I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

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"Now is the moment to break free amidst the chaos. No one can stop me!"

Yu Qin pulled out a quasi-third-rank flight escape talisman, channeling her mana into it. In about half a breath’s time, she pressed it against her waist.

For those with low cultivation, activating high-grade talismans is often not instantaneous due to the immense power that needs to be drawn from the talisman.

Swoosh!

In an instant, Yu Qin's speed surged, surpassing the level of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The clan elder chasing her, also at Foundation Establishment, was instantly left far behind.

Yu Qin’s lips curled in satisfaction. Her mission had gone off without a hitch, and she had accomplished a significant feat.

Though she had stirred up trouble within the Xia Family, she hadn’t actually killed anyone.

The young master Xia Mingqu she targeted was the Xia Family's next-in-line to lead the Wufu Merchant Association. He was nearly a guaranteed late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, with a high potential to reach the Core Formation Realm in the future.

However, due to the exotic poison she had concocted, Xia Mingqu’s advancement had failed. The severe backlash he suffered would inevitably damage his foundation.

As a result, even if he barely managed to reach late-stage Foundation Establishment in the future, his chances of forming a core would be slim.

Moreover, Xia Mingqu’s father, Xia Yongzhong, had failed to form a core in his youth and had been overseeing the merchant association's business affairs in a managerial role ever since.

The clan head, Xia Hongyu, though skilled in health preservation techniques, had far less life remaining than the Fake Dan immortal from the Xin Family.

Yu Qin’s plot not only prevented the Xia Family from adding a new late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator but also created a risk of a gap in their future high-end fighting strength.

Beyond that, Yu Qin had even cast suspicion onto Lan Chang'an, the Xia Family’s strongest offering.

The poison she had concocted included certain ingredients she specifically bought on Autumnwind Isle.

These traces would lead the Xia Family’s upper echelon to conduct an investigation, and they’d be unlikely to fully trust Lan Chang'an afterward.

“Xia Mingqu, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Back then, your parents opposed our relationship, looking down on my humble family background.”

"With this achievement, the Xinyue Merchant Association will not only reward me generously but will also accept my family through marriage."

Yu Qin’s expression shifted, showing a complex mix of emotions, even a slight pang of guilt.

When Xia Mingqu suffered from backlash upon his failed advancement, she actually had the chance to kill him on the spot.

She didn’t act, partly because of lingering guilt, unable to go through with the fatal blow.

On the other hand, Xia Mingqu, as the young master, might possess powerful life-saving techniques.

"Stop her!"

Yu Qin had already flown past the Xia Family's inner grounds; ahead lay the clan-protecting formation's radiant barrier.

With the quasi-third-rank talisman boosting her speed, low-level Qi-Refining cultivators couldn’t approach her, and any that tried were easily dispatched. ṝ�

"The Xia Family's protective formation is quasi-third-rank, but without a sufficient number of Foundation Establishment cultivators to operate it, its power is greatly diminished."

Brimming with confidence, Yu Qin flew straight toward the barrier.

As long as she broke through, she’d be safe—she even had allies waiting to pick her up outside.

...

Buzz!

Ahead, the clan-protecting formation flared with intense light, and thunderclouds gathered in the sky, brewing thick, serpent-like blue lightning bolts.

"Something’s wrong!"

Yu Qin’s face turned pale as she sensed the formidable spiritual pressure from the heaven-and-earth formation, making her breath heavy.

Whosh!

The formation summoned a storm of lightning and rain, blanketing her escape route and significantly slowing her down.

Meanwhile…

Two figures sliced through the air behind her, chasing relentlessly.

"Xia Mingqu?! You—"

Yu Qin glanced back, her almond-shaped eyes widening in disbelief as she spotted Xia Mingqu and Xia Shenglan, both unharmed.

The two were also using quasi-third-rank flight talismans. Additionally, each held an array flag, channeling the power of the quasi-third-rank formation to block Yu Qin’s escape.

Xia Mingqu's face was grim, his eyes cold as he stared at the alluring figure in the pink dress.

To him, Yu Qin's betrayal was not only treacherous— it was a path-blocking grudge! If she succeeded, his cultivation journey would forever stagnate at Foundation Establishment.

Thanks to Lan Chang'an’s warning, he had suspected the worst outcome—that Yu Qin might be a mole and was trying to sow discord.

But he had never imagined that she would strike with such ruthless intent.

Because Yu Qin hadn’t used a conventional poison, he hadn’t detected anything amiss beforehand and couldn’t hastily accuse either Lan Chang'an or her.

