The Path to Immortality Begins as a Sect's Menial Servant

Li An remained calm and composed, continuing to read his book.

After purchasing sixty Breaking Seal Talismans, the old man left, seemingly satisfied.

Thoughts raced through Li An’s mind.

If Li An's earlier suspicions still seemed a little paranoid, now there truly appeared to be something fishy going on.

A thin youth, a one-armed brute, and a shriveled old man with both hands intact—three people with completely different appearances, even different cultivation levels… Could they be the same person?!

Then suddenly he remembered—the Demonic Cultivator who had robbed the Clear Sun Sect's pill shop.

That Demonic Cultivator killed disciples of the Clear Sun Sect, stole their pills, and yet was never caught.

If the person in question had a method to change physical appearance and conceal cultivation level, then everything would make sense...

If the three people Li An had encountered were all the same Demonic Cultivator, what was he really trying to do?

First, he purchased Talismans used to create Restrictions.

Then, he came to buy a large number of Breaking Seal Talismans.

There was no way he was buying Breaking Seal Talismans to break through his own Restrictions—

A new thought flashed through Li An’s mind. Could it be that the Liyang Valley was a trap? That Demonic Cultivator might have used a large amount of Restriction Materials to fake the existence of a Secret Realm, as a way to draw attention away?

And his true target… was the Market District?

Li An felt he might be getting close to the truth!

His heart began pounding rapidly.

If that person really intended to attack the Market District, then this place would become incredibly dangerous!

Run away? That was Li An’s first instinct.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. If the Demonic Cultivator had really set his sights on the Market District, then the area outside was surely already crawling with his scouts. Leaving now would be even more dangerous.

Staying inside the Market District... should he notify the Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the city?

That could work. If the enemy’s plan relied on secrecy, and the Market District set up its defenses in advance, it would be very hard for the plan to succeed.

But there was also risk.

That was, Li An might expose himself, and draw attention from Foundation Establishment cultivators, maybe even get investigated.

A dilemma.

Li An calmed himself completely and weighed the pros and cons.

“The fact that the other side used such a roundabout method to purchase Breaking Seal Talismans proves two things: First, the Breaking Seal Talismans are critical to their plan. Second, their strength isn’t overwhelming—they had to keep a low profile until they acquired the talismans.”

And ever since the Liuyang River Market District Incident, all Market Districts had drastically raised their alert levels. That might also be why the enemy wasn’t using brute force.

“So, to foil the Demonic Cultivator’s plan... the key lies in the Breaking Seal Talismans.”

A faint glint flashed in Li An’s eyes.

Although he couldn’t guess how Mid-Grade First Rank Breaking Seal Talismans could threaten a Second Grade Defensive Array like the one protecting the Market District, the current intel pointed to one thing—

If something went wrong with the Breaking Seal Talismans, the plan might fall apart.

And if that happened, the Market District would be safe.

And Li An wouldn’t need to expose himself.

That very day, Li An had Wang Yun close the shop early.

By evening, he had retrieved every single Breaking Seal Talisman.

The next day, the Talisman Shop opened for business as usual.

In the morning, a short, stocky young man entered the shop and bought thirty Breaking Seal Talismans in one go.

He too wore that white Storage Ring with the skull motif.

Li An pretended to be engrossed in a book while using his Super Sense Technique to monitor the man’s aura.

In the afternoon, a refined-looking middle-aged man in wide robes bought ten Breaking Seal Talismans. Not long after, a hunched male cultivator came in and bought forty more in a single transaction.

Li An was paying close attention to everyone who came to buy Talismans. So even though these two men looked completely different, he still noticed the same white Storage Ring on their hands.

“They’ve already purchased a hundred and forty... The Breaking Seal Talismans are almost gone.”

Li An muttered to himself. That initial batch of two hundred he made was basically depleted.

But he quickly crafted another one hundred—and ruthlessly raised the price to four Spirit Stones each—double the normal rate!

He figured the enemy would definitely continue buying.

