"Senior Sister Xu!"

Li An was quite surprised, his eyes filled with joy, and he said, "Please come in, please—"

He immediately welcomed Xu Qiuhui into the shop and shouted inside, "Qingxue, come out, Senior Sister Xu is here—"

…

Before long.

The three of them gathered for a small meeting in the Spirit Talisman Shop, where Tan Qingxue personally prepared a spread of delicious food and wine.

Having not seen each other for more than a decade, Tan Qingxue was very excited and kept talking with Xu Qiuhui, while Li An listened silently nearby, occasionally smiling and responding with a sentence or two.

Back when Li An had just joined the Talisman Hall, Xu Qiuhui and Tan Qingxue were quite evenly matched, both exceptionally beautiful, although Tan Qingxue was slightly younger and even more vibrant.

But over the span of more than ten years, Tan Qingxue's cultivation slowly broke through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer after dual cultivating with Li An, yet it was ultimately very slow. The effects of time had left faint marks on her face, though she remained beautiful, her allure now mostly that of a mature, charming woman, unlike the refreshing elegance of Xu Qiuhui.

Now the two seemed to have reversed roles, Tan Qingxue appearing more mature while Xu Qiuhui looked a bit younger.

After all, Xu Qiuhui had successfully established her foundation, greatly extending her lifespan, making her incomparable to Tan Qingxue.

"Back then, I introduced you to each other but never thought it would result in such a perfect match."

Xu Qiuhui smiled gently, joking, "In a way, I could be considered your matchmaker."

Li An and Tan Qingxue both laughed.

"Li An, you and Qingxue are both over forty, aren't you planning to start a family?"

Xu Qiuhui said leisurely.

Evidently, Tan Qingxue had mentioned this matter in her letters, which is why Xu Qiuhui brought it up.

Li An sighed deeply and said, "The world is unstable now, and I've been targeted by a Great Cultivator of the Demon Dao, so I could lose my life at any moment. How dare I bring children into this world?"

Xu Qiuhui was taken aback for a moment. Was that really the reason?

However, her eyes returned to calmness quickly, clearly not believing it. However, such matters were personal to Li An, and even as a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, she couldn't force anything upon Tan Qingxue.

"Li An, you don't need to worry. In recent years, the Life-taking Horse-Faced has committed many evil acts. The Profound Yang Sect has dispatched us to hunt him down."

Xu Qiuhui continued, revealing some information—

Since the disaster at Qingyang Marketplace over a decade ago, Life-taking Horse-Faced had committed numerous major crimes, even annihilating two cultivation clans affiliated with the Profound Yang Sect, and five years ago, he ambushed and killed a travelling Foundation Establishment female cultivator of the Profound Yang Sect.

His crimes are heinous.

Recently, the Profound Yang Sect finally discovered traces of him, so they dispatched their inner sect elites, even having a Fake Pill Level elder secretly lead the charge to exterminate Life-taking Horse-Faced.

For this purpose, the Profound Yang Sect issued a bounty: whoever could kill Life-taking Horse-Faced would receive a Foundation Establishment Pill and a roll of Yellow Rank High Grade cultivation technique!

Clearly, the Profound Yang Sect is determined to obliterate Life-taking Horse-Faced this time!

"That's wonderful... as long as that demon is slain, Li Lang won't need to live in fear every day. Sister, you don't know, for the past decade, Li Lang hasn't dared to step out of the marketplace, and I'm almost suffocated."

Tan Qingxue spoke.

Xu Qiuhui couldn't help but laugh. The black-hearted Talisman Master offended the Demon Sect, and he's been cowering in the marketplace for over ten years without stepping outside, something she's heard quite a bit about.

Actually, she knew some of the inside story. Years ago, the Demon Sect had been secretly waiting outside the marketplace, ready to hunt Li An, but Li An stubbornly did not step outside for thirteen years, to the point where the Demon Sect eventually gave up in despair.

The Profound Yang Sect also discovered the demon cultivators outside the marketplace, secretly planning, and now they're ready to act.

Thus, she actually admired Li An.

If he had been reckless and left the marketplace, perhaps this Spirit Talisman Shop would only have Tan Qingxue remaining now.

"Is Life-taking Horse-Faced likely to appear in the marketplace soon?"

Li An asked sharply.

Otherwise, why would the Profound Yang Sect's people come here?

"Yes."

