Within Wuling City, in a dark alley, a tall figure was swiftly darting through.

"Damn it, someone actually snitched. Once I get out of here, if I find out who it was, I'll make sure they pay for it," the man muttered viciously.

"Who won't you spare?"

A calm voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, startling him. Without hesitation, he flung the concealed weapon in his hand and bolted in another direction.

Bang!

A hand as hard as alloy clamped around his throat and slammed him against the opposite wall. The force was terrifying. His face smashed into the wall with a thunderous crash, flesh and blood mangled in an instant as he lost consciousness.

"I didn't expect so many spies to be hiding in Wuling City," Lin Zheyu said, shaking his head lightly.

He had seen this man a few times before, back at the banquet held by Jii Weicheng. Grabbing the man's limp body, he walked out of the alley as the patrolling soldiers arrived late.

"See if it's this one." Lin Zheyu tossed the man over.

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Sir!" the leading soldier said respectfully.

This was not the first time they had witnessed his methods. Whenever spies or infiltrators were detected in Wuling City, and a signal was sent out, this man would always locate them swiftly. To them, it was nothing short of miraculous.

"Send the reward to my residence," Lin Zheyu said calmly before turning and disappearing into the alley.

Within Wuling City, Lin Zheyu could not freely use his spiritual sense, but lightly spreading his Perception Domain was still fine. He had tested it before. Immortal cultivators did not seem particularly sensitive to his Perception Domain. Under its coverage, every movement within a radius of over 1,800 meters was clearly visible to him.

My Perception Domain and spiritual sense each have their strengths and weaknesses, and my Perception Domain is still evolving. If my physique keeps improving, who knows what level it might reach.

His figure moved swiftly through Wuling City. Just as he was about to leave the bustling district, he paused slightly, then resumed as normal.

Was that spiritual sense that just swept over me?

Lin Zheyu slowed down, a trace of suspicion rising in his mind.

He had only recently formed his spiritual sense, but he felt certain. Just now, he had clearly felt a strand of spiritual sense sweep across him, yet it did not linger on him.

The strength of that spiritual sense isn't high, probably on par with mine. Their core abilities seem about the same as mine, who cultivates both paths halfway. Their strength shouldn't be anything special.

At the crossroads ahead, he turned a corner. After confirming no one was watching and no spiritual sense was scanning him, he slipped into another alley. When he emerged, his build, bearing, and appearance had completely changed, taking on the look of an ordinary middle-aged man.

Leaving the alley, he headed toward a nearby tavern. It was his first time sensing traces of immortal cultivators in Wuling City, and Lin Zheyu could not help but want to learn more about them, especially since their strength might be inferior to his.

"Waiter, bring me your best wine, and serve all your signature dishes," Lin Zheyu called over the waiter and ordered.

His expression did not change in the slightest. His Perception Domain expanded swiftly, spreading toward the direction from which the spiritual sense had just come. In a pleasure house two streets away from the tavern where Lin Zheyu was, his Perception Domain quietly enveloped the area. The strand of spiritual sense he had sensed earlier was emanating from there.

Although the other party's spiritual sense was well-concealed, with his own spiritual sense layered with his Perception Domain, Lin Zheyu not only detected the probing but also traced it back to its source. This was the subtle advantage of the Perception Domain. With spiritual sense alone, he could not have achieved this.

"Fellow Daoist Qian, this is Wuling City, covered by the Directorate of Celestial Observation's monitoring formation. Discussing such matters here may not be appropriate."

The speaker was a refined-looking young man, appearing to be around twenty, with a hint of arrogance between his brows. However, immortal cultivators were well preserved, and the nourishment of spirit power greatly slowed aging. Appearance alone could not reveal their true age.

"As the saying goes, the more dangerous a place is, the safer it becomes. Discussing things here will not arouse suspicion. I've already used a secret technique to check. There are no immortal cultivators and no personnel from the Directorate of Celestial Observation within five hundred meters. Even if there were, their spiritual sense would not be able to penetrate the Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation I set up to eavesdrop on us," Qian Baiyan said confidently, his expression full of pride.

"The Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation! Fellow Daoist Qian, you actually mastered this formation? Truly impressive!" The young man's expression shifted as he revealed his admiration.

The Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation was a simplified version of the Myriad Void Locking Formation. Though simplified, its effects remained powerful. It could block most divine-sense probing and was one of the better-known formations of its kind. The required materials were easy to obtain, yet few could successfully set it up due to the high demands placed on the person arranging it.

"You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Mu," Qian Baiyan said with a smile. Though his words were modest, his expression was full of satisfaction.

"With the Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation in place, there is no need to worry. But is your information reliable?" Mu Feng asked seriously. This was the real purpose of their meeting.

"Of course it is. If my strength were sufficient, I wouldn't even have informed you. I would have gone to explore it alone," Qian Baiyan replied just as seriously. He patted his storage pouch and took out a bronze-colored broken sword, placing it before Mu Feng.

"This broken sword was brought out from inside. Its craftsmanship and the formation inscriptions on it are all in the style of ancient times. Very few people today can replicate such techniques. The ruins are extremely well preserved, but also highly dangerous. The two of us alone likely won't be able to handle it," Qian Baiyan said.

"So you contacted the barbarian tribes?" Mu Feng asked meaningfully as he toyed with the broken sword.

This was what concerned him the most. At a time like this, having ties with barbarian tribes, evil sects, or ancient yao could easily be deemed treason.

"The barbarian tribes specialize in physique cultivation and have greater resistance to demonic qi than we do. Without their assistance, it will be difficult for us to enter those ruins. Not to mention that seeking opportunities for the Golden Core realm in such ruins is a capital offense if exposed. Other than them, who else could we turn to?" Qian Baiyan said with a casual smile.

