A Battle After Dismounting

Lin Yi felt slightly disappointed amid his surprise.

He knew Lan Chang'an was making excuses; time was not that tight at all.

"Since Daoist Lu has no time, then forget it."

Zhang Tieshan's expression returned to normal, and he did not press the matter.

Since he had claimed time was tight, Lan Chang'an took the opportunity to bid farewell.

Li Ergou walked briskly all the way.

"Brother Lu, are you afraid of ghosts too?"

After leaving the Royal Marquis Estate, Li Ergou let out a long breath, looking as though he had found a kindred spirit.

"More or less."

Lan Chang'an did not take Evil Ghosts of the mortal world seriously.

"You refused so quickly—I don't believe it!"

Li Ergou chuckled, assuming Lan Chang'an was just like him.

The difference between them was this.

One was truly afraid; the other was truly cautious.

On the official road, the two galloped toward Jade Moon Mountain Villa.

Jade Moon Lake was only a day away.

"Stop!"

As they reached a gorge, Lan Chang'an raised a hand and halted his horse.

"What is it, Brother Lu?"

Li Ergou was worried about his wife and children back in the Lineage, his heart flying home like an arrow.

"If we take the main road, this is the only route back to Jade Moon Lake. The terrain is treacherous and well suited for an ambush."

Lan Chang'an remembered that when they had passed through here for the first time three years ago, the Mu Family Head had investigated with great caution. In the end, nothing had happened.

"You mean there might be an ambush here?"

Li Ergou's heart skipped a beat. Remembering the Zheng Family's interception three years ago, his face turned pale.

That interception had killed four youths, leaving an almost indelible shadow in Li Ergou's heart.

"I'm not certain." Lan Chang'an slowly closed his eyes.

His divine sense merged into the [Nine Imprint Tablet] within his mind.

Compared with three years ago,

the "Clear Handsome Man" in the Nine Imprint Tablet's first imprint box was no longer a dim "lifespan visage." It was now outlined in light, vivid and lifelike.

This was the result of Lan Chang'an nourishing his soul over the past three years.

The "White-Bearded Elder" in the second imprint box, representing his Previous Life's Peak Core Formation body, remained a patch of lifeless silence and had not lit up.

"Then what do we do?"

Li Ergou felt a little panicked, constantly sensing Zheng Family pursuers lurking atop the gorge.

"To be safe, we'll take a detour!"

Lan Chang'an opened his eyes, turned his horse around without hesitation.

"Brother Lu truly understands my heart."

Li Ergou laughed heartily and turned back with Lan Chang'an.

"What's going on? Why did those two brats suddenly turn back?"

At that moment, several cultivators hidden on both sides of the gorge looked at one another in dismay.

"Forget it! They're only two Qi Refining early-stage cultivators. We'll kill them head-on and avenge Yan'er!"

An Ugly Woman with Sha Qi on her face ground her teeth until they creaked.

If Lan Chang'an had been there, he would certainly have recognized this Ugly Woman. She was the Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator who had fought him during the interception of the Immortal Seedlings.

"Xiao Feng, are you sure it was that brat?"

asked the Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man, whose Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivation was the highest among them.

"Brother! He killed Yan'er! Even if he turned to ash, I'd recognize him!"

The Ugly Woman's eyes were bloodshot, and her heart burned like fire.

Without waiting for an order, she directly rode a Bronze Bell and shot after them through the air.

Qi Refining Realm cultivators were not very fast when flying on magical artifacts.

But the Ugly Woman madly poured her spiritual power into it. The Bronze Bell beneath her feet hummed, and its brief burst of speed actually caught up with Lan Chang'an and the other man.

"Brother Lu, she's caught up!"

Facing a great enemy, Li Ergou brought out a Low-Grade Magic Tool.

"Don't panic. Up in the sky, she's just a target."

Lan Chang'an remained utterly calm.

He knew very well just how weak the aerial combat ability of Qi Refining early- and mid-stage cultivators was.

First came the limitations of magical artifacts.

An ordinary Qi Refining early-stage cultivator, limited by spiritual power and divine sense, could control only one Low-Grade Magic Tool.

A Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivator could control two Low-Grade Magic Tools, or one Mid-Grade Magical Artifact.

Take the Qi Refining Fourth Layer Ugly Woman as an example.

Maintaining one magical artifact in flight already divided more than half her attention, let alone accelerating in an explosive burst.

Under such circumstances, how much strength could she still wield?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lan Chang'an flicked three Fire Bullets backward, battering the Ugly Woman in the air until she was left scrambling in all directions, wretched and bedraggled, nearly falling from the sky.

How could she possibly continue an aerial pursuit?

Qi Refining Realm cultivators themselves lacked the ability to fly and mainly relied on magical artifacts. One could easily imagine how poor their aerial maneuverability was.

Only at the Qi Refining Late-Stage did one barely possess some aerial combat ability.

"Haha! No wonder she's a target."

Li Ergou suddenly understood. Bolstering his courage, he fired back with two Fire Bullets. Yet his speed and accuracy were far inferior to Lan Chang'an's, and the Ugly Woman dodged them.

"Xiao Feng, don't panic! We'll chase them on horseback."

At this time, the Qi Refining Sixth Layer Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man arrived on horseback with two Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivators.

He was experienced and knew how useless Qi Refining Mid-Stage aerial combat was.

"Don't worry. Our Spirit Steed Horses were trained by the Beast Taming Zhou Family. Their speed and endurance are first-rate."

The Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man brimmed with confidence.

Sure enough, the distance between the two sides began to close.

"You little thief! Let's see where you can run!"

The Ugly Woman fixed Lan Chang'an with a cold, hate-filled gaze.

Riding horses consumed neither spiritual power nor divine sense.

As long as they got a little closer, they could use spells and magical artifacts to kill from afar.

"Brother Lu, what do we do?"

Li Ergou asked anxiously.

The pursuers behind them were all Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivators. Once they closed in, death would be certain.

"Ergou, grip tighter with both thighs in a moment."

Lan Chang'an instructed him.

"Grip tighter? At a time like this, you're still making this kind of—"

Li Ergou did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Before he could finish speaking,

two green Talismans flew from Lan Chang'an's hand and landed respectively on the bellies of the Spirit Steed Horses beneath him and Ergou.

In an instant!

Wind sprang beneath the hooves of the two Spirit Steed Horses. Their bodies grew light, and their speed soared!

"So fast!"

Li Ergou pitched forward and nearly flew off. He obediently clamped his legs tightly around the horse's belly.

Clatter! Clatter!

On the official road, the two Spirit Steed Horses raced like wind and lightning, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"So fast?" The Ugly Woman, the Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man, and the others were all stunned.

"That brat used Talismans!"

They had Acceleration Talismans as well, such as the first-grade low-grade Wind Travel Talisman.

"Everyone, don't be stingy. I'll cover the expense."

The Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man made a prompt decision.

All four of them used Acceleration Talismans, affixing them to their horses' bellies.

The Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man and the Ugly Woman each used a Mid-Grade Wind Speed Talisman, making them even faster.

Yet even so,

the distance between them and Lan Chang'an's group continued to widen bit by bit.

"Why can't we catch them?"

The Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man was shocked and could not understand it.

He was certain that the Acceleration Talismans used by Lan Chang'an's group were, at most, mid-grade.

Their Spirit Steed Horses were of superior quality and should have been faster.

"Youngsters! Do you dare dismount and fight?"

Seeing that they could not catch up, the Qi Refining Sixth Layer Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man grew anxious and roared in anger.

"Your horses aren't as fast as ours. Even if your cultivation reaches the heavens, what can you do to me?"

Lan Chang'an replied unhurriedly, making the Ugly Woman and the others behind him so furious that they could only keep cursing.

Not long afterward,

the curses grew quieter and quieter, and the Ugly Woman's group could no longer be seen pursuing them down the road.

"Brother Lu, this move is amazing!"

Li Ergou's face was full of excitement. The pursuers behind them could not even eat their dust.

A complete sense of security!

Li Ergou could not help but ponder. "If our horses ran fast enough, would even Golden Core Old Ancestors and Nascent Soul True Lords be unable to do anything to us?"

"Oh! You actually know how to draw inferences from one instance to another. You're teachable indeed!"

Lan Chang'an could not help praising him.

Two days later.

Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou abandoned their horses, circled through the wilderness, and returned to Jade Moon Mountain Villa.

After returning to the Lineage, they immediately reported the matter.

The incident alarmed the Mu Family's upper ranks.

Mu Maode, the Mu Family Head, personally questioned Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou.

The final conclusion was: revenge killing!

Mu Maode secretly praised Lan Chang'an's vigilance in seeing through the ambush.

Lan Chang'an also believed it had been a revenge killing.

From Mu Maode, he learned the identities of the Ugly Woman and the others.

The Ugly Woman was named Zheng Feng.

The Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator named Zheng Yan whom Lan Chang'an had killed was her illegitimate son.

The Qi Refining Sixth Layer Round-Faced Middle-Aged Man was named Zheng Dong. He was Zheng Feng's older brother and one of the Zheng Family's able-bodied cultivators.

"Zheng Feng... Zheng Dong..."

Lan Chang'an silently wrote their names down in his little notebook, intending to find a chance to avenge himself later.

Indeed, after paying some price, he had a chance to take revenge now.

But he was only seventy percent certain, and it would be easy to expose himself.

There was no need to take the risk.

He would wait until the day he could crush them as easily as ants, then ambush and eliminate them without anyone knowing.

Lan Chang'an did not seek to kill enemies above his level. He preferred to crush them steadily and utterly.

After Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou left,

the Mu Family Head's face gradually darkened.

"How did this Zheng Family obtain intelligence about Lan Chang'an leaving, as well as the time of his return?"

"As a cultivation force, it's normal for the Mu Family to have an insider. I should go out as little as possible in the future."

After returning to his courtyard residence, Lan Chang'an sank into thought.

"I should consider the present first! I have a five-year agreement with the Mu Family Head. Once five years are up, I'll have to marry and have children."

Normally, as a Golden Core Realm cultivator rebuilding his cultivation, five years would be enough for him to reach at least the Qi Refining Mid-Stage.

But plans could not keep pace with change.

He had not expected the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art's peculiarity to require absorbing the Aura of Time, making advancement so gradual.

This had offset the advantage of his rebuilding cultivation.

Moreover, cultivating a Wood-Type Technique only made him the equivalent of having a Low-Grade Spiritual Root.

As a result, after more than three years, his cultivation still remained at the Qi Refining Second Layer.

"Now that I have pills to assist me, I should be able to speed up my progress..."

Lan Chang'an swallowed a Qi Nourishing Pill, closed his eyes, and began cultivating.