A mortal cultivating immortality can nurture spirit beasts.

Are you sure it's her?

Liu Ming asked a burly man beside him, who quickly replied, "Cousin, I can't be mistaken. I saw that woman in blue set up an array for the Guo family that day. That array was incredibly powerful; even seven or eight Qi Refining cultivators working together couldn't break it."

"I see," Liu Ming chuckled sinisterly. "It really is a case of misfortune turning into blessing. The original target of this plan was Old Man Xu. We deliberately lured him into making the first move, violating the rule against fighting in the market, and then had Senior Xu personally take down his level-two fire crow. Unexpectedly, a Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly appeared and ruined our plans. But it seems my luck is pretty good. Hasn't this turned my fortunes around? If we can capture this woman and have her set up formations specifically for my Liu family, that would be a great help."

Thinking of this, the group of people all showed joy, and some even had lewd gleam in their eyes.

"These two women are not bad. It's a bit of a waste to just keep them at the Liu family's place to set up formations. It would be better to let them bring some amusement to everyone from time to time."

Upon hearing this, everyone's minds raced, and they all wore knowing expressions. Seeing this, Liu Ming chuckled and immediately signaled everyone to be quiet, then quietly followed them.

Xin Ruyin and Xiao Mei, being of low cultivation levels, were completely unaware that Liu Ming and his group were following them. However, they had been taking precautions against such a thing for the past few years, as the Fu family was not the only one that wanted to forcibly imprison them and turn them into full-time array masters for their families.

Xin Ruyin led Xiao Mei forward quickly, occasionally setting up a maze array. These array flags were inexpensive, but they could confuse the spiritual senses of low-level cultivators, making it impossible for them to discern directions.

This made things difficult for Liu Ming and the others who were following behind. Helpless, Liu Ming had to use brute force to break the formation, which immediately exposed his presence.

Xin Ruyin had set up the formation in front out of caution, but now a series of booming sounds were coming from within the formation behind, clearly indicating that someone was using brute force to break the formation.

"Miss, you were careful enough. Sure enough, someone was following us."

Xiao Mei couldn't help but praise her, but Xin Ruyin showed no joy. She calmly analyzed, "Judging from this relentless attack, there must be more than one or two of them. Xiao Mei, we can't get entangled with them. We need to leave quickly."

Just as Xin Ruyin was about to pull Xiaomei away, a deafening sound suddenly erupted from behind. Although the illusion array was easy to set up and inexpensive, its defensive capabilities were also very weak. Under the siege of Liu Ming and his group, it was finally broken.

"Little wench, where do you think you're going to run to?"

Seeing that he had been exposed, Liu Ming finally stopped hiding his true intentions and revealed a sinister look.

Xin Ruyin had to throw out some more array flags, but these makeshift arrays were not very powerful and were quickly broken by Liu Ming and the others, but they bought Xin Ruyin and her companion some time.

Just as the two were about to return to their residence, Xin Ruyin had already set up several powerful formations there.

"Miss, as long as we get home, we can activate a powerful formation that will ensure these guys never leave alive."

Xiao Mei waved her fist, looking very confident, while Xin Ruyin was equally confident. She knew the formation she had set up; unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator assisted, those who entered the formation would have a hard time escaping.

Just as the two were beaming with joy, an immense pressure descended. This pressure was so great that Xin Ruyin and Xiao Mei immediately trembled and turned as pale as paper upon sensing such terrifying cultivation.

The person who suddenly appeared was a fat man with a chubby face, who looked quite comical. However, Xin Ruyin and Xiao Mei couldn't laugh at all, because the person had just shown genuine Foundation Establishment cultivation.

This fat man was none other than Xu Yan of the Tianxing Sect, who had previously conspired with Liu Ming and the others.

Xu Yan didn't even glance at Xiao Mei, staring directly at Xin Ruyin, then at Liu Ming and his group behind him. Seeing that they still hadn't broken through the formation, he nodded in approval.

"Not bad, your skill in array formations is indeed very strong. If they hadn't sent me a communication talisman, you really would have escaped."

Xu Yan suddenly sneered, "But now that I've appeared, you have no chance of escaping. Girl, I don't want to kill you. You'd better stay here and become a full-time array master for the Liu family."

"Don't even think about it!"

Xiao Mei couldn't help but say something, but Xu Yan quickly waved his hand and sent her flying several meters away, spitting blood. It was only because Xu Yan showed mercy that Xiao Mei was sent flying. Otherwise, this blow could have killed her.

"Xiaomei!"

Upon seeing this, Xin Ruyin's expression changed drastically. She rushed to Xiaomei's side to check her injuries and breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that they were not fatal. Xu Yan then walked over unhurriedly from behind.

"Don't worry, I can see the deep bond between you, master and servant, so I didn't kill her. But if you hesitate any longer, I don't know if I'll be able to control my strength next time."

Faced with the threat of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Xin Ruyin's face turned pale. She sighed and said, "Senior, there's no need to say anything more. I'll go with you, as long as you release Xiaomei."

"Miss, you can't go with them! You'll be imprisoned for life, locked in a dark little room where they'll design formations for you." Xiao Mei was furious upon hearing this, but after being injured, she could barely stand up, so there was nothing she could do.

Xin Ruyin smiled bitterly, her mind already filled with the will to die. She stood up and prepared to walk towards Xu Yan.

Just then, Xu Yan, who had been so confident, suddenly changed his expression and looked in a certain direction in the air behind him. Xin Ruyin was startled and looked in the same direction, and was immediately shocked.

Suddenly, a beautiful little boat hovered in mid-air, and standing on it was a handsome young man in blue clothes—it was Lin He!

"This Miss Ruyin still owes me a great debt of gratitude, so I'm afraid she won't be able to become a full-time array master in the Liu family."

Before Xu Yan could react, he waved his hand, and the pair of red flying knives he had obtained from Han Tianya suddenly flew out. These flying knife magic weapons were best at sneak attacks, making them difficult to defend against. With Lin He's powerful Foundation Establishment stage magic power driving them, they were naturally invincible against a group of Qi Refining cultivators.

Two beams of red light swirled gracefully around the group, and as the sharp throwing knives passed by, Liu Ming and the others had their throats slit, dying before they could even utter a sound.

In just a short while, Liu Ming and the others, who were just full of energy, were all dead. Xiao Mei clapped her hands in delight at such a thunderous action, Xin Ruyin's eyes twitched wildly, and even Xu Yan's face was extremely ugly.

Lin He acted too quickly; he didn't have time to rescue him. He was the only one left on his side. Moreover, he had already seen Lin He's face clearly; it was the unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator who had ruined his plans earlier.

Xu Yan's tone was low and his face was extremely ugly. "It's you! You ruined my plans before, and now you're causing trouble again. Are you tired of living?"

"Hehe, I never expected that the dignified garrison commander of Tianxing Sect Market would actually collude with these scum of the Liu family to bully two weak women. If this gets out, people will probably laugh their heads off."

Xu Yan and Lin He, one hovering in mid-air and the other standing on the ground, were separated by a distance of more than ten feet. Sparks seemed to fly when their eyes met, and a battle was about to break out.