Initially, Hua Hong felt a flicker of concern when the Flying Ship appeared.

However, when his Divine Sense swept over the cultivator on the Flying Ship, he immediately relaxed.

‘Just a mere Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.’

He was a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, a descendant of a Late-stage Core Formation ancestor.

He could disregard not just Mid-stage, but even other Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, thanks to the numerous Treasures his ancestor had given him.

‘But my arrival in the Western Wilderness can’t be discovered by the Daoist Guardian Alliance, or I’ll be in danger. To ensure my tracks aren’t revealed, this person must die!’ A vicious glint flashed in Hua Hong’s narrow eyes as killing intent for Li Ping surged within him.

“One of the Daoist Guardian Alliance’s hypocrites. I bet he’s about to jump out and play the hero, saving the damsel in distress,” Hua Hong sneered, a cruel smile on his face, as if he had already predicted Li Ping’s next move.

But to his astonishment, Li Ping showed no intention of playing the hero. Instead, he unhesitatingly turned his ship and fled.

“Tsk, coward!” Hua Hong’s surprise lasted only an instant before he gave chase without a second thought.

‘Flee? As if!’

‘Other than me, no one is leaving this place alive today!’

…

‘What a pain!’ Li Ping thought, his brow furrowing as he glanced back at the two relentlessly pursuing him.

The female cultivator ahead was manageable; her aura suggested she was injured, so he could handle her easily. But the man was a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Even Li Ping wouldn’t dare say he could easily deal with a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Both Hu Feng and Liu Wusheng, the cultivators he had killed, had been taken down by sneak attacks when they were unprepared.

Li Ping had never tried to take down a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in a direct, one-on-one fight.

‘Even if they can defeat me, if I decide to leave, they won’t be able to stop me,’ he thought.

As the three were lost in their own schemes, Wei Yiling finally succumbed to the two poisons coursing through her: Soft Flood Dragon Powder and Joyful Gathering Powder. She had been forcing herself to flee, but her body gave out, and she began to plummet toward the ground.

Hua Hong watched from afar, not daring to approach her.

He worried that Wei Yiling’s state was just an act to lure him closer. If he approached, she might suddenly unleash a vicious attack.

But he also couldn’t just let Wei Yiling fall from such a great height.

Falling from several hundred feet, her body would be smashed to pieces. He wouldn’t be able to absorb her essence then.

SWOOSH!

He threw out a black shield. It expanded to several yards in width, catching Wei Yiling and gently lowering her to the ground.

‘Success.’ Hua Hong breathed a sigh of relief after his Divine Sense swept over Wei Yiling, confirming she had truly been overcome by the Soft Flood Dragon Powder.

Looking at Wei Yiling’s flushed face and recalling her usual cold arrogance, Hua Hong couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement. He desperately wanted to absorb her essence right then and there.

‘No rush,’ Hua Hong thought. ‘I still have that passing cultivator to deal with. I can’t let him escape. If he reveals my location, he might attract cultivators from the Daoist Guardian Alliance. I’ll eliminate him first.’ Hua Hong released a Tier Two Spirit Beast that looked like a black tiger from the Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist and ordered it to guard Wei Yiling.

Then, he performed a Secret Technique, transforming into a streak of blood-red light and rapidly chasing in the direction Li Ping had fled.

He was already a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. By using a High-tier Escape Technique on top of that, his speed became utterly astonishing—far faster than the Illusion Shuttle. He caught up to Li Ping in the blink of an eye.

“Fellow Daoist, why the rush to leave?” Hua Hong laughed boisterously. “I find the scenery here quite pleasant. It’s the perfect place for your final rest. You’ll be staying here today! Hahaha…”

A blood-red hand, dozens of feet wide, shot out and grabbed for the Flying Ship!

Li Ping hadn’t expected such a move. Caught completely off guard, the massive hand seized the rear half of his Flying Ship.

With no time to react, he hurriedly transformed into a streak of Escape Light and shot out of the Flying Ship.

And in the instant he flew away—

CRUNCH~ CRACK~

The blood-red hand squeezed fiercely, crushing the Illusion Shuttle into fragments. The Flying Ship that had been with Li Ping for decades was destroyed just like that.

Li Ping had been willing to talk, but now he was furious. He said coldly, “You destroyed my Flying Ship. You’ll pay for it with your life!”

SWOOSH!

Slapping his Storage Bag, two streaks of light flew out.

One of them, a streak of purple-gold light, shot directly toward Hua Hong. A small fork, just over a foot long, was faintly visible within it. The other streak, a blood-red light, suddenly expanded into a shield several feet high, blocking in front of Li Ping and defending him from incoming attacks.

Seeing the Purple Gold Fork stabbing toward him, Hua Hong unhurriedly slapped his Storage Bag. A Blood Patterned Black Hammer flew out and, under his control, began to battle with the Purple Gold Fork.

When he looked again at the shield in front of Li Ping, he was momentarily stunned. ‘The Blood Transformation Shield? Isn’t that the Dharma Artifact Elder Yan used to use? How did this person get his hands on it?’

Although Hua Hong’s real purpose for coming to Fenglan Immortal City was to absorb Wei Yiling’s essence, his official mission was to investigate Yan Liming for leaking secrets. With his cautious nature, he had naturally looked up information related to Yan Liming.

The files clearly stated that before Foundation Establishment, Yan Liming used the Top-Grade Dharma Artifact, the Blood Transformation Shield.

‘Could this person be connected to Yan Liming?’ At this thought, Hua Hong was overjoyed. ‘If I capture him, I might be able to complete the mission to investigate Yan Liming’s leak!’

