I planted the spiritual roots for my people, and they bestowed upon me a body inscribed with incense

If it weren't for alerting the enemy and provoking someone the Li family can't afford to offend, Li Yuan would have already made his move. He's just waiting for Zhou Boyuan to pull some strings. If he's not strong enough then, Li Yuan will simply turn to someone else for cooperation.

Three days later, as Li Yuan was cultivating on Bamboo Mountain, Zhou Boyuan arrived at the foot of the mountain with a hunched old woman.

Soon, Wang Tiezhu, the supervisor, ran up. He had met Zhou Boyuan before, so he naturally informed Li Yuan first.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan immediately stopped his practice and headed down the mountain towards the two of them.

"Brother Zhou, you've arrived." Li Yuan stepped forward and greeted him.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Boyuan quickly waved his hand and then said:

Master Li, this is Master Du Mei. We met by chance through the blessings of our ancestors, and she has come here to settle this karmic debt.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded and then took the lead in greeting Du Mei.

"This Master Du is quite approachable; he returned Li Yuan's greeting."

Li Yuan sensed that Master Du possessed a powerful aura, indicating that he had definitely broken through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

"I never expected that Zhou Boyuan had such a powerful figure behind him. The old lady's aura is much stronger than that of the old Taoist priest, and her aura is not weak. This is the kind of aura that has been cultivated in a real way."

Zhou Boyuan noticed Li Yuan's shock, but he didn't say much to Li Yuan. Seeing that the person had been brought, Li Yuan turned to Wang Tiezhu beside him and said:

"Summon all the members of the bandit-extermination team immediately. This is no joke. Everyone must be here within 15 minutes."

Upon hearing this, Wang Tiezhu knew that what he said was exactly the same as what Li Daqiang had said, so he immediately rushed towards the house of the group.

While waiting, the old lady looked at Li Yuan and said:

"Young friend, could you please explain this situation to me in detail?"

Li Yuan dared not be negligent and immediately spoke:

"Senior, the people hiding inside should be from the Mosa Kingdom. I once encountered a cultivator named Shaman Thirteen. If I hadn't been lucky, I would probably have already fallen into his hands."

Upon hearing this, the old lady raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't expect you to escape from Shaman Thirteen. This man is a sorcerer from the Shaman Kingdom, with a cultivation level of four in Qi Refining. He has even cursed to death a peak mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator."

"I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed." Upon hearing this, Li Yuan quickly adopted the posture of a junior. He dared not say more about how the sorcerer from Mosa Kingdom had been defeated by him.

Soon, Wang Tiezhu gathered more than ten members of the bandit-suppression team, along with the county government officials who were already waiting at the village entrance, making a total of more than twenty people. They marched in a grand procession toward the haystack.

As for Li Daqiang, he wanted to come along, but Li Yuan refused to let him. If Li Yuan and Li Daqiang died here together, the Li family would probably be finished.

After a moment's consideration, Li Daqiang decided to stay.

At the village chief's house, everyone was still pondering how to deal with the Li family, unaware that the entire Wang family was about to face annihilation.

Soon, the group arrived at the hiding place of the Mosa people. They lifted the haystack, and the old woman led Li Yuan into the hole under the haystack.

The rest of the people stood guard outside. Once inside, the people who had been drinking with them last time were gone; now, a new group of people were strictly guarding the stone gate.

Seeing this, the old woman patted her storage bag, and a small ice crystal sword appeared. With a flick of her finger, the sword pierced directly into the hearts of the people at the door.

In the blink of an eye, without making a sound, the men collapsed to the ground.

Li Yuan then strode forward, delivered a few more blows to the men, and continued on his way.

As they went deeper, the sounds inside became clearer and clearer; they were the sounds of the manuscript striking the stone wall. Upon hearing the sound, the two immediately understood.

"This is a mining site, a mine shaft, not a bandit's den."

As they went deeper, a mine pit a hundred meters in size came into view, with more than a hundred miners working below.

Soon, the two were discovered by the mine guards, and in no time, they were surrounded. Li Yuan observed the people who surrounded them and found that two of them were martial arts masters who seemed to have reached the second-rate level.

Seeing the crowd gather, Li Yuanhao didn't delay. He took out his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) and slashed at the nearest person. Only when he activated it did the old woman realize that the object in Li Yuanhao's hand was a magic weapon, but she didn't know how to use it.

Li Yuan made his move, but the old woman was equally swift; her small ice and snow sword had barely been unleashed when several people were killed.

Upon seeing this, the people who had surrounded them turned frightened and quickly retreated, shouting repeatedly:

"There's an immortal here! Quickly go and inform the head steward!" As they spoke, the group scattered and fled.

Just as one of the second-rate martial artists was about to have his heart pierced by the old woman's ice and snow sword, a spell instantly blocked the ice and snow sword.

