Li Xuan's figure moved at high speed. After four instantaneous displacements, he emerged from the void. Li Xuan could now cover eight hundred miles with a single blink, so the distance covered by four such moves was immense. It was no wonder he couldn't sense Wang Pangzi's aura before; the distance was simply too great.
Wang Family Village.
Looking at Wang Family Village before him, Li Xuan felt only one emotion: desolation.
Perhaps it was due to its great distance from the scattered human core regions that Wang Family Village remained relatively intact. At least, it had not been invaded by those small squads.
Entering Wang Family Village, Li Xuan saw simple figures. On each face, there was a gleam of hope for life.
Beneath a large banyan tree, a group of children were chasing each other and playing. On the other side, a chubby boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, sat with his hands cupping his head, gazing at the ground. Li Xuan smiled slightly at the sight, never imagining Wang Pangzi was so fat even as a child.
"Little friend, why aren't you playing with them?" Li Xuan walked closer to Wang Pangzi and noticed he was watching ants carry food. Li Xuan smiled and then asked.
Wang Pangzi looked up at Li Xuan, then back at the ants on the ground. "Ants, so small, they know how to work hard. But they are still only concerned with playing."
Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, then replied with a wry smile, "Ants may seem small to us, but in their world, they are all grown-ups."
Wang Pangzi looked up at Li Xuan. "Then what about their children?"
Li Xuan thought for a moment. "Perhaps, they are watching you, just like you are watching them."
"Wang Xiao, come home for dinner!"
As Li Xuan finished speaking, a call came from a distance. Wang Pangzi stood up at the sound and looked at Li Xuan, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Uncle, are you from out of town?"
Li Xuan nodded slightly, feeling curious why Wang Pangzi would ask such a question.
"It's almost lunchtime. Uncle, since you're from out of town, you probably haven't found a place to eat. My mother always cooks a lot. Uncle, why don't you come home with me?" Wang Pangzi said.
Li Xuan was somewhat surprised. After all, he had only just met Wang Pangzi. A child inviting a stranger home was highly unusual under normal circumstances. Li Xuan had been planning to find an excuse to visit Wang Pangzi's home, but this saved him some trouble.
"Alright," Li Xuan nodded and followed Wang Pangzi forward.
Meanwhile, in the scattered human core region, two figures appeared simultaneously. This was the place where Li Xuan had previously killed the strong cultivators of the Asura and Rakshasa tribes.
"To be able to kill a Saint, this person's strength has likely reached the Primordial Beginning Realm. Furthermore, this person is a sword cultivator," a middle-aged man said after examining the corpses.
"Just the Primordial Beginning Realm. Brother Luo Jun, why bother?" an elder replied.
Luo Jun shook his head slightly. "The scattered humans only have three Saints, and they have all perished. Since this person is a cultivator at the Primordial Beginning Realm, they are likely a powerhouse from another race. Looking at the situation, the news has probably leaked."
The elder frowned instantly. If the news leaked, it would likely attract the attention of other races soon. Although their Asura and Rakshasa tribes were the most powerful in this Nine Nether Realm, the other races were not too weak. Once they banded together, their two tribes might face considerable trouble.
"Since it's come to this, the priority is to find this person before discussing further. Moreover, within the Nine Nether Realm, only six races possess cultivators at the Primordial Beginning Realm. As long as we know their race, the combined strength of our two tribes should be sufficient to intercept the news in time," the elder said.
Luo Jun nodded slightly and then looked at the elder. "Brother Xiu Jun, finding this person's whereabouts will depend on you."
Xiu Jun nodded. The Asura tribe had its own methods for searching for people. He wasted no more time. Xiu Jun formed seals with his hands, and a wisp of spiritual light surged into his palm from the heavens and earth. The next moment, two red orbs condensed.
"These are orbs condensed from the residual aura of that person. With this orb, we can quickly find this person's location. As long as we get within a hundred miles, this orb will react," Xiu Jun said, handing an orb to Luo Jun.
Luo Jun nodded, took the red orb, and said, "Then I will head east to search. If I find nothing at the border, I will return to find Brother Xiu Jun."
Xiu Jun nodded. "In that case, I will head west."
Wang Family Village, Wang Pangzi's home.
"Little brother, eat more vegetables, don't be shy," Wang Chao said to Li Xuan with a smile, even placing a chicken leg into Li Xuan's bowl.
"Thank you," Li Xuan replied with a smile. Wang Pangzi's parents were truly warm and hospitable. When they saw Wang Pangzi bring Li Xuan back, Wang Chao and his wife didn't ask many questions before serving Li Xuan a meal.
"Brother Wang, Wang Xiao is already twelve years old. Why hasn't he awakened his spirit yet?" Li Xuan asked after seeing Wang Chao and his wife finish eating.
Wang Chao and his wife Xu Chunhua exchanged a bitter smile. "Little brother, we are just common folk. How can we afford the cost of awakening the spirit? Although we've seen that Wang Xiao is different from children his age, we really cannot afford the expense."
Li Xuan frowned. Spirit awakening should normally begin at eight years old. Furthermore, when Li Xuan was in the Li family of Qingcheng, he had never heard that spirit awakening required a fee. After all, spirit awakening merely allowed a child to unleash their potential. Whether they could become a spirit master depended on whether they could cultivate to the Initial Spirit Realm later.
"How much does this spirit awakening cost?" Li Xuan asked after thinking.
Wang Chao said with a bitter smile, "Five low-grade spirit stones. Brother Li Xuan, I can tell you are no ordinary person. You may not know that one low-grade spirit stone can support our family of three for a year. Not only can we not afford this expense, but I doubt anyone in the entire village would be willing to have their children undergo spirit awakening."
Li Xuan felt a surge of emotion. He never expected that one low-grade spirit stone could sustain a family of three for a year. The gap between mortals and spirit masters was truly immense.
"Brother Wang, Sister-in-law, to be honest, I am a spirit master. If you don't mind, I can awaken Wang Xiao's spirit later," Li Xuan said.
"Brother Li Xuan... Your Excellency is a spirit master?" Wang Chao was stunned, and respect appeared on his face. Even Xu Chunhua looked at Li Xuan nervously, as if spirit masters were highly revered beings to them.
Li Xuan nodded, then with a thought, Chong Feng shot out and hovered beside him.
"This humble subject Wang Chao, pays respects to the spirit master!"
To his surprise, as soon as Li Xuan's Chong Feng appeared, Wang Chao quickly pulled Xu Chunhua and knelt before Li Xuan.
Li Xuan's expression became solemn. He waved his hand and lifted the Wang Chao couple. Only then did Li Xuan realize that in the hearts of Wang Chao and others, spirit masters seemed to be beings of extremely high status.
"Brother Wang, Sister-in-law, you don't need to do this. I see that Wang Xiao has extraordinary talent, and it shouldn't be difficult for him to become a spirit master," Li Xuan said.
Wang Chao's eyes lit up with joy, but soon his expression turned a little dejected, and he sighed, "Spirit Master, we cannot afford the fee for spirit awakening."
Li Xuan smiled wryly and shook his head. "Brother Wang, I do not require any fee."