Cece and Er Han hurried through the wind and snow. Before entering Dali, Cece had already planned the route back to the Wilderness from Dali. Now, due to the drastically different landscapes in the western part of Dali, she only needed to make minor adjustments to the route.

After all, the closer you got to the Wilderness, the less likely you were to see people.

As for the Joy Lamp Priest, who had taken a fancy to Er Han and was relentlessly pursuing him, he was surely doomed.

Unexpectedly, Dali was willing to expend resources, flying boats and all, to deliver food to the common folk. Naturally, they wouldn't let the White Sun Evil Cult members, who caused chaos among the lower strata, off the hook. Otherwise, what would they be busy with all this time?

When Cece saw the signal from the West Desolate Army explode in the sky, she realized that her scheme to use someone else's knife to kill would be far more successful than she anticipated. Dali took what they were doing very seriously.

And that was indeed the case.

The Western Desolation General himself had personally gone to the place where the Joy Lamp Priest appeared.

Even though the general knew that even if a few common folk died, it wouldn't be too big of an issue, tough tasks often came with opportunities. Completing a task beautifully, without errors, meant achieving great merit.

That young man in the Eastern Palace, exceptional in talent, had become a renowned strongman just after turning a hundred years old. His stewardship was also known to be assertive. At this time, giving him a burden was indeed giving him an opportunity.

Whether he grasped it or not was entirely up to him.

When the Western Desolation General personally took action and arrived, the Joy Lamp Priest was already engaged in battle with the soldiers of the West Desolate Army and spies from the Shadow Department.

This bloke had only a handful of White Robed Daoist Soldiers, yet each of them was at least at the Rebirth Realm level. One was even at the Divine Power Realm.

That Divine Power Realm Daoist Soldier had already awakened his Divine Skills. During battle, with a wide stroke and backed by Divine Skills, it was difficult for a sword cultivator of the same tier to break through his defense.

The opponent fought while retreating swiftly, but there was no way the Western Desolation General would let him escape.

Such audacious scum, discovered today, if left to escape, would dare to sneak back in tomorrow to cause big trouble.

The Western Desolation General descended from the sky, power spiraling around his body, eyes blazing red. With one hand, he grabbed the head of that Divine Power Daoist Soldier. A release of energy from his palm smashed the head into the belly on the spot.

The Joy Lamp Priest, who had been fleeing madly, was in utter shock. His mindset collapsed right then and there.

He was merely a Fifth Tier Joy Lamp Priest. Was it worth the Western Desolation General depleting energy, rushing all the way, and personally killing him?

Was it?

The Western Desolation General laughed heartily, striding swiftly like a dragon and stepping firmly like a tiger.

"I heard you scumbags love to prey on body cultivators. Ironically, this general specializes in body cultivation. Come, let's go. Don't say this general didn't give you a chance."

Though speaking so casually, his actions didn't seem to suggest he was giving any chances. He struck fiercely and decisively, showing unmatched power. With a single move, he disabled a White Robed Daoist Soldier. Within a few strides, he covered several miles, appearing before the Joy Lamp Priest.

Allowing no chance for the opponent to use any secret technique, the Western Desolation General moved both hands swiftly. In the blink of an eye, the Joy Lamp Priest's limbs were severed from his body, his jaw dislocated, his Qi Sea shattered, leaving him unconscious like a dead dog, dangling in the Western Desolation General's grip.

When the people from the Shadow Department arrived, the Western Desolation General tossed the unconscious Joy Lamp Priest to them.

"You lot brag every day that even a mute would speak for you, don't say I didn't give you a chance to earn merit. Take him, and if you can't get answers, don't go bragging everywhere, to avoid embarrassment."

The newcomers from the Shadow Department offered smiling gratitude and respect to the Western Desolation General, appearing as if being scolded was a high honor. Not detecting the Joy Lamp Priest earlier, they had no choice but to take the hit for it.

Since the Eastern Palace issued orders to carry out these activities, Emperor Li had already killed quite a few people these days. The Imperial Censors, who used to live lively despite reckless blabbering, had already seen two of them done away with.

By this time, Cece had already taken Er Han further north, joining a caravan bound for Dazhen, traveling together.

The caravan leader, in name, was the Young Master, but he seemed inexperienced at venturing far. He was likely there to gain exposure, while the true handler of the entire caravan was that old butler.

"Sister Cece, come on in. The wind and snow are getting heavier. It will take another day before we reach the next town."

In a carriage of black wood, a young girl lifted the curtains and called out to Cece outside.

Cece nodded with a smile, obliging readily, and got into the carriage.

The girl seemed to be in her teenage years, the epitome of youthful innocence. Yet, she tried to maintain a mature and solemn demeanor, earnestly learning everything significant along the journey.

Once inside, the girl eagerly tugged Cece's hand, asking softly.

"Sister Cece, how do you do it? I feel like your guards listen to you and respect you a lot. My guards, although diligent, still see me as a child."

"It doesn't matter. Just diligently follow along and learn. They will respect you eventually. No one becomes proficient instantly."

