Why abandon a legitimate business and come here to fight with the disciples of Shenxiao Palace?
Filled with doubt, Lu Yuanshan decided to stay and observe carefully, to understand the situation.
Over on Shenxiao Palace’s side, Lu Yuanshan actually considered lending a hand—after all, they had cooperated with the Cyan Mountain Sect before, and the sect had obtained three Shenxiao Decrees from them afterward.
However, he couldn’t act impulsively right now; a single misstep could land him in serious trouble.
While Lu Yuanshan was secretly observing, Lu Ping’s voice came through.
"Thinking of getting involved?"
Lu Hongniang and Xu Yang were recognized by Lu Ping, who guessed at Lu Yuanshan’s thoughts.
Lu Yuanshan nodded slightly, using Communication to briefly explain the purchase of the map fragment yesterday and the matter concerning the small cultivator to Lu Ping.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ping pondered briefly and then responded.
"A map fragment priced at a thousand Spirit Stones was bought by you for merely a hundred; there must be something fishy going on."
"I also find it odd, but after getting hold of the map fragment, I didn’t notice anything unusual about it."
"Nothing suspicious was found surrounding when lodging at the inn last night either."
"When circumstances are abnormal, demons are at play. Stay vigilant, as it might be a bait-and-snatch plot."
Such bait-and-snatch schemes are not rare in the Cultivation Realm.
If a young cultivator new to the world of cultivation and unacquainted with its treacherous and harsh nature comes across a map fragment, they might presume they’ve encountered a great opportunity—perhaps a chance to inherit the legacy left by a Golden Core Ancestor, thereby rapidly ascending.
With such thoughts, they might fall into someone else’s scheme, getting entangled in their trap.
An experienced cultivator could easily see through this ploy.
"This fragment can indeed be assembled with the previous one; it doesn’t appear to be a randomly sketched map."
"I can’t yet figure out whether there’s bait-and-snatch involved, and whether he’s deliberately scheming against me to covet my belongings."
"Currently, I don’t have the capability to traverse the Qingli Sea either."
"The map’s cave mansion matter can be considered later."
As soon as Lu Yuanshan finished speaking, a fierce battle erupted as the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators launched a joint attack.
Lu Hongniang and Xu Yang, still at the Qi Cultivation Stage, were absolutely no match for the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators in terms of strength.
But another Shenxiao Palace disciple was on display; his cultivation level reached the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment.
This person, named Lin Hanshu, was an Inner Sect Disciple of Shenxiao Palace, leading Lu Hongniang and Xu Yang to Hidden Mist Island for this year’s Trade Conference.
Confronted with the attacks from the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Lin Hanshu struggled slightly.
He wielded a Magical Treasure, a Tier Two High-Grade Thunder Attribute Flying Sword, while the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators facing him were Loose Cultivators.
The small cultivator who sold the map, named Sun He, was at the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment.
The other one, named Jin Hall, was on the verge of entering Mid-stage Foundation Establishment as well.
With two at the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment, the chances against Lin Hanshu were very high.
"How despicable you are!"
"How dare you target the disciples of Shenxiao Palace, with such malicious intentions!"
Lu Hongniang, lacking strength, could only stand guarding on the side with glaring eyes, feeling extremely displeased.
On the other side, Xu Yang felt the same, not daring to step forward and join the battle, resorting to placing Magical Tools in front of him for defense.
Qi Cultivators, even those at the Great Perfection of Qi Cultivation Stage, couldn’t compete with Second-Layer and Third-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivators; rushing into battle blindly would be suicidal.
Thus, Lin Hanshu faced Sun He and Jin Hall alone.
Lin Hanshu wielded his Thunder Attribute Flying Sword, clashing violently with Sun He’s Flying Sword, both evenly matched and stalemated in mid-air.
Meanwhile, Jin Hall saw an opportunity and immediately wielded his Flying Sword to strike Lin Hanshu from the side—a sneak attack. Latest content publıshed on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁
"Uncle Master Lin, watch out!"
Lu Hongniang shouted in alarm, unable to hold back anymore, and wielded a Magical Tool to attempt to guard Lin Hanshu from this attack.
Although not expecting to neutralize the attack, even blocking a little would be great.
Nevertheless, the gap in strength was clearly evident, not something she could disrupt.
Before her Sword could shield Lin Hanshu, Jin Hall’s Flowing Light Flying Sword was within less than three feet of Lin Hanshu.
At this juncture, Lin Hanshu did not reveal panic, instead summoning a black Shield Spiritual Artifact, projecting a Shield light to block in front of him.
"Spirit Turtle Shield!"
Sun He recognized the artifact at once, crafted from the shell of a Deep Sea Spirit Turtle, and among Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts, the Spirit Turtle Shield’s defensive power was already at the apex.
The Flowing Light Flying Sword hadn’t reached the Tier Three level and was promptly blocked when striking the shield light emitted by the Spirit Turtle Shield.
"Unexpectedly, a mainland cultivator wields a Defensive Spiritual Artifact commonly found among sea cultivators!"
Sun He’s eyes narrowed, a flashing greed in his gaze toward the Spirit Turtle Shield.
In the Qingli Sea Cultivation Realm, the Spirit Turtle Shield’s price was not only four to five times higher than Magical Artifacts of the same tier but also not easily obtainable.
Sun He had been crawling and practicing for over forty years, and this was only the second time he’d witnessed the Spirit Turtle Shield in action during battle.
The last encounter was more than ten years ago, when a Han-named Loose Cultivator wielded the Spirit Turtle Shield, enlightening Sun He to its formidable defensive power.
That battle eventually ended with him fleeing, unable to break open his opponent’s defense.
This time, seeing the Spirit Turtle Shield again, Sun He gritted his teeth inwardly, determined to seize this Magical Treasure.
Such a long time since he’d seen a top-grade Magical Artifact like the Spirit Turtle Shield; Sun He felt a compelling urge and quickly summoned Jin Hall.
"Let’s make quick work of this, don’t hold back!"
Jin Hall, having heard this, was already quite familiar with Sun He’s summons.
For over a month, they’ve schemed against several impulsive buyers, exploiting market transactions in Purple Cloud Market by selling treasures and probing the potential buyers’ background and strength.
On all items sold, Sun He discreetly applied a unique incense.
This incense was called "Fragrance".
It was entirely harmless, causing no harm even if inhaled.
Its sole use was marking the location of treasures.
Simply put, once marked with Fragrance, and as long as the bearer remained within the confines of Hidden Mist Island, Sun He could easily trace their movements and keep their itinerary firmly under control.
The map fragment bought by Lu Yuanshan also had this Fragrance applied by Sun He.
When Sun He conducted the transaction with Lu Yuanshan, he covertly noted Lu Yuanshan’s strength, finding himself somewhat intimidated upon discovering Lu Yuanshan was at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.