48: Blue Sky Covering Clouds

In the small courtyard, Lu Ming fell into contemplation.

He definitely wanted the Spirit Stones, but Lu Ming didn't want to directly confront the Law Enforcement Team, or more accurately, he didn't want to have any contact with the Murong Family.

"The Clone can get close to the Restriction and doesn't react much, but unfortunately, it can't touch physical objects; it can only control Magical Artifacts."

At this, Lu Ming paused, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"Ah! That's right! I can just use a Magical Artifact to retrieve it!"

Lu Ming summoned his Clone back and gave it a Ghost Claw Magical Artifact, which he had confiscated from Feng Ping and his wife.

It had been gathering dust in his Storage Pouch, with no proper use.

Its Restriction-breaking effect, however, was perfect for these kinds of sneaky tasks now.

But he would wait until night to act; a Ghost Claw flying around in broad daylight would be too frightening.

Thinking this, Lu Ming began to wait patiently.

...

...

At night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

The Yin Lotus Clone arrived in the sky above Little Talisman Hall and looked around.

His gaze fell on the Law Enforcement Team not far away.

Even Cultivators, after days of such boring surveillance, would eventually get tired.

Jiang Cong was like this; he had been waiting here for several days.

Although they rotated weekly, he felt it was meaningless, not only wasting time but also delaying his Cultivation.

This was already his third rotation on duty, and nothing had happened, had it?

Jiang Cong yawned, feeling a wave of drowsiness, and couldn't help but rub his eyes.

For Cultivators, meditating could replace sleep and restore energy, but it couldn't withstand daily guarding.

Jiang Cong harbored resentment and decided to slack off, convinced that today would be like any other, with nothing happening.

He looked at his teammates around him and saw that everyone looked listless; some were even secretly Cultivating.

Immediately, he felt a sense of belonging; since everyone else was slacking off, his own quiet Cultivation would also be fitting in.

However, just as he entered a state of Cultivation, someone next to him gasped, pushing his arm and interrupting his Cultivation.

Jiang Cong frowned; having one's Cultivation interrupted was very impolite, and in severe cases, it could even lead to Qi Deviation.

Just as he was about to scold them, he saw the person who had woken him pointing into the distance, with a look of shock.

Jiang Cong turned his head in confusion, only to see that at some unknown point, a Ghost Claw had already pierced through the Restriction on the high platform, reaching inside and grabbing the Storage Pouch within.

Before anyone could react, the Ghost Claw instantly withdrew, then, carrying the Storage Pouch, shot into the sky and disappeared.

A moment later, Jiang Cong, who was the first to react, cried out, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Catch... catch the thief!"

Then he stepped onto a Flying Sword and chased after it.

...

...

Catching it was impossible; although a Qi Refining Cultivator could fly with a sword, their speed was no match for a soul body's movement speed.

After leading the other party on a couple of loops, he lost them.

In the small courtyard, Lu Ming played with the exquisite Storage Pouch in his hand, a smile playing on his lips.

The Storage Pouch had no magical imprint, so Lu Ming opened it directly.

Although he knew beforehand what was inside, seeing three thousand Spirit Stones truly excited Lu Ming.

He had worked hard for nearly a year, diligently studying the Dao of Talismans, and with some generous assistance from Fellow Daoists, he only had a little over two thousand Spirit Stones until now.

And now, in just one night, his wealth had increased by three thousand Spirit Stones.

And when Lu Ming thought that those guys had even more, his heart itched.

Should he...?

"No, no, law-abiding citizens cannot do illegal things."

Lu Ming quickly dismissed this thought.

"However... since I didn't take your Spirit Stones, I'll take your lives as compensation. You don't mind, do you?"

Anyway, no one saw Lu Ming take the Spirit Stones; not seeing it meant he didn't take it, and if he didn't take their Spirit Stones, why should he let those guys go?

This was very reasonable.

"Hehehe..."

The strange cackling from the small courtyard was particularly eerie in the silent night.

......

Unconsciously, several more days passed.

There were many lively events in the market every day, but what truly captivated people was the story of three well-known Talismans shop owners in the market who were found dead in their own courtyards, their vital essence drained.

And the name of Wu Daoren was once again shrouded in a terrifying Aura.

That eerie and evil method of killing invisibly and unpredictably was like a curse, causing people to shudder in fear.

Some even privately referred to him as 'Witchcraft Daoren'.

What was even more surprising was that the Murong Family still showed no reaction to this matter; instead, they sent people to claim the inheritances of the deceased.

This inevitably made people wonder what the relationship between Wu Daoren and the Murong Family truly was.

Could it be that the Murong Family, coveting the immense wealth of these individuals, fabricated a fictitious 'Wu Daoren' to stage this entire act?

This left many shop owners in Green Bamboo Market in constant fear, dreading that they might suffer the same fate as Tian Hao and the others.

However, this also improved the order in Green Bamboo Market considerably.

There were fewer troublemakers, and even the foreign Loose Cultivators began to abide by the rules.

Days passed one by one.

The market never lacked new happenings, and gradually, discussions about Wu Daoren became less frequent.

Everyone went about their own lives, and it seemed as if everything had returned to peace.

However, on this very day.

