"Brother Xuan!"
Li Qiuyang flew close to the ground with Li Xuanxuan beside him, whose face was ashen. He was dragging the scorched monkey along, occasionally pulling out a talisman from his sleeve and tossing it behind them.
BOOM!
The talisman barely emitted a glow before a blood-red hammer shadow crushed the spell into countless fragments.
The man holding the hammer laughed heartily.
"You must be from a rich family, so full of treasures!" he mocked.
They chose a path shrouded in infernal fire to escape, but Li Xuanxuan's luck was never good, and they soon ran into a devil cultivator. This one, wielding a large hammer and seeming to be quite powerful, appeared to be in the middle stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm.
Li Xuanxuan and the monkey were already in terrible shape, and Li Qiuyang was only an unrefined Qi Cultivator, making them no match for this opponent. They immediately turned to flee for their lives.
"Fortunately, this guy's techniques are broad and slow, unlike the previous devil cultivator. This gives us a bit more time," Li Xuanxuan said as he touched the jade pendant in his sleeve, formulating a plan in his mind.
Although his internal mana was almost depleted and he could not increase his speed, he used the River Crossing Torrential Step to dodge left and right, managing to hold on.
The devil cultivator chased them on a rolling black cloud, brandishing his hammer and toying with them like a cat would with mice. Occasionally, he would speed up, forcing Li Xuanxuan to use talismans to fend off his attacks.
This devil cultivator was clearly more experienced in combat than the previous dual-wielding one, methodically depleting their mana and forcing Li Xuanxuan to exhaust his talismans.
"Brother Xuan… this is not working. Let me cover the rear," Li Qiuyang whispered through gritted teeth to Li Xuanxuan, whose face looked ghastly.
"No need."
Though his mana was nearly depleted, Li Xuanxuan gripped the jade pendant inside his robe tightly, boiling with anger as he thought to himself, According to this pendant's guidance, Qinghong is just a li away. I'll show you the consequences of bullying a Li Family member!
Seeing Li Xuanxuan's determined tone, Li Qiuyang silently followed him.
Qi Cultivators were extremely fast. They had been running for only a few breaths before a woman appeared ahead.
The woman seemed to be in her late teens, clad in bright white jade armor that shimmered with an azure light. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with anger, tinged with a hint of purple. She held a spear, its tip pointing downward.
She had an attractive face that exuded a heroic aura. The ribbons on her jade armor fluttered in the wind. Her hair was simply tied up in a ponytail with a plain jade hairpin and her jet-black hair flowed freely in the wind.
"Lady Qinghong!"
Li Qiuyang, seeing hope in despair, was overjoyed. He finally understood the source of Li Xuanxuan's confidence earlier. They staggered to her side, breathing a sigh of relief.
The devil cultivator's face darkened, intimidated by Li Qinghong's imposing presence. He slowed down but upon realizing she was only a mid-stage Qi Cultivator, he laughed mockingly.
"Damn, these cultivators look prettier one after the other… with weak cultivation but such grand airs. One might think she is an immortal general!" he sneered.
Noticing her impressive artifacts, he remained unafraid. He had killed many and knew that the cultivation methods of Jiangnan's families and rogue cultivators were mostly rubbish that did not use pure qi and not worth worrying about.
His own cultivation came from techniques passed down by powerful devils, comparable to Grade Four immortal techniques of Jiangnan. He sneered and shouted, "Little female cultivator, you—"
Before he could finish, Li Qinghong lunged forward, her jade armor jingling. A bright purple spear shadow flowed like a dragon, striking in an instant.
The devil cultivator swallowed his words right away, raising his hammer to block the incoming attack. The spear, crackling with bright purple lightning, transformed into a dragon, smashing against the blood-red hammer with a loud bang, emitting a brilliant purple spark.
BOOM!
The devil cultivator felt a surge of annihilating thunder force travel through his hammer. His dharma artifact emitted a series of mournful wails, and a flash of lightning burst between his palms, releasing tendrils of black smoke. His face quickly turned pale.
Li Qinghong knew this place was not suitable for a prolonged fight and preferred a quick resolution. She immediately drew her Duruo Spear , seizing the opportunity of her opponent's arrogance. She launched the Fei Family's ultimate technique—the Dragon Reflection.
