On the Path to Immortality: Mastering All Arts Chapter 21: When a Fake Meets a True Expert

After stripping the corpses clean, only a small amount of spirit stones remained. The Murong family’s hired thugs did not even carry storage bags, and the first-grade low-tier weapons they wielded were of such poor quality that they were practically worthless. The cost of the talismans consumed during the fight far exceeded the value of the items found on them.

Li Feng turned toward the shadows and spoke again, "Fellow Daoist, the show isn't nearly as entertaining as you might think."

Li Etian froze at Li Feng’s words. He had intended to play the role of the oriole following the mantis and the cicada, never expecting that he would be discovered despite his careful concealment. This fellow was far more perceptive than the average Qi-refining cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist, we meet again." Li Etian stepped out from the shadows, cupping his hands in a greeting.

"Indeed, fate is quite persistent." Li Feng looked at this gullible fool with a sense of amusement. "I hear that whenever you kill someone, you cut off their ears to serve as a side dish for your wine. Consider these corpses a welcome gift."

With a few flashes of cold light, the corpses were rendered incomplete. Li Etian frowned as he looked at the pile of oversized ears. He did have a penchant for eating human ears, but he had standards; typically, the ears of young children or beautiful young women were the most tender and delicious. The ears of these coarse men tasted like chewing wax.

"I appreciate the gesture, Fellow Daoist, but I have pressing matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave." Li Etian turned to depart.

"If you don't like them, that’s fine. I never force anyone," Li Feng said, pulling out a stack of talismans as thick as a brick and beginning to count them one by one.

Li Etian, wary and thinking it better to avoid unnecessary trouble, forced a smile. "Since you are so insistent, Fellow Daoist, I shall accept them."

Watching the ears being stashed away, Li Feng said with a beaming smile, "Courtesy demands reciprocity. What have you prepared for me in return?"

Li Etian’s face darkened instantly, his internal rage surging until he could no longer keep up the act. "You go too far! Do you really take me for a pushover?"

With no further need for talk, the battle ignited instantly.

...

Thirty minutes later, a somewhat disheveled Li Etian handed over his storage bag to Li Feng, his expression one of forced willingness. "This is a small harvest I’ve gathered recently; I’ve long intended to gift it to you, so please, do accept it."

Li Feng weighed it—about five thousand low-tier spirit stones. It didn't even cover half the cost of the battle. If he continued to consume resources at this rate, he wouldn't last a month in the Ten Thousand Mountains before his defensive means were exhausted. He glanced at the magical robes Li Etian was wearing, feeling quite fond of them.

Li Etian’s eyes burned with indignation as he begrudgingly stripped off his expensive magical robes. "Fellow Daoist, please, show some mercy."

"Easy, easy. I am a man who values rules," Li Feng replied. "One takes money to resolve disasters, and I have already resolved your bloody calamity for today. Be off with you now. Make sure you don't run into any more roving cultivators in the future; after all, you won't be lucky enough to run into me every time."

Li Feng waved a reluctant goodbye. As he watched Li Etian limp away, Li Feng set off toward the Ten Thousand Mountains. While Qi-refining cultivators could fly on swords, it consumed a great deal of spiritual energy and lacked maneuverability, being little faster than a galloping horse. Compared to long-distance or speed talismans, it was far inferior. Because of this, most Qi-refining cultivators rarely chose to fly on swords.

According to the information from his last simulation, deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains lay the materials Li Feng needed for the longevity-extending pill. However, those depths were perilous, filled with formidable spirit beasts. For a Qi-refining cultivator to enter was no different from seeking death; he had died in the jaws of a beast in that simulation.

Li Feng pondered and decided to find a safe place to hide. He had plenty of time, and by running more simulations, he could surely find a way to gather the materials without risking his life in unknown territories.

With his mind made up, he returned to the cultivator ruins he had visited before. He was familiar with the environment there; even if danger arose, the traps and mechanisms inside were enough to hold off intruders for a while, buying him time to react.

Upon reaching the iron-barked tree, Li Feng keenly noticed signs that the surroundings had been disturbed. "Has the ruin been discovered?" he wondered. It was far too early for the shopkeeper of the Talisman Pavilion to find it, and since he had already dealt with the man, it couldn't be his doing. Li Etian was also a suspect, as he had expressed suspicion about the ruin when Li Feng emerged earlier.

Alert and cautious, Li Feng opened the entrance and stepped inside. The passage was littered with broken mechanism parts, clearly triggered by someone. The further he went, the more obvious the signs of battle became. Most of the formations and talisman traps he had set were spent.

Reaching the entrance to the main tomb chamber, he saw a young woman in green, covered in bloodstains and sitting cross-legged in meditation. Her true cultivation level was difficult to discern.

The woman sensed his arrival, her star-like eyes snapping open as she channeled her spiritual energy. Her protective artifact activated, radiating a brilliant, dazzling light.

"Who's there? Come out!"

"Forgive the intrusion, Fellow Daoist. I lost my footing and fell into this place; I did not intend to disturb your cultivation." Li Feng had intended to launch a sneak attack, but finding the woman’s perception so sharp, he had to reveal himself and weave an excuse.

"Accidentally fell in? Who do you think you're fooling?" Accessing these ruins required immense effort. The woman clearly didn't believe him. She stood tall and elegant, her features exquisite and her temperament refined, carrying an ethereal aura in every movement.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator!" Only by stepping into the Foundation Establishment stage and being cleansed by spiritual energy could one possess such a magical aura. Li Feng’s expression turned solemn as he cursed his luck. First Li Etian, and now a Foundation Establishment expert. With his current supply of talismans and pills, he could handle at most two or three early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist, do not be angry. I am proficient in basic talisman craft and can help you dispel the curse upon you." When he had set the traps, he had included a few "Ten Thousand Ghost Talismans." They lacked lethal power but were highly effective at suppressing a cultivator's internal energy and eroding their spirit. It was clear this woman had been struck by them, which was why she was still trapped outside the main chamber.

"You are a talisman master?" The woman was surprised. She had been hit by a dozen such curses, and if not removed soon, her life could be in danger.

"Indeed."

"What grade?"

"First-grade, high-tier."

"What is your background? Which sect do you serve?"

Li Feng did not answer, feigning indignation. "If you do not trust me, I shall leave. There is no need for such prying."

"Wait! I am a closed-door disciple of the Blood Cloud Old Ancestor of the Blood Cloud Sect. If you can remove this curse, the sect will owe you a favor and reward you handsomely in the future." Forced by the situation, the woman decided to trust him once.

Li Feng raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Fellow Daoist, others have used that same line to impersonate identities before."

"I have the Blood Cloud Sect token, and I practice the Blood Forging Technique for which the sect is famous. Could this be fake?" She released a wave of blood-red spiritual energy. The sheer force of the blood essence caused the entire passage to rumble.

"She really is a disciple of the Blood Cloud Old Ancestor!" Li Feng was astonished.