The Blue Clan Patriarch was already in a foul mood, so he barely paid attention to the junior in front of him. His tone was especially cold, "You're from Tianqi Sect?"
"Yes, I'm Caleb Pale from Tianqi Sect." This was Caleb's first time meeting the Blue Clan Patriarch up close, so he was especially respectful.
"What brings you here?" asked the Blue Clan Patriarch.
Caleb felt stifled. He had come here to seek refuge with the Blue Clan and hoped to make himself useful, but before he could even open his mouth, he was met with cold indifference. The atmosphere was awkward. Seeing the situation, Blue Caibei quickly stepped forward and said, "Grandfather, it's like this—he knows some things about Evan Yang."
At the mention of Evan Yang, the Blue Clan Patriarch instantly perked up. He stared at Caleb like a hunter eyeing his prey and demanded, "Speak."
Caleb felt even more frustrated. He had thought he'd be treated as a valued guest, but instead he was being threatened. His expression turned ugly.
Noticing Caleb's reaction, the Blue Clan Patriarch realized he'd been too harsh. He quickly dropped his airs and smiled, "Sorry, something just happened earlier. My apologies."
Seeing the Patriarch's tone soften, Caleb finally relaxed a bit and said, "Evan Yang once visited Tianqi Sect and even refined five Mind-Recall Pills."
"Mind-Recall Pills? He visited your Tianqi Sect?" The Blue Clan Patriarch grew suspicious upon hearing this. Such pills were considered almost useless—unless someone was completely withdrawn, they rarely had any effect.
"Yes," Caleb replied.
"Alright, tell me everything about him. By the way, does he have any friends in Tianqi Sect or similar places?" The Blue Clan Patriarch, unable to find Evan Yang's weakness, quickly pressed for more information as soon as he found a clue.
Caleb didn't hide anything. He knew that to grow stronger, he had to develop within the Blue Clan, so he chose to rely on Blue Caibei. Hearing that Evan Yang had angered the Blue Clan, he quickly came to seek refuge.
So Caleb quickly told Blue Caibei everything that happened when Evan Yang visited Tianqi Sect years ago.
Caleb had done his homework; back then, he thoroughly investigated Evan Yang, leaving no detail about why he came to Tianqi Sect overlooked.
When the Blue Clan Patriarch heard about Elder Lee and Chris Chu, his eyes lit up. Hearing that Evan Yang once stirred up the Outer Elder Hall for Elder Lee's sake, he was secretly delighted, but outwardly smiled and said, "Good, very good. You're called Caleb, right?"
'Yes, that's me,' Caleb replied.
'Not bad. This information is very important to our Blue Clan. When you help us capture those two people, I'll let you stay here in the Blue Clan,' the Patriarch said with a smile.
Caleb smiled, seeing his goal achieved. "Definitely."
The Blue Clan Patriarch, now excited, left the area, leaving Caleb with the three grandchildren.
Watching the Patriarch leave, Caleb secretly chuckled to himself: 'One day, I'll reach the Spirit-Wandering Realm. The Blue Clan is the number one family—they won't disappoint me. Evan Yang, I lost my alchemist pride to you back then, but someday I'll reclaim my dignity.'
With the three showing such strong support, Evan Yang felt relieved. After sending them to their destinations, he left.
He didn't want to waste time—now he had somewhere to go: the Shadowhand Guild. Only by growing stronger could he protect everyone.
When someone bears too much responsibility, they can no longer act as before and instead become even more determined and relentless.
The three bid Evan Yang farewell and returned to the Free Alliance base.
Evan Yang headed for the Shadowhand Guild.
"Kid, you're really crazy—don't you ever rest?" Old Clam laughed, seeing Evan Yang rushing about.
"Rest is only for mortals. Now that I've reached the Spirit-Wandering Realm, even without rest, I'll be fine," Evan Yang smiled.
"You really are crazy," Old Clam said, following Evan Yang. At this point, he couldn't describe Evan with any other words.
"Alright, I'm fine. Go cultivate under the tower," Evan Yang said to Old Clam.
Old Clam nodded and went below to cultivate. Training here for a hundred years equaled just two outside, and he was eager to break through to the Spirit-Wandering Realm.
After arranging for Old Clam, Evan Yang rode the Firebird and stopped just outside the Shadowhand Guild.
There were no Spirit-Wandering experts here anymore—only a few Soul-Forming gatekeepers. Evan Yang easily dealt with them.
Evan Yang re-entered the forbidden cave, excited to see what lay behind the rock.
"What could be behind this?" Evan Yang muttered as he approached the rock.
After observing for a while, Evan Yang gathered his strength, placed his hands on the rock, and began to move it.
