Chapter 69: Don't Force Me to Draw My Sword

Initially, Li Changshou wasn't quite used to transferring his consciousness into this paper effigy.

It was a feeling of being thin, light, fragile, and helpless, with no defense and utterly insecure.

But after moving around for a moment, he adapted.

After leaving the market town and confirming he was being followed, Li Changshou feigned ignorance and flew on his cloud towards his predetermined location.

Because the area around Linhai Town was equipped with an Anti-Five Elements formation that prohibited casual movement by escape techniques, he had to gain some distance before he could use Earth Evasion to leave.

Of those 'strange burly men' who were tailing him, two had already gotten ahead and set up a few formation traps in the dense forest.

'They must have noticed me when I took out the high-grade spirit stones,' Li Changshou pondered, feeling a bit helpless.

Spirit stones were considered hard currency in the East Continent and Central Continent because they had the widest range of uses, cultivators all had a need for them, and their production was stable.

High-grade spirit stones were generally produced only in the core of spirit veins, making them rare and valuable, their worth far exceeding that of ordinary spirit stones.

The dense forest three hundred *zhang* ahead was likely where they planned to strike.

It was just beyond the edge of the Anti-Five Elements formation, the boundary where he could finally use Earth Evasion to escape.

The opponents had clearly planned meticulously.

The combat strength of his paper effigy was debatable, and its defense was certainly poor, possessing only the strength of a Return-to-Void stage cultivator.

However, the immortal power was infused by himself, allowing him to directly unleash powerful spells.

This place was relatively close to the market town; though secluded, intense vital energy fluctuations would certainly attract the attention of many cultivators.

Moreover, if the paper effigy consumed too much immortal power, it would easily 'run out of fuel' and be unable to return home.

The paper effigy carried one-third of his assets.

Although he had paper effigies two and three as backup, it was naturally better not to incur any losses if possible.

He had to finish the fight quickly and prevent the opponents from touching him!

The closer he got to the traps laid by the opponents, the more intense the feeling of gazes converging on him became.

Since his main body wasn't here, he didn't receive any spiritual warnings.

Li Changshou glanced at the rhomboid gem hanging from his waist, his second most satisfying result in artifact crafting: the Perception Stone.

(His most satisfying result was the Soul-Capturing Bead.)

In these six years, besides adding restrictions like 'mind attachment' and 'stabilizing immortal power' to the paper effigy, he had only made this small item.

At this moment, the gem glowed purplish-red, indicating that three or more immortal senses or spiritual senses were locked onto him.

In the forest ahead, the two figures hiding behind trees had wary looks in their eyes.

Another person, hidden behind a cloud in the sky, appeared to be merely passing by, but maintained the same flying speed and direction as Li Changshou.

So brazen?

The market town was indeed chaotic, teeming with rogue cultivators and a mix of good and bad, and once outside the town, there were no rules.

One hundred *zhang* to their trap...

Fifty *zhang*...

Ten *zhang*...

Li Changshou suddenly stopped his cloud and murmured, "I forgot to buy a few things."

With that, he turned and began to leave in the direction of the market town.

Suddenly, a flash of treasure light descended from above, and two figures each appeared from behind and in front, rushing towards Li Changshou with gleaming treasures in their hands!

Li Changshou's mouth twitched slightly, but he immediately put on a look of alarm and rapidly plunged towards the jungle below.

"You! Who are you?!"

Barely, a three-foot-tall square seal, carrying the force of ten thousand thunderbolts, slammed down directly in front of him!

A strong gust of wind swept over him, making the paper effigy's long hair dance wildly!

The moment he landed, five figures lunged at him simultaneously from front, back, and above.

Li Changshou hastily retreated two steps, gripped the hilt of the sword on his shoulder, and shouted loudly:

"Wait! We can talk!"

The five, however, did not pause at all; two cast spells, two hurled treasures, and they rushed towards Li Changshou.

Li Changshou's eyes narrowed; his long sword was drawn three inches from its sheath, and wisps of colorless, traceless powder, propelled by his immortal power, drifted silently towards the five.

He employed exquisite footwork, narrowly dodging incoming magical treasures, spells, and talismans, appearing quite disheveled.

The highest-cultivated attacker in the air opened his left hand towards Li Changshou.

Instantly, mysterious ripples appeared around Li Changshou, and his movements slowed down.

The treasured seal slammed down again!

Li Changshou's aura vibrated, directly revealing his Origin Immortal cultivation, forcibly shattering the surrounding ripples, and once again narrowly dodging the seal's strike!

His eyes burned with anger, and he roared, "Don't force me to draw my sword!"

