Chen Xiao and his men selected a campsite. As they might have to stay there for a few days, he specially found a cave which was in a very hidden location so as to avoid the sight of the evil cultivators.

Wild animals once lived in the cave. Although it was dry, it had a fishy smell and was not very clean.

Chen Xiao stayed in the cave to clean up, and asked Huang Keran and Xiao Junjie to go out and survey the surrounding situation and bring back some food.

These days, whenever they set up camp, Xiao Junjie would take the initiative to follow Huang Keran to look for food around.

Hunting is a piece of cake for these practitioners, and even the lowest level cultivators in the Qi Condensation Stage can do it easily. But this does not mean that these practitioners can easily distinguish which plants are edible and which are poisonous like the old hunters who make a living from this.

Most of the herbs and spiritual plants they know are not edible directly.

Walking in the dense forests of the mountains, Huang Keran could pull up a plant from the ground with just a glance and obtain the tuber buried at the roots.

When passing by a short tree, he tilted his head and sniffed the leaves. He knew that the leaves could be used as a seasoning, so he picked a handful.

His eyes were sharper than his spiritual sense. After walking for only half an hour, he had harvested seven or eight kinds of crops.

Xiao Junjie had to admit that the food Huang Keran found along the way was almost all readily available.

Normally, Xiao Junjie never paid attention to these seemingly ordinary and useless plants. If he hadn't studied for three or four days, he would have had no idea that there were so many edible things in the wild.

Huang Keran is a good teacher. Not only does he serve as guidance, he also lets Xiao Junjie try to apply what he has learned.

"Sometimes, when we go to an unfamiliar place, we may not recognize the plants growing there." Huang Keran held a green fruit in his hand. He peeled off the skin with force to reveal the milky white flesh inside, and picked up a small piece. "Don't put the fruit you haven't seen before directly into your mouth. You can rub it on your skin first. If there is nothing unusual, rub it on your lips, and then on your gums."

Xiao Junjie followed Huang Keran's instructions step by step. After a while, he said, "It's not poisonous. Can I eat it?"

Huang Keran handed the fruit to him and said, "Try it."

Xiao Junjie put the fruit pulp in his mouth, but it was so bitter that he spat it out, with his facial features distorted.

Huang Keran smiled and said: "Although it is not poisonous, judging from the appearance of the fruit, it is not yet at its most ripe and delicious time. Otherwise, there would be insect holes on it, or traces of other animals eating it."

Xiao Junjie threw away the fruit with a gloomy look on his face. Huang Keran said, "We have harvested a lot, so just forget about the unripe ones like this. I'll teach you another trick. If you really have nothing else to eat and you have to eat something astringent like this, just cook it directly to get rid of the astringent taste. Even though the taste isn't that great, it can fill your stomach."

Xiao Junjie sighed and said with feeling: "You can see great knowledge in the small details. I don't know where Mr. Huang learned this. I am old but I don't know half as much as you do."

Huang Keran said meaningfully: "You don't have to learn it deliberately. The more you deal with things, the more experience you will naturally gain." He has been wandering in the void with his master for decades, and he has tasted all kinds of strange things.

Before Xiao Junjie could figure out what was going on, Huang Keran looked up at the dark clouds that had covered the sky and said, "It's going to rain. Let's go back quickly."

Xiao Junjie came back to his senses and looked around with a frown, "I didn't pay attention to leave a mark again. I still have to trouble you to lead the way."

Huang Keran took out the compass and said, "Master has said that this is the evil zone, the territory of evil cultivators. Try not to leave any marks when you go out, so as not to be followed by the evil cultivators."

Xiao Junjie watched Huang Keran fiddling with the compass. Although he didn't show it on his face, he was actually very envious of this Taoist friend.

He thought that he was highly valued by his master, but he had never been given a magic weapon during the foundation-building period.

Moreover, from casual conversation, we learned that Huang Keran's sect was just a small one. Even with the head master and his fellow disciples, there were only less than ten people.

It's really true that people have different fates, he sighed.

“Rustle, rustle—”

The tall Metasequoia trees suddenly made a sound of being blown by the strong wind, and the surrounding temperature dropped suddenly, from the very cool early autumn to the extremely cold winter. A layer of white frost could be seen on the leaves with the naked eye, and the breath turned directly into mist.

The sudden change in weather made the two men's faces change drastically. What kind of power could be so powerful that it could freeze everything in an instant from such a distance that they couldn't even see anyone's shadow?

"Be alert!" Xiao Junjie shouted, took out his magic weapon and assumed a defensive posture. Before he could use any spell, he was pressed into the mud by an invisible force.

It's amazing! He was horrified.

He felt even more desperate. Encountering such a powerful evil cultivator, he was afraid that today would be the day of his death.

Before this thought had finished flashing through his mind, the eye that was not pressed into the mud blurred and a figure suddenly appeared on his retina.

An extremely powerful pressure suffocated Xiao Junjie, his ears were buzzing, and everything in front of his eyes was black and gold.

When he came to his senses, he found that he was breathing heavily unconsciously, and a terrifying aura was coming from a man not far away.

