Chapter 55: Invited to Join (Please Keep Reading)

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As Li Guanzhuan piloted his flying vessel farther and farther away, the scion of the Beast-Taming You family, perched atop the black eagle, wore a face of utter despair. At last, he let out a hoarse, furious roar:

“Heartless cur, one day you, too, will die miserably at the hands of demonic cultivators!”

Li Guanzhuan merely smiled faintly, paying it no mind. These days, the immortal ruins were plagued by rampant pillaging and deadly peril, yet these so-called scions of cultivation clans still dared to wander about alone—was that not courting death? It mattered little to Li Guanzhuan whether the youth belonged to the You family or not; he had no intention of meddling in others’ affairs and inviting trouble for no reason.

Suddenly, Li Guanzhuan’s gaze sharpened as he looked to his right.

There, a marauder at the ninth level of Qi Refinement was soaring through the air, surrounded by nine spinning chakrams, each so sharp they could slice through spiritual energy. With a flick of his hand, the marauder hurled them toward Li Guanzhuan.

Li Guanzhuan remained calm and unruffled, betraying no sign of panic. He patted the two little “Exploders” at his side, and the two black-gold flying automatons shot forward aggressively.

The nine chakrams attempted to shred the two automata.

But when Exploder No. 1 swung a fist, three chakrams were instantly smashed flat and rendered useless.

Seeing six of his artifact chakrams destroyed, the marauder’s face changed drastically. He hastily recalled the remaining three and cried out, “Fellow Daoist, it’s a misunderstanding!”

Li Guanzhuan summoned a top-grade first-tier longsword, wreathed in azure qi, and sent it slashing through the air.

A misunderstanding?

There was no misunderstanding. In the lower cultivation world, there was little room for sentiment—only violence and bloodshed.

“So you insist on fighting to the bitter end?!” the marauder roared, his eyes blazing red, a murderous aura surging within him. He hurled the three remaining chakrams with all his might.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The three chakrams clashed repeatedly with the longsword, magical power sweeping outward.

Standing on the deck of his second-tier flying vessel, Li Guanzhuan watched with cold indifference, a trace of a smile playing at his lips.

“There’s another marauder, then. No wonder you dared to attack…”

Li Guanzhuan glanced to his left. There, another marauder, this one at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, was piloting a flying vessel in an attempt to ram through the defensive array and take his life.

“Go, Exploder No. 3.”

Li Guanzhuan drew a gleaming golden automaton from his storage pouch and equipped it with a top-grade first-tier broadsword, pouring his spiritual power and consciousness into controlling all three black-gold automata in battle.

The eighth-level marauder’s face turned ashen—another automaton, and at the ninth Qi Refinement level, no less?

What the hell was this?

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Without hesitation, the eighth-level marauder turned and fled, but how could his speed compare to a second-tier flying vessel? In the blink of an eye, he was overtaken.

“Spare me, Fellow Daoist! I’ll never do it again!” he wailed and begged for mercy.

His answer was a single saber strike, as powerful as a thunderbolt, equal to a blow from a ninth-level cultivator.

The saber light ripped through the sky with overwhelming force, cleaving the marauder from head to toe without the slightest flaw.

Obeying its master’s command, Exploder No. 3 retrieved the marauder’s storage pouch and returned to the flying vessel.

Elsewhere, beset by Exploder No. 1 and No. 2, the ninth-level marauder at last understood what it meant to be utterly outmatched. He hadn’t lasted ten exchanges before the two black-gold automatons pummeled him to a bloody pulp.

As usual, they collected two storage pouches. This time, Exploder No. 1 also left behind ten top-grade first-tier explosive talismans and a transmission talisman before departing.

Meanwhile, the demonic cultivator at last slew the scion of the Beast-Taming You family.

He gazed after the receding second-tier flying vessel with a hint of regret.

But when his eyes landed on the ten top-grade explosive talismans, his pupils contracted sharply. He was about to slip away when a message from the transmission talisman reached his ears:

“Don’t leave evidence behind when you kill; kindly clean up the scene for me, lest trouble find you. The You family has a sixth-level Foundation Establishment elder, who is a vassal of the Hua family in Huajing Immortal City…

I’ve memorized your appearance. If you ever have designs on me again, I’ll see your likeness plastered across Huajing Immortal City.”

As the message ended, the transmission talisman burst into flame and crumbled to ash.

The demonic cultivator narrowed his eyes. This was both a threat—and an invitation.

He looked at the ten top-grade explosive talismans. Their magical power had been fully expended, signifying their former master relinquished all control.

Each talisman was worth fifty low-grade spirit stones; in total, there were five hundred.

“How interesting.”

The demonic cultivator pocketed the talismans, thinking of the seventh-level Qi Refinement cultivator on the second-tier flying vessel, a smile curling his lips.

Such generosity—he had never seen the like.

Still…

His opponent had seized two storage pouches; he would hardly come out at a loss.

“He even left me a first-tier flying vessel…”

Looking at the vessel parked not far away, the demonic cultivator sighed inwardly.

If only every encounter brought such kind-hearted Daoists!

…

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On returning to Shanggu City, Li Guanzhuan’s lease had just expired. After packing up his belongings, he informed his landlord that he would not be renewing.

The landlord was a little regretful. Though land in Shanggu City was costly, there were few cultivators as reliable as Li Guanzhuan, who paid his rent promptly every year.

After bundling the spiritual herbs and medicines from his courtyard, Li Guanzhuan left a letter for Zuo Xiao and departed the city.

He cast one last look at the grand, ancient city, feeling a touch of nostalgia. If this place weren’t twice as expensive as other cities, it might have made a fine home.

Summoning his second-tier flying vessel, he soared away. A hundred miles out, he unexpectedly crossed paths with the marauder at the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

The marauder paused as well. Seeing the two familiar black-gold automatons on deck, and remembering there was still one hidden in Li Guanzhuan’s storage pouch, he mused that this seemingly kind Daoist was, in truth, rather devious.

What upright person fishes for lawbreakers like this?

“My surname is Fang, Fang Xingzhi. I’m often active in these parts. You seem a decent fellow—why not join forces?” the marauder suggested with a smile, sending his words via sound transmission.

Li Guanzhuan glanced at him and replied, smiling, “I’m heading to Silver Maple City. Care to escort me?”

Fang Xingzhi sighed, “Then our paths diverge…”

He used to live as a bandit on a mountain near Silver Maple City, but ever since the demon cultivators entered the immortal ruins, he had been forced to flee, and had lately been active in the area a hundred miles around Shanggu City, with decent gains. Still, he was far from having enough spirit stones to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.

“I’m not cut out for this line of work. You’d best find someone else.”

Watching Fang Xingzhi follow closely behind, Li Guanzhuan smiled, showing no trace of fear.

“Are you a talisman master?” Fang Xingzhi asked.

“I know a little of the art,” Li Guanzhuan replied.

“You’re too modest. With those ten top-grade explosive talismans, even I would barely escape with my life.”

“Five hundred spirit stones can’t take down a ninth-level cultivator?”

Li Guanzhuan’s tone carried a hint of regret.

Fang Xingzhi’s mouth twitched—so he really had intended to kill him at the time?

…

PS: Please recommend this novel!