The three felt as if they'd just heard the funniest joke ever, but Evan Yang's next move left them speechless.
Evan Yang seemed to step on something as he crossed over, and everyone thought he was about to fly away. They hurried to stop him, but his speed was astonishing—Evan vanished from their divine sense in an instant, leaving the group staring at each other in confusion.
"Where did he go?" the fat man said in disbelief.
The one-armed man was shocked too. "He left?"
Another person was equally stunned. The three exchanged glances, finally deciding Evan Yang must have used some kind of treasure to escape so quickly. So, they turned their attention back to Snowflake Sect, demanding they hand over Evan Yang.
But Evan Yang had already vanished—he was no longer in Snowflake Sect.
"It's been more than two years. I wonder how the continent has changed." Evan Yang had come to the Northsource Region to heal Livia Liu, but now that someone else was helping her, he realized he was once again alone.
Alone, free and unrestrained—so Evan Yang decided to go among mortals to seek some enlightenment.
Myriad City, at the border of the Northsource Region and Central Province, is a city not ruled by anyone—it's also the largest city on the continent. Evan Yang came here mainly to gather news from all over, and since he had no enemies here, he could live more peacefully.
Evan Yang, dressed as a beggar, looked as ordinary as ever. Here, many people were beggars, so he didn't stand out at all—he blended right in as just another face in the crowd.
At the city gate, several beggars surrounded Evan Yang.
A child beggar—Gabe Little-Imp—said to Evan Yang, "You're new here, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Evan Yang noticed that all of them were ordinary beggars, none of them cultivators.
Gabe Little-Imp and the other beggars smiled when they heard Evan was new. Gabe said, "If you're new, you can join our Myriad City beggar gang. Here, there's good food and drink every day, and all you have to do is help out with a few tasks."
A beggar gang? Evan Yang hadn't expected there'd be a gang in the city, especially one made up of beggars. He was intrigued and laughed, "Alright." At that moment, Evan was hiding all his aura, so no one could tell he was a cultivator.
When Evan agreed to join, the beggars eagerly led him into the city.
The city was bustling, but there were so many beggars that Evan didn't feel special at all. He even wondered if he'd entered a 'beggar city.'
Whenever other beggars saw Gabe Little-Imp, they greeted him warmly, making Evan curious about Gabe's status as he watched his back.
Following the group, Evan and the beggars arrived at a rundown house, where many other beggar-like people were already gathered. When they saw Gabe, they all greeted him as well.
Finally, Gabe gathered everyone and said, "This is our new brother."
Then someone asked Evan Yang, "What's your name?"
"Mark Wood." Evan Yang planned to live as a different person for a while, so he adopted a new identity and blended in with everyone.
Everyone introduced themselves, and Evan learned that Gabe Little-Imp was the leader for some of the group.
Agile and quick, Gabe was an outstanding beggar—in this world, an outstanding beggar meant someone who was nimble and could gather news fast.
Blending in with the group, Evan gradually found their beggar life pretty interesting—not only was it free, it was lively.
They could trade bits of news for money, and everyone shared what they got. With enough news, they could earn plenty, so their lives weren't any worse than others'.
As the newcomer, Evan was always brought along by Gabe Little-Imp, who taught him how to gather information and keep an ear out for news.
After a few months, Evan had become a true beggar. If he was just pretending before, now he really looked the part—his clothes were ragged, and though he didn't need food, he ate and shared with everyone to fit in.
Evan earned everyone's respect—they felt he was capable, and were always glad to have him join outings, knowing they'd gain something.
Evan thought he could keep living like this, until one day Gabe Little-Imp found him and said thoughtfully, "Someone's been asking me for information lately."
"Oh? What kind of information? Is it too tough?" Usually, only truly important or hard-to-get news would make Gabe Little-Imp act so strangely around Evan Yang.
Gabe Little-Imp explained, "A cultivator wants some information, but to get it, we have to go into a building—and that building is full of cultivators. If we go in, maybe we'll hear the news, but at worst we'll just get kicked out."
"That sounds dangerous!" Evan thought that for mortals, eavesdropping on cultivators was extremely risky.
But Gabe Little-Imp continued, "The price this time is really high. If we get it, we could live comfortably for a whole year."
"Oh? That much?" Evan was curious what kind of news could fetch such a price. "Alright, let's try to get as much information as we can, then slip away." After a few months, Gabe trusted Evan completely and admired his abilities.
