Then, he changed into the most ordinary traveler’s attire, like a true mage about to embark on a long journey, carrying a simple backpack, and silently left the Star Embers Potion Shop.

Now that the Four Gods Sect was paying attention, he could no longer use the potion shop as a fixed teleportation point.

Duke had already announced to the public that he would be traveling, so he left Azure Vault City openly, and instead found a secluded place as his teleportation point.

He carried a simple backpack, blending into the crowd of travelers leaving the city, just like countless ordinary traveling mages who briefly stayed in Azure Vault City before continuing their journey, passing the routine inspection of the gatekeepers without a hitch.

Duke’s steps were steady, his gaze calmly directed towards the road south leading to the Emerald Woodlands, playing the part of an explorer yearning for distant horizons.

However, just when he had left the city gate about two miles away, turning onto a quiet path leading towards the southern hills, a faint and insidious spiritual power with clear intent to investigate clung to him like a shadow.

This spiritual power wasn’t a continuous lock but intermittently and skillfully surveyed, using the trees and rocks alongside the road for cover, clearly a seasoned tracker not wishing to alert him prematurely.

Yet, for Duke, or accurately for any wizard, such clumsy techniques were easily discernible.

Despite their belief in the stealth, to a wizard, it was child’s play—easily seen through.

"As expected, someone is tailing me... the Fire God Sect’s style, cautious indeed." Duke thought to himself, without any change in his expression, maintaining his leisurely walking pace.

He even occasionally stopped to crouch down and observe herbs by the roadside or take out a simple map for comparison, vividly portraying a traveling mage absorbed in his journey, unaware of the danger behind him.

The path he chose gradually veered off the main road, winding deeper into the sparse vegetation and strange rock formations at the edge of the low mountains.

Here, the terrain began to complicate, visibility was partially restricted, making it ideal for shaking off pursuers.

Duke maintained a steady pace, seemingly casually choosing a side path, heading towards what appeared to be a dead-end crevice among the rocks.

The tracker behind seemed hesitant, the scanning frequency of his spiritual power slightly increased, but he didn’t immediately close in, evidently also trying to determine Duke’s intent—whether he was genuinely seeking a secluded harvest point. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Just as Duke’s figure was about to vanish in the shadow of the rock crevice, a glint flashed in his eyes.

As he stepped into the shadow, his body outline seemed to merge completely with the dark side of the rocks, his aura suddenly erased as if wiped away by a rubber.

Without staying in place, he moved silently along a narrow, naturally sheltered groove on the rock cleft’s other side, swiftly sliding into the mountain’s interior, entirely leaving the tracker’s direct line of sight.

Duke directly used the Shadow Cloak, retreating into the Shadow Space, quickly leaving the area.

Almost simultaneously, a swift figure darted out from behind a rock several dozen meters away—it was a nimble male wearing inconspicuous grey-brown leather armor, holding a short staff, his sharp eyes scanning the rock crevice.

He quickly advanced, his spiritual power expanding fully, meticulously searching inside and outside the crevice.

However, all he saw was the end of an empty crevice and a few clusters of resilient weeds.

Duke’s aura had seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of energy residue, as if the traveling mage he had seen was merely an illusion.

"Disappeared? How is that possible?" The tracker’s face changed, his eyebrows furrowed.

He carefully inspected the ground, uncovering no fresh footprints or magic traces.

He tried probing toward the mountain above and deeper sides of the crevice, but the groove Duke chose was extremely concealed, and upon entry, he disrupted the weak airflow and energy field nearby using his spiritual power, leaving no obvious clues.

The tracker lingered for a while in the same spot, expanded his search area but still found nothing.

Ultimately, he could only abandon his pursuit with a gloomy expression, quickly retracing his steps, evidently off to report to Deacon Hector who had dispatched him about this "target unexpectedly lost in complex terrain."

Meanwhile, Duke had already followed the natural groove, delving into the interior of the mountains.

Without pausing, relying on his keen sense of the terrain and calculated pathways, he traversed swiftly through the dim and rugged mountain fissures and cave networks, continually distancing himself from his initial disappearance point.

About half an hour later, he arrived at a natural small cavern deep within the mountains.

The entrance was discreet, shielded by hanging vines and scattered stones, the internal space was small but dry and quiet, with tiny cracks above allowing in faint daylight, ensuring decent air circulation.

Most importantly, this place was deep within the mountains, rarely trodden by humans, and the terrain was complex, making extensive searches or long-term monitoring difficult.

Duke carefully inspected both inside and outside the cavern, confirming safety before finally relaxing.

Sitting cross-legged on a flat rock in the center of the cavern, he concentrated his spiritual power on the crucial Coordinates Earring.

He infused a stable stream of spiritual power into the Coordinates Earring, simultaneously triggering its recording function.

The gemstone of the earring suddenly shone brightly and steadily, beginning to scan, anchor, and record the precise spatial coordinates, energy field characteristics, and subtle plane rules rhythm of his current location.

This process lasted about a minute, the gemstone’s light gradually returning to its usual state, but with a newly logged set of complex and profound coordinates—Oracle Plane, unknown mountains, coordinates of a hidden cavern successfully recorded.

With this new secret teleportation point, he wouldn’t need to pass through Azure Vault City upon returning to the Oracle Plane, directly appearing in the secluded mountain depths, greatly reducing exposure risk.

He took one last look at the temporarily chosen coordinates point, memorizing the surrounding environmental features strongly in his mind.

Then, without hesitation, he activated the Coordinates Earring again, target locked—Flower Sea Plane, Dream Manor.

The next moment, the cavern returned to silence and darkness, only the subtle spatial fluctuations in the air, rapidly dissipating, proved there was a brief presence.

...

Azure Vault City, Fire God Temple, Deacon Hector’s study.

A faint blend of sulfur and heated sandalwood lingered throughout the room, tapestries depicting flame runes and ancient sacrificial ceremonies hung on the walls, the fireplace fueled not by logs, but sustained by magic—a perpetual leaping, radiating red flame.

Hector sat behind an expansive desk carved from dark red warm wood, his fingers unconsciously stroking a flame-shaped red gemstone ring, his amber eyes fixed on a dossier on the desk, brows slightly furrowed.

The dossier contained preliminary investigation information about "Star Embers Potion Shop owner—Duke (self-identified traveling mage)," not much content, primarily based on recent observations and today’s brief visit.

It indicated this person had formidable magic potion proficiency, elusive movements, had recently journeyed eastward to collect materials, returned shortly after the relic incident claiming no success, and intended to travel south again.

The overall assessment showed little suspicion, but given his activity timeline partially overlapped with the relic incident and his mysterious identity, basic monitoring was recommended.

Just then, the study door was knocked gently.

"Come in." Hector said in a deep voice.

The door opened, the grey-brown leather-armored man who had previously tracked Duke quickly entered, kneeling on one knee, his face showing a trace of undisguised perplexity and anxiety: "Master Deacon, subordinate has returned."

Hector raised his head, eyes sharp as a torchlight: "Speak."

"Subordinate followed orders to tail target Duke, who behaved normally after leaving the city, proceeded along a southern path, occasionally stopping to observe herbs, check maps, nothing unusual." The tracker clearly reported, "At about two miles outside the city, entered the Black Stone Hills’ fringe area, the terrain became increasingly complex, target chose a quiet side path leading to the rocky region."