Xu Qiuhui said, "The sect has already set things up; a batch of medicinal herbs will soon be transported to the marketplace from outside."

"Among that batch of herbs, there are items Life-taking Horse-Faced needs."

Li An suddenly realized.

This was the Profound Yang Sect's trap.

"It's getting late, I have some things to attend to, Talisman Master Li, could you see me out?"

Xu Qiuhui said with a smile.

Li An's heart stirred, and he immediately said, "Qingxue, tidy up the house, I'll escort Senior Sister Xu out."

…

They stepped out of the room and into the shop.

"Is there something Senior Sister Xu needs to tell me?"

Li An asked proactively.

Xu Qiuhui nodded and said calmly, "I've always known Li An is ambitious."

"But sometimes ambition alone is useless, and accepting reality might be better."

Li An frowned, "What do you mean, Senior Sister Xu?"

Xu Qiuhui said, "I don't want Qingxue to be lonely in the future. Give her a child, give yourself some hope; after all, living in this world, no one knows what comes first, accidents or the future."

Li An's face changed instantly, what did Xu Qiuhui mean by this...

Could it be that he might encounter an accident?!

Perhaps even die?

Hence, she advised him to leave a child for Tan Qingxue, to accompany her and leave a legacy?

His mind raced with thoughts.

—The Profound Yang Sect is dealing with Life-taking Horse-Faced.

But this matter might likely endanger Li An's life?

And Xu Qiuhui came specifically for Tan Qingxue to tell them this, intending Li An to willingly leave a child for Tan Qingxue.

So the key is, why would the Profound Yang Sect dealing with Life-taking Horse-Faced endanger him?

According to Xu Qiuhui, the Profound Yang Sect's trap had been set; it had nothing to do with Li An.

Unless Li An was part of this plan?

But Li An's own cultivation was low, how could he possibly be involved in such a plan?

"Senior Sister Xu, what's really going on?"

He stared at Xu Qiuhui.

Xu Qiuhui hesitated, clearly, this matter touched upon the sect's top secret.

"Senior Sister, even if Li An dies, he wants to die knowing why... please, Senior Sister Xu, for Qingxue's sake, give me a hint!"

Xu Qiuhui finally nodded and sighed, "Alright, you will find out eventually anyway."

"The Demon Skill Life-taking Horse-Faced cultivates is known as the Yin Yang Demon Furnace Skill. This cultivation technique, the Profound Yang Sect acquired a copy of it over ten years ago."

"But after the inner sect elders calculated, they discovered that the Demon Skill has a fatal flaw; when the spirit root advances, the original body inevitably collapses."

"In other words, with every advancement, the cultivator needs to replace their body."

"And the body's replacement in this Demon Skill is different from ordinary possession, it involves carrying the spirit root together, making it more difficult."

"Before changing the body, two conditions must be met: it needs a Third Grade Spirit Medicine and... there must be no Heart Demon."

That's as far as she spoke.

Li An suddenly understood...

The Spirit Medicine Life-taking Horse-Faced needed was certainly among the herbs prepared by the Profound Yang Sect, while Li An was regarded as...

"I'm actually Life-taking Horse-Faced's Heart Demon?!"

He was utterly incredulous!

He felt an urge to say, as a Great Cultivator of the Demon Dao, do you have to be so petty?!

Was it really necessary to harbor such a grudge over a few fake spirit talismans sold to you back then?!

"Life-taking Horse-Faced is unpredictable and hard to guard against. The only time he suffered a big loss was at Qingyang Marketplace, how could he not hate you? Moreover, at that time, he was at a critical point in his cultivation but failed to acquire the Tier Two spirit vein from Qingyang Marketplace, leading to a complete failure..."

Li An looked complicated, feeling a deep helplessness!

The whole cause and effect, he was caught unaware!

Xu Qiuhui gave Li An a meaningful glance, "Li An, I arrived here three days earlier than the others from the inner sect, which means you still have three days."

"Three days later, I will let Qingxue leave you."

"You're a smart person, decide on your own what to do."

"By the way, I'll be keeping an eye on you for these three days to prevent escape or leaks, though I doubt you would, as staying in Qingyang Marketplace is safer than being outside."

She then left.

Li An stayed in the shop, feeling a chilling cold in his heart.

Enduring through countless hardships, he finally encountered this deadly tribulation after all!

…

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