I became the Open Source Saint Ancestor in the Cultivation World

Ma Ke mounted a horse and followed behind Song Tao, the large group leaving the city through the north gate.

"Quickly, speed up! Don't let them get wind of this and escape!" Xue Wenshao shouted.

"Yes, drive..."

After about half an hour of galloping, it was getting dark, and the hundred-odd riders finally turned into a mountain pass.

Just then, a dark figure landed in front of them and whistled.

"We're on the same side." Xue Wenshao waved to signal everyone to stop.

The dark figure rushed forward and reported, "Young Master, the Lu family's convoy has been inside for less than a quarter of an hour; they should still be making their transaction."

"Very good, lead the way." Xue Wenshao clapped his hands and then ordered the men behind him, "Dismount and follow."

As he spoke, he took out a jade talisman and a spirit stone from his pocket.

He crushed the talisman with his left hand and sprinkled it directly onto the spirit stone in his right hand. A flash of light appeared, and a strange gust of wind suddenly appeared, lifting him up.

"It's a flying talisman." Song Tao couldn't help but look envious.

Ma Ke couldn't help but admire the Xue family's wealth and power, as they had used such methods to grant a mortal a brief ability to fly.

Xue Wenshao pointed forward with his right hand, and his entire body floated away. The group of skilled fighters he brought with him all raised their legs and used their lightness skills.

Only cultivators who have reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining possess the ability to fly, so neither Ma Ke nor Song Tao can remain airborne for long periods; they must land after every few glides.

It looks somewhat like other people's light-footed skills, only faster.

Of course, Ma Ke was faking it. To make it more convincing, he made each of his leaps shorter and slower than Song Tao's.

About fifteen minutes later, the group saw a bright light coming from the valley ahead, and even heard the neighing of horses.

"Quickly, Ma San and Zhao Lun, each of you lead a team to flank them from both sides. Don't let them escape," Xue Wenshao immediately ordered.

"Yes." The two quickly each dispatched a team of men to leave.

"The rest of you, follow me."

Song Tao followed closely behind, as his chance to shine was fast approaching, while Ma Ke silently trailed behind.

Just as they were about to reach the valley, a loud shout rang out: "Who goes there?"

"Haha..." Xue Wenshao laughed loudly, not bothering to conceal his presence, but instead flew down directly, followed by Ma Ke and a group of more than ten people.

The valley was brightly lit by firelight. The two groups of people who were trading something immediately closed the boxes and drew their weapons to prepare for battle.

"Xue Wenshao, it's you..." Clearly, someone recognized Xue Wenshao at a glance.

"Who else could it be but me?"

"What do you want to do?" the middle-aged businessman on the right asked sharply.

"What do you think I want to do?" Xue Wenshao asked with a forced smile.

"You, you want to kill and rob."

"Since you know that, why don't you obediently accept your death?"

"Young Master Xue, you're a man of some standing, why would you commit murder and robbery?"

"Who told you to be so ungrateful? I originally wanted to buy your things out of kindness, but not only did you refuse to sell, you insisted on sneaking out of the city to trade with someone else. Did you think you could escape my grasp like that?"

"What's the difference between your offer and robbery?" the middle-aged businessman roared, his eyes blazing with fury.

Xue Wenshao scoffed, "It's no different from robbery, but at least you can save your life."

"I had some reservations about staying in the city, but I never expected you to choose the road to the underworld yourself."

Upon hearing this, the slightly overweight merchant on the left hurriedly said, "Young Master Xue, this matter has nothing to do with me. I had no idea that this transaction was related to you. Please do me a favor, Young Master Xue. I will leave now and will not get involved again."

The middle-aged businessman said anxiously, "Master Zhao, this man is ruthless. Do you think he'll let you off the hook just because of this?"

"He's right, this is where you'll all die, hahaha..." Xue Wenshao laughed wildly.

Immediately, he waved his hand and shouted, "Kill them all! Leave no one alive!"

