Immortality and cultivation: Heaven rewards diligence, and success is inevitable.

Jiang Shi left alone; he had a storage bag and didn't need to take anything else with him.

Upon reaching the outer gate, a group of outer disciples gathered there.

They were all outer disciples who had started as menial servants, and there were more than twenty of them.

"This junior brother was also sent out to patrol the mountain, right? My name is Jiang Wu," a burly man with a beard said as he stepped forward.

"Indeed, I am Jiang Shi, greetings to Senior Brother Jiang," Jiang Shi said.

"We are all low-level cultivators in the Qingyun Sect. We either offend the scions of powerful families or are looked down upon by others."

"Now that we've all been assigned to such dangerous mountain patrol missions, we must unite and act together to have any chance of survival."

Jiang Wu has a rough appearance, but he is surprisingly eloquent.

A few words were enough to unite these outer disciples who had come from humble backgrounds as servants.

With someone by his side, Jiang Shi naturally wouldn't be the one to stick his neck out.

The right way is to blend in with the crowd and keep a low profile.

The group set off together, making this dangerous mountain patrol mission look like a leisurely outing.

Some people were chatting and laughing as they went about their business.

Some people remain silent, wary of everything around them.

Jiang Shi chatted with others while remaining vigilant.

Having spiritual awareness, he has a strong sense of impending danger.

They didn't encounter any danger along the way. Occasionally, a wild beast would jump out, but it would be killed by the twenty-odd mid-level Qi Refining cultivators.

After inspecting the main peak of Qingyun Mountain and confirming that there was nothing amiss, the group of about twenty people sent one of their junior brothers to Qingyun Sect to report back and gather information.

Then the twenty-odd of them waited on the spot, awaiting their fate.

The group of about twenty people stopped to rest.

Some people take out the wild animals they catch while patrolling the mountains, skin them, and roast them over a fire.

Jiang Wu brought over some fruit wine.

Everyone enjoyed the barbecue together in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Having encountered no danger throughout the day, they all lowered their guard.

"Come on, Junior Brother Jiang, have a sip of fruit wine." Jiang Wu, with a big beard, walked over, holding a pot of fruit wine, and handed it to Jiang Shi.

His unusual enthusiasm made Jiang Shi feel uneasy.

Jiang Shi was cautious and, as he drank it, he used his storage bag to put the fruit wine directly into his mouth.

Not a single drop went down.

Jiang Shi, possessing spiritual awareness, made it impossible for Jiang Wu to detect the problem.

"What's wrong? I feel so dizzy..." One of the senior students collapsed first.

Then those who drank the spirit wine collapsed.

Only five people remained standing there.

"What happened to them?" A junior brother looked at his fallen senior and junior brothers with confusion, not knowing what had happened.

Another senior brother's expression changed drastically. The moment everyone fell to the ground, he used his magic to try to escape.

But it was too late; the three cultivators had already surrounded him.

A series of spells—a boulder, flames, and wooden spikes—were unleashed simultaneously, instantly eliminating the fleeing individual.

"You're quite wary." Jiang Wu revealed a cruel smile.

"Senior Brother Jiang, why are you doing this?" The junior brother, who was standing still, asked Jiang Wu with a surprised look.

"There's another idiot here, let's just kill him." Jiang Wu knew that talking too much would lead to trouble, so he quickly ordered his men to attack him.

The three of them easily killed him together.

"Be careful, watch out for ambushes!" Jiang Wu instructed the other two, and then began slaughtering his fallen fellow disciples.

He was very careful, even though everyone was captivated by him.

When it was Jiang Shi's turn, Jiang Wu was killing one of the cultivators next to Jiang Shi with a single blow.

Just then! Jiang Shi made his move.

He had been waiting for the moment Jiang Wu got close.

Jiang Shi lay on the ground, and three talismans appeared out of thin air in his hand. He threw them at Jiang Wu.

The talisman burned and transformed into three fireballs, which blasted towards Jiang Wu.

Jiang Wu was very careful, and even when Jiang Shi launched a sneak attack, he reacted immediately.

He quickly used three spirit talismans as well.

Three water shields blocked his way.

These are indeed low-grade first-rank water shield talismans; these three talismans were even made by Jiang Shi.

After Jiang Shi handed these talismans over to the Deacon Hall to complete their tasks, Jiang Wu purchased them with contribution points.

The three fireballs struck the three water shields as if they were hitting scrap paper.

The three water shields shattered instantly, unable to withstand Jiang Shi's talisman.

"A top-grade first-rank spirit talisman!" Jiang Wu was shocked. He never expected that Jiang Shi, who came from a humble background as a menial disciple, would be able to produce such a spirit talisman.

These were three attacks from a cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refining; Jiang Wu could not possibly withstand them.

He was hit directly in the body and his life was in danger.

Without hesitation, Jiang Shi cast several high-grade first-rank water shield talismans on himself, easily blocking the two attacks.

The two cultivators launched a sneak attack on Jiang Shi.

But it was all for naught! Jiang Shi crushed them with the props.

"Wait, I surrender!" A monk, seeing the situation was not good, quickly begged for mercy.

Jiang Shi ignored them completely, raised his hand and threw out a few top-grade first-rank spirit talismans, which killed the two of them at once.

After finishing, Jiang Shi then turned to Jiang Wu, who had been lying on the ground and whose life was unknown, to deliver the final blow.

He wouldn't feel at ease until he burned the other person's body. They were cultivators; what if the other person had some tricks up their sleeve?

"Junior Brother Jiang, don't make a move. Don't you want to know who sent us?" Jiang Wu was indeed still alive, but he was already seriously injured.

With his mouth full of blood, Jiang Wu spoke to Jiang Shi, while secretly taking something out of his sleeve. He wanted to use words to lower Jiang Shi's guard so he could launch a sneak attack.

Jiang Shi stared coldly at Jiang Wu, ignoring him, and threw down a talisman.

"Ah—!" Jiang Wu screamed as he was burned to a crisp.

"I don't want to know who it is, it won't do any good anyway," Jiang Shi thought to himself as he looked at Jiang Wu's body.

Whoever sent him, it's someone Jiang Shi can't handle right now.

After this incident, it seems he will never be able to return to Qingyun Sect.

"It seems I have no choice but to escape." Jiang Shi used his magic to erase all traces to prevent future troubles. Then he placed his small stone tablet on a corpse.

After doing all this, Jiang Shi fled into the distance.

Jiang Shi had originally planned to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining with the help of the Qingyun Sect, but now that plan had failed.

Jiang Shi plunged headlong into the mountains.

He didn't dare to venture deeper into the area, so he could only walk outwards along the edge, first going to Canglin City to exchange for some resources before making any further plans.

Just then, a group of cultivators appeared in Jiang Shi's field of vision. Jiang Shi wanted to retreat, but the leader of the group caught up with him.

The newcomer was a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining, accompanied by several cultivators at the middle level of Qi Refining.

"Who are you? What are you doing here, sneaking around like this?" the monk called out.

He looked at Jiang Shi warily, on high alert.

"Senior brother, I am an outer disciple of the Qingyun Sect, here to patrol the mountain," Jiang Shi said, bowing.

"So you're a junior brother from the Qingyun Sect. May I ask if you possess an identification token?"

This person is a cultivator from Biyue Valley, one of the three major sects of Canglin City, and is very familiar with Qingyun Sect.