"Xuanxuan!"

Li Qiuyang sped across the ground on the wind, his face an iron blue, pulling along the blackened monkey while occasionally pulling out a talisman from his sleeves to throw back over his shoulder.

"Boom!"

Just as the talisman began to shine, a crimson hammer shadow pounced forward, forcefully shattering the spell into a myriad of glowing fragments. The man wielding the massive hammer burst into laughter:

"Turns out he's from a rich family, covered in treasures, aren't you!"

The two deliberately chose paths covered with the spread of Fiend Fire to escape. However, Li Xuanxuan's luck had always been poor, and they still encountered a Devil Cultivator of around the middle stage of Qi cultivation, wielding a large hammer and appearing somewhat capable.

Both Li Xuanxuan and the monkey were in a sorry state, and with Li Qiuyang being a cultivator of mixed energy, they were in no position to confront the man and immediately turned to flee.

"Luckily, this brute's cultivation technique requires wide and forceful movements, not as swift as the Devil Cultivator we faced earlier; we might manage to drag this out a bit longer."

Li Xuanxuan felt the jade pendant within his sleeve, calculating his next move. Although he was deficient in mana and couldn't increase his speed, he managed to persevere up to now by tumbling to and fro with the "River Rapids Step".

The Devil Cultivator behind them, riding the billowing black clouds and brandishing his large hammer, followed the two like a cat after a mouse, occasionally speeding up to come closer, waving the crimson hammer to force Li Xuanxuan to fend him off with talismans.

This Devil Cultivator obviously had extensive combat experience, much more cautious than the one with the double-edged blade Li Xuanxuan had previously encountered, constantly draining their mana and forcing them to expend their talismans.

"Xuanxuan, this is no solution. How about I cover our rear?"

Li Qiuyang clenched his teeth and suggested in a low voice, looking at Li Xuanxuan's ghastly complexion.

"It doesn't matter."

Li Xuanxuan's internal mana might have been drained, but he gripped the jade pendant within his robe tightly. He was utterly furious about being pursued and thought to himself with a cold sneer:

"Following this pendant's guidance, our Qinghong is just a mile away. Wait till I show you what you're up against... You really think the Li family is easy to bully!"

Seeing Li Xuanxuan's unhealthy complexion but sure tone, Li Qiuyang had no choice but to quietly follow him.

As Qi cultivators were inherently fast, and they were running for their lives, it only took a few dozen breaths for them to see a woman flying towards them from afar.

This woman appeared to be in her twenties, clad in bright white jade armor that gleamed with a cyan light, her almond-shaped eyes angry and tinged with a faint purple hue, she held a spear at an angle to the ground.

Her face was radiant and spirited, with her armor's ribbons fluttering in the wind. She wore her hair simply, fastened with an ordinary jade hairpin, her jet-black tresses cascading down her back and gently fluttering in the breeze.

"Miss Qinghong!"

Li Qiuyang, finding a lifeline in a desperate situation, showed an ecstatic expression, finally understanding the source of Li Xuanxuan's confidence. They stumbled towards her and heaved a sigh of relief.

The Devil Cultivator's face darkened as he was intimidated by Li Qinghong's imposing manner. He slowed down, and after a careful look, seeing that the woman was also at the middle stage of Qi cultivation, he laughed aloud, swearing:

"Damn it, these Immortal Cultivators one prettier than the next. With such shallow cultivation, they put on quite the show. One might think they were some Immortal General from an Immortal Mansion!"

Identifying the extraordinary magic artifacts equipped on Li Qinghong, the Devil Cultivator was nonetheless unafraid. After all, he had killed many and knew that the clan and loose cultivators in the South River practiced shoddy cultivation techniques, some of which couldn't muster a shred of righteousness, and were hardly a concern.

His own cultivation stemmed from the teachings of several demon lords; even by the standards of South River's Immortal Laws, he was of the fourth grade. He scoffed and shouted:

"Novice female cultivator, you..."

Before he could finish, Li Qinghong had already lunged forward with her spear, clad in ringing jade armor, with bright purple shadows flickering from her spear like a meandering dragon, reaching him in an instant and thrusting towards his face.

Forced to swallow his taunting words, the Devil Cultivator raised his hammer to block, just as the spear radiated purple lightning resembling a dragon, smashing heavily onto the crimson hammer, exploding loudly, igniting a resplendent bolt of purple lightning.

"Boom!"

The Devil Cultivator felt a mighty annihilating thunderbolt surge through the hammer into him, causing his artifact to wail as if in mourning. A flash of thunder light burst between his palms, emitting strands of black smoke, turning his complexion ashen.

Knowing he shouldn't linger, Li Qinghong aimed to end the fight quickly and immediately drew the "Du Ruo Spear", seizing the moment of his underestimation to strike with the Fei Clan's signature move, the "Swimming Dragon Shadow".

Somehow, the "Long Sky Risky Sparrow" Talisman Qi within her body became exceptionally active upon seeing the man, with crimson glints flowing from her elbows to the spear, lending additional force seemingly out of thin air. The dragon-shaped lightning struck, raising a thunderstorm from level ground, causing the Devil Cultivator to suffer a great loss.

"Thunder Cultivator!"

The Devil Cultivator groaned, his hands hanging powerless, his cultivation seeming to have been sharply diminished, and even his artifact slipping from his grip and clinking to the ground. With a look of terror, he cried out:

"When has the South River ever had such a Taoist lineage!"

Leaving his artifact behind, he summoned a blood-red whirlwind and hurriedly dove into the alleyway.

"Fools would fight with her instead of seizing the treasures all around! Even if you have the breath to fight, losing so much of your cultivation isn't worth it!"

This Devil Cultivator was adept at escaping with his life; in the blink of an eye, the blood wind had already reached the end of the alleyway, leaving only the clanging hammer on the ground.

Li Qinghong watched him leave with a smile, composed and carefree. She raised an eyebrow and with a delicate turn of her fair hand reversed the hold on her spear, resting it on her shoulder. Then, with her other slender hand open, she drew symbols in the void, conjuring a series of mysterious purple patterns.