For a mighty immortal, he was surprisingly poor—just one ax and one storage treasure…

Indeed, cultivators who mingled in the mortal world were mostly just dabblers in the profession…

Amidst the swirling black ashes, Li Changshou stored the ring-shaped storage treasure and the battle-ax in his Heaven Series Number Four storage bag, retrieved the Soul-Capturing Zhenzhu, and jumped to the cliff’s edge, crouching before the three Immortal Solution Grass plants.

Taking out two prepared jade boxes and placing two self-refined antidote pills under his tongue, he wrapped his hands in eighteen layers of magical power. Working swiftly yet carefully, he uprooted two of the more mature poisonous plants and quickly sealed them in the jade boxes.

Never harvest to extinction, lest fortune turn against you.

Finally…

Li Changshou showed a slight smile.

He quickly stood up, not daring to linger, also worried that Yu Wen Ling might have other accomplices.

He first rushed to the fallen head of the Three-Eyed Azure Wave Snake, took out the storage bag marked ‘Earth Two’ from his chest, directly stored the snake head, sealed it with talismans, and placed it in the Mysterious Series Number Four storage treasure.

This thing should yield some good poison for his little junior sister’s self-defense; the snake’s body was too large and tough to collect in a hurry, so he had to settle for less.

The rolling snake venom still lingered around, while the corpses of the masked men had already been burned clean by the three ‘combat’ paper dolls.

For non-immortal targets, the cold ghostly fire burned effortlessly; the slight remnant ashes of those people had now merged with their general, waiting to disperse with the wind…

Afterward, Li Changshou and four paper dolls worked together to scatter two bottles of medicinal powder in various places.

The human blood on the ground instantly ignited, sprouting patches of green ghost fire that made the bloodstains vanish in an instant.

Mm, purifying the primordial environment and protecting the North Continent’s ecology was an undeniable duty of human cultivators!

After collecting several storage treasures, Li Changshou’s gaze swept the area while his spiritual sense probed all movements within ten li, and his hands began forming seals.

After confirming nothing was overlooked, the surrounding figures transformed into paper dolls and slipped back into Li Changshou’s sleeve.

Retrieving his umbrella and merging into the rock layer, Li Changshou quietly left the area.

After the formation dispersed, poison mist and miasma surged in, bringing with them a slight breeze.

Under the cypress remained only a headless snake corpse, several pools of venomous snake blood, crisscrossing cracks in the ground, and a cliff on the verge of collapse…

That old cypress with its new hairstyle gently swayed its remaining branches in the wind, as if bidding a reluctant farewell to Li Changshou hidden in the earth.

…

Using earth travel techniques, Li Changshou quietly approached the place where his two fellow disciples were fighting.

Poisonous Xianya was controlling her flying swords to barrage Elder Yuan, who could no longer defend effectively and was covered in wounds, his robes soaked with blood.

This Elder Yuan…

Void Return realm cultivation, probably achieved through pill-stacking?

Was this supposedly the second-ranked among disciples of the same generation?

If everyone in the current disciple rankings was at this level, then in the sect’s grand competition a few years later, if he prepared some pills and self-developed magical tools for Ling E, she could probably make it into the top hundred…

Li Changshou secretly crept to the outskirts of their battle, calculated Yu Qin Xianya’s attack rhythm, and thrust one hand out from the ground to forcefully throw a porcelain bottle at Elder Yuan.

—It was the now-empty bottle of supreme-grade Soft Immortal Powder.

A faint whooshing sound came from behind, and Elder Yuan, who had just deflected two flying swords, casually swung his sword backward, striking the porcelain bottle precisely and shattering it instantly.

Hm? Where did this porcelain… bot…

Elder Yuan’s eyelids drooped, not even having time to withdraw his sword as his body swayed, about to fall forward.

At this moment, four flying swords whistled through the air from the front!

And Elder Yuan, falling forward, ‘actively’ spread his arms to welcome the incoming swords!

Yu Qin Xianya had not intended to kill Elder Yuan here—no matter how despicable he was in her eyes, he was still a disciple of the sect and needed to be taken back to the mountain gate for the masters to deal with.

But now, Elder Yuan suddenly stopped resisting…

Yu Qin Xianya, just as Li Changshou had calculated, wasn’t very proficient with this sword control technique. She had no time to recall the swords and the four blades instantly pierced Elder Yuan’s neck, forehead, chest, and abdomen.

The precision was remarkable—destroying his three hun souls, piercing his dantian, clean and thorough, leaving no chance of survival.

“This…”

Yu Qin Xianya was stunned, then seemed to realize something and sighed softly.

She descended from mid-air, jumping off her flying sword and quickly walking toward Elder Yuan’s corpse…

Elder Yuan had departed very peacefully.

Indeed very peacefully—he hadn’t felt any threat of death, falling into dreams in an instant, unable to wake even when his body was pierced, with a faint smile still on his lips.

Even a trace of supreme-grade Soft Immortal Powder was far beyond what Elder Yuan could withstand at this point.

But that smile on Elder Yuan’s face, in Yu Qin Xianya’s eyes…

“Even with a heart as evil as yours, did you still have a moment of repentance?

Were you also forced by others?”

Yu Qin Xianya’s gaze showed a trace of reluctance. She shook her head as her flying swords quickly returned and merged, bursting into roaring flames to form that great sword, which hung itself on her back.

Hearing such self-talk, Li Changshou underground couldn’t help but give a thumbs up.

Poisonous junior sister, worthy indeed of being Poisonous junior sister, actually possessing the supreme ability to comfort herself!