After Lan Chang'an restored his identity, the second-rank spiritual contract he’d signed was already voided, which made it possible for him to be compromised by a rival force.

Thus, his attempt to break through was all an act.

He bathed in various medicinal brews to expel the toxins, feigning a failed advancement to confirm Yu Qin’s treachery.

"Yu Qin, the protective formation has been activated. Today, you won’t escape even if you grow wings!"

As he spoke, Xia Mingqu directed the formation's power to limit Yu Qin’s movement.

However, due to the rushed activation and the lack of sufficient Foundation Establishment cultivators, they couldn’t unleash the full might of the formation.

Swoosh!

While Xia Mingqu was speaking, another figure closed in from several li away, emitting a powerful late-stage Foundation Establishment aura.

"It’s Talisman Master Lan."

Xia Shenglan and Xia Mingqu exchanged a glance, relaxing slightly.

Lan Chang'an had approached from Autumnwind Isle, his speed on par with the peak of late-stage Foundation Establishment.

Judging by the timing, he had come immediately and hadn’t deliberately held back.

Though Lan Chang'an hadn’t used his trump cards, he had already fulfilled his duties as an external provider by assisting in the clan’s defense.

...

"If I want to leave, none of you can stop me!"

Seeing Lan Chang'an closing in from the side, a trace of panic finally appeared on Yu Qin's face.

The intelligence from the Xinyue Merchant Association rated Lan Chang'an’s combat power very high, saying that it would take two or three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators to subdue him.

Fortunately, Lan Chang'an had started from the distant Autumnwind Isle and was still the farthest away.

Boom! Crackle!

Lightning and rain battered her, shattering her supreme-grade magic weapon and depleting several upper second-rank talismans.

Finally, she reached the barrier’s edge.

"Break!"

Yu Qin’s eyes flashed coldly as she activated a Restriction-Breaking Talisman. A beam of twisted, destructive light tore open a large gap in the protective formation.

"A quasi-third-rank Restriction-Breaking Talisman!"

Seeing this, Xia Mingqu and Xia Shenglan’s expressions darkened.

Restriction-Breaking Talismans are rare, strategic resources. A quasi-third-rank one is a relatively rare item, even within the huge Merchant Alliance.

"Heh… If I didn’t have such trump cards, would I have dared to risk my life on such a dangerous mission?"

With the flight talisman’s boost, Yu Qin swiftly passed through the formation’s breach.

Her next move was to dive into the dense forest near a water bay, where she quickly vanished from sight.

"So close! Just one step short."

Xia Mingqu sighed as he and Xia Shenglan stopped before the formation.

With few strong cultivators stationed in the clan, if the two of them pursued, it would leave their defenses vulnerable.

"She got away?"

Several breaths later, Lan Chang'an arrived, glancing at the closing breach in the array.

Xia Mingqu's face flushed slightly with embarrassment.

Despite coordinating with the protective formation, the three clan elders had failed to capture Yu Qin.

"That Yu Qin had both a quasi-third-rank escape talisman and a Restriction-Breaking Talisman. We didn’t have enough people, and the formation was hastily activated…” Xia Shenglan explained quietly.

Lan Chang'an understood.

Besides him, none of the others were at late-stage Foundation Establishment, so they lacked the overwhelming strength needed to overpower a mid-stage cultivator like Yu Qin.

Yu Qin was a loose cultivator who was expelled from her sect and was no weakling.

If it were a one-on-one battle without any trump cards, Xia Mingqu might not have stood a chance.

"Talisman Master Lan..."

Xia Shenglan hesitated for a moment, an unwilling look in her eyes as she gazed in the direction where Yu Qin had fled.

Lan Chang'an immediately understood her intent.

Although Yu Qin had managed to escape, her magical weapon was damaged, and she had exhausted her life-saving talismans.

As someone at the late Foundation Establishment stage, Lan Chang'an had a reasonable chance of capturing or killing her if he pursued.

But Lan Chang'an remained silent, pretending he hadn’t understood.

After all, his role as an honored guest of the Xia Family was mainly due to his side profession as a talisman master. Their previous agreements never included any obligation for him to engage in life-threatening battles.

Helping with the clan’s defenses was already fulfilling his duty.

Besides, he had already made arrangements for Yu Qin’s fate.

"Sister Shenglan, don’t make things difficult for Talisman Master Lan! Yu Qin might have backup waiting for her. If we chase her recklessly and fall into an ambush..."

Xia Mingqu said seriously, stepping in to dissuade her.

"I was being short-sighted, letting my hatred cloud my judgment," Xia Shenglan admitted, her face showing a hint of regret.