He was not the only one doing this. As long as it remained hidden, there would be no problem.

"That's true. I've been stuck at the Golden Core realm for decades and still haven't secured a chance to break through," Mu Feng said with a bitter smile.

The two exchanged a glance and began communicating through spiritual sense.

***

Inside the tavern, the waiter brought out dish after dish of sumptuous food and respectfully refilled Lin Zheyu's wine cup. Lin Zheyu ate heartily, yet his attention was not on the food at all.

"...Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation... ruins? And then? Why did it stop?" Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.

His brows furrowed slightly. This Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation was far too formidable. It could even block his Perception Domain, and he had nearly failed to overhear their conversation. Even at full power, he could only catch fragments of their discussion. It was unclear, but by piecing things together, he could roughly understand it.

"These two seem to be planning to explore some ruins. But is there really a need to be so secretive about it, even using something like the Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation?" Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

What he heard was incomplete and fragmented. He did not catch anything about the barbarian tribes or the Golden Core realm. In the end, once the two switched to communicating through spiritual sense, he could hear nothing at all.

"Forget it. It sounds dangerous. There's no need for me to get involved." Lin Zheyu shook his head. He was not at the point where he would risk his life for opportunities.

After finishing the entire table of food, Lin Zheyu returned to White Pine Residence. The matter of spiritual sense was settled. Next, he needed to deal with concealment techniques.

Concealment techniques are easy enough, but something like the Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation, which can block divine sense and hide one's presence, is much harder to achieve, Lin Zheyu thought.

When he probed with divine sense, he could not detect the Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation or the two people within it at all. Everything appeared completely normal. In the end, it was only through his Perception Domain that he noticed something was off.

Lin Zheyu had no way to achieve what the Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation could: hide one's existence from divine sense scanning. At best, he could prevent others from discerning his true strength when they probed him. This was the limitation of martial cultivation. Unlike the Immortal Dao, it lacked all sorts of intricate abilities and formations. Even his spiritual sense had only been formed after more than a month of research into immortal cultivation techniques.

Originally, Lin Zheyu had planned to play the oriole behind the mantis. But now, lacking proper concealment, he could only be the tiger disguised as a pig.

"Then I'll do everything I can to become stronger!" Lin Zheyu clenched his fists.

A strong sense of confidence surged within him. From a powerless scholar, he had, in just a few years, grown into someone comparable to a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator through his own efforts. That experience filled him with confidence for the future.

"The nature of true origin is different from an immortal cultivator's spirit power, yet it unexpectedly has a decent shielding effect against spiritual sense. But this kind of shielding cannot achieve the effect of disguising strength. It only makes others feel that I am hard to read. As for the body's acupoints, they are unique. Even spiritual sense finds them difficult to probe. Using them to store true origin and essence and qi could be a good option..."

Lin Zheyu's spiritual sense swept repeatedly through his body as he studied its secrets. After unlocking inner vision, his understanding of his body had greatly improved. Then, with the formation of his spiritual form, that understanding deepened further. Now, with spiritual sense, most of the body's mysteries were laid bare before him. Only the acupoints scattered throughout his body remained shrouded in mystery.

"My development of the acupoints hasn't reached its limit yet. Once I bring the Primordial Wuji True Technique to the Perfection of the third stage, I can abandon this technique."

Countless pieces of martial cultivation knowledge flashed through his mind as Lin Zheyu began planning his future path. The fourth stage of the Primordial Wuji True Technique involved a martial artist advancing to the Grandmaster realm and, with the aid of the Grandmaster's will, opening the acupoints throughout the body.

Different techniques opened different acupoints, much like how their meridian circulation paths varied. The more acupoints opened, the greater the difficulty and time required. Although the Primordial Wuji True Technique covered most acupoints, Lin Zheyu found it insufficient. He wanted to fuse multiple techniques and open every acupoint in the body.

When I studied the Origin Returning Technique before, I already had a general idea about opening acupoints and concealment techniques. I'll call this method of opening all the body's acupoints the Primordial Condensed Acupoint Technique.

The moment the thought formed, corresponding data appeared in his mind.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 16]

[Skills: Origin Returning Technique (Perfection), Primordial Condensed Acupoint Technique (Dormancy), Phantom Flash Soul-Chasing Steps (Third Stage: 89%), Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art (Second Stage: 100%), Thunder Roaring Purple Cloud Technique (Fourth Stage: 10%), Primordial Wuji True Technique (Third Stage: 97%)]

"Hm, it actually works. I really am a genius." Lin Zheyu grinned, a smug smile spreading across his face.

However, this was only a preliminary version, and Lin Zheyu was not very satisfied with it. The quality of a technique would affect the efficiency and results of opening acupoints. He spent several more hours refining it, and only when dawn broke did a satisfied smile appear on his face.

"This will do. I'll cultivate with this version," Lin Zheyu said.

Creating techniques was not as difficult as he had imagined. With Origin Force, Lin Zheyu could improve techniques without worrying about harm to his body. As long as the technique was viable, even severe side effects would have no impact on him.

"Release!" Lin Zheyu called softly as the Ninefold Origin Lock Art instantly unraveled.

A vast surge of true origin mixed with life essence poured out from the acupoints throughout his body, leaking outward like water through a sieve. Without hesitation, two spirit stones appeared in Lin Zheyu's hand. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Use 2 units of Origin Force to cultivate the Primordial Wuji True Technique.

A vast surge of mysterious energy poured forth. Lin Zheyu's mind blurred for a moment as he entered a mysterious space of consciousness and began endless cultivation. The Primordial Wuji True Technique was just a step away from reaching the Perfection of the third stage, and he intended to push it through first.