19: Chapter 19 Seeing Injustice on the Road, Casually Drawing a Card

Five days later, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Led by Lin Lingfeng, the six-member Lin Family market team quietly left the Lin Family lands and hurried toward the Luoxia County market.

The team was streamlined: Lin Lingfeng at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer led the team, with Lin Lingyun and Lin Lingyu at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, Lin Cangchen at the Qi Refining Third Layer, and two Clan Uncles named Lin Lingtu and Lin Lingjin, also at the Qi Refining Third Layer. Everyone looked alert; after all, the shadow of demonic Cultivators troubling the borders had not yet dissipated.

Lin Lingfeng took the lead, his movements elegant yet swift. Lin Lingyun and Lin Lingyu followed closely, their movement techniques agile. Lin Cangchen used his nearly proficient Wind Chasing Steps and kept up without much effort, even having energy left to observe his surroundings. The two Clan Uncles struggled slightly but managed to keep pace.

"Stay sharp and be on guard! We'll bypass areas prone to ambushes, even if it means taking a longer route," Lin Lingfeng's voice came from ahead, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.

The journey was silent, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense. Aside from the occasional startled bird and a few low-grade beasts that blindly bumped into them, they encountered no danger.

Seeing that they were only about a day's journey from the market, everyone's tense nerves relaxed slightly. At this speed, they would reach the safety zone outside the market by tomorrow evening.

However, as they passed through a dense cedar forest, the faint roar of spiritual power collisions and several angry shouts came from ahead!

"Something's happening!" Lin Lingfeng immediately raised his hand, signaling the team to stop.

Everyone quickly hid behind trees and rocks, restraining their auras. Lin Cangchen instinctively pushed his Spirit Concealment Art to the proficient level, and his aura instantly became faint and indistinct.

Lin Lingfeng carefully extended his spiritual sense to perceive the situation, and his expression changed slightly. "It's the Li clan's patrol! They're fighting someone... the opponents' spiritual power attributes are very mixed and carry a sinister air; they're demonic Cultivators!"

The Li clan patrol? Demonic Cultivators?

Everyone's hearts tightened. They hadn't expected to actually run into them!

"How many of them? What's their strength?" Lin Lingyun asked in a low voice.

"Four demonic Cultivators: one at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, two at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, and one at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining! There are five people on the Li clan's side, with the highest also at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. The situation looks bad!" Lin Lingfeng spoke rapidly, his brow furrowed.

Sixth Level of Qi Refining! This was already beyond what their small team could handle.

"What should we do? Bypass them?" Lin Lingyu suggested, her expression tense. Getting involved in such a battle carried too much risk.

Lin Lingfeng's eyes flickered, clearly weighing the options. The Li clan governed Luoxia County; standing by and doing nothing seemed inappropriate, but rushing in could very well cost them their own people.

Just then, a shrill scream erupted from the battle ahead! A figure from the Li clan was sent flying, crashing into a large tree and sliding down limply as their aura rapidly vanished!

Dead!

At the same time, an arrogant voice rang out: "Hahaha! Li Family trash! You dare patrol with such pathetic skills? Kill them all, finish this quickly!"

Lin Lingfeng's pupils constricted as he clenched his fists. He saw the identity jade pendant hanging from the waist of the deceased Li clan member and noticed the precarious defensive line of the remaining four Li Clan Members.

"We can't just watch them die!" Lin Lingfeng made an instant decision. "We'll launch a sneak attack! The target is that demonic Cultivator at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. First, help the Li Family relieve some pressure! Cangchen, your cultivation is the lowest; look for an opportunity to use Talismans for interference and focus on protecting yourself! Everyone else, follow me!"

"Yes!" At this point, the Lin Family members knew they couldn't stay out of it and responded one after another.

Lin Lingfeng took a deep breath and growled, "Move!"

Before his voice even faded, his figure moved like lightning, charging straight toward the demonic Cultivator at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining who was grinning while attacking a female Cultivator from the Li clan! His Geng Metal Finger exploded with full force, a highly condensed golden finger wind striking first, aiming straight for the opponent's back!

The demonic Cultivator sensed the vicious wind from behind and hurriedly turned to block, but the finger wind shook his blood and Qi, causing his movements to stall.

Meanwhile, Lin Lingyun, Lin Lingyu, Lin Lingtu, and Lin Lingjin charged out from different directions, each finding their target. They used either the Green Vine Art to entangle or sabers and swords to launch fierce attacks, catching the opponents off guard!

"Who's there?!" The Demonic Cultivator Leader at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining was both shocked and enraged; he hadn't expected an unexpected intruder halfway.

The Li Family patrol, finding life in a desperate situation, didn't know who the newcomers were, but seeing they were helping, their morale soared, and they fought back with all their might.

Lin Cangchen crouched behind a giant rock, waiting for the right moment, then flicked his wrist to throw two low-quality fireball talismans!

"Bang! Bang!"

The fireballs exploded at the feet of the demonic Cultivator at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. Although they didn't cause much damage, the sparks flew everywhere and smoke filled the air, successfully distracting his vision and mind.

"Which bastard is throwing trash around?!" the demonic Cultivator roared in anger. In his distraction, Lin Lingfeng seized the opening, and a sharp sword light flashed, instantly leaving a wound deep enough to see the bone on his body!

"Ah!" The demonic Cultivator screamed, his combat power greatly reduced.

The situation on the battlefield shifted instantly!

