The One Allowed To Leave

The next morning, Heavenly Eye City was still carrying the aftereffects of the previous night’s auction.

From the tea houses near the commercial district to the medicinal shops lining the streets, people everywhere were talking about the extreme-grade Body Stabilizing Pill that had sold for one hundred and twenty-five thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Some discussed the final price, others the reactions of the four Deputy City Lords, but many cared about only one question.

Where had that pill come from?

Hao Nhien and Quan Nha took no part in any of the discussions. They had stayed at the inn overnight and only headed for the Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion in the morning.

Before they even reached the main entrance, Hao Nhien could already tell that the place was different from usual.

It was not crowded enough to become chaotic, but several additional Sand Beast carriages were parked outside. Two stewards were speaking with an attendant, an old man dressed in family robes had just handed over a calling card, while someone from a merchant association stood nearby asking questions in a lowered voice.

Hao Nhien caught only a few scattered words.

“…extreme-grade…”

“…source…”

He glanced at Quan Nha.

She had turned toward him at almost the same moment.

The news had spread, but clearly most people had only reached the outermost layer.

A familiar attendant spotted them and hurried over. Instead of leading them through the main entrance, he lowered his voice.

“Alchemist Giai, the shopkeeper left instructions. Please follow me this way.”

Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow.

The attendant gave an awkward smile.

“There are rather a lot of people asking questions today.”

The three of them went around to a side entrance, followed a narrow corridor, and headed directly to the second floor.

Dai Ninh was already waiting inside.

The moment he saw them, he closed the door before finally letting out a breath.

“Brother Giai, that pill of yours has caused me quite a bit of trouble.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“I thought Shopkeeper Dai liked the prestige.”

“I do.”

Dai Ninh answered immediately.

“But prestige accompanied by a crowd of people demanding to know the source is another matter.”

The corner of Quan Nha’s lips curved slightly.

A jade slip and two storage bags had already been placed on the table.

Dai Ninh pushed them toward Hao Nhien.

“The Medicine Pavilion has not revealed the true consignor. Outside the Auction House, not many people even know the Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion was the party that put its name on the transaction.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“How long can that be kept hidden?”

Dai Ninh was silent for a moment before answering.

“Not forever. Ordinary people won’t be able to trace it, but if the factions that truly matter decide they want to know, they will eventually find the trail.”

Hao Nhien showed no surprise.

That was exactly what he had expected.

Dai Ninh pointed at the first storage bag.

“The Auction House has already deducted its fee. Everything remaining belongs to Brother Giai.”

Hao Nhien checked it briefly and put it away.

Dai Ninh laughed.

“You’re not going to count it carefully?”

“Does Shopkeeper Dai want me to?”

“No.”

Dai Ninh laughed again.

“I prefer this.”

He then pushed the second storage bag over.

“Ingredients for the next batch. I’ve replenished almost all of the main medicinal materials and auxiliary ingredients. Lac Van still can’t supply Sa Diep, Xich Can, and Kho Diep in large quantities, so I gathered some additional stock to prevent shortages.”

Hao Nhien accepted it.

“Good.”

Dai Ninh then took out several smaller pouches.

“And these are seeds. Besides the three types already being cultivated, I added six low-grade medicinal plants that tolerate dry conditions reasonably well. None are rare, but if Lac Van can grow them successfully, you won’t need to devote all available land to only the original three.”

Hao Nhien opened the pouches one by one.

He recognized some of the seeds and had never used others, but each pouch had the name and basic preparation method written on the outside.

He nodded.

“I’ll take them.”

Dai Ninh rested both hands on the table.

“After last night, there have been far more people asking about the source of the pills.”

“What did Shopkeeper Dai tell them?”

“The same as before. The Pavilion has its own source. Not for sale, not for introductions. Just because someone arrives with spirit stones does not mean I have to lead them to you.”

Hao Nhien raised his teacup.

“That is enough.”

Dai Ninh looked at him for a while before asking,

“Brother Giai, that extreme-grade pill… can another one really appear?”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“Shopkeeper Dai is asking again.”

Dai Ninh laughed as well.

“Fine. I won’t ask anymore. Just remember me when one does appear.”

“I will.”

Near midday, Hao Nhien and Quan Nha left Heavenly Eye City carrying spirit stones, medicinal materials, seeds, and several small tools they had purchased along the way.

When Lac Van came into view, Quan Nha was the first to notice the difference.

“Brother, there are more houses.”

Hao Nhien followed her gaze.

Seven or eight new shelters had appeared south of the original residential area. Some were not yet finished and consisted of little more than wooden frames, but the population had clearly increased again.

As they drew closer, the green around the settlement also looked denser than before. The earliest medicinal plots no longer stood alone. Low dirt paths connected the nurseries to the fields, water jars had been arranged in rows, and in several newer sections the people of Lac Van were experimenting with different crops.

