Just like that, Li Chang'an refused all invitations, dedicating himself to cultivating and practicing Talisman Painting at home.
'My Talisman Art has improved again.'
Li Chang'an smiled as he picked up a freshly painted Talisman to inspect it.
Over the past few days, he had grown increasingly proficient with Tier One Middle Grade Talismans, and his success rate was steadily climbing.
'I really do have a talent for Talismans!'
He could clearly feel his own progress, which left Li Chang'an deeply satisfied.
The most frightening thing about cultivation is stagnating for long periods, getting stuck at a certain bottleneck.
Whether in one's personal cultivation or in various skills, so-called "bottlenecks" exist. Many cultivators get stuck for decades, never advancing another inch for the rest of their lives!
'Not leaving the house was the right choice. I'll just focus on honing my skills.'
Li Chang'an set down his Talisman Brush and began to recover his Magical Power and spiritual energy.
However, just because he could remain patient didn't mean others would.
That night, just after Midnight, a golden light appeared.
[Divination has been refreshed]
[Today's Divination: Ominous]
[Because you haven't left the Marketplace for a long time, a few Tribulation Cultivators are now in disagreement. The others are prepared to wait a little longer, but Wu Yun has decided to make a move directly within the Marketplace.]
'Wu Yun!'
Li Chang'an's gaze hardened.
'So he really is a Tribulation Cultivator!'
'It's a good thing I've been so cautious and refused every invitation.'
'Otherwise, that band of Tribulation Cultivators would have surrounded me the moment I stepped out of the Marketplace!'
'I've been cooped up inside, and yet danger has come knocking on my door.'
Li Chang'an mused.
'Wu Yun has put up a good front. Using his identity as a Talisman Master, he's befriended many people in the Marketplace. If I were to accuse him of being a Tribulation Cultivator, few would believe me.'
Since the other party had decided to act, he couldn't just sit back and wait to be killed.
...
「The next evening.」
Wu Yun appeared outside Li Chang'an's residence.
He was all smiles.
"Daoist Li, I have obtained a treasure and would like to invite you to appraise it."
"Ah, Daoist Wu, please come in..."
A hoarse, weary voice called out.
The door opened on its own.
The room was dim, its windows tightly shuttered.
Li Chang'an lay on a bed in the far corner of the room, his presence exceptionally faint, as if he were gravely injured.
Seeing this, Wu Yun frowned and asked, "Daoist Li, what happened to you?"
"Sigh... A few days ago, I made a mistake while circulating my energy and injured my meridians. It was only a minor discomfort at first, but the injury has been getting progressively worse."
Li Chang'an's voice was filled with bitterness.
"That's why I had to decline your invitation, Daoist Wu... COUGH, COUGH..."
"So that's what happened! Daoist Li, why didn't you say so earlier!"
Wu Yun's face was a mask of concern, but inwardly he was ecstatic.
'Damaged meridians!'
'That's an incredibly serious injury!'
'Once they're damaged, you can't use Magical Power anymore, or the injury will worsen at an alarming rate!'
'No wonder. He wouldn't even leave his house for a peerless treasure like Earth Dragon Saliva.'
'It turns out he was willing, but unable!'
"Daoist Li, I've dabbled a bit in the arts of a Spirit Doctor. Let me take a look at your injuries for you."
Wu Yun strode into the room, his words ringing with sincerity.
The concern and worry on his face looked completely genuine.
But just then...
Disaster struck without warning!
With a BANG, the door slammed shut.
BUZZ—!
Within the dim room, dozens of dazzling golden threads instantly flared to life.
They crisscrossed and overlapped, forming what looked like a great golden net that radiated an intensely dangerous aura.
It enveloped Wu Yun completely!
Wu Yun's eyes widened, his expression changing in an instant.
"Tier One Middle Grade Talismans!"
That terrifying golden light erupted from Tier One Middle Grade Talismans—Golden Saber Talismans.
This Talisman was an advanced version of the Mad Blade Talisman.
