Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 281 - 281 0231 Just Want to Ask You One Thing_2

Chapter 281: Chapter 0231: Just Want to Ask You One Thing_2 Chapter 281: Chapter 0231: Just Want to Ask You One Thing_2 At the first Qi Cultivation Period cultivator, he squat down, pretended to be a casual customer, casually inspecting the items on the stall. While doing so, Qi Tian used the Heavenly Dao Engine to try to sense that fleeting feeling from before, but after probing for over a minute, the Heavenly Dao Engine did not show any particular sign.

Qi Tian stood up, squatting in front of the second Qi Cultivation Period cultivator’s stall. Again, he probed for a minute, but found nothing.

Unwilling to accepts this, Qi Tian used the same method to sense each of the Qi Cultivation Period cultivators who had just entered the flea market. But to his surprise, he did not get any hint, as if that fleeting feeling from before didn’t exist, as if he had made a mistake.

But Qi Tian quickly dismissed that thought. He wasn’t senile, how could he make a mistake in such regard? Furthermore, the Heavenly Dao Engine had never failed before, it probably wouldn’t fail this time either.

So, where was the problem? Qi Tian observed carefully and quickly discovered where the issue lay.

These Qi Cultivation Period cultivators setting up their stalls, just like the other vendors, would lay down a cloth on the ground to display their items. When Qi Tian squat down, his mingle with the vendors would be blocked by a piece of cloth. The size of these cloths varied, but generally, they covered about one and a half meters in width, a distance greater than the one-meter distance Qi Tian had discerned earlier.

It seemed that one meter was the limit. If he couldn’t reduce the distance between him and these vendors to one meter, then he might not find out which Qi Cultivation Period cultivator had an issue.

Speaking of which, the one and a half meter width of the cloth didn’t mean much to Qi Tian, he could step over it in a single stride. But if Qi Tian acted in such a way, it would be impolite. Which vendor would want to meet such a customer? Qi Tian himself didn’t want to make a scene, even if these Qi Cultivation Period cultivators had issues, there was no need to cause a ruckus, what’s the point in deliberately making things difficult?

However, this difficulty didn’t bother Qi Tian. He’d noticed long ago that the cultivators setting up stalls in the flea market always did it in pairs, facing each other or back to back. Parallel lines were drawn in the flea market, and whoever set up their stall here had to lean against these lines with items displayed in front, meaning stalls were set on both sides of the lines and the middle was the aisle. Other cultivators sat back to back in pairs, but these Qi Cultivation Period cultivators arrived late and chose the corners where fewer people set up stalls. They didn’t need to crowd with others and each of them could have a spacious area, with no one behind them.

Qi Tian stood up and directly walked past from behind them; he intentionally kept his distance with these Qi Cultivation Period cultivators very close—almost brushing past them.

Then, the Heavenly Dao Engine showed a reaction again. A strong response appeared when he walked past a man with a strong feeling.

This kind of response was very familiar to Qi Tian. It was the reaction the Heavenly Dao Engine may trigger in a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. Judging by Qi Tian’s experience, this person was at least in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

The middle stage of Foundation Establishment refers to cultivators from Foundation Establishment fourth level to the sixth level. Being among the strongest in the Foundation Establishment stage, they were considerable existences. Even in the squad led by Qi Tian, there was no one at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, and cultivators of such a level, even in Imperial Master Mansion, were considered significant figures. Many, including the Master of Heavenly Eagle Hall, Luo Xia, became stewards and elders only after reaching the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

A middle stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was unexpectedly hiding in Tongguan Left Guard Station, concealing his true identity and impersonating a Qi Cultivation Period cultivator. If such a man were told to have no problem, then there would be no problem in the world.

A cold smile emerged on the corner of Qi Tian’s mouth. Facing such a situation, if he hadn’t encountered it, it would’ve been fine. But since he had, there would be no reason to not investigate thoroughly.

However, Qi Tian did not take immediate action. He walked out of the flea market and took a distant look at the problematic cultivator, memorizing the person’s appearance before leaving the flea market.

Qi Tian headed straight to the Tongguan Left Guard Station, showing his identity plaque and requesting to see Commander Huang Zhiwei.

Although Qi Tian was dispatched to the Tongguan Left Guard Station by the Vice-Minister of Taichang Temple, seemingly under the jurisdiction of the Tongguan Left Guard Station, the high-ranking officers of the Tongguan Left Guard Station dared not treat Qi Tian as an ordinary person. Qi Tian was considered highly, not just because he was a cultivator at Foundation Establishment Stage, but also because he was backed by the Imperial Master Mansion. Ordinary officers dared not show any disrespect to him.

After receiving the notice from the guards, although Huang Zhiwei was very busy, he immediately put down all his tasks and personally met Qi Tian.

He invited Qi Tian into his Commander Mansion and ordered the servants to bring some tea. He then apologized, “Master Qi, I received a report informing me of your arrival at our Tongguan Left Guard Station. Normally, I should have visited you immediately, but I was really too busy to spare any time. Please do not take it to heart. Once I have some time, I will host a banquet to apologize to you.”

Qi Tian waved his hand and said, “Commander Huang, I understand that you are busy. Let’s talk about the banquet later; the most important thing at present is to ensure the successful defense of the impending border. Other things are trivial.”

“I’m relieved that you understand,” Huang Zhiwei stood up and bowed deeply to Qi Tian, “If only every immortal master were as understanding as you. I would be under much less pressure. Speaking of which, is there anything in particular that brings you here? Please feel free to tell me. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll help you solve it.”

Qi Tian said, “I came here to ask you something, Commander Huang. I hope you can tell me the truth.”

Huang Zhiwei was initially afraid that Qi Tian would make difficult requests, such as asking for accommodations or cultivation resources. However, he didn’t expect Qi Tian simply wanted to ask him a question, Huang Zhiwei quickly said, “Master Qi, please ask. I promise to tell you everything I know.”

Qi Tian asked, “I want to know if we have any cultivators acting as spies here at the Tongguan Left Guard Station? If so, what is their highest cultivation level?”

Huang Zhiwei wasn’t sure why Qi Tian was asking this, as technically, this was a military secret of the Tongguan Left Guard Station and not something that could be casually disclosed. But taking into account Qi Tian’s identity, Huang Zhiwei was not worried that Qi Tian would leak the information, so he replied, “There are indeed spies in the Tongguan Left Guard Station, but none of them are cultivators. We do have some cultivator scouts, but they are all visible and not hidden. Why would immortal masters take part in such trivial, unglamorous tasks? Not only here at the Tongguan Left Guard Station, even the Tongguan Guard Station does not have cultivators as spies. As for other Guard Stations, I’m not sure, but I assume they’re pretty much the same.”

“So that’s how it is,” a glint flickered in Qi Tian’s eyes as realization dawned.

“Master Qi, did you discover something?” asked Huang Zhiwei cautiously.

“Haha, it’s nothing, just curiosity.” As he spoke, Qi Tian stood up, and said, “Commander Huang, since you’re busy, I won’t hold you up any longer. Goodbye.”

Huang Zhiwei was unsure about Qi Tian’s intentions, but he still personally escorted Qi Tian out of the Commander Mansion and watched him leave before returning to his mansion.

Qi Tian didn’t waste any time and headed directly to his rented courtyard…