"Senior Brother Qi An, I'm afraid this doesn't make much sense... If it really is the work of that Blackheart Talisman Master, he probably won't show up easily."

On the city wall, another Demon Cultivator beside Qi An spoke.

"Disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful!"

Qi An pounded his fists heavily on the parapet, gnashing his teeth.

Twice now, ambushed by that Blackheart Talisman Master...

"Don't worry, although we suffered a huge loss this time, even two branch masters died, and hundreds of people above and below are gone, the sect won't care about your little loss."

"Let's go see the branch master first."

...

Soon after.

Inside a secret hall in Celestial Yang City.

A middle-aged Demon Cultivator sat at the head, none other than "Life-taking Horse-Faced"!

A group of disciples had already arrived.

"This time it's all gone to hell..."

Life-taking Horse-Faced cursed with a gloomy face, appearing dispirited.

"No need to worry, branch master. I've tallied our people here, and the loss is minimal, but the gains are significant. Just the loot from those cultivators who escaped from White Tiger City is enough to keep us from taking action for ten years..."

A late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator stepped forward.

"What do you know."

Life-taking Horse-Faced said, "If the third one succeeded this time, it would have been fine, but he not only failed, he even delivered our foundations clean. That White-Haired Tigress... we're probably going to have to spearhead from now on."

"Such a fierce demoness, bold and ruthless, hard to deal with, very hard to deal with!"

He shook his head repeatedly, sighing continuously.

Upon hearing this, the group of Demon Cultivators also grew solemn.

Indeed, this time White Tiger Master didn't just display his ruthlessness to the outside world, even within the Demon Sect, everyone had grown fearful.

White Tiger City is a tough nut!

Nothing like the Profound Yang Sect.

Life-taking Horse-Faced looked up and said, "Qi An, I hear you got urinated on again?"

Qi An stepped forward, looking extremely grim, "Branch master, I truly didn't expect that someone would know our plans in advance and ambush our set ambush location in advance..."

Someone beside him also said, "To inform the branch master, it's truly not Senior Brother Qi An's fault. He was very cautious, even staying an extra day just before leaving, but didn't expect that Blackheart Talisman Master to be so patient..."

Qi An said, "Branch master, rest assured, I'll definitely intensify the investigation and find him out..."

"You might as well give up!"

Life-taking Horse-Faced didn't conceal his disdain, "This Blackheart Talisman Master is bold and meticulous, a tough character. You can't handle him."

"In the future, just ignore him, act like he doesn't exist."

"These kinds of characters are very discerning; as long as we don't bother him, he won't dare interfere with our business, at most just follow behind us to snatch some leftovers, not worth the effort."

Qi An felt extremely unwilling but had to say, "Understood..."

"Pass the word, everyone should take a good rest for a while. In a few years, we'll probably have to make a move again... Teng Zhuo, you stay."

Life-taking Horse-Faced waved his hand.

The crowd immediately dispersed.

"Master, do you have something for your disciple to do?"

A Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator respectfully stepped forward.

Life-taking Horse-Faced waved, a jade-plate array instantly appeared, mixed with numerous Thunder Shock Talismans, obviously to prevent others from probing.

"From today, you specifically find me this Blackheart Talisman Master."

Life-taking Horse-Faced said.

Teng Zhuo was slightly startled, wasn't Master saying to act like he doesn't exist?

"I'll give you some information, and you'll go find him."

Life-taking Horse-Faced squinted, "First, this person's current cultivation level should be at the peak of Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer or Early-Stage Foundation Establishment..."

"Second, this person has definitely learned the Yin Yang Demon Furnace Skill, most likely also the Blood and Flesh Melting Furnace Skill!"

"Third, he must have stayed in White Tiger City for some time, perhaps even established his foundation there."

Teng Zhuo heard this, eyes slightly shocked. How did Master know so much?

"Fool, think about it, if he could ambush and black out our plans, it means he knew the plan!"

Life-taking Horse-Faced seemed to see Teng Zhuo's doubts and cursed, "But only the third one knew the core plan."

"If he knew the third one's plan, it means the third one probably considered him a confidant... went undercover, yet didn't know there was an undercover agent in his own team, the third one is such a fool!"

Life-taking Horse-Faced shook his head repeatedly, "From this point, it can be determined he must have stayed in White Tiger City for a long time, everything else is easy to deduce."