In the air, the middle-aged Daoist, an early-stage True Immortal, sneered, retrieved his treasured seal, and hurled it again, aiming for Li Changshou's forehead.

The other four cast more spells and divine abilities, blocking Li Changshou's escape routes.

In the Great Desolation, the art of smashing people with bricks had been popular for a long time.

Suddenly, the weakest among them, a Return-to-Dao stage cultivator, cried out with a tremor, "Litt..."

The others looked in the direction of the voice, but at the same time, their vision blurred.

The True Immortal in the air turned pale; just as he was about to turn and fly swiftly, his body inexplicably staggered, and he plummeted headfirst from the sky!

The four on the ground fell even faster, instantly sprawling across the forest floor.

Li Changshou raised his left hand, and the Luo Tian Treasure Umbrella rose into the air, unfurling to create an isolation formation.

His retreating steps, while holding the sword hilt, paused; he suddenly dashed forward close to the ground, finally drawing his long... sword?

This was no long sword at all!

Below the hilt was half a sword blade, but the blade was edgeless, and the tip consisted of seven magical ropes!

Li Changshou swung this strange long sword, and its ropes instantly extended like Old Daoist Qiyuan's horsetail whisk, swiftly binding the True Immortal who hadn't yet landed, as well as the other four!

With a casual tug from Li Changshou, the five figures instantly gathered before him!

At the same time, from Li Changshou's sleeve, three paper effigies somersaulted out, transforming into three stern-faced old Daoists before they even landed.

Paper Effigy No. 1 pulled out a demon-quelling wooden fish; Paper Effigy No. 2 held a soul-summoning golden bell and produced two jars of Immortal-Incinerating Powder; Paper Effigy No. 3 adopted a stance like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

The five fell in a heap before Li Changshou; No. 2 immediately scattered Immortal-Incinerating Powder, and No. 3 stripped them of their storage magical treasures.

Several clusters of Samadhi True Flames erupted from Li Changshou's palm, and he stuffed them among the five.

The flames instantly surged...

The wooden fish was struck, bells chimed repeatedly, and chanting began.

Li Changshou kept his gaze fixed on the direction of the market town, seeing that someone seemed to be watching from there, but no one approached.

His immortal sense swept the surrounding ten *li*, wary of any disturbance, and the Soul-Capturing Bead he threw out began to spin rapidly, absorbing the remnant souls of the five at once.

From the moment he counterattacked until only a pile of ashes remained before him, less than a *zhancha* had passed.

Li Changshou activated his Earth Evasion technique, reinserted the long sword into the sheath on his back, and the paper effigies sequentially jumped back into his sleeve.

The few magical treasures on the ground, already half-destroyed by the Samadhi True Flames, were also collected by him into a special treasure pouch for waste.

As a final step, Li Changshou shook his sleeve, and the ashes scattered with the wind, becoming nutrients for the local vegetation.

Retrieving the modified Luo Tian Treasure Umbrella, he stepped into the 'quicksand' on the ground and swiftly disappeared, fleeing north.

Those who were investigating the area only caught a glimpse of his departing back and his murmured words.

"I told you, don't make me draw my sword."

This sword cultivator, truly formidable...

***

Li Changshou, calculating that the paper effigy's immortal power reserves were still ample, first travelled ten thousand *li* north, then ventured east for a while, before returning to the Immortal Du Sect using his evasion technique.

The previous situation had indeed been perilous...

Fortunately, the True Immortal was careless and underestimated him, also accustomed to bludgeoning people with magical treasures, and didn't fully exert his strength, so he was taken down by the poison powder Li Changshou released.

Now, Li Changshou had a new soporific that replaced the Soft Immortal Powder — the Spirit-Dazing Soul-Intoxicating Powder.

There were a total of six types of poison powder released when he drew his 'sword' just now; the moment the True Immortal fell from the sky, he was actually half-dead, and what was finally consumed by the Samadhi True Flames was merely his still twitching primordial spirit.

'If I had been so careless, it would have been me who died,' Li Changshou sighed inwardly, taking this as a lesson.

All sense of joy from winning a battle and gaining a few people's assets for free was gone.

There was nothing to be happy about; being targeted meant he was still not steady enough, or too rash in his actions.

He'd go back and write a self-reflection, and next time, he'd let his master wander around for a few more days.

But... looking at the treasure pouches in his sleeve filled with spiritual herbs, poisonous plants, and spirit beast cubs, he estimated he'd be busy for three to five years.

Get rich! Protect the Dao with abundant wealth!

Hurrying along the way, Li Changshou arrived back at the dense forest he had left at the appointed time.

