"You've been following me for quite a while, fellow Daoist. Finally decided to show yourself?"
Li Ye abruptly halted mid-flight, a golden brick suddenly appearing in his hand as he addressed the man coldly.
Fei Xing'an's gaze flicked to the golden brick in Li Ye's hand, his heart stirring slightly.
This type of gold-brick magic weapon, known for its simple brute-force nature, was relatively easy to forge and considered a cheap, low-tier artifact.
For someone with such wealth to be wielding something like this… it caught him off guard.
If Li Ye had known what Fei Xing'an was thinking, he probably would've shaken his head and scoffed.
A golden brick? That's nothing he also had a bronze hammer forged for sheer power. He could show that off too if needed!
But it was all intentional on Li Ye's part.
That top-grade alms bowl had long since been dyed black with special pigments and was now used alongside the Radiant Pearl as part of his everyday toolkit.
The rest like the high-quality gold brick and bronze hammer were reserved for his "Blackwood Daoist" persona.
Even his usual storage pouch was different, with various small details carefully adjusted to distinguish between the two identities.
It wasn't anything particularly complicated, but paying attention to such things could save a lot of trouble later.
"Please don't misunderstand, Daoist Blackwood," Fei Xing'an said quickly, shifting his approach. "I bear no ill will. I was simply intrigued that someone like you could offer so many pills I hoped we could become acquainted."
Seeing the Blackwood Daoist's expression soften a bit, he smiled and continued,
"With your talents, the Chidi Mountains are the perfect place to shine! Our Seventy-Two Peaks Alliance has members throughout the range. Our leader especially values talent if you're willing to join, I'm sure we can offer terms that'll satisfy you!"
A glimmer of interest crossed Li Ye's otherwise cold face, and he asked,
"Would I be given my cultivation land?"
"Cultivation land on a mountain…" Fei Xing'an hesitated for a moment. "If you're referring to a cave dwelling for your cultivation, we can certainly offer you a spot on Pingyang Mountain."
"That's all?"
Li Ye sneered. "For a cultivator, if we don't even have a patch of land to call our own, how are we supposed to obtain the resources to progress even if we dedicate ourselves to bitter cultivation?"
Fei Xing'an was taken aback. With the amount of spirit stones you've made selling pills, do you care about the profits from a small herb garden?
Besides, even he, a senior deacon on Pingyang Mountain, hadn't managed to earn his spiritual land after all these years of hard work. It had taken him a monumental effort and a show of loyalty to land the cushy job of guarding the market.
And even that position rotated he wouldn't be there for long.
You're an outsider. The Alliance even recognizing you is already generous yet you're asking for your mountain territory?
Completely delusional!
Frustration bubbled up in Fei Xing'an's chest. His desire to bring this Blackwood Daoist back to the Alliance and uncover whatever secrets he might be hiding only grew stronger.
Still, he hadn't forgotten the deputy leader's strict order not to make an enemy out of him. So he forced himself to hold back his anger.
Just then, he heard Blackwood speak again.
"Seems your Alliance lacks sincerity. No need to discuss this further… If you keep following me, don't blame me for being merciless."
With that, Li Ye turned to leave.
Fei Xing'an hesitated, uncertain whether to make a move when a raspy voice suddenly rang out:
"Don't go, Daoist. Since you're here, you may as well come back with us to meet the clan leader."
Whoosh
An elderly man in a purple robe, his face lined with deep wrinkles, suddenly arrived.
A twin-headed flying shuttle shot from his sleeve, heading straight for Li Ye.
"Luo Chai! This has nothing to do with you don't interfere!" Fei Xing'an, still undecided, roared in protest at the sudden attack.
Li Ye dropped sharply, narrowly dodging the strike as he landed on the ground.
His shadowed face turned icy cold as he stared at Luo Chai.
"You dare block my path?"
"With both myself and Deacon Fei here, what if we do block you?"
The old man flew in rapidly, sneering as he raised his hand launching three more flying shuttles in quick succession.
The four flying shuttles moved with astonishing speed, intertwining in their paths and sealing off Li Ye from all sides, aiming to shred him apart from different directions.
It was a rare set of matching magical artifacts!
