After leaving the market, Li An made his way dozens of miles at the fastest speed!

Until nightfall, considering it was not safe to travel, he stopped in a mountain forest, found a cave to hide, and restrained his aura.

The next morning, he changed into a new set of clothes, altered his appearance, and continued heading towards the Flowing Sun River Market.

On the third day, Li An finally arrived outside the Flowing Sun River Market, at the Ma Mountain Ferry.

He mingled with the crowd, repeatedly using Divine Sense to scout, eventually discovering two Demon Cultivators at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer!

"They've indeed come..."

Li An whispered, not letting the two Demon Cultivators notice him.

Late into the night, ensuring no one was watching, he quietly buried himself in some mudflat mud by the ferry!

He submerged to a depth of about two meters, leaving a wrinkled impression on the originally smooth mud surface, which was soon smoothed out by the repeated lapping of the river waves.

Only a reed tube pierced the mud, but the mudflats were naturally prone to gathering debris from the river, so no one would pay any attention to it.

This mud spot was a crucial point where he laid a Tier Two Array.

Furthermore, hiding here, his Divine Sense could perceive fluctuations in the air and hear the commotion outside through the reed tube.

Li An shrank his aura, like a stone sculpture buried in the mud!

...

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

If it were anyone else, they probably would've gone mad from the torment of being buried in mud.

But not Li An; he remained still.

Finally, on the thirteenth evening—

"Quick, I need three boats!"

"Take us to the Flowing Sun River Market, I'll pay double the Spirit Stones!"

Buried in the mud, Li An finally heard the unusual commotion through the reed tube—

Someone urgently booked boats, urging the boatmen to set sail; soon all the boats at the ferry had set off, and incoming people were still looking for boats, even bringing their own, hastily making their way to the Flowing Sun River Market.

"What on earth... Why are so many people heading to the Flowing Sun today?"

"They're all from Foundation Establishment families and cultivation forces; what happened?"

Everyone was speculating!

"You mean you don't know? A disaster happened, the main sect of Profound Yang Sect was completely burned down, the fire spread, and it's said even the Sect Leader died. The Yin Yang Demon Sect has returned, razing Qingyang Market and Profound Yang Market, and the Profound Yang Sect is finished!"

At this moment, a voice sounded: "People from various powers hurried here upon hearing the news, trying to evacuate their resources from this place. If they're late, they'll be plundered by Demon Cultivators!"

Instantly, the entire Ma Mountain Ferry erupted among those waiting to board!

"What!"

"Is it true, wasn't the Yin Yang Demon Sect destroyed long ago?"

"How could the Profound Yang Sect fall!"

Everyone was in disbelief; the news was shocking!

Beneath the mud, Li An closed his eyes tightly, a slight heaviness in his heart.

Everything... has finally come.

He didn't even know if Tan Qingxue and Wang Dazhu had left the main sect as he advised.

But he wasn't too worried.

Neither Tan Qingxue nor Wang Dazhu were worth risking his life to save.

He had done all he could for them, ensured his own absolute safety; if they did die, he might sigh but definitely wouldn't be too sad!

"From the fall of the Profound Yang Sect to the fleeing people arriving here, it should've only taken about a day..."

Li An murmured to himself.

And late at night, he suddenly sensed some movement in the mud not far away. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he understood—one of the Demon Cultivators was digging into the mud to set up an array.

Just as Li An had speculated, these Demon Cultivators were also setting up a deadly array, waiting for the weary Profound Yang Sect fugitives to arrive, awaiting a massacre!

"The Yin Yang Demon Sect indeed has experts..."

Li An felt some trepidation in his heart, intentionally staying off to the side!

The location where the Demon Cultivator was setting up the array was actually the best spot for arranging a deadly array aimed at the entire ferry.

Surely someone proficient in arrays had come to scout the scene.

Li An even suspected that it might be a Foundation Establishment Stage expert!

However, he wasn't nervous; after all, he came here with a casual mindset.

If there was a chance, he would make a move to gain more for his future life as a Loose Cultivator.

If the Demon Cultivators were too powerful, he wouldn't act and would wait until the Yin Yang Demon Sect killed all the escapees and left before safely departing.

...

At this moment.

Qingyang Market—

The entire market had become a ruin. A Foundation Establishment Stage Demon Cultivator, leading dozens of followers, surrounded the Spirit Talisman Shop!

