A person completely hidden behind a black cloak appeared in front of Shang. The Magic Circles on the cloak made it impossible to see any part of the person.
Shang wasn't particularly surprised. Sweepers were powerful, and the Natural Selection Company was searching for them like crazy.
Every single Sweeper was a big problem to the Natural Selection Company since they could take down extremely important people and deal huge damage to their finances.
It was natural that the Sweepers would want to keep their identity completely secret.
Sure, the black cloak would probably immediately give away the fact that they were Sweepers, but whoever was looking at them wouldn't know which Sweeper they were.
As the two people faced each other, one wouldn't be able to overlook the contrast between the two of them.
One side was completely black and hidden, while the other side was deathly white.
"You are White Ghost?" the person inside the cloak spoke. Judging by the voice, it was a woman.
"I am," Shang answered.
"Activate your ability to hide from Spirit Senses," the Sweeper said.
A moment later, Shang's body seemed to become slightly brighter, and it was almost like the colors of his body didn't fit into the surroundings anymore.
It was like he didn't belong there.
The Sweeper watched Shang for about three seconds.
"Mages that know the level two Pure Concept of Light or Darkness can see through your veil. An Ancestral Mage might be able to notice you without knowing the relevant Concepts, but they would need to be very perceptive and careful."
"Avoid any and all Ancestral Mages and avoid Light and Darkness Archmages," the Sweeper ordered.
"That was my plan," Shang said.
Shang had just met the Sweeper, and the Sweeper immediately answered an important question of his.
Shang had never truly known just how effective Shroud was, and he couldn't just test it since he would die if someone noticed him.
"I don't think that we will meet a Space Mage on our journey, but you also need to be careful of those," the Sweeper said. "They can sense the vibrations of space in their surroundings."
Shang only nodded.
Space, Time, and Gravity Mages were exceptionally rare and were all part of the Mage Emperors' forces.
"We will be traveling to the Sky Lantern's territory," the Sweeper explained. "The Sky Lantern is a powerful bird with a Wind and Light Affinity. We will have to move through some dangerous places. It's imperative that you follow my orders, or I can't guarantee your survival."
"I will," Shang answered.
"Good. Then, we will start right now. Follow me," the Sweeper said before taking to the sky.
Shang also took to the sky, and the two of them shot toward the east.
The journey was silent.
The Sweeper was traveling at speeds that a normal Initial Archmage could deal with, which was quite a bit slower than Shang could actually travel at.
However, Shang didn't inform the Sweeper about that. He didn't want to appear too suspicious.
If Shang could travel far faster than a normal Mage, the Sweeper might ask some difficult questions.
After flying for a couple of minutes, the Sweeper took a turn to the left, and Shang followed.
Shang didn't know why they were changing directions, but he guessed that the Sweeper saw something with her Spirit Sense.
Of course, if the Sweeper found an Ancestral Beast with her Spirit Sense, the Ancestral Beast would also see her at the same time.
But as long as she immediately retreated out of the enemy's Spirit Sense again, she could make it very difficult for the Ancestral Beast to chase her.
Naturally, most Ancestral Beasts also didn't care.
After taking a long detour, the Sweeper continued traveling towards the east, but just a couple of seconds later, she changed directions again.
For the next 30 minutes, the two of them were traveling far more towards the south and north in alternating orders than east.
If they were flying in a straight line, they could have reached the same distance in just four minutes.
Shang didn't say anything.
The Sweeper knew how to navigate the outside world better than him, and he wouldn't question her methods.
"We are avoiding Archbeasts," the Sweeper suddenly transmitted to Shang, even though he didn't ask.
"How come?" Shang asked.
"A battle against an Archbeast, even when very brief, might attract an aggressive Ancestral Beast. Battling an Ancestral Beast might attract an Enforcer that's passing by. If an Enforcer sees me, the chances are high that Hamon Dreila will make his way here," the Sweeper explained.
Shang didn't show any reaction, but he certainly felt the danger and risk.
Sure, the chances of all of these coincidences lining up were low, but if it happened often enough, the coincidences would eventually line up just right.
While the Sweeper could probably deal with an Enforcer, if the Enforcer actually managed to contact Hamon Dreila, their deaths were very likely.
Hamon Dreila was one of the three Mage Lords of the Natural Selection Company.
Sweepers were so important to kill to the Natural Selection Company that the appearance of any Sweeper might pull out one of the three Mage Lords.
Hamon Dreila stayed in a huge city near the west of the territory. The city was about 200,000 kilometers away from Shang's current location.
Sure, Hamon Dreila would need a couple of minutes to reach this place, but with his terrifyingly large Spirit Sense and speed, he could fly around and scan the surrounding 100,000 kilometers.
Shang would never be able to escape that far in just a couple of minutes.
The Sweeper might be able to escape, but the chances were very low.
Even though the two of them hadn't reached any dangerous location yet, Shang could already see how risky it was to travel through the wilderness without a guide.
Usually, the Temple of Blood always gave Shang the locations of all the dangerous beasts, and he could just travel from one place to the next after planning his route.
But everything was different now.
Traveling without such a guide was like trying to go through a maze without a map. There was bound to be a lot of backtracking, turning around, and taking detours.
Shang knew that, without the Sweeper, he would have never reached the Beast Lord.
If the rulers of the surroundings weren't searching for him, he might be able to get there by joining different caravans and groups.
But there were no ifs in the world.
