Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 22 The Road Home Is Uneasy
Today is also the day that the Xu family and several other Qi Refining families agreed upon for their joint evacuation.

In about two days, the Wang family of Qingfeng Ridge will also withdraw their defenses and patrols, put away the great formation, abandon the neighborhood, and no longer care about it.

According to speculation among other shopkeepers in the workshop, the Wang family used this opportunity to shed the burden of meager profits, consolidate their strength, and launch a new offensive, "conquering mountains and seizing territories" in the wilderness to acquire resources and open new workshops.

This will allow the family to advance further.

As long as the clan produces one pseudo-core cultivator and two or three more Foundation Establishment cultivators, given their current foundation of having two Foundation Establishment cultivators, they are not without a chance to rise to the status of a "noble family".

Practicing Buddhism is like rowing against the current, if you don’t move forward, you will move backward.

This applies to cultivators as well as to families.

……

Lin Changheng had already collected all the precious and useful items in the cave and carried them with him, but he still carried a package on his shoulder when he left.

It was packed as if there were no storage bags.

Such a poor man would be avoided by cultivators who were empty-handed but had storage bags in their hands, and would be more likely to target cultivators who were not.

The danger naturally diminished.

When Master Mo came downstairs and saw Lin Changheng's appearance, he was taken aback. He stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and thought to himself, "Young people are indeed meticulous and steady! I can't compare to them."

If I had been even a fraction as steady as I was back then, no, even half a fraction, I probably wouldn't have been so seriously injured. Despite all the medicine I tried, the hidden wounds were still difficult to heal, severing my path.

Of course, only Master Mo knew that Lin Changheng had a storage bag; the other shop assistants, apprentices, and the shopkeeper were unaware of it. Shopkeeper Xu Qianyou had even cheerfully asked him if he could store a few of the storage bags in the shop, since there was still plenty of space left, but Lin Changheng politely declined. Seeing that his bag wasn't very big, the shopkeeper didn't press the matter further.

As the group left the market, a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator from the Xu family had already prepared a sufficient number of semi-spirit steeds.

Lin Changheng's eyes flickered, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with riding a horse.

After all, apart from Foundation Establishment families who can produce a large number of spirit cranes and large flying boats, the Xu family is only a Qi Refining family. All they possess are magical flying boats, or magic boats for short, which can only carry two or three people.

At this time, there were twelve people.

You can only ride a horse.

But these horses were exceptionally fine, more than half again as tall as the Akhal-Teke horses of my previous life, and incredibly fast, able to travel five hundred li in a day.

It is a hybrid of a demonic beast and a precious horse from the mortal world, and is called a Jiao Ma.

"Mount up, stay alert! It will take about five days for the Hui people to arrive."

Xu Qianhuan, at the eighth level of Qi Refining, nimbly mounted his horse and shouted.

"Yes." Everyone, including Master Mo, nodded in agreement without hesitation or delay, and they all mounted their horses.

"Distribute into the established formation. Everyone else, follow me. Let's go!"

After scanning his surroundings, Xu Qianhuan's expression turned serious. He gave a command and immediately spurred his horse to gallop away.

The three Qi Refining stage cultivators who came with him each reined in their horses and occupied the left, right, and rear positions, following him away in a swarm.

Lin Changheng was caught in the middle of the horse formation, the sound of hooves thundering in his ears.

He felt something and suddenly turned around. Through the swirling yellowish-brown sand and mist, he could vaguely see the grayish-brown outline of Zichuanfang, where he had lived for twelve years. It was now gradually fading away in the dust, as if being slowly wiped away by an invisible hand.

"So it turns out that the bonds of immortality, when severed, are nothing more than a cloud of dust from a horse's hooves..."

After a soft sigh, Lin Changheng's gaze hardened, and he focused solely on the road ahead, urging his horse forward.

……

"The family's headquarters is just ahead, we'll reach it in less than an hour. Stay alert for the rest of the journey!"

The four-day journey passed in the blink of an eye.

Xu Qianhuan remained energetic and showed no signs of fatigue. He gave a loud reminder, his voice like a lion's roar.

The cultivators were alright; their physical condition was not bad. Although the bumpy ride on horseback was uncomfortable, they could still bear it.

But the men and apprentices were in a different state; they felt as if their bodies were about to fall apart, their buttocks and legs were covered in bluish-black bruises, and they were in unbearable pain.

Even so, they dared not ask to stop and rest, and could only grit their teeth and persevere. Contrary to the rumors, the journey was not chaotic at all; it was peaceful and uneventful.

Even the three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Xu family were somewhat relaxed and fatigued, which is why Xu Qianhuan gave such a reminder.

These words struck everyone like a thunderbolt, startling them and causing them to tremble before instantly becoming alert.

Just at this time,

"Shhhhhh!"

The sudden whooshing sound shattered the tranquility of the mountain path, causing the leaves in the forests on both sides to tremble violently, and dozens of magical beams of light poured down like a torrential rain.

Water arrows, fireballs, wooden spikes, ice blades, and other projectiles attacked the Xu family's group in the mountain path.

"There is an enemy attack!"

Xu Qianhuan, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, shouted and reacted quickly.

The jade pendant at her waist instantly expanded into a cyan light shield, pushing it to both sides and directly colliding with some of the incoming spells.

"Bang bang bang..."

After the first wave of violent explosions echoed across the surface of the cyan light shield, the three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators managed to unleash their first wave of spells.

Golden Light Shield, Water Wall, Rock Shield...

They tried to protect the person in the middle.

But there were too many attacking spells, and the spells collided like fireworks exploding.

Seeing that they couldn't completely defend against it, they hastily continued to summon magical shields and talismanic protective barriers...

They focused on protecting the two alchemists and the shopkeeper inside.

"laugh!"

A golden light barrier blocking the way was breached, and an ice blade slashed through the gap, landing on the little girl named Xu Ruolan.

"what!"

With a sharp, piercing scream, half of his body was severed, and he fell from his horse into a pool of blood, dying with his eyes wide open.

This cruel scene threw the already chaotic group in the Xu family into even greater disarray.

One of the men was immediately terrified, his liver and gallbladder nearly shattered, and he fell off his horse. With a crack, his leg was trampled and broke, and he howled in agony.

Master Mo and Manager Xu were also startled, but they still maintained their composure, using magical artifacts and talismans to empower themselves.

Mo Shi still had some energy left, and at the same time, his gaze turned to Lin Changheng, and he called out urgently, "Changheng...do you have any talismans for protection?"

But Lin Changheng had already dismounted halfway, his feet still on the stirrups, his whole body huddled under the protection of the horse's belly.

A golden shield talisman was flicked from his sleeve. Before it even hit the ground, it burned to ashes and transformed into a golden shield that blocked his vital points on the other side.

"That... quick reaction! Agile movements!"

Master Mo was taken aback, clearly surprised by the speed of his decision and the tact of his response. He still used his magic to toss a low-grade [Water Curtain Talisman] into Lin Changheng's hand.

"Thank you, Master Mo. Please be careful as well."

Lin Changheng called out, temporarily putting away another mid-grade [Golden Light Talisman] hidden in his sleeve, and instead holding a [Water Curtain Talisman].

Methods to save one's life should not be wasted; they should be used in critical moments.

He harbored a vague suspicion about this situation—

Although these assassination spells were only low-level techniques, their exquisite coordination clearly indicated that they were a premeditated ambush!

It's unclear whether they were old enemies of the Xu family or came from the market; they first set up a trap to kill them.

(End of this chapter)