Its power was terrifying.
It posed a lethal threat even to cultivators at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining!
And now, numerous Golden Saber Talismans had been activated at once.
It all happened so suddenly that Wu Yun had no way to dodge.
'How is this possible? Did Li Chang'an just ignore his cultivation and spend a fortune in Spirit Stones to hoard dozens of Golden Saber Talismans? No, no... he must have already become a Middle Grade Talisman Master!'
Despair filled Wu Yun's heart, his face a mask of horror.
In that moment, he was consumed by regret.
He had originally thought that with his strength and the element of surprise, he could easily take down Li Chang'an.
'If I'd known Li Chang'an was hiding his true strength so well, I never would have come alone!'
SCHLICK—
In an instant, dozens of golden rays pierced through his body.
He shuddered violently.
Dozens of intersecting wounds instantly appeared all over his body.
In the next moment,
he disintegrated into chunks of flesh and blood, which splattered across the floor.
"Farewell, Daoist Wu."
With a cold expression, Li Chang'an's figure appeared outside the door.
The figure on the bed was a decoy, a false body he had created with a Tier One Middle Grade Memory Talisman!
Once Wu Yun took the bait, death was all that awaited him!
Li Chang'an had prepared a Five-Layered Deployment in total.
The Golden Saber Talismans were only the first layer.
This layer alone was enough to be the doom of many Middle Stage Qi Refining cultivators!
If Wu Yun had suddenly revealed some heaven-defying power and managed to endure the Five-Layered Deployment...
...then Li Chang'an would have had no choice but to flee!
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario didn't happen.
'I could have interrogated him if I'd captured him alive, but the risk was too great. Killing him outright was the proper course of action.'
Li Chang'an was actually a little puzzled. Why had this group of Tribulation Cultivators been so fixated on him?
They refused to give up, even after so much time.
'There must be a reason!'
'Could they be accomplices of the two Tribulation Cultivators I killed?'
But very few people knew about that incident.
The news hadn't spread.
'Could Zheng Jinbao have hired them?'
Li Chang'an speculated.
'In this life, since I began cultivating, the person who holds the biggest grudge against me is Zheng Jinbao.'
Although he didn't show it on the surface, he had never forgotten.
Zheng Jinbao was a member of the Zheng Family, after all; both his status and his cultivation were considerable.
Although the current Li Chang'an could make him feel a sliver of apprehension, he lacked the strength to take revenge.
He could only bide his time.
'Zheng Jinbao wouldn't dare move against me openly, but he'll most likely try to cause trouble from the shadows. I must be on my guard!'
Li Chang'an constantly reminded himself never to let his guard down.
Wu Yun was dead, but the rest of the Tribulation Cultivator gang was still alive and could make a move against him at any time.
Afterward, he began to clean up Wu Yun's remains.
After clearing away all the flesh and blood, Li Chang'an sat cross-legged, took out Wu Yun's Storage Pouch, and erased the restriction on it.
He opened it and took a look.
'Not bad. Another bountiful harvest.'
A smile spread across his face.
Inside the pouch, there were over a hundred Spirit Stones alone!
Additionally, there were quite a few Talismans and Elixir Pills. All told, their value was close to two hundred Spirit Stones.
There were also two Tier One Low Grade Magical Artifacts.
They were a Cyan Wood Sword and a Cyan Wood Shield. The quality of both was decent, and together they could probably sell for about a hundred Spirit Stones.
'This Wu Yun was both a Talisman Master and a Tribulation Cultivator, earning Spirit Stones from two sources. No wonder he was so wealthy!'
Li Chang'an couldn't help but marvel.
'His personal wealth is greater than that of the two Tribulation Cultivators I killed before combined!'
With a thought, Li Chang'an retrieved a Jade Scroll from the Storage Pouch.
This was the very Tier One Low Grade Talismanic Inheritance that Wu Yun had possessed.
He gave it a cursory scan.
Its contents were similar to the inheritance he had already obtained, with only minor differences in some of the details.