The Sudden Appearance of the Jie Cultivators
now.
On the main avenue of the bustling Lingxiao Marketplace, nine cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of Ling Xiao, dressed in Ling Clan Daoist Robe and exuding a murderous Qi Refining, walked slowly in a long line, constantly scanning their surroundings.
The Qi Refining cultivators around the avenue, upon seeing this group of the Ling Clan cultivators, all showed a hint of fear and dared not approach, keeping their distance to avoid incurring the wrath of the Ling Clan's patrolling market team.
Although the Ling Clan cultivators in these patrol teams were not highly skilled, each possessed several First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Artifact and numerous Spirit Talisman Cave, making them extremely powerful.
Some time ago, those Qi Training Stage cultivators who caused trouble in the market were all easily killed by these patrol teams.
The Ling Clan's patrol team also gained immense prestige in Lingxiao Marketplace through fighting and killing.
Just then, a terrifyingly loud sound suddenly came from outside the market.
"Fellow Daoist of the Ling Clan, a buyer who purchased a spiritual item from my stall has been stalking and pursuing me after I left the market. Please save me."
Upon hearing this, Ling Pengcheng, the leader of the Ling Clan patrol team, immediately used his Aura Observation Technique to look towards the place outside the market where the sound came from.
Immediately, he saw a young cultivator, exuding the aura of the Qi Training Late Stage Refining, with a Qing Feng swirling around him, an ordinary appearance but fairly regular features, and a look of panic, fleeing towards the market from a place several miles away.
About half a mile behind him, a cultivator who was masked during the day, dressed in a black robe, whose figure and gender were indistinguishable, but who exuded the aura of Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was chasing after him.
After the fleeing young cultivator shouted for help, attracting the attention of many cultivators within Lingxiao Marketplace, the cold face beneath the veil of the black-clad Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator immediately darkened.
"Damn it."
He knew that there was a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator from the Ling Clan family stationed in Lingxiao Marketplace.
Now he is not far from the market, only a few miles away. If he is targeted by that Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator from the Ling Clan in the market, he will be in trouble.
With that thought in mind, he immediately stopped and fled, but before leaving, he didn't intend to let the young "fat sheep" get away with it.
He clenched his fists and used the second-tier Fire Dragon Technique to condense a fire dragon four zhang in size, which then slammed into the young cultivator who was fleeing towards the market.
Seeing this, the fleeing young cultivator, in order to save his life, endured the pain and took out a second-tier Water Cloud Shroud Spirit Talisman Cave from his Storage Bag and affixed it to himself, conjuring a thick, light blue screen that barely managed to block the fire dragon.
The azure light screen was also damaged by the fire dragon, and was covered with cracks.
The Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who was chasing them, with a black veil and a cold expression, was startled upon seeing this.
"Second Rank Low Grade Water Cloud Shroud Spirit Talisman Cave!"
"This person is truly fat, a real fat sheep. Unfortunately, he has already attracted the attention of the cultivators within Lingxiao Marketplace. It will be difficult to press our advantage, kill him, and seize his spiritual treasures."
Immediately afterwards, the cold-looking Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with a black veil fled away in the opposite direction from the market.
Ling Pengcheng, who was standing on the main street of the market, fixed his gaze on the young cultivator who had successfully escaped, on the gentle Qing Feng that propelled him forward and the light screen formed by the Water Cloud Shroud Spirit Talisman Cave. His eyes narrowed and he was secretly amazed.
"This Qing Feng aura is powerful; it's probably not formed from an ordinary Second Rank Low Grade Wind Riding Talisman... Could it be formed from Second Grade Middle Rank Wind Riding Talisman?"
"A defensive light barrier formed by Second Rank Low Grade Water Cloud Shroud Spirit Talisman Cave!"
"I never expected that a mere Qi Training Late Stage cultivator could produce two Spirit Talisman Cave of such high quality. No wonder he was able to escape from that Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in black."
"This person's background is probably extraordinary."
Second Rank Spirit Talisman correspond to the Foundation Establishment Realm and are extremely expensive on the market.
