Mortal: Li Feiyu, who came from the realm of a supreme being

"Wait a minute!"

Just moments after Li Feiyu finished speaking, a slightly hoarse, weak voice came from deep within the vines. Immediately afterward, in Li Feiyu's perception, a faint aura that had almost blended into its surroundings "emerged." The vines swayed, and a middle-aged man, dressed in a grayish-blue outfit, pale-faced, with obvious charred burn marks on his chest, staggered out. He clutched a gray cloak with tattered edges and a dimmed spiritual light, clearly the one he had used to conceal himself.

He leaped out of the crevice where he was hiding, first giving a quick, wary glance at the three pursuers on the ground, their pressure points sealed and unable to move. A flash of deep hatred and a hint of pleasure crossed his eyes before he turned to Li Feiyu and Han Yunshu, clasped his hands in a deep bow, and spoke with gratitude and respect for surviving a close call:

"My name is Jia Ding. Thank you both for your help! I will remember this kindness forever!"

Li Feiyu waved his hand and corrected him in a calm tone: "Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. We are not related, so how can you say 'rescue' us? It was just that these three people showed ill intentions towards us first, so we subdued them as a matter of course."

The three cultivators on the ground were conscious at the moment, but because Li Feiyu had sealed their vital points with his unique method, not only were their limbs numb and unable to move, but the circulation of their spiritual energy was also temporarily cut off or disturbed. Despite having the cultivation level of the ninth or tenth level of Qi Refining, they could not muster any magical power. They could only stare at the people in front of them with fear and resentment.

With their martial arts cultivation at the peak of the Qi Opening stage, Li Feiyu and Han Yunshu's reaction speed, strength, and precise control over their physical power already far surpassed those of Qi Refining cultivators. Moreover, they themselves had embarked on the path of cultivation, and although their cultivation level was still shallow, they already had a personal understanding of the basic circulation path and key nodes of spiritual energy within the human body.

Using refined internal energy (mixed with some magical energy) to perform skillful techniques of sealing acupoints and cutting off meridians, the effect on these magic cultivators, who also relied on spiritual energy but whose physical strength was far inferior to theirs, was unexpectedly good.

Upon hearing this, Jia Ding was slightly taken aback, then smiled wryly and said, "In any case, you have indeed relieved my urgent crisis, and I will never forget your life-saving grace." He paused, looked at Li Feiyu, and tentatively asked, "May I ask your esteemed names, fellow Daoists? And where is your immortal abode?"

Li Feiyu remained calm and said, "I am Mo Juren, and this is my wife... Shen Wanniang." He casually used Doctor Mo's real name, while "Shen Wanniang" was a name borrowed from the actress who helped him in the play years ago.

Upon hearing this address, Han Yunshu's eyelashes trembled slightly, but her expression remained unchanged. She simply nodded slightly to Jia Ding as a sign of greeting, following Li Feiyu's instructions.

Jia Ding, unsuspecting, cupped his hands again: "So it's Fellow Daoist Mo, Fairy Shen. I am a rogue cultivator from the Hanging River Valley."

"Hanging River Valley?" Li Feiyu asked, feigning curiosity. "Do rogue cultivators have specific territories?"

Jia Ding quickly explained, "Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but Suspended River Valley is a gathering place for independent cultivators to trade, a kind of small market. Alas, most of the cultivation resources in Yue Kingdom are controlled by the seven major sects and their affiliated families, making it difficult for us independent cultivators to survive. Therefore, in some places with decent spiritual veins and relatively secluded locations, independent cultivators often form societies to exchange resources. Suspended River Valley is the largest gathering place for independent cultivators in Yunzhou within the Qingmang Mountains."

Li Feiyu nodded to indicate that she understood, then cut to the chase, asking, "Why were you being chased by these three? Did you have a grudge against them?"

