I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals 173

## Chapter 173: The Water Is Deep

The ice spear etched on the blue talisman, lifelike, seemed to leap out, emanating an aura that made Foundation Establishment cultivators tremble.

Shi Xianzi muttered a spell under her breath and pointed with her jade hand.

A brilliant blue light erupted, transforming the large talisman into a crystal-blue ice spear, several feet long.

Boom!

The golden light shadow formed by the nascent Golden Battle-Bucket treasure collided with the crystal-blue ice spear, surrounded by chilling wind, in the sky.

A deafening roar, sent Mu Bingyun, who had retreated a distance, tumbling back with her blood surging, unable to stand steadily, her eardrums threatening to burst.

The powerful shockwave whipped up raging waves on the lake.

At the point of impact between the Golden Battle-Bucket treasure and the blue crystal ice spear, one side was filled with golden light wind ripples, the other with icy blue frost and chilling wind.

A stalemate lasted for a breath.

The man in the black veil muffled a groan, his robes billowing as his magic poured out like a flood.

With a “bang,” the blue crystal ice spear formed from the talisman was knocked back several feet.

The nascent Golden Battle-Bucket treasure sank slightly, its brilliance dimming by half, but under the man’s blood essence and magic, its aura began to rise again.

“Good opportunity.”

Lu Changan didn’t retreat, instead, he summoned another long sword, a top-grade magic weapon, and slashed at the man from the side.

He knew very well that a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, when fully controlling a nascent treasure, wouldn’t have the spare capacity to control another magic weapon.

The Earth Rock Rat continued to use the Gale Sand technique, waiting for a chance to slip behind the man.

At the same time, the second-order, mid-grade flying puppet, its wings flapping, whipped up a whirlwind to block the man’s escape route.

“You pesky ghost!”

The man in the black veil gritted his teeth in frustration, feeling a headache coming on.

The nascent treasure’s display of power hadn’t intimidated Lu Changan in the slightest.

Now, if he used the treasure to counter Shi Xianzi’s talisman, he wouldn’t have the energy to deal with the attacks from Lu Changan, the Earth Rock Rat, and the puppet.

Shi Xianzi didn’t give him a chance to breathe, the ice spear talisman, with a whistling chill wind, charged toward him.

The man in the black veil was forced to confront the talisman head-on with the nascent Golden Battle-Bucket treasure.

His consciousness and magic were “kidnapped” by the nascent treasure, leaving him with no spare energy to control other magic weapons. He could only grudgingly use a quasi-third-order defensive talisman.

A viscous, spherical water barrier enveloped the man in black.

Puf, puf, chi!

The attacks from Lu Changan, the Earth Rock Rat, and the puppet were all absorbed and swallowed by the viscous, spherical water barrier.

Only after withstanding the combined attacks of three Foundation Establishment cultivators in the middle and late stages did the spherical water barrier dim by a third.

Boom!

At the same time, the nascent Golden Battle-Bucket treasure once again collided with the ice spear talisman.

The man in the black veil ignored the Golden Battle-Bucket treasure, which had dimmed by more than half.

Under the protection of the spherical water barrier, he muttered a spell, his blood essence burning, his magic boiling and evaporating rapidly.

Buzz!

A blood-red light enveloped his form, and blood-red flames, pulsating rapidly, condensed under his feet.

“This man is escaping!”

Shi Xianzi’s expression changed slightly, she exclaimed softly.

Shi Xianzi’s talisman had just been repelled, its brilliance significantly dimmed. If she tried to activate it again, she wouldn’t be able to stop the man’s escape technique in time.

Talismans were somewhere between talismans and magic weapons, making them more difficult to control and slower to activate than talismans.

“Blood Shadow Escape?”

Lu Changan immediately threw out a crimson talisman, striking the spherical water barrier, which had already dimmed by half.

Whoosh! Bang!

A flame serpent, seven or eight feet long, carrying blazing flames, slammed into the viscous, spherical water barrier.

This was a top-tier, second-order, flame-type attack talisman, causing the viscous, spherical water barrier to dim to the extreme, almost on the verge of breaking.

Shi Xianzi took the opportunity to cast a spell, letting the jade bracelet, a top-tier second-order magic weapon in the sky, burn at full power, finally causing the spherical water barrier to shatter.

“Hehehe… Too late! This old man wants to leave, he will leave!”

