Li An decided to leave tomorrow.

The matter of replacing the Golden Core at White Tiger Mountain was approaching, and although the city seemed calm, a storm was brewing beneath the surface.

After much hesitation, that night, he used Divine Sense to send a message to Guo Xiaoxiao, who was not far away—

Without exposing herself, if Manman is in danger, she should step in to protect her.

Additionally, he instructed her to find an opportunity to "die."

The kind of death where not even the bones remain!

After all, she had already become Li An's puppet, and if the Demon Sect discovered this in the future, they would quickly trace it back to "Wei Ming."

Tracing it to Wei Ming would then lead to Gu Hong.

Extremely dangerous!

...

The next morning.

Li An got up and left his residence.

Perhaps because his "disguise" appeared in Zhao Family Town, proving that he and Li An were not the same person, his travels were very smooth, and he felt no followers along the way.

He circled around the city several times before finding a secluded spot to change his appearance, disguising himself as an inconspicuous old man.

He roamed in front of the Songxi Spirit Pill Store but found no suspicious individuals, so he went inside.

"Two Spirit Awakening Pills and one Beauty Pill."

Li An's hoarse and aged voice rang out.

Gu Hong, who was fiddling with pills, turned around to look at him, slightly surprised but expressionless, and pulled a pill bottle from her sleeve to hand it to Li An.

Li An gave her a lot of Spirit Stones and then turned to leave.

After leaving the pill store, Li An went straight out the city gate.

Upon leaving White Tiger City, Li An felt a sense of relief.

He opened a map and glanced at it.

It was a map of the Great Li Dynasty!

On the map, White Tiger City was located in the northern region of Great Li, but it was the closest to the vast Central Plains.

Besides White Tiger City, the three strongest forces in the north were the Profound Yang Sect, Divine Sword Sect, and Hundred Beasts Sect.

Among them, the Profound Yang Sect had already been destroyed for decades.

Heading from White Tiger City along Beiyang Dao, after passing the northern largest city, Celestial Yang City, one could enter the Central Plains.

This was Li An's direction.

Compared to the Central Plains, the northern part of the Great Li Dynasty remained relatively impoverished. There were only a few Rank Three Spirit Veins, and the Demon Sect's ravaging made staying there a bad choice.

Heading to the Central Plains in the future was an inevitable trend.

Celestial Yang City was the power hub of the northern area of the Great Li Dynasty, with royalty stationed there!

According to Li An's estimation, after the Demon Sect broke through White Tiger City, Celestial Yang City would be the only safe place in the north.

Even though the Demon Sect was powerful, they would not dare to wage war against the Great Li royalty in the short term.

Slowly consuming the Divine Sword Sect and Hundred Beasts Sect was the best strategy.

So, Li An planned to first stay in Celestial Yang City for some time, observe the situation, and then decide what to do next.

Li An immediately proceeded along Beiyang Dao towards Celestial Yang City.

Though he was a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, it would still take him a month's time to reach "Celestial Yang City" from Beiyang Dao.

However, Li An was not in a rush.

He carefully studied the map, simulating the possibilities after the Demon Sect's success, just like during the previous great calamity of the Profound Yang Sect.

By then, the split of the entire White Tiger City would be inevitable.

And masses of cultivators in the city would naturally flee everywhere.

There were only three escape directions!

Divine Sword Sect, Hundred Beasts Sect, and Celestial Yang City.

If the Demon Sect were ruthless, they might ambush just as they did with the Profound Yang Sect.

The same trick might still yield positive results.

He repeatedly checked the routes, then finally paused at a mountain pass on Beiyang Dao.

There were indeed many possible ambush spots for the Demon Sect along the way.

But Li An believed that the Demon Sect would most likely choose the spot furthest from Celestial Yang City and nearest to White Tiger City for an ambush.

This way, they could avoid interference from Celestial Yang City.

This was the most suitable location.

Li An closely inspected the hillsides and eventually took out a Tier Two array, secretly setting it up at this mountain pass.

He then moved a massive stone a bit away from the main road, dug underneath it for about ten meters, and took the excavated soil to be scattered in streams and rivers miles away, leaving no trace behind.

Only after that did he return to hide in the dugout cave, covering it with the stone.

Hiding underground was Li An's most commonly used and most practical method.

His Life Nourishing Immortal Skill was astonishingly effective in concealing and disguising his aura, such that even a powerful cultivator using Divine Sense would not detect him.

...

White Tiger City.

On the third day after Li An's departure.

Early in the morning, the pill store was still open, but it was empty.

As the city gates opened, Gu Hong and Gusongxi, who had already arrived there, left through the city gates.

"Hong'Er, your senior brother cannot accommodate us. Come back with me to Moon Tempering Valley—" Gusongxi said.

Gu Hong shook her head, "Master, I want to go to Celestial Yang City."

Gusongxi looked at Gu Hong for a long, long time, suddenly letting out a long sigh, "Very well."

"Go, go—"

"Your master is old and can't manage you forever, but there's one thing you must remember."

Gu Hong said, "Please, Master."

Gusongxi had an incomparably grave expression and said:

"That Li An is cold and selfish, and moreover, he practices the Demon Skill. You must not be bewitched by emotions... He is not trustworthy!"

"Remember these words, remember them!"

Gu Hong looked at Gusongxi in astonishment, her face incredibly surprised and involuntarily turning red, not knowing whether from shyness or shame.

"Master, you..."

She never expected that her master would know all of this?

Gusongxi couldn't help but stroke his beloved disciple's hair and said, "You are meticulous in your thinking, but you intentionally obscure matters regarding Wei Ming, not wanting me to know... Who else but Li An could make you do this?"

"Your master may be old, but he is not senile."

Gu Hong bowed her head, "Master... I'm sorry."

Gusongxi shook his head, "There's no need to apologize. Your master has roamed the world for many years, seeing all kinds of people, but such cruel and patient individuals are indeed rare!"

"Remember what I said, or one day you will be completely consumed by him!"

"Such heartless people are not trustworthy!"

After saying this, he turned and strode off towards the direction of Moon Tempering Valley.

Gu Hong lingered there for a long time.

Then she turned and ultimately headed in the direction of Celestial Yang City.

...

At the same time.

"Brother Jiang Huan, you are skilled in arrays, and since the master is in secluded meditation, come with me to inspect the Eight Trigrams Locking Array."

On White Tiger Mountain, Mo Xuan, the Grand Disciple of White Tiger Master, spoke to Jiang Huan.

Jiang Huan respectfully agreed.

The two of them immediately went to inspect the great array surrounding White Tiger Mountain.

Mo Xuan meticulously checked every sub-array's operation and consulted Jiang Huan's opinion.

Jiang Huan examined everything, pointing out some minor issues, and his eyes showed growing satisfaction.

Everything was going according to plan.

Xiaoxiao and the other disciples had all performed excellently!

"Good, activate the array in three days!"

Mo Xuan declared immediately!

All the disciples were instantly invigorated upon hearing this.

They all knew that whether White Tiger Mountain could advance to the next level depended on this act.

If the White Tiger Master succeeded, they, the disciples, would also rise in status and their future positions would be beyond compare!

...

In the city.

Manman counted the Spirit Stones she had earned, her eyes sparkling!

"In the future, I can live well in the city!"

Once she had a house, she wouldn't have to rely on others any longer and could live a peaceful and happy life...

And, Brother Wei was there for her.

Suddenly, hope filled her life.

...

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