Starting as a Talisman Master

Shen Yuanheng and Luo Wenshan both focused their gazes.

Wedding banquet? Recruitment?

Before the two could think it over, Lu Chi released a spell with his fingertips, and the "Hidden Shadow Transformation Record" quietly disappeared.

With a few soft cracking sounds, his disguise quickly faded away.

That gaunt and aged appearance, along with his white goatee, vanished in just two breaths, revealing his original refined and serene face.

"Lu Chi?" Luo Wenshan was taken aback at first, then his pupils shrank slightly, unable to hide his surprise, and his heart sank suddenly.

With just one glance, many things that were previously inexplicable suddenly became clear.

Ge Jiuzhang's storage bag, the "Ge Jiuzhang" who left in a hurry, and the other party's actions of leading them out of the city...

"Was Ge Jiuzhang an imposter?"

"So, that bastard is already dead at your hands."

Compared to Luo Wenshan's surprise and doubt, Shen Yuanheng reacted much faster, almost without the slightest hesitation, and a murderous intent suddenly rose in his eyes.

He knew very well that this kid had deceived everyone, hiding even his cultivation level and identity very well. His thoughts and methods were far more ruthless than they had originally thought.

Shen Yuanheng let out a sharp shout and spat out a crimson sword light.

That was the "Crimson Flame Sword," a superior-grade magic weapon he had refined for many years. With a flash of sword light, it aimed straight for Lu Chi's brow.

Almost simultaneously, Luo Wenshan also activated his magic power, releasing two high-grade Explosive Flame Talismans from his fingers. Flames erupted, blocking Lu Chi's path.

The two attacked and trapped each other, their moves extremely fast.

Lu Chi remained expressionless, simply raising his hand and waving it.

A deep blue talisman spontaneously combusted in mid-air, its watery light swirling and transforming into a solidified water curtain that protected him within.

The Crimson Flame Sword pierced the water curtain, but with a soft sound, its momentum was blocked, stopping just inches from the center of the forehead. The two fireballs collided with the water curtain, causing the water to ripple briefly before returning to calm.

Shen Yuanheng and Luo Wenshan's expressions changed simultaneously.

Top-grade defensive talisman.

Before the two could move again, Lu Chi had already raised his hand and thrown out four top-grade talismans from within the water curtain.

Golden light and cold air exploded at the same time.

The tortoise shell magic shield that Luo Wenshan summoned only lasted a moment before being shattered by the sword energy. He was also engulfed by the chilling aura that followed, and died on the spot.

Seeing the situation was bad, Shen Yuanheng turned and fled. He had only gone about ten feet when a cold light caught up with him, and his protective aura instantly collapsed. He fell from mid-air and was never heard from again.

In just a few breaths.

Only two mangled corpses remained on the ground. The two men, who had been so aggressive just moments before, were now lifeless and without any sign of life.

This place was outside the market and there was no one else around, so Lu Chi was too lazy to get into a fight. He simply used a few top-grade talismans to take someone's life.

He retracted the water curtain, stepped forward, and put the storage bag and the Crimson Flame Sword into his sleeve. Then he stood there and looked around for a moment.

Luo Wenshan and Shen Yuanheng.

Back then in the marketplace, one expelled him from his household, while the other constantly suppressed and schemed against him. Now, when they meet again, it will only be a few breaths before they return to dust and ashes.

Lu Chi, however, felt little pleasure.

Having cultivated to this point, grudges are nothing more than old scores. Now that they have been settled, let it end here.

He raised his hand and waved it, and several streaks of fire fell.

Moments later, only charred ashes remained on the ground. Not a trace could be seen.

Lu Chi quickly cleaned up the surroundings, used magic to erase all the remaining blood and spiritual energy fluctuations, and then rode the "Xuanyuan" flying sword, transforming into a streak of light and swiftly disappearing into the distance.

About ten hours later.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several powerful streaks of light pierced the night sky one after another, crashing into the deep valley.

The newcomers were all elite cultivators from the Shen and Luo families. The leader, a middle-aged cultivator, had a solemn face and a heavy spiritual pressure around him, indicating that he was already a master at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

As soon as they landed, they scattered and began to investigate.

In a short while, everyone's expressions gradually turned grim.

"Elder, the search for the magic disc ends here."

A Luo family cultivator held a magic disc with dim spiritual light in his hands, his voice strained.

"The last traces of energy left by Manager Luo and Elder Shen ended here. Beyond that, not a trace can be found."

The middle-aged cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining did not speak immediately, but instead slowly walked around the valley.

The valley was scorched, the rocks were cracked, and there were signs of burning and breaking in some areas, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place not long ago.

But apart from that, there was nothing else.

There were no corpses, no bloodstains, and even the slightly clearer traces of spiritual energy had been wiped clean, leaving only some scattered traces of destruction that could not be completely concealed.

The middle-aged cultivator finally stopped in front of a cracked rock, remaining silent for a long time with a terribly gloomy expression.

"Even if Wen Shan and Shen Yuanheng were truly no match for each other, they wouldn't be unable to send out even the slightest message."