For some reason, the Vast Sky Fierce Sparrow talisman qi within her surged upon seeing this devil cultivator. Dark red light flowed from her elbow to the spear, adding extra power and might to her weapon. The thunderous dragon-like shadow struck, causing a tremendous thunderclap that left the devil cultivator at a severe disadvantage.
"A thunder cultivator?!" the devil cultivator groaned, his hands dropping powerlessly. He felt his cultivation dwindle, and even his dharma artifact slipped from his grip, clattering to the ground.
Panic-stricken, he wailed loudly, "When did Jiangnan produce such a powerful Dao lineage?!"
Abandoning his dharma artifact, he whipped up a blood-red whirlwind and hurriedly fled into an alley.
"Only an idiot would fight her with all these treasures lying around! Whether I can win or not, my cultivation is already half gone!"
Specialized in escape techniques, the devil cultivator disappeared at the end of the alley in the blink of an eye, leaving his hammer on the ground.
Li Qinghong watched him go with a smile, unhurried. Her delicate hand twirled the spear and rested it behind her. With her other hand, she crafted a talisman in the air, emitting mysterious purple patterns.
Bzzzt... bzzzzt…
The thunder talisman formed before her, glowing brightly. The Purple Thunder Secret Origin Technique she practiced was ancient and profound with several secret techniques attached to it, this being one of them.
Li Qinghong chuckled softly, flicking the talisman like a meteor after the fleeing devil cultivator. Without waiting for the result, she picked up the hammer and calmly turned to her uncles, saying softly, "Uncles, we should leave quickly."
Li Xuanxuan and Li Qiuyang were awestruck by her spear's power, nodding hastily. The three of them took off, flying just a few chi before a loud explosion sounded from the market.
BOOM!!
Purple lightning erupted, and black smoke rose. Several screams and curses ensued, with a few red lights and demonic smoke shooting up. Li Xuanxuan and the others ducked instinctively, even the monkey looked terrified and distanced itself from her.
Hearing the commotion, Li Qinghong calculated their next steps. Realizing her brother Li Yuanyun was missing, her heart sank.
"Uncle… where is Brother Yun?" she asked softly.
Li Xuanxuan and Li Qiuyang exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond, leaving only the sound of their sighs. Li Qinghong understood immediately and flew on in silence.
On the Guli Road.
Li Yuanjiao and his group waited for a while, chasing away some scavenging rogue cultivators before seeing Li Qinghong approach with the others. He hurried to meet them, staring at Li Xuanxuan's condition in shock.
"Father?!"
Li Xuanxuan raised his head, his left leg crooked and dangling. He looked emaciated and withered, his eyes half gray and half white. He gave a weak smile and managed to croak out softly, "Jiao'er!"
Though Li Yuanjiao had minor grievances with his father, he still cared deeply for him. He quickly supported him, asking gruffly, "What... happened to you?!"
"Ah!"
Li Xuanxuan, despite his haggard appearance, was filled with the joy of survival, unable to hide his glee. He exclaimed with a hint of pride, "Nothing I have done in my whole life compares to what I have achieved in this past hour!"
Li Xuanxuan used to think of himself as mediocre and incompetent. Reflecting on the multiple times he had skirted the edge of death, he could not help but feel a bit of pride in himself, his eyes brimming with tears. He thought to himself, It must be Second Uncle's spirit in heaven protecting me! It must be his accumulated virtue...
At this moment, Li Xuanxuan deeply understood why Li Tongya had handed down the River Crossing Torrential Step and the accompanying Blood Escape Technique , insisting that the direct lineage must practice them diligently.
Without these two secret techniques, he would have perished at who knows where. As these thoughts crossed his mind, tears began to trickle from his eyes, burnt gray by the fire.
Everyone was deeply moved, and for a moment, no one remembered Li Yuanyun. Only Li Qinghong, who clutched her spear, wept silently. Li Yuanjiao, feeling distressed, handed his father over to Xiao Guiluan who was skilled in healing, and comforted him for a while longer before they all returned home together.