Evan thought for a moment and replied, "Alright, let's check it out."
"Good. Get ready—tonight, we're going to Wentham House in the south of the city." Gabe said after Evan agreed.
"Alright." Evan didn't mind and agreed readily.
Gabe went off to prepare, and when night fell, lights blazed everywhere. Evan and Gabe, dressed as beggars, arrived at the entrance of Wentham House. As usual, Evan eavesdropped at the door while Gabe patrolled nearby, ready to warn Evan if anyone approached.
For Evan, this was nothing—over the past few months, he'd unraveled the secrets of Thousand-Mile Echo. He realized the reason it hadn't worked before was because, when he activated it, he hadn't controlled it, so he could only hear distant sounds if there actually were any. If there was nothing, he heard nothing at all.
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Over the past few months, Evan had mastered Thousand-Mile Echo, able to control it for both long and short distances. Still, to avoid drawing attention, he always pretended to be a normal person, standing at the door and listening to the voices inside.
Ordinary people couldn't hear anything, but only Evan, by activating Thousand-Mile Echo, could listen to sounds from wherever he wished.
"Now that we've got five people lined up, when the time comes, we'll rush into the space, grab the Five-Spirit Pill, and easily break into the Spirit-Wandering Realm," someone said, laughing.
"Are you sure this information is reliable?" another asked skeptically.
"Absolutely reliable. That Five-Spirit Pill was refined by the legendary Medicine King ages ago—it contains powerful energy. As long as you reach Soul-Forming Great Perfection, take it and you'll definitely break through to the Spirit-Wandering Realm," someone said with a chuckle.
"Come on, if it were that easy to break into the Spirit-Wandering Realm, the Five-Spirit Pill would already be treated as an immortal pill," someone scoffed.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you. If you don't trust it, you can drop out. Whoever wants to go, come with me in ten days to Everwind Valley." The speaker snorted coldly at the doubters.
"Are you sure this information is reliable?" someone asked again, skeptical.
"Would I lie? Besides, there will definitely be plenty of Soul-Forming experts there, because this pill only works for them. Anyone below Soul-Forming Realm who takes it will be poisoned—its intense medicinal power kills instantly," the speaker said confidently.
The others exchanged glances until one agreed to take the risk, then the rest followed. The one who started it all laughed loudly, "As long as you trust me, we'll get the pill, and each of us will have one. Entering the Spirit-Wandering Realm will be within reach."
"I hope you're telling the truth. After all, the Medicine King has been gone for years—rumor has it he offended the Sky Unity Sect's master and met a tragic end," someone muttered, as if they knew the story.
"Whether he's gone or not, that space is tied to him. Some Spirit-Wandering experts have tried to go, but they can't get inside—so it's up to us Soul-Forming folks," the initiator said, laughing.
The group exchanged glances again, and finally the five began to plan their trip to Everwind Valley.
Evan was puzzled. "Who is the Medicine King? And what is the Five-Spirit Pill?" Just then, Gabe Little-Imp said, "Mark, someone's coming."
Evan quickly stepped back, then followed Gabe away, acting unconcerned.
Just as they left, the door opened. Someone watched their backs, then went back inside.
"Who were they?" someone asked curiously.
"It's nothing, just two beggars. Probably someone sent them to sniff out information," the initiator said with a smile.
"To sniff out information? Does someone else know?" someone asked in surprise.
"Sigh, I used to know a friend—wanted to invite him, but he wouldn't come, so I didn't tell him. Maybe he's trying to get information through beggars. As for those two? They're just mortals, can't hear a thing we say," the initiator said confidently.
Seeing that Evan and Gabe, as beggars, couldn't possibly know the news, everyone nodded in agreement.
Evan and Gabe returned to their rundown shack, and Evan told Gabe everything he'd heard. Gabe didn't care much about the news, but Evan grew suspicious: How did that man know about the secret space? And was his story about a friend really true?
Gabe ignored Evan and hurried out to tell someone everything he'd learned. Evan stayed in the shack, but locked his divine sense onto Gabe, so all the news reached his ears.
"Is this the guy who wanted the information?" Evan wondered, eyeing a masked figure as Gabe excitedly took the payment from his hand.
The man told Gabe, "This information is important, so you'd better not spread it. Otherwise, you know what will happen."