A Polite Beginning, Then Force

This fight with eight rogue cultivators was dirty and chaotic. He was even stabbed through the skin by a spear and almost died. It was only then that Li Fan regained his senses and realized that he was still only a Golden Core cultivator.

If he had a high-grade flying sword by his side, he would be an unruly sword immortal, beheading a bunch of people with ease. But if his flying sword was destroyed, he would only be slightly stronger than a trash-level Golden Core cultivator, and they would be evenly matched in a sword fight.

Knowing many divine skills and Daoist techniques is actually not very useful, because these techniques require practice. Even if someone has exceptionally high comprehension and can grasp the transformations of Qiongqi at once, they haven't truly refined and deeply cultivated them to thoroughly master the technique.

He was far from reaching the level of the Old Demon Qingyang, where even in human form he was impervious to swords and spears, and could remain invincible and unharmed no matter what special moves were used against him.

Li Fan's Qiongqi Dao Body is fine for blocking ordinary soldiers, but it is actually very fragile against cultivators. It can be shattered by Lu Chai's sword power. And now, if Golden Core Stage martial artist attacks with all his might with a single spear thrust, he will be pierced through as well.

Thus, Li Fan learned a valuable lesson once again, paying a heavy price. He personally experienced the importance of striving for excellence and mastering a single Cultivation Method. Don't try to do too much at once.

Immediately cleaning up the trash and collecting everything he could in his own bubble, Li Fan, carrying the Ghost-Slaying Sword, hid in the alley to treat his injuries.

The spear pierced his abdomen, indeed injuring his Inner Landscape Qi Sea, the part of his internal organs where he cultivated his nascent Nascent Soul Stage. Although his true essence did not dissipate, the damage to his meridians and organs temporarily prevented him from using his primordial qi. In other words, Li Fan's most proficient Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword was sealed. However, being surrounded and attacked by a group of people just now, he actually had no time to form hand seals or cast spells in the rush.

With his Qiongqi Dao Body injured and his Qi-Containing Wuji Golden Core damaged, and unable to use any of his flying swords, Li Fan only had his Divine Court Golden Core left to use!

Upon closer inspection, however, he discovered that the injuries only appeared severe; the actual condition was not so bad.

Firstly, having just stuffed a large amount of elixirs and miraculous medicines into his abdomen, the bleeding from the wound had stopped. After circulating his internal energy to dissolve the ink lines, the wound was directly sealed. Moreover, because the True Essence of Returning to Emptiness has the effect of dispelling evil energy, the flow of Qi in his meridians was not fundamentally affected; he simply could not use Qi from his abdomen for the time being.

Fortunately, Li Fan originally cultivated the Five Luo Sword Ghosts's Hidden Secret Refining Manual, and initially mastered the method of directly circulating Qi from the Divine Court Sea of Consciousness. So, while other Golden Core cultivators might be helpless if their Danxi was injured, it didn't pose a significant obstacle for Li Fan. If he couldn't use the Qi Hidden Golden Core, he could use the Divine Court Golden Core. If all else failed, he could always worship the moon and hide in the Void Abyss to recover his state.

He used to have the combat power of three Golden Core cultivators with four flying swords, but now he only has the combat power of one Golden Core with one flying sword. Well, it's not bad, most Golden Core cultivators don't even have flying swords, right?

So he wiped the blood off his face, sewed up his split brow bone with ink thread, Li Fan for a while, and his hearing gradually returned. He felt that he could draw his sword and fight another hundred rounds.

However, considering his current state while fighting the ghost, Li Fan decided it would be better to play it safe and be cautious.

The "Zhu" character on his forehead hadn't even faded yet. If he flew on his sword again, he'd probably attract another group of people to gang up on him while he was hunting. At this speed, he definitely wouldn't be able to escape. These rogue cultivators have no martial ethics or manners. Eight of them attacking him alone right off the bat—is that what you call a sword fight?! That's outrageous!

Considering the perilous situation in the city, Li Fan tried to observe the Qi. Many cultivators in the east of the city were still locked in a standoff. The killings and arson in the north of the city were not yet over. This calamity had also sealed off the four gates of Changsi City. He had tried to escape from the south of the city but failed. He didn't know if the calamity was over yet, given how many people he had killed. But to be on the safe side, it was best to find a place to hide until dawn to assess the situation.