Creak—under Evan Yang's effort, the rock finally shifted a bit. Seeing this, he grew excited and continued to exert force.
After an hour, Evan Yang managed to open up a person-sized hole. He withdrew his hands and sighed, "As expected, it's heavy—it took so long."
Evan Yang then walked inside.
Inside was a space, surrounded by walls covered in dense writing.
"Phantom Step Art has thirty-six forms?" Evan Yang exclaimed after reading the writing.
This was beyond his imagination—he'd thought eight forms was the limit, but seeing thirty-six, Evan Yang realized this footwork was no ordinary technique. Years ago, the Shadowhand Guild only mastered the eighth form, which led people to believe Phantom Step Art had only eight forms.
Thirty-six forms—the higher the form, the more power required. Even after reading them, Evan Yang couldn't perform them yet; he'd have to wait until he grew stronger.
Afterward, Evan Yang explored the area and found another tunnel leading elsewhere, blocked by another rock.
Evan Yang walked over, used his strength, opened another person-sized hole, and entered.
Inside, it was like a paradise.
There was sky and earth—a new space within the cave.
Light, water, plants—everything was here. The natural ecosystem could be found throughout.
Not only that, Evan Yang found the space vast. "Such a huge space—maybe only an immortal could create it," he thought. It was beyond his imagination, and he could only attribute it to some immortal's handiwork.
Everything was peaceful here. Evan Yang walked around, feeling no difference from the outside world—it all seemed normal.
Until he arrived at a grand hall.
The hall was named God-Thief Hall.
It looked newly renovated, but compared to the surroundings, it still seemed relatively young.
"God-Thief Hall?" Evan Yang muttered, staring at the three characters as he walked in.
Inside the hall, Evan Yang was surprised to see many treasures—almost everything imaginable. But few caught his eye, so he curiously kept exploring to see what made God-Thief Hall unique.
Suddenly, his spatial ring stirred.
Evan Yang sensed a change in his spatial ring and looked inside, discovering the Strange Spiral Shell spinning as if it wanted to come out.
Curious, Evan Yang released the Strange Spiral Shell.
Sure enough, once released, the shell flew up and headed in a direction.
"Outside?" Seeing the shell head out, Evan Yang followed closely.
He sprinted after it, unsure what the shell intended. But Evan Yang was excited—since obtaining this artifact, it was the first time he'd seen it move on its own, and he was eager to learn its true purpose.
Rustle, rustle—the shell kept spinning.
Finally, it stopped at a certain spot. Evan Yang stopped too, and when he saw where the shell had landed, he was stunned—a pillar covered in dense inscriptions stood before him.
Having finally found a target, they began scheming in their hearts. This time, no matter what, they couldn't let Evan Yang rescue those two people again.
Evan Yang had already left; at this moment, he was healing the injuries of Wyatt Wolf and the other two.
"You've broken through to the Spirit-Wandering Realm?" Wyatt Wolf still hadn't forgotten the aura Evan Yang released at the end.
Bruno Bear and Harlan Tiger were also gazing excitedly at Evan Yang, waiting for his answer.
Evan Yang simply nodded, stunning the three. But Wyatt and the others were puzzled—wasn't Evan supposed to emerge two years later? How had he come out early, and where exactly were they now?
After their excitement, Bruno Bear and Harlan Tiger glanced around curiously, wondering how Evan Yang had brought them here.
"You're curious where this is, aren't you?" Evan Yang smiled.
"Yes," the three nodded.
"This is the interior of the Sky-Piercing Tower. That stele over there is the Sky-Piercing Stele," Evan Yang said, pointing to the stone tablet not far away.
"Sky-Piercing Tower?" Wyatt Wolf and the others exclaimed, shocked.
Evan Yang nodded, then explained the time difference inside the Sky-Piercing Tower. The three were amazed—no wonder Evan Yang had grown so strong so quickly.
Wyatt Wolf sighed, "If only we'd entered the tower earlier, we might have broken through as well."
Evan Yang smiled, "Don't worry. Now that you're here, you can cultivate freely and make up for lost time."
The three nodded, their faces filled with anticipation.
Evan Yang arranged a place for them to cultivate, then left the Sky-Piercing Tower.
Now, Evan Yang was ready to explore the God-Thief Hall further.
He walked around, carefully examining each corner, seeking clues to the hall's secrets.
Suddenly, Evan Yang noticed a hidden compartment in the wall.
Inside was a small jade box. Evan Yang opened it and found a slip of paper with ancient writing.
Evan Yang read the slip and realized it contained instructions for a secret technique.
He carefully memorized the instructions, determined to master the technique when he had the chance.