Do you know what mythical life is?

Lu Ping'an followed the giant tortoise's perspective and soon arrived at the bridge west of Xiaoshi Village.

He let the giant tortoise hide in the shadow of the bridge pier, quietly gazing upwards through the murky river water.

But as time passed, he waited and waited, but the sound of horses' hooves never came.

"Have they already left, or did they not take this path?"

Lu Ping'an frowned, then looked at Qin Zheng and asked, "What offerings should be made to that Blessing Ancient Temple?"

"Upon entering the Blessed Ancient Temple, you will see a misty path. There are monsters on the path that correspond to your strength. Defeating these monsters will allow you to obtain offerings," Qin Zheng replied.

"In that case, let's eat first, and then we'll go take a look," Lu Ping'an said after thinking for a moment.

There are many unique buildings in this world, such as the Lu family's Zhenshan Martial Tower and the White Horse Ranch.

Cifu Ancient Temple is one of them.

This method of obtaining offerings is not unusual.

Now that he's encountered it, there's no reason for him to let it go.

As for the bandits, Lu Ping'an didn't care.

In a small place like Yunxi County, the number of bandits one might encounter, no matter how strong, is limited.

If those bandits came to cause him trouble, he would consider it as doing a service to the people.

"Brother Lu, the pheasant stew is ready!"

Su Shi trotted out of the kitchen, his face flushed red from the fire.

"That'll be over soon."

Lu Ping'an smiled and ruffled his hair, then turned to say, "Uncle Liu, Qin Zheng, come in and have something to eat too."

"Okay." Liu Cang responded, walked out of the courtyard, and took out two large pieces of braised beef wrapped in oil paper from the satchel on the side of the black horse.

……

Meanwhile, at the Li family residence.

"Ahem!"

Li Yun lay on the bed, his face ashen, clutching his chest, occasionally letting out a suppressed cough.

Lu Ping'an's palm strike contained hidden force; it was not outwardly apparent, but his internal organs were shaken.

"Father, are we just going to let this go?" He looked at his father by the bedside, his eyes filled with resentment and bitterness.

"What else can we do but forget about it?" Li Fu, the landlord of Xiaoshi Village, sighed. "That young man is already a master of internal strength; he's not someone we can afford to offend."

"His two henchmen are even more extraordinary. If we were to provoke someone like that, our entire Li family would be buried with you!"

After saying that, seeing his son's unwilling expression, he could only comfort him, "However, those few people killed the Black Mountain bandits, and the Black Mountain bandits will definitely not let it go."

"We can't afford to mess with them, but the Black Mountain bandits are fearless and vengeful."

"Yes! Black Mountain bandits!"

Li Yun's eyes suddenly lit up, his expression turning ferocious: "Su Tieshan died at the hands of the Black Mountain bandits. This time, the people Old Man Su rescued killed members of the Black Mountain bandits and stole their belongings. If the Black Mountain bandits find out, they will definitely not let them off!"

"Even if that kid has some skill, he definitely can't stop the Black Mountain bandits!"

"Hehe, the Black Mountain bandits are indeed strong, but only to us." Li Fu chuckled. "You don't know, the truly powerful ones are the people behind the Black Mountain bandits. It is said that the Huang family of the county town stands behind the Black Mountain bandits."

"Those families have more than one martial artist at the Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

"The Huang family?"

Li Yun's heart skipped a beat.

He learned martial arts in the county town, so he naturally knew the power and influence of the Huang family there.

Thinking of this, his face became even more ferocious, wishing that the Black Mountain bandits would come to kill him right now, and it would be even better if the Huang family came as well.

……

On the other side, after Lu Pingan finished lunch, he said to Su Yongfu, "Uncle Su, you, Xiaohe, and Shitou wait at home for a while. We're going to take a look at the back mountain."

"Be extremely careful," Su Yongfu hurriedly instructed.

"good!"

Lu Pingan nodded.

Without further delay, he led Liu Cang and Qin Zheng, following the general direction given by Li Yun, and headed straight for the back mountain.

He originally planned to go to the county town after finishing his meal.

However, things have changed, so it's okay to postpone the trip to the county town.

……

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Deep in the mountains behind Xiaoshi Village, in front of a dilapidated stone temple half-hidden by vines, the atmosphere was heavy.

A young man in black with a sinister look in his eyes sternly reprimanded several bandits who had escaped from Xiaoshi Village.

Standing beside him was an elderly man in gray robes, carrying a long sword and with a cold and stern expression.

In addition, more than twenty Black Mountain bandits, armed with sharp weapons and exuding a menacing aura, stood silently around the small clearing in the woods, completely surrounding it.

The young man in black suppressed his anger, turned around, forced a smile, and looked at the two people behind him.

One of the two men was dressed in fine clothes, with a fair complexion, holding a beautifully decorated longsword with a sheath, and a half-smile playing on his lips.