However, Li Fan could hide, but Li You, who needed emergency treatment in his sleeve, couldn't wait.

The abbot can't fly there directly for the time being. As for the Guo Family, according to what Lu Chai just said, they will be besieged by monsters tonight, probably for some Four Fiends Eggs. Given Li Fan's current weakened state, he doesn't dare to get involved.

After thinking it over, Li Fan decided to go to the West Market first to see if he could find a pharmacy or clinic to get some medicine that ordinary people could use to give Li You an emergency treatment. It's not easy for this guy to have survived until now. He'll do his best and leave the rest to fate.

So this time, Li Fan flew in the air without attracting attention, traveling through the night and through the streets and alleys. Fortunately, their combined sixty-five years of royal life were strong enough, and they arrived at the West Market without encountering any more fellow Daoists asking for their heads.

Of course, it's also possible that the fighting in the Imperial City was so intense that the skilled fighters all rushed over to watch the spectacle and hope for a lucky break. Meanwhile, the weaklings hid on the edge of the city wall, ready to escape if things went wrong. They just happened to run into Li Fan's group, and once they were all killed, no one else would get in their way.

Changsi City is supposed to close its markets and shops at night, but this rule only applies to the east side of the city. The wolves in the west side of the city like to ride horses during the day and have a nightlife at night, and the guards don't dare to stop them at all, so they simply don't care about the West Market.

Moreover, in addition to serving the city's residents, the West Market also trades with caravans from Kunlun, Ink Bamboo Mountain, and the Twelve Countries. Its scale is far larger than that of the East Market. Thousands of guild halls and trading houses gather at the West Market's Hai Chi. These merchants work day and night to transport various goods into Changsi City, satisfying the bottomless appetite of this largest city in the Southern Kingdom.

However, with a fierce battle clearly raging within the Imperial City, the West Market dared not act too openly or blatantly, lest they provoke the rebels. When Li Fan arrived at the street corner, he saw that the merchants' guards were all lined up in formation, their guild halls tightly shut to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos. They looked extremely tense.

However, the West Market had no walls, and no one knew who was rebelling tonight, so the guards dared not come out to patrol. Thus, he used an invisibility talisman and easily sneaked into the West Market, holding a Si Nan to find out where there was a clinic.

He then followed the spoon around and was led to a rice shop.

... Si Nan, is this a medical clinic? A medical clinic!

Then screams came from inside the rice shop.

Even at a time like this, he could still trigger opportunities one after another. Li Fan was truly impressed. He had no choice but to tuck the Si Nan into his sleeve, draw his sword, and sneak into the backyard of the rice shop to peek.

The rice shop owner and his entire family were surrounded in the courtyard by three members of a religious cult. One seemed to be interrogating the owner, another was rummaging through drawers looking for something, and the third, who seemed impatient, had already killed one of the owner's concubines and kidnapped the owner's young son to threaten him, causing the owner's wife to scream in terror.

Li Fan had only peeked out briefly and had barely grasped the situation when the three cult members suddenly shuddered as if they had been given a chill, then turned to stare at Li Fan's face.

Ugh... It's bad enough that the invisibility charm is useless, but it even has an alarm function? This marker is so annoying...

Li Fan stopped hiding and threw the Demon-Slaying Head-Slaying Sword. However, the Demon-Slaying Head-Slaying Sword was truly unable to fly. It pierced the chest of one of the cult members and pinned him to the wall, unable to come down. Li Fan himself rushed up and killed the remaining two with his wooden sword.

That was too late. The cult members were ruthless. Even when Li Fan came to their door, they immediately slit the boss's throat and stabbed him twice in the chest, determined to silence him.

Li Fan naturally didn't spare them any lives, and with two swift strokes of his sword, he beheaded them.

"A clinic! Hey! Where's a clinic!" Li Fan was furious after his hostage rescue failed, but his family members were too terrified to react.

The rice shop owner lay in a pool of blood, glanced at the blood-dripping wooden sword of the Ink Bamboo Mountain in Li Fan's hand, pointed at the roof beam, and died instantly.

