53: Kill Jie Xiu instantly, and go walk with your grandfather.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

The rat was round-headed and round-bodied, with extremely large eyes, looking as endearingly clumsy as a pet.

But to underestimate it would be a grave mistake.

Not only did it possess the combat power equivalent to a Qi Refining Stage - Late Phase Cultivator, but its sense of smell was also extremely keen, making it adept at finding treasures.

Named a Brocade-Furred Vicious Rat, it was a Spirit Beast second only to a Treasure Seeking Rat, and exceptionally rare.

The Short Cultivator carefully held it in his hands.

"Go, my little treasure, find that geng metal gourd, which direction did it go?"

"Find the item, and you can eat as much Ore as you want."

The tall Cultivator grinned and said, "An old man in the Qi Refining Stage - Late Phase, with declining vitality, but he has quite a few good things on him. It's only right that my brother and I get rich."

"As expected, they're coming for me."

Xiao Tianheng's expression turned cold at the sight. He quickly formed a hand seal, glad that he had already set up a Talisman Array here.

However, only the Brocade-Furred Vicious Rat kept approaching, while the two individuals in the distance remained still, making Xiao Tianheng's heart pound with anxiety.

He wasn't sure whether to attack the increasingly close rat.

Although the Lu family had a Beast Taming Legacy, the Short Cultivator might be a Beast Taming Cultivator, and killing his original profound talisman Spirit Beast could severely injure him.

But the Brocade-Furred Vicious Rat was not a commonly used Spirit Beast; it might just be a pet controlled by a servitude Talisman.

However, just as he was conflicted and hesitant,

the situation in the field changed again.

The two previously leisurely individuals suddenly chose to act simultaneously.

The tall Cultivator took out a long-handled great hammer, lifted it into the air, and smashed it down fiercely. The great hammer continuously grew larger under the enhancement of magical power, crashing down like a small mountain, as if the sky itself was enveloped in this single strike.

The Short Cultivator raised his hand, condensing three Fireball Talismans, and even the seemingly weakest rat suddenly attacked, turning into an afterimage as its entire body transformed into a golden light and shot straight out.

The two individuals and one beast cooperated seamlessly, as if they had rehearsed countless times.

They simultaneously locked onto all directions: up, down, left, and right.

The stone pillars along the way instantly shattered, and in the blink of an eye, the three attacks arrived almost simultaneously, carrying immense power as they assailed him.

"How audacious!"

The stone pillars exploded, and Xiao Tianheng's figure instantly flew out.

He continuously waved his hands, using the Mountain Whipping Technique to repeatedly knock away the surrounding stone pillars, colliding with the two individuals at an extremely fast speed to buy time, while his figure rapidly retreated.

By now, he already knew that these two had long since discovered his location and gained the upper hand.

In his shock, he quickly formed another hand seal.

The next second.

Two Five Elements Talisman Arrays exploded with a roar, and five-colored energy burst forth, leaving the surroundings in a mess.

The Short Cultivator's eyes were about to split open at the sight. He never expected this old man to unleash such an attack, with a single strike five times more powerful than a Qi Refining Stage - Late Phase, almost causing him to capsize in the gutter.

Seeing this, he roared in anger and surprise, "Do not harm my rat!"

His attack paused, and he turned to rush towards his beloved rat, opening a shield in front of him at the last minute.

However, the tall Cultivator's attack did not stop. His figure dodged the Talisman attack in mid-air, and in the blink of an eye, he was already close, bringing his great hammer down directly.

"Die!"

Rumble... The giant hammer fell, raising a huge cloud of dust.

Xiao Tianheng spat out fresh blood and flew backward. Facing two Cultivators at Qi Training Completion, he was defeated in a single exchange.

The Five Elements Talisman Array he had used earlier was purchased, and its power could reach the level of a Qi Training Completion strike, but his defensive Talisman Array was only Intermediate.

This single blow had severely injured him.

At the same time, it didn't cause much trouble for the two of them; at most, it just consumed some of their magical power.

When he regained his senses, the two individuals and one beast had already, he knew not when, occupied three directions, surrounding Xiao Tianheng in the middle.

The situation instantly became extremely critical.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Xiao Tianheng looked around, his face grim, and spoke in a low voice, "Selling Magical Artifacts one moment, and then ambushing me to kill me the next.

