In the world of cultivation, one grinds for proficiency and longevity.

Chen Changqing remained silent, then with a flick of his wrist, two talismans shimmering with a faint blue spiritual light were slapped onto the horse's back.

The talisman ignited upon contact with the horse's body, transforming into two gusts of wind that coiled around its body.

The two steeds neighed loudly, their hooves seemingly treading on clouds, instantly transforming into two afterimages, leaving the pursuers behind them in the dust.

"Huh? A mid-grade lightness talisman?" The fourth elder of the Ye family narrowed his eyes, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips. "Interesting, but..."

"Wow, that's fast! Brother Chen, you're amazing!"

"We are not out of danger yet, so do not let your guard down."

As the distance between them gradually increased and Li Erniu relaxed his vigilance, Chen Changqing was not so optimistic.

Fortunately, the two horses had grown up together and had a deep bond. When they were running at full speed, neither of them fell too far behind. Otherwise, if Chen Changqing hadn't been able to help Li Erniu, the consequences for Li Erniu would have been unimaginable.

A quarter of an hour later, the blue light dissipated, and the sound of hooves thundered behind them as the figure of the Ye family's spirit deer reappeared.

"They're like a persistent ghost!"

Chen Changqing cursed under his breath and slapped down two more talismans. The blue light on the horse's back surged again, and the distance between them instantly increased.

"Are mid-grade talismans as common as cabbages?!" The Fourth Elder roared from behind, his beard trembling with rage. "You two brats, dare you dismount and fight?!"

"Old man, you can catch up with him first!" Li Erniu hugged the horse's neck, laughing arrogantly.

"court death!"

The Fourth Elder roared, placing his palm on the back of the spirit deer, and spiritual power surged into it like a burst dam. The spirit deer's eyes turned blood red, and its speed increased dramatically in an instant, almost matching that of a steed enhanced by talismans. This made Li Erniu's smile vanish.

Chen Changqing tried to attack with his spiritual energy by flicking his finger, but as expected, it was easily blocked by the opponent, so he stopped trying.

His expression was not very clear at this moment. He only had two lightness talismans left. If the other party had any other tricks up their sleeve, he could only tell Li Erniu to pray for good luck.

……

Time is flying by, and the distance is getting closer.

What was originally a journey that would take almost a day was shortened to less than an hour. The price was that Chen Changqing and the two horses were almost "dried out"!

"Erniu, let's split up!"

The other party wouldn't let up, and at the fork in the road, Chen Changqing had to make a choice.

"it is good."

Although Li Erniu was reluctant and afraid, he obeyed without complaint.

Unexpectedly, the fourth elder of the Ye family didn't even glance at Li Erniu's side, and went straight to Chen Changqing.

"Damn, I didn't even curse at you!"

Chen Changqing was unaware that the other party was the owner of the wolf-tooth poisonous bees he had killed four years ago.

However, I'm starting to think about it more now.

"Alright."

Chen Changqing held the fifth Lightness Talisman in his hand, completely unperturbed. He would use it as soon as the previous talisman ran out of energy.

Furthermore, they would listen to the horse's breathing from time to time to see if they needed to infuse it with spiritual energy.

"this……"

The fourth elder of the Ye family was furious. They were only about a hundred miles away from the Zhou family's territory. At this moment, both he and Linglu were exhausted and dared not trespass even a little.

Otherwise, not to mention the Foundation Establishment ancestor of the Zhou family, any late-stage cultivator they encountered might not return alive.

Having pursued him for so long, he would never be willing to give up.

"Chase me another hundred miles, and I don't believe you still have any mid-grade talismans!"

Gritting his teeth, the fourth elder of the Ye family poured more spiritual energy into the spirit pet than ever before.

They seemed determined to capture Chen Changqing within this hundred-mile radius!

After a while, Chen Changqing noticed that the horse's breathing was erratic and rapid. Without hesitation, he poured his spiritual energy into the horse and barely managed to protect its heart.

"Brother Ma, just hang in there a little longer, it'll be safe soon!"

Finally, the last talisman burned out, and the boundary marker of the Zhou family's land was in sight.

"Who dares to trespass on Zhou family territory!" Zhou Qingrong, who happened to be nearby, rushed over immediately. "Chen Changqing, why are you in such a sorry state? Where's Erniu?"

Upon seeing that it was the Third Elder of the Zhou family, Chen Changqing's heart sank slightly. After all, the wife of Liang Shenggang, whom he had injured before, was related to this person, and he was afraid of being harassed. He quickly replied:

"When we encountered a strong enemy pursuing us, Erniu and I separated. While the enemy chased me, he should be unharmed."

Immediately, Chen Changqing briefly explained the important points.

"You did a good job killing that ugly woman from the Ye family." Then, he quickly chased after her in the direction Chen Changqing pointed, saying, "Ye Wufeng, you'd better pray I don't catch up with you!"

……

"I was overthinking it... It seems the Zhou family and the Ye family are truly mortal enemies."

Watching the Third Elder's somewhat hunched back disappear quickly, Chen Changqing murmured to himself.

Immediately, he eagerly went to invite the Zhou family's best horse groom.

Even when resting in place, his horse would still breathe rapidly and occasionally convulse.

When he returned with his men, the horse was upside down, foaming at the mouth.

Chen Changqing knew that the horse had "exploded its lungs" from running too fast and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't help but feel sad and decided to give it a proper burial.

"Brother Chen, I was so worried! You know, I was scared when that old man chased me; but I was even more scared when he didn't!"

"Brother, it's good to see you back. I was really worried about you!"

Not long after, Li Erniu returned, and the two patted each other on the shoulder to express their feelings.

Unfortunately, after some time, the latter's mount also broke down.

It's unclear whether it's related to Erniu's slightly overweight figure.

"Poor horse, I'll give you a grand funeral later, and burn two pretty wives to keep you company."

Li Erniu's expression turned grave at first, but then he looked at Chen Changqing and revealed a smile as if he had survived a disaster:

"Brother Chen, we're so lucky to have survived being chased by a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. We owe it all to you!"

"Today I was chased away like a stray dog, even my mount died of exhaustion, it was truly frustrating!"

Chen Changqing clenched his fists, his face ashen, showing none of the relaxed mood that Li Erniu had.

No wonder, he has lofty ambitions and a cheat code. He was forced to use all his trump cards and almost lost his life when facing a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. How could he not be angry?

But to outsiders, Chen Changqing's escape this time, from changing the road in front of the canyon at the beginning, to using his spiritual power to injure people when he encountered obstacles, and finally splitting into two groups at the fork in the road, his decisiveness and correct choices were all admirable.

However, the reward the Zhou family gave Chen Changqing was merely a symbolic gesture, saying they would reissue him a mid-grade talisman paper, far less than what Li Erniu received.

Chen Changqing didn't dwell on or complain too much about it. He wasn't a member of the Zhou family and didn't feel much of a sense of belonging, so this was at least unexpected income.

Li Erniu, however, was good at dealing with people. He shared a lot of spirit tea and spirit rice with Chen Changqing from his own reward, which was equivalent to the value of two mid-grade talismans.

Upon returning to his residence, Chen Changqing first took a thorough bath, and then fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up the next day and opened the window, the sun was already high in the sky.

"Being chased away is really unpleasant; I was so tired I overslept today!"

Chen Changqing developed a habit of going to bed late and getting up early from a young age, and he cherishes his time very much.

I stretched and opened the long-unused control panel: