Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

"Huh? We've been discovered?"

In the distant canyon, amidst the shadows cast by several array flags, Han Changde's voice drifted from afar.

When the old man in the gray robe realized that his whereabouts had been discovered, his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

"Han Changde... that old bastard surnamed Han has some skills now. No wonder he's an elder of the Han family who got lucky."

Decades ago, the gray-robed old man and Han Changde were both members of the Qi-refining family under the Lu family's rule, and they had many dealings with each other.

In terms of personal diligence and talent, the old man in the gray robe was several points better than Han Changde at that time.

Unexpectedly, things changed overnight, and the Han family rose to the ranks of Foundation Establishment families, instantly changing the status of the two sides.

"Ha, I think your lousy formation is useless; it's a complete waste of spirit stones!"

With a soft chuckle, a middle-aged man with a scarred face stood beside the gray-robed old man, his eyes cold and his aura heavy.

"It has to be Old Zhao again. His information is as reliable as ever. He can even find out the whereabouts of Foundation Establishment families. He's much more useful than the precious array you have."

"Stop hiding! That kid didn't take the bait last time, wasting half a year of my time. This time, I'm going to make it back double!"

brush--

The scarred middle-aged man leaped into the air with decisive action, drawing all eyes from outside the valley.

"Hey Han, enough with the nonsense. I've already considered the consequences since I dared to come and ambush you!"

"Hand over your storage bag and magical artifacts immediately, and I might spare your life if I'm in a good mood. Otherwise..."

"Leave no one alive!"

"That brat is arrogant!"

Han Changde was at the front of the group when he heard this and became furious.

He certainly didn't want to cause trouble, but he wasn't afraid of the other side.

With a wave of his hand, several streams of light flew out of the storage bag, transforming into three black beast-shaped puppets. At the same time, he unleashed the remaining power of the Spirit Sensing Talisman in one go.

A beam of light swept across the canyon, illuminating several fierce figures who had stealthily emerged from above.

"Hmph, as expected of someone who follows the path of a traitor, always resorting to underhanded tricks."

"But I am no novice venturing far from home for the first time. If you think you can devour us, let's see if you have the teeth. Attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Changde formed a hand seal, and several fire snakes rushed forward.

Behind him, the other members of the Han clan also took action.

In an instant, flames erupted everywhere, and various spiritual energies surged in the nameless canyon as dozens of cultivators engaged in a fierce battle.

The scarred middle-aged man's side had several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators with astonishing auras, while the other mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators were seasoned veterans who had fought for many years. Although they were outnumbered, their strength was clearly superior.

Fortunately, Han Changde also had a way to deal with it; his several top-tier first-order puppets were quite powerful.

Even without having cultivated the unique spiritual sense techniques of puppeteers, they are far from being a match for cultivators in a one-on-one fight, but they are still enough to bridge the gap in numbers and even gain an advantage.

"this……"

In the blink of an eye, the valley entrance became a battlefield, and in the middle of the Han family's group, dozens of young men and women were pale-faced.

While the Han family's migration included many older cultivators, it was mostly comprised of the younger generation representing the family's future.

However, the battles in the cultivation world were far more brutal than these young men and women had anticipated.

"Should we...should we go up and help?"

A slightly older boy hesitated and spoke, his voice trembling.

Fortunately, the next moment, a middle-aged man from the Han family at the seventh level of Qi Refining transmitted his voice:

"Hurry up and leave, don't keep me waiting and distracted."

"This group of robbers was well-prepared; it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. They probably received information from elsewhere. If they have a backup plan, I can't save you!"

"Seventh Uncle is right, we're just a burden if we stay here!"

Han Dao quickly responded from the crowd.

He had actually realized what was happening long ago, but he didn't want to be the first to run away.

Now that the elders had spoken, he quickly mounted a spirited steed.

"Wind Control Technique - Gale!"

With the help of magic, the spirit steed burst into extreme speed, and the young men and women followed suit.

Before long, many of the Han family's immortal seedlings had escaped to a certain distance.

"Hmph, Old Zhao really got it right."

With a grin, the scarred middle-aged man pretended to give chase, but actually fired a feint, taking advantage of the situation to injure a puppet.

These days, there isn't a large-scale war among cultivators, and anyone who dares to challenge a cultivator doesn't have some skills.

He had left an ambush in the direction the younger generation had fled.

In a head-on confrontation, this hastily assembled group might not be able to win.

However, if there are hostages in hand, this tough nut to crack may not be impossible to crack.

……

"drive--"

Several miles from the valley entrance, the sound of dense hoofbeats grew louder as it approached.

For cultivators in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining, their magical power is limited and their spiritual awareness is weak, making flying with magical artifacts far less useful than riding spiritual beasts.

The Han family's spirit steed was of excellent quality. In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the group of Han family immortal seedlings had run more than ten miles away from the core of the battlefield.

Feeling slightly relieved, Han Dao looked around.

For cultivators practicing Qi cultivation, this is already a safe distance.

