21: Night Raid

The night was like ink, the lights of Qingzhu Market gradually blurred in the distance, and Xu Qi'an's figure moved silently through the dense forest like a ghost.

His steps were light, each one perfectly avoiding the dry branches and fallen leaves on the ground, making no sound at all.

His Body Refinement Fourth Level body made his movements as agile as a cat's, while the Qi Concealment Technique perfectly hid his spiritual energy fluctuations.

"Finally left." Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief, but did not let down his guard.

Leaving Qingzhu Market was actually more dangerous; it was easy to encounter rogue Cultivators.

As expected, shortly after he left the shantytown, he detected two faint auras.

Xu Qi'an's heart immediately trembled.

"Someone is following me! Who sent them?"

Xu Qi'an's mind raced, arriving at only two possibilities: one was the Li Family, the other was Lu Anhe.

Xu Qi'an quickly ruled out Lu Anhe, leaving only the Li Family, with whom he had some friction.

"Could it be Li Sheng? But I haven't had much interaction with him! It can't be that he just dislikes me?"

"Or do Bai Zhan and Wan Feng have companions?"

Xu Qi'an concentrated and sensed behind him, immediately detecting the two people's aura fluctuations.

"Two mid-stage Qi Refining Cultivators, they really think highly of me."

The corners of Xu Qi'an's mouth curved slightly upwards, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

He did not quicken his pace; instead, he deliberately slowed down, as if completely unaware of the tracking behind him.

The two Li Family Cultivators followed far behind Xu Qi'an. One of them whispered, "Is Young Master Li being overly cautious? What kind of Opportunity could a Qi Refining Third Level Spiritual Farmer have?"

"Opportunity? A Qi Refining Third Level Cultivator going out this late, do you think there's an Opportunity?"

The other person retorted, then shook his head with a hint of impatience in his tone, "Stop talking nonsense, keep up."

"Senior Brother Li Sheng said this person might have an Opportunity on him, we absolutely cannot let him escape."

He deliberately took a few secluded paths, leading the two people towards a deserted valley.

Mist filled the valley, the moonlight was obscured by the dense canopy, and the surroundings were dark.

"Almost there."

Xu Qi'an muttered softly to himself, suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at the trees in front of him.

Seeing this, the two Li Family Cultivators were startled, then cautiously stopped, hiding behind the trees, more than ten zhang away from Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an sneered, "What are you two hiding for? Why don't you come out and show yourselves?"

One of them sneered, "I didn't expect that with your Qi Refining Third Level cultivation, you could notice our tracks?"

"Perhaps you're not Qi Refining Third Level, but wanting to deal with us two Qi Refinement Sixth Level Cultivators is still too wishful thinking!"

Seeing that their whereabouts had been discovered, the Li Family Cultivators no longer hid, stepped out, and shouted.

"Xu Qi'an, you little Spiritual Farmer, hurry up and tell us about your Opportunity!"

"Otherwise, Young Master Li Sheng will definitely not let you off lightly!"

Xu Qi'an let out a cold snort, did not answer, but simply took out a stack of Talismans from his storage bag, lightly shook them, and the Talismans scattered like butterflies, suspended around him.

The Talismans flashed with various spiritual lights, Fireball Talismans, Ice Cone Talismans, Lightning Strike Talismans... there were dozens of them.

And there were quite a few High Grade Tier 1 Talismans.

"You... how do you have so many High Grade Talismans?!"

The other Cultivator's face changed drastically, his voice trembling slightly.

Xu Qi'an smiled slightly, his tone calm, "You two have followed me for so long, it's been hard work. How about I give you a ride?"

Before his words finished, he flicked his fingers, and dozens of Talismans instantly activated, turning into a sky full of spiritual light, sweeping towards the two Cultivators.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Explosions echoed in the valley, firelight, frost, and lightning intertwined, completely engulfing the two Cultivators.

Their protective spiritual light only lasted for a few breaths before being torn apart by the power of the Talismans.

The screams stopped abruptly, and the smell of burning permeated the air.

Xu Qi'an stood rooted to the spot, his expression calm, as if the killing just now had nothing to do with him.

"So it was Li Sheng!"

He put away the remaining Talismans, walked to the corpses of the two Cultivators, took off their storage bags, and with a sweep of his Divine Sense, found that there were quite a few ling stones and pills inside.

"An unexpected gain."

Xu Qi'an muttered softly to himself, but suddenly sensed two more auras approaching from behind, his heart jolted, and he immediately left the scene quickly.

Early the next morning, Li Sheng sat in the Li Family's council hall, his face gloomy.

The two Cultivators he sent to track Xu Qi'an had not returned all night, and their communication Talismans were unresponsive.

"Could it be... something happened?"

Li Sheng's brows furrowed, feeling a faint unease in his heart.

He recalled Xu Qi'an's calm expression, always feeling that this person was unfathomable.

"Senior Brother Li Sheng, should we send more people to investigate?" a Li Family Disciple asked cautiously.

Li Sheng pondered for a moment, just about to nod, when he suddenly heard a rapid footsteps outside the door.

Immediately after, a Li Family Disciple ran in in a panic, his face pale.

"Bad news! Lord Lu Anhe is here!"

Hearing this, Li Sheng's face changed, and he quickly stood up.

Before he could speak, Lu Anhe had already strode in.

She wore a light green long dress, her expression stern, her gaze sweeping over everyone like a knife.

"Li Sheng, you have quite the nerve!" Lu Anhe said coldly, her voice carrying unquestionable authority.

Li Sheng's heart tightened, and he quickly bowed in salute, "Immortal Lu, may I ask what has angered you?"

Lu Anhe let out a cold snort, took out a Jade Slip from her sleeve, and threw it in front of Li Sheng, "See for yourself!"

Li Sheng took the Jade Slip, swept it with his Divine Sense, and his face instantly turned ugly.

The Jade Slip recorded the matter of the two Li Family Cultivators stealthily watching Xu Qi'an's residence.

"Xu Qi'an is actually Lu Anhe's person, this... how is this possible?" Cold sweat seeped from Li Sheng's forehead, his heart filled with shock.

Lu Anhe looked at him coldly, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm, "Li Sheng, do you really think the Li Family can cover the sky with one hand in Qingzhu Market?"

"Don't think I don't know about the rotten things your Li Family does in Qingzhu Market."

"Other matters aside, Xu Qi'an is my person. If you dare to touch him again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Hearing this, Li Sheng's heart trembled, and he quickly bowed his head to admit his mistake, "Immortal Lu, please forgive me, I was momentarily confused, I would never dare to offend again!"

Lu Anhe let out a cold snort, about to turn and leave.

Li Sheng, however, called out to her, "Immortal Lu, I suspect this person Xu Qi'an is involved in shady dealings."

"What if he is? What if he isn't?"

"Aren't your own shady dealings numerous?"

Li Sheng's face changed, and he could no longer speak.

When she reached the door, she suddenly stopped, looked back at Li Sheng, and said calmly, "Remember, some people are not someone you can afford to provoke."

Li Sheng stood rooted to the spot, his face fluctuating between shades of gloom.

He knew that this time he had kicked a steel plate.

Xu Qi'an had Lu Anhe backing him; he no longer dared to act rashly.

But why Lu Anhe would protect Xu Qi'an, he completely couldn't understand.