Chapter 48: The Liu Family Market

Deep in the dead of night, the wilderness lay in utter silence.

Li Ji'an carried Chen Qingling as they flew swiftly away.

Just as they were about to pass over the Clearwater River, his spiritual sense perceived several cultivators engaging in a fierce battle along the riverbank.

The Clearwater River was the primary asset of the barrenlands Li family, and its spirit-fish farming was unique to the region, accounting for nearly eighty percent of the Li family's revenue.

Just as he was about to ignore the scene and fly past, a familiar aura a few miles away from the river caught his attention.

"Zheng Tianxiang?"

Li Ji'an had not deliberately kept this person in mind—someone who had harbored enmity with him in his past life—knowing only that a reckoning was inevitable.

Four years ago, right after he had just formed his foundation, they had crossed paths by chance. At that time, lacking the certainty of a single-strike kill and unable to easily clear himself of suspicion—which would have drawn the hostility of the Zheng family—he had chosen to spare him.

After all, given his current strength and trump cards in this lifetime, he had no need to fear the Zheng family.

However, since he would eventually undergo rejuvenation and revert to youth, what if he encountered someone narrow-minded and vengeful? Someone who could do nothing to him in his current prime, only to wait until he passed away to bully his descendants—that would be equivalent to burying a time bomb for himself.

Therefore, either he struck silently without leaving a trace of suspicion, or he uprooted the problem entirely; otherwise, he would wait.

And now, the opportunity seemed to have arrived.

"Second Uncle Chen, I need to accelerate through this turbulent zone. You should rest for a while," Li Ji'an said with a smile.

"Very well." Chen Qingling was startled for a moment, then immediately nodded.

The flight radiance of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was fierce and unrelenting. Traveling at full speed was difficult for him in the mid-Qi Condensation stage, and it was much better to simply fall unconscious—something he had grown accustomed to, as the Red Stone Hermit often did this over the years.

"Pardon me!" Li Ji'an flicked his magical power, causing Chen Qingling to drift into a deep slumber.

He then summoned Gua Gua, who swallowed him whole into the universe within its mouth.

***

Zheng Tianxiang concealed himself behind a giant boulder, his spiritual sense fully extended as he observed the commotion ahead by the Clearwater River.

Five mid-to-late Qi Condensation cultivators recruited from afar had attempted to poison the Clearwater River and had already been discovered by the Li family of Clearwater River. The surrounding encirclement and annihilation were now nearing their end.

All five men carried pills distributed by the Zheng family. Judging purely by appearances, they undoubtedly looked like cultivators of the Zheng family.

However, coupled with the fact that the Zheng family had just generously ceded two spiritual vein domains to the four clans and sincerely allied with them to deal with the Yan family, there was absolutely no reason for the Zheng family to do such a thing.

The only explanation was that the Yan family was framing them, unwilling to see an alliance form between the Zheng family and the four clans.

In this way, the Li family would be provided with a pretext to be pushed to the forefront to wage war against the Yan family.

*Swish!*

Just as Zheng Tianxiang nodded in satisfaction and prepared to withdraw, the sound of air tearing apart suddenly rang out.

Before he could react, a fleshy tongue lashed fiercely against his body.

*Boom!*

A flash of light surged from his Dantian, and an ancient bronze round shield abruptly materialized.

Amidst flying sparks, Gua Gua had already retracted its long tongue and burrowed underground.

Hidden in the shadows in the distance, Li Ji'an nodded inwardly. A natal magical artifact automatically protecting its master was indeed a reliable life-saving measure.

Just like the natal talisman he nurtured, magical treasures could also be nourished within the Dantian, nurtured by one's own vital essence and soul. Once a natal link was established, there was no need for the master's magical power to urge it; a mere shift in consciousness was enough.

"Humph!" Having his life saved by his natal artifact, Zheng Tianxiang hurriedly cast a protective barrier, his expression gloomy as he scanned his surroundings.

Yet, within the range of his spiritual sense, he found nothing suspicious.