A rainbow light streaked across the sky, piercing through the air towards Green Bamboo Market, finally landing in the central area of Green Bamboo Market.

Along its path, all living beings were awed by the powerful Spiritual Pressure it exuded.

Feeling that suffocating Aura, some Cultivators who were closer turned pale and involuntarily groaned.

Some with lower Cultivation and weaker wills even soiled themselves.

The market began to stir and riot; Cultivators looked at each other, bewildered and at a loss, not knowing what had happened.

But a bad premonition vaguely rose in their hearts—it was the instinctive danger sense of ants facing an overwhelming force.

Humming!

As if to confirm everyone's suspicions, a buzzing sound rang out, and the ground began to tremble violently.

A layer of green light curtain covering the market slowly rose, like a large bowl covering the entire Green Bamboo Market.

A powerful spiritual energy fluctuation spread out, and numerous colorful Talismans, like swimming fish, moved within the light curtain.

But each one of them brought an extreme sense of danger to everyone.

"What's going on? Was that a Foundation Establishment Cultivator flying by just now? It's Old Ancestor Murong!"

"This is Green Bamboo Market's second-tier guardian Formation—the Green Sky Overcasting Formation. Why would it suddenly activate!"

"What is the Murong Family doing? Come out and give an explanation!"

"......"

Some Loose Cultivators immediately said anxiously.

The market's Formation usually operated at its lowest consumption level, only fully activating when something major occurred.

Now that the Formation was fully operational from the start, something definitely felt wrong.

Meanwhile, in the small courtyard, Lu Ming, who was Cultivating, was also startled awake by the Aura from earlier.

He quickly walked out of his Cultivation room to observe outside and also saw the Formation rising.

At this moment, the market was already in chaos, with many Cultivators looking terrified, scurrying around like headless flies.

Just then, a team of Cultivators, uniformly dressed in green bamboo robes, arrived on Flying Swords and spoke loudly using a sound amplification Spell.

"Everyone, don't panic!"

"Today, the market has activated the grand Formation to apprehend a demonic Cultivator. All Fellow Daoists, please stay where you are and do not move around randomly."

Lu Ming: Huh?

Hearing 'apprehend a demonic Cultivator,' he was so startled he almost had an anxiety attack.

'No way, is catching a demonic Cultivator such a big deal? Activating a second-tier Formation to catch one?'

However, Lu Ming quickly calmed down; it shouldn't have anything to do with him, otherwise, they would have acted directly.

'What exactly happened? Was that Aura just now from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?'

Lu Ming muttered to himself, looking left and right, and seeing no one paying attention to him.

He quietly retreated back to his small courtyard.

First, he set up several Talismans near the courtyard, then he touched his glabella.

"Go!"

A phantom figure floated out from his Niwan Palace, flying straight towards the sky.

Normally, there were regulations in the market that no one was allowed to fly Magical Artifacts without permission.

Now that the second-tier Formation was even activated, flying was impossible, so Lu Ming could only use his Clone to scout.

Through the Clone's perspective, Lu Ming saw that Green Bamboo Market was now covered by a layer of emerald-green light curtain.

And judging by the Formation's posture, it was even operating at full power; he saw the power of the earth veins surging in, and the surrounding heaven and earth Qi was also completely drained.

Seeing this scene, Lu Ming's heart sank, and he secretly thought, 'This is bad.'

Just as he was about to control his Clone to look around, he sensed another vast Aura breaking through the air and stopping above Green Bamboo Market.

"Foundation Establishment!"

Lu Ming's face twitched; he immediately controlled his Clone to slowly descend, finding a hidden corner to observe quietly.

Under the nose of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he wasn't confident that his Clone wouldn't be discovered.

Through the Clone's perspective, Lu Ming curiously observed the person in mid-air; this was his first time seeing what a Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked like.

The newcomer was a Yellow-brow Daoist; he stood with his hands behind his back in mid-air, exuding Foundation Establishment Spiritual Pressure, looking down at the green grand Formation of the market below.

Ignoring the Cultivators on the ground, who were as small as ants, Yellow-brow Daoist walked through the air towards the grand Formation.

Just then, a majestic voice came from the direction of the Murong Family in the center of the market.

"Fellow Daoist Zheng, may I ask why you have come!"

Yellow-brow Daoist's face held a cold smile.

"Old Ghost Murong, you know best why I'm here. Hand over the item! Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding our past acquaintance!"

His tone was calm, but the threat was undisguised.

Old Ancestor Murong was silent for a moment, then his majestic voice rang out again.

"I don't have what you're looking for here, Fellow Daoist. Please return!"

Yellow-brow Daoist did not speak further, directly conjuring a large bronze cauldron that hovered around him.

As magic power surged, the large bronze cauldron instantly became as large as a small mountain, its descending shadow almost covering half the market.

Yellow-brow Daoist pressed his hands down, and the colossal bronze cauldron descended like Mount Tai, its target precisely the green grand Formation.

Boom—

The moment the colossal bronze cauldron landed on the guardian grand Formation, it emitted an ear-splitting roar, spreading outwards from the point of impact.

Yellow-brow Daoist's indifferent voice echoed throughout the market.

"You don't know what's good for you. Do you think I'm discussing this with you?"