Duanmu Qin, Hua Hongling, and Zhou Tailor, as rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators assisting in the defense, were not forced to the front lines like the family cultivators. They were patrolling in the northeast direction.
That side mainly faced scattered rogue cultivators from the two prefectures, making it relatively safe.
However, before Li Ji'an could think of a way to contact Duanmu Qin, the situation took an unexpected turn.
On the seventh day after the six major sects dispersed the rogue cultivators outside the barrier, the Bi Yun Sect compromised.
The six major sects compensated the Bi Yun Sect for 60% of the expenses incurred in excavating the ruins over the years and obtained about 30% of the unexcavated area in the northeast of the entire ruins. The six sects began to excavate together.
Zhou Tailor, on the other hand, had seen a lot and shook his head helplessly: "In the eyes of the sects, there's not much difference between us rogue cultivators, whether we have skills or not."
"It's good that the four of us can stick together for warmth." Duanmu Qin looked at Li Ji'an and smiled meaningfully.
The three of them had just "coincidentally" met Li Ji'an today.
"I'm lucky to have met you." Li Ji'an said gratefully.
This was also half true. Since Wu Maoshan was recalled to the ruins by the Bi Yun Sect a few days ago, their temporary retirement fishing team had disbanded on its own.
After that, the small patrol teams they encountered mostly showed no intention of accepting him.
"Don't worry, just follow behind me, and I guarantee no one will hurt you." Hua Hongling patted her ample chest.
"Then I'll have to trouble the three fellow Daoists." Li Ji'an sincerely thanked them.
Having been neighbors for more than ten years, Li Ji'an quite approved of them, even though this relationship was based on the fact that he was an alchemist and they had needs to exchange, but it was still rare.
"Fellow Daoist Li, let's disguise ourselves first." Zhou Tailor reminded him.
Now that there were no sect cultivators leading the team, if they encountered rogue cultivators from the two prefectures who had rushed in to fight, it would be easy to make enemies.
Li Ji'an followed his advice and performed a disguise technique, but the intensity was reduced to the level that their divine senses could detect, and he did not use Qi and blood to alter his bones.
After that, the four of them patrolled together.
In the following days, through private communication with Duanmu Qin, Li Ji'an learned the approximate location of the cave dwelling. As expected, it was about three hundred miles away from the magic barrier.
She must have been sure that Li Ji'an couldn't find it when she told him the approximate location.
In fact, this was indeed the case. Li Ji'an and Guagua had already patrolled that area and found no clues.
Now was not the time, and he still needed to wait for an opportunity.
As time went on, the rogue cultivators on the periphery finally broke out. Because of the large number, many rogue cultivators sneaked in from the weak defensive areas.
"Hmm?" That day, the four of them were meditating on a cliff when Li Ji'an's divine sense stirred.
Not far away, a faint aura was approaching from afar and was about to enter their safe zone.
It was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator with superb Earth Escape techniques. He had actually burrowed nearly ten feet deep underground, which was equivalent to Guagua's Earth Escape technique when it was a first-order mid-stage demon beast with Earth Escape talent.
Moreover, his aura concealment technique was also not bad. Ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators probably wouldn't be able to sense him even if they were standing on the ground.
Li Ji'an ordered Guagua to follow him silently. If he made any unusual movements, it would swallow him in one gulp.
Fortunately, he quietly slipped away from the bottom of the cliff and did not show any hostility.
It was not until Guagua followed him close to the ruins that Li Ji'an ordered Guagua to return.
This was not the first time this had happened recently.
A few days ago, they had also encountered an early-stage Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator who was good at Shadow Escape.
However, he seemed to be injured, and Duanmu Qin sensed his aura.
Fortunately, he did not show any hostility and slowly retreated. The four of them watched him leave.
The reason why these rogue cultivators were able to sneak in was not only because they had some unique escape techniques, but also because most of the patrolling cultivators were turning a blind eye.
