Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 314 Sword Cultivator Assassin

Faced with the crowd who came forward to help, Wu Yehua was grateful and generously donated his spiritual resources.

However, he still glanced at the remaining five people who did not step forward to help.

The four Qi Refining stage cultivators could be ignored, but the late Foundation Establishment stage cultivator named Liu Qingyun was somewhat unexpected.

Along the way, his subordinates had already become friends with everyone on the spirit boat and roughly figured out their identities and origins. The fake core cultivators behind him had even figured out the cultivation levels and strengths of everyone on the spirit boat.

Liu Qingyun was an ordinary rogue cultivator, but his magical power was among the best in the group.

"Is it that you look down on a thousand spirit stones? Or are you just arrogant?" Wu Yehua chuckled and ignored him.

At this moment, our side has a complete advantage.

"Hmph, aiding and abetting evil deserves to die!" The thief cultivators, however, did not show weakness because of their allies. They snorted coldly and launched the first attack.

In an instant, the spirit boat burst forth with light, its magical power became chaotic, and various magical shields filled the area.

Wu Yehua's side, with its numerical advantage, clearly had the upper hand.

The four Qi Refining cultivators in front of Li Ji'an stared intently at the battle between the Foundation Establishment seniors, eagerly absorbing their combat experience.

When they see something intense, they wish they could go up and experience it for themselves.

During this time, he couldn't help but shout and yell.

"Huh~" Just as they were getting excited, one of them suddenly realized that there was another person standing behind him.

They hadn't expected that there were still Foundation Establishment seniors who hadn't taken the opportunity to earn the thousand spirit stones that had been handed to them, and this was also a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get acquainted with such a powerful force as the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce.

"Senior... Senior." Realizing that their words and actions had been seen by the senior, the four Qi Refining cultivators felt rather embarrassed and uneasy.

"Why didn't you go... to help, senior?"

……

Li Ji'an's divine sense had already enveloped the surroundings, and he was now focused intently on a fake Core Formation cultivator hiding in a deep pool not far in front of the flying boat.

He simply shook his head at the four junior cultivators' frantic utterances, offering no explanation.

"Hero, spare your life!"

Moments later, the situation suddenly reversed for Wu Yehua's side, which had initially relied on its numerical advantage.

The three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators on the other side held back Wu Yehua's fake Core Formation protectors, while the remaining twelve thieves faced opponents nearly twice their number. Aside from initially being outnumbered, they grew stronger and stronger as the battle progressed, and even began to turn the tables.

The reason for this is that those who helped the fight were only after a thousand spirit stones; they wouldn't risk their lives.

They would do everything in their power to avoid situations that might even result in a significant loss of magical power or injury.

The thieves were all fighting desperately, so after only a hundred moves, the helpers began to flee the battlefield.

Seeing this, Li Ji'an shook his head slightly. The fake cultivator hiding below hadn't even made a move yet, and it was already like this. He was truly disappointed.

However, as the fifth son of the Chamber of Commerce, Wu Yehua couldn't possibly be without any trump cards to protect himself.

“In that case, it would be more advantageous for me.” Li Ji’an raised an eyebrow slightly, showing no hurry.

Ever since the thief appeared, a plan has been taking shape in his mind.

Along the way, through the discussions among the people on the spirit boat, Li Ji'an learned more about the Azure Blood Pill of the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild.

In addition to the known restrictions, there are also restrictions on buyers.

This is limited to cultivators within the Wanshang Domain.

The Liehu Chamber of Commerce has even set a threshold for close-up observation.

A recommendation from a business alliance or chamber of commerce is a necessary condition.

Only those introduced by the Chamber of Commerce are eligible to bid and then participate in the small meeting; otherwise, they are not eligible to bid.

Half a month after confirming the news on the spirit boat, Li Ji'an was already hesitating about whether to restore Huang Jie's identity in Bailuzhou and try to get him to serve as a first-class guest elder of the Sishui Chamber of Commerce.

However, given the relationship between the Surabaya Chamber of Commerce and the Liehu Chamber of Commerce, they may still face difficulties.

Moreover, such actions would expose Huang Jie's identity to the public, at which point the Sishui Chamber of Commerce, his reliable support for cultivation, might no longer be viable.

The most regrettable thing is losing the qualification to use the top-level Core Formation Daoist Temple in Feihong Immortal City two years later.

Overall, it's a losing proposition.

Fortunately, just as he was hesitating, the thief appeared.

This gave him the possibility of obtaining bidding qualifications by leveraging Wu Yehua's identity.

"Fellow Daoist, spare my life! I'll leave right now!"

"Escape!"

Soon, all the supporting cultivators retreated.

Meanwhile, the escorts at the forefront of the operation felt the pressure increase dramatically and gave it their all.

Fortunately, Wu Yehua's fake core cultivators were quite powerful, managing to kill two of the three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and seriously injure one of them.