A flicker of grief and hesitation crossed Jia Ding's face, but after glancing at the three people on the ground and sensing Li Feiyu's unfathomable aura, he gritted his teeth, took out an item carefully sealed in a special jade box from his robes, and presented it with both hands, saying, "I dare not conceal this from you, fellow Daoist. Several days ago, these three accompanied my wife and me to the depths of the mountains to hunt a level-two demonic beast, the 'Iron Armored Violent Bear,' which guards the 'Azure Origin Ganoderma.'"

"We agreed beforehand that the spoils would be split equally... But unexpectedly, just when we had finally severely injured the demon beast and were about to obtain the spiritual herb, these three heartless bastards suddenly launched a sneak attack! My wife, trying to protect me... died on the spot! I escaped with severe injuries, and they chased me all the way here... If it weren't for the lucky encounter with you two, I would probably be dead by now." His voice choked with emotion, tears welling in his eyes. "This Azure Origin Ganoderma... I'll give it to you as a token of my gratitude, though it's not enough to repay even a fraction of your kindness..."

Li Feiyu looked at the jade box but didn't immediately take it. Instead, he smiled and corrected him again, "Fellow Daoist Jia, as I said, we didn't help you. The three of them are still alive, just with their spiritual power sealed. However, it's a fact that you were temporarily freed because of us, so I'll accept this 'gift of gratitude.'" Only then did he accept the jade box, casually weigh it in his hand, and put it into his storage bag.

Then, he pointed to the three ashen-faced cultivators on the ground, his tone as calm as if discussing merchandise: "Now, these three, Fellow Daoist Jia, do you want them? If not, we'll take them and release them somewhere far away; if you do, why not name your price?" Li Feiyu had already searched the storage bags on the three men. Inside, besides some miscellaneous items, a small amount of spirit stones, talismans, and basic cultivation technique jade slips, were the three banana leaf-shaped flying magic tools. They were all the most ordinary "ten-times storage bags," with limited space.

Upon hearing this, Jia Ding was first taken aback, and then a chill ran down his spine.

The other party was trying to get him to "buy" control over these three people, or rather, to use his resources to buy a chance for "revenge," while also weighing his wealth and "sincerity" in repaying this "life-saving grace."

His mind raced. His opponent was able to subdue three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators in an instant, indicating unfathomable strength. He was currently severely injured and had no power to resist.

If you don't respond to this question, or if you offer too low a price and anger the other party...

He swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "I...I wonder what price Fellow Daoist Mo wishes to offer?"

Upon hearing this, Li Feiyu's face revealed a warm smile, as if he were genuinely discussing a fair deal: "Fellow Daoist Jia, rest assured, we are not bandits who rob and kill. How about this: you give me half of your spirit stones, talismans, and other valuables, and also provide me with a detailed map of the cultivators in the Qingmang Mountains. These three will then be yours to deal with. What do you say?"

Jadin could hardly believe his ears.

Only half? And a map? These conditions... are unbelievably lenient! He had originally prepared himself to be skinned alive, or even to hand over his entire fortune.

Surprised and uncertain, he dared not ask any more questions, fearing that the other party would change their mind. He quickly endured the pain and divided up exactly half of the 14 low-grade spirit stones, talismans, pills and other items in his storage bag. He then took out a blank jade slip and quickly imprinted the known dangerous places, monster distribution and location of the Hanging River Valley in his memory into it, and respectfully handed it to Li Feiyu.

Li Feiyu checked and found nothing wrong, nodded in satisfaction, ignored the three cultivators with despair in their eyes, gestured "please go ahead" to Jia Ding, and then led Han Yunshu away a distance.

With a fierce glint in his eyes, Jia Ding mustered his spiritual power and unleashed his magic weapon—a blue flying fork—which he mercilessly stabbed at the three immobilized men on the ground.

The screams and curses rang out briefly, then quickly subsided.

Li Feiyu remained calm and indifferent throughout, as if she were only looking at a trivial matter.

After Jia Ding finished dealing with the matter, he left in a hurry with mixed feelings, not daring to ask any more questions, and his figure quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

Only then did Li Feiyu and Han Yunshu set off to leave this place of trouble. On the way, Han Yunshu frowned slightly, her face showing a thoughtful expression.