He slowly scanned his surroundings, his voice low and deep.

"But now, the person is dead, with no trace of their body, and even their life force has been wiped away so completely. The person who made this move is not only extremely powerful, but also extremely steady in their actions, clearly having prepared in advance."

A nearby cultivator turned pale upon hearing this, his Adam's apple bobbing as he whispered, "Could it be... that wandering alchemist was just a decoy?"

"Could it be that a Foundation Establishment cultivator really made a move in secret?"

"Could it be that a Foundation Establishment cultivator really made a move in secret?"

……

……

After cleaning up the scene, Lu Chi did not linger any longer.

He first used the "Mysterious Abyss" flying sword to escape for several miles in one breath. Only after he was completely away from the Qingque Mountain market area did he stop the sword light and land outside a remote mortal town.

The night was deep and all was quiet.

Lu Chi concealed the fluctuations of his cultivation, changed into ordinary wandering swordsman attire, and then, holding the dew clinging to the hem of his clothes, slowly entered the town and bought a fine horse at a high price.

Compared to continuing to fly on a sword, traveling by mortal footsteps is less conspicuous and saves more mana.

He mounted his horse, flicked the reins, and, taking advantage of the darkness, galloped straight towards the direction of the Qixia Sect's mountain gate, which he remembered.

Horse hooves shattered the night, and a cool mountain breeze blew.

Lu Chi sat upright on his horse, letting the hem of his robes flutter gently in the wind. At the same time, he sent out a wisp of his divine sense to probe into the two storage bags he had just obtained in his sleeve.

He first checked Luo Wenshan's storage bag.

A quick scan revealed three hundred low-grade spirit stones neatly stacked inside, with over ten high-grade talismans arranged in categories beside them, along with talisman-drawing tools such as demonic brushes, spirit ink, and talisman paper. This was quite in line with the identity of the Luo family's talisman shop owner.

Then, he reached into Shen Yuanheng's storage bag.

This bag contained fewer spirit stones, only two hundred low-grade spirit stones. The most eye-catching items were more than ten white jade pill bottles, which included pills to enhance cultivation as well as items for healing and saving lives. They were clearly items that the elder of the Shen family usually carried with him.

After looking at the two spoils of war, Lu Chi shook his head slightly.

For figures like the manager of the Luo family's talisman shop and the powerful elder of the Shen family, this amount of wealth is hardly substantial.

Upon further reflection, he understood.

These two were not wandering rogue cultivators, but rather aristocratic cultivators backed by powerful families. Their truly valuable savings, spiritual materials, and resources were mostly stored in their respective residences or family treasuries. Who would carry their entire fortune with them every day?

Although Lu Chi understood, he was still somewhat unwilling and carefully searched through the two storage bags again.

He has now reached the limit in the first-tier talisman path. If he wants to advance further, the inheritance of second-tier talismans is an unavoidable hurdle. As for second-tier pills, many are related to Foundation Establishment, which are also of great significance to a rogue cultivator like him.

Unfortunately, the search ultimately yielded nothing.

Not to mention second-tier inheritance, not even a single piece of spiritual material that was even remotely related to it was found.

Lu Chi sighed inwardly, carefully gathered the spoils of war along with the superior-grade magic weapon "Crimson Flame Sword" and put them into his storage bag before slowly regaining his composure.

The night breeze blew in his face, and his thoughts gradually settled down.

Tonight's successive killings of figures like Luo Wenshan and Shen Yuanheng have undoubtedly crossed the line that is tacitly accepted among aristocratic families.

Han Jingxing had warned him before that ordinary fights in the market were one thing, but if it really involved core family figures, the nature of the matter would be completely different.

If the Shen and Luo families fail to find the real culprit, they might become enraged and directly summon their Foundation Establishment ancestors back to the mountain to seal off the surrounding area and conduct a large-scale search.

But now that things have come to this, these are no longer things he should look back on or worry about.

Now that everything has been cleaned up, and he's determined to withdraw and no longer get entangled in the murky waters of Qingque Mountain, any further turmoil will be none of his concern.

This round at Qingque Mountain is now over.

Lu Chi narrowed his eyes slightly, and two names suddenly flashed through his mind.

He had been in Qingqueshan Market for three years. If he were to say who he was relatively close to and could talk to, the only people he could count on his fingers were Shen Yanqiu and Zhou Jinyan.

Now that Shen Yanqiu has married into the Shen family and possesses a mid-grade spiritual root, his status is vastly different from before. Even if the Shen family is furious, they wouldn't vent their anger on their new son-in-law.

But Zhou Jinyan was different.

This man has no connections and is merely making a living in the market. Although we don't interact with him much, we are still acquainted. If the Shen and Luo families really get serious afterward and investigate his past connections in the market, they might very well implicate Zhou Jinyan as well.

Thinking of this, Lu Chi frowned slightly.

Just then, on the desolate ancient road dozens of feet ahead, a series of staggering and hurried footsteps suddenly came, mixed with a very faint fluctuation of magical power, which unexpectedly entered his perception.

And that aura was strangely familiar.