Just like that.
Li Chang'an turned down every invitation.
He devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation and talisman drawing at home.
"My Talisman Skill has improved again."
Li Chang'an smiled as he picked up a freshly drawn talisman and examined it.
These days,
he had become increasingly adept at First-tier Mid-grade Talismans, and his success rate kept rising.
"I truly have talent in the path of talismans!"
He could clearly feel his own progress.
That left Li Chang'an deeply satisfied.
In cultivation, the greatest fear was going too long without progress and becoming stuck at some bottleneck.
Whether it was one's cultivation or various skills, there were so-called "bottlenecks." Many cultivators remained stuck for decades, never advancing another inch for the rest of their lives!
"Not going out was the right choice. I just need to hone my craft in peace."
Li Chang'an set down his Talisman Brush and began restoring his Mana and mental energy.
However,
just because he could sit still did not mean everyone else could.
That night, just after the midnight hour,
a Golden Light appeared.
[Divination Result Refreshed] [Today's Divination Result: Ominous] [Because you have not left the Marketplace for a long time, several Rogue Cultivators have begun to disagree. The others intend to wait a little longer, while Wu Yun has decided to act directly within the Marketplace.]
"Wu Yun!"
Li Chang'an's gaze sharpened.
This fellow truly was a Rogue Cultivator!
Fortunately, he had acted cautiously and rejected every invitation.
Otherwise,
the moment he stepped out of the Marketplace, he would likely have been surrounded by that band of Rogue Cultivators!
"I never left home, yet danger actually came knocking on my door."
Li Chang'an pondered.
"Wu Yun disguised himself quite well. Using his identity as a Talisman Master, he made friends far and wide in the Marketplace. If someone said he was a Rogue Cultivator, probably very few would believe it."
Since the other party had decided to act directly, he naturally could not sit around and wait for death.
The next evening,
Wu Yun appeared outside Li Chang'an's home.
His face was full of smiles.
"Fellow Daoist Li, I have acquired a treasure and would like to invite you to appraise it."
"So it is Fellow Daoist Wu. Please, come in..."
A hoarse, exhausted voice sounded.
The door opened on its own.
The room was dim, with all the windows tightly shut.
Li Chang'an lay on the bed in the deepest part of the room, his aura exceptionally weak, as though he had suffered severe injuries.
Seeing this,
Wu Yun frowned and asked, "Fellow Daoist Li, what happened to you?"
"Alas, some days ago, I made an error while circulating my cultivation and injured my meridians. At first, I only felt a slight discomfort, but the injury has grown worse and worse."
Li Chang'an's voice was filled with bitterness.
"That is why I refused Fellow Daoist Wu's invitation... cough, cough..."
"So that is what happened. Fellow Daoist Li, why did you not tell me sooner!"
Wu Yun's face was full of concern, but his heart was wild with delight.
Damaged meridians!
That was an extremely serious injury!
Once injured, one could no longer use Mana, or the injury would rapidly worsen!
No wonder
Li Chang'an had refused to leave even for a supreme treasure like Earth Dragon Saliva.
So he had the desire but lacked the strength!
"Fellow Daoist Li, I have some knowledge of Spirit Physicians. Let me help examine your injuries."
Wu Yun strode into the room, his words sincere.
There was not the slightest trace of falsehood in the concern and worry on his face.
But at that moment,
a change erupted at the crook of the elbow!
With a bang, the door suddenly slammed shut.
"Buzz—!"
Dozens of dazzling golden lines instantly lit up in the dark room.
They intertwined and overlapped layer upon layer, like a golden net carrying an aura of extreme danger.
Wu Yun was completely enveloped within it!
Wu Yun's eyes widened, and his expression changed drastically.
"First-tier Mid-grade Talismans!"
That terrifying Golden Light had erupted from First-tier Mid-grade Talismans—the Golden Blade Talismans.
These talismans were an advanced version of Frenzied Blade Talismans.
Their power was exceptionally terrifying.
They posed a fatal threat even to cultivators at Mid Qi Refining!
