Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

Li Pingan found a flowerpot made of refined iron and poured all the mud into it.

Then carefully plant the Mysterious Snow Lotus at the very top.

This allows the Snow Lotus to absorb nutrients from the soil.

This also ensures that the toxic soil does not contaminate the Snow Lotus.

After doing all this, Li Ping'an carefully hid the Xuan Tian Snow Lotus in his storage bag.

It was locked in the corner.

Then he took out the black dragon egg from his storage bag.

This dragon egg is a treasure; I wonder when it will hatch.

Looking at the palm-sized dragon egg in his hand, Li Ping'an's eyes were full of anticipation.

However, he wasn't very clear about the art of beast taming.

It seems I need to find a way to get some knowledge about beast taming from the market.

Otherwise, I might ruin this promising black dragon egg myself.

He examined the black dragon egg carefully.

Li Ping'an happily pocketed the black dragon egg.

"Alright, it's almost time. We're going to see the Holy Maiden tomorrow, so we have one more day to visit the sect's treasure pavilion."

Li Pingan tidied himself up a bit and then went out.

Walking along the sect's mountain path leading to the treasure pavilion, Li Ping'an was pondering which cultivation technique or secret manual would be best.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, I felt a chill run down my spine.

It's as if they've been targeted by something.

His strength has now reached the late stage of Qi Refining.

They are more sensitive to everything around them.

He could clearly feel a murderous intent locking onto him from all around.

"Who is it?"

Li Ping'an felt a chill run down his spine.

This is inside the sect. Who is so bold as to try to kill him inside the sect?

Could it be Zhang Lu? Or perhaps Zeng Fei?

But now he is the leader of the trial and has the opportunity to talk with the saintess for two hours.

Who would dare to kill me at this critical juncture?

Li Ping'an's mind raced.

Its spirit extends outwards, perceiving everything around it.

We have taken full precautions to prevent a surprise attack.

However, despite being on guard for a long time, the other party never showed up.

Li Ping'an dared not go any further.

They were terrified that there might be a trap ahead and that they would step into it themselves.

That would be terrible.

The best course of action now is to return to the abandoned hall and report to the people in the enforcement hall.

Let Liu Jinhu handle this matter; that's the safest approach.

Li Ping'an was making plans in his mind.

As the saying goes, a wise man doesn't suffer a loss he can avoid.

There's no need for me to fight that opponent.

This doesn't fit my personality as a person who follows the path of self-preservation.

You should know that after coming out of the sect trial this time...

Li Ping'an has decided to completely transform into a god of survival, and will absolutely not take action unless absolutely necessary.

If you can avoid it, then avoid it.

Just as he casually strolled back to the abandoned hall to hide.

He heard footsteps behind him, and someone blocked his way.

"I never imagined you, old man, had such keen senses!"

The voice was extremely familiar.

Li Pingan turned around and saw that it was Tang Jiannan!

He was nowhere near the dashing and debonair man he used to be.

At that moment, he was furious, his hair standing on end and his eyes blazing with fire.

His face was contorted with rage.

"It's you! You stole my title of leader! Today, you old man, you will die!"

Tang Jiannan said through gritted teeth.

His killing intent suddenly erupted, locking onto Li Ping'an.

Faced with this intense killing intent, Li Ping'an remained unfazed.

He shrugged and said,

"Senior Brother Tang, that's a bit extreme. Everyone had a chance to participate in this sect trial, and everyone had a chance to win. Why do you say I stole your title? I have more points than you!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Tang Jiannan could no longer hold back and burst into a tirade of curses.

"Who doesn't know what methods you used, old man? How did you manage to gather so many herbs!"

"If I'm not mistaken, you've got the Snow Lotus too! Where is it now? Hand it over right now!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ping'an's heart skipped a beat.

Unexpectedly, Tang Jiannan had already guessed that he had hidden the Xuan Tian Snow Lotus.

If he could guess it, could anyone else have guessed it?

For a moment, Li Ping'an felt that simply hiding the snow lotus in his storage bag seemed somewhat inappropriate.

No, after this matter is resolved, I need to move Snow Lotus to a different location.

But when facing Tang Jiannan, he still gave a forced smile.

"Senior Brother Tang, what nonsense are you spouting now? The Xuan Tian Snow Lotus was clearly swallowed by the Black Flood Dragon; you saw it with your own eyes! And now you're saying these things!"

"Enough with the nonsense! You old rascal, you're cunning! I'm only giving you two choices!"

Tang Jiannan's tone was icy as he stared intently at Li Ping'an.

Li Ping'an frowned and said.

"Senior Brother Tang actually gave me a choice? Come on, tell me, I'm all ears."

Tang Jiannan snorted coldly.

"First, I'll kill you right here!"

Li Ping'an frowned and said...

"Senior Brother Tang, this is a sect! How could you..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Tang Jiannan interrupted him.

"You stole my position as leader, and you dare to get so close to Lu Shuang! Even if it means facing punishment from the sect, I will kill you, you old man!"

"You're nothing but a useless servant. At worst, I'll be punished, so what? Do you think I really wouldn't dare kill you?"

Li Pingan shook his head and said.

"Since Senior Brother Tang insists, I'd like to hear what the second path is?"

"The second way!"

Tang Jiannan snorted coldly.

"Hand over the Mysterious Snow Lotus now! Cripple your own hands, give me the Mysterious Mirror (the prize from the competition), and finally cripple your cultivation and roll down the mountain! Only then might I consider sparing your life!"

Hearing this, Li Ping'an smiled helplessly and said.

"Senior Brother Tang, what would you choose?"

Tang Jiannan snorted coldly and sneered.

"It can't be me, I can't be an ant like you."

"I will never face this choice, do you understand? I'm only giving you ten breaths to choose. After ten breaths, I will automatically choose for you! Think it over carefully!"

As he spoke, Tang Jiannan silently began to count down.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

Listening to Tang Jiannan silently counting down, Li Ping'an couldn't help but shake his head.

"Senior Brother Tang, both of these paths you've chosen clearly leave me no way out! Since you insist on making me choose, I have no choice but to..."

At this point, Li Ping'an had already taken out the black hammer from his storage bag.

He muttered to himself,

"We've chosen the third path. That is to kill you and settle everything once and for all!"

After saying that, Li Ping'an suddenly roared.

He charged toward Tang Jiannan, wielding a black hammer.

"Hmph! Overestimating yourself!"

Tang Jiannan knew that Li Ping'an would not surrender so easily.

As Li Ping'an charged toward him wielding a black hammer, Tang Jiannan remained standing still.

He has the air of a grandmaster.

In his eyes, Li Ping'an was nothing more than a useless, menial disciple who had only managed to break through to the Qi Refining stage by sheer luck.

In fact, how can someone as talented as him compare?

You think you can defeat me with just a big iron hammer? How naive!