immortal cultivation world. But before that, I need to prepare, or at least improve my concealment ability, Lin Zheyu thought.

He carried many secrets with him, so he would first have to ensure his own safety before entering the cultivation world.

A concealment technique is essential. My movement techniques need further improvement. And immortal cultivators all have defensive dharma artifacts; I need to strengthen my defense as well. My body-refining techniques should also be trained further, Lin Zheyu pondered.

After returning to the Wuji Sect, he would lie low for a while, push his strength to the limit, and accumulate enough Origin Force before attempting to enter the immortal cultivation world. Opportunities were plentiful, but he only had one life. He had no intention of risking it through recklessness.

Right, I should ask Elder Yang about the Martial Alliance when I get back. Lei Yunshu mistook me for someone from the Martial Alliance on our first meeting instead of a Martial Innate realm martial artist who switched to the Immortal Dao. There must be a reason. Is my fighting style and aura similar to theirs? Lin Zheyu thought.