The addition of the Lin Family team—especially the sharp attacks of Lin Lingfeng, a Four-Element Spiritual Root Genius—along with the Lin Family's tacit cooperation and complete cultivation System, immediately played a crucial role.

The demonic Cultivator at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining was the first to falter and was killed by the combined efforts of Lin Lingfeng and Lin Lingyun!

Soon after, a demonic Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer also fell under the siege of the Li and Lin Family Cultivators.

"Bastards! You just wait!" Seeing the situation turn sour, the Demonic Cultivator Leader at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining had a flash of malice and heartache in his eyes as he suddenly threw a black-red bead!

"Watch out! It's a Yin Thunder Bead!" a Li Family Cultivator shouted in alarm.

Everyone scrambled to dodge or defend.

"Boom!"

With a dull thud, black-red smoke spread out, carrying a pungent, fishy smell and corrosive properties.

By the time the smoke cleared, the Demonic Cultivator Leader at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining and another demonic Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer had already used the smoke as cover to perform some kind of blood escape technique. They transformed into two streaks of bloody light and fled deep into the forest at extreme speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"We can't catch them." Lin Lingfeng sheathed his long sword and shook his head. The opponent's cultivation was a level higher than his, and they had used an escape technique with a significant cost; chasing them was too risky.

The battle ended, leaving the field in a mess.

The remaining four members of the Li clan patrol were all injured. Looking at the three demonic Cultivator corpses and one of their own on the ground, their faces were filled with grief and the relief of surviving a disaster.

The leader of the Li clan, a Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, walked up to Lin Lingfeng and solemnly cupped his fists. "I am Li Mingyuan. Many thanks to Fellow Daoist Lin for your righteous assistance! If not for you all, we would likely have been wiped out here today!"

He recognized Lin Lingfeng, the Genius of the Qingshi Town Lin Family, who was somewhat famous in the Qi Refining Family circles of Luoxia County.

"Fellow Daoist Li is too kind. We are all of the Luoxia County lineage; helping each other is only natural," Lin Lingfeng returned the gesture, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

The two sides briefly exchanged words, sharing names and their encounters. The Li clan patrol had discovered traces of these demonic Cultivators during a routine patrol. They had intended to track and report them but were unfortunately noticed and ambushed instead.

"These demonic Cultivators are becoming increasingly rampant!" Li Mingqing gritted his teeth. "I must report this to the Family immediately! Fellow Daoist Lin, where are you all headed?"

"We are heading to the market," Lin Lingfeng replied.

"The market?" Li Mingqing thought for a moment. "Thirty miles east of here, there is a temporary outpost established by my Li clan, which is relatively safe. If you don't mind, you can come with us to rest for a while before heading to the market. I can also record today's events in detail to request rewards for the Lin Family!"

Lin Lingfeng glanced at his teammates. Seeing that they were a bit tired but mostly fine, he nodded in agreement. "In that case, we shall trouble Fellow Daoist Li."

They helped clear the battlefield, mainly collecting the remains of the fallen Li clan member and counting the loot from the demonic Cultivators' corpses (which the Li Family would keep for now, with a portion potentially allocated to the Lin Family later as a reward).

During this process, no one noticed Lin Cangchen, hiding behind the giant rock, quickly sweeping his gaze over the three fresh demonic Cultivator corpses and the body of the fallen Li clan member.

He chanted in his mind:

"Extract!"

"Extract!"

"Extract!"

"Extract!"

Four cards quietly emerged in his consciousness space.

The first three were from the demonic Cultivators: [Pure Spiritual Qi Card (Trace)], [Mixed Devilish Qi Fragment (Useless)], and a [Physical Body Defense Card (Weak)]. It seemed the demonic Cultivators didn't have much good stuff on them.

But when he "looked" at the card extracted from the fallen Li clan member, his heart skipped a beat!

That card emitted a faint, cyan glow like a Medicine Cauldron, and the pattern on it looked like an open Alchemy book with wisps of medicinal Qi swirling around it.

[First Grade, Low Rank Alchemy Legacy Card (Complete)]

Description: Contains complete First Grade, Low Rank Alchemy Legacy memories and insights. After use, one can directly master the refining methods and related pharmacological knowledge for almost all common Medicinal Pills in the Early Stage of Qi Refining.

Lin Cangchen: "!!!"

An Alchemy Legacy! And a complete First Grade, Low Rank one at that!

This... this is like someone handing you a pillow just as you're nodding off! This is exactly what the Family lacks most right now!

The incomplete Alchemy Legacy held by Grand Elder Lin Yaoshan only allowed for the refining of grain dispelling pills and qi gathering pills, and the success rate was pathetic. With this, the Family's Alchemy level will be directly upgraded by a notch! The types of Medicinal Pills that can be refined will greatly increase, providing a massive boost to the Family's overall strength!

Suppressing the urge to use it immediately, Lin Cangchen carefully "stored" this incredibly precious card in a corner of his consciousness space, separate from the other cards.

He looked at the collected remains of the Li clan member and silently offered a word of thanks. Although they were strangers, the other person had contributed a key force to the rise of the Lin Family with his life (and the System's card extraction).

"Does this count as... looting core technology from a corpse?" Lin Cangchen muttered to himself, feeling a bit subtle, but mostly overwhelmed by the wild joy of striking it rich overnight.

He followed the team toward the Li clan's temporary outpost, his steps feeling a bit lighter.

He had originally just wanted to go to the market to restock, but he hadn't expected such an incredible harvest along the way! This trip was a massive profit!