However, with all the supporting cultivators retreating, the thief cultivators had the upper hand, and four more late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators became entangled with the fake Core Formation protector, leaving them no way to attend to Wu Yehua.

"Young master, run!"

"Whoosh!" Seeing that the situation was not good, Wu Yehua activated a spirit talisman in his hand and instantly fled towards Bailuzhou.

Li Ji'an narrowed his eyes slightly and quietly followed.

At this moment, the cultivators who had helped him were also fleeing towards Bailuzhou, so Li Ji'an's behavior did not seem strange.

Before long, Wu Yehua had fled a hundred miles away, escaping the lock-on of the bandit cultivators who were engaged in fierce fighting behind him.

At the same time, the Swift Escape Talisman allowed him to catch up with the fleeing rogue cultivator at the forefront.

"Everyone, what just happened is over. Now I would like to ask you all to escort me. As long as we reach the nearest immortal city in Bailu Continent, each of us will receive an additional thousand spirit stones as a reward." Wu Yehua had a clear understanding of his own strength. He had just established his foundation and was traveling alone, crossing the border between two states. Even without this group of rogue cultivators specifically targeting him, he could not guarantee that he would not encounter any raiders. The risk was too great.

He believes his greatest advantage lies in his considerable wealth.

Therefore, we can only make the most of this advantage.

The reason why the subordinates had to investigate the identities and origins of everyone on the spirit boat was to prevent thieves from hiding.

With these people protecting us, we don't expect them to kill the enemy, but only that our formation can frighten away ordinary villains.

However, most of the people who had just experienced a fierce battle had concerns. The main concern was Wu Yehua's identity, which they could not afford to offend. They were also afraid that once they arrived at their destination, they would be held accountable for their cowardice in the previous battle.

In an instant, many cultivators hurried away from Wu Yehua.

However, a few people were interested.

"Gentlemen, if you can lend me a hand, I promise to allow you to join my Jinhua Chamber of Commerce in the future." Seeing that the group hesitated, Wu Yehua decisively raised his stakes again.

"Hiss~" Upon hearing this promise, more people slowed down their escape.

However, just as the group was about to agree...

A sharp clang rang out.

Before the sword's cry rang out, a beam of sword light shot into the sky and instantly pierced through Wu Yehua.

Wu Yehua's protective magic shield didn't even have time to be passively activated.

Only when the sword light had subsided did a natal talisman within his dantian activate an earth-colored protective shield.

The sword light flashed and disappeared in an instant, returning to normalcy. Wu Yehua's expression froze, and his aura rapidly declined.

"..."

The scene that unfolded in the blink of an eye left everyone speechless.

"Dead!" Several cultivators who were about to agree to guard him stopped in their tracks, then hurriedly activated their protective magic shields and turned to run away in terror.

Li Ji'an was also momentarily stunned, looking at Wu Yehua, whose life force was rapidly fading, with some disbelief, before locking his gaze back on the fake Core cultivator who had made the move.

"Sword cultivator!"

In my consciousness, the fake Core cultivator, dressed entirely in black robes and wearing a half-face mask, had already fled dozens of miles from the deep pool and was now hiding in a dense forest once again.

Throughout the entire process, Li Ji'an's divine sense did not detect the sword he was using.

"Thud!" Wu Yehua fell from mid-air and crashed heavily to the ground.

Li Ji'an secretly exhaled a sigh of bad luck, shook his head, and hurried away from the place.

"Creak, creak..." Just as they passed over Wu Yehua's corpse, a sound of wood twisting came from above.

"Uh~ Pfft~" Then, a faint panting sound rang out.

Li Ji'an was instantly drawn to the scene below.

After Wu Yehua's body fell to the ground, it began to writhe irregularly, and then a humanoid puppet separated from his body.

Then, Wu Yehua's physical vitality began to rise.

However, he appeared to be in extreme pain and was very weak.

"Help...help me!" He happened to see Li Ji'an above him, and his strong will to survive supported him as he struggled to raise his hand.

"The substitute puppet!" Li Ji'an's pupils dilated instantly as he stared intently at the humanoid puppet beside him, which had been split in two by the sword light.

The substitute puppet is also a skill of puppetry, and it is an extremely high-end and mysterious skill. There is a relevant description in the puppetry inheritance he obtained in Fallen Dragon Ridge.

Unlike ordinary combat puppets, substitute puppets not only require exceptional puppetry skills, but also the cultivation of a special soul technique. They are extremely difficult to make and require special materials. The methods of making them were almost lost in ancient times.

The relics that exist in the world today all come from ancient ruins, and their numbers are extremely small.

However, although it is called a substitute puppet, it does not guarantee a single death. Instead, the outcome depends on the rank of the substitute puppet and the power of the attacker.

If the attacker's power exceeds the limits of the substitute puppet, it will also be ineffective.