Working in tandem, their combined power was nearly on par with top-grade artifacts yet they consumed significantly less spiritual energy.
Despite his earlier words, Luo Chai didn't care about Fei Xing'an, going all-out without hesitation.
That made Fei Xing'an instantly give up any thought of stepping in he decisively retreated to the side, choosing to observe quietly.
Luo Chai hailed from the Luo Clan of Whirlpool Cloud Mountain, ranked third in the alliance. He and Fei Xing'an were never allies to begin with, and the elder's prowess in combat far exceeded Fei Xing'an's own.
Even if the two of them could somehow take down the Blackwood Daoist together, Fei Xing'an wasn't confident he'd be allowed to take the man away afterward.
Since that was the case, there was no point in offending the Blackwood Daoist by getting involved better to wait and watch.
Li Ye's gaze shifted slightly Even a set of rare matching artifacts... this old bastard lives up to the wealth and power of the Luo Clan's late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
But if this was all he had then it still wasn't enough to truly threaten him!
"ROAR!!"
Meeting Luo Chai's gaze, Li Ye suddenly let out a thunderous roar, his voice high and piercing like the cry of a rampaging war elephant.
The terrifying soundwave surged outward, leaving Fei Xing'an momentarily dazed as his ears rang.
Luo Chai, taking the brunt of it, reflexively clutched his ears and staggered back.
In the next instant, Li Ye's skin shimmered with a jade-like luster as his muscles swelled, radiating an aura of unyielding strength.
Boom!
He reached out and grabbed a bronze hammer, which immediately expanded in size, becoming a massive Warhammer that he swung in a full arc.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks exploded as the four flying shuttles collided perfectly with the hammer, each one knocked away with a piercing shriek.
At some point, Li Ye had already slapped on a lightening talisman. With a stomp of his foot, the ground beneath him cracked as his body launched forward like a cannonball, trailing dust and grass behind him heading straight for Luo Chai.
Buzz
Boom!
Luo Chai's shield artifact, defensive robes, and protective talismans activated just in time.
But the talisman's energy shield was instantly shattered, followed by the shield and robes being smashed apart by the hammer's relentless impact.
Luo Chai was sent flying, crashing into the ground and tumbling away in a cloud of dust.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh
The air shrieked again as more flying shuttles shot through it, aimed straight at Li Ye's back.
But he didn't dodge, eyes full of killing intent. Instead, he raised his hammer and charged straight toward Luo Chai.
Struggling to his feet, blood pouring from his mouth, Luo Chai looked utterly wretched. His chestplate was caved in, the glow of his robe dimmed his old bones looked ready to fall apart.
That one strike had nearly broken through all of his defenses!
Fear welled up in his chest as he saw Li Ye charging in without even flinching at the incoming shuttles. This guy wasn't dodging he was going to finish him off!
A flash of panic and savagery crossed Luo Chai's eyes.
"If you're so eager to die, then what?!"
Before he could finish speaking, Luo Chai's face twisted in horror. He quickly pulled out a stack of talismans, unleashing a barrage of magical spells at Li Ye.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The flying shuttles struck again one talisman shield shattered instantly, but the remaining three shuttles hit Li Ye directly.
Yet the expected scene of shuttles piercing his body never came.
His robe tore open, revealing a glint of crimson beneath.
It was a scarlet scale armor!
The impact of the shuttles nearly pierced through it, but most of their power was absorbed. The remaining force landed on Li Ye's jade-hardened flesh, barely causing a reaction.
The barrage of talisman spells that followed had little effect on someone with such overwhelming defense.
Li Ye swept his massive hammer, smashing aside several spells in one swing. The rest he tanked directly as he closed the gap between them in an instant.
"You old bastard DIE!"
Li Ye roared and brought the hammer down.
"Brother Fei, help me!"
Eyes filled with terror, Luo Chai screamed, activating a talisman in a desperate attempt to escape.
"Daoist, wait!"
BOOM!
A muffled explosion rang out as Luo Chai's body was crushed inward flesh, bone, and blood bursting apart, splattering across the ground.
Fei Xing'an had just raised his round shield to intervene when his face froze in shock, his movement completely paralyzed.
This guy… is this brutal?!
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