***

Sensing the protective magical barrier that Zheng Tianxiang had cast, Li Ji'an felt a slight sense of surprise. Four years ago, he had sensed that Zheng Tianxiang's magical power aura was slightly stronger than his own, given that the man had established his foundation decades earlier than him.

Yet, after a mere four years, Zheng Tianxiang's magical power aura was already inferior to his own.

After entering the Foundation Establishment stage, the price of daily pills used to enhance cultivation was considerably higher. With the turmoil in the barrenlands lasting so long, every clan was depleting its heritage. In particular, Zheng Tianxiang's foundation had been damaged after his breakthrough, exhausting his potential. It was likely that his cultivation over these past few years had relied solely on the spiritual vein.

In the present post-ancient era, lacking the assistance of medicinal pills and relying solely on a spiritual vein—especially since he possessed only a medium-grade spiritual root—he would probably never break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage in his lifetime.

*Flash!*

Just as Zheng Tianxiang stood there in shock and suspicion, Gua Gua's fleshy tongue lunged out once more from the ground behind him.

"Little beast!" Relying on the dual protection of his magical barrier and his natal artifact, Zheng Tianxiang's courage grew. After taking the hit and watching his protective barrier ripple violently, he directed a flying sword from his hand to shoot straight down into the earth where Gua Gua was hiding.

*Screech!*

Yet, just as the flying sword left his hand, a streak of lightning burst open right above his head.

Before he could react, several vine-like arcs of thunder and lightning surged downward.

*Rumble!*

This was a Tier-2 lightning talisman, which possessed a restraining effect against metal-attribute magical powers and artifacts.

The lightning instantly pierced through his protective barrier, which had already been weakened by fifty percent from Gua Gua's attack.

Without a moment's pause, it slammed directly into the bronze shield.

*Crack!*

The bronze shield resisted for three breaths before finally emitting a shattering sound, a web of cracks rapidly spreading across its surface.

Fortunately, the lightning dissipated into nothingness after those three breaths.

"Audacious scoundrel, how dare you launch a sneak attack! Get out here for this old man!" In this moment of life and death, Zheng Tianxiang could no longer care whether the Clearwater River Li family would discover him. With a roar, he struck up his flight radiance and tried to flee.

*Clang!*

A golden light flashed once more, instantly transforming into a golden awl that hurtled toward him with an unstoppable, crushing momentum.

"No!" Just as his new protective barrier condensed and his natal artifact was already destroyed, his pupils dilated in terror as he let out a frantic roar.

*Bang!*

The golden awl easily pierced the barrier, tore through the bronze shield, and then plunged straight through his chest.

Lowering his head in stunned disbelief, he stared at the gaping hole in his chest, yet he still could not see the culprit responsible.

With a heavy thud, he collapsed to the ground, dying with his eyes wide open in grievance!

A Tier-2 offensive talisman... Such items had only appeared in the barrenlands a few years ago during the alliance of the five clans... Was it the Yan family or the Li family?

Right up until his death, he remained unsure of who had killed him.

***

"Humph! How dare they come to my Clearwater River to poison the waters? Search! I want to see who has such audacity." By the Clearwater River, an elder of the Li family looked with ruthless eyes at the five corpses on the ground.

Before long, clan members discovered Zheng family medicinal pills on the five bodies.

"The Zheng family? The Zheng family actually says one thing to our faces and does another behind our backs?"

"Foolish! Would you carry items identifying your own identity if you were going to commit poisoning? The Zheng family was able to hand over two spiritual veins on a silver platter, which is proof enough of their sincerity. Their ancestor is dying, and they no longer hold their past hegemony; they need us to join forces with them to resist the rising Yan family."

"Then it must be the Yan family attempting to frame them! Their crime is unforgivable!" Convinced they had seen through the Yan family's conspiracy, the members of the Li family burned with righteous indignation.

*Boom!*

At that very moment, a loud explosion echoed from not far away.

Immediately afterward, they heard Zheng Tianxiang's desperate and furious roar.

"Hmm? There are other scoundrels! Pursue!" The members of the Li family immediately gave chase.