Wu Yehua's substitute puppet was clearly not of a particularly high level. Although it barely survived the attack from the fake Core Formation swordsman, it was still seriously injured.

Just then, the sword cultivator who was locked onto by divine sense moved again.

He was clearly shocked by Wu Yehua's resurrection, yet it seemed as if he had anticipated it.

After a swift earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in martial arts), he thrust out his sword once more.

"Zheng~"

The moment the sword rang out, Wu Yehua, who was already injured, burst into a burst of light.

This time, it seemed to have been anticipated that the sword cultivator's desperate attack would be blocked by Wu Yehua's trump card.

Immediately afterwards, the soul jade on his body shattered.

An old man's phantom appeared in mid-air: "Why did you harm the heir of my merchant guild? If you were acting under someone's orders, my guild is willing to pay double the price to save your life. I keep my word and never deceive anyone, young or old."

"Clang~" The answer he received was still a flash of sword light.

With a "whoosh," the old man's illusory image was instantly shattered.

"Boom~" However, just as the old man's phantom shattered, a palm print suddenly erupted from within the phantom and struck back along the path of the sword light.

The earth roared and dust flew everywhere.

The hiding place of the fake Dan sword cultivator was reduced to dust, forcing his figure out.

"You...you...you are a level-one assassin from the Yellow Springs Hell!" Wu Yehua exclaimed in shock upon seeing the fake Core Formation sword cultivator's attire, his voice filled with despair.

He never expected that the second brother would go to such lengths, hiring a top-tier assassin from the Underworld Hell to kill him!
"The Underworld Hell!" Li Ji'an's expression changed instantly.

Assassin organizations could not possibly exist in a cultivation domain like the Tiancang Domain. However, in the Wanshang Domain and other cultivation domains jointly governed by multiple sects, they are a persistent and feared force.

Especially this infamous organization—the Underworld Prison!

It is said that its network of contacts covers the entire cultivation world of the Great Swamp, with contact points in all cultivation domains except for the extremely strictly controlled Tiancang Domain.

Their business covers everything from mortals to Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

The organization boasts top-tier assassins at all levels, with an assassination success rate as high as 90%.

Unless the client cancels the assassination commission, the organization will always upgrade the assassin's level to complete the task, even if it fails countless times. They will not raise the price even if the final price is far higher than the initial quote.

Excellent in both strength and reputation!
This is why assassins in the Underworld are very expensive.

Compared to ordinary assassin services, the premium is as high as two times.

Furthermore, to prevent the assassination target from exceeding the estimated strength, before accepting the mission, the relevant personnel in the organization responsible for intelligence investigation will conduct a detailed investigation of the target's background and then quote a price based on the target's actual strength and the difficulty of the assassination.

Wu Yehua was so shocked by his second brother's extravagant gesture because he had also had the same idea.

They also contacted the Yellow Springs Hell assassin organization.

Unfortunately, after assessing his second brother's strength, background, and the difficulty of assassinating him, Huang Quan Yu quoted a price of 150,000 spirit stones.

After careful consideration, he chose to give up.

He wasn't unable to come up with 150,000 spirit stones; it was just that assassinating a Foundation Establishment cultivator was far too expensive.

Of course, he understood the reason. After all, he was the second young master of the Chamber of Commerce, so he would have many trump cards to protect himself, and he also had a personal bodyguard, making assassination quite difficult.

Similarly, the price his second brother paid this time must be equivalent to the price Huang Quan Yu quoted him back then.

The assassin in front of us, whose normal mission is to assassinate real-life assassins.

"Fellow Daoist... save me!" In his despair, Wu Yehua placed his last hope for life on Li Ji'an.

It's true that some people are desperate and resort to any remedy.

Given Li Ji'an's current apparent strength, which is only at the late Foundation Establishment stage and his mana is only half of normal, he is absolutely no match for the Yellow Springs Hell Earth-level assassin who is capable of assassinating a Core Formation cultivator.

"Whoosh!" Li Ji'an turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

"Clang!" However, a sword light mercilessly slashed towards him.

"Clang!" In an instant, the azure wood-based protective shield around Li Ji'an shimmered rapidly as he withstood the sword light.

The powerful sword energy almost penetrated the magic shield and went straight for Li Ji'an's body.

Fortunately, Li Ji'an now possesses immense magical power, which he disregards the cost and obliterates the demon outside his physical body.

The sword cultivator's sword energy was sharp but lacked staying power; he perished instantly before he could break through with a single strike.

However, this single blow still greatly shocked Li Ji'an.

Compared to his sparring with the pseudo-core elder of the Biyun Sect when he was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, the attack power of the sword cultivator assassin in front of him was at least twice that of the pseudo-core elder.

If it weren't for the constant refinement of his magic power by the little fire spirit over the past few years, he definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand this attack with magic power alone.

However, the most shocked were not him, but the sword cultivator opposite him, and Wu Yehua, who was on the ground in near despair.

(End of this chapter)