A group of children ran past.

They were still thin, but no longer skeletal the way they had been when Hao Nhien first arrived.

Tieu Thach spotted him from a distance and immediately ran over.

“Alchemist Giai!”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“Here to ask for cakes again?”

Tieu Thach shook his head furiously.

“No!”

He paused, then asked quietly,

“Do you have any?”

Quan Nha burst out laughing.

Hao Nhien tossed him a small cake.

“Go. And don’t run into the fields.”

“Yes!”

Tieu Thach hugged the cake and ran off.

Hao Nhien watched him for a moment before continuing forward.

More and more people were returning.

Besides members of Lac Van, some people from nearby small tribes had also begun coming to work, learn how to use jars to conserve water, or trade fired clay for seeds. Some stayed only a few days before taking the methods back home.

Lac Thua did not stop them.

Hao Nhien had already given clear instructions: seeds funded by the Medicine Pavilion could not be handed out freely, and medicinal plants covered by the supply contract could not be sold privately, but things like digging channels, using water jars, or covering soil with dry grass did not need to be kept secret.

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He was very pleased with that.

A place did not need to grow by making its neighbors poorer.

Over the following days, Hao Nhien suddenly found himself with far more free time than before.

At first, the change felt strange.

Then he gradually understood the reason.

Lac Van was beginning to function on its own.

No one came running to him because a water jar had run low. No one brought every broken hoe to ask how it should be repaired. Lac Lam could already handle most matters in the fields, Lac Thua managed labor and assignments, the women working in the nursery had become familiar with the process, and newcomers were being taught by those who had arrived earlier. Even though Lac Loi had already left for Hoa Van, the ledgers and record-keeping methods he had established were still being used.

Everything remained slow and far from perfect.

But Lac Van no longer needed Hao Nhien standing at the center of every decision.

So he began spending more time on himself.

Inside the Cosmic Ark, Hao Nhien sat cross-legged. The Hoa Ky Jade rested quietly within him while the Soul Art circulated slowly through one cycle after another.

Since entering Foundation Establishment, the True Qi within his meridians was no longer as thin as it had been during Qi Condensation. It had gradually condensed, becoming heavier and more stable, while also making every burst of spiritual power far stronger than before.

Hao Nhien was currently at Foundation Establishment layer eight.

But he did not force himself toward layer nine.

Still less did he attempt to reach beyond Foundation Establishment while in the Western Wastes.

He understood the rough outline of the road ahead. True Qi had to continue condensing and accumulating before undergoing a deeper transformation capable of forming a Golden Core. But knowing the form of the next realm was not the same as understanding the path, and the Western Wastes was not a place where a cultivator could truly step into that realm.

He had advanced too quickly in the past.

One opportunity after another had pushed his cultivation forward, and what he needed now was not another layer, but to make layer eight truly his own.

He circulated True Qi through each section of his meridians, slowly checking places that had once been injured and allowing his body to adapt to its current level of power before moving on to the Body-Soul Art.

The Soul Art continued running in parallel, allowing his soul to strengthen very slowly but steadily.

Only after that did he begin practicing Spirit Wings.

There was no light and no visible form for others to see. Hao Nhien could only feel points of force pulling along his shoulders and back whenever his body burst forward.

He tried once, stopped, changed direction, and tried again.

The moment tension appeared in his left shoulder, he withdrew the force immediately.

“That’s enough.”

Hao Nhien no longer trained by forcing himself to exhaustion before stopping.

Nearly ten days after the auction, Lac Van entered a moonless night.

The wind was low, the sky dark, and only a few dim lights remained around the guard posts near the fields.

Almost two miles from the settlement, three figures appeared in the darkness. None used flying swords or allowed their spiritual power to flare visibly. All three moved on foot, dressed in dark clothing and suppressing their auras as much as possible.

One of them stopped, looked at the patches of green surrounding the oasis, and raised two fingers.

The three immediately separated.

One headed toward the nursery, another toward the irrigation channel, while the last circled toward the nearly mature medicinal plots.

Not a single word was exchanged.

The plan had clearly been prepared beforehand.

Beneath a tree not far away, Hao Nhien opened his eyes.

He had been sitting there for more than an hour.

Not to cultivate.

Only to wait.

Over the past several days, Lac Van’s night watches had quietly been strengthened. Hao Nhien had also begun sweeping sections of the medicinal fields with his spiritual sense at intervals—not continuously, so as not to waste mental energy, but often enough to notice unfamiliar auras if someone truly entered.

He had not been certain anyone would come.

But after an extreme-grade pill appeared at auction, the Medicine Pavilion began drawing attention as a new source of supply, and Lac Van had officially become a registered medicinal supply point.

Hao Nhien had never believed everything would remain peaceful forever.