When they arrived only to find the dead body of Zheng Tianxiang—with a gaping hole in his chest and staring eyes full of unresigned resentment—the members of the Li family froze in place.

"The Yan family... in order to frame the Zheng family, they even captured the young master of the Zheng family?" One clan member, whose mind failed to process the logic, blurted out.

"Absurd! Since Zheng Tianxiang is here, it proves that these people were directed by him all along, but... quickly invite the Patriarch!"

***

A month later, Li Ji_an and Chen Qingling arrived at a mortal city even larger than the gathering settlements in the barrenlands.

"It resembles... truly resembles..." Ninety-five-year-old Dong Jiangling stared straight at Li Ji'an's face, murmuring under his breath.

Li Ji'an smiled and cupped his fists. "Uncle Dong, have you been well?"

"Well, very well. Senior... Senior Li, please take a seat." Dong Jiangling snapped out of his daze, extending his single arm to hurriedly invite Li Ji'an inside.

As he led Li Ji'an into the courtyard and felt the powerful aura emanating from him, old Dong Jiangling's face bloomed with smiles.

Yet, a double chasm of status and seniority remained between them, limiting their conversation.

"Is Aunt Cui not here? Aunt Yao specifically asked me to bring her regards."

"Please forgive me, Senior Li, Cuiniang temporarily went to Xiaowei's in-laws' home and will return later."

Afterward, Li Ji_an let Chen Qingling chat with Dong Jiangling while he went out alone.

Dong Jiangling and Chen Qingling conversed quite happily; with a mere seven-year age difference, both being minor Qi Condensation cultivators, and having known each other since those early days, coupled with the fact that Dong Jiangling's path over the years had largely mirrored Chen Zhaohu's, they shared plenty of common topics.

Li Ji_an first walked casually through the gathering city, his spiritual sense blanketing the crowd as he filtered every bit of information concerning the Liu family.

There was very little, and the sporadic fragments he caught were entirely words of utmost gratitude.

After all, this entire region was governed by the array-master Liu family, making it even larger than the entire barrenlands, and everyone here could be considered as depending on the Liu family for survival.

Leaving the city, Li Ji_an traveled another several hundred miles west until he reached the Liu family's large marketplace—Biluo Marketplace.

Centered around a mid-grade Tier-2 spiritual vein, its scale was somewhat smaller than the Jinhuang Immortal City, but its commercial resources were not bad at all. It offered common medicinal pills and fine magical artifacts, though array materials were by far the most abundant, while Tier-2 pills were almost nowhere to be seen.

Regulations were quite strict; entering the city required passing through a Tier-2 formation that revealed one's true form and magical power, and registration was mandatory.

"Greetings, Senior. Please let me know whatever Senior requires," the shopkeeper of an array-foundation materials store greeted him with a bow as Li Ji_an stepped inside.

"This Taoist needs some array-foundation materials for Tier-1 formations," Li Ji_an instructed. Xiao Qiao possessed exceptional talent in the way of array formations, so he figured he might as well buy some materials for her to practice with.

"May I ask which category of array formations Senior requires?" The shopkeeper was a pot-bellied, prosperous-looking middle-aged man who smiled cheerfully.

"Illusion formations, restriction formations, shielding formations, and defensive formations—three sets of each."

Array formations were a utilization of the rules of heaven and earth, sharing similarities with talismans, which were partial manifestations of those rules. Tier-1 formations could only utilize limited rules of heaven and earth and possessed virtually no offensive power. To acquire offensive killing arrays, one needed at least a Tier-2 array to hook into the killing intent of the Five Elements, or a Tier-3 array to hook into the killing intent of the earth itself.

Although Li Ji_an valued Xiao Qiao's talent in array formations, her progress in cultivation was quite slow, and she might not necessarily succeed in establishing her foundation. If that proved to be the case and her spiritual soul proved insufficient, it would be difficult for her to advance to a Tier-2 array master in this lifetime.

The strength of the spiritual soul required by an array master surpassed even that of a talisman master.

Unless she could acquire a soul-cultivation secret art.