Night Raid

Night fell like ink, swallowing the chaotic Qingshi Market whole.

The daytime clamor had not fully subsided. Instead, more dangerous unrest was brewing in the darkness.

The occasional brief scream from afar and the hum of Dharma Artifacts colliding made this autumn night feel especially long and cold.

Inside Chen's Pill Furnace, the lamps had long gone out.

Chen Xing and Li Douzi huddled in a corner, listening to the faint sounds outside, scarcely daring to breathe.

Li Chengjie sat cross-legged near the door. He appeared to be meditating and regulating his breath, but his spiritual sense was in fact highly focused, like an invisible Spider Web shrouding more than ten yards around the Pill Hut.

The Mysterious Flame Art circulated slowly within him, not only replenishing the Spiritual Power he had expended on alchemy during the day, but also keeping him in peak fighting condition.

Time ticked by amid the stifling silence. Just past midnight was the most weary hour of the day, when vigilance was at its lowest.

Suddenly, Li Chengjie's tightly shut eyes snapped open, an icy gleam flashing through them.

Li Chengjie's spiritual sense caught two exceedingly faint presences, yet ones carrying unmistakable malice. They were silently approaching the Pill Hut from the mouth of the alley like ghosts.

They were here!

Li Chengjie rose without a sound and made gestures to Chen Xing and Li Douzi in the corner: silence, and stay alert.

Chen Xing's entire body stiffened, his face instantly turning deathly pale as he clamped a hand over his mouth.

Li Douzi was so frightened that he curled himself into a ball.

"Click..."

An exceedingly faint sound, like a door bolt being pried loose, came from outside.

Chen Xing's crude lock was no more than an empty shell before someone determined to get in.

Li Chengjie thought, That old fox Chen Xing is so miserly that he can't even bear to set up the most basic warning and Defense Formation. Now it has indeed become a fatal flaw.

Li Chengjie silently moved into the shadows beside the door as his Internal Spiritual Energy began circulating faster.

"Creak—"

A soft scraping sound rang out as the Pill Hut's none-too-sturdy door was slowly pushed open from outside, leaving a narrow crack.

Two shadows slipped inside one after the other like civet cats. Their movements were practiced; clearly, this was not their first time doing such work.

By the faint moonlight filtering through the crack in the door, Li Chengjie saw their faces—it was the Liu brothers, Liu Degui and Liu Deming, who usually ran a stall at the western end of the Marketplace and were known for being honest and simple!

Both were at Qi Refining Level 5. The amiability they usually wore had long vanished from their faces, leaving only greed and ruthlessness.

"Hehe, Old Miser Chen sure sleeps like the dead." Liu Deming lowered his voice, a smug, savage grin in it. His gaze swept through the room like a searchlight and immediately locked onto the cabinet in the corner that stored pills and medicinal ingredients.

To robbing cultivators like them, an Alchemist was the fattest sheep of all.

"Move quickly. Take the goods and leave. Don't stir up trouble." Liu Degui was relatively more cautious, but he could not hide his excitement as he urged his brother on.

The brothers had been watching Chen Xing's Pill Furnace for far more than a day or two. They had long figured out the situation—there was only Chen Xing, a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator, and two useless apprentices, with virtually no defenses.

Hunched over, the two headed straight for the medicine cabinet, completely failing to notice Li Chengjie concealed in the shadows behind the door.

Just as Liu Deming's hand was about to touch the medicine cabinet—

Chen Xing unleashed a Fire-attribute spell at the two of them, but they easily dodged his attack.

Chen Xing was startled. He had not expected the two to be so nimble.

The sound of the spell rang abruptly through the deathly silent Pill Hut.

The Liu brothers seemed to have been struck by a immobilization spell. Their bodies abruptly stiffened as they turned their heads in horror!

Chen Xing had somehow risen from the corner. Though his face was still pale and his body still trembled faintly, he gripped a heavy Jade Pestle tightly in his hand, standing before the medicine cabinet.

Chen Xing forced himself to remain calm, but his voice trembled uncontrollably. "L-Liu Degui, Liu Deming? It's you? What do you want?"

Liu Deming froze for a moment, then the savage grin on his face deepened. "Old Miser Chen, you're awake? Perfect! Saves us from turning the place upside down! Hand over the pills and Spirit Stones if you know what's good for you!"

Liu Degui also came to his senses, suppressing the flicker of panic at being discovered. He snarled, "Furnace Master Chen, times have changed. The brothers just need to borrow some travel money. Cooperate obediently, and we'll take the goods and leave. We definitely won't harm your lives!"

"Y-you're robbing us!" Chen Xing was shocked and enraged, his voice growing shrill. "I always thought you were honest and decent. I even supported your business, and you actually dare..."