"Did Sister Cece also learn slowly over time?"

"Yes, I learned slowly from understanding nothing. However, I wasn't as fortunate to have the stable environment you do for learning."

Cece's expression grew slightly distant as she smiled and spoke.

"My hometown is just a small city in Kuihou Country, far less stable than Dali. When we reach the next town, we'll have to leave. Stick with the butler and learn well."

After two brief days of interaction, having hitched a ride, Cece and Er Han left and entered the Wilderness.

Underneath the widespread wind and snow, even the tracks left by Er Han would soon be entirely erased. At least, they had entered the Wilderness safely.

As for whether any trail was left, no need to think about it; their passage would certainly leave some traces. Given the current situation in the western part of Dali, the people of Dali would surely detect some.

Cece hadn't intended to hide entirely. Being overly timid would instead make one appear somewhat cowardly.

As long as the mad dogs of the White Sun Evil Cult didn't catch up, she actually welcomed leaving a little something behind on purpose.

...

Jinlan Mountain, Yu Ziqing was still busy with his grand tree-planting endeavor. He hadn't appeared in over a chapter, and he was bored to death.

Body Refinement couldn't continue without resources, and his body was still not recovered.

The aftereffects of transformation had slightly eased but remained severe.

The number of hungry ghosts was still large, and more than half of the tree-planting project was incomplete, currently only encircling the southern and eastern half of Jinlan Mountain.

There was another reason for the halt in progress. Information from hungry ghosts hidden underground reported signs of activity on the western side of Jinlan Mountain. The opponent seemed to have detected something and ultimately bypassed the area.

Yu Ziqing's tree-planting enterprise could only temporarily pause.

Just as Old Yang predicted, the stronger they were, the more they knew, the less they dared to venture into the Wilderness. Conversely, the weaker they were, the less they knew, and the more courage they had.

After staying in the village for a few days, Cece and Er Han finally returned.

Cece unfolded the Despair Abyss at the village's edge. Everything she brought was placed inside, and the villagers began entering and exiting the Despair Abyss to unload goods, while Yang personally came to inventory those intended for him.

If there was anything dubious, Yang was to dispose of it on the spot to prevent anyone from sensing the location.

Yang rummaged through the goods, chuckled slyly, and swallowed a piece of water-patterned black metal, allowing it to travel through his stomach in a loop before spitting it out. The metal turned into absolute black.

"Using a Fifth Grade material to create a counterfeit masquerading as third-grade, truly a genius move."

"Cece, has the western part of Dali become so chaotic already? One-third of the goods you purchased have been tampered with, marked."

"I went to Kuihou Country."

"Hm?" Yang hesitated slightly, thought for a bit, and nodded in approval.

There was no need for Yu Ziqing to intervene in the matters handled here. He followed Cece into the village, listening to her report recent events.

"Regarding the purchase, that's essentially it. I deemed it unsafe to go to Dali, so I took the liberty of going to Kuihou Country instead. After all, I am more familiar with Kuihou Country. From ages five to fifteen, I lived there."

"Afterward, unusual changes occurred in the western part of Dali…"

"Later on, I came across a caravan traveling along the border between the Wilderness and Dali. Initially, I thought they were from the Shadow Department. Later on, I realized they were not, merely another group. I interacted with them and spotted a slight anomaly, which might have just been my imagination."

Cece relayed all the incidents along the way in detail to Yu Ziqing, who didn't have much to say. When traveling, one must adjust to the situation based on the realities encountered, no concerns there.

Trapping a Joy Lamp Priest was also trivial, merely a heedless action. If it were him, he'd do the same.

"Talk about the last anomaly you discovered."

"That old butler concealed his strength, yet I couldn't quite detect the exact level, only feeling that he seemed too strong for his loyalty to the family. That's all I noticed. Another time, I happened to observe he was exceptionally respectful towards that clueless Young Master."

"Respectful?"

"Yes, respectful."

"Respectful…" Yu Ziqing pondered, recalling the detailed process Cece had described.

Just an ordinary caravan, caught in a cliche story of rendezvousing with a young lady with body-cultivator guards, hitching a ride with their convoy.

Of course, the issue was, that this caravan traveled between Dazhen and Dali, along routes near the Wilderness…

"What strikes me as odd was not these aspects but rather how smoothly they allowed you to join the convoy, especially since they dared to let that Young Master ride in the same carriage as you."

"It was so seamless that as you retold the event, it never occurred to you that joining the convoy itself posed a significant problem."

"The confidence to let you ride with that Young Master wasn't due to your friendly demeanor, appearing just like a Mortal or a newly inducted Refining God Cultivator, but because that old butler was absolutely certain you couldn't harm his Young Master."

Yu Ziqing suddenly chuckled, contemplating Cece's account of the unexpectedly significant transformations in the western part of Dali.

"When leaving, did they introduce themselves and leave contact information?"

"They did."

"Alright, maintain contact if you can. They evidently regard you as a close confidante."