"What happened here..."

"Senior Brother Jing Ao is dead, and Senior Brother Han Zhong is dead too!"

"What exactly happened?"

The members of the Profound Yang Sect who arrived at the scene were all filled with shock.

In just one day, the Profound Yang Sect lost two Foundation Establishment experts.

Even during the battle for the Middle Grade Spiritual Ore among the three major sects over a decade ago, losing two Foundation Establishment experts in one battle... was rare.

And the Fake Pill expert Li Yuan suddenly closed his eyes—

He released his Divine Sense!

Covering the entire battlefield.

He was probing every detail, to deduce everything that happened.

Everyone around kept silent, not daring to disturb him.

After a long while.

Li Yuan finally opened his eyes and waved his hand, immediately some charred fragments fell into his hand.

He said indifferently, "Yu Xiong is dead too."

The crowd was even more shocked!

The dead Foundation Establishment experts of the Profound Yang Sect were not just two, but... three!

The cost was too great!

"Jing Ao was poisoned, many of the treasures on him hadn't been used before he was killed by the White Bone Banner, it should be Life-taking Horse-Faced who plotted against him."

"Han Zhong fought desperately with Life-taking Horse-Faced and was bitten to death by Life-taking Horse-Faced."

He spoke, but did not mention the cause of Yu Xiong's death.

As a Fake Pill expert, he could naturally see that Yu Xiong should have died under Han Zhong's "True Flame Talisman".

But saying such a thing would firstly be detrimental to the Chief Inner Sect Disciple Han Zhong, and secondly, it would affect the reputation of the entire Profound Yang Sect.

Yu Xiong was already dead and was a guard at the market, his connections within the inner sect were not strong, so he lightly glossed over his cause of death without making it public.

"As for Life-taking Horse-Faced, he should have first been seriously injured by Han Zhong, and then was killed by a Tier Two Array, only to be beheaded by this young cultivator—"

He looked at Li An.

From the scene, he found nothing wrong, and the dead was indeed Life-taking Horse-Faced!

Even though the losses were severe, the death of this villain was at least some explanation.

Meanwhile, Xu Qiuhui heard this and felt even more complicated in her heart...

She couldn't imagine how Li An managed to survive such a great battle, and even beheaded Life-taking Horse-Faced!

At the same time, she couldn't help but regret, perhaps she shouldn't have acted so absolutely before.

Now that Li An is not dead, and has become the hero who killed Life-taking Horse-Faced... his status in the sect will skyrocket!

Li Yuan stepped forward and simply checked Li An's condition.

"Hmm, he's poisoned, but he has taken a Poison Transformation Pill... his injuries are quite severe."

He took a white pill from his sleeve and fed it to Li An to sustain his life, then said, "Return to the sect!"

Immediately, many cultivators of the Profound Yang Sect quickly flew towards the Profound Yang Sect with the bodies of Han Zhong, Jing Ao, Life-taking Horse-Faced, and the White Bone Banner and other items.

...

Three days later.

Li An finally awoke from his coma, opened his eyes, and found himself on an incredibly luxurious bed, with quilt and mattress woven from spiritual silk, incredibly soft and comfortable.

He looked to the side to see a crowd already gathered around the bed!

An old man with graying hair, the familiar Xu Qiuhui, and some other elders...

"Where am I?"

Li An said weakly.

"Junior Brother Li, you're finally awake!"

Xu Qiuhui immediately stepped forward, gently supporting him, and said with a smile, "You've been in a coma for three days, it was Elder Li Yuan who saved you."

"Now you are safe, you don't need to worry!"

Hearing this, Li An was somewhat emotional, and he got out of bed to pay his respects: "Thank you, Elder, for saving my life!"

Li Yuan glanced at Li An and seeing him so respectful and sensible, couldn't help but nod.

"Come here."

He extended his hand.

Xu Qiuhui immediately helped Li An to sit beside Li Yuan.

"Let me ask you, what happened in the battle at Qingyang Market?"

He smiled as he stared at Li An, his tone extremely gentle and casual, but the old eyes, like two lamps flickering, seemed capable of probing into a person's heart.

Li An recalled everything that happened that day, still seemingly filled with fear, and said:

"That day, I was selling goods in the shop as usual when a middle-aged man suddenly walked in. He said he wanted to buy thirty Breaking Charms. Since we only had five in the store, I told him I would fetch more from the back room, but he insisted on coming with me..."