The cave in the valley had been a trap he’d set for Wei Yiling. In reality, he hadn’t found any trace of Yan Liming, only a Storage Bag full of useless junk.

He never imagined he’d find a breakthrough in the case here of all places.

‘Killing two birds with one stone. A double blessing has fallen into my lap!’ At that moment, Hua Hong felt like even the heavens were on his side.

…

As the Flying Fork and the small hammer battled, Hua Hong formed another hand seal. The giant blood-red hand shot toward Li Ping, intending to capture him outright.

“Hmph!” Li Ping snorted coldly, taking a small blood-red banner in his hand.

At the same time, a figure in a black robe appeared out of thin air beside him. It was the Tier Two Upper Grade puppet, Jia Yi, that he had refined.

Under Li Ping’s Divine Sense, Jia Yi reached for its waist and pulled out an exquisite, several-inch-long, turquoise-green small bow. The patterns on the bow’s limbs were clearly visible.

Jia Yi looked at Hua Hong expressionlessly. With one hand outstretched, the exquisite little bow rapidly enlarged to a normal size and was grasped in its hand. Its other hand drew a black arrow from the quiver on its back!

Without hesitation, it nocked the arrow, slowly drawing the bow and aiming directly at the distant Hua Hong. A brilliant spiritual light emanated from both the bow and the arrow.

“What?” Seeing another person suddenly appear beside Li Ping, Hua Hong couldn’t help but be shocked.

But a quick sweep of his Divine Sense told him that this newcomer was actually a puppet.

However, seeing the astonishing spiritual light, he didn’t dare to be the least bit careless. A pitch-black shield flew out from his Storage Bag, rapidly enlarging and floating in front of him.

Li Ping dodged the blood-red hand in a flash, secretly manipulating a blood-corroding poison to spread toward Hua Hong.

At the same time, Jia Yi released its hand!

BOOM!

Accompanied by a heaven-shaking roar, a streak of black light shot toward Hua Hong at a terrifying speed.

BANG!

The arrow collided directly with the pitch-black shield. Amidst the massive impact, the black arrow turned to ash.

But under this terrifying impact, the pitch-black shield also lost all its luster. Its surface was covered with cracks, and finally, with a CRACK~ CRACK~ sound, it shattered into countless pieces and fell.

Hua Hong’s expression turned ugly. His shield was a Tier Two Upper Grade Dharma Artifact.

Yet this puppet had destroyed it in a single blow. Its strength had definitely reached the Late-stage Foundation Establishment level.

“Not bad!” Seeing this, Li Ping was quite satisfied with Jia Yi’s performance.

If he were to use the bow and arrow, the power would likely be inferior to Jia Yi’s. After all, it could use a vast amount of Magical Power equivalent to a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in a single go, which was something Li Ping couldn’t do.

However, the Spirit Stone consumption for such a full-power attack was also quite staggering.

Li Ping could sense that the Spiritual Power within the Middle-tier Spirit Stone inside Jia Yi had been depleted by more than a third in that single strike.

‘One more strike like that, and I’ll have to replace the Spirit Stone!’

“Continue the attack!” Li Ping ordered without hesitation. He had plenty of Spirit Stones!

…

Jia Yi, expressionless, once again drew an arrow from the quiver on its back.

It nocked the arrow, drew the bow, and locked onto Hua Hong.

‘A Top-Grade Dharma Artifact… a Tier Two Upper Grade puppet…’ Hua Hong’s expression changed. He no longer dared to underestimate Li Ping. ‘This guy is no joke. I can’t mess around anymore. I have to take him down, and fast!’

He decided to use his trump card.

SWOOSH!

Facing the puppet’s full-power strike, Hua Hong’s figure rapidly dropped to the ground.

Then he solemnly took out a golden Spirit Talisman from his Storage Bag and tore it open. A spherical golden light immediately formed, enveloping him.

Only then did he sit down cross-legged, take out a Talisman Treasure inscribed with a small blood-red sword from his Storage Bag, and carefully begin to infuse it with Magical Power.

BOOM!

The streak of black light directly bombarded the golden Shield. The arrow turned to dust, but the golden Shield only rippled slightly before becoming completely still again.

A sneer appeared at the corner of Hua Hong’s mouth. A Tier Three Vajra Talisman wasn’t so easily broken.

Once he activated the Talisman Treasure in his hands, it would be his opponent’s time to die.

…

‘It blocked the attack. That must be a Tier Three Spirit Talisman. And… he’s holding a Talisman Treasure. For a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to handle it with such care… this is no ordinary Talisman Treasure!’ Li Ping instantly assessed the situation.

A Talisman Treasure possesses one-tenth the power of the original Magical Treasure.

In other words, the stronger the original Magical Treasure, the more terrifying the power contained within the Talisman Treasure.

A Talisman Treasure refined by an Early-stage Core Formation cultivator naturally couldn’t compare to one refined by a Late-stage Core Formation cultivator.

Of course, the more power it contained, the more time and Magical Power were required to activate the Talisman Treasure.

The two Talisman Treasures in his possession, the Li Fire Ring and the Void Seal, were both refined by Early-stage Core Formation cultivators. With his Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Magical Power, he could activate them in just a few moments.

But from the cautious way this man was acting, the Talisman Treasure in his hands was most likely refined by a Mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, or perhaps even a Late-stage Core Formation cultivator.

With such power, once activated, Li Ping would have no choice but to flee!

‘I have to stop him!’

His conventional methods were no longer effective against a Tier Three Spirit Talisman.

Even if he threw dozens of Tier Two Upper Grade Spirit Talismans at it, the Shield would still hold for a short while.

‘There’s no time!’

Li Ping quickly made a decision. The poison sac of a Tier Three flood dragon appeared in his hand.

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