Better to be a dog in times of peace...

Li Fan looked up at the roof beam and saw a swallow's nest. He jumped up and rummaged through it, finding a flat bundle inside. Inside the bundle were the amulets signed by Lou Guan Tower, which he had seen before at the shopkeeper of Jiang's Rice Shop, knowing that the rice shop owner did business with Ink Bamboo Mountain. There was also half an account book, which was probably what the Divine Cult was looking for.

The remaining women in the owner's family were terrified and wept uncontrollably. Li Fan had no choice but to advise them, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. If anyone comes, just say the things have already been taken by the people from Ink Bamboo Mountain. Where else can you turn for help? If all else fails, go to Ink Bamboo Mountain. Also, where exactly is the clinic...?"

"I wonder which fellow disciple from Ink Bamboo Mountain is here?" someone suddenly spoke outside the rice shop.

Li Fan suddenly became alert, signaling the innkeeper's family to hide. He stuffed the bundle into his arms, swapped the Ghost-Slaying Sword from the wall for the other, and held the dog-shaped frisbee in his other hand. He said through the outer wall, "Let's be polite first, fellow Daoist, you speak first."

The man outside the shop, having clearly considered the implications of "courtesy before force," slowly said, "I am a disciple of the Ink Bamboo Mountain Lou Guan Dao, here on mission to collect some items. If this junior brother has them first, could you please toss them to me so I can take them back and complete my mission? I mean no harm; I'll leave immediately after receiving them."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes and tried to probe with his Divine Sense, but he did not detect any human figures outside the wall. For a moment, he was not sure whether the other party had an invisibility talisman or a magic escape technique to protect them. He listened carefully to the vibrations of the wall.

"If you want it, jump over and take it yourself. Let me see if you're a fellow disciple."

The man outside the shop was silent for a moment. "I'm not available to meet anyone. I don't know whose orders you took to retrieve what I need, junior brother. Perhaps you could tell me your master's Daoist name? We're from the same sect, so there might be some misunderstanding."

Could it be that Si Nan has led us into the messy affairs between the Southern Faction and Northern Faction...? Sigh, even at a time like this, we have to be wary of each other, like thieves who dare not show their faces and can only exchange secret signals. This camaraderie among fellow disciples is truly something else...

Li Fan chuckled coldly, "Your master sent you to retrieve something, and you really only came to retrieve it? Were you waiting outside for a while, hoping to show yourself after the Divine Cult had finished killing everyone?"

The person outside was silent for a moment. "Junior brother, you misunderstood. We were delayed by others just now."

The disciple from Ink Bamboo Mountain did indeed arrive almost immediately. If Li Fan hadn't stumbled upon this opportunity himself, the boss might not have been silenced...

"Really? You know this owner's family?" Li Fan gritted his teeth, turning to look at the owner's family members hiding under the table, but they all shook their heads and raised their voices, "If you really are a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain, then show me your identification token! Or let's have a fight, don't hide and waste time!"

The person outside said, "It is indeed inconvenient for me to show myself, but this matter is of great importance. Since this junior brother wants to have a duel, have you seen the tree at the east end of the courtyard?"

Li Fan glanced cautiously at the large locust tree. "What do you intend to do?"

Then, with a loud snap, the locust tree broke in two, actually being cut in half!

Holy crap...

Li Fan felt a chill run down his spine, but he stubbornly retorted, "What! Are you trying to fool me!"

A voice outside said, "Junior brother, don't waste time."

Hey, you're really pushing your luck, aren't you!

Li Fan's face darkened, but he really couldn't figure out what method the other party had used just now. It didn't seem to be sword energy or a magic weapon. The way the other party cut down a tree for him to see was probably to say that if the other party wanted to, he would have already launched a sneak attack, but he only spoke up because he didn't want to hurt his fellow disciples.

Li Fan's eyes darted around. "Okay, then you look at that tree too."

The person outside sighed softly, probably finding this junior brother quite annoying.

Then Li Fan suddenly leaped over the wall, staring wide-eyed around, but couldn't see a single person.

The street on the other side of the rice shop was indeed deserted, and a careful examination of the mounds on the ground revealed nothing.

What's going on? What kind of spell is this? There's no trace of it at all!