A dozen figures swiftly emerged from behind him, and the two groups of men who had already completed their encirclement also attacked from behind.

Just then, Xue Wenshao frowned and asked, "Ma Ke, didn't you hear what I said?"

Ma Ke said calmly, "My mission is to protect the Xue family's safety, not to help you bully others."

"What did you say?" Xue Wenshao could hardly believe his ears.

"My Ziyang Sect is a reputable and righteous sect, and we do not oppress the good and kind," Ma Ke declared righteously.

Although he inwardly scoffed at the so-called prestigious and upright schools, he decided to seize the moral high ground first.

Xue Wenshao naturally couldn't refute this, but he reminded him, "Do you know who my brother is?"

Ma Ke said solemnly, "Senior Brother Xue usually cultivates diligently in the sect, so I'm sure he doesn't know what you've done. Otherwise, to protect the sect's reputation, we would never allow you to act recklessly."

Xue Wenshao's face twitched involuntarily: "Is this guy an idiot? My brother wouldn't know these things, would he?"

In the valley, Song Tao's fireballs instantly turned the opposing team into human torches, their agonizing screams echoing through the valley, causing many to scream in terror.

"Master Zhao, he has cultivators under his command. If we continue to have our own agendas and fight separately, we will all die here today!" the middle-aged merchant shouted anxiously.

"Alright, let's each send two skilled fighters to hold off that cultivator, then we'll lead the rest of the group out to fight our way out," Zhao Dongjia said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, we'll do as you say."

In the face of life and death, the two quickly reached an agreement and then each sent two experts to rush towards Song Tao.

After a period of fighting, Song Tao had the upper hand, but he was unable to defeat his opponent for the time being.

Because cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining still have considerable limitations, and they may not even be able to consistently defeat some of the top masters in the martial arts world, this is why cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining can only serve as outer disciples in the Ziyang Sect and are not well-regarded.

Moreover, Song Tao only wanted to curry favor with Xue Wenshao in order to have a chance to build good relations with Xue Wenzhou; he did not want to risk his life directly.

After all, when a person dies or becomes disabled, they lose everything.

On the other side, the middle-aged businessman and Zhao Dongjia were the complete opposite. They wanted to survive, so they went completely crazy. Xue Wenshao's troops were forced to retreat step by step, and their casualties were increasing.

"Junior Brother Ma, why aren't you making a move? What are you waiting for?" Song Tao shouted anxiously.

He had originally hoped that Ma Ke wouldn't take action, so that after the battle, with Ma Ke as a foil, he would surely gain even more favor.

He deliberately left Ma Ke behind and went to the Xue residence to hand over the work first, for the same purpose.

Unexpectedly, the other side was no pushover either; they had quite a few experts among them.

If they escaped, it would ruin Young Master Xue's plans, and I would probably be implicated as well. So, I had no choice but to urge Ma Ke to come down to the field.

But Ma Ke remained unmoved.

Seeing that the situation below was getting out of control, Xue Wenshao became anxious. He pointed at Song Tao and said to Ma Ke, "Do you know why your senior brother Song and your previous fellow disciples are all willing to obey me?"

"They cannot distinguish between good and evil, and have disgraced our sect. I will definitely report this to the sect when I return." Ma Ke said solemnly.

Xue Wenshao was furious, but no matter how much he hated it, he knew he had to stabilize the situation first.

So, suppressing his anger, he said, "Didn't you ever think about gaining the favor of the inner disciples? Besides, my brother is already at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and he'll be able to establish his foundation in less than two years. At that time, you won't even have a chance to curry favor with him."

"I'm not taking action to protect Senior Brother Xue's reputation."

Xue Wenshao shouted, "You think my brother doesn't know?"

"Even if Senior Brother Xue knew, he must have been deceived. After all, as an elite disciple of a prestigious sect, how could he possibly engage in such shady dealings?"

"Fine, very well." Xue Wenshao was completely exasperated, but there was nothing he could do.