A Second Rank Low Grade Spirit Talisman Cave costs at least two hundred Spirit Stone. Defensive Spirit Talisman Water Cloud Shroud Spirit Talisman Cave will generally cost about 30% more, with a market price of around two hundred and fifty Spirit Stone.
That Second Grade Middle Rank Wind Riding Talisman is worth at least four hundred Spirit Stone.
In this way, the young cultivator, who was only at the Qi Training Late Stage, spent a total of 650 Spirit Stone to escape.
Six hundred and fifty Spirit Stone is a considerable sum for a Qi Training Stage cultivator; even an ordinary Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator might not be able to afford such Spirit Stone.
As for Ling Pengcheng's identity, it is not simple either. He belongs to the Ling Clan Peng Generation and is the ninth in the Peng Generation. He is a cultivator with Three Spirit Roots and is now over seventy years old. His cultivation has reached the Qi Refining Consummation Realm.
Based on his aptitude and the training he received from his Lineage, he had a chance to break through to the Qi Training Completion before the age of sixty.
However, he was injured when he was young and it took him several years to recover. It wasn't until he was sixty-two years old that he was able to raise his Qi Refining to the Consummation Realm, thus missing the opportunity to Foundation Establishment.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that Ling Pengcheng is the grandson of the Ling Clan, a member of the "Ling Rufan" Ru Generation of the Ling family who have all passed away.
When Ling Rufan was old, he worked in the Lineage, delivering salaries to clansmen stationed at various Spirit Vein.
In his early years, when Ling Pengyun was still in the Qi Refining stage and stationed at Azure Stone Mountain, he had sent Ling Pengyun his salary several times.
As his thoughts returned, Ling Pengcheng looked into the distance and saw the black-clad Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had fled as soon as the young cultivator uttered the words "Intercepting Cultivator." A cold smile appeared on his face.
"If this person had a legitimate reason to hunt down that Qi Training Late Stage Refining cultivator, he wouldn't have run away. Given this unusual behavior, coupled with his strange attire—wearing a black robe in broad daylight—that Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in black robes has likely confirmed his identity as a Jie cultivator."
"Anyone who dares to violate the rule set by the Ling Clan that no fighting or ambushes are allowed in the Lingxiao Marketplace Lingxiao Ridge Market is courting death."
He gently waved his hand and crushed the token symbolizing the Ling Clan hanging at his waist.
In just ten breaths, a fiery red spiritual light arrived at Ling Pengcheng's side from the summit of Cloud Peak, where the market was located.
And the fiery red spiritual light also revealed its form.
The visitor was none other than Ling Pengqiu, Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer Peak expert from the Ling Clan stationed in this Lingxiao Marketplace.
"Brother Peng Cheng, which blind cultivator dares to cause trouble in the market?"
Ling Pengqiu, whose cultivation had been disturbed, asked Ling Pengcheng, a Qi Training Completion cultivator who was leading the patrol team, with a sullen face.
"That man ambushed and killed everyone in the market in front of them!"
Seeing Ling Pengqiu's expression, Ling Pengcheng smiled slightly and pointed to the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in black who had broken the Ling Clan's rules and fled ten miles away from the market.
Following Ling Pengcheng's direction, Ling Pengqiu looked toward the black-clad Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had fled far away but could still be seen.
Just then, he heard some very faint whispers coming from the surrounding area. Turning his head, he saw that many cultivators on the main road of the market were looking at him.
The whispers and murmurs were the cultivators present discussing whether he, the "Marketplace Lord" of Lingxiao Marketplace, would take action to kill the black-clad Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had publicly acted as an Interceptor.
"This is troublesome. That Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator is incredibly audacious, daring to ambush someone so close to the market."
Ling Pengqiu felt a sudden annoyance and sighed inwardly.
If this matter is not handled properly, the reputation of the market will definitely be affected.
Ling Pengqiu waved his hand and patted the Storage Bag at his waist, summoning a Second Rank High Grade Red Crab flying boat. He stepped onto it, transforming into a streak of red light, and immediately gave chase.
This Second Rank High Grade flying boat was crafted by Ling Pengyun, a veteran Second Rank High Grade Artifact Refiner. Its quality is among the Higher Vehicle of the Second Rank High Grade, and its speed is 30% faster than other flying boats of the same tier, enough to reach a flight speed of about 120,000 li per day.
