In the ruins of Market District, the power of the Second-Grade Array erupted in full, pounding down upon Horse Face of Death’s body—
“Black-hearted Talisman Master, you son of a… you still had a hidden move?!”
Horse Face of Death froze, as though he had seen a ghost, staring at Li An in disbelief.
His eyes brimmed with endless shock. He simply could not fathom that he—he—would actually die at the hands of a mere Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator…
He instinctively raised his hand, as if still wanting to strike.
But a dagger, like a flash of light, sliced through—
Horse Face of Death’s head flew from his shoulders along with that glint of light!
Already gravely wounded by Han Zhong and battered by the Second-Grade Array, Horse Face of Death’s qi had completely dissipated. At this point, even Li An’s humble “Flying Dagger Technique” was more than enough to take his life.
The demonic cultivator’s corpse fell stiffly to the ground.
The moment Li An activated the array, an overwhelming exhaustion washed through his body. The fatigue surged like a flood.
But he bit down on his tongue, forcing himself to stay conscious. He staggered toward the corpse.
“Horse Face of Death is dead… he’s really dead… too good, too good…”
On the other side, Jing Ao—miraculously still alive—was struck by both terror and delight. He was terrified by Li An’s hidden trump card… but overjoyed that he had survived.
Moreover, with Senior Brother Han Zhong dead, wouldn't the great merit for killing Horse Face of Death fall upon him?
“Quick, come help me up! Help me up!”
He barked an order at Li An.
But Li An ignored him completely.
Instead, he walked over to the Bone Banner, wrapped his hand with cloth, picked it up, and then approached Jing Ao.
His gaze—icy cold.
“You… what are you trying to do…”
Jing Ao immediately sensed something was wrong. Fear crept into his heart. He tried to mask it with a stern tone:
“Help me up! You want to die?!”
But Li An simply stared at him and said calmly:
“What a pity. Horse Face of Death didn’t get the chance to tear you into pieces and stew you into meat paste…”
“You’re insane! I’m a core disciple of the Inner Sect! If you lay a hand on me, you’ll—”
Jing Ao’s words were cut short.
Li An thrust the Bone Banner directly into Jing Ao’s chest!
Splurt—
Jing Ao stared wide-eyed, dumbstruck—dead on the spot.
Li An yanked the banner out, tossed it aside, panting heavily, forcing his exhausted body to move.
He cleaned up the shattered fragments of the jade talisman next to Jing Ao and stuffed them into his storage pouch.
Then, he quickly turned to inspect Horse Face of Death’s corpse.
The storage pouch on the body was stuffed with valuables!
Massive amounts of spirit stones, pills, numerous Second-Grade Artifacts—and even a Third-Grade Spirit Herb.
Incredibly wealthy!
Unfortunately… there was no Foundation Establishment Pill.
Li An scanned over the three Second-Grade herbs inside, taking only two, and placed them into his own pouch.
Then, he ran.
His Light Body Technique pushed to the limit, and in just a few breaths, he arrived at an old abandoned well at the edge of the market.
He tossed his storage pouch into the well and covered it with rubble.
Only after all this did he rush back to the battlefield, pick up Horse Face of Death’s severed head, and collapse beside the corpse.
He finally let his guard down and allowed the fatigue to flood him.
“Horse Face of Death arrived… I lured him into the back hall… was knocked out… Jing Ao tried to act but was poisoned… couldn’t activate the formation… was killed by the Bone Banner… Yu Xiong and Han Zhong risked their lives… gravely injured the demonic cultivator… I woke up… seized the talisman from Jing Ao… activated the Second-Grade Formation… and killed Horse Face of Death…”
He muttered this over and over, forcibly hypnotizing himself.
He needed to bury the truth deep within his heart… and craft a perfect lie to live by.
As long as the Clear Sun Sect’s people had not arrived, he had time to reinforce this version of events.
At the same time, a thought flickered faintly in his mind: Horse Face of Death shouldn’t have died here.
Something was off. Very off.
But he had no energy left to think about it.
This time—Li An truly passed out.
Dozens of miles from Market District
The battle was raging intensely. The Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the medicinal convoy was locked in a bitter fight with a demonic cultivator wearing a horse mask.
BOOM!
A terrifying beam of light descended from the sky—an elderly figure with silver hair stepped through the air, his palm striking down with divine might.
The masked demonic cultivator below was instantly obliterated!
The battlefield fell silent.
“Is Horse Face of Death dead?!”
“He’s really dead?!”
“Thank the heavens… that fiend is finally gone!”
Clear Sun Sect disciples around the convoy were all ecstatic.
Even among the crowd, Xu Qiuhui let out a long sigh of relief.
That infamous Horse Face of Death had terrified even her.
The elderly man landed gracefully. Dressed in spotless robes, immortal-like, holding a fly whisk in hand.
“Greetings, Elder Li!”
Everyone bowed in reverence.
This was none other than the core Inner Sect Elder, Li Yuan, a Fake Core-level expert who led this entire operation!
Li Yuan was the junior martial brother of Clear Sun Sect’s leader and one of the sect’s four Fake Core powerhouses.
“Hmph. This demon has plagued our sect for years. Now he finally meets his end…”
He took a few casual steps—but suddenly frowned deeply.
“Elder, what’s wrong?” Xu Qiuhui asked.
Li Yuan narrowed his eyes and waved his hand. Pieces of the demon’s shredded flesh floated into his palm.
He examined them closely—only to find fine threads running between the bits of flesh.
“Not right… this isn’t Horse Face of Death!”
“This is a Blood Puppet!”
His face darkened. “We’ve been tricked—return to Market District, now!”
Everyone around him was stunned.
Fake Core cultivators could fly. Their speed was lightning-fast.
In just a few breaths, they arrived back at the Clear Sun Sect’s market.
It was nearly empty—everyone had fled.
Even the sect disciples who were supposed to defend the district had all scattered.
Li Yuan descended directly to the center of the battlefield.
When he saw the scene, even with his experience and strength—he was shocked.
Several Qi Refining Peak disciples lay dead, their throats torn out.
Jing Ao’s chest still gushed blood, the wound soaked in demonic qi.
Han Zhong—most tragically—had been decapitated, his neck torn as if mauled by a beast.
And beside the headless demon’s corpse…
A youth clad in the robe of a registered outer disciple, holding a bloody severed head, had fainted beside the body.
Li Yuan raised an eyebrow, walking over slowly. A sweep of his divine sense drew the bloody Bone Banner into his hand.
“Horse Face of Death?!”
He was taken aback.
So Horse Face of Death… really did die here?
It couldn’t be fake—the qi left on the corpse was incredibly strong, rare even among Foundation Establishment experts.
And the Bone Banner confirmed it beyond doubt.
Other disciples began to arrive on the scene…
And the moment they saw the devastation—they were shaken to the core.
What a catastrophic battlefield!
Foundation Establishment cultivators lying dead… chaos everywhere.
“Wait—he’s… he’s still alive?”
Xu Qiuhui suddenly noticed Li An, gasped, and cried out:
“He’s holding the head… Did he kill the demon?!”
Her heart trembled. Her eyes filled with disbelief.
(End of Chapter)