Besides, not quickly leave after killing an opponent when uncertain of the surroundings, but instead stay here to reminisce and lament…

Someone who hadn’t been beaten down by life yet—too carefree.

At this moment, Yu Qin Xianya looked up at the now-quiet cliff. She could no longer sense any living presence there, and that terrifying poisonous snake demon had also gone quiet…

‘I wonder how Senior Brother Changshou is doing. I should take Elder Yuan’s corpse and quickly go check.’

With that, Yu Qin Xianya took two steps toward Elder Yuan, just about to wrap his corpse in spiritual power when suddenly her eyelids drooped and her body slowly fell backward.

With a clang, the great sword crashed to the ground…

Almost simultaneously, the earth beneath Elder Yuan showed subtle ripples as the porcelain fragments quietly merged into the ground;

These ripples quickly spread toward Yu Qin Xianya, and when they reached beneath her, a hand emerged and casually grabbed her long hair.

This merciless iron hand pulled forcefully, dragging the unconscious Yu Qin Xianya directly underground…

The ripples on the ground gently wavered a few times before disappearing, restoring their original flatness and firmness.

A cultivator’s defensive power throughout their body far exceeded that of ordinary people, including their scalp follicles; though this action wasn’t elegant, it was convenient and provided a secure grip, while avoiding unnecessary misunderstandings and having no risk of actually making a Void Return realm cultivator bald.

When Li Changshou acted, he just wanted to quickly drag the person away and leave this place of trouble.

As for Elder Yuan’s corpse…

Since he hadn’t killed the person himself, there was no need to scatter the ashes—removing the porcelain bottle fragments was enough;

Soft Immortal Powder was just a sleeping drug, and would completely dissipate after two days of death, making it difficult to detect traces.

Moreover, when the sect’s immortals arrived later, it would be harder to explain if they couldn’t find any trace of the corpse.

Deep in the earth, Li Changshou dragged the sleeping Yu Qin Xianya, heading straight southeast like two swimming fish, quickly disappearing.

…

“Ah! This damned formation is simply driving! Me! Crazy!”

With Jiu Yu’s angry shout, the ground constantly trembled beneath her feet, making the poisonous insects and beasts in the misty area tremble and cower in fear.

Due to the formation’s seal, this piece of earth still stood firm, not crumbling under Immortal Jiu’s feet…

In a corner to the side, Wang Qi and Liu Yanr were leaning against each other, looking dejected and dispirited.

Being trapped here for so long naturally affected their mental state, but it was precisely this environment that had rapidly accelerated their feelings for each other, and they now addressed each other as “Senior Sister Yanr” and “Little Qi.”

By the way, Qi in Wang Qi’s name wasn’t the character for strange…

Half the reason for Jiu Yu’s irritability was being provoked by these two little lovebirds…

After venting some of her inner fury, Jiu Yu crossed her arms and sat cross-legged three feet above the ground, continuing to ponder countermeasures.

Liu Yanr walked over slowly and said softly: “Master Uncle Jiu, please don’t worry too much. Heaven protects the worthy, and our fellow disciples might already be waiting in town.”

Jiu Yu snorted: “After so long, their corpses might be gone already!”

“Master Uncle…”

Liu Yanr continued to persuade, “Didn’t you say yesterday, Master Uncle, that counting the days, the sect should have sent people by now?

Perhaps we’ll be free soon.”

“Aiya,” Jiu Yu frantically ruffled her medium-length hair, “Who knows if those three are dead or alive!

If anything happens to Li Changshou, how will I explain it to his master?

If those two precious immortal seedlings perish, my wine money for a hundred years is finished!”

Several black lines appeared on Liu Yanr’s forehead. Though she knew Master Uncle Jiu was somewhat contrary in speech and truly cared about them in her heart, she still felt that Master Uncle…

Did care more about her wine money…

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew through the formation, and a sigh echoed from all directions.

Following it came to that emotionless elderly voice:

“Little Jiu, do you know your crime?”

Jiu Yu couldn’t help but shudder, lowering her slender feet and softly replying: “Ma-Master?”

Liu Yanr was also startled and said in surprise: “Has Master Wanqing personally come to find us?”

The surrounding white mist began to rapidly recede, and the three people’s immortal and spiritual senses finally broke free from the trapping formation, extending unhindered in all directions…

Just then, two figures flew over from afar and crashed in front of Jiu Yu.

They were two white-haired elders dressed in black, both Yuan Immortal realm cultivators, now both severely injured and unconscious, each bearing a sunken palm print on their body.

Wang Qi excitedly called from the side: “Master Uncle Jiu, it was these two! They were the ones who attacked Senior Sister Yanr and me!”

Jiu Yu immediately knelt without hesitation, touching her forehead to the ground, and said dejectedly:

“Master,

This disciple was schemed against, and three young juniors have lost contact.

This disciple willingly accepts all punishment, but please quickly search for traces of those three and see if any survive!”

At this moment, the surrounding white mist had disappeared, and several figures appeared in the distance.

The Daoist at the front was no more than five feet tall, and seeing Jiu Yu kneeling so earnestly, he also felt somewhat embarrassed. He couldn’t help but lower his head and cough, saying with a smile:

“Our master hasn’t come, it’s me, ahem, you clever and handsome… Fifth Senior Brother…”

“Hm?”

There’s killing intent!

The short Daoist immediately trembled, still trying to salvage the situation, but the junior sister in hemp clothes from afar had already stomped her foot and shot forward along the ground!

Swift as an arrow released from a divine bow, creating successive sonic booms!