A burly man, dressed in brown leather armor, with bulging muscles on his bare arms and large knuckles, stood with his arms crossed, silent as a mountain.

Behind each of them was a formidable bodyguard.

The young man in black took a deep breath, took the two ancient temple tokens, and handed them to the two men: "Brother Chen, Brother Jiang, as agreed, these two tokens are yours."

Upon hearing this, the two men accepted the tokens without any hesitation.

"Huang Qiming, since you don't have the ancient temple token, we'll go into the ancient temple first and won't wait for you."

After accepting the token, the young man in fine clothes spoke casually, clearly not taking the other party seriously.

Although the Huang family is a prominent family in Yunxi County, Huang Qiming is only from a collateral branch of the family. Although he has some talent and strength, he is not taken seriously by Huang Qiming.

"good!"

Huang Qiming's face was stiff, and he felt a tightness in his chest.

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at his men.

He was about to give the order to personally lead his men into Xiaoshi Village, find the man who killed his men, and tear him to pieces.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Just then, several footsteps approached from the woodland path to the side.

Everyone instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.

Three figures slowly emerged from the edge of the forest on the hillside not far away and stopped at the top of the hill.

It was Lu Ping'an and his two companions.

Lu Ping'an glanced at the Cifu Ancient Temple, which was surrounded by vines, and the group of bandits in front of the temple, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Young master, these are the bandits who stormed the village earlier," Qin Zheng said in a low voice. As he finished speaking, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist. "I'll go and take care of them."

"Young Master Huang, it's them!"

Meanwhile, the bandit leader who had fled from Xiaoshi Village to this place recognized Qin Zheng at a glance. He pointed at the three of them in a shrill voice: "They're the ones who killed our men and stole our tokens!"

The scene froze instantly.

Huang Qiming suddenly looked up, his sinister gaze like that of a venomous snake, fixed on the three of them.

"Great! Excellent!"

He forced out a few words through clenched teeth, his voice icy and chilling: "I was just about to go looking for you, and you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep!"

Beside him, the gray-robed old man carrying a long sword stepped forward, his withered hand already gripping the hilt, and a chilling aura emanated from him.

More than twenty Black Mountain bandits around them also drew their weapons, their eyes fierce.

The elegantly dressed young man and the burly man also temporarily stopped their steps toward the ancient temple, adopting a spectator's stance.

"kill!"

Huang Qiming's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he suddenly waved his hand.

Regardless of who Lu Ping'an and the other two are, killing them will resolve the matter.

"kill!"

Upon receiving the order, more than twenty Black Mountain bandits immediately brandished their weapons and charged towards Lu Ping'an and his two companions on the hillside.

"Sing!"

Qin Zheng drew his long sword from his waist, took a step forward, and was about to step forward.

"No rush!" Lu Ping'an waved his hand and said, "I'll hone my combat skills. Uncle Liu, Qin Zheng, you two will protect me."

With so many people charging at him at once, Lu Ping'an was a little nervous, but martial arts are not effective without real combat experience.

He killed Zhou Hu and Tian Wei by surprise attack.

He injured Li Yun by overwhelming his strength.

This was the first time he had ever experienced being surrounded and attacked.

"good!"

Liu Cang and Qin Zheng were taken aback, but then nodded in agreement.

Most of the people down the mountain were of average strength, with only a handful being martial artists of the Ming and An Jin levels.

This is perfect for Lu Pingan to hone his combat skills.

With the two of them protecting us, there's definitely no problem.

The only thing to watch out for is the few old guys below. They seem to have some strength, but they're probably only at the Transformation Realm level at most.

"kill!"

As they spoke, the three bandits at the front, their faces full of scars and their eyes fierce, rushed forward.

On the left, a man raised a single sword high, aiming to cleave Mount Hua in two, straight at Lu Ping'an's head.

Lu Ping'an shifted his feet, sidestepping the attack, while simultaneously unleashing his right fist from his waist. The fist, imbued with powerful energy, delivered a short, explosive strike straight to his opponent's heart.

"Bang!"

The fist slammed solidly into the bandit's chest, the force penetrating his body. The bandit's eyes bulged out, he spat out blood and flew backward, his sternum collapsing.

Almost simultaneously, another bandit on the right swept his single knife across, the blade slicing towards Lu Ping'an's ribs with speed and ferocity.

His right arm instinctively pulled back, his muscles tensed, and a barely perceptible dark blue line appeared under his skin in response to the stress.

This is the first move of the Xuanwu Armor Covering Technique: Xuanjia Covering the Body.

However, Lu Ping'an also knew that he had only just begun to cultivate the Xuanwu Armor-Covering Technique, and that this move might be effective against fists and sticks.

Faced with a sharp, blood-drawing blade, one certainly cannot stop it.

"Clang!"

Just as the blade was about to strike him, a bright, sharp blade flashed from the side and arrived first, blocking the blow for him.

It was Qin Zheng.