"Yu Qin alone isn’t much of a threat. By exposing the Xinyue Merchant Association’s scheme, we’ve managed to save the family from a major loss, so it’s not as if we came out empty-handed," Xia Mingqu said, regaining his calm and trying to console her.

Xia Shenglan nodded, casting a sidelong glance at the pensive expression on Xia Mingqu's face, and a thought occurred to her.

She could tell that Xia Mingqu lacked a strong desire to kill Yu Qin, preferring a more cautious approach and advising against the pursuit.

After all, they had once been in love.

Since Yu Qin hadn’t caused any severe damage, Xia Mingqu, after severing his romantic ties with her, had left her a slim chance of survival.

…

In a forest a hundred li away, within the Qingsha Bay region.

A slender female cultivator dressed in a pink robe leaned against a towering tree, panting heavily as beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

"Thank goodness… Lan Chang'an has no real killing intent. The nickname ‘Turtle Talisman Master’ is well-deserved. I knew he wouldn’t go all out..."

Yu Qin let out a deep sigh of relief, feeling a lingering sense of fear.

Her escape had come at a heavy cost, with over half her mana depleted.

If Lan Chang'an, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, had chosen to pursue her, she would have been as good as dead.

Now that she had narrowly escaped, she felt a bit of smug satisfaction. After all, she had managed to survive the pursuit of four Foundation Establishment cultivators.

A faint smile appeared on Yu Qin's delicate, heart-shaped face as she began to contemplate how she would report back.

Suddenly, she felt the ground beneath her feet shift.

Crack!

In the next instant, Yu Qin’s slender legs in her pink dress went stiff as they were brutally clamped down upon by a maw filled with sharp, blood-stained teeth.

"Ah! No—!"

Yu Qin's face turned pale, her body freezing in fear as a chilling demonic aura enveloped her, causing her mana and blood to seize up.

In her final moments of agony and despair, only a shred of consciousness remained.

Her fair and graceful form was devoured inch by inch, like a pristine lotus root being snapped apart, disappearing into the ravenous jaws.

On the ground, there was no trace of Yu Qin’s body.

In her place stood a massive demon rat, over twenty zhang long, with a muscular build and a coat of tawny fur.

Whoosh!

The giant demon rat opened its maw, inhaling fiercely, causing dust and sand to swirl as it absorbed all traces of blood and any lingering aura.

"Master instructed me to leave no trace at the scene. Simple enough—devouring her will do."

The demon rat shrank, its form soon resembling a small yellow-brown dog as it muttered to itself.

After a brief hesitation, it spat out a storage pouch.

It took out a handful of spirit stones and a few spiritual fruits from the pouch.

The Earth Burrowing Rat chewed greedily, the crunching sounds echoing through the forest.

After a satisfying feast, it displayed a look of contentment that it hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Reluctantly, it packed up the remaining half of the spoils.

With a flicker of earthy yellow light, the Earth Burrowing Rat burrowed into the ground and vanished.

…

Shortly after the Earth Burrowing Rat disappeared, a sound of low-altitude flight approached from the other side of the forest.

Soon, a burly, bearded man exuding an aura of fierce energy floated above the area where Yu Qin had met her end.

"Strange… The Xia Family's defensive formation was activated, and she managed to break through and escape. According to our agreement, she should be here..."

The burly man, named Kou Sen, furrowed his brows, his peak Foundation Establishment spiritual sense sweeping over the area.

Kou Sen was the vice president of the Xinyue Merchant Association and was responsible for providing support to Yu Qin on this mission.

Though he held the title of vice president, Kou Sen didn’t handle the guild’s business affairs; his primary role was overseeing the guild’s guards. His martial prowess was exceptional, placing him among the strongest within the Foundation Establishment realm.

Years ago, the sect fugitive from the Liang Kingdom named Fang Zhong had managed to withstand no more than ten breaths against Kou Sen, despite also being at the late Foundation Establishment.

Several years ago, Fang Zhong had suffered a defeat near Qingsha Bay, and Kou Sen had since looked down on him.

This mission was of great importance, and for the sake of caution and secrecy, Kou Sen had come personally, without informing any subordinates.

Kou Sen searched the area for a long time but found no trace of Yu Qin’s aura or presence.

A sense of foreboding began to creep in, and he prepared to turn and leave.

Just then, the ground quaked.

Shnk!

A massive, jagged stone spike shot up from the ground, hurtling towards Kou Sen in mid-air.

"Not good!"

Kou Sen’s instincts screamed danger, sending shivers down his spine as a feeling of mortal terror washed over him.

A veteran of countless battles, his reactions were sharp. As the stone spike broke through the earth, he unleashed a surge of mana.

