Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

……

"Of course not... but what do these rogue cultivators know?"

With a cold laugh in his heart, Ding Yuan turned to leave.

Unlike sects, when a sect is destroyed, apart from the direct descendants of the lineage, the other disciples are rarely implicated.

However, even if a member of a collateral branch of the immortal clan like the Ding family of Linshan is a member of the Ding family, as long as they still have the blood of the Ding family flowing in their veins, they will be purged by the family's former enemies.

Ding Yuan joined the Zhao family to avoid the continuation of some grudges... but before the smile on his lips could fade, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Startled, Ding Yuan instinctively erected a protective magic shield, while simultaneously reaching his left hand swiftly into his storage bag.

Although he didn't know what was going on, Ding Yuan wasn't flustered at this moment.

"Who was it? That rogue cultivator? Or someone else who ambushed me with him?"

Ding Yuan had no answer, but Zhao Chengkong was nearby.

However, the next moment, before the magical artifact in the storage bag could be taken out, a silent roar suddenly resounded in his heart.

whoosh...

"No, this is... a secret technique for refining secrets!"

boom--!

The sharp light and shadow shot out, carrying the power of the Venus star, and crashed into Ding Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness.

He gasped, feeling a sharp, needle-like pain in his soul, rendering him almost unable to react.

Ding Yuan paused slightly in his movements. He was confident that if he had just a moment, even if he couldn't launch a counterattack, he could at least summon a second-tier talisman to protect himself.

In his hazy state of consciousness, Ding Yuan only heard a clear and melodious sword cry.

Clang...

Tear--!

The protective magic shield was torn apart instantly, and a pale blue sword shadow flashed in the air. Ding Yuan felt dizzy and disoriented.

In the final moments, the figure in black robes nonchalantly took a storage bag and then stepped over the fallen headless corpse.

"You're right, thanks for reminding me."

His voice remained cold, like the clanging of swords.

The black-clad swordsman shifted his gaze slightly, looking at the middle-aged man in brocade robes not far away.

"As you wish."

"Since you won't give it to me... then I, Han, will take it myself."

wow——

Sword energy rippled like water, surrounding Han Feiyu, and their gazes clashed violently.

Not far away, Zhao Chengkong, who had rushed over immediately, stopped in his tracks.

"Who are you? Who is your master? And why did you kill my Zhao clan members?"

His eyes were filled with shock and anger, yet also with apprehension. After a moment of confrontation, Zhao Chengkong finally couldn't help but speak.

The reason he was some distance away from Ding Yuan when he rushed to intercept the monster was not because the latter was faster than him.

Instead, Zhao Chengkong always made it his habit to have people from other clans take the lead in such acts of bullying others and making enemies.

Who would have thought that in just a few words, Ding Yuan would be killed by a single sword strike, without even being able to mount a proper counterattack.

"The Zhao family? As you can see."

"I asked him for compensation, and he told me to come and collect it myself, so I did."

"As for you..."

The young man in black spoke softly, his tone remaining calm.

"Do you want to avenge him?"

"If that's the case, Han Feiyu is ready to serve you at any time."

There was no compromise, no probing, only undisguised sharpness.

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Feiyu withdrew his gaze, turned around, and flew away on his sword.

He raised his palms several times, then lowered them again.

Staring at the departing figure, Zhao Chengkong wanted to make a move. But until Han Feiyu completely disappeared from sight, he still didn't take a single step.

Han Feiyu?

He remembered the name.

Taking a deep breath, recalling the lightning-fast battle just now, Zhao Chengkong did not connect it to the extremely rare Refining Mystic Technique.

He only guessed that this person's sword aura, though not strong, was so terrifying that it had shocked Ding Yuan's mind and shattered his defenses with a single strike.

Zhao Chengkong didn't know what level this was.

He had only vaguely heard that if a sword cultivator mastered a technique called "the embryonic form of sword intent," he could captivate people's souls and injure them without them even realizing it, using the technique of "seeing with one's eyes."

He didn't know which level of swordsmanship this technique represented, but he figured it couldn't be lower than the third level.

If it is truly such an unparalleled swordsman, then even if the opponent only has the cultivation of the early Foundation Establishment stage, their offensive power would probably be comparable to that of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

If this person were to cultivate the Sword Fiend technique... then forget about Ding Yuan's newly advanced Foundation Establishment defensive measures.

Even if Zhao Chengkong himself were to take the field, it would be as laughable as if it were made of paper.

……

Half a day later.

A hundred miles away from the mine, at the foot of a desolate mountain cliff.

Wang Xuan waited here for a while, still maintaining Han Feiyu's appearance.

A short while later, a bluebird, having washed away its gray disguise, flew close to the ground and brought news.

She did not detect any cultivators following behind Wang Xuan in her spatial perception.

"Well done."

Wang Xuan nodded slightly, feeling a sense of relief.

Compared to when it first advanced to the second tier and completed its bloodline sublimation and transformation, the Void Shadow Sparrow's bloodline is now stable, and its cultivation has also improved slightly.

With Qingniao's current mastery of the "Escape from Emptiness" talent, she can even perform short-distance spatial traversal without taking anyone with her, without much burden.

Of course, at the early to mid-stages of the second tier, this technique cannot be used in combat; it can only be used to penetrate restrictions or escape enemy locks.

Because each time the Azure Bird travels through space, its own demonic power is interfered with, making it unable to launch an attack immediately.

……

"Let's pack our things first."

After setting up the rudimentary early warning array, Wang Xuan took out Ding Yuan's storage bag.

Having returned safely, he did not immediately go back to look for Han Heng.

The methods of the Core Formation families are unpredictable, so the spoils from Ding Yuan must be dealt with first.

Especially for miscellaneous items whose purpose is unknown, they can be disposed of in a centralized manner without leaving any trace.

"Ding Yuan is not me. As a newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator, and not a direct descendant of the Zhao family, he probably doesn't have anything good to offer."

"Xiao Qing, it's up to you now. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have thought of killing him directly."

What he said was true. In Wang Xuan's initial plan, he only intended to go to the mine as a cultivator from the Han family, lure Ding Yuan out, and then injure him. He did not intend to kill him.

After all, this way, his conflict with the Zhao family would be limited to a lower level, not attracting the attention of those at the Core Formation stage, but enough to attract the attention of certain special individuals—such as Zhao Zhilong, whom he had met once in the wilderness.

Unfortunately, Wang Xuan always harbored some wariness towards the Zhao family, especially Zhao Zhilong.

Although the matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill has been resolved, and Dan Rong is still there as a shield, no one can be sure that this matter is truly over.

Therefore, if he could establish contact with the other party under a different identity, allowing the Han family to take the opportunity to join the Zhao family, he might be able to detect some of the other party's movements in advance and anticipate their moves.

Even if it doesn't work out, Wang Xuan won't lose anything; he'll just have to put in a little more effort.

However, plans can't keep up with changes. With Qingniao completing his reconnaissance of the Yinying Mine first, he abruptly changed his mind and decided to reveal some of his methods to kill Ding Yuan on the spot.

"With Ding Yuan dead, I can no longer easily expose my relationship with the Han family... Fortunately, in terms of attracting attention, the two should be about the same."

"At least for the next two years, Zhao Zhilong shouldn't have time to pay attention to 'Master Wang's' affairs."

Wang Xuan shook his head slightly and stopped thinking about it.

Upon opening Ding Yuan's storage bag, he prioritized destroying his personal belongings.

……