Azure Mountain Seal

He Song put away the notice in his hand and turned his gaze toward Wei Fan, who was likewise frowning beside him.

Just now, cultivators from the Immortal Market Enforcement Squad had delivered the notice. The two had examined it together, only to see those rows upon rows of blood-red death notices.

Though He Song and Wei Fan had not gone out these past few days, both were cultivators with quite a few friends.

Thus, despite never leaving home, they had still obtained plenty of news about the outside world from others.

By now, they had a fairly good grasp of the situation outside.

They knew exactly what had happened beyond their doors.

"Sure enough, the moment Chengsan Real Person left, the Immortal Market immediately descended into chaos." Seated by the table, Wei Fan let out a sigh, a trace of complexity entering his eyes.

He had many friends. Apart from the small circle formed by He Song, Meng Guan, and himself, he had other friends as well.

Some of those friends were Rogue Cultivators, while others were Immortal Market cultivators, but they all had one thing in common.

They all lived within Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market and had dealings with him, a Lingjian Pavilion steward.

Now that Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market had fallen into chaos—

He did not know whether those friends of his would survive.

At that thought, the complexity in Wei Fan's eyes quickly faded. He shook his head with a bitter smile.

His abilities were limited. He could only protect those closest to him; as for his other friends, he had never given them so much as a single warning from beginning to end.

He had not even considered warning them when things were safe, much less now, when the Immortal Market had already fallen into chaos.

What use was there in thinking about such things now?

Wei Fan swiftly cast the thought aside.

Like He Song, he was no saint who would take a knife to both ribs for a stranger.

Only when he had the ability, and only when it would not affect himself, would he choose to protect the friends closest to him.

Like He Song and Meng Guan.

The reason the three of them had been able to form a small circle in such a short time was partly because of this.

He Song, Meng Guan, and Wei Fan were not cultivators who grieved for heaven and pitied mankind. Only when they had the ability and it would not affect themselves would they spare a hand to help those closest to them.

Perhaps because they were birds of a feather, the three got along extremely well.

As for everyone else, what did they have to do with Wei Fan?

"Evil cultivators are running rampant. We'd best not go out for now. Let's wait until Chengsan Real Person returns, or until the Thick Earth Sect sends a new Foundation Establishment Real Person here," He Song said after frowning in thought.

He did not know what Wei Fan was thinking at that moment.

He merely wanted to make the two of them as safe as possible, which was why he suggested it.

Wei Fan naturally had no objection to He Song's caution.

Thus, although they had seen the notice, neither of them went out to investigate.

Instead, just as they had over the previous few days, they remained quietly at home and waited.

The fifth day.

He Song and Wei Fan were still at home.

Last night, many Rogue Cultivators living on the outskirts of the Immortal Market had heard fierce sounds of battle.

The sounds of cultivators wielding Magic Artifacts to attack.

The spiritual energy fluctuations of cultivators casting spells.

The occasional furious shouts that rang out as cultivators fought.

Along with strange sounds, eerie "hehehe" laughter, and waves of chilling auras mingled together, causing countless low-cultivation Rogue Cultivators to hide in their homes and tremble.

Only a few highly skilled and bold cultivators dared step out of their homes to investigate.

Of course, whether those cultivators who went out had truly gone to investigate or had taken the chance to loot was impossible to know.

Most of the cultivators who left their homes never returned.

Only after the sky gradually brightened did the low-cultivation cultivators dare open their doors and step outside.

Yet they were soon stunned by the sight before them.

On the streets—

Corpses lay scattered every which way. Some belonged to Enforcement Squad members, while others wore black clothes and masked faces.

But the majority were ordinary Rogue Cultivators who had left their homes.

Not until noon did members of the Enforcement Squad come to collect the bodies of their own. As for the other corpses, no one dared touch them.

The sixth day.

He Song and Wei Fan were still at home.

Last night—

No fierce battle took place on the outskirts of the Immortal Market.

Yet the oppressive atmosphere had already left the cultivators living there deeply unsettled.

Some wanted to flee, but their corpses were soon found by the roadside.

Some wanted to hide, but within the Immortal Market, where could they possibly hide?

Some wanted to enter the inner district, but without a residence there, they were quickly driven back by the Enforcement Squad.

However, those with well-informed sources had already learned that the Enforcement Squad had abandoned the outskirts of the Immortal Market.

After the fierce battle two nights ago, the Enforcement Squad had suffered grievous losses and had been forced to retreat and defend the inner district.

It could be said that—

The outskirts of the Immortal Market were now completely undefended.

The Rogue Cultivators living there, and even personnel from within the Immortal Market, could only resign themselves to fate and pray that the evil cultivators would not set their sights on them.

The entire outskirts of the Immortal Market had been completely abandoned.

The seventh day.

He Song and Wei Fan were still at home.

Last night, the Enforcement Squad, having retreated into the inner district, fought another great battle against the evil cultivators.

The Enforcement Squad lost quite a few members, but because they were defending the inner district, some Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators living there stepped in to help. They managed to drive back the evil cultivators.

Once the evil cultivators retreated, no further news came from the outskirts of the Immortal Market.

Living in their small courtyard, He Song and Wei Fan had completely lost contact with the outskirts.

The fate of those cultivators living on the outskirts was easy to imagine.

The eighth day.

He Song and Wei Fan were still at home.

They kept close watch on the situation outside at all times.

After two great battles with the evil cultivators, the Enforcement Squad had suffered an extremely severe reduction in manpower.

Judging from the evil cultivators' offensive, if another battle came and the Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators in the inner district no longer helped, the defensive line would likely be overrun in short order.

Yet after He Song and Wei Fan waited an entire day, not a sound came from outside for a long while.

It was as though the entire Immortal Market had become a city of the dead.

The silence was terrifying.

Until—

"Vermin! You court death!" A furious roar rang into He Song and Wei Fan's ears from the distant sky.

He Song and Wei Fan froze at the sound, then hurried to the window and looked into the distance.

For a moment, cultivators poked their heads out from building after building to look on.

In the distance.

High in the sky.

Chengsan Real Person, clad in earth-yellow robes, stared with a livid expression at the ruined Immortal Market before him. The fury in his eyes seemed on the verge of erupting.

He had been ordered to guard Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.

But several days ago, the Red Spirit Gold Mine had sent a request for aid, leaving him with no choice but to depart temporarily.

Yet he had never expected that after only a few days away, the once-prosperous Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market would have become like this!

As its guard, he naturally could not escape responsibility.

At this moment, with all his painstaking efforts reduced to nothing, anyone would be frantic.

Then He Song learned why Chengsan Real Person was called Chengsan Real Person.

Under the gazes of countless cultivators—

Chengsan Real Person swept out a hand, and a miniature mountain flew from his palm.

Azure Mountain Seal!