A Demonic Cultivator this fat and juicy—how could he not squeeze him?

Sure enough, more buyers came—each one looking different, buying in small batches, so that no one would notice.

Very cautious. These Demonic Cultivators were being very cautious!

Li An became even more serious.

The more cautious the enemy, the bigger the scheme.

“They’ve bought over two hundred already. Their preparations must be almost complete, right?”

That afternoon, Li An sat in deep thought, sensing the growing danger...

“That Demonic Cultivator must be the same person. Though his form changes, the white Storage Ring remains constant. Plus, after using my Life Seed, I’ve become more familiar with his life force. I think... I can now vaguely recognize it.”

“He’s changed forms many times, but his cultivation has never exceeded the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.”

“Overall, he’s likely in the later stages of Qi Refining, but still hasn’t reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.”

In his past life, Li An was a Core Formation Stage cultivator. Now that he had locked onto this person and carefully analyzed him, even though he couldn’t fully confirm the opponent’s realm, he could still sense it from the fluctuations in Spiritual Energy.

The enemy’s Spiritual Energy hadn’t yet reached the quality of someone at Foundation Establishment.

After all, once one reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, Spiritual Energy would liquefy. No matter how faint the aura, it was still clearly different from Qi Refining.

“More news—another tragedy at Liyang Valley, with countless dead and injured. Someone even managed to snatch the Foundation Establishment Pill, and fighting is still going on!”

Another rumor spread through the Market District.

Li An asked around. Apparently, someone from the Clear Sun Sect had gotten hold of the Foundation Establishment Pill, but as a result, they were surrounded and under siege. The situation was very dire.

“Master Yu, who oversees the Market District, has sent out three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to assist!”

The rescue effort had begun—the Clear Sun Sect wouldn’t leave its disciples to die.

Li An frowned. Three late-stage Qi Refining experts had left the Market District... Had Master Yu fallen into the trap?

Thankfully, Master Yu himself had not left. Otherwise, Li An would already be planning his escape.

BOOM!

Just as Li An was thinking, the entire Market District suddenly trembled violently!

It felt like the earth itself was shaking.

The Defensive Arrays on all sides of the Market District lit up instantly, and a massive blue barrier rose, enclosing the entire city.

“Who dares disturb the Clear Sun Sect’s Market District? Are you courting death?!”

A powerful aura erupted within the Market District.

Yu Xiong had taken flight and was now fully commanding the array.

He stood suspended above the Market District, dressed in flowing white robes. A sharp glint shone in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings with hands clasped behind his back.

“Yu, open the array and hand over all the Market District’s resources. If you’re smart, no one needs to die. If not—once I break the array, I’ll cut you into pieces and feed you to the dogs!”

From the skies outside the district, a man wreathed in black Demonic Qi soared through the air. He wore a horse-faced mask and held a white bone banner in hand.

“Horse-Face of Death?!”

Yu Xiong’s expression shifted in shock.

Horse-Face of Death—one of the most wanted Demonic Cultivator leaders the Clear Sun Sect had been hunting in recent years!

A Foundation Establishment Stage Demonic Cultivator, with countless lives on his hands. In just three or four years, he had slaughtered two Foundation Establishment Clans. And now he dared target a Market District of the Clear Sun Sect?

“I’ll count to ten. If you open the array, no one dies. If you resist... you and everyone here will perish.”

Horse-Face of Death said coldly:

“Ten…”

…

“The Market District is under attack!”

“What’s going on? Someone’s attacking the Market?!”

“It’s Demonic Cultivators, the Demonic Cultivators have reached the Market’s perimeter!”

“It’s Horse-Face of Death! He’s here!”

Chaos broke out in the streets. Panic spread. People screamed and scattered in every direction.

“Close the shop!”

Li An ordered at once.

But just as Wang Yun stepped forward to close the door, a middle-aged man had already stepped inside. He shoved Wang Yun aside and gave a cold smile:

“Such a profitable business—and you're closing so early? Don’t you think that’s a bit of a waste?”

…

(End of Chapter)