"Junior brother, why are you forcing me? I really can't show my face."

Then, on the other side of the wall, in the courtyard of the rice shop, right where Li Fan had just been standing, the person's voice suddenly rang out! Impossible! How could there have been no sound at all!

Instead, the other person seemed unwilling to argue any longer, saying directly, "Fine, since you won't give it to me, then take mine."

Just as Li Fan was in shock, a bundle was suddenly thrown out of the courtyard. Li Fan subconsciously caught it and looked at it. It was also a flat bundle that was exactly the same. Inside the bundle was a peach charm and half an account book. The two items were exactly the same and could be pieced together!

"Send it to the East City Taoist Temple before dawn; the abbot is waiting."

Li Fan was startled. "How can I give this to the abbot! The city is in the midst of a calamity, how can I get out in such a chaotic place! Hey! Hey!"

Li Fan leaped onto the wall and looked around, but saw nothing in the courtyard. How ugly must he be to be so unsightly that he's embarrassed to be seen? It's like seeing a ghost...

Just as he hesitated, Li Fan suddenly heard a whistle arrow shot into the air. Looking up, he saw a huge ball of sparks explode in the sky. The corpses of the three cult members in the courtyard were illuminated by the sparks and burst into flames, bursting into brilliant pink flames that shot straight into the sky!

Then came the sounds of neighing and horse-riding from all around, and the sounds of a large army of soldiers gathering towards the rice shop!

"Hide yourselves and don't show yourselves!" Now Li Fan didn't have time to worry about the clinic's accounts anymore.

He didn't need to use his Qi-gazing ability to know that it was probably that mark on his forehead causing trouble again, and that this "senior brother" had delayed him for a while, preventing him from disposing of the corpses. As a result, the fact that he had killed three cult members was exposed. He immediately decided not to stay in the rice shop and burden the owner's family, and rushed out of the rice shop to escape.

He could hear a large group of soldiers howling around him, and assassins running on the eaves. Soon someone recognized the word "" on their foreheads, and more and more tails began to follow Li Fan. From time to time, hidden arrows and darts were shot at him.

Li Fan was also helpless. If he flew, he might be surrounded and beaten by the flying cultivators. If he ran through the alleys, he would be surrounded by the chaotic soldiers of the Divine Cult. With no way to go to heaven or earth, there was only one way left... to go into the water!

There is a Hai Chi in the West Market, which was originally a release pond. It is also connected to the Yong'an Channel. As mentioned before, this canal is also connected to the moat, bypassing the Imperial City and exiting the city from the northeast corner! Originally, Li Fan planned to escape Changsi City underwater. Even if he couldn't escape, at least he had learned specialized diving Cultivation Method, which would give him an advantage in water combat and prevent him from being besieged and entangled again.

But then again, who knows how long that prince hiding in the sleeve can hold out... Oh well, never mind! Let fate decide!

Without further hesitation, Li Fan rushed straight to the Hai Chi. Before being surrounded and chased by the chaotic soldiers, he gritted his teeth and plunged into the water!

However, to Li Fan's utter surprise, there was an ambush in the water! Fortunately, it wasn't aimed at him.

Beneath the Hai Chi, there was a warm, jade-like white light curtain, resembling an inverted jade bowl—a water-repelling protective artifact.

Within that magical artifact, warm light emanated, clearly revealing a figure sitting within, breathing deeply. However, there were no spiritual veins at the bottom of the pond; it was more likely a healing process than cultivation.

Meanwhile, sixteen or seventeen cultivators were gathered in the pool, circling the white light barrier with ill intent, seemingly setting up some kind of magic array. It seemed he was an unlucky fellow who had been ganged up on, but this unlucky fellow had a magical treasure protecting him, so the surrounding jackals couldn't attack him for the time being and could only block him from attacking.

Startled by the sound of water behind them, the jackals turned around and met Li Fan's gaze. They were immediately blinded by the bright red "Execute" character above his head.

"... I'm just passing by. You guys continue."

Li Fan explained, but seeing their green eyes, their immediate rejection of the unpalatable turtle, and their surrounding him, he knew that the polite and peaceful negotiation had failed again.

Sigh, let's use reinforcements then.