"I grew a bit suspicious, but as he didn't look like a Demon Cultivator, I led him in. As we reached the garden, he suddenly sneered and said he wanted to mince me up and feed me to the dogs..."

"I was about to react when I felt my body stiffen. I managed to throw out a few Tier One Upper Grade Talismans, but I was no match for him. With a single strike, he easily knocked me out..."

Li An's face bore a hint of fear: "When I woke up again, Senior Brother Jing Ao was already dead. Yu Xiong, the Great Cultivator, and another Senior Brother I didn't recognize were battling that Demon Cultivator. I took a few Poison Transformation Pills and barely managed to move..."

He hesitated for a moment: "I wanted to escape, so I crawled along the edge of the battlefield. I was halfway through when I heard an explosion, and it seemed that Senior Brother Yu Xiong shouted something..."

Li Yuan interjected at the right moment: "Yu Xiong was killed by the Demon Cultivator, and then what happened?"

Li An said: "In my panic, I noticed that Senior Brother Jing Ao still held a Jade Talisman, which I knew was for a Tier Two Array. I guessed that the Tier Two Array hadn't been activated..."

Li Yuan asked: "How did you know it was a Tier Two Array?"

"Because I was the one who originally set up that Tier Two Array..."

At this point, Li An seemed a bit aggrieved and mixed with anger: "I heard from Senior Sister Qiu Hui that I might be in danger, so I spent all of my and Qingxue's savings to buy the Tier Two Array for protection. However, Senior Brother Jing Ao snatched my Jade Talisman..."

Li Yuan glanced indifferently at Xu Qiuhui.

Xu Qiuhui felt a pang in her heart and quickly said: "Reporting to Elder, because I was on good terms with Qingxue and Li An, I was selfish and told Li An some things in advance, hoping he could use those three days to have a child with Qingxue..."

"As for his purchase of the Tier Two Array, when Junior Brother Jing Ao arrived, I informed him immediately and did not hide it!"

Li Yuan nodded in response.

Everything matched up.

In Jing Ao's storage bag, he had discovered the Tier Two Array issued by the sect. Clearly, this little talisman master set up the array, and Jing Ao took advantage of it.

"I tried my best to activate the array, finally crushing the Jade Talisman. But by then, the unnamed Senior Brother had also been killed by the Demon Cultivator."

"Elder, that Demon Cultivator bit the Senior Brother's neck off with his teeth!"

Li An was a bit emotional, clearly still frightened!

"Hmm, go on."

Li Yuan waved his hand.

Li An said: "I thought I was going to die too, but after the array activated, the Demon Cultivator was struck and immobilized. I used the Starry Blade to kill him, unexpectedly slicing off his head directly..."

"Then I fainted."

He finished speaking.

Li Yuan was deep in thought.

He kept employing the "Observing Heart Skill"!

This is a special technique used to discern the truth in someone's words.

Any lie would be detected.

Li An's entire account held up.

It mostly aligned with his observations at the scene.

Moreover, he personally checked everyone's storage bags at the scene. The only unusual thing in Li An's storage bag was a lot of Tier One Upper Grade Talismans, indicating this small practitioner had some hidden prowess in talisman making—yet this seemed quite normal.

And in the Life-taking Horse-Faced's storage bag, none of the Third Grade Spirit Medicines or other treasures were missing!

Han Zhong and others' storage bags also did not lose anything.

It seemed this small practitioner indeed had unusually good fortune...

"Rest well. You've done a great deed by killing Life-taking Horse-Faced..."

Li Yuan smiled faintly.

After speaking, he stood up to leave.

The other elders also left together.

"Junior Brother Li,"

Xu Qiuhui stayed behind in the room and said: "Do you resent me?"

Upon hearing this, Li An was silent for a moment but managed to force a smile: "I don't dare... In this matter, Senior Sister was powerless as well. Informing me three days ahead was already a great favor."

"I fear mentioning it just now might cause trouble for Senior Sister... Please, don't mind it."

In truth, he didn't harbor much resentment towards Xu Qiuhui.

If he were in her position, he would've done the same thing.

Moreover, if not for Xu Qiuhui's early warning, he wouldn't have had time to prepare...

"I'm relieved to hear you think so, Junior Brother Li."

Xu Qiuhui said lightly: "By the way, while you're recovering over the next few days, you might also want to think carefully about how to handle the reward the sect will give you—the Foundation Establishment Pill."

After this, she turned and left.

Li An suddenly furrowed his brow slightly.

What did Xu Qiuhui mean by this?

Could there be any trouble with the Foundation Establishment Pill?

...

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