Talisman Startles a Thousand Miles

"Who exactly are you?"

Tu Xiong roared, his face a mask of shock.

This scoundrel, disguised as Deputy Commander Jia, was far too formidable. He had broken through the city gates with such ease, even while being surrounded!

His swordsmanship was so sharp; could he be some wandering swordsman?

He and the two Daoist priests from the Daoist Affairs Bureau gave chase.

Outside the city walls, the "scoundrel" suddenly stopped, turned, and looked back at them with a cold gaze. His aura shifted rapidly, revealing his true face.

Handsome as jade, his Daoist robes fluttering, wasn't this the disciple from Lingbao Temple who came to "court death" at dusk yesterday?

Just as Deputy Commander Jia had said, this brat had hidden his cultivation. So powerful, so intelligent and brave – he was surely a genius elite disciple of Lingbao Temple!

"Tu Xiong, Dao Si, your wicked deeds are exposed!"

"You aided the wicked, colluded with ghostly creatures, deceived superiors and misled inferiors, and conspired with Jia Song to attempt a blood sacrifice of tens of thousands of townspeople. Do you confess your crimes!"

Li Qingyun's dark hair flew in the wind, his handsome face stern and imposing as he shouted.

His voice carried wisps of lightning intent, like muffled thunder rolling through the pre-dawn sky, clear and resonant, booming!

"Silence!"

Tu Xiong cried out in alarm, trying to drown out Li Qingyun's voice.

The two young Daoist priests from the Youdao Division, however, their expressions shifted. They stopped in their tracks, their faces contorted with struggle and hesitation.

"Kill him quickly, or Jia Song will activate the Corpse Poison Curse, and we'll all die from the poison, our corpses becoming puppets for him to control!"

"Besides, it's come to this. It's all Zhou Gang's fault for being incompetent, unable to recognize people, and stubbornly self-willed."

Tu Xiong roared at the two young Daoist priests, "Do we have any other way out now!"

The young Daoist priests from the Youdao Division let out a sigh of helplessness. Their previously hesitant gazes turned ruthless once more.

The three attacked again, with all their might, like madmen.

Fireballs flew!

Talismans exploded!

Sword light was like blood!

A bolt of lightning descended, shattering into a net, annihilating the six or seven balls of flame that were pressing down.

Li Qingyun's Thunder Seal Technique was already showing hints of the "using a small force to overcome a large one" principle. Both in his understanding of the "art" and the clever application of his own mana, he was subtly suppressing the two officially employed Daoists!

It even gave the two young Daoists a sense of being amazed!

"Stubborn and unrepentant!"

Li Qingyun then tapped his foot and darted outwards again to dodge, simultaneously sending a streak of golden talisman light from his sleeve!

He activated the Azure Blood Talisman!

Instantly, a brilliant golden light erupted, a magnificent pillar of gold shooting into the sky, illuminating the dark night.

With immense power and the surging patterns of the Azure Blood Talisman, it contained Zhou Gang's dying regrets and hatred, as well as information about the situation in Yinshan Town. The combined light sped away, vanishing a hundred or even a thousand miles in an instant!

"This, this is a golden talisman! Li Qingyun, you're going to get us killed..."

Tu Xiong and the two Daoist priests from the Youdao Division were struck with terror and fell into despair.

Behind them, dozens of armored soldiers with crossbows surged out, rushing towards them with murderous intent. Upon witnessing the soaring golden light, they too froze in astonishment.

Although they couldn't recognize it as the Azure Blood Talisman, this pillar of golden light reaching the heavens would likely alert anyone hundreds of miles away.

If any experts from the Dao Foundation or even the Opening Mansion Realm arrived, neither Jia Song nor they, who were forced into this but still aided the wicked, would have a good end!

Under Jia Song's threats and enticements, the long-hidden plot of "Yinshan Town's inexplicable fall" was ultimately in vain!

"You, you truly deserve to die!"

Tu Xiong bit his lip, blood welling up, and stared intently at Li Qingyun, the instigator.

"Attack! Surround and kill this scoundrel for this inspector!"

He waved his hand, and the dozens of armored soldiers behind him immediately drew their crossbows and fired.

