Stop

Although he saw it, Li Xingtian did not immediately reach out to take it. Instead, he turned around once more and cupped his hands in gratitude, saying,

"Thank you, Senior."

Chu Xingchen waved his hand dismissively, his expression calm and indifferent.

Li Xingtian slowly stood up and walked directly toward the piece of Thousand-Year Bone Jade he had been longing for since his rebirth.

Lifting the corner of the table, he took the stone-like Thousand-Year Bone Jade back into his hand. At that moment, it felt as though a heavy weight in his heart had finally been lifted.

After once again expressing his gratitude to Chu Xingchen with a bow, Li Xingtian hurriedly left the dilapidated temple with the Thousand-Year Bone Jade in hand.

Li Yingling watched Li Xingtian leave and then stepped into the temple herself. Her tone was somewhat peculiar as she asked,

"Master, you just let him go like that?"

Her master, who usually wouldn’t lift a finger without some benefit, had been unusually generous this time, allowing someone to take something and leave without any fuss.

Hearing Li Yingling’s words, Chu Xingchen immediately dropped his pretense of being a lofty expert. "You stay here and practice on your own. I’m going out for a bit."

Li Yingling’s expression showed that she had expected as much from her master. However, before Chu Xingchen left, she couldn’t help but ask curiously,

"Master, is our sect really called the Dao Alliance?"

After all, her master wasn’t always truthful, and it was possible he was just deceiving that naive young man.

"Yes," Chu Xingchen replied curtly before transforming into a streak of rainbow light and disappearing.

Li Yingling stroked her chin, deep in thought.

Then, with a surge of spiritual energy, a wooden sword flew into her hand, which she caught with a backward motion.

She decided to practice for a while. She was on the verge of mastering the "Three Thousand Weak Waters Sword Technique," and she felt that once she did, there would be a qualitative leap in her abilities.

Li Yingling, who had been hailed as a genius since childhood, was experiencing for the first time the frustration of being unable to master a technique.

It had been a full five days, and she was still hovering on the edge of breaking through.

No wonder her master was so eager to take on a new disciple. Her talent must have seemed lacking in his eyes.

Li Yingling sighed and resolved to work harder.

Li Xingtian had a clear goal in mind and headed straight for the nearest town.

Refining the Thousand-Year Bone Jade required a quiet and safe space, as well as a full day’s time.

The so-called "Sand Sculpture Sect" he had been part of was a joke, and going back would be foolish. Besides, he had snuck out of the sect without permission.

By now, he had probably been marked as a deserter and placed on the sect’s red list.

He planned to rent a room at an inn in the nearby town, pay the staff extra to ensure they didn’t disturb him, and refine the Thousand-Year Bone Jade in peace.

Once that was done, he would head straight for the Central Continent, where there were still opportunities he could seize.

However, one thing still weighed heavily on his mind.

It was the words of that senior, which continued to echo in his thoughts.

Had he truly missed out on a real opportunity?

He sighed. The sect he had been part of before had already let him down completely.

In his previous life, hadn’t he risen to become a renowned prodigy of the Central Continent without relying on a sect?

This life would be no different. Why should he need to attach himself to some so-called sect?

Having made up his mind, he pushed aside all distracting thoughts. If he was going to do this, he wouldn’t allow himself any regrets.

A day later, after a long and arduous journey, Li Xingtian finally arrived at his destination—a decent-sized town.

Once he reached the inn, Li Xingtian didn’t rush upstairs to refine the Thousand-Year Bone Jade. Instead, he ordered a table full of food.

After all, he was only at the second level of Qi Refinement, and the journey had been exhausting. The rations he had brought with him had long since run out.

He hadn’t felt this kind of hunger in a long time, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the strange sense of reality it brought.

However, his amusement was short-lived.

Because…

He ran into disciples from the Qingfeng Sect, the very sect he had left.

On the second floor of the inn, several outer disciples of the Qingfeng Sect, dressed in white robes with green trim, were slowly descending the stairs.

