Another loud bang echoed through the air as Zhang Song stumbled out of a cloud of black smoke. He looked at the others, painfully pulling out a talisman and activating his qi energy to throw it forward. Instantly, the ground beneath one of the Qingyang Sect disciples' feet caved in, and the disciple sank, almost up to his neck in the blink of an eye.

The other two disciples' faces changed drastically, and they leaped forward to rescue him.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Song darted back into the main hall. When he saw Fan Zhengping, who had already breathed his last, he roared in a gnashing voice, "Why! Why did you do this to me?"

After saying that, his gaze suddenly shifted to Lu Li and the other two huddled in a corner. His mind raced and he suddenly bared a sinister smile. "Hehe, you seem to be close to my disciple. Did he... perhaps give you the dan formula, hmm?"

With that, he reached out to grab Lu Li and the other two.

"Hmph! Trying to commit another atrocity!"

Just then, a female voice suddenly rang out at the entrance of the hall, accompanied by a palm strike aimed at Zhang Song's back.

Zhang Song's face changed drastically. He counterattacked with a burst of qi energy and rushed into a side room, smashing the window and leaping out.

The girl hesitated for a moment before turning to chase after him.

A short while later, the two men outside also rushed into the hall. The leader said to the young boy beside him, "Junior Brother He, go help Xin Yi."

"Yes, Senior Brother Chu," the boy replied before chasing after them.

Seeing Junior Brother He leave, Senior Brother Chu ignored Lu Li and the other two, and began searching the hall. After searching for a long time, he finally turned his gaze towards Lu Li and the others, asking, "Did that evil Taoist force you to take any pills?"

Qin Shouren was about to speak, but Lu Li beat him to it. "No, no, he was just about to give them to us when you came in."

"No?" Senior Brother Chu asked again. "Then... did you see any dan formulas or anything like that?"

Lu Li shook his head. "We were locked in that small room for over a month. We were just released just now."

Suddenly, Lu Li's eyes lit up. "I remember now. When we were first captured, that senior brother gave us a pill to eat."

"What kind of pill!" Senior Brother Chu asked urgently.

"He said it was... the Xingling Pill, I think."

"Xingling Pill?" Senior Brother Chu's face fell, then he looked at the three of them suspiciously. "Did you experience any reactions after taking it?"

"Reactions?" Lu Li pretended not to understand. "No other reactions, but smoke started to rise from our bodies. It was faint and beautiful, just like..."

He didn't tell the truth, instead describing the condition he saw on that girl named Xiaoyun when they awakened in Longxing Town.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Qin Shouren and Chen Zhong didn't understand why Lu Li was lying, but they had always considered themselves not very smart, so they just watched Lu Li perform.

"Really!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Qing became excited. Although he hadn't found the dan formula, if he could bring back three talents, the benefits would be considerable.

"It's true," Lu Li said seriously, then pretended to be puzzled. “Why are you asking this?"

"Haha, it's nothing, nothing." Chu Qing was extremely happy, looking at the three of them as if they were treasures. "Let me tell you, I'm Chu Qing, a core disciple of the Qingyang Sect. How about I take you to the Qingyang Sect to cultivate?"

"Cultivate!" Lu Li shook his head and shrunk back. "Are you a liar? We were tricked here by that old man last time and locked in a dark room."

"A liar?" Chu Qing was taken aback. "How could I be a liar?"

He took out a token from his waist and waved it. "See, this is the Qingyang Sect's token."

Seeing that Lu Li was still unconvinced, Chu Qing suddenly took out a yellow paper and threw it out. With a bang, a hole about three feet in diameter was blasted in the floor. "See that? This is called a Baolie Talisman. As long as you come with me to the Qingyang Sect, I'll give each of you three of them. How about it?"

Amazing!

Lu Li gulped. "Okay, I'll agree!"

Qin Shouren and Chen Zhong looked at Lu Li strangely.

"You're already thirteen years old, and yet you're acting cute like a seven or eight-year-old child. It's truly disgraceful."

" Good, very god!" Chu Qing smiled with his eyes shining. He reached out and took a stack of yellow paper with a black, shifting glow, carefully separated nine sheets, looked at them again to make sure there wasn't an extra one, and then handed them to Lu Li. "Here, take them and go distribute them."

The Baolie Talisman was an intermediate-level talisman. If a cultivator below the sixth level of Qi Condensation wasn't careful, they could be seriously injured by it. It was quite rare, and Chu Qing only had a dozen left. He had truly invested a lot for Lu Li and the others.

Lu Li took them and felt the terrifying aura emanating from them. While shocked, he was also secretly delighted. He gave three to Chen the Fatso and Qin Shouren each before putting the rest in his pocket. "Thank you"

He didn't dare to put them directly into his storage space. If that little tower was discovered, he would lose not only the Baolie Talisman but also his life.

"You're welcome. Just call me Senior Brother Chu. Once my two junior siblings return, we'll all head back to the Qingyang Sect together."

It wasn't long before the girl and Junior Brother He returned, both looking frustrated. It was clear they hadn't caught Zhang Song.

Chu Qing didn't seem surprised. He roughly asked about the situation and then beckoned for everyone to leave.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Lu Li and the other two breathed a sigh of relief. This time, they had narrowly escaped from this cursed place.

There was a luxurious carriage at the foot of the mountain, presumably brought by Chu Qing and the others. Lu Li had thought that immortals all flew in the sky, but now he realized that not all immortals could fly.

Seeing Chu Qing beckoning for Lu Li and the other two to get on the carriage, both He Jun and Zhou Xinyi looked puzzled. He Jun asked, "Senior Brother Chu, why are you letting them get on the carriage? Aren't we heading directly back to the sect?"

Chu Qing laughed heartily, "Junior Brother He, you may not know this, but these three are treasures. They have all awakened their spiritual roots, and they did so after only eating one Awakening Pill. Once I send them to the Outer Affairs Hall for testing, I’m sure the lowest they’ll have is a five-element root. It should make up for the loss from our unfinished mission..."

"They all have spiritual roots!" Zhou Xinyi was shocked. "Senior Brother Chu's luck is too good. Last time, Senior Martial Uncle Fang went through great lengths to recruit only two people."

"Haha, opportunity is a mysterious thing. Alright, let's go back."

With that, they all got on the carriage.

This horse was no ordinary horse. It was very strong and had a unicorn-like horn. It seemed to be a unique species. After everyone got on the carriage, no one had to drive it. The horse seemed to know the way and pulled the carriage swiftly along the road.

Throughout the journey, Lu Li remained silent and seemed a bit reserved.

Actually, he wasn't reserved. He was just worried that the Qingyang Sect wouldn't accept them. He desperately needed a cultivation technique, and joining the Qingyang Sect seemed to be the best choice under the current circumstances.