Hearing Li Chang’an’s words, the expressions of the numerous Yellow Stone Sect Golden Core Cultivators present shifted slightly. Trapped deep within layers of Grand Arrays and surrounded by over a dozen cultivators of the same realm, he still had the confidence to make such a claim. Either he had a trump card, or he was merely feigning composure.
Before they could figure it out, Li Chang’an casually waved his hand.
BOOM!
The multiple Grand Arrays sealing the surroundings shattered instantly. A Nascent Soul aura erupted into the sky, its sharpness piercing the clouds like a Treasure Sword unsheathed after years of gathering dust. Sensing this aura, Huang Tianyuan and the others instantly turned deathly pale.
"A Nascent Soul True Monarch!"
In that instant, they felt a chilling cold wash over their bodies, as if they were plunging into an abyss. A few of them collapsed to the ground on the spot, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
"How could we... how could we run into a Nascent Soul True Monarch?"
"I’ve been a Tribulation Cultivator for decades, and every job went perfectly! Why am I so unlucky today?"
They all knew the consequences of trying to rob a Nascent Soul True Monarch. It meant certain death!
Cold sweat poured down Huang Tianyuan’s face. He bowed deeply to Li Chang’an, desperately trying to suppress the tremor in his voice. "This junior... this junior was blind to your greatness. I didn’t know Senior was a mighty True Monarch! I beg you to spare my life. I am willing to trade all my treasures in exchange for it."
As he spoke, he secretly crushed a Jade Pendant.
Li Chang’an noticed his action but did not stop him. He was incredibly familiar with the aura inside that Jade Pendant. It belonged to Huang Sha True Monarch!
The Yellow Stone Sect was a subordinate of the Yellow Sand Sect and offered them tribute year-round, so it was perfectly normal that they could contact Huang Sha True Monarch. Furthermore, this place was very close to the Yellow Sand Sect. Clearly, Huang Tianyuan was still clinging to a sliver of hope.
"Come!" Li Chang’an casually beckoned, snatching the man’s Storage Pouch. He easily erased the restriction on the bag, opened it, and took a look inside. The twenty-eight Sealing Demon Stones and the Pill Formula for the Beast Heart Pill were both inside.
Additionally, there was a vast amount of treasure that Huang Tianyuan had accumulated over the years. However, most of them were Low Tier Treasures; with Li Chang’an’s discerning eye as a Nascent Soul True Monarch, he naturally thought nothing of them. He hadn’t expected to find any major surprises.
However, in the very next moment, twelve peculiar Spirit Stones appeared within his perception. These stones were completely different from any Spirit Stone Li Chang’an had seen before; they did not belong to the low, mid, or high tiers. Any single one of them contained an unimaginable amount of Spiritual Power.
Just from sensing them briefly, an urge to swallow them whole welled up inside him. Recalling descriptions from Ancient Texts, he immediately realized what kind of Spirit Stones these were.
"Top-grade Spirit Stones!"
Joy blossomed in Li Chang’an’s heart. He truly hadn’t expected to find Top-grade Spirit Stones—items that even Nascent Soul True Monarchs struggled to find—inside the Storage Pouch of a mere Golden Core Cultivator like Huang Tianyuan. In today’s Cultivation Immortality Realm, Top-grade Spirit Stones were exceedingly rare. Even finding one was a monumental feat, let alone a full set of twelve!
"This Huang Tianyuan must have stumbled upon a massive fortuitous encounter to obtain not only so many Sealing Demon Stones but also these twelve Top-grade Spirit Stones. I need to interrogate him thoroughly," Li Chang’an thought, rejoicing inwardly. "Fortunately, he delivered himself right to my doorstep, otherwise I most likely would have missed out on these Top-grade Spirit Stones."
It was a good thing this man had been driven by greed and insisted on killing for treasure. If you walk along the river often enough, your shoes are bound to get wet. Even many Qi Refining Tribulation Cultivators understood this truth: they could succeed countless times, but it only took one single failure to ruin everything!
Back in the day, the Great Qi Princess, Qi Yunjin, had also wanted the Genuine Pill Formulas in Li Chang’an’s possession, but she chose to exchange treasures for them. The same situation, but with a completely different outcome.
Just as he was deep in thought, Li Chang’an suddenly sensed a familiar Nascent Soul aura rapidly approaching his location.
"Huang Sha." His eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed toward the horizon.
A blink of an eye later, Huang Sha True Monarch’s figure appeared. He cupped his hands in greeting and asked loudly, "Daoist Lin Fan?"
"It’s me," Li Chang’an replied with a slight nod.
Huang Sha True Monarch slowly descended to the side, his gaze sweeping across the scene. He was no fool; without needing to ask, he understood the situation at a single glance. Under the alias of Lin Fan, Li Chang’an rarely took action. He always engaged in fair trades with everyone and had never bullied junior Golden Core Cultivators. Therefore, these men must have provoked him first.
Sure enough, Huang Tianyuan spoke up anxiously, "I beg you, True Monarch, save me! I was foolish and completely blind to have provoked Senior Lin Fan. I am willing to give up all my treasures to spare my life!"
Following his lead, the others also chimed in.
"True Monarch, please save us!"
"True Monarch, my family has served the Yellow Sand Sect for a thousand years! I beg you, for the sake of those thousand years, please save me..."
With fear plastered across all their faces, they scrambled over each other to beg for mercy.
Huang Sha True Monarch frowned. The families of these men, and indeed the entire Yellow Stone Sect, had served the Yellow Sand Sect for many years, offering up countless treasures as tribute. He spoke up, "Daoist Lin, please quell your anger. These juniors are simply too short-sighted and ignorant." By saying this, he naturally hoped Li Chang’an would let them off the hook.
Hearing this, Li Chang’an smiled. "It’s fine. They’ll know better in their next lives."
The moment his words fell, a massive BOOM echoed through the air as Huang Tianyuan and the others simultaneously exploded.
Out of the entire Golden Core upper echelon of the Yellow Stone Sect, only Huang Yuanhua was left alive. The rest were reduced to a mist of blood, and even their Souls were covertly harvested by Li Chang’an.
Witnessing this scene, Huang Sha True Monarch’s expression instantly soured. He had taken the initiative to plead for their lives, but Li Chang’an hadn’t given him an ounce of face.
Before he could utter another word, Li Chang’an transformed into a streak of light and departed, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
"Lin Fan..." Huang Sha True Monarch muttered with a dark expression. He stared in the direction the man had vanished but did not make a move to stop him. Wars rarely broke out between Nascent Soul True Monarchs, and there was simply no need to fight a cultivator of the same realm over a dozen or so Golden Core Cultivators.