Chapter 104: Pingyang City

Chu Xin'er knew Xiao Wen would not act without cause. The moment she heard its telepathic warning, she recalled her magical tool and retreated rapidly. Old Man Hua and Liang Fan, unaware of the impending danger, were a beat slower to react.

As they witnessed a flurry of talismans appear, transforming into a torrential wave of overlapping attacks, Old Man Hua’s face turned deathly pale. His strongest earth-element defensive talisman had already been exhausted, leaving him with nowhere to turn. Realizing the retribution had come far too quickly and that he was trapped by the proximity of his foes, he could only press his hands against his protective light barrier, gritting his teeth as he poured all his spiritual energy into it in a desperate attempt to survive.

Liang Fan, who had been puzzled by Chu Xin'er’s sudden retreat, realized the situation was dire, but it was already too late to escape. Fortunately, he still had some distance from Old Man Hua; he retreated while activating his last-resort life-saving talisman and reinforcing his protective aura to its limit.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

A scream tore through the sound of the explosions—Old Man Hua’s cry, which was cut abruptly short. Xiao Wenzi had used mid-grade talismans; a dozen of them combined were equivalent to the simultaneous assault of over a dozen early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Since he did not practice any ancient, legendary arts, his standard defensive aura was clearly insufficient to withstand such an onslaught. The moment his barrier shattered, Old Man Hua was torn to shreds by blade-like energy and hurricanes, his remnant soul incinerated into nothingness by the raging flames.

Protected by two layers of defense—the Demon Shield talisman and his own demonic aura—Xiao Wenzi was pushed back by the shockwave but remained completely unharmed. Once he regained his balance, he flapped his wings and charged toward Liang Fan, whose barrier was twisted and distorted, his face deathly pale with blood trickling from his lips. Although Liang Fan had only been caught in the periphery, he had not escaped unscathed. Now was the perfect opportunity to finish him off.

Clang!

A clear, melodic sword hum rang out. Chu Xin'er, who had retreated to safety upon receiving the warning, would not pass up this chance to strike while her enemy was down.

"Fellow Daoist, it was all my fault! Please stop, I am willing to offer compensation!"

Though Xiao Wenzi’s system currency was exhausted, his cultivation at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, bolstered by the "Blood Spirit Great Method"—a technique far superior to those of the current cultivation world—meant his combat power was not inferior to a twelfth-level cultivator.

With the addition of the two mid-grade magical tools controlled by Chu Xin'er, Liang Fan was soon overwhelmed. Just as his protective aura was about to be shattered, he could not help but cry out for mercy.

"Hmph! Regret now? Where were you before?"

This man had harbored malicious intentions, conspiring with Old Man Hua and the burly man surnamed Bao, nearly causing her grave injury. If not for Xiao Wen turning the tide, she might well have perished here. How could she let him go now?

She snorted coldly and, rather than stopping, intensified her assault.

Bang! Amidst the continuous barrage, Liang Fan’s flying sword finally shattered, and his protective barrier was ripped open by the blade-wings and the willow-leaf knife. Blood sprayed as his head—along with the soul within—was completely obliterated. His body fell backward.

The battle had not been easy, and this mountain range was only a hundred miles from the Luoping Market, a place frequented by passing cultivators. To prevent any complications, Chu Xin'er did not pause to meditate or heal after the fight. She consumed a pill to stabilize her condition, gathered the storage bags and magical tools of her fallen foes, and transformed into a streak of light, fleeing the scene.

Chu Xin'er had gathered two full sets of materials for refining Foundation Establishment pills. Her next step was to find a place to rest and recover from her injuries before doing anything else. The cultivation world was filled with blood and strife; to avoid attracting unwanted attention, she chose a temporary cave dwelling she had used once before, as it was located in a secluded area rarely visited by others.

Having sustained internal injuries, she was in no condition to scout for a new location. That hidden valley was the best choice. Perhaps the goddess of luck was smiling upon her; she flew for the better part of a day without encountering trouble. As night fell, she finally arrived at the secluded valley nestled deep within the mountains.

The entrance to the cave, overgrown with vines, lay ahead. Using her divine sense, she discovered that the interior remained exactly as she had left it, and she finally let out a long sigh of relief. She set up her formation, installed sufficient spirit stones, and stepped inside.

The dwelling was simple. When she had left, she had taken the night-luminescent pearls used for lighting, but replacing them was a trivial task. With that done, she sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, took a medicinal pill, and began to meditate.

The location was remote, and the Fog-Concealing Demon-Subduing Formation provided both concealment and hallucinatory effects, ensuring no cultivators would disturb her in the short term. Four or five days passed in the blink of an eye. Chu Xin'er’s injuries were fully healed, and she held a storage bag in her hand, reviewing her spoils.

"Green-Bud Dragon-Beard Grass, Seven-Leaf Purple Vine Flower, Antelope Blood Ginseng... not bad, not bad at all. That scoundrel Liang Fan actually collected a full set of materials for Foundation Establishment pills. Wait—this is a Clear Spirit Pill, useful for healing and detoxifying. And these are all Qi-Gathering Pills."

As a medicine boy from the Spirit Medicine Sect who also operated a shop in the market, Liang Fan’s storage bag was naturally well-stocked with pills needed by low-level cultivators, and in such quantities that they would last Chu Xin'er a long time. Old Man Hua and the burly man were also peak Qi-Refining cultivators; their combined wealth was substantial. Added to the herbs Liang Fan had collected, she had truly struck it rich.

If nothing else, the materials for the Foundation Establishment pills alone, combined with the various pills in the bottles and jars, were worth over ten thousand spirit stones. With these resources, provided there were no accidents, finding an alchemist to refine the pills would be a certainty. How could her heart not be filled with joy?

However, various signs indicated that something major was about to happen in Pingzhou County. She needed to break through to the next realm as quickly as possible to increase her chances of survival. After organizing her items, she left the valley with Xiao Wenzi.

Her next step was to head toward the Spirit Medicine Sect, but the journey was long. With her current cultivation level, traveling solely by flight would take at least a month or two. If a minor Qi-Refining cultivator like her were to use a teleportation array, it would draw too much attention.

Of course, nothing is perfect; the path of cultivation is thorny. Even by flying discreetly, one might encounter malicious evil cultivators. After careful consideration, Chu Xin'er decided to go to the nearest city, Pingyang, to use the teleportation array.

Although Pingyang was not a top-tier city in the northern region of Pingzhou, it had a population of several million. With many cultivators gathering there, the streets were bustling and lively.

After paying a few spirit stones, Chu Xin'er easily blended into the crowd and entered Pingyang. Since she would be leaving soon and would need a significant amount of spirit stones to pay for the pill refining at the Spirit Medicine Sect, she decided to visit the local market to sell her useless magical tools and storage bags.

Half a month earlier at the Luoping Market, she had already sold seven or eight tools. However, after the battle against Liang Fan and Old Man Hua, she had gained three or four more low-grade tools and three extra storage bags. Counting her previous ones, she had over ten in total—far more than she could ever use.