"What's going on? You didn't find anyone?!"

The Foundation Establishment Stage Demon Cultivator's face was extremely gloomy!

"Yes, Commander, we've slaughtered the entire market, but we didn't see that black-hearted Talisman Master!"

A middle-aged man replied anxiously.

"Who's keeping watch?"

The Foundation Establishment Stage demon cultivator asked coldly.

The young man beside him suddenly turned pale and hurriedly knelt on the ground: "Leader, I've been keeping a close watch the whole time. That black-hearted talisman master really didn't leave; I don't know why he's not there…"

The Foundation Establishment Stage demon cultivator merely raised a hand and instantly seized the young man's throat.

Snap!

His throat burst open, blood flowing profusely.

The surrounding demon cultivators remained extremely calm, without a ripple of emotion.

"Leader, just a minor talisman master, can he really affect anything…?"

The middle-aged man couldn't help but speak.

The Foundation Establishment Stage demon cultivator said, "The overall situation is settled, of course there's no impact."

"I'm just curious."

"If that black-hearted talisman master was just not in the marketplace by chance and thus escaped, so be it."

"But this person's character is so timid; he seldom leaves the marketplace over the years, and now we're keeping a close watch on him, yet he managed to escape…"

"Do you know what that means?"

The middle-aged man's face slightly changed.

"It means that our plan might have never been hidden from this black-hearted talisman master from the beginning—"

The Foundation Establishment Stage demon cultivator's eyes revealed an unprecedented seriousness: "This person must not be underestimated. Issue the kill order: wherever the black-hearted talisman master is encountered, kill without mercy. For those who kill him, they will be rewarded with an upper-grade furnace cauldron, a Foundation Establishment Pill, and half a volume of Profound Rank cultivation technique—"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked beyond words!

The kill order!

Such a thing has only been used once since the Yin Yang Demon Sect resurfaced in the territory of Great Li dozens of years ago!

But, that time the target was a true expert, who had achieved Foundation Establishment Perfection and was about to attack Core Formation!

This black-hearted talisman master, however, was merely at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, yet managed to become the second target.

Moreover, the bounty was so generous!

"Is it really necessary…"

Even the middle-aged man couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.

"Of course it is; in this world, those with strength are naturally terrifying, but those with intellect are even more worthy of caution—"

The Foundation Establishment Stage demon cultivator said coldly: "The black-hearted talisman master has been completely driven to the opposite side of us, so we must not give him a chance to grow. Even if he seems weak and worthless now, we must not take him lightly. Underestimating him could lead to our downfall in the future."

"I even suspect that Senior Brother Zhang was killed by him back in the day…"

He recalled something.

Back then, Senior Brother Zhang was ordered by master Life-taking Horse-Faced to handle matters in Qingyang marketplace, but he never returned.

If Li An killed Senior Brother Zhang.

Gained Senior Brother Zhang's inheritance.

And released Gu Hong, who was imprisoned by Senior Brother Zhang…

Then everything.

All makes sense!

"What a cunning Li An… we must prevent him from growing!"

The Foundation Establishment Stage demon cultivator's eyes were icy cold as he recalled Li An's other nickname: the Demon Dao Nemesis!

This nickname... must not become reality.

...

Meanwhile, within Liuyang River marketplace.

Though it had not yet been attacked by the Demon Sect, the entire marketplace was already in chaos!

The ships of various major powers blocked the city gate entrances completely.

All the shops were packing up and rushing out, even the cultivators stationed by the Profound Yang Sect in Qingyang marketplace were helpless, and there was panic in people's hearts!

On the street.

A veiled lady, upon hearing news about the Profound Yang Sect, suddenly stood still…

"Qingyang marketplace has fallen…"

"Li An!"

She murmured, as if calling out for someone.

At that moment, a sudden impulse arose within her, compelling her to head towards Qingyang marketplace to find Li An's whereabouts…

But, after a long silence.

She walked out of Liuyang River marketplace, heading towards a ship that had long been waiting for her.

"To Xu Family Town."

She spoke calmly.

—Last time, when the Profound Yang Sect ambushed Life-taking Horse-Faced, it was Xu Qiuhui who brought her there.

If Xu Qiuhui hasn't died, she will certainly return to Xu Family Town.

In this great chaos, Tan Qingxue remained calm and rational, not overwhelmed by emotions, making the choice most beneficial to her.

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.