Chapter Thirteen: Rogue Cultivators Come Knocking

Just like that.

Li Chang'an turned down every invitation.

He devoted himself to cultivating and drawing talismans at home.

"My Talisman Skill has improved again."

With a smile on his face, Li Chang'an picked up a freshly drawn talisman and examined it.

These past days.

He had grown increasingly adept at drawing First-tier Mid-grade Talismans, and his success rate had been steadily rising.

"I really do have a talent for the Talisman path!"

He could clearly feel his own progress.

This left Li Chang'an extremely satisfied.

In cultivation, the thing one feared most was making no progress for a long time and becoming stuck at a bottleneck.

Whether it was one's cultivation or various skills, there were so-called "bottlenecks." Many cultivators became stuck for decades, never advancing another step for the rest of their lives!

"Not going out was the right choice. I just need to focus on honing my craft."

Li Chang'an put down his Talisman Brush and began recovering his Mana and mental energy.

However.

Just because he could sit still did not mean everyone else could.

That night, shortly after the Midnight Hour.

A streak of 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 fallen into disagreement. The others have decided to wait a while longer, but Wu Yun has decided to make his move directly within the Marketplace.]

"Wu Yun!"

Li Chang'an's gaze sharpened.

This fellow really was a Rogue Cultivator!

Fortunately, he had acted cautiously and turned down every invitation.

Otherwise.

He would likely have been surrounded by this group of Rogue Cultivators the moment he left the Marketplace!

"I haven't gone out this whole time, yet danger came knocking on its own."

Li Chang'an pondered.

"Wu Yun disguised himself quite well. Using his identity as a Talisman Master, he made friends all over the Marketplace. If someone said he was a Rogue Cultivator, most people probably wouldn't believe it."

Since the other party had decided to make his move directly, he naturally could not simply sit around and await death.

The following evening.

Wu Yun appeared outside Li Chang'an's room.

His face was wreathed in smiles.

"Fellow cultivator Li, I came across a treasure and thought I'd invite you to take a look."

"So it's Fellow Daoist Wu. Come in..."

A hoarse and weary voice rang out.

The door opened on its own.

The room was shrouded in darkness, with all the windows tightly shut.

Li Chang'an lay on the bed at the very back, his aura exceptionally weak, as though he had suffered serious injuries.

Seeing this.

Wu Yun's brows furrowed as he asked, "Fellow cultivator Li, what happened to you?"

"Alas, a few days ago, I made a mistake while circulating my energy and injured my Meridians. At first, I only felt slightly uncomfortable, but the injury kept growing worse."

Li Chang'an's voice was filled with bitterness.

"That is why I had to refuse Fellow Daoist Wu's invitation... Cough, cough..."

"So that's what happened. Why didn't you say so sooner, Fellow cultivator Li!"

Wu Yun's face was filled with concern, but his heart was surging with wild joy.

Damaged Meridians!

That was an extremely serious injury!

Once injured, one could no longer use Mana. Otherwise, the injury would rapidly worsen!

No wonder.

Even when faced with a treasure like Earth Dragon Saliva, Li Chang'an had refused to leave.

So he had been willing, but unable!

"Fellow cultivator Li, I have some knowledge of the Spirit Physician path. Let me take a look at your injuries."

Wu Yun strode into the room, his words sincere.

Not the slightest hint of falseness could be seen in the concern and worry on his face.

But at that moment.

A sudden change struck at the elbow!

With a bang, the door suddenly slammed shut.

"Vmmm—!"

The dim room instantly lit up with dozens of dazzling golden lines.

They interwove layer upon layer, like a golden net, carrying an aura of extreme danger.

They enveloped Wu Yun completely!

Wu Yun's eyes went wide, and his expression changed drastically.

"A First-tier Mid-grade Talisman!"

That terrifying Golden Light had erupted from a First-tier Mid-grade Talisman—the Golden Blade Talisman.

This type of talisman was an advanced version of the Frenzied Blade Talisman.

Its power was terrifying.

It posed a fatal threat even to mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators!

Now.

Dozens of Golden Blade Talismans erupted at once.

Everything had happened too suddenly. Wu Yun had nowhere to hide.

"How is this possible? Could Li Chang'an have disregarded his cultivation and spent a huge amount of Spirit Stones buying dozens of Golden Blade Talismans to stockpile? No, no... He must have already advanced to become a Mid-grade Talisman Master!"

Wu Yun's face was filled with horror, and despair filled his heart.

At that moment, he regretted everything.

He had originally thought that.

With his own strength, while catching Li Chang'an off guard, he could easily take him down.

If he had known Li Chang'an was hiding himself so deeply, he never should have acted alone!

"Ssshh—!"

Dozens of golden rays pierced through his body in an instant.

His whole body shuddered.

In the next moment, dozens of interwoven marks appeared across his body.

The next instant.

He scattered into chunks of Flesh and Blood, which shattered across the floor.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, may you rest in peace."

Li Chang'an's expression was cold as his figure appeared outside the door.

The figure on the bed.

Was a Decoy Body he had created using a First-tier Mid-grade Talisman, the Illusionary Shadow Talisman!

As long as Wu Yun took the bait, death was all that awaited him!

Li Chang'an had prepared five layers of arrangements in total.

The Golden Blade Talismans were merely the first layer.

That single layer alone was enough to make many mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators die with regret!

If Wu Yun had suddenly erupted with heaven-defying strength and forcibly endured all five layers with the cultivation of the Third Layer Qi Refining.

Then...

Li Chang'an could only flee!

Fortunately.

The worst-case scenario had not occurred.

"If I could capture him alive, I might be able to interrogate him. But the risk of taking him alive is too great. Killing him directly is safer."

Li Chang'an was actually somewhat puzzled. Why had this group of Rogue Cultivators insisted on targeting him?

They had refused to give up even after all this time.

There had to be a reason!

"Could they be accomplices of the two Rogue Cultivators I killed?"

But only a very small number of people knew about that matter.

The news had not spread.

"Could Zheng Jinbao have hired them?"

Li Chang'an made a guess.

"In this life, of all the people I've offended since beginning my cultivation, Zheng Jinbao is the one who holds the greatest grudge against me."

Although he had not shown any sign of resentment on the surface.

He had kept it in his heart all along.

Zheng Jinbao was, after all, a member of the Zheng Family, with both status and cultivation well above ordinary people.

Although Li Chang'an was now capable of making him somewhat wary, he was nowhere near strong enough to seek revenge.

He could only endure for the time being.

"Zheng Jinbao wouldn't dare attack me openly, but he will most likely scheme against me in secret. I have to guard against that!"

Li Chang'an constantly reminded himself never to lower his guard.

Wu Yun was dead, but the other members of the Rogue Cultivator group were still alive and could attack him at any moment.

Afterward.

He began cleaning up Wu Yun's Corpse inside the room.

After removing every bit of Flesh and Blood.

Li Chang'an sat cross-legged, took out Wu Yun's storage pouch, and erased the restriction on it.

He opened it and took a look.

"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 pills. Added together, their total value approached 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 be sold for a hundred Spirit Stones.

"This Wu Yun was both a Talisman Master and a Rogue Cultivator, earning double the Spirit Stones. His wealth really is substantial!"

Li Chang'an could not help sighing.

"His wealth alone is comparable to 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 Wu Yun possessed.

He gave it a cursory scan.

The contents were more or less the same as the inheritance he had obtained, differing only slightly in certain details.