Anti-fraud manual for the cultivation world

Li Gu and Zheng Xiaodong were both very surprised: "Huh? Why?"

Zhang Yi quickly replied, "Jiangzhou City, also known as the 'City Without Herdsmen,' is the largest city in the southwestern corner of the Divine Continent, and also the most lawless city. Because the city is surrounded by several mountain ranges such as Shushan and Bashan, its transportation is inconvenient, which has kept it out of touch with the Central Plains."

"Of course, the terrain isn't the real reason it became an uninhabited city," Zhang Yi continued. "Starting thousands of years ago, some cultivators who were being hunted fled the Central Plains to Jiangzhou City. Later, more and more cultivators migrated here. Some were being hunted by enemies, some were expelled by sects, some angered the Demonic Sect and couldn't survive in the Central Plains, and some angered the Immortal Emperor and were not tolerated by the government... Of course, there were also cultivators who came to Jiangzhou City chasing after their enemies."

"These cultivators, regardless of whether they are righteous or evil, all have one thing in common: they do not want their whereabouts to be exposed."

Hearing this, Li Gu understood: "So nobody wants to be scanned and spied on using divine sense, right?"

"That's right!" Zhang Yi continued, "The range of divine sense is too large. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, when using divine sense, can be aware of every rustle and movement within a radius of two or three miles. In other places, there might not be much to see within a radius of two or three miles, but in Jiangzhou City, this range would encompass hundreds of cultivators."

"Gradually, both the legitimate and illegitimate factions in Jiangzhou City began to respect an unwritten rule: it is strictly forbidden to release one's divine sense. You can use your eyes to see and your ears to hear, but you must never release your divine sense. Otherwise, the legitimate and illegitimate factions will join forces to destroy you."

Li Gu chimed in, "In that case, Jiangzhou City is the best place for us to escape Hua Qianfang's pursuit. Given his secretive and secretive style, he certainly wouldn't dare to break the rules of Jiangzhou City and make enemies in the city. So, as long as we escape into Jiangzhou, change our appearance, we'll most likely escape."

Zhang Yi nodded: "That's right!"

Li Gu nodded: "But our escape route into Jiangzhou certainly can't be a straight southward path, right?"

Zhang Yi looked at Li Gu with admiration: "Yes! After Hua Qianfang discovered that we had escaped from Flower Valley, he must have immediately flown towards Jiangzhou City on his sword, scanning with his divine sense as he flew. We are all at the Qi Refining stage and cannot fly on artifacts yet, so we can only travel on the ground. We need to cross mountains and valleys. Although the straight-line distance is 100 li, we have to cross mountains, go through valleys, and jump over ravines... The actual distance is at least 150 li. Even if we use the [Hidden Flower Movement Technique] to its limit, it will still take us most of the day. We will definitely be caught halfway through the distance."

Li Gu frowned and thought for a moment: "I understand. Our escape route should be to go east for ten miles first, and then turn south. Tonight, Senior Brother Zheng and I will go east to scout ahead."

Zhang Yi nodded: "Going east first is good! Senior Brother Li is indeed clever."

Zheng Xiaodong couldn't help but ask, "Why is it that going east first makes you smart, but going west first makes you unwise?"

Zhang Yi whispered, "Our fellow disciples won't realize we've escaped until dawn. By the time Hua Qianfang finds out, the sun will have just risen in the east. Hua Qianfang will be flying in the air on his sword with nothing to shield him from the sunlight. If he chases eastward, the sun will blind him and make him very uncomfortable. So, unless he's exceptionally intelligent, he'll be unintentionally influenced by the sunlight, first chasing south, then west... and finally having no choice but to brave the glaring sun and search eastward."

Zheng Xiaodong's mouth dropped open, and he couldn't close it for a long time: "In just that short moment, Junior Brother Li and you were thinking about so much?"

Zhang Yi smiled and tugged at Zheng Xiaodong's sleeve, whispering, "Senior Brother Zheng, although you are the senior brother, you must not act like one. Follow Junior Brother Li's instructions completely during operations, understand?"

Zheng Xiaodong grinned and said, "I get it. My brain isn't as sharp as Junior Brother Li's."

"Hmm!" Zhang Yi smiled slightly. "I've said it before, this is one of your strengths, and I like you just the way you are. I'm going back to my room now; if I go back too late, my roommate will get suspicious."

She waved and disappeared into the night.

Li Gu shrugged and said, "Senior Brother Zheng, if you marry Senior Sister Zhang, you'll definitely become henpecked. She'll have you completely under her thumb for the rest of your life."

Zheng Xiaodong chuckled: "What's wrong with being controlled by my own wife? We're all family anyway."

Li Gu sighed softly, "Your personality is really great; even I'm starting to like you."

Zheng Xiaodong's expression changed drastically: "No... I don't have homosexual tendencies."

The two exchanged a few words in hushed tones, then fell silent simultaneously, their gazes turning towards the hillside…

Zheng Xiaodong glanced fearfully at the mountaintop: "Luckily, we explored eastward today, so we don't have to go through the Dead Man's Pit. I never want to see that pit again."

The two climbed to the top of the mountain as fast as they could, crawled out of the tunnel, which was dug on the south slope, so turning left after exiting the tunnel would lead to the east...

Proceed cautiously and slowly.

The hillside in this direction was relatively gentle, with lush vegetation and few rocks. The two did not want to leave any footprints here, but they had some difficulty finding a foothold. It took them quite a while to trek forward and only a few hundred meters.

"Look ahead, there's a deep ditch."

The two discovered a ravine with a stream in it, which made them both quite happy. The flowing water would carry away their footprints, and they could walk along the stream without much trouble.

The two took off their shoes, crouched down, and waded slowly forward through the stream.

They had only walked a few dozen meters when suddenly, two people emerged from behind a large tree beside the ravine. These two were also moving cautiously and quietly, trying to enter the stream as well. Neither of them heard the other's voice, and they met suddenly.

Li Gu and Zheng Xiaodong were startled.

The two of them were also taken aback.

The four people stared at each other, frozen in place, unable to move.

Both sides kept their mouths shut and did not cry out, nor did they try to kill each other to silence them. Otherwise, in this quiet night, if a fight broke out, the sound would be extremely loud, even echoing through the valley, which would surely alert Hua Qianfang, who lives on the mountaintop.

Their eyes met for several seconds...

The other person spoke first, their voice low: "Senior Brother Zheng? Junior Brother Li?"

Zheng Xiaodong recognized the two men and whispered, "You two Junior Brothers Ouyang?"

When his two junior brothers from the Ouyang clan called out, Li Gu finally recognized them. They were the two Ouyang brothers, who were the least noticeable members of the Hidden Flower Sect. The two brothers were twins who shared a dormitory and were very low-key. Apart from reciting the sect rules together every morning and eating in the dining hall on time, they rarely appeared in front of other disciples.

Moreover, both of them were in poor mental condition, often sporting dark circles under their eyes, giving off a gloomy and unapproachable vibe, so naturally they didn't have many friends.

Li Gu finally understood why they always had dark circles under their eyes; it turned out they were up to something at night too.