CHAPTER 432: TRACKING MADE EASY

"All good, then," Jiang Chen said, that small, relaxed smile still on his face.

He went on, "After I left the original site of Burning Sun City, I caught wind of a standoff between the top Nirvana Cleansing realm powerhouses from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect and the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace. It’s happening right at the border between their territories."

"Which means no one from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect’s side can really make a move on me now. And you don’t have to worry about getting dragged into anything because of me either. Honestly, you’re a pretty interesting guy—I’d rather not see you die."

Lu Yi’s eyes lit up. "So there’s a standoff going on between the Purple Crest Immortal Sect and the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace at their border..."

He paused to think it through, then let out a quiet breath. "That means the strongest people coming after me would be, what, Half-step Nirvana Cleansing realm at most. I can live with that."

"Mhm." Jiang Chen gave a slight nod. "The Purple Crest Immortal Sect won’t stop. They’ll keep sending people after you."

He glanced around. "You mentioned traveling with me earlier—fine, let’s go together. This place isn’t good for us anyway. We should head to the Golden Three Stars Domain."

"The Golden Three Stars Domain?" Lu Yi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of place is that?"

"It’s the closest chaotic star domain I know of. Tons of intelligent races live there." Jiang Chen smiled. "Over there, even human-demon hybrids don’t stand out. You’ll find beings way stranger than that, and no one cares. Everyone just minds their own business. It’s probably the only place you’ll be treated halfway fairly."

Everything he said was true—Shangguan Ning had picked up those details during one of her trips.

"A place like that actually exists? Then let’s go!" Lu Yi’s eyes lit up, nodding without hesitation. Living as an outcast forever, always at odds with the world—that wasn’t a life he wanted.

"Mhm." Jiang Chen gave a small nod and smiled. "There’s a star-level teleportation array on Prosperous Stone Immortal Star. If we use it, we can leave this planet and head to the next one with life. From there, we’ll make our way to the Golden Three Stars Domain."

He went on, "But the array isn’t just under the control of the Purple Crest Immortal Sect or the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace. The real power behind it is the Profound Jade Immortal Alliance—the ones people call the Star Masters. The two sects are just part of the group responsible for guarding it."

He paused for a moment. "With who we are, getting through that array won’t be easy."

This kind of info wasn’t secret. Anyone could find it out with a bit of asking around.

"Heh, you’re right," Lu Yi said with a bitter laugh. "With me being a human-demon hybrid, the Profound Jade Immortal Alliance would probably want me dead on sight."

"If they want you dead, then make them regret ever coming after you," Jiang Chen said, eyes flashing with cold intent before the edge faded into a faint smile. "Don’t worry. Since we’re traveling together, I’ve got your back."

"Thanks, Senior!" Lu Yi gave a quick nod, then asked, "So, with the Purple Crest Immortal Sect actively hunting us, what’s the plan?"

"If one comes, we kill one. If two come, we kill two." Jiang Chen spoke like it was nothing more than pulling weeds.

He paused for a moment, then went on, "With our current strength, taking on both the Purple Crest Immortal Sect and the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace would be reckless. Handling just one of them is hard enough—especially if we want to use the star-level teleportation array. For now, the best move is to stall and buy ourselves time to grow stronger."

"Yeah, that’s true." Lu Yi smiled, then added, "By the way, Senior... you just took down those four Nirvana Peering realm guys and probably picked up a lot. Mind lending me some spirit jades?"

"Mhm." Jiang Chen nodded and glanced at Ying Luo, who was still wrapped around his hand. "Ying Luo, where’s the stuff? Spit it out."

"Eh? It’s all gone!" she said, blinking up at him with big, innocent eyes. "Ying Luo got really hungry... I ate everything."

Of course, that wasn’t true.

She hadn’t touched any of it.

Everything was safely tucked away in her own storage space—just like Jiang Chen told her. He’d even promised her a reward: the storage artifacts from those four cultivators, served up as snacks.

He’d even tossed in a piece of Space Essence Gold.

So, the little glutton Ying Luo actually held back and stuck to the plan, playing her part like Jiang Chen asked.

"Eaten? Ah, well..." Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, acting surprised. He looked at Lu Yi. "Yeah, it’s gone. She ate everything."

"...Alright, never mind then." Lu Yi let out a dry chuckle, though his smile came out a bit bitter.

After all that, he didn’t even manage to snag half a spirit stone.

Suddenly, his face changed. He glanced toward the City Lord’s Mansion—only to realize Man Feicai and the others were already gone, vanished without a trace. The cultivators around Thunderclap City had scattered like leaves in the wind, fear written all over their faces.

Oh damn. Shit. F*ck! Lu Yi cursed silently.

"You planning to keep robbing people?" Jiang Chen glanced at Lu Yi with a wry smile. "Want to hit a different city? There are a few more nearby."

"Forget it." Lu Yi shook his head. "Word’s probably already spread. Anyone in those cities has likely run off by now, and the teleportation arrays are probably trashed too. If we’re gonna keep looting, we’d have to go way farther out."

He looked down at the aura still clinging to him and sighed. "And with this thing leaking out of me, I’ll get spotted no matter where I go. It’s honestly exhausting."

"Yeah, you’re definitely easy to track," Jiang Chen said, nodding.

Lu Yi’s eyes lit up. "Wait—Senior, do you have a better cultivation technique you can share with me? I’ve seen how quietly you move. You’ve gotta be good at stealth, right?"

"I can lend you one," Jiang Chen said. "But cultivation methods are personal and valuable—I can’t just hand it over for free."

His eyes flickered with a trace of caution.

Right now, staying close to Lu Yi served two purposes: keeping an eye on him and quietly throwing his destiny off course. But he also knew that someone blessed with Heavenly Fate could twist things around without even trying—turning him into a tool or a shield if he wasn’t careful.

This wasn’t something he could take lightly.

Lu Yi was clearly trying to take advantage of the situation.

Even so, flat-out rejecting him didn’t feel right either—not when they were supposed to be traveling together.

So, the smart move was to name a price.

"Don’t worry, I’m not asking for a freebie," Lu Yi said with a big grin. "I might be broke now, but I swear I’ll pay you back double later."

"You want to buy it on credit, huh?" Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. "Alright, I’ll give you a cultivation method."

"Thank you, thank you!" Lu Yi clasped his hands and gave a small bow.

Jiang Chen sent out a mental message. "Wan’er, Ning’er. Help me find a cultivation method for hiding one’s aura—something at the Nirvana Peering level. It should be easy to learn and come with a way to decode it."

"Got it!" Shangguan Ning and Nangong Wan replied instantly and started sorting through their options.

As former Void Tribulation realm great powerhouses, they had access to a massive collection of cultivation techniques—plenty of which they’d picked up over the years but never actually practiced.

Before long, the two women picked out a Nirvana Peering-level technique called Cleansing Breath Restraining Aura Precious Art.

On the surface, it looked solid—complete and well-rounded. But hidden deep inside was a subtle flaw. No matter how well Lu Yi practiced it, his aura would never be fully hidden.

Which meant Jiang Chen would always be able to track him.

"You’re not ready for a Nirvana Cleansing-level method yet, so here’s a Nirvana Peering one instead," Jiang Chen said, pulling out a blank jade slip. "Even just getting started with this will help you suppress your aura a bit."

He began inscribing the technique onto the slip.

"Perfect. Thanks, Senior!" Lu Yi’s face lit up, clearly in better spirits.

"Let’s move. I’ll finish carving it as we go." Jiang Chen waved his hand and flew off without looking back.

Lu Yi took off right after him, not daring to fall behind.