Chapter 4287 — Let's Look Around a Bit More

"Brother Chang speaks truly. My cultivation is too shallow to master my emotions—I must have made a sorry spectacle for you all," Wei Zhao said, seizing the chance to climb down from the donkey's back with a nod.

"Mm, what's done is done, nothing to be about now. Even if you only scooped up a few drops of Star Ink Milk, it will still serve your cultivation as it stands—no need to be too disheartened." Chang Daoping's expression eased somewhat.

With that, Chang Daoping pursued the matter no further and turned to lead the group onward.

From first to last, Wei Zhao had detected no killing intent in the man; it seemed he truly harbored no notion of silencing them for good. That came as a quiet relief—otherwise, if blows had broken out, he and Huang Xiaotao would surely have faced a bitter fight today, and whether either of them could have walked away unscathed was anyone's guess.

Unless it came down to the absolute last resort, Wei Zhao had no intention of clashing head-on with the man, even knowing full well how much Star Ink Milk he carried. The risk was simply too great—and besides, they still needed him to get out.

Once they had left the altar behind, Chang Daoping suddenly picked up the pace, just as he had on the way in, giving the others no time to react—all to keep them from memorizing the route.

Yet after pressing on like this for the better part of half an hour, Wei Zhao suddenly sensed something was off. At such breakneck speed, and with the man forever circling about like a maze, Chang Daoping's tactics did indeed make it well-nigh impossible to memorize the twists and turns accurately—even Wei Zhao could not manage it.

But that did not mean the group was truly as dull as fools, oblivious to it all. At least one thing was certain: the place Chang Daoping was leading them toward now was not the entrance by which they had come—it was an entirely unfamiliar territory. And it was not only Wei Zhao; the others, one after another, had likewise begun to notice something fishy.

By ordinary logic, one leaves by the same way one came in. The group had even braced themselves to break through the Moon Shadow Formation a second time—yet who would have thought? As things stood now, that seemed not to be the case at all.

"Brother Chang, aren't we leaving through the Moon Shadow Formation?" Luo Tuoxiang was the first to lose his patience and could not help asking.

"Of course not. We don't know the rules of the Moon Shadow Formation—we could only break it from the outside and then enter, and a broken formation soon repairs itself. From the inside, I don't know how to break it either. But there is another, far more convenient passage we can take: a teleportation formation." Chang Daoping kept leading the way ahead, answering without so much as turning his head.

"A teleportation formation? There's a teleportation formation here connected to the outside?" Everyone—Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao included—was startled at these words and could not help exchanging glances. "If there's a teleportation formation, then why did we go to all this trouble, crossing the Moon Shadow Formation specially to get in?"

If such a convenient thing as a teleportation formation existed, they could simply have teleported straight in, and Chang Daoping would never have needed to specially recruit Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao to break the Moon Shadow Formation. Had Brother Chang's mind gone muddled for a moment?

"Through a teleportation formation you could come and go as you please—do you really think such a bargain exists? Then why would I have bothered bringing you here at all?" Chang Daoping shot the group a glance over his shoulder and explained: "The formation I speak of has its other end right near the teleportation formation at the exit of the Lufeng Forest. That is to say, through it you reach the exit formation of the Lufeng Forest, and from there it is a simple matter to arrive at Zhenduan City. But it is a one-way formation—it only lets you out, never in."

"Why is that?" The group was baffled, still unable to make sense of it. "Since a teleportation formation is such a convenient thing, why not set it up as two-way from the start? That shouldn't be so difficult, should it?"

"No, it shouldn't be difficult at all. But have you forgotten the relationship between the spirit beast clans and us humans?" Chang Daoping curled his lip dismissively. "True, no great war between beasts and men has broken out in recent years. But since ancient times the two races have never been on what you'd call friendly terms—at best they keep to themselves, living out their days without crossing paths, and at worst they must ever be on guard against another war. Under such circumstances, setting up a two-way teleportation formation inside a major city like the Aoduo Cultivation City—do you think that's realistic?"

"Uh… I suppose not…" The group finally caught on. If war did break out, human experts could slip in directly through the formation, and the Moon Shadow Formation so painstakingly set up outside would be nothing but a decoration.

"This teleportation formation exists solely for the convenience of the spirit beast clans going out—whether for trade with the outside or other matters, it makes things far easier. But if one wishes to enter the Aoduo Cultivation City, there is only one way: honestly and properly, through the Moon Shadow Formation." Chang Daoping explained to the group.

"So that's how it is." Understanding dawned on everyone, and they said no more, silently following behind Chang Daoping as they pressed on.

After about an hour in all, Chang Daoping finally brought the group to a halt. Before them stood a stately, imposing structure like a small palace—had Chang Daoping not mentioned it beforehand, none of them would ever have guessed that a teleportation formation was installed inside.

"Brother Chang, are we leaving right now?" Seeing Chang Daoping about to stride in at the head of the group, Luo Tuoxiang suddenly spoke up.

"What? Is there something else?" Chang Daoping halted and turned his head to ask.

"Well… it's not often we get to visit ruins like this, and we've still got time to spare—how about we look around a bit more?" Luo Tuoxiang ventured hesitantly.

"That's right, Brother Chang. By my reckoning we've still got a few days before the miasma descends again. Since there's a teleportation formation to take us straight out, why shouldn't we look around a while longer? With a bit of luck, who knows what treasures we might find!" Cao Shishi chimed in from the side.

In the ruins of the Aoduo Cultivation City, Star Ink Milk may have been the most famous treasure, but this had after all been a major city of the spirit beast clans—there was no shortage of other treasures of every kind.

Having come all this way, no one was willing to leave so easily. There was time in abundance, and no extra cost to pay—nothing to lose by looking.

The others all nodded in agreement. As for Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, they reserved judgment. This trip had been for the sake of Star Ink Milk; as for other treasures, searching for them with no leads at all would be like fishing needles from the ocean—a stroke of luck not worth counting on.

Besides, Wei Zhao could not shake the feeling that these ruins were strange. Even if no danger had appeared thus far, that did not mean none existed—better to err on the side of caution. (To be continued) R466

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