It was all happening so quickly. The man’s escape technique had only taken a breath to activate, and his entire figure transformed into a blood shadow, with a speed that surpassed a False Dan cultivator, and shot into the sky.

“Blast!”

Lu Changan remained expressionless, controlling the second-order, mid-grade flying puppet, causing it to self-destruct above the man.

Boom!

The second-order, mid-grade puppet exploded, scattering sparks and fragments, equivalent to an attack from a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The blood shadow burst through the explosion, letting out an enraged roar, tumbling several times in the sky, almost falling down.

Puf!

A mouthful of blood, along with some shredded flesh, landed on the surface of the lake.

The blood shadow managed to stabilize itself, rushing into the clouds, instantly leaving Lu Changan and the others behind.

“Cough cough! Lu Changan… this old man will remember today’s grudge.”

A sinister, hoarse voice echoed from the sky.

The blood shadow became smaller and smaller on the horizon.

…

Squeak!

The Earth Rock Rat leaped onto the surface of the lake, sniffing the bloodstain, eating the scattered bits of shredded flesh.

“Shi Xianzi, this man is seriously injured, having gone through a hard fight, controlling the nascent treasure, and burning his blood essence and lifespan to perform the Blood Shadow Escape, his vitality is depleted, he won’t be able to escape too far.”

Lu Changan glanced at the direction where the blood shadow disappeared, speaking slowly and calmly.

“Hmm, this man can at most escape a few hundred miles.”

Shi Xianzi nodded in agreement.

Lu Changan boarded Shi Xianzi’s top-tier second-order flying boat, planning to track the man’s trail, aided by the Earth Rock Rat’s sense of smell.

As for Mu Bingyun, her condition was still acceptable, Lu Changan told her to return to Wu Qi Shan first.

Apart from the Night Fisher, there were no other significant劫修 (jie xiu, rogue cultivators) in the area.

…

Lu Changan and Shi Xianzi rode the flying boat, following the trail, chasing for over a hundred miles.

In the sky above a certain canyon.

The flying boat stopped.

Squeak!

The Earth Rock Rat hesitated, looking towards the sky, where there were three faint traces of blood-red aura, leading in different directions.

“Shi Xianzi, the Night Fisher is skilled in tracking techniques, he cultivated a blood-line technique similar to the Blood Shadow Escape, able to create illusionary traces.”

Lu Changan pondered for a moment.

“Such a profound technique is not something that ordinary rogue cultivators can master.”

Shi Xianzi was surprised.

Lu Changan agreed with her.

The Night Fisher’s magic was profound, his cultivated techniques even surpassed those of ordinary sect cultivators.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to escape from the siege of Shi Xianzi, Lu Changan, and the Earth Rock Rat.

Although Lu Changan had been slacking off earlier, his coordination with the puppet, the distractions they caused, were only slightly less than a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“For now, we can only chase separately.”

Lu Changan and Shi Xianzi quickly came up with a plan.

Shi Xianzi, Lu Changan, and the Earth Rock Rat, each tracked one direction.

With the Night Fisher’s weakened state, having drained his life force, his vitality severely depleted, his strength had fallen by at least half, if not more.

Shi Xianzi could take him down alone with ease if she encountered him.

If Lu Changan or the Earth Rock Rat encountered him, they didn’t need to engage directly, they only needed to keep him occupied, waiting for reinforcements.

For ease of communication, Lu Changan gave Shi Xianzi a second-order Communication Talisman.

This talisman came in yin and yang pairs, unable to transmit specific messages. However, as long as one of them activated the talisman within a ten-thousand-mile radius, the other party would receive a notification.

Lu Changan and Shi Xianzi each chose a direction to pursue.

The Earth Rock Rat chose the remaining direction.

…

Lu Changan flew for several dozen miles along his chosen direction, only to discover that the traces gradually ended.

It seemed he had been misled by a false illusionary trace.

Lu Changan’s past life had some expertise in tracking, he trusted his judgment.

A blood-red crystal, the size of a grain of rice, appeared in his palm, and with his other hand he muttered a spell, closing his eyes to sense.

The blood-red crystal buzzed and vibrated, causing Lu Changan’s magic and consciousness to deplete slightly.

After a moment.

Lu Changan put away the blood-red crystal, his expression filled with surprise, he looked toward the southeast, the direction leading to the heartland of Liang Guo (Liang Country).

The Night Fisher didn’t escape to a remote area?

