CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 26: FLEEING FOR ONE’S LIFE

The Golden Core demon beast hadn’t even left yet, and these people had already started fighting and robbing each other, more reckless than fugitives.

With his golden finger, a long life was within sight, and he wouldn’t risk something so dangerous for a measly gain.

Xu Ping’s expression was tense as he quickly fled from the market. Now that the Second-stage array was broken, it was the perfect opportunity to escape!

Like Xu Ping, there were also other loose cultivators fleeing, most of them being cautious and prudent.

Whizz whizz!

Xu Ping’s movement technique was like lightning, but he still felt his speed wasn’t fast enough, so he used the Light Body Technique to enhance himself.

With a flash of spiritual light, his speed increased even further.

After running a sufficient distance, he turned back and looked.

He saw the Golden Core demon beast had somehow appeared in the sky above the market. It wasn’t destroying the market anymore.

But there was still a smaller-sized demon bird wreaking havoc in the market.

Countless buildings were recklessly destroyed by it, countless loose cultivators were casually slaughtered by it!

The distant sounds of explosions and screams sent a chill through Xu Ping’s heart.

He was now just thankful for his quick escape and that he wasn’t blinded by greed. Otherwise, he would truly have nowhere to run.

He withdrew his gaze, straining his body to the limit as he fled headlong.

After running a bit farther, Xu Ping suddenly raised an eyebrow.

The sound of fighting came from his right rear direction.

He turned his head and saw, surprisingly, it was the father and daughter he had seen in the square earlier.

At this moment, a late-stage Qi Cultivation and two mid-stage Qi Cultivation men had surrounded the father and daughter, constantly attacking them with magical artifacts.

Yet the father and daughter were only at the fifth and third levels of Qi Cultivation, how could they be a match for these three? They were at risk every moment.

However, the father and daughter seemed to have a surprisingly abundant fortune. Whenever they couldn’t hold on, they would pull out some talismans to fend them off temporarily.

"These two are really rich!" The leader of the late-stage Qi Cultivation men looked extremely excited.

He had almost spent all his spirit stones in trying to break through the late stage of Qi Cultivation. This time he could finally recover well.

"Boss, let’s spare the girl’s life so she can entertain us," the other man ogled the young girl’s body with lecherous eyes.

Hearing this, the girl’s face turned pale, fear spreading in her heart as she imagined the dreadful fate if captured by these three, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

The middle-aged father, seeing the situation, gritted his teeth and took out a dull, dragon-eye-sized bead from his storage bag, throwing it at the late-stage Qi Cultivation leader.

The late-stage Qi Cultivation man’s expression suddenly changed: "Not good... a Yin Thunder Pearl?"

Rumble! The sky suddenly flashed with dark thunder, and Thunder Power instantly surrounded him from all directions.

His defensive magical artifact was sent flying, and the Golden Light Shield shattered in an instant.

In his terrified eyes, thunder descended with a roar.

Rumble!

The leader’s charred corpse fell to the ground with a thud, his magical artifact lost its master’s control, and the spiritual light vanished as it fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, the rest of the two’s attacks had also arrived.

Bang bang!!

With two roars, the middle-aged man’s protective shield was shattered, and a hammer-shaped magical artifact smashed heavily onto him.

"Pfft!"

The middle-aged man was sent flying, blood spurting from his mouth.

"Dad!" the girl cried in terror, rushing to her father’s side in a panic.

The two men in the distance exchanged glances, their expressions uncertain, not daring to approach.

Who would have thought this father and daughter really had such wealth, even possessing a Yin Thunder Pearl? Who knew what other tricks they had, and they didn’t want to end up like their leader.

The two looked at each other and ultimately decided to make a move.

Having come this far, they were unwilling to give up, especially given the father and daughter’s wealth, worth a gamble.

Just as they were about to act, suddenly several strands of golden energy shot out.

The two men’s faces changed drastically, hurriedly applying defensive talismans to themselves.

However, the power of the golden energy was too strong, directly shattering the protective shield and piercing through their heads.

"Ugh ugh..."

The two fell slowly with horror in their eyes.

They released grip, allowing a few talismans to drift down slowly.

Xu Ping stepped out from behind a tree, approaching the three corpses under the father and daughter’s frightened and wary gaze.

He swiftly stripped everything they had, leaving behind the words: "This is your reward for saving you," and turned away.

Xu Ping initially didn’t want to meddle, especially with a late-stage Qi Cultivator involved, along with those two left alive; he was reluctant to take risks.

Even if she was as much like Mo Ting, it wasn’t her.

But he hadn’t expected that late-stage Qi Cultivator to be killed by her father.

The remaining two no longer posed a threat to him.

After considering, he still decided to intervene.

It was a small way to alleviate the regret in his heart.

As for whether the father and daughter would encounter other dangers later, he couldn’t help them anymore.

After all, he was just at the fourth level of Qi Cultivation, helping a little within his capacity was one thing, getting himself into trouble was something he couldn’t afford.

...

...

Back home safely, Xu Ping’s tense mind finally relaxed a little.

Although his home was just a pile of ordinary wood with no defensive power, being in familiar surroundings still brought him some comfort.

Moreover, his home was far enough from the market, and staying at home without running around was the wise choice right now, increasing his survival rate.

Sitting on a chair, Xu Ping couldn’t help but recall the Golden Core demon beast:

"Where did this Golden Core demon beast come from?"

"Did it consider the market a base, or would it leave after some havoc?"

"What should be done in the future?"

"Will the Longevity Sect return and reclaim it?"

His mind was a tangle of feelings, like a yarn ball with no beginning.

This was the first time he felt such confusion since awakening his golden finger.

He pondered for a long time and finally sighed helplessly: "I’m still too weak."

Even though he felt uneasy inside, Xu Ping made an effort to cheer himself up, trying to think positively. Maybe things weren’t as bad as they seemed.

Overthinking now would bring nothing but pressure.

Xu Ping took a deep breath, trying to suppress his thoughts before examining his spoils of war.

He took out the storage bags of the three.

Checking them carefully,

Altogether, the storage bags contained over one hundred and fifty spirit stones, several bottles of pills, several cultivation books, and seven or eight talismans.

Three magical artifacts: one mid-grade and the rest two lower grade ones.

Total valued over three hundred spirit stones.

"Not a bad haul, but the late-stage Qi Cultivation guy had surprisingly little," Xu Ping frowned slightly.

Aside from the mid-grade magical artifact, his possessions were not as good as his underlings’.

Xu Ping wasn’t too upset since he hadn’t been through a life-and-death battle. Such an income was already quite good.

After packing away his things,

Xu Ping poured himself a glass of water, took a few sips, and recited in his heart:

"Wait, wait until everything calms down before going out to take a look.