Now the three unfamiliar auras had finally appeared.

He rose without hurry.

The person heading toward the nursery acted first.

A small talisman was thrown to the ground. It did not explode, but instead released a layer of gray mist. Leaves touched by it immediately began curling inward.

The second man drew a short spike and aimed directly at a section of the water channel.

The third moved toward the nearly mature Sa Diep field.

None of them approached the storehouse.

None showed any intention of killing people.

Their purpose was obvious.

Destroy the medicinal supply.

Just as the short spike was about to come down, a figure appeared beside the attacker.

Hao Nhien caught the man’s wrist with one hand, twisted slightly, and redirected the force into the ground.

The spike buried itself at an angle in the dirt.

The black-clad cultivator flinched.

“Someone’s here!”

Three auras erupted at once.

Two early-Foundation cultivators.

One middle-Foundation cultivator.

Hao Nhien stepped out of the darkness.

“Such a fine night. Why are the three of you awake and wandering through someone else’s fields?”

The middle-Foundation cultivator looked at him, and his expression immediately changed.

“Giai Nhien.”

It was not a question.

It was confirmation.

Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow.

“You know me?”

No one answered.

The middle-Foundation cultivator simply raised one hand and gave the order almost immediately.

“Withdraw.”

None of the three had any intention of fighting.

They instantly split in three different directions.

That reaction told Hao Nhien several things at once.

They had prepared retreat routes in advance.

And they knew exactly who they had encountered.

Hao Nhien immediately chased after the nearest early-Foundation cultivator.

The distance between them closed rapidly.

Realizing he could not outrun Hao Nhien, the man spun around, wrapped spiritual power around his arm, and swept sideways.

Hao Nhien shifted his shoulder aside, redirected the attack with his elbow, then followed through with a punch to the chest.

A dull impact sounded.

The man was driven back only two steps.

Hao Nhien deliberately staggered as well before regaining his footing.

Seeing that Hao Nhien had also been forced backward, the man immediately regained confidence. He drew his blade and turned back to fight.

The second early-Foundation cultivator saw that his companion was not at an obvious disadvantage and changed direction to support him.

The middle-Foundation cultivator also stopped farther away.

Hao Nhien saw all of it.

He continued using only the same level of strength, blocking and retreating just enough to make all three believe that together they could overwhelm him.

Eventually, the middle-Foundation cultivator saw an opportunity.

He surged forward and struck from behind with a palm.

Hao Nhien sensed it clearly but avoided only part of the blow, deliberately allowing the palm force to clip his shoulder before letting the impact throw him sideways into the sand.

The middle-Foundation cultivator saw this, and his eyes immediately turned cold.

“Together. Kill him, then destroy the fields.”

The two early-Foundation cultivators no longer hesitated.

All three pressed in at once.

The middle-Foundation cultivator held the front while the other two attacked from both sides. Hao Nhien continued retreating, using only fists, palms, and movement techniques to defend, making the situation appear as though he were being steadily suppressed.

A streak of spiritual force cut across his side, tearing his robe and leaving a shallow line of blood.

The middle-Foundation cultivator became even more certain and immediately pushed harder.

“Box him in.”

The two early-Foundation cultivators closed the distance together.

Hao Nhien retreated two more steps.

Then his eyes changed.

The distance was enough.

The cultivator on the left rushed in first.

His arm had barely extended when Hao Nhien’s body suddenly shifted away from its previous position.

Spirit Wings erupted for only a single instant.

Nothing visible appeared behind him, but his instantaneous speed had become completely different.

Before the early-Foundation cultivator could withdraw his hand, his wrist was already locked.

Hao Nhien turned, pulled the man off balance, then drove a punch directly into his chest.

The cultivator flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground, unable to rise immediately.

The remaining early-Foundation cultivator had only just realized something was wrong when Hao Nhien turned toward him.

He barely had time to raise both arms in defense.

A punch slammed into his spiritual barrier, breaking his stance and forcing his entire body backward.

Hao Nhien gave him no room to recover.

He stepped forward and swept a kick into the man’s abdomen with full force.

The cultivator folded and crashed into the sand.

Within only a few breaths, both early-Foundation cultivators had lost the ability to continue fighting.

The middle-Foundation cultivator finally understood that he had been trapped.

His expression became extremely ugly.

“You…”

Hao Nhien was already moving toward him.

The man gritted his teeth, True Qi erupting violently as he launched a frontal palm strike.

Hao Nhien did not dodge.

He met it directly with a fist.

Fist and palm collided.

Spiritual force blasted the sand beneath their feet outward in a low ring.

The middle-Foundation cultivator was shaken backward.

Before he could stabilize himself, Hao Nhien was already upon him again.

They exchanged several more moves, but only then did the man truly understand how great the difference between them was.