They were all rogue cultivators, and there was no old grudge or recent animosity, and they could all understand.
Moreover, for the four of them, the reward of five hundred spirit stones for a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator and two thousand spirit stones for an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was not worth their effort.
However, Li Ji'an had never been careless and never believed that these rogue cultivators who could risk their lives for a chance would be kind people. He was always vigilant.
After a few more days, the attacks on the front line became more and more intense, and more and more rogue cultivators rushed into the barrier.
That day, Li Ji'an sensed four early-stage Foundation Establishment auras from afar.
Guagua immediately followed closely behind him.
He originally wanted to let them slip away, but unexpectedly, after the four of them saw them from afar, they suddenly had malicious intentions for some reason.
One of them actually released a spirit snake, which quietly burrowed to the feet of the four of them and opened its mouth to spit out wisps of poisonous mist.
Without thinking much, Li Ji'an had Guagua secretly attack the four of them, and then the four of them were discovered by Duanmu Qin.
The poisonous spirit snake was also forced out of the ground by Guagua.
Hua Hongling was immediately furious and rushed to kill with a gilded heavy hammer in her hand.
This was also the first time Li Ji'an had seen Hua Hongling's fighting scene. She was clearly a spell cultivator, and she was using her trump card, a top-grade natal magic weapon, but she was more like a body cultivator engaged in close combat.
This also inspired Li Ji'an. With his second-order body cultivator strength, if he used a magic weapon for close combat, his power would be doubled.
If he could create a cultivation technique that combined body and magic, his combat power might be doubled.
The moment Hua Hongling rushed forward, Duanmu Qin suddenly let out a sharp scream, and the sound waves shocked their minds. It was a bit like a primordial spirit attack, and the four of them were all stunned for a moment.
And in that moment, Hua Hongling's heavy hammer broke through the air, and the first to bear the brunt was instantly turned into a pile of minced meat.
Before the remaining three could react, Zhou Tailor had already quietly leaped onto the treetops, and a sewing needle shot towards the last person, blocking his retreat.
"Ding ~" The sewing needle magic weapon hit the opponent's body protection shield, making a soft sound and not breaking the shield.
Just as he was about to turn around, more flying needles came towards him.
......
Li Ji'an stood behind Duanmu Qin and symbolically cast a few Explosive Flame Slashes and Fire Snakes.
For these rogue cultivators, the power was still acceptable, at least making one person's body protection shield dim a bit.
However, after experiencing the fighting skills of the sect's direct disciples, their fighting skills looked more and more like chickens pecking at each other.
Just as the two sides were fighting, Li Ji'an's divine sense stirred, sensing several powerful auras within the ruins flying towards this side.
In the blink of an eye, four figures had already arrived above them.
"Hmph! Shameless thief cultivators dare to covet my sect's ruins, courting death!"
Swish ~ Along with the sound, a bloody blade shadow fell.
Hua Hongling was about to smash down with a hammer when the person in front of her was suddenly divided into two by a blade of light, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.
Moreover, this blade directly killed the last two people together.
At the same time, the overflowing blade energy made Hua Hongling, who was at close range, feel a burst of palpitations.
The four of them looked up and saw that they were all acquaintances. The person who sheathed his blade was Jiang Yunzhou, accompanied by Fu Hanxing, who had defeated him before, and the direct disciples who had fought from the other two sects.
Now the few people already addressed each other as brothers, regretting that they had not met sooner.
After Jiang Yunzhou sheathed his blade, he swept his gaze over the four people below, his expression gentle: "Everyone has worked hard, these four people are all recorded in everyone's merits."
After saying this, he did not stop any longer, and the four of them went forward while talking and laughing.
Hua Hongling came back to her senses, looked at the dazzling knife mark in front of her, and held a breath in her chest. If this knife had been slashed on her body, the outcome would have been the same.
Zhou Tailor landed on the ground and also sighed secretly, envious: "This is the sect's direct disciple!"