Swish!

With a sharp crackling of wind and lightning, Kou Sen barely managed to dodge to the side, moving six or seven zhang away to avoid the full impact of the stone spike.

Steadying himself, Kou Sen looked down to find his body bloodied and mangled.

His entire right shoulder, along with a portion of his torso, had been sheared away as if sliced off by an invisible blade, leaving blood splattering through the air.

Despite his immediate reaction, the spike had still grazed him, shattering his peak Foundation Establishment protective barrier and nearly costing him his life.

"A… a third-rank great demon!"

Kou Sen barely had a moment to catch his breath. Despair flooded his face as he looked down at the small, dog-sized demon rat emerging from a yellow glow in the ground.

Though only the size of a small dog, the rat exuded a spiritual pressure comparable to a Core Formation Realm cultivator.

"A mighty Core Formation demon… stooping to ambush…"

Kou Sen’s heart filled with dread, a bitter smile crossing his face as he realized he was doomed.

If he had been in peak condition, he might have been able to hold out a bit longer against a Fake Dan Immortal, maybe even escape.

But with his heavily injured body, facing a third-rank demon beast was nothing short of a death sentence.

Struggling, he reached out to summon his magical treasure prototype and activated a life-saving third-rank talisman.

In that instant, the Earth Burrowing Rat moved, leaving only a blurred afterimage.

Thunk!

Kou Sen’s body stiffened, staring down at the sharp claw piercing through his chest from behind.

"My master says, if a sneak attack works, never engage in a frontal fight."

The Earth Burrowing Rat slowly withdrew its claw, shredding Kou Sen’s organs in an instant.

"A third-rank great demon… Lan Chang'an’s demon rat spirit pet…"

In his dying moments, Kou Sen’s final sliver of consciousness recognized a terrifying truth.

He wanted to relay this information to the Xinyue Merchant Association, but it was too late.

Following its usual procedure, the Earth Burrowing Rat devoured Kou Sen’s body, and then retrieved his storage pouch.

As a vice president, Kou Sen’s storage pouch contained a wealth of spoils, far more valuable than those of ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

As the vice president of the Xinyue Merchant Association, Kou Sen's spoils of war were quite abundant, far surpassing the average late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"This human stumbled upon this place by accident. To prevent any future troubles, I took him out. Master shouldn’t blame me for it," the Earth Burrowing Rat muttered to itself. It then devoured half of the heavenly treasures and earthly materials among the spoils, treating itself to a hearty meal.

…

Half an hour later.

In the secret chamber of his mansion on Autumnwind Isle, Lan Chang'an sat expressionless, inspecting the two storage pouches presented to him by the Earth Burrowing Rat.

After a brief count, he found a pleasant surprise in Kou Sen's storage pouch.

Inside were third-rank talismans, a talismanic treasure, the prototype of a magical weapon, and other valuable items. There were also materials that Lan Chang'an needed for crafting puppets, such as third-rank beast hides and various ores. Additionally, there was a sizable amount of spirit stones, medicinal pills, and magical weapons.

"The vice president of the Xinyue Merchant Association…"

From a few account books and jade slips, Lan Chang'an learned of the identity of the person the Earth Burrowing Rat had "accidentally" killed.

After killing Yu Qin, the Earth Burrowing Rat had thoroughly destroyed all evidence, leaving no trace behind.

In reality, the vice president didn't need to be killed. His death would undoubtedly stir up the upper echelons of the Xinyue Merchant Association.

Lan Chang'an understood that the Earth Burrowing Rat had taken it upon itself to kill an additional person because it wanted to replenish its diet and advance its cultivation.

Lan Chang'an didn’t blame it. He turned a blind eye to the fact that it had pocketed some of the spirit stones and spiritual items for itself.

Although the Xinyue Merchant Association had some power, they lacked a True Dan Immortal to oversee them, so Lan Chang'an wasn’t concerned.

If any issues arose in the future, he’d simply let the Earth Burrowing Rat enjoy another "feast."

"Next time, when you gather spoils in the field, make sure to destroy any suspicious items to avoid being tracked later."

Lan Chang'an took out a few suspicious items from the storage bag and handed them to the Earth Burrowing Rat, imparting his insights.

"You're a third-rank demon beast with a powerful spiritual sense and a keen nose. In the future, try to learn more about human culture. It shouldn’t be difficult for you."

Squeak squeak!

The Earth Burrowing Rat nodded its little head earnestly, absorbing the lesson.

It memorized the instructions: from now on, when bringing back spoils of war, it not only had to eliminate all traces but also destroy any suspicious items to help its master avoid future trouble.