Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Odd Stranger

This is what it’s like to walk across the Spirit-Disarray Plains—you never know when you’ll run into a powerful demon beast. That’s why almost no one dares venture toward the Ancient Lin Basin before reaching the Innate realm; most people just obediently stay in Harmony Town.

As dusk approached, Lu Han took a small tent from his storage ring—a gift from the proprietor of the Myriad Flavors Pavilion, which Lu Han had gladly accepted. On this endless plain, having a tent for shelter was rather nice.

He kindled a fire, drew his Biluo Sword, and with a few deft strokes, cleanly skinned the Black Gale Wolf that had been dead for some time.

Inside the azure ring, Old Man Ling’s face twitched slightly at the sight.

“That Biluo Sword was likely a fine weapon even in ancient times, and here this rascal is, using it to skin a wolf! Truly…” Old Man Ling could barely restrain his urge to strike someone.

Before long, Lu Han had begun roasting the wolf’s haunch, the delicious aroma wafting through the air.

He suddenly realized that the two months spent at Crystal Cloud Mountain hadn’t been in vain—at the very least, his skills in roasting meat had reached a certain level of mastery.

Were it not for Old Man Ling’s presence, Lu Han would have felt rather uneasy; roasting meat so openly and alone was sure to attract demon beasts.

The Black Gale Wolf’s leg was nearly done.

Just as Lu Han was about to take it off the fire, a dark shadow suddenly moved behind the tent.

“Who’s there?” Lu Han sprang to his feet and called out.

But when he turned around, there was nothing.

He heard a faint noise and looked back, his expression turning odd.

Before him, a person was gnawing on his wolf leg as if starving.

The stranger’s black clothes were in tatters, and his graying, disheveled hair obscured his face, making it impossible to discern his features.

It was as if Lu Han weren’t even standing there—the man continued eating the wolf leg.

“Kid, this person isn’t ordinary,” Old Man Ling’s voice was grave inside the azure ring. “Though my soul force is now nearly depleted and my senses have dulled, I didn’t detect him until he appeared. And I can’t sense his cultivation at all—it’s as if he has none.”

Even now, with his soul force greatly diminished, Old Man Ling thought that not even a Lord of Profundity could approach undetected—yet here this man was…

“Um, senior, may I ask…” Lu Han stammered.

If even Old Man Ling couldn’t sense him, this person must be terrifying; outside the Spirit-Disarray Plains, he would surely be a pinnacle existence in the entire Grand Xia Empire.

The man glanced up briefly, then immediately lowered his head and continued eating.

Lu Han frowned. Though he couldn’t see the man’s face, there had been no light in his eyes when he looked up.

Mustered by curiosity and a touch of fear, Lu Han slowly approached, swallowing nervously.

Someone like this, if he stepped out of the Spirit-Disarray Plains, would be a legendary King of the Earth—and even suppressed to the third tier of the Innate realm here, he was not someone Lu Han could contend with.

The man seemed to sense Lu Han drawing near and suddenly hugged the wolf leg tightly, as if afraid it would be taken away.

“It’s… mine,” he muttered, his words unclear, as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time.

Lu Han was about to step closer.

“It’s mine!” the man barked, suddenly angry. With a wave of his hand, a blast of force struck Lu Han.

With a thud, Lu Han was sent sprawling to the ground.

Fortunately, his physical body was far sturdier than most, so he was unharmed.

By the time Lu Han got up, the stranger was gone.

“Damn it, am I seeing ghosts?” Lu Han cursed. His hard-won wolf leg had been snatched, and he’d taken a hit to boot—by the time he got up, there was no sign of his assailant.

Inside the azure ring, Old Man Ling stroked his beard thoughtfully.

There was nothing to be done—Lu Han had no choice but to swallow this loss quietly.

“At least there’s another wolf leg,” he comforted himself.

Pitiful Lu Han could only set another haunch over the flames…

Time passed.

“Heh heh, kid, he’s back,” Old Man Ling teased.

Lu Han, focused on roasting the meat, looked up.

“Ah!” he cried, falling back in fright.

There, on the other side of the fire, sat the same man, staring unblinking at the roasting leg.

“Master, when did he get here? Why didn’t you say anything?” Lu Han complained.

“He’s been here a while. I didn’t notice him at first, either,” Old Man Ling spread his hands.

Indeed, he hadn’t sensed anything—just a flicker of shadow, and the man was in front of the fire.

Lu Han rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

“What is this even…”

“Senior, I’ve been working on this all night and haven’t had a single bite,” Lu Han pleaded pitifully.

But the man acted as if he hadn’t heard, his eyes fixed on the meat above the fire.

“You don’t have any of the dignity of a senior at all!” Lu Han muttered.

Still, the man ignored him.

“Kid, he doesn’t seem to be pretending. My guess is that his soul has suffered a severe injury,” Old Man Ling said, for the first time emerging from the ring since his last intervention.

Seeing his master’s nearly transparent spirit form, Lu Han felt a pang of alarm. Old Man Ling had told him: when his soul body turned transparent, that would mark the moment he vanished from this world.

The strange man seemed unconcerned by Old Man Ling’s appearance—all he cared about was the nearly cooked wolf leg.

Old Man Ling floated in midair, a blue light shimmering around him.

“Master, you—” Lu Han began anxiously.

“No matter,” Old Man Ling replied, waving his hand.

Under his control, the blue light formed a straight line, slowly enveloping the stranger.

The man seemed to notice nothing unusual and did not react.

Old Man Ling closed his eyes, as if sensing something.

Suddenly, his expression changed, but then returned to normal. He formed a gesture with his hands, and the blue light flashed over the man's body before vanishing.

“Master, did you discover anything?” Lu Han asked.

Old Man Ling opened his eyes. “As I thought—this man’s soul suffered a grave wound, and it happened long ago. The reason he’s survived here is because of his physical body.”

“His body?” Lu Han was puzzled.

“This plain only suppresses a person’s cultivation, not their physical strength. Imagine—a man with the body of an Earth King, what danger could he possibly face here?” Old Man Ling said calmly.

“He… he really…” Lu Han felt as if he were dreaming.

An Earth King—such a figure was at the very peak of the Grand Xia Empire. Not just Maple Leaf City, but even neighboring cities had never heard of such a being.

But the man paid no heed to Lu Han and Old Man Ling’s conversation; he simply picked up the freshly roasted wolf leg and began to eat.

Lu Han watched him thoughtfully.

“What could possibly have wounded the soul of an Earth King here on the Spirit-Disarray Plains?”

As Lu Han pondered, the man vanished, carrying the wolf leg with him.

“What a strange fellow.”

…

…

At dawn, Lu Han put away the tent into his ring.

“After a night of cultivation, I feel more refreshed than ever,” he stretched and loosened his limbs, a little stiff from sitting cross-legged all night.

“The Ancient Lin Basin—now that’s something to look forward to!”

On the gray-black plain, a long shadow moved steadily forward, destination: the Ancient Lin Basin.