Peeking out from under the ground, the paper effigy quickly set the square box in place, glanced at his Perception Stone, and saw that it was faintly flashing.

Li Changshou quickly located his master hiding ten *li* away and transmitted, "Master, please withdraw your immortal sense for a moment."

Old Daoist Qiyuan, who was curiously observing the paper effigy, immediately responded and withdrew his immortal sense.

The rhomboid immortal stone indeed stopped flashing.

The paper effigy slowly shrugged and swayed, muttering:

"Small, small, small..."

Wisps of immortal light swirled around it, and the reinforced paper effigy reappeared, its small cloth bag on its shoulder bulging; it nimbly hopped into the box and conveniently pulled the lid shut.

"All right, Master, take the box back, pretend nothing happened, and just return to the mountain. Next time, we'll find a suitable reason to go out for a stroll."

Old Daoist Qiyuan let out a soft chuckle, flew over on his cloud, and took the square box.

Li Changshou's consciousness returned to his main body in the alchemy room, and he immediately let out a long sigh of relief.

That feeling of being fragile, helpless, weak, and pitiful finally disappeared.

His main body was still the most comfortable... and secure.

***

'What exactly would Senior Brother Changshou like?'

Inside the Immortal Du Sect, on Potian Peak, not far from the dwelling of the Nine Drunken Immortals, was a cave dwelling in a cliff face.

This cave dwelling looked unassuming from the outside, but its interior was exquisitely furnished.

Upon entering the cave, one found an elegant 'hall'; to the left was a lotus pond, one *zhang* long and wide, its bottom paved with spirit jade, the pond water emanating a gentle glow, and occasionally one or two koi fish could be seen beneath the lotus leaves.

To the right was a spacious reception room with prayer mats, couches, and screens, flanked by curtains, and several landscape paintings adorned the rock walls.

Further inside, there were two branching paths; one led to the living and cultivation quarters of the cave's owner, True Immortal Jiang Jingshan.

The other led to the private chambers of Jiang Jingshan's direct disciple, the Immortal Du Sect's current chief disciple of the younger generation, Youqin Xuanya.

At this moment, Youqin Xuanya, who had just awakened from a state of enlightenment, was pondering the aforementioned question.

Her master had said before that exchanging gifts was an effective way to deepen relationships.

She wanted to give Senior Brother Changshou a gift and also wanted to receive a gift in return from him, to prove that Senior Brother Changshou also considered her a 'friend.'

Close friends needed continuous communication and deepening of their bond; they were friends with whom one could talk about anything, a level of friendship Youqin Xuanya yearned for.

Unfortunately, she still had... none.

'My cultivation isn't high, and I only have Earth Evasion; it might make people laugh if I say it.'

Earth Evasion.

Youqin Xuanya gently blinked her eyes, and as her eyelashes fluttered, she had already thought of something.

She turned and walked towards the wardrobe.

The furnishings in the room were actually quite simple, but the few pieces of furniture were made of extraordinary materials.

She took out a jewelry box from the wardrobe, and as soon as it was opened, it overflowed with brilliance, revealing many glittering spiritual lights.

These were all gifts from her imperial parents before she came to the Immortal Du Sect to cultivate immortality.

Although the mundane world of Southern Continent was now mixed with turbid qi, and human emperors and monarchs were involved in too much karma, few cultivators dared to interfere with a monarch's lifespan or fate.

However, this did not prevent these monarchs from obtaining cultivation methods through various means.

Nearly half of the mundane human monarchs had means to extend their lifespans, and Youqin Kingdom was a typical example of mortal and immortal realms mixed, where everyone from the monarch to generals possessed cultivation, comparable to a small immortal sect.

Youqin Xuanya searched in the jewelry box for a while, and soon picked out an earthy yellow treasure bead.

This was not a magical treasure, but a treasure bead formed naturally from a spirit vein, containing pure Five-Element Earth power; though not a major treasure, it offered a certain enhancement to earth-attribute spells.

It also provided a similar benefit to Earth Evasion techniques.

Such naturally formed treasure beads were hundreds of times more valuable than magical treasures or artifacts with similar effects.

"Will Senior Brother think the gift is too light?"

Youqin Xuanya pondered carefully for a moment but still made up her mind, took a small brocade box, and placed the treasure bead inside.

After thinking it over, she took out a brocade handkerchief, and after half an hour of deliberation and hesitation, finally wrote a sentence on it:

'To Senior Brother Changshou'

Folding the handkerchief to cover the treasure bead and closing the brocade box, she smiled faintly with pursed lips, and her lotus steps became much lighter.