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

"Senior Brother Lu, you're awesome!" A Qingyun Sect disciple was being chased by a centipede when he was saved by Jiang Shi's flames.

He quickly ran to Jiang Shi's side and said with great gratitude.

The remaining Qingyun Sect disciples, seeing how fierce Jiang Shi was, also rushed over.

"Senior Brother Lu, we're counting on you now."

"Senior Brother Lu, you must protect us!"

They hid behind Jiang Shi, timid and hesitant, not daring to step forward.

Jiang Shi sneered inwardly. These good-for-nothings want me to save them for nothing? How could that be possible?

However, the number of casualties cannot be too high, as who knows what kind of mutations might occur if those centipedes become bloodthirsty.

Jiang Shi had an idea after thinking about this.

"Fellow disciples, I used a secret technique to enhance my magic, which enabled me to withstand this centipede monster. However, this technique consumes a great deal of energy, and my mana is insufficient; I'm afraid I won't be able to hold out for long."

Jiang Shi complained to the Qingyun Sect disciples.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically, and they began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"What? It can't hold out for much longer? What should we do?"

"Each of these little centipedes possesses the cultivation level of the late Qi Refining stage, and their bodies are as strong as those of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. They are beyond the ability of us to stop them."

"Am I going to die here today?!"

Some people fell into lamentation and pessimism.

Some clever people quickly took out pills and offered them to Jiang Shi.

"Senior Brother Lu, this is a Spirit Restoration Pill, which has the miraculous effect of restoring spiritual power."

"Senior Brother Lu, please accept this one-year-old spiritual herb. It will definitely be of use."

Jiang Shi accepted them all and put them into his storage bag.

"It's still not enough. These pills and herbs can only last for another cup of tea. After that, our magic power will be exhausted, and we will be unable to escape the pursuit of these centipedes," Jiang Shi sighed.

Those who had already received the elixirs and herbs understood the meaning behind Jiang Shi's words.

Although they disliked Jiang Shi's behavior, they had no choice but to rely on him in this life-or-death situation.

This group began to criticize those who remained indifferent.

"You people, hurry up and hand over the pills and spiritual herbs! What use are those things at a time like this!"

Upon hearing this, the remaining Qingyun Sect disciples began to act, presenting their treasures to Jiang Shi.

Seeing this, the independent cultivators gathered around and offered their treasures to Jiang Shi.

Before long, Jiang Shi had collected a considerable amount of treasures, including spirit stones, spirit herbs, spirit liquids, and pills.

"Very good. Since everyone thinks so highly of me, I, Lu Wenming, will protect you with my life."

Jiang Shi waved his fiery feather fan repeatedly, and the little centipede was blasted away by the flames as soon as it got close, unable to get any closer.

Jiang Shi's actions have utterly ruined his image. Some members of the Qingyun Sect's aristocratic families are planning to return to their sects and file a joint lawsuit against him, demanding that he return the treasures he has taken.

However, Jiang Shi didn't care at all; he wasn't really Lu Wenming.

What does your targeting of Lu Wenming have to do with Jiang Shi?

"Does Lu Wenming really possess such strength? Is this low-grade magic weapon really that powerful?"

On the other side, Liu Yue used wood-based magic to create large trees, encircling the Liu family guards inside.

He was skilled in defensive magic, so defending against these little centipedes was a piece of cake for him.

He was just very curious about Lu Wenming's strength. He had seen Lu Wenming make a move before, but none of them were as exaggerated as this.

Jiang Shi was unaware of Liu Yue's spying; he was now eyeing Liang Yunlei.

"Junior Brother Liang, I heard you have a low-grade fire-type magic weapon. Would you mind lending it to me?"

"Senior Brother Lu, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you, but this low-grade magic artifact was bestowed upon me by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from my Liang family. I really have no right to lend it to others."

Liang Yunlei didn't want to lend out his low-grade magic weapon. As a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, without a low-grade magic weapon, he was practically useless and had no ability to protect himself.

Jiang Shi had already anticipated Liang Yunlei's refusal, and his face darkened as he shouted:

"I lent you a low-grade magic weapon to protect everyone. How can you be so stingy! It's not like I'm not going to return it. I, Lu Wenming, guarantee with the reputation of the Lu family that I will never cheat you out of a low-grade magic weapon."

Jiang Shi's words prompted all the disciples to chime in.

"That's right, does our Lu family need a measly low-grade magic artifact from you? Using yours is already giving you face. If you delay Senior Brother Lu's important matters, I'll teach you a lesson."

A member of the Lu family came up to Liang Yunlei and shouted loudly.

Left with no other choice, Liang Yunlei was forced by the crowd to take out the low-grade magic artifact, the Fire Cloud Pearl.

Upon obtaining the Fire Cloud Pearl, Jiang Shi immediately infused it with his spiritual consciousness, imprinting it with his own spiritual mark. From then on, the Fire Cloud Pearl became his magical artifact.

With the Fire Cloud Pearl in hand, Jiang Shi placed it between two low-grade magic artifacts and used his magic power to connect the two artifacts together.

With the blessing of the Fire Cloud Pearl, the power of the Fire Feather Fan has increased by 30%.

It's a pity that Jiang Shi doesn't know how to refine weapons, otherwise he might have been able to create a mid-grade magic weapon.

With the enhanced Fire Feather Fan, Jiang Shi's magic became even more powerful, and those little centipedes simply couldn't break through his fire wall.

Two hours passed, and then a bell rang throughout the entire mansion.

The small centipedes that had been attacking them retreated and returned to the centipede statue.

The centipede statue returned to its original stone carving form and stopped moving.

Seeing that there was no danger, Jiang Shi withdrew the Flame Wall.

Liu Yue also dispelled the spell and walked up to Jiang Shi.

"Junior Brother Lu, do you think the sound of the bell is the reason why the centipede statue has returned to normal?" Liu Yue asked.

"It seems that's the case."

This kind of thing isn't hard to guess; basically, anyone with eyes can see it.

It's just unknown whether this centipede statue will be activated again later.

"Just in case, we need to spread the word that no one is allowed to approach these nine statues," Jiang Shi said to Liu Yue.

The sound of the bell was what restored the centipede statue to normal.

They knew that the centipede statue came to life and attacked them because of bloodshed.

To prevent any further accidents, Liu Yue had to send Liu family guards to keep a close watch on the nine demon statues for twelve hours a day, preventing anyone from getting close.

They couldn't even handle a centipede statue that was half-paralyzed and unable to move.

Not to mention there are nine of these statues in total.

What if some fool, like Lu Wenbo, does something stupid and not only dies himself but also resurrects the statue?

All of them have to be killed.

As Liu Yue gave the order, everyone except the Liu family guards who were responsible for watching over the nine statues went into their rooms to rest.

"Senior Brother Lu, can you give me back my low-grade magic weapon?" As soon as Liang Yunlei saw that it was safe, he immediately ran over to Jiang Shi to ask for the low-grade magic weapon he had lent out.