MTLNOVEL Chapter 25
“Qingxue’s hurt bad… We need to find a place to hide and heal her,” Cao Zhiruo said urgently.
They hurried off with Tan Qingxue.
“Roar!”
A thunderous bellow from the Black Needle Giant Ape shook the mountains, echoing from the valley.
It was back!
“Run, now!” Jiang You’s legs buckled as he shouted.
…
At the valley’s mouth, Li An, still as a dead tree, swapped for three fresh Mid Grade First Rank Swift Step Talismans as the ape charged out. He darted in.
His Super Sense Technique at its peak, he moved like a nimble ape, dodging dung piles, quickly spotting the cave ahead.
Before it, two disciples’ bodies slumped against the stone wall, heads smashed to pulp.
Inside, the scene was grim—limbs torn, blood flowing…
A mix of blood and herbal scent filled the air.
Li An glanced at the two Ghost Light Lotuses but didn’t take them. He searched, finding his storage bag on Qin Wei’s corpse.
Checking it, he found only junk herbs, Parasite Spirit Vine fruits, some spirit stones, and Low Grade First Rank Talismans. The Tree Spirit Mushroom was gone.
Calmly, he checked other bags, finding the mushroom in Qingyuan’s.
He didn’t get greedy. Taking only his belongings, he uprooted one Ghost Light Lotus, stashed it in his bag, and bolted from the valley.
The whole process took less than a quarter-hour.
He headed straight for the valley where he’d faked his fall.
…
On a peak, the Black Needle Giant Ape smashed the pill bottle to bits.
Returning to the valley and finding a Ghost Light Lotus missing, it let out a sky-shaking roar!
…
As the sun set, Li An crawled from dense vines on the cliff, his robe filthy and torn, one leg broken.
Miserable, he dragged himself to the cliff base.
“Help…”
“Help me…”
His weak, pitiful cries echoed through the forest.
The next morning, near death but driven by sheer will, Li An was found by other sect disciples seeking opportunities.
Seeing his bloodied hands and the path he’d crawled, they were stunned!
So brutal!
…
Li An was sent back to the Talisman Hall that day.
His return caused a stir.
He’d gone with Tan Qingxue’s group, now returning in such a state… Had something happened to them?
Li An, mustering his strength, told Sun Lin what happened.
He’d gone for junk herbs, fell by accident, and, without rescue from Tan Qingxue’s group, crawled out after waking.
This matched the account of the disciples who brought him back.
Sun Lin asked a few questions, then told him to rest.
The next day, Tan Qingxue’s trio returned!
Too injured to travel, Cao Zhiruo and Jiang You had hidden to treat her with pills before bringing her back.
Tan Qingxue’s condition drew Elder Guo Xiao from seclusion, summoning an Alchemy Hall expert to treat her.
Cao Zhiruo and Jiang You, hearing of Li An, were surprised but didn’t visit or send anything.
As if he didn’t matter.
Li An was fine with that.
…
Three days passed.
Wang Dazhu and Zhao Xianchuan visited, Zhao Xianchuan bringing healing medicines.
With medicines and stones, Li An could hobble by the third day.
That day, the sect’s Enforcement Hall elder came to the Talisman Hall, summoning Li An to the main hall.
There, Elder Shi questioned them thoroughly about the Spirit Beast Mountain Range.
“Elder Shi, I suspect the Black Needle Giant Ape ambushed me because someone tampered… Qingyuan’s the prime suspect!” Tan Qingxue said, biting her lip.
She wasn’t naive. Reviewing events, she spotted the clues.
Elder Shi sighed. “You’re right. They tampered it, But they’re all dead. They used you as bait to lure the ape, aiming for the Ghost Light Lotuses. Instead, they were slaughtered in its lair. The ape’s now Second Rank, listed as a high-threat beast. The inner sect’s organizing a hunt.”
Tan Qingxue and the others were stunned.
Dead?
“I’ll talk to the Alchemy Hall for compensation,” Elder Shi said, leaving.
With the culprits dead, no further pursuit was possible.
The matter was dropped.
No one suspected Li An, or even a third party beyond Tan Qingxue and Qingyuan’s groups.
The ape’s breakthrough suggested the Ghost Light Lotuses weren’t taken, and Qingyuan’s bags were intact…
It all seemed natural.
“Brothers and sisters, I’ll head back…” Li An stood, limping to leave.
“Li An,” Tan Qingxue called, a flicker of guilt in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Li An forced a smile. “No big deal, Sister Qingxue… Even I didn’t expect to make it back alive.”
He left, his figure forlorn.
Tan Qingxue sighed, watching him go.
…
For two months, Li An stayed in his residence, recovering.
He couldn’t submit full talisman quotas, losing part of his rations.
It stung, but he had no choice—completing tasks while “gravely injured” would look suspicious.
By the third month, he could walk normally.
“Three more months, and I’ll peak at the Third Layer of Qi Refining!” he thought, checking his Life Seed’s fully unfurled third leaf.
Six years in the Clear Sun Sect, reaching the Third Layer was fast for rogue cultivators but average-to-low for sect disciples.
His spirit root, slightly better than a standard Low Grade Yellow Tier due to its attribute-less nature, still lagged behind Zhao Xianchuan and Wang Dazhu, slowed by the Art of Nurturing Life and Forging Immortality.
“Low Grade Yellow Tier Spirit Roots typically cap at the Fifth or Sixth Layer. Progress slows higher up… The Fourth Layer, from early to mid-Qi Refining, is a hurdle.”
Spirit roots set limits!
Luckily, his technique was gradually improving his root.
…
He left the Talisman Hall, inviting Wang Dazhu and Zhao Xianchuan out. He splurged on fine spirit wine and food, setting a feast in the Moon Lake pavilion.
Since becoming registered disciples, their bond had deepened, Li An and Zhao Xianchuan’s old grudges long gone.
“Brother Li, surviving disaster means great fortune! Cheers!” Zhao Xianchuan raised his cup.
“Brother An, big news! I’m learning tool crafting!” Wang Dazhu said excitedly. His skin was darker, glossier, vitality surpassing Li An and Zhao Xianchuan. He’d hit the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.
The least cunning of them was outpacing them in cultivation.
“Good news!” Li An pulled out 20 Flame Talismans. “Worth celebrating!”
“Brother An, I don’t need so many…” Wang Dazhu protested.
“Not just for you—some for Master Yu.”
Wang Dazhu grinned, accepting them.
Zhao Xianchuan gave a spirit stone as a gift.
“Brother Zhao, any big news outside?” Li An asked. Zhao Xianchuan had the best intel.
“The Mid Grade Spirit Mine issue—talks of a truce among the three sects,” Zhao Xianchuan said cautiously. “That’s why it’s been quiet lately. They’ve fought for years, grown tired, and other forces are eyeing it. They might co-develop.”
“Demonic factions are rampant. Notorious rogue demonic cultivators hit even our three markets…”
Li An nodded. He held items like the Second Grade Ghost Light Lotus, Fire Spirit Fruits from Spirit Plant Mountain, and Mid Grade First Rank Talismans…
These couldn’t be sold in the sect. He’d need a market trip eventually, so he gathered info.
Zhao Xianchuan shared plenty.
“Mu Qingwan’s officially pairing with Chen Cheng,” Zhao Xianchuan added, his expression complex. “Next month, they’ll hold the ceremony.”
Mu Qingwan remained his sore spot.
Li An stayed unbothered.
“Hm? Isn’t that Mu Qingwan?” Wang Dazhu pointed to the lakeside, where Mu Qingwan and a young man strolled together.
They chatted happily. Mu Qingwan, in a moon-white dress, looked graceful, her long hair cascading like a fairy.
The youth, dashing, was Chen Cheng—the inner sect insider who’d once humiliated Zhao Xianchuan, Li An recalled.
Mu Qingwan noticed the trio in the pavilion, her eyes lighting up. She approached.
“Dazhu, Li An, Zhao Xianchuan, you’re here? Great! I was going to look for you,” she said, beaming.
Chen Cheng, beside her, carried an air of arrogance.
…
(Chapter End)