An extremely cold voice sounded in his soul, "Where is he?" Xiao Junjie could no longer bear it and fainted.

Huang Keran was completely stunned. Even Xiao Junjie couldn't react in time, let alone him who was in the foundation-building stage.

When the question came, he saw that his compass was in the other party's hand. Huang Keran felt as if his life was taken away, and shouted, "My compass!"

He wanted to rush forward, but it seemed as if there was a wall of ice needles in front of him. Every time he moved, he felt a piercing pain that went right down to his bones.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The person in front of him seemed impatient and raised his hand to pull him in front of him.

Huang Keran was in pain and was frightened, but he was strong enough not to lose control and scream.

"...Where is he? Answer me!" This time the voice sounded directly beside my ear, and it seemed to be trembling uncontrollably.

Huang Keran looked up in surprise, and through the black veil of the hat, he saw a familiar handsome face and a pair of red eyes. He cried out in surprise, "Master? Is it Master?!"

Xi Yunting was far from being as calm as he appeared. As soon as he broke out of the encirclement, he habitually took out the magnetic needle that Tong Nuonuo had left for him. The magnetic needle that had disappointed him countless times, this time - it shook!

At that moment, the ecstasy in Xi Yunting's heart almost drove him crazy. He didn't care about anything else and rushed over here.

He almost collapsed when he found out that it was not Xiaodi who caused the magnetic needle to shake. If Huang Keran didn't give him an answer, the volcano under the iceberg would erupt.

As if sensing some kind of hostile atmosphere, Huang Keran stopped being immersed in shock and surprise. He answered directly: "The master is in a cave not far away."

The force holding him loosened and Huang Keran fell directly to the ground. The surrounding Metasequoia forest seemed to be swept by the strong wind. The sound of branches breaking was heard one after another, and they were blown directly into the sky.

Huang Keran was blown on the face by the cold wind and had to squint his eyes. He inadvertently glanced at Xiao Junjie who was lying beside him and was frightened to death by his dying pale face.

"Master! Calm down, Master! Fellow Daoist Xiao is almost killed by you--" Huang Keran shouted loudly against the strong wind.

Xi Yunting took two deep breaths, and his out-of-control aura returned to normal. Huang Keran, still frightened, looked at him in surprise and admiration.

Xi Yunting was also a little confused as to why Huang Keran was not much influenced by him, but his eagerness to meet Chen Xiao made him put this question behind him.

"Take me there," he said.

Huang Keran hesitated for a moment, a little worried that something might happen if he left Xiao Junjie here, but then he thought it would be better to take his master away quickly so that he could recover on his own.

"Master, compass..." Huang Keran looked at the compass still in Xi Yunting's hand. His sense of space was not as strong as his master's, so he had to use the compass to determine the direction.

Xi Yunting threw it, Huang Keran took it, looked at the direction, and said, "Master, this way."

The pointer in Xi Yunting's arms was still shaking, moving continuously with Huang Keran's position.

He could hardly suppress his fear and was both excited and anxious. He simply distracted himself and asked Huang Keran, "I have a needle that can sense your master, so why did it find you?"

Huang Keran thought for a moment and said carefully, "Master, can you let me take a look?"

Xi Yunting reached into his arms, took out the pointer and handed it to him.

Although there was a black veil covering his hat, Huang Keran could clearly feel his master's gaze. He felt quite stressed and explained, "I have been with my master for many years and learned how to refine equipment. I know a little bit about it." He looked at the pointer carefully and said, "This pointer is sensed by the spiritual power that my master left on it when he was refining the magnetic needle. As for why it found me, I think it's because the magnetic needle of my compass comes from the same source."

Xi Yunting's Adam's apple moved, and he said in a low voice: "How has your master been these years? Is his mental strength not good?" Otherwise, why can't he sense it? As he thought about it, his aura fluctuated again.

Huang Keran is a Feng Shui master after all. Although he cannot see the aura with the naked eye at present, he can sense something wrong through light sensing.

He hurriedly said, "Master is fine! As for his mental power, it should be because he has practiced the sorcerer's technique, which caused it to change from being released outward to being collected inward. When it is not in use on weekdays, the mental power is condensed in the sea of ​​consciousness."

Xi Yunting felt relieved, but then he started to feel scared again.

Xiaodi's mental power was restrained, and he could no longer find him with the help of the compass. If Huang Keran had not happened to take out the compass, he would have missed him this time.

Huang Keran felt a layer of goosebumps on his arms and groaned inwardly. He didn't know what his master-in-law was thinking about. His aura became colder again.

He took a few quick steps and pointed to the cave in front of him that was vaguely visible among the trees. "Master, Master is right there!"

Xi Yunting stopped and slowed down for a moment before continuing to walk. These last few steps should have been fast, but for some reason his feet felt heavy and he could hardly move.

He stared at the cave intently, as if he heard a sound outside and realized someone was coming back. Chen Xiao's figure appeared at the entrance of the cave.

He said, "Why is it suddenly getting cold? Ke Ran, get some leather mattresses. I remember..."

Xi Yunting was pinned down, with a lump in his throat. He swallowed twice before speaking hoarsely, "Brother Xiao..."