In contrast, the black-clad Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who was fleeing didn't even have a flying boat. He relied solely on a second-tier Wind Control Technique to travel, and could only travel about 10,000 to 20,000 miles a day at most. His speed was extremely slow compared to Ling Pengqiu's flying boat.
In just a hundred breaths, Ling Pengqiu caught up with him.
Then, he directly summoned the Second Rank High Grade Lifebound Magic Item "Crimson Sun Raging Flames Fan", which he had been refining for decades.
He raised his hand and gently waved his magic fan. The fan immediately burst into flames, and countless flames surged out and quickly condensed into a "Fire Flood Dragon" that was twenty feet long, with distinct scales on its body, a ferocious face, and a small protrusion on its head.
As soon as this Fire Flood Dragon emerged from the outside world, it bared its fangs and claws and directly attacked the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment black-clad cultivator who was escaping on the ground below using the Wind Control Technique.
This Fire Flood Dragon was incredibly powerful, capable of contending even with Foundation Establishment Completion cultivator at the peak of their cultivation. Even when the black-clad Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator unleashed his strongest second -Second Rank Low Grade flying sword, he couldn't harm the Fire Flood Dragon at all. Instead, the Fire Flood Dragon melted him into molten iron.
The Fire Flood Dragon also spat out a mouthful of crimson flames, instantly incinerating the black-clad Foundation Establishment Cultivator to ashes.
Standing atop the Second Rank High Grade flying boat, Ling Pengqiu looked at the ashes on the ground and cursed under his breath.
"What bad luck."
"Counting this incident, since the Lingxiao Marketplace was built, there have been at least ten instances of ambushes targeting visitors to our market within the Ling Clan Lingxiao Ridge area. There are probably many more that are unknown to our Ling Clan."
"If this continues, the customer traffic that the Lineage has worked so hard to build up in the market will probably be deterred from coming to Lingxiao Marketplace and will instead go to markets in other areas."
"They promised my Ling Clan that they would manage the thousands of Qi Refining Rogue Cultivator and the twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator in the Lingxiao Ridge area. I wonder what they're even doing."
"They take a lot of Spirit Stone stones from the market built by my Ling Clan and do nothing. They deserve to die. If they weren't in important positions and still useful to the Lineage, they should all be killed."
Before the market was even established, Ling Pengyun of the Ling Clan sought out the few Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator, numbering only about twenty, among the more than five hundred Spirit Vein in the Lingxiao Ridge area where the market was located.
An agreement was made with those twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator.
In the future, three-tenths of the profits from Lingxiao Marketplace will go to those twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator.
The task of the twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator was to quell the thousands of independent Rogue Cultivator residing on the more than five hundred Spirit Vein in the Lingxiao Ridge area, and to manage the safety of this region.
If cultivators were to fight each other, they would be required to intervene.
The Lingxiao Ridge region spans only about 50,000 li in length and width. The Spirit Vein rented by the twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Cultivator are distributed throughout the Lingxiao Ridge region.
They each had many Qi Training Stage at the Qi Refining stage.
Ling Pengqiu didn't believe it. Those who were being chased by the Intercepting Cultivators had all fled to the vicinity of Lingxiao Marketplace, and those twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Cultivator were still unaware of this.
Those cultivators aren't fools. They wouldn't ambush cultivators near the market; they would do it in a remote, far-off place.
Under such circumstances, the only reason why the twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator employed by the Ling Clan did not take action was that they did not want to get involved.
Upon thinking this, Ling Pengqiu's face immediately blazed with boundless rage.
He immediately stepped onto the Second Rank High Grade flying boat beneath him and returned to Lingxiao Marketplace. He loudly proclaimed in the market that the Intermediate Cultivator was dead and that if any Intermediate Cultivator appeared in the future, he would definitely destroy them, thus establishing the prestige of the Ling Clan.
Afterwards, he sought out Ling Pengcheng, the leader of the patrol team on the main street of the market, and asked him to send someone to summon the twenty or so Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator had promised the Lineage that they would manage the safety of the Lingxiao Ridge area to the market.