Master Wu, you are too disrespectful of the rules!"

The Short Cultivator, with shifty eyes, sneered, "Rules? Hahahaha! Rules are for the living; the dead aren't worthy of hearing them.

Besides, it was a rogue Cultivator who killed you, what does it have to do with my brother and me?"

"Haha." Perhaps feeling victory was assured, the two exchanged glances, and Master Wu chuckled mockingly, "Whose fault is this? This world is inherently about the survival of the fittest. Your Materials are excellent, and you specifically forge artifact embryos without core Materials.

Only constructing Restriction runes.

This proves that the treasures in your possession are even rarer, perhaps even to the point of not being able to expose them.

Facing readily available profit,

only a fool wouldn't act."

Xiao Tianheng's face darkened as he wiped the corner of his mouth. He pulled out ten more Talismans, holding them in both hands, attempting to intimidate the two: "You believe in the survival of the fittest and kill wantonly. Do you not know that in the end, you too will be eliminated by others for the same reason?

Cough, cough, cough... Even if I am injured, I still have the power to strike once before I die, enough to severely injure one of you.

I will surely die, but will the two of you still maintain your current tacit understanding?

Why don't we have a good talk?

I will hand over the Magical Artifacts, and you two Fellow Daoists will let me leave, how about that?"

"Hmph!" Master Wu was not afraid at all. He pulled out a huge shield with a backhand, protecting his body: "Naive!"

"Your words are much grander than your abilities!"

"Still not being honest, I hate it when people try to reason with me the most." The rat-raising Cultivator let out a strange laugh, his face also full of disdain: "We might die, but you certainly won't live to see it. If we kill you, won't your Storage Pouch and treasures all be ours?

If you know what's good for you, tell us the secret.

Otherwise... I'll capture you and see how many rounds of torture your old bones can withstand?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a long-handled spike with a backhand, its barbed hook gleaming with a cold light that sent shivers down one's spine.

However, just as both sides were at loggerheads, on the verge of acting again,

two strong beams of light directly struck their bodies.

The air instantly solidified, and the sound of the explosion came with a delay.

Their expressions also froze amidst the sudden attack.

Xiao Tianheng stared dumbfounded at the front, disbelief filling his heart.

He didn't know when, but two even more powerful and intense Advanced Five Elements Talisman Arrays had quietly appeared in the soil beneath their feet.

They exploded violently, and five-colored streams of light passed through their bodies without any obstruction.

The Short Cultivator's lower body directly disappeared, and the Brocade-Furred Vicious Rat let out a sharp shriek, instantly dying.

Master Wu's shield flew high into the air, his chest was pierced from the abdomen, and his right hand, along with the iron hammer, spun and flew out.

Only then did his head slowly lift, an expression of disbelief on his face.

The scene before him slowly vanished.

Even at the moment of death, the Short Cultivator's expression was still on his face, but his body was rapidly shattering, turning into brittle fragments that scattered into the sky with the shockwave.

Xiao Tianheng's expression shifted from shock and confusion to rapid ecstasy.

Because he discovered Xiao Qingyuan, wrapped around someone, suddenly emerging from underground.

"Grandson? When? Who is she?"

Xiao Tianheng was somewhat incoherent.

Seeing him spitting blood, Xiao Qingyuan quickly let go of Xie Yuming, who was also in shock, and took two steps forward.

He fed Xiao Tianheng a few Medicinal Pills he had "borrowed" from Lu Liang, and only after seeing his complexion visibly improve did he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"A false alarm, you scared your Grandson to death."

After saying that, he quickly searched the two individuals' belongings, emptying them.

Then he threw a few Fireball Talismans, directly incinerating the corpses, his movements fluid and practiced.

Xiao Tianheng watched, dumbfounded.

"Grandpa, we'll talk about the rest later. This time, I encountered a kid who wanted to steal my stuff, and your Grandson didn't say a word before crippling him, the kind that even if he's cured, it'd be a waste of medicine.

It's just that this kid has some background.

We need to leave quickly."

He didn't wait for a response after speaking.

He directly grabbed Xie Yuming and Xiao Tianheng, one in each hand.

Using his original profound talisman, he quickly communicated with the Five Elements power between heaven and earth.

With a whoosh, the three figures rapidly disappeared, leaving only the shattered battlefield behind, with no useful information left behind...