Chapter 12: Staying Immortal

The scene was kept intact, and the male cultivator was startled when he saw the deep pit.

Judging from the deep pit and the surroundings, the power of the strike was extremely astonishing, even surpassing that of ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

His figure flashed, and he arrived next to the deep pit. He lightly patted his storage bag, and a jade ruler appeared in his hand.

He tapped the deep pit and its surroundings with the jade ruler, which elicited no response at all, causing his brows to furrow and a confused look to appear in his eyes.

"Senior Brother Zhao, have you found anything?" the female cultivator asked from the side.

"Strange, there's not a trace of Spiritual Energy left behind by this strike!" the male cultivator looked at the jade ruler and replied uncertainly.

Though the mundane world has powerful martial artists, unless they reach the Innate stage, they are generally considered trivial to cultivators.

Even an Innate Martial Artist capable of threatening Qi Refining cultivators can only do so by launching a surprise attack, potentially severely wounding a Qi Refining cultivator unexpectedly.

As long as a Qi Refining cultivator is prepared and maintains a certain distance from the opponent, an Innate Martial Artist cannot pose a threat.

"Could it be the work of an Innate Martial Artist?" the female cultivator speculated.

"No, look at the strike's power. Although great, it's scattered and lacks solidity, definitely not the attack of an Innate Martial Artist!" the male cultivator, with greater experience, replied confidently.

The reason an Innate Martial Artist can threaten a Qi Refining Cultivator is that they can concentrate Innate Qi at a single point to pierce through defenses effectively.

That demonstrates the control Innate Martial Artists have over their Innate Power. After all, martial artists are martial artists; they don't have so much Innate Power to waste.

If an Innate Martial Artist were to make such an attack, the amount of Innate Qi inside their body must be staggeringly vast, something unheard of at least to the male cultivator.

The power of this strike exceeded that of the late-stage Qi Refinement. From its manifestation, it was more likely the act of a cultivator.

However, whether it involved using a powerful talisman or a powerful spell, even after several days, his artifact should have detected traces of Spiritual Energy at the scene.

The male cultivator recorded the details of the scene thoroughly, as they needed to be archived, and he was to submit these as part of his mission.

"Prefect Li, prepare accommodations for us. We need to stay in Nanling City for a while. The lodgings should be near here as I need to come back and inspect more thoroughly!" the prepared male cultivator turned and spoke to Li WenYuan.

Originally, this mission was quite simple, dealing with a cultivator causing trouble in the mundane world, presumably not very powerful.

The Spiritual Energy is scarce in the secular world, and ordinary cultivators avoid it, unless necessary, as no cultivator wishes to stay in the mundane realm for a long time.

They, being two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, had taken on this mission, only to discover upon arrival that the troublemaking cultivator was already dead. The mission turned into investigating the circumstances and finding out who killed the cultivator.

Now, the things they recorded and took back would absolutely not be approved; even the male cultivator would not have believed the content of his records had he not investigated the scene himself.

"There are two guest courtyards in the mansion. If you do not mind, you can stay there!" Li WenYuan said with a smile.

"Alright," the male cultivator responded unceremoniously and nodded.

After arranging for the two cultivators to go to the guest courtyards, Li WenYuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Father, how come there are cultivators here? Are they sent from Central Capital?" Li Shiming asked curiously.

"They are holding an Imperial Decree, but there has been no corresponding official documentation from Central Capital!" Li WenYuan replied softly.

The rule of Great Xia was very mature; usually, when Central Capital sent people over, they would provide not only paper proofs in hand but also send an additional set of official documents.

However, considering that the two individuals were cultivators and that the Imperial Decree in their possession was genuine, Li WenYuan had no choice but to accommodate them while also sending an inquiry letter back to Central Capital.

"They probably mean no harm!" Li Shiming said in a reassuring tone.

Despite their arrogance, the two cultivators were still quite polite; they didn't appear to be malevolent, certainly not like those cultivators who had killed thirty-five people.

Li Shiming felt helpless in his heart; this sense of powerlessness in the face of powerful beings made him desire strength.

Senior Brother Zhao and Zheng had arrived at the guest quarters, which were adjacent to each other.

"Zheng, the strength of the cultivators we've encountered this time exceeds ours; we must not act separately during this period," Senior Brother Zhao said seriously.

"I will follow Senior Brother Zhao's commands," Zheng replied with a light laugh.

Senior Brother Zhao took out an Array Plate resembling a compass; upon activating it with Spiritual Energy, the plate emitted a white light that spread and enveloped both courtyards.

The two cultivators were not a Daoist couple practicing Dual Cultivation; under normal circumstances, they would not reside together.

No matter how good the relationship between cultivators, a distance must be maintained for the sake of safety.

Cultivators need to concentrate their minds when in practice, and during this time, they are almost undefended.

No cultivator would expose themselves so openly to others, placing their safety in someone else's hands.

Of course, since Senior Brother Zhao was taking Zheng on a task, he brought greater strength and wealth, hence he exerted extra effort and set up a Defensive Array around both courtyards.

Zheng entered her room, took a talisman out of her storage bag, and after activating it with Spiritual Energy, a red light fell upon the doors and windows.

Should anyone touch the doors or windows from outside, the talisman's effect would activate, alerting her.

Zheng wasn't as wealthy as Senior Brother Zhao and was under his protection, so she economized where she could.

Of course, she economized on defense; in cultivation, she spared no expense.

She spent much of her wealth on her cultivation; taking out a circular plate from her storage bag, she then placed four Spirit Stones inside it.

She released a burst of Spiritual Power, activating the plate, and the Spiritual Energy from the four Spirit Stones surged forth, making complex patterns light up on the plate.

Zheng sat on the plate, feeling the Spiritual Energy around her, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

Unlike those cultivators who continually enhanced their attack capabilities, Zheng had saved up for many years to exchange for this Gathering Spirit Plate, just to speed up her cultivation and stand out from her peers.

In another room, Senior Brother Zhao sensed the Spiritual Energy around and reluctantly took a Spirit Stone in his hand.

"I'd better find some clues quickly and return; the cultivation environment here is too poor!" Senior Brother Zhao murmured.

The next day Senior Brother Zhao and Zheng inspected various places in Nanling City but found no trace of any cultivator. They planned to stay one more day, and if they still found nothing, they would return.