Duanmu Qin's eyes narrowed slightly, her face flushed with a strange color, and at the same time, she looked at Li Ji'an, her eyes firm.
That side mainly faced scattered rogue cultivators from the two prefectures, making it relatively safe.
However, before Li Ji'an could think of a way to contact Duanmu Qin, the situation took an unexpected turn.
On the seventh day after the six major sects dispersed the rogue cultivators outside the barrier, the Bi Yun Sect compromised.
The six major sects compensated the Bi Yun Sect for 60% of the expenses incurred in excavating the ruins over the years and obtained about 30% of the unexcavated area in the northeast of the entire ruins. The six sects began to excavate together.
Zhou Tailor, on the other hand, had seen a lot and shook his head helplessly: "In the eyes of the sects, there's not much difference between us rogue cultivators, whether we have skills or not."
"It's good that the four of us can stick together for warmth." Duanmu Qin looked at Li Ji'an and smiled meaningfully.
The three of them had just "coincidentally" met Li Ji'an today.
"I'm lucky to have met you." Li Ji'an said gratefully.
This was also half true. Since Wu Maoshan was recalled to the ruins by the Bi Yun Sect a few days ago, their temporary retirement fishing team had disbanded on its own.
After that, the small patrol teams they encountered mostly showed no intention of accepting him.
"Don't worry, just follow behind me, and I guarantee no one will hurt you." Hua Hongling patted her ample chest.
"Then I'll have to trouble the three fellow Daoists." Li Ji'an sincerely thanked them.
Having been neighbors for more than ten years, Li Ji'an quite approved of them, even though this relationship was based on the fact that he was an alchemist and they had needs to exchange, but it was still rare.
"Fellow Daoist Li, let's disguise ourselves first." Zhou Tailor reminded him.
Now that there were no sect cultivators leading the team, if they encountered rogue cultivators from the two prefectures who had rushed in to fight, it would be easy to make enemies.
Li Ji'an followed his advice and performed a disguise technique, but the intensity was reduced to the level that their divine senses could detect, and he did not use Qi and blood to alter his bones.
After that, the four of them patrolled together.
In the following days, through private communication with Duanmu Qin, Li Ji'an learned the approximate location of the cave dwelling. As expected, it was about three hundred miles away from the magic barrier.
She must have been sure that Li Ji'an couldn't find it when she told him the approximate location.
In fact, this was indeed the case. Li Ji'an and Guagua had already patrolled that area and found no clues.
Now was not the time, and he still needed to wait for an opportunity.
As time went on, the rogue cultivators on the periphery finally broke out. Because of the large number, many rogue cultivators sneaked in from the weak defensive areas.
"Hmm?" That day, the four of them were meditating on a cliff when Li Ji'an's divine sense stirred.
Not far away, a faint aura was approaching from afar and was about to enter their safe zone.
It was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator with superb Earth Escape techniques. He had actually burrowed nearly ten feet deep underground, which was equivalent to Guagua's Earth Escape technique when it was a first-order mid-stage demon beast with Earth Escape talent.
Moreover, his aura concealment technique was also not bad. Ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators probably wouldn't be able to sense him even if they were standing on the ground.
Li Ji'an ordered Guagua to follow him silently. If he made any unusual movements, it would swallow him in one gulp.
Fortunately, he quietly slipped away from the bottom of the cliff and did not show any hostility.
It was not until Guagua followed him close to the ruins that Li Ji'an ordered Guagua to return.
This was not the first time this had happened recently.
A few days ago, they had also encountered an early-stage Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator who was good at Shadow Escape.
However, he seemed to be injured, and Duanmu Qin sensed his aura.
Fortunately, he did not show any hostility and slowly retreated. The four of them watched him leave.
The reason why these rogue cultivators were able to sneak in was not only because they had some unique escape techniques, but also because most of the patrolling cultivators were turning a blind eye.
They were all rogue cultivators, and there was no old grudge or recent animosity, and they could all understand.