Lu Changan activated the Changqing Gong (Evergreen Technique), concealing his aura, using his physical strength as the main source of power, and flew low to the ground.

Every few miles, he would merge his mind with the Jiu Yin Bei (Nine Seals Tablet), using his Zhenren (Real Person) level consciousness to scan an area of several miles.

“Found him.”

In an abandoned village, Lu Changan found traces of the Night Fisher.

The man was lying in a cellar under the ruins, his aura weak and concealed, like a tortoise breathing, his vital signs as faint as an ant.

Even an ordinary False Dan cultivator, if they weren’t careful enough, might miss him.

Lu Changan’s mind raced, considering several ways to kill the man without a direct confrontation.

For example, he could secretly release a colorless and odorless poison, given the man’s weakened state, he wouldn’t be able to withstand it, then he could control a puppet to kill him up close.

If he wanted to save trouble, he could approach, and then use a talisman to strike suddenly.

However, the talisman’s power was too strong, it might damage the loot.

“Hmm?”

Lu Changan suddenly felt a sensation, he looked towards the southeast.

A few dozen breaths later.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s遁光 (Dun Guang,遁光, a light that makes a cultivator travel quickly) flew cautiously in the night.

It was a burly man in black, trying to suppress his magic fluctuations, but it was impossible to escape Lu Changan’s senses.

He had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, his magic wasn’t as thick as the Night Fisher’s, but it was purer.

“Is it him?”

Lu Changan scanned with his consciousness, seeing through the disguised black-clad man, whose body and bones had been altered.

…

“Brother Zhuo?” The black-clad man landed in front of the ruins, his voice lowered.

“Brother Song, come in.”

A weak, male voice, completely different from the previous hoarse voice, came from the cellar.

The black-clad man moved aside a stone slab and entered the cellar, then blocked the passageway.

The man in the black veil removed his veil, revealing a pale and bloodless face, with a pair of sharp brows and tiger eyes, looking to be nearly forty years old.

The black-clad man’s face and body changed, returning to a refined, handsome young man.

“Brother Zhuo, why are you so badly injured?”

Song Wen 书 (Wen) expressed concern, asking.

“It’s Wu Qi Shan…”

Zhuo Shi 兄 (Shi) gritted his teeth slightly, his eyes filled with hatred.

After listening to the whole story, Song Wen sighed, “Brother Zhuo, didn’t I tell you, in the area I patrol, as long as you don’t attack cultivators with backgrounds, you’re safe.”

“The three peak masters of Wu Qi Shan are not soft persimmon, I mentioned it before. Moreover, I have a decent relationship with them…”

“I misjudged the situation. I thought that the three peak masters of Wu Qi Shan were just slightly more powerful rogue cultivators, without any strong background.”

Zhuo Shi sighed and explained.

“Besides, I didn’t directly attack the people of Wu Qi Shan. Although Mu Bingyun has some connections with Lu Changan, the ‘Turtle Talisman Master,’ this man is greedy for life and afraid of death, he doesn’t like to fight, as long as no obvious traces are left, it’s not a big deal.”

“Mu Bingyun, that b****, is a rare and exquisite female cultivator, if she were to be offered up, perhaps she could win the favor of that one…”

Upon hearing this, Song Wen pondered for a moment.

From Zhuo Shi’s perspective, there was indeed no major oversight, it was simply bad luck.

“Mu Bingyun was just bait, and you fell for it. Wu Qi Shan probably wanted to eliminate you from the start.”

“Tonight, Lu Changan and Shi Man容 (Rong) were meeting in their cave, probably on purpose, so your spies would see it.”

As an outsider, Song Wen quickly deduced the cause and effect.

“Forget it, I fell into the gutter, I admit defeat today, Brother Zhuo. I’ll find another opportunity someday…”

Zhuo Shi laughed bitterly, temporarily suppressing his murderous intent.

Song Wen handed Zhuo Shi several bottles of medicinal herbs and arranged a place for him.

“Don’t use the identity of the Night Fisher for the next ten years, find a small place to recuperate.”

“Remember, you’re already dead in the Li Huo Gong (Fire Palace). If other elders find out about your situation, even the Palace Master won’t be able to save you.”

Song Wen warned.

“Brother Song, this is your share for the past year.”

Zhuo Shi chuckled, throwing a storage bag over.

There were some social obligations on Valentine’s Day, so there was no update, sorry.

(End of Chapter)

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