Before everyone could relax, a black blade flashed through the air, slicing the boy at the front off his horse.

--puff!

Before he could scream, blood gushed out like a fountain.

The faces of the group of immortal seedlings changed drastically; none of them had expected that there would be an ambush here.

"Haha, Old Zhao is indeed a master strategist! He knew you'd come here!"

"Let them tackle the tough challenges, while we reap the benefits here. Isn't that wonderful?"

Amidst the loud laughter, two figures, one tall and one thin, darted out from the side, revealing their Qi Refining Level 6 cultivation.

Without a doubt, they had been lying in ambush here for a long time, waiting to hunt down and kill the Han family.

"run!"

Someone shouted, and the group of immortal seedlings immediately scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing north.

"Brother, what should we do?"

As the horse drew near, Han Bo looked flustered.

As one of only three alchemy apprentices of the Han family, he and Han Dao were naturally on the evacuation list.

Like his fellow teenagers, Han Bo had never experienced real combat before.

"...Don't panic, things aren't as serious as you think."

"We don't need to run faster than Jie Xiu, we just need to run faster than others."

Forcing himself to remain calm, Han Dao glanced back at the two dark figures chasing after him.

"Besides, have you noticed that they're actually not as fast as us?"

"What do you mean?"

Slightly taken aback by these words, Han Bo couldn't help but turn around and look.

To their surprise, apart from a few corpses that had been killed in the initial ambush, no other members of the Han clan had fallen behind.

The tribulation cultivators who followed were quite powerful, but as soon as they took to their feet by their magical artifacts, several spells immediately came rushing towards them, making it difficult to dodge.

Clearly, with their attention diverted from controlling their artifacts, the several Tribulation cultivators, despite their ferocity, were unable to get close to the numerically superior Han Clan Immortal Seedlings.

However, if they tried to chase after it on the ground, they couldn't keep up with the speed of the spirit steed. For a moment, the two sides were strangely locked in a stalemate.

Judging by this momentum, even if several more hours pass, the other side will still not be able to catch them.

"Oh, this..."

Seeing this, Han Bo remained silent, and for some reason, he even felt a little like laughing.

The calamity was fierce and he could not defeat the enemy by force, but he was not flustered at all, simply because his horse was not as fast as the enemy's.

His elders had told him similar stories before, but experiencing it firsthand still left him speechless.

"Aaaaah—you brat, you've infuriated me! If you've got the guts, dismount and fight me!"

At the rear of the group, Jie Xiu, who had also realized the situation, was furious and shouted repeatedly, but was ridiculed by Xian Miao, who was gradually coming to his senses.

"Haha, as expected of a poor rogue cultivator, he can't even afford a fine spirit steed."

"So poor, yet they resort to robbery!"

"Even if you had two legs, you still couldn't match the 'Flying Yellow Horse' that my clan purchased from the Lu family. With the enhancement of magic, its speed is close to the late stage of Qi Refining!"

"I advise you to leave quickly, or when my elders win, they will surely take your heads!"

"..."

Seemingly to vent their fear, the group of youths spoke without restraint. This only highlighted the impotent rage and helplessness of the cultivator.

"Big brother, are we safe now?"

Han Bo breathed a sigh of relief, and seeing that Jie Xiu couldn't catch up for the time being, he relaxed.

"Yes, that should be the case."

"Rumor has it that this 'Flying Yellow Horse' has the bloodline of a third-tier great demon, and now that I see it, it is indeed extraordinary."

He nodded in response, but Han Dao still felt some apprehension.

The treacherous cultivators were cunning; they even anticipated their escape route. Would they really be so easily left behind?

Or are these two people just a decoy, and there are actually other people lying in ambush behind them...?

brush--

As Han Dao was pondering, a golden light flashed and a large net tore through the air.

Many teenagers were caught in the net and fell off their horses.

"ah--"

"Be careful!"

Thump thump—

"There was an ambush?!"

Even the Han brothers were not spared from the net.

However, after rolling around a few times and getting up from the ground, Han Bo stared in shock at the figure approaching from a distance.

"Brother, quick, we—wait, he's the one from the market—"

"That's right, it is indeed me."

He formed hand seals, causing the large net of magical artifacts to tighten continuously.

Manager Zhao, who had picked up the conversation, looked at the pile of rolling gourds on the ground with a smile, as if he had seen a pile of walking spirit stones.

"Young man, you have a good memory. I remember you. Han Bo from the Han family, right? One of your family's cultivated alchemy talents? That kid surnamed Wang mentioned you a few times. Do you know where he is now?"

"Forget it, I doubt you would know. That kid is slippery, he probably sensed something was wrong a long time ago and disappeared without a trace... It's good that you're here, so it's not a loss."

After a slight pause, Manager Zhao expressed some regret.

"You can run away from your master, but you can't run away from your disciple. Tell me, how much of the essence of the alchemy inheritance that kid possesses have you grasped over the years?"