Instantly, dense talisman arrows flew through the night sky like a swarm of gray shadows, covering a radius of tens of meters around Li Qingyun in moments!

These soldiers were well-trained and moved with practiced skill, targeting Li Qingyun as if they were fighting demons and monsters!

In that instant, Li Qingyun's hair stood on end as he felt a strong sense of threat.

He exploded with power, his spiritual sense detecting the direction where the arrow rain was sparser, and he suddenly darted to the side.

Clang clang clang!

At the same time, the bronze short sword in his hand danced into a ball of cold light, sweeping, circling, and parrying, successfully blocking most of the arrows!

Whoosh! An arrow, shimmering with talisman light, narrowly missed him, grazing his ear hair.

His movement skills were limited, and ultimately, he couldn't cope with such a dense barrage of attacks.

"At this moment, if I had a defensive spell or a protective artifact, things would be much easier..."

Li Qingyun's mind raced, but his movements didn't falter. He accelerated again, his figure already shifting out of the volley of arrows.

"Where do you think you're going!"

But the two Daoists suddenly let out sharp cries, and three to four fire talismans flew towards Li Qingyun, who had just dodged the arrows, exploding before him.

This was an attempt to block his escape routes and create an opportunity for a second volley of arrows!

Li Qingyun felt a strong sense of malice.

"You're asking for death! Do you really think I can only dodge and defend passively?"

His brow furrowed, his cold eyes like lightning. He looked across at the two young Daoists from the Dao Division, seeing their twisted, jealous, and desperate faces!

"Summoning lightning and drawing thunder, watch me bring the thunder!"

Boom! His fingers moved like illusions, and six Thunder Seals were instantly formed.

Two bolts of lightning flashed across the night sky, one after the other, arriving after they were launched but striking first. They were like electric ropes falling from the heavens, instantly hitting the two Daoists.

"How is this possible? Aren't you only at Qi Refining Layer One?"

The two Daoists were greatly alarmed. They instinctively circulated their Mana and slapped protective talismans onto the tops of their heads, trying to block the astonishingly powerful Lightning Method.

But the protective talismans dissolved upon contact. The lightning, its power halved but not dissipated, still struck them.

Ah!

Smoke billowed, skin blackened, and the two Daoists let out screams, falling to the ground crookedly and twitching.

Both Daoists were around the Qi Refining Layer Two cultivation level. They had been chasing Li Qingyun without restraint earlier, confident they could capture him in an instant.

After all, the cultivation Li Qingyun displayed was only Qi Refining Layer One.

Even if he were a genius elite disciple of Lingbao Temple, the gap in cultivation realm was an insurmountable chasm.

Especially since Lightning Methods were always powerful but also consumed a lot of Mana. A Qi Refining Layer One cultivator could at most use three or four casts, right?

Li Qingyun had already unleashed two bolts of lightning when breaking through the door, displaying a seemingly exquisite skill of weaving lightning into a net, and then he had endured a volley of talisman arrows. His Mana should have been nearly depleted!

Unexpectedly, Li Qingyun had hidden his true cultivation. He was actually at Qi Refining Layer Three.

The two consecutive lightning strikes were even more powerful, catching them completely off guard!

These two young Daoists from the Dao Bureau were immediately severely injured and lost their combat ability.

"Release the arrows!"

However, Li Qingyun didn't have time to celebrate. Inspector Tu's ferocious roar echoed from the sky.

Tu Xiong's eyes were fierce, Blood Fiend Qi swirling around him. He charged forward with his saber, like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain.

He was determined to kill Li Qingyun!

"Jia Song has cooperated with the fortress guardian deity of our Tushan Village. I, and nearly a thousand people behind me in the village, have no retreat!"

Tu Xiong thought to himself, "There's still time. As long as we can complete the blood sacrifice of the entire town before the rescue team alerted by the golden talisman pillar arrives, the guardian deity has a chance to break through to the Opening Mansion Realm, and Jia Song also has a high probability of breaking through to the Dao Foundation Realm!"

"At that time, we can naturally block any incoming threats and calmly retreat into Great Yin Mountain..."

Right now, risking his life to kill the Lingbao Temple disciple who was disrupting their grand plan was the most crucial thing!