Teng Zhuo suddenly understood, and said:

"Master, once I find him, what should I do? Kill him?"

"No, inform me."

Life-taking Horse-Faced's expression turned serious, "This matter is not to be told to anyone, you can only do it quietly on your own, understand?"

"I must kill this little Talisman Master myself!"

Teng Zhuo shivered, "Disciple obeys!"

Teng Zhuo left.

The Life-taking Horse-Faced remained seated, lost in thought, then suddenly stood up and murmured, "Old Three, oh Old Three, you useless piece of mud, it's good that you're dead... I'll just find someone else."

...

After passing through the outer city gate, one needs to register their name, origin, and other details to receive an identity badge before entering.

"Jiang Yuan, one hundred and five years old, Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, Talisman Master, Loose Cultivator from White Tiger City..."

After registering, Li An entered the city, hunched over.

The streets were bustling and wide, lined with rows of buildings, and the streets were filled with a constant flow of people, mostly cultivators.

The city, population, and other aspects all surpassed White Tiger City!

Li An found an inn and stayed there.

He stayed at the inn for three days, carefully inquiring about the current situation in Celestial Yang City.

Celestial Yang City is under the command of Prince Zhenbei, Li Xiaoyuan, of the Great Li Dynasty, covering thousands of miles with a dense population.

The power dynamics within the city are also quite complex.

Under the Prince Zhenbei's Mansion, there is the City Lord's Mansion and various departments responsible for the city's affairs, so the city is orderly, far beyond the likes of White Tiger City, a place of Loose Cultivators.

The city also has many large and small cultivation families, sects, and many Loose Cultivators.

What delighted Li An the most was that the city had one Rank Four Spirit Vein and two Rank Three Spirit Veins!

In the barren northern part of Great Li, this city is a cultivation holy land.

However, although it's a cultivation haven, it doesn't concern ordinary people, as the spirit veins are divided among the major forces in the city, with only some areas of weaker Tier Two Spirit Veins available for rent, and even then, they are expensive and require connections to rent.

Living is difficult for ordinary people anywhere, and they are bound to have nothing to do with quality resources.

Li An wasn't in a hurry; he rented a small house on Peace Street and settled down temporarily.

He played his role, behaving like a poor, sickly old Talisman Master.

Occasionally, he would go out to buy low-tier talisman paper and pens, and sell some runes to barely make a living.

At this stage, he was still gathering information, observing and analyzing the situation of each force in the city to prepare for the future.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

On this day, a message from outside spread into Celestial Yang City, causing a huge sensation—

White Tiger Master successfully advanced to Golden Core!

She became a...

Golden Core cultivator!

This news was like a hurricane.

"White Tiger Master's plans within plans, when everyone thought she was just using the opportunity to eliminate the Demon Sect, they never expected that she was truly preparing for her Golden Core advancement!"

"First, she forcibly exterminated the Demon Sect, and then seized opportunity amidst the turmoil... truly powerful!"

"A Golden Core powerhouse is destined to become a legend..."

The city was abuzz with discussions.

Even Li An was in awe for a long time.

Even he couldn't help but admire such daring, such cunning and depth; this woman was indeed no ordinary person.

A Golden Core powerhouse is a Nascent Soul in reserve...

From now on, White Tiger City will rise with the tide, and its development will likely be rapid.

If Xu Qiuhui hadn't died in the last great battle, from now on, having latched onto the Golden Core powerhouse, her future would certainly be bright.

Even in Celestial Yang City, many people headed to White Tiger City.

Some predicted that after becoming a Golden Core powerhouse, White Tiger Master would likely establish a sect; being among the first would be a great fortune.

Li An considered seriously whether to join in as well...

But he ultimately stayed.

Even if White Tiger Master really established a sect, and Li An could really join it, it wouldn't mean much to him.

White Tiger Master already had over a dozen disciples.

If there were resources for Core Formation, it wouldn't be to someone like Li An, who came later.

In that case, why bother going?

What Li An wanted... she couldn't give.

...

Li An used "Jiang Yuan's" identity and stayed in the city for four years.

Four years passed in the blink of an eye, and Li An quietly left Celestial Yang City.

After leaving the city, he traveled along Beiyang Dao towards White Tiger City, and when he reached a deserted place, he changed his appearance and headed for the resources he had buried four years ago!

It was time to retrieve them.

...

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