Li Xingtian caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye and immediately lowered his head, hoping they wouldn’t notice him.

At the same time, he cursed his bad luck under his breath.

But as the saying goes, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.

One of the Qingfeng Sect disciples glanced around the first floor and noticed Li Xingtian, who was trying to keep a low profile.

The disciple found him familiar and, after a moment of thought, seemed to recall something. He quickly tugged at the sleeve of the senior disciple leading the group.

When the senior disciple turned to him with a questioning look, the junior disciple gestured with his eyes toward Li Xingtian.

The senior disciple followed his gaze, narrowed his eyes, and then led the four disciples over to Li Xingtian’s table.

The senior disciple sat down boldly at the table, his sharp eyes fixed on Li Xingtian.

"You there, aren’t you Li Xingtian, the one on the red list?"

Realizing that he couldn’t hide any longer, Li Xingtian suddenly looked up, his eyes sweeping over the five disciples.

None of them had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Based on their auras, three were at the third level of Qi Refinement, one at the fourth level, and the senior disciple leading them was at the fifth level.

Although Li Xingtian was only at the second level of Qi Refinement, the techniques he had mastered in his previous life were more than enough to deal with these newly initiated Qi Refinement novices.

He had to kill them and escape, or else he would be constantly pursued and might not be able to get away!

Strike first, strike hard—that was the rule.

Li Xingtian chose to take the initiative. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the table, and his spiritual energy erupted within him.

"Capture the leader first!" he thought, aiming to take down the senior disciple.

However, the senior disciple was already prepared for Li Xingtian’s sudden attack.

Facing the chopsticks flying towards him, Li Xingtian merely sneered, unleashing his cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refining!

His palm, already poised to strike, fiercely slammed towards the head of the Qingfeng Sect's senior disciple!

How could a mere second-level Qi Refining trash understand the realm of the fifth level?

The chopsticks and palm collided in an instant!

But the outcome defied everyone's expectations!

The chopsticks in Li Xingtian's hand pierced through the palm with ease, the seemingly fragile spiritual energy possessing an astonishing penetrating force.

After breaking through the palm, Li Xingtian's power showed no signs of waning, continuing straight towards the senior disciple's head.

Just as it seemed he was about to succeed,

A sharp and ferocious Golden Core aura suddenly erupted.

With a casual strike, the second-floor room was blasted open, and a massive surge of spiritual energy, like a dragon, rushed towards Li Xingtian.

A sense of imminent danger surged in Li Xingtian's heart. He glanced sideways and saw an elderly man with snow-white hair looking at him with an indifferent expression.

Li Xingtian recognized this man as the Second Elder of the Qingfeng Sect—a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator!

He was doomed!

As this thought flashed through his mind, the crimson dragon formed by the vast spiritual energy had already reached him, crashing into his body with tremendous force.

Li Xingtian felt as if his internal organs had been shattered by the blow, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Second Elder rose slightly, his expression devoid of joy or sorrow. "You have betrayed the sect and attacked a fellow disciple. According to the rules of the Qingfeng Sect, you are to be executed by the Heavenly Lantern."

Li Xingtian had no room to struggle. The meager spiritual energy within him had already been scattered, and his meridians were severely damaged.

Once again, the words of that senior echoed in his mind.

The flow of time is an inevitable law. Everything he had done to defy the events of his previous life was like swimming against the current.

He had been too arrogant, forgetting that once causality was disrupted, the course of all events would change.

Perhaps the senior had already warned him—recklessly altering history would come at a price.

That offer to take him as a disciple might have been nothing more than an attempt to save his life.

After all, a mighty figure capable of seeing through the flow of time could surely foresee this outcome.

Li Xingtian felt no regret, only... an overwhelming sense of unwillingness!

"Hold your hand. Would you grant me this favor?"

A familiar voice rang out, and Li Xingtian turned his head to look.

There stood Chu Xingchen, a look of pity on his face, holding a cup of clear tea and sipping it gently.