Chapter 26: Slaying Qingmu Shangren

Seeing that the situation had reached a stalemate, Qingmu Shangren smiled slightly and said, "Young friend, although you have just stepped into the world of cultivation, we can consider ourselves fellow practitioners. As a senior, I won't make things difficult for you. Just give me twenty spirit stones or something of equivalent value, and I will leave here immediately. What do you say?

Think carefully! Once we start fighting, not to mention how many more talismans you can activate with your internal energy, even if you can unleash a few, they won't be able to harm me. Furthermore, your uncles and elders will likely suffer heavy casualties. Why go through all this? Don't you agree?"

Fang Yun looked at Qingmu Shangren and had to admit that he made some valid points. If they fought and the elders didn't have his assistance, it would be challenging to withstand the onslaught of the remaining innate martial artists.

However, to surrender based on just a few words would be too disrespectful. Besides, according to his earlier estimates, Qingmu Shangren was likely at the first layer of Qi refining; it was just that he couldn't see it clearly now. Given that it was his first battle, he would be cautious. That didn't mean he was afraid of him.

But simply maintaining this standoff wasn't a solution. It was better to test the waters first. So, Fang Yun took the fire attribute talisman in his hand, causing it to glow once more, and sent it flying toward Qingmu Shangren.

Qingmu Shangren had expected Fang Yun to concede. After all, the situation was clear: despite suffering some casualties, he still held the upper hand. What he wanted was not much for the Fang family, and anyone who wasn't foolish wouldn't want to clash with him.

However, he didn't expect Fang Yun to not waste any time and send the talisman flying toward him directly. Seeing this, Qingmu Shangren's expression turned cold. He had originally intended to conserve some energy, but since this young man was so unappreciative, he wouldn't hold back.

He produced a talisman of his own, which lit up and formed a green protective shield around him. Then, he took a seed and sprinkled it on the ground while reciting incantations and changing hand seals. The seeds rapidly took root and sprouted, quickly forming several thorny vines that surged toward Fang Yun.

As soon as the green protective shield appeared around Qingmu Shangren, Fang Yun's fireball technique struck the shield, producing a violent explosion. Sparks from the fireball shot out in all directions, prompting the surrounding innate martial artists to hurriedly retreat to avoid the blasts.

The battle of cultivators was not something they could participate in. If those flying sparks landed on them, even if they didn't take their lives, it would be more than enough to cause serious injuries.

As the fireball technique struck, the green protective shield began to flicker violently but ultimately held strong, though the green light became somewhat translucent. Perhaps another fireball or two would break through his defense.

However, Qingmu Shangren no longer gave Fang Yun a chance; his wooden attribute spell had already taken shape. As he watched the vines sweeping toward him, Fang Yun realized that relying solely on the talismans in his hand wouldn't be enough to take down Qingmu Shangren.

Fortunately, after testing with the fireball technique, he determined that Qingmu Shangren's magical power wasn't particularly strong. It appeared he was still within the realm of the first layer of Qi refining. This gave Fang Yun some reassurance.

With that, Fang Yun drew his long knife, pouring his magical energy into it in an instant. With a wave of his hand, a blade of energy several meters long slashed forward. Compared to the fireball technique, the power of the blade was far more formidable.

In the moment of contact, several of the vines were shredded, continuing onward toward Qingmu Shangren. Seeing the blade of energy slice through his spell, Qingmu Shangren's face changed dramatically. "A magical weapon!!"

How could a family like the Fang's possess a magical weapon? Such items were much rarer and more valuable than common talismans. Moreover, the requirements for using a magical weapon were significantly higher than those for talismans. Even if the Fang family had inherited a magical weapon, could their newly emerged cultivator meet the requirements to use it?

But no one was there to answer his questions anymore. By the time he noticed the blade of energy, it was already too late to evade it, and the blade quickly struck him.

The green protective shield that had been able to withstand the fireball technique shattered like a bubble against the blade. In the next moment, Qingmu Shangren's body was sliced in two.

Seeing Qingmu Shangren fall to his death, Fang Yun finally let out a long sigh of relief. This was the first cultivator he had faced, and thankfully, nothing unexpected had occurred. In the heat of battle, he hadn't realized it, but now he noticed his back was completely soaked.

It was easy to imagine how tense Fang Yun had been. At that moment, the innate martial artists among the pirates finally realized that their side's cultivator had been killed by the Fang family's cultivator.

With the cultivator's obstruction gone, the remaining innate martial artists were no match for the Fang family's cultivators. They lost their courage to stay put and turned to leap toward the ship in a panic.

Seeing their cultivator killed, the innate pirate leader also began to flee, realizing that they had lost. They all scattered in a hurry, heading toward the ship, eager to escape this terrifying place.

When the pirates saw their cultivator killed and began to flee, the morale of the Fang family's elders soared.

"Kill!!" With that battle cry, the elders rushed toward the remaining innate martial artists, while the Fang family's guards formed ranks behind them and followed in pursuit.

Seeing this, Fang Yun didn't have time to rest; he worried that the elders might face unexpected danger at the last moment. After all, there were still quite a few innate martial artists left among the pirates.

In a desperate situation, they were bound to suffer additional casualties. So, Fang Yun produced another fire attribute talisman. At this point, the only type of talisman he was sure of was the fire attribute ones. The other types were still unknown, and he didn't want to risk wasting them.

As the fire attribute talisman glowed, a fireball shot toward the pirates at incredible speed, striking down the fastest among them. The fireball instantly obliterated those innate martial artists among the fleeing pirates, sending the others flying as well.