Just as battle erupted within the Lin Lineage grounds,
Red Leaf Square also descended into chaos, its order beginning to crumble.
Countless cultivators used the pursuit of the Lin Lineage as a pretext to raid major shops and even private cave abodes.
Cultivators like Zhou Xun, who held some status and possessed considerable wealth but lacked high cultivation, became these people's first choice.
Zhou Xun's house now had its protective formation damaged, its front door torn down, and the entire place was in shambles.
The several bottles of Dan he had not had time to pack away before leaving had all been looted clean.
Naturally, Zhou Xun knew nothing of this.
Taking advantage of the turmoil among the crowd, he had already arrived at the market's exit.
Zhou Xun hid atop a roof more than thirty zhang from the market exit, his expression extremely grim.
At this moment, Red Leaf Square's grand formation had been fully activated.
The restrictions at Red Leaf Square's exit had been opened to their fullest as well.
They were trapped inside!
Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in animal hides like a demon-hunting cultivator rode a shield mystic tool toward the exit.
Judging by the fluctuations of his spiritual power, he was clearly a Late-Stage Qi Condensation cultivator at the seventh layer.
Yet the moment he neared the exit, several flashes of lightning appeared and all struck the middle-aged man.
The shield mystic tool withstood several lightning strikes, flickered a few times, then was completely ruined.
The middle-aged man's face changed drastically. It was already too late for him to retreat, and the lightning struck him directly.
In an instant, it burned him into charred coke.
A Late-Stage Qi Condensation cultivator who had once cowed an entire region could not even last several breaths.
Zhou Xun immediately abandoned any thought of forcing his way through.
After pondering for a moment, he turned around and retreated.
As time passed, a great number of cultivators would surely gather at the exit. It was better for him to leave first.
The moment the grand formation broke, Wang Erniu made a snap decision and fled swiftly with his wife and daughter.
Unfortunately, he was not a member of the Lin Lineage, so the position assigned to him was not the best place to break through.
After darting left and right, he unexpectedly ran back into Red Leaf Square.
Although the Lin Lineage grounds lay within Red Leaf Square, they were situated in the northwest corner. When the Lin Lineage's formation collapsed, a gap appeared in Red Leaf Square's grand formation near the Lin Lineage's location.
Fortunately, most cultivators were either busy looting or fleeing, with no chance to concern themselves with those they encountered along the way.
That was how Wang Erniu's family of three had remained safe until now.
"Erniu, what should we do?" His wife, the Lin Lineage's second daughter, looked terrified.
Fortunately, she had changed into an ordinary ruqun dress while breaking out, and with it being nighttime, she did not draw much attention.
Otherwise, Lin Xue'e's breathtaking beauty would surely have brought great disaster upon them.
"Xue'e, don't worry. I'll definitely get you out!" Wang Erniu's face was resolute.
His cultivation was currently at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, placing him among the top twenty percent in Red Leaf Square.
Combined with the mid-grade mystic tools he carried, it was not as though he lacked the strength to fight.
The three of them then avoided the main roads and ran toward the exit through the market's narrow alleys.
"Stop!"
A man's voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
Wang Erniu's expression stiffened as he slowly turned his head.
Two men had just emerged from a house, both at the third layer of Qi Condensation.
They held bloodstained long staffs in their hands. The faint spiritual power fluctuations upon them showed that they were Half-Mystic Tools.
"Is there something you need, brothers?" Wang Erniu forced a stiff smile, though his heart was on the highest alert.
The two men ignored Wang Erniu entirely and looked straight at Lin Xue'e.
On closer inspection, they still discerned Lin Xue'e's flower-like face and moon-like beauty.
The pockmarked young man immediately leered.
"What a pretty little wife. We almost let her slip past our eyes. Fourth Brother, we've struck it lucky today!"
"Hehehehe!" The short, fat young man beside him rubbed his hands excitedly.
"Brothers, this spirit stone is my tribute to you. Please spare my wife and me!" Wang Erniu was anxious to leave and unwilling to fight these two, lest he attract the attention of those nearby. If he could spend money to avert disaster, that would be best.
The short, fat young man's eyes lit up. He immediately snatched the spirit stone from Wang Erniu's hand.
"Third Brother, a spirit stone!"
The pockmarked young man took it, breathed on it and rubbed it, then gave a greedy smile.
"So he's a fat sheep after all! Hand over all your spirit stones. We want all your money!"
After pausing, he exchanged a glance with the short, fat young man, gave a lewd chuckle, and continued,
"And we want the woman too! Hahaha!"
Wang Erniu's expression turned incomparably ugly. Knowing this could not end peacefully, he brushed his hand over the Storage Pouch at his chest, and a talisman appeared in his hand.
"A first-rank mid-grade Gold Blade Talisman!"
He infused it with spiritual power and activated it. A three-inch golden blade appeared before Wang Erniu.
Sensing the spiritual power fluctuations from the golden blade, the two men's faces changed drastically as they shouted,
"Move!"
They immediately raised their long staffs and smashed them toward Wang Erniu.
Clang—
A sound of metal colliding rang out, and the two long staffs instantly broke into two pieces.
Lin Xue'e had acted. As a direct descendant of the Lin Lineage, she had naturally received training in spell battles, and the crimson longsword in her hand was a mid-grade mystic tool.
The two men were horrified and turned to flee.
Wang Erniu's Gold Blade Talisman had already finished activating.
"Go!"
Wang Erniu spoke a single word without expression.
Whoosh, whoosh—
As two golden blades pierced human bodies, the two men fell dead on the spot!
"Go!"
After killing the two men, Wang Erniu and his wife picked up their daughter and hurriedly fled.
Yet before they could leave the alley, a group of people surrounded them, numbering eight or nine in all.
The leader was over forty, his face full of flesh and a vicious, fierce look.
"Fine cultivation, fine mystic tools. You killed two of my brothers in such a short time!"
The vicious man smiled sinisterly, then ordered the others,
"Kill the man. Take the woman back so we can have a good time!"
"Yes!"
The group burst into laughter and charged at Wang Erniu and his wife.
Fortunately, Wang Erniu and his wife had considerable wealth, many talismans on them, and excellent mystic tools. Under the siege of this group, they actually managed to hold on.
They even killed one man in return.
Seeing that they could not win after a prolonged battle, the vicious man immediately changed tactics. They surrounded without attacking, using only spells to wear them down from afar.
Outnumbered, the two had no choice but to gradually retreat into a dead end, unable to advance or withdraw.
Once their spiritual power was exhausted, it would be their doomsday.
Half an hour passed. Wang Erniu gradually fell into despair. He looked at his wife and daughter and gave a miserable smile.
"Xue'e, I've failed you both, mother and daughter!"
Just as he was about to fight with all his strength,
Suddenly, an unexpected change erupted in the scene!
Elsewhere, Zhou Xun had hit a wall at the exit, so he avoided the main roads and continued back through the alleys.
Everywhere he looked was chaos, and from time to time, the sounds of fighting and women's screams reached his ears.
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