Hao Nhien’s fists were heavier.

His movement was faster.

Even his ability to endure force was far beyond what the man had expected.

After the third collision, the middle-Foundation cultivator was driven back repeatedly.

He stared at Hao Nhien, and the doubt in his eyes had vanished, replaced only by resentment.

“The intelligence was wrong…”

Hao Nhien still did not answer.

The man tried to change direction and escape, but Hao Nhien blocked him before he could move.

The first punch forced him to defend.

The second shattered his stance.

By the third, the protective spiritual power around his body had been broken apart.

Hao Nhien stepped in, struck his balance aside with his shoulder, then drove a fist directly into his abdomen.

The man doubled over.

A kick immediately followed, slamming him hard into the sand.

Before he could push himself up, Hao Nhien stepped onto his wrist.

The man ground his teeth, fury still burning in his eyes.

Hao Nhien sealed several major acupoints, suppressing the man’s True Qi before turning toward the two early-Foundation cultivators.

Lac Thua and the night guards had just arrived.

“Alchemist Giai!”

Hao Nhien waved a hand.

“I’m fine. Tie all three up.”

Lac Thua immediately ordered the others to act.

Hao Nhien looked at the gray residue still clinging to the soil and instructed,

“Dig out the contaminated earth separately. Don’t touch it directly. Replace the water in every jar nearby, and inspect the medicinal plots one by one. If any leaves begin curling, isolate those plants immediately.”

Lac Thua nodded and led the others away to deal with the damage.

The two early-Foundation cultivators were confined separately, while the middle-Foundation cultivator was taken to an empty house for Hao Nhien to question personally.

Quan Nha arrived soon afterward.

She looked at the tear along Hao Nhien’s side.

“You’re injured?”

“Only a shallow cut. I let it happen on purpose.”

Quan Nha looked at the torn fabric for another moment, then understood and did not ask further.

The middle-Foundation cultivator was tied to a chair, his meridians sealed.

Even so, his eyes remained cold.

He did not look like the sort of man who simply accepted spirit stones and completed whatever job he was given.

Hao Nhien sat down opposite him.

“What is your name?”

No answer.

“Which line do you belong to?”

The prisoner remained silent.

Hao Nhien did not ask again immediately.

He studied the man for a while before speaking slowly.

“Actually, you don’t need to say anything. Men from Tien Thanh come to destroy a medicinal source belonging to the Medicine Pavilion. Other than Tien Phong, who else could have sent you?”

The prisoner’s eyes moved slightly.

Very slightly.

Hao Nhien saw it but continued as though he had noticed nothing.

“I’m only surprised. A Deputy City Lord has to send people like you to destroy a few medicinal fields. It seems Tien Phong isn’t quite as broad-minded as people say.”

This time, the muscles in the prisoner’s face tightened.

Quan Nha remained standing quietly behind Hao Nhien.

At some point, her gaze had lightly settled on the man opposite them.

Her Charm Art merely brushed against the emotions he was already suppressing, making the irritation and desire to refute Hao Nhien slightly harder to contain.

The prisoner sneered.

“How much do you really know to dare speak about Deputy City Lord Tien?”

The corner of Hao Nhien’s mouth lifted slightly.

“Enough to know you belong to him.”

The man said nothing.

Hao Nhien continued,

“You seem loyal enough. Even after being captured, you’re still worried about embarrassing your master.”

The moment the word master was spoken, the prisoner’s eyes turned colder.

“Deputy City Lord Tien is the one whose orders I follow.”

He paused, his voice becoming heavier.

“He is not the one I worship.”

Hao Nhien’s expression did not change, but something shifted quietly inside him.

That was exactly what he had wanted to hear.

He leaned back in his chair.

A memory surfaced.

Duong Quang.

The arena in Hoa Van.

The way Duong Quang had reacted when something deeper behind Heavenly Eye had been touched was very similar to the look in the eyes of the man sitting before him now.

Hao Nhien studied the prisoner a moment longer before asking,

“Then who do you worship?”

The man immediately closed his mouth.

The irritation from earlier disappeared almost at once, replaced by vigilance.

Quan Nha did not strengthen her Charm Art.

Hao Nhien waited for a while before suddenly saying,

“The God-Lord?”

The prisoner’s entire body stiffened.

Only for an instant.

But this reaction was stronger than all the previous ones.

The contempt vanished from his eyes, replaced by something cold and absolute, almost instinctive.

“You are not worthy to speak of Him.”

Hao Nhien ignored the insult.

He already had what he needed.

Duong Quang and the man before him held different positions and different cultivation levels, yet when the words God-Lord were spoken, their reactions were almost identical.

It was not flattery.

Nor was it merely loyalty born from position, authority, or benefit.

It was more like a boundary that had been carved deep into their consciousness long ago.