Moreover, for the four of them, the reward of five hundred spirit stones for a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator and two thousand spirit stones for an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was not worth their effort.
However, Li Ji'an had never been careless and never believed that these rogue cultivators who could risk their lives for a chance would be kind people. He was always vigilant.
After a few more days, the attacks on the front line became more and more intense, and more and more rogue cultivators rushed into the barrier.
That day, Li Ji'an sensed four early-stage Foundation Establishment auras from afar.
Guagua immediately followed closely behind him.
He originally wanted to let them slip away, but unexpectedly, after the four of them saw them from afar, they suddenly had malicious intentions for some reason.
One of them actually released a spirit snake, which quietly burrowed to the feet of the four of them and opened its mouth to spit out wisps of poisonous mist.
Without thinking much, Li Ji'an had Guagua secretly attack the four of them, and then the four of them were discovered by Duanmu Qin.
The poisonous spirit snake was also forced out of the ground by Guagua.
Hua Hongling was immediately furious and rushed to kill with a gilded heavy hammer in her hand.
This was also the first time Li Ji'an had seen Hua Hongling's fighting scene. She was clearly a spell cultivator, and she was using her trump card, a top-grade natal magic weapon, but she was more like a body cultivator engaged in close combat.
This also inspired Li Ji'an. With his second-order body cultivator strength, if he used a magic weapon for close combat, his power would be doubled.
If he could create a cultivation technique that combined body and magic, his combat power might be doubled.
The moment Hua Hongling rushed forward, Duanmu Qin suddenly let out a sharp scream, and the sound waves shocked their minds. It was a bit like a primordial spirit attack, and the four of them were all stunned for a moment.
And in that moment, Hua Hongling's heavy hammer broke through the air, and the first to bear the brunt was instantly turned into a pile of minced meat.
Before the remaining three could react, Zhou Tailor had already quietly leaped onto the treetops, and a sewing needle shot towards the last person, blocking his retreat.
"Ding ~" The sewing needle magic weapon hit the opponent's body protection shield, making a soft sound and not breaking the shield.
Just as he was about to turn around, more flying needles came towards him.
......
Li Ji'an stood behind Duanmu Qin and symbolically cast a few Explosive Flame Slashes and Fire Snakes.
For these rogue cultivators, the power was still acceptable, at least making one person's body protection shield dim a bit.
However, after experiencing the fighting skills of the sect's direct disciples, their fighting skills looked more and more like chickens pecking at each other.
Just as the two sides were fighting, Li Ji'an's divine sense stirred, sensing several powerful auras within the ruins flying towards this side.
In the blink of an eye, four figures had already arrived above them.
"Hmph! Shameless thief cultivators dare to covet my sect's ruins, courting death!"
Swish ~ Along with the sound, a bloody blade shadow fell.
Hua Hongling was about to smash down with a hammer when the person in front of her was suddenly divided into two by a blade of light, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.
Moreover, this blade directly killed the last two people together.
At the same time, the overflowing blade energy made Hua Hongling, who was at close range, feel a burst of palpitations.
The four of them looked up and saw that they were all acquaintances. The person who sheathed his blade was Jiang Yunzhou, accompanied by Fu Hanxing, who had defeated him before, and the direct disciples who had fought from the other two sects.
Now the few people already addressed each other as brothers, regretting that they had not met sooner.
After Jiang Yunzhou sheathed his blade, he swept his gaze over the four people below, his expression gentle: "Everyone has worked hard, these four people are all recorded in everyone's merits."
After saying this, he did not stop any longer, and the four of them went forward while talking and laughing.
Hua Hongling came back to her senses, looked at the dazzling knife mark in front of her, and held a breath in her chest. If this knife had been slashed on her body, the outcome would have been the same.
Zhou Tailor landed on the ground and also sighed secretly, envious: "This is the sect's direct disciple!"
Duanmu Qin's eyes narrowed slightly, her face flushed with a strange color, and at the same time, she looked at Li Ji'an, her eyes firm.
