Arrival of the Kin

Seeing ten Crimson Fireballs crashing toward him, Han Changming cursed under his breath and quickly burrowed back into the ground.

"Boom!"

Several massive explosions rang out as a vast expanse of crimson flames spread across the ground.

The earth bulged into a small mound, moving rapidly as if something were hiding beneath the surface.

After moving a dozen yards, the mound suddenly stopped. Han Changming emerged from the ground, covered by five layers of blue water shields. Three glowing magical artifacts descended from the sky, striking his blue water shields and shattering three of them in quick succession.

Even so, Han Changming was terrified and immediately dove back into the earth.

"Damn it, how does this brat have so many defensive talismans! Is he a talisman maker or something?" the middle-aged man cursed. He summoned a palm-sized red gourd that instantly expanded, spewing a massive wave of crimson flames toward the ground.

Boom!

Soon, a large area of crimson flames spread across the ground, radiating intense heat.

Several yards deep underground, Han Changming moved forward rapidly, wrapped in a yellow light barrier, clutching a Spirit Gathering Stone in his hand.

The Earth Escape Technique consumed a significant amount of mana; if not for the Spirit Gathering Stone, his mana would have been completely depleted long ago.

Han Changming traveled several dozen yards before surfacing again, just as the three middle-aged men were about to fly off Red Shrimp Island.

"Stay right where you are." Han Changming frowned and shouted, pulling out his last ten Fireball Talismans and throwing them at the three rogue cultivators.

With a flash of red light, the ten Crimson Fireballs formed a line and smashed toward the three rogue cultivators.

With a few muffled thuds, the ten Crimson Fireballs struck their yellow shield, failing to injure them but successfully hindering their escape.

"Damn it, why is this brat so stubborn?" the middle-aged man cursed, his face full of murderous intent.

"You think you can just walk away after robbing our Han Clan? There's no such thing as a free lunch," Han Changming said with a cold face.

The three men exchanged glances and nodded, their faces filled with killing intent. They realized that if they didn't kill Han Changming, they wouldn't be able to leave in peace.

They summoned their magical artifacts again to attack Han Changming.

Han Changming had been prepared and dove back into the ground once more.

Boom!

Deep grooves appeared in the ground near where Han Changming had surfaced, and the roaring sounds ringing in his ears gave him a massive fright.

"How dare you lay a hand on our Han Clan disciples? Are you tired of living?" A cold female voice suddenly rang out.

A streak of white light appeared on the distant horizon, followed by several other streaks of light in various colors.

"Oh no, the Han Clan reinforcements are here. Run!" The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically. He pinched a spell, driving his flying artifact to flee into the distance.

"Don't you dare run, thieves! Taste my Heavenly Thunder Bead!" Han Changming's voice suddenly rang out.

Hearing the words "Heavenly Thunder Bead," the middle-aged man turned his head to see an egg-sized black orb flying toward them. The black orb looked exactly like the legendary Heavenly Thunder Bead.

It was said that a Heavenly Thunder Bead could kill even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone a few Qi Refining cultivators.

They either summoned defensive artifacts or activated defensive talismans.

As a result, their flight speed slowed down significantly.

At this moment, the black orb was less than ten yards away from them.

A blinding black light erupted, and a massive cloud of black mist poured out from the black orb.

"Damn it, we've been tricked," the middle-aged man cursed.

A yellow flying knife flew out from the black mist, striking the yellow shield and leaving a white mark.

"Huh? Why has the sky gone dark?" a man in green robes asked in surprise.

He looked up and saw that a white cloud over a hundred yards wide had appeared overhead at some point.

The white cloud churned, and a massive barrage of white ice spikes emitting bone-chilling cold fell from it, crashing toward the three rogue cultivators.

"Oh no, it's a Tier 2 Ice Rain Technique!"

They hurriedly summoned their artifacts to defend, but it seemed useless. Dense swarms of white ice spikes continuously hammered against their protective shields. The shields of the two lower-cultivation men were pierced through by the barrage, and several ice spikes impaled their heads.

The middle-aged man realized things were dire. He took out a golden, glowing talisman, slapped it onto his body, and transformed into a streak of golden light, breaking through the air to escape.

A sharp bird cry rang out, and a cyan giant eagle over a yard wide swooped down, blocking his path.

"No, a Tier 2 Golden-Beaked Eagle!" The middle-aged man was scared out of his wits.

The cyan giant eagle flapped its wings, sending a barrage of palm-sized cyan wind blades flying out. They struck the middle-aged man's defensive shield, causing it to warp and deform.

Before the middle-aged man could even catch his breath, the cyan giant eagle descended from the sky, its pair of massive talons striking his defensive shield.

With a "pop," the cyan giant eagle's claws tore through the middle-aged man's shield and crushed his skull.

With a scream, the man lost consciousness.

Seeing the rogue cultivators dead, Han Changming let out a long sigh of relief. It was fortunate that his clan uncle had arrived in time, though the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

He suddenly realized something and quickly put away the yellow flying knife and the Spirit Gathering Stone.

Not long after, six streaks of light landed in front of him.

There were four men and two women, led by a young woman in a white dress in her early thirties.

"Seventh Aunt, why are you here? I was wondering why the voice sounded so familiar; it turns out it was you." Han Changming grinned.

The young woman in the white dress was Han Changming's Seventh Aunt, Han Deling, who was at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

The other five people were all Han Changming's clansmen. The one with the highest seniority was a middle-aged man with dark skin and bulging muscles, Han Changming's Ninth Uncle, Han Delei, who was at the Qi Refining eighth layer.

"I came to discuss something with your Ninth Uncle and didn't expect to receive the Hundred-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman you sent. It's a good thing we arrived in time; if something had happened to you, we wouldn't have been able to answer to Eleventh Uncle," Han Deling said with a bitter smile.

She looked at the corpse on the ground, frowned, and asked, "Changming, where is your Eighteenth Uncle? How is he?"

"Don't worry, Seventh Aunt, Eighteenth Uncle is fine; he went back to the clan to collect his stipend." Han Changming recounted the sequence of events truthfully, though he naturally omitted the part about using the Spirit Gathering Stone to recover his mana.

"You did well, kid, actually managing to kill one of the thieves. You were right to do so; the lives of outsiders have nothing to do with us. However, using the Earth Escape Technique to entangle them might seem clever, but it was actually very dangerous. If they had possessed a second-tier Earth Shaking Talisman or a heavy-type magical artifact, you would have been in danger. Don't do this again; the disparity between you and the enemy was too great. Doing this would only cost you your life for nothing. Your life is the most important thing," Han Deling said with a stern expression.

"I understand, Seventh Aunt, I won't do it again," Han Changming promised honestly.

Han Delei laughed heartily and praised, "You did a great job, kid. Protecting clan property and killing an evil cultivator—consider this a meritorious service."