Li Feiyu glanced at her and asked, "Yun Shu, do you have some doubts?"

Han Yunshu pondered for a moment, then organized her thoughts, saying, "Brother Li, I was thinking about... your actions just now. Initially, your friendly attitude towards Jia Ding was to obtain information about Suspended River Valley and the cultivators here; leaving those three alive was both to intimidate Jia Ding and prevent him from fabricating lies to deceive us—after all, there were still survivors to confront us; and finally, making a deal with him not only yielded practical benefits but also allowed him to settle his grudges personally, thus completely resolving the matter and avoiding future trouble. Is that right?" She was deducing Li Feiyu's every step from a calm perspective of interests and logic.

Li Feiyu nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes: "That's true. These are indeed potential benefits."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming more casual: "However, I didn't actually think about all those complicated details."

Han Yunshu looked puzzled.

"The reason I captured those three and even handed them over to Jia Ding in the end," Li Feiyu said calmly, "is that those three had intended to kill us from the very beginning. As for Jia Ding landing nearby, it wasn't because he discovered us, but simply because he happened to run out of spiritual energy and was forced to land and hide."

"Murderous intent?" Han Yunshu was surprised. "How come I didn't sense it?"

"Just as I pointed them in the right direction and their attention was diverted," Li Feiyu's gaze turned slightly cold, "the leader's fingertips were already showing extremely subtle fluctuations of magical power, a sign that he was about to casually unleash a low-level spell to eliminate us two 'troublesome mortals.' I was just a little bit faster than them."

Han Yunshu suddenly understood, but then a new question arose: "I see... Then why not just kill them? Wouldn't that be more straightforward?"

Li Feiyu turned to look at her, a faint smile playing on his lips: "After all, you've never killed anyone with your own hands. I was afraid that if I suddenly used lethal force, you wouldn't be used to it and might hesitate. So I held back when I made my move, only aiming to subdue them. However, your ability to follow up without hesitation and capture one person is beyond my expectations. It seems that even if I had needed to kill them, you probably wouldn't have made any mistakes."

Han Yunshu felt a warmth in her heart and nodded solemnly, "Brother Li, don't worry, I won't hold you back!"

At the same time, an indescribable warm current, mixed with a touch of sweetness, quietly melted into her heart.

"Brother Li cares about my feelings..."

Li Feiyu added, "As for Jia Ding's half of his fortune... well, although he didn't mean it, it was because of him that we were brought to our deaths. If we were just ordinary hunters, we would probably be ashes by now. We indirectly saved him and allowed him to avenge his family, so it's only reasonable for us to accept some 'thank you' from him."

As Han Yunshu listened, she found Li Feiyu's behavior quite peculiar. It was completely different from the "immortal masters" she had occasionally heard about from storytellers or imagined, who were high and mighty, regarded mortals as ants, and killed and robbed treasures at the drop of a hat. Instead, he was more like the wandering knights in martial arts stories who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment and acted according to their own principles.

Putting those thoughts aside, the gains from this experience are truly remarkable.

Although the independent cultivators in Yue Kingdom were indeed poor, the four of them (plus Jia Ding) managed to scrape together more than twenty low-grade spirit stones.

More importantly, from the storage bags of those three cultivators, they found several jade slips containing basic Five Elements cultivation techniques such as "Sharp Metal Technique," "Thick Earth Technique," and "Burning Fire Technique," which were obviously commonplace, as well as common basic spells such as "Object Control Technique," "Fireball Technique," "Light Body Technique," and "Heavenly Eye Technique."

These are just some of the things that Li Feiyu can refer to and compare to verify whether there are any problems or omissions in his revised version of "Changchun Gong".

The talismans and the three banana leaf flying artifacts solved their immediate problem.

With a little study, learning the basics of "Object Manipulation" will make leaving the Qingmang Mountains, which have trapped them for two months, no longer a problem.

Of course, the biggest gain was the news about "Hanging River Valley". They now had quite a bit of wealth, so they could go to the market to make some purchases and fix the flaws in their cultivation techniques first.