And now,
numerous Golden Blade Talismans erupted simultaneously.
Everything had happened too suddenly. Wu Yun had nowhere to dodge.
"How is this possible? Did Li Chang'an disregard his cultivation and spend a huge amount of Spirit Stones buying dozens of Golden Blade Talismans to hoard? No, no... he must have already advanced to become a Mid-grade Talisman Master!"
Wu Yun's face was filled with horror, and despair welled up in his heart.
At this moment, he regretted everything bitterly.
He had originally thought
that with his strength, catching Li Chang'an off guard would let him take Li Chang'an down with ease.
Had he known Li Chang'an hid himself so deeply, he should never have acted alone!
"Slash—"
Dozens of golden lights pierced through his body in an instant.
His entire body trembled.
At once, dozens of crisscrossing marks appeared across his body.
The next instant,
he scattered into chunks of flesh and blood, shattering across the ground.
"Fellow Daoist Wu, may you have a smooth journey."
Li Chang'an's expression was cold and stern as he appeared outside the door.
That figure on the bed
was a Decoy Body he had created using a First-tier Mid-grade Talisman, the Illusionary Shadow Talisman!
So long as Wu Yun took the bait, death would be waiting for him!
Li Chang'an had prepared five layers of arrangements in total.
The Golden Blade Talismans were merely the first layer.
This layer alone was enough to make many Mid Qi Refining cultivators die with unfulfilled hatred!
If Wu Yun had suddenly erupted with heaven-defying strength and, with Third Layer Qi Refining cultivation, forcibly endured all five layers of arrangements,
then...
Li Chang'an could only run!
Fortunately,
the worst-case scenario had not occurred.
"If I could have captured him alive, I could have interrogated him. But the risk of taking him alive was too great. Killing him directly was still the safer choice."
Li Chang'an was actually rather puzzled. Why had this group of Rogue Cultivators insisted on targeting him?
They had refused to give up for so long.
There had to be a reason!
"Could they be companions of the two Rogue Cultivators I killed?"
But only very few people knew of that matter.
The news had not spread.
"Could Zheng Jinbao have hired them?"
Li Chang'an had his suspicions.
"In this life, since I began cultivating, the person with the deepest grudge against me has been Zheng Jinbao."
Though he appeared not to hold a grudge on the surface,
he had always remembered it in his heart.
Zheng Jinbao was, after all, a member of the Zheng Family. His status and cultivation were both far from low.
Although the current Li Chang'an could make him somewhat wary, he had no power to take revenge at all.
He could only endure for now.
"Zheng Jinbao does not dare attack me openly, but he will most likely trip me up in the shadows. I must be on guard!"
Li Chang'an continually reminded himself not to let down his guard.
Wu Yun was dead, but the other members of the Rogue Cultivator group were still alive and could act against him at any time.
Afterward,
he began cleaning up Wu Yun's corpse in the room.
After clearing away all the flesh and blood,
Li Chang'an sat cross-legged, took out Wu Yun's storage pouch, and erased the restriction upon it.
When he opened it,
"Not bad. Another bountiful harvest."
A smile appeared on his face.
Inside the pouch,
there were more than a hundred Spirit Stones alone!
In addition, there were quite a few talismans and medicinal pills. Added together, they were worth close to two hundred Spirit Stones.
There were also two Low-grade First Tier magical artifacts.
They were the Green Wood Sword and the Green Wood Shield. Both were of decent quality, and together they could probably sell for a hundred Spirit Stones.
"This Wu Yun was both a Talisman Master and a Rogue Cultivator, earning Spirit Stones two ways. No wonder his fortune was so substantial!"
Li Chang'an could not help but sigh.
"His wealth alone surpasses that of the two Rogue Cultivators I killed before!"
With a thought, Li Chang'an took a Jade Slip from the storage pouch.
This was precisely the Low-grade First Tier Talisman Inheritance possessed by Wu Yun.
He gave it a cursory look.
Its contents were similar to the Legacy he had obtained, differing only slightly in certain details.
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