With a single strike of his blade, though he didn't use much force, he still managed to send the bandit staggering backward, leaving his defenses wide open.

Lu Pingan seized the moment, twisted his body and stepped forward, passing by the bandit, and silently placed a hand on his chest.

The hidden force is released and then immediately withdrawn.

"puff!"

The bandit trembled violently, his face turned deathly pale, and he collapsed limply, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, already dead.

"kill!"

More bandits surged forward, and blades flashed from all directions.

Lu Ping'an moved swiftly between the blades, his steps clumsy yet focused.

Sometimes he would throw a punch, his obvious force exploding and sending the bandit flying, knife and all; other times he would unleash a hidden force, striking with deadly precision and injuring the bandit's internal organs.

"Whoosh!"

A bandit swung his knife at him from behind. By the time Lu Ping'an noticed, it was too late; he couldn't turn around in time.

But at that moment, Liu Cang, who had been following him, rolled up his sleeves, releasing a burst of energy.

"clang!"

The single-edged sword that slashed down seemed to hit a wall; its blade was deflected and grazed Lu Ping'an's side, only tearing his clothes.

"die!"

Lu Pingan twisted his waist and turned around, using the Xuanwu Flipping Stance to deliver a powerful elbow strike like a heavy hammer, hitting the bandit squarely in the chest.

"Snap! Pfft!"

The bandit's sternum collapsed, and he spat out blood as he flew backward, instantly knocking down the two people behind him.

"How dare you!"

Behind them, Huang Qiming watched as Lu Ping'an used his ruthless bandits as a whetstone, fighting with increasing ferocity, and his anger nearly exploded.

But he didn't dare to go forward.

Lu Ping'an's displayed strength was already at the level of hidden strength.

The two people following Lu Ping'an used methods that were even more incomprehensible, at least at the Transformation Realm level.

If it's a neutralizing force, then it's still alright.

If not, then that's troublesome.

"Brother Chen, Brother Jiang!"

Taking a deep breath, Huang Qiming turned to look at Chen Yi and Jiang Rang beside him.

"Don't look at us!"

Seeing Huang Qiming looking at him, Chen Yi quickly waved his hand: "This has nothing to do with me. Solve your own problems and don't drag me into it."

After saying that, he felt uneasy, so he immediately flashed away from Huang Qiming and looked in Lu Ping'an's direction, raising his voice:

"Brother, my name is Chen Yi from Yunxi. I am here only for the opportunity at the ancient temple and have nothing to do with the fighting here. Please make yourself at home."

"The Black Mountain bandits are also raised by the Huang family, and have no connection with my Chen family."

He made his stance very clear, directly distancing himself from Huang Qiming.

At the same time, he was also testing Lu Ping'an.

He deliberately mentioned the Huang family to see if Lu Ping'an knew about them.

Huang Qiming's expression changed.

He then looked at the burly young man who had remained silent as a mountain: "Brother Jiang..."

Without saying a word, Jiang Rang took a step and followed Chen Yi.

"Damn it!"

Seeing Chen Yi and Jiang Rang leave, Huang Qiming's face turned pale and then red, looking extremely unpleasant.

"Bang!"

On the hillside, Lu Ping'an threw a punch, killing another bandit.

He glanced at Chen Yi and Jiang Rang from afar before looking away.

What Chen family and Huang family?

He didn't even know.

He knew that with Uncle Liu and Qin Zheng by his side, he could handle most troubles in Yunxi County.

Even if the two of them can't solve it, there's still the Four Symbols Martial Arts School, and his master Qin Muzhi.

"Where did this jinx come from?"

At the entrance of the ancient temple, Chen Yi saw that Lu Ping'an still showed no mercy after hearing his words, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

He looked down on Huang Qiming.

However, he dared not be careless towards the Huang family.

Because the Huang family, like the Chen family, is one of the major families in Yunxi County.

There is more than one martial artist in the Marrow Cleansing Realm in the clan.

There were even martial artists at the Qi and Blood Realm, who were above the Marrow Cleansing Realm, in charge.

"I've never seen any of these people before. They're probably from other counties or prefectures, outsiders from elsewhere!" Jiang Rang's expression also turned serious. "Especially the two protecting that young man, I can't quite figure them out..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but look at the old man beside him.

"The Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

The old man stared intently at Liu Cang and Qin Zheng: "Both of them!"

Jiang's pupils contracted slightly.

Chen Yi remained silent.

He had already guessed it.

That's why he quickly distanced himself from Huang Qiming.

I don't want to get involved in this matter.

What is the concept of the Marrow Cleansing Realm?

In Yunxi County, most martial arts school owners are only at the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

It can be said that the Marrow Cleansing Realm is equivalent to the level of a sect leader.

Even within their major families, those at the Marrow Cleansing Realm are absolute big shots.

To have two Marrow Cleansing Realm martial artists protecting you—what kind of status must they have?

Even though he was a core member of the Chen family, the person protecting him was only a Transformation Realm expert.