The silver-haired girl nodded, her quiet and well-behaved demeanor not uttering a word of insistence on following.
Li Guanyi’s body was resonating with the Chi Xiao Sword’s cry, as if urging him to be quick. He leaped into action and saw several individuals from the Divine Beast Manor who seemed to be fighting with a few others due to excessive hunger born from sleeplessness. Li Guanyi swept his fingers together as a Shaoyang Needle, sharp as a pin, flew out.
The two martial artists were immediately struck, their acupoints penetrated.
Meanwhile, the Canggu Taoist slept peacefully, evidently undisturbed by any anomalies.
Only then did Li Guanyi depart. He activated his Qi Observation Skill, following the traces of the two individuals and the faint scent of blood, guided by the Chi Xiao Sword. His movement technique unfolded, not the "Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Step" taught by the old Master Chen Chengbi, but rather a leg technique recorded on the bronze monument within the Book Collection Pavilion of Chen Country.
It was a first-rate superior martial arts, second only to a Dharma Form rank technique.
Li Guanyi moved like the wind, the sword cries inside him growing more intense, until he arrived in front of the most opulent residence in the entire town. Lacking the mystical skills of Shaking Light, Li Guanyi circulated his Inner Qi, soared into the air, lightly pressed his hand on the high wall, then once again soared three feet upwards, gently landing without a noise.
Upon landing, the Mystic Turtle Dharma Form appeared, subtly lifting Li Guanyi.
The youth’s body experienced a noticeable suspension in the air, then softly descended to the ground, soundless.
The "Jiangnan Misty Rain Twelve Layers" technique activated, merging Li Guanyi seamlessly with nature.
Li Guanyi, gripping his sword in a reverse grip, initiated the Qi Observation Skill and walked through the grand courtyard. In order to avoid startling the enemy, he did not resort to the stealth approach of knocking out everyone, relying solely on his stepping skills or hiding in shadows, and without any guards noticing, he arrived at the innermost area.
The rich scent of blood was almost transforming into Chi Xiao Sword’s killing intent.
Li Guanyi held his breath and focused, listening to those inside talking, "Hmph, they haven’t been taken care of yet?"
"These country bumpkins here are quite useless..."
"And what about you? You’ve been refining pills for so long, and yet you haven’t produced anything significant, have you?"
"Ha! Who do you think I am? Am I that failure Zhongsun Tianjue?"
"That old man’s techniques and Pill Furnace were stolen by his own disciple. He went nearly mad for many years, I heard. His disciple even went to the court of Chen Country, became an imperial Magician, and in the end, died by his own disciple’s hand, some guy named Hou Zhongyu."
"But I am not him. I do not depend on Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to refine pills for longevity; I can’t rely on external forces."
"And certainly not Qilin Blood or Exotic Beast Blood!"
"They’re all wrong. Although they pride themselves as Magicians, walking to the left of the Taoist way, neither righteous nor evil, they never take that next step. Why don’t they consider the most spiritually attuned beings—it’s humans, after all!"
Li Guanyi’s hand holding the sword momentarily tensed, as another person sneered, "So, you control this town, making these locals bleed for you, and my disciples kill martial artists passing by. However, you too have not refined anything of worth."
An old man laughed heartily, "Hahahaha, you are mistaken. I have succeeded. I have received a legacy from the Qingpao Changsheng and have refined blood into power. This ’Qilin Hunting Conference’ features the world’s foremost beauty—beauty is transient, but the attending Grandmasters are not. I intend to refine this Blood Elixir."
"If I offer it to the Great Elder of the Yin Yang Reincarnation Sect, there will be endless glory and wealth, inexhaustible delicacies and wine, Divine Skills and Treasures, all within my grasp!"
The Magician said dismissively, "Hmph, three and a half units each of the gallbladder and marrow from both boys and girls is a suitable replacement!"
The man from the Reincarnation Sect indifferently replied, "Oh? That doesn’t sound too difficult. Is that why you’re forcing them all to become pregnant and give birth, using these people as nourishment, for you to continuously produce children and then refine elixir pills from them?"
The old man smugly declared, "Exactly, this place is the border between two countries, the most chaotic area in the world. I take care of those officials well and their people are not dead, only lacking some newborns, that’s all."
"What are humans, after all? Are they the world’s livestock?"
"In this world, common peasants are like weeds in the field; as long as they look more or less fine, missing a few doesn’t matter, and whether they are the original ones becomes irrelevant."
"Three and a half units each of child gallbladder and marrow is somewhat difficult, but if I do not seek immediate powerful medicinal effects and test it bit by bit, isn’t that better? Born once a year, a town can produce many children. If testing the medicine can extend life by a year or two, that’s also good, isn’t it?"
"As for the children..."
The old Magician paused for a while.
Then, after a long silence, he said softly, "It’s just their fate to have little luck and thin fortune."
Suddenly, there was a sound of sword cry.
The two men in the room changed their expressions drastically, instantly raising their Inner Qi. Both possessed robust Inner Qi, respectable even when placed outside this context. But in that instant, a sword directly flew in, shattering the door.
The pine pattern ancient sword was now lodged in the head of the middle-aged man.
This Taoist sword shone with red patterns, wailed incessantly, and the Sword Intent soared, like the vast sky. The Chi Xiao from Li Guanyi’s body transferred to this sword, instantly breaching the martial artist’s defenses in a flash.
Li Guanyi appeared in an instant, throwing out a punch.
On the front of his fist, the layered strength of the "Six Void Four Union Divine Skill" erupted all at once, blasting the man into the air, his mind going blank. Li Guanyi then spun around, with the Qiushui Sword already slicing through the man’s throat.
Li Guanyi quickly lunged forward, knocking the old Magician into the air with a swift charge.
The old Magician seemed about to form hand seals to summon Mystical Skills.
But Li Guanyi, having crossed hands with Hou Zhongyu, knew these people’s methods all too well.