After traveling for most of the day, Jace Situ finally stopped, confirming they were far from the Situ Clan. He laughed and said, "That felt amazing!"
"Your Second Madam is no ordinary powerhouse," Evan Yang said, still feeling a lingering fear. If she had caught them—and then discovered what happened to her son—she would have gone absolutely berserk.
"Yeah, her strength is about the same as my father's. If I wasn't worried about dragging him down, I would have stayed," Jace Situ said, his earlier smile fading into bitterness.
"Will your father really be okay?" Evan asked, a bit worried. After witnessing that aura and seeing the Soaring Dragon Pendant in Easton's hand, his imagination was running wild.
"I don't know. There are things my father hasn't told me, so I want to find my master," Jace Situ said after thinking it over.
"Your master?" Evan asked, surprised to learn Jace had a master—judging by his tone, the master seemed to be quite famous.
"I don't even know his name. When I was a kid, I was suddenly taught some cultivation methods. Now I can only try going to the place I went as a child and see if I can run into him again," Jace Situ said with a helpless sigh.
"I see. If there's anything I can help with, just let me know," Evan said to Jace Situ.
"I'd better go alone for this. I'm afraid my master won't want to see me if I bring others," Jace Situ said, revealing his concerns and politely refusing Evan's offer.
Evan nodded, then parted ways with Jace Situ.
After parting ways, Evan Yang stopped beneath a tree and reflected on everything that had happened. "Warren Wong, how did you manage to find such a powerful backer?"
The only person who knew he’d traveled with Lana Situ was Warren Wong. For Fiona Maple to be so certain he killed Lana, there could only be one explanation: Warren was in contact with her, and their relationship was far from shallow.
After thinking it over, Evan leapt away and laughed, "Warren Wong, just wait."
After weighing everything, Evan decided to enter closed-door cultivation. First, because of the looming Hundred-Year Pact; second, because Warren Wong’s collusion with Fiona Maple was affecting him. Only by growing stronger could he protect himself.
With everything planned out, Evan found a mountain cave. After making sure it was empty, he blocked the entrance with rocks. Looking at the sealed exit, he muttered, "Let’s see how this seal works." Since learning sealing techniques, Evan had never used them—today was the perfect chance. He set up a seal around the rocks.
Once everything was ready, Evan took out Jade Rabbit and said, "Jade Rabbit, I’ll be cultivating here for a while. Wake me up in half a year."
"Big brother, just focus on your cultivation. I’ll stay at the cave entrance and keep watch. If anything happens, I’ll let you know," Jade Rabbit replied sensibly. It hopped to the entrance, lay down beside the seal, and kept guard.
With preparations complete, Evan sat deeper inside the cave and began checking his body for changes.
In his dantian, three leaves stood upright in a tripod pattern, with the Colorless Flame nearby. The gas emitted by the leaves suppressed his blood’s heat, so Evan currently had no bottleneck.
"After absorbing Dragonbane Grass and the essence of some pills, the seed sprouted three leaves. I should be able to keep cultivating now." Before, Evan had always lacked pills and herbs for the seed to absorb. After the recent events in that secret realm, he hadn’t had a chance to cultivate properly—now was the perfect opportunity to raise his realm.
After checking his body, Evan closed his eyes and began cultivating.
With the three leaves supporting each other, every time Evan circulated his cultivation technique, the leaves released a faint gas that suppressed the restless heat in his blood. He could easily complete a full cycle, and after confirming there were no issues, he prepared for half a year of cultivation.
Jade Rabbit lay at the cave entrance, keeping watch.
Time passed little by little. With only half a month left in the half-year, Jade Rabbit—who had been motionless at the entrance for a long time—opened its eyes and looked toward the cave mouth. Its pink nose twitched as it muttered, "Why are they here?"
Noticing movement outside, Jade Rabbit glanced at Evan cultivating inside the cave, while outside, someone seemed to be studying the seal at the entrance.
"I hope this seal holds." Jade Rabbit had promised Evan not to disturb him unless absolutely necessary, so it could only pray the seal would last another half month.
Outside, two men and a beast stood nearby. One man was expressionless, while the other cursed angrily, "Is he inside?"
"He should be. We’ve been chasing for so long, and finally found him. He might be hiding inside." The other man, seeing the entrance sealed with unfamiliar runes and stones, spoke up.
"My master told me to find him, or I can’t go back. I’ve spent a year running around without finding that guy, and now, by chance, we passed by and the beast caught his scent." The angry man complained, finally venting after so long.
"Are you sure he’s only at the early Foundation-Building stage?" The man studying the strange seal at the entrance asked curiously.
"Mm." The man nodded deeply at the cave entrance, his eyes red as if brimming with anger.
"I checked, and the spiritual energy nearby seems to be flowing toward this spot. If you don’t look closely, it’s hard to notice," the expressionless man said.
The irritable man exclaimed in surprise, "Is he cultivating inside?"
"Yes, most likely. That’s why he sealed the cave. If we force our way in, he’ll probably notice. So I want to study the entrance before making any moves." The expressionless man decided to stay here for a few days to investigate.
The irritable man groaned, "Can’t we just destroy the entrance?"
"No. I just tried using my divine sense, but it still can’t get through. There must be some kind of artifact blocking the entrance." The expressionless man shook his head.
After hearing this, the irritable man tried his own divine sense and found he couldn’t penetrate the entrance either. He finally calmed down. "So what now?"
"This entrance is odd. I’ll need a few days to study it. Stay nearby and protect me," the expressionless man said, then stood in front of the cave to begin his research.
The irritable man answered, "Yes, Senior Brother!"