"Cut the fucking nonsense!" Liu Deming impatiently interrupted him. Taking a step forward, he pressed the Spirit Pressure of Qi Refining Level 5 down upon Chen Xing. "Can being honest and decent be spent like Spirit Stones? Hurry up! Otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

Just as Chen Xing was forced backward again and again by that Spirit Pressure, on the verge of collapse—

"Heh."

Li Chengjie slowly stepped out.

Li Chengjie's gaze calmly swept over the Liu brothers before finally settling on the pale-faced Chen Xing. He spoke indifferently. "Furnace Master, why waste words on two wild dogs you can't feed tame?"

"Who the fuck are you calling wild dogs?!" Liu Deming flew into a rage, glaring viciously at Li Chengjie.

Liu Deming's attention had been entirely on Chen Xing and the medicine cabinet until now. Only at this moment did he truly see the young man emerging from the shadows.

Fourth layer of Qi Condensation? No, that Spirit Pressure... Qi Refining Level 5! His heart lurched.

Liu Degui's pupils shrank. He sharply turned to his brother, his voice distorted by shock and fury. "Liu Deming! Didn't you fucking say there was only Chen Xing, one Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator, and two useless apprentices? Where the fuck did this Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator come from?!!"

Liu Degui's roar was filled with rage at having been deceived and agitation over the sudden flaw in their plan.

Li Chengjie ignored Liu Degui's demand and looked at the Liu brothers, his tone still calm. "Leave now, and there's still time."

"Leave?" The flesh on Liu Degui's face twitched, and a fierce gleam burst from his eyes. "You little bastard, so what if there's one more Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator? The two of us working together—do you think we'd fear you? We only came for money, but now... I've changed my mind! Kill all of you, and the goods will still be ours!"

"Big Brother, why waste words on him? Take them down!" Liu Deming shouted fiercely, having long been unable to hold himself back.

Liu Deming saw that Li Chengjie was young. Even if they were both at Qi Refining Level 5, his combat experience surely could not match that of the brothers.

Liu Deming moved. No longer holding back, he formed hand seals with both hands and muttered an incantation. Gray Spiritual Power surged around him!

Gale Claw!

Liu Deming growled and swung both claws forward!

Several condensed gray claw shadows shot out, carrying a corrosive, fishy cold wind and tearing through the air with shrill cries. Like Ghost Claws claiming lives, they descended upon Li Chengjie from above!

The claw shadows covered an enormous area, catching even Chen Xing and Li Douzi, who stood behind and to Li Chengjie's side, within their range.

Clearly, he intended to land a One-hit Kill—or at least force Li Chengjie into a frantic scramble, leaving him unable to attend to anything else.

"Watch out!" Chen Xing was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body. He shrieked and dodged backward. Li Douzi simply crouched down and covered his head.

Facing this fierce assault, a cold glint flashed in Li Chengjie's eyes.

Rather than retreating, Li Chengjie advanced. The Mysterious Flame Art inside him circulated madly at an unprecedented speed as scorching Fire-attribute Spiritual Power surged and roared!

Fire Ring, rise!

Li Chengjie abruptly brought his hands together before his chest, then spread them apart!

An incomparably solid crimson ring of flame, roughly a yard across, suddenly appeared around him and expanded!

The flames upon the ring blazed fiercely, radiating searing heat that instantly dispersed the Cold Air within the Pill Hut!

"Psssh, psssh, psssh—!"

The several sinister gray claw shadows struck the expanding Fire Ring like ice and snow meeting boiling broth. With piercing sounds, they were instantly melted and evaporated by the scorching Fire Spiritual Power, unable to raise even the slightest ripple!

"What?!" The savage grin on Liu Deming's face instantly froze, replaced by incredulous horror.

Liu Deming's Gale Claw was not some profound technique, but unleashed with his Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation, its power was not to be underestimated. Yet it had been so casually broken by his opponent?

The Fire Ring's density and the scorching Spiritual Power it contained far exceeded his imagination!

Just as Liu Deming's old force was spent and his new force had yet to arise, while his mind reeled in shock, Li Chengjie moved!

With an arcane footwork, Li Chengjie became a ghostly crimson blur. He instantly passed through the Fire Ring, which had not yet fully dissipated, and closed in on Liu Deming!

His right hand formed sword fingers. Crimson Spiritual Power compressed at his fingertips, seeming to form a Sharp Sword heated red-hot as it stabbed directly at Liu Deming's slightly open chest!

"Second Brother, watch out!" Liu Degui saw it clearly and was both shocked and enraged. He wanted to save him, but it was already too late.

Liu Degui could only let out a furious roar, brandishing his Ghost-head Saber and gathering all his Spiritual Power as he viciously slashed toward Li Chengjie's back, hoping to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao!

The saber wind was fierce, carrying bone-piercing coldness!