At the same time, a voice entered Li Yuan and the other man's ears.

"Fellow Daoists? Coming to my place and injuring my people, isn't that a bit unethical?" As he spoke, a middle-aged man in black robes slowly emerged from the shadows. Judging from his imposing aura, Li Yuan realized that this man was much more powerful than Shaman Thirteen.

Upon hearing this, and seeing that Du Mei remained silent, Li Yuan stepped forward and said:

"This is your territory, within the borders of the Daqing Dynasty. When did it become part of your Mosa Kingdom?"

Upon hearing this, the man in black robes changed his expression and stared intently at Li Yuan.

"Fellow Daoist, what Mosa Kingdom? I am just a hermit cultivator in the mountains, and have no connection whatsoever with the Mosa Kingdom you speak of."

Although she said this, she already harbored a hint of murderous intent towards the two of them. Upon hearing this, Du Laomei spoke up:

"Regardless, fellow Daoist, you're probably doomed. If I'm not mistaken, you were mining a fine iron ore vein, weren't you?"

"Since you are a citizen of the Great Qing Kingdom, you should know what you can and cannot touch. Today, besides you, I might even receive another reward, and my cultivation might advance even further."

"As soon as he finished speaking, he controlled his flying sword and slashed at the man in black robes."

The man in black robes was not afraid at all. He cast two spells at the old woman, and at the same time, countless poisonous insects gradually appeared around her and attacked her.

While the two were locked in combat, Li Yuan naturally couldn't remain idle. He kept a close eye on the two on the field, and whenever the man in black robes showed a weakness, Li Yuan would use his spiritual energy to create fingers and constantly harass him.

As time went on, the man in black robes gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. Realizing that something was wrong, the man in black robes was not afraid. He pointed his finger, and a bronze puppet appeared beside him.

As soon as the puppet appeared, it headed straight for Li Yuan.

Seeing this, Li Yuan quickly moved away, his eyes fixed on the black and gold puppet in front of him, whose aura was much stronger than his own.

Before Li Yuan could think any further, the puppet charged at him again. It's no exaggeration to say that if Li Yuan were hit by this puppet, he would either die or be maimed.

In his hasty dodge, Li Yuan also wanted to test whether the puppet could withstand his indestructible Mo Dao. Taking advantage of the dodge, Li Yuan used all his strength to slash at the puppet's neck.

The seemingly indestructible puppet was slashed with a huge wound after it merely touched the Mo Dao.

Seeing this, the old Taoist priest was furious. This puppet was his treasure. With just one strike, Li Yuan's weapon broke through the defense of the Mo Dao. At the same time, the old Taoist priest also became greedy for the Mo Dao in Li Yuan's hand.

To achieve this level of craftsmanship, the materials used to forge this knife must be exceptional.

Thinking of this, the old man in black robes quickly retrieved the puppet, while the poisonous insects that had been troubling Du Mei frantically attacked Li Yuan.

After the puppet was retrieved, it was used against Du Mei, which put Du Mei in a somewhat passive position. Fortunately, she would occasionally cast a talisman to block the black-robed cultivator's killing moves.

Faced with the attacking poisonous insects, without the help of the white snake, Li Yuan could only use his magic to envelop himself while continuously wielding his magic fingers to deplete the number of poisonous insects.

After a long while, Li Yuan saw that his internal magical power was gradually depleting and that he could not kill all the poisonous insects. He glanced at the supporting pillar next to him and suddenly had a crazy idea.

Immediately, as Li Yuan moved towards the cave entrance, his Mo Dao began to destroy the surrounding load-bearing pillars.

The two combatants nearby hadn't paid any attention, but seeing the falling pebbles from the sky, they both looked at Li Yuan at the same time. Upon seeing this, Li Yuan quickly gestured to Du Mei.

"Senior, let's go quickly."

After saying that, Li Yuan, braving the poisonous insects, quickly ran out of the cave.

Seeing this, Du Mei's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but as she slashed at the man in black robes with her sword, she swiftly moved towards the cave entrance.

The old Taoist priest in black robes was not to be outdone, and immediately ordered the poisonous insects to block Du Mei. Seeing this, Du Mei turned her flying sword and slashed at the swarm of poisonous insects in front of her.

Fortunately, thanks to her quick reflexes, Du Mei managed to emerge from the mine.

As soon as Du Mei stepped out of the cave, her eyes were fixed on Li Yuan.

"Young man, you didn't give me any advance notice, are you planning to bury me down here too?"

Knowing that he had acted improperly, Li Yuan quickly apologized to Du Mei.

"Senior, that's not the case. The situation was urgent just now. If I hadn't escaped, I would have exhausted my magic power and died here."

Upon hearing this, the old woman snorted and then fell silent.