Cultivation is just so scientific!

"Zheng, there's a situation!" That evening, as Zheng was getting ready to cultivate, she heard Senior Brother Zhao's message and hurriedly opened the door and stepped out.

At this time, the protective array outside had already been withdrawn by Senior Brother Zhao, who did not hesitate to apply multiple talismans on himself and charged in a certain direction.

Zheng hesitated for a moment; she did not pack up her belongings, but then she thought that this place was an official residence, among the safest in the secular world.

Furthermore, with Senior Brother Zhao already having left ahead, she also endowed herself with several talismans and followed after him.

Their sect forbade foreign cultivators from entering secular areas within the Great Xia, where their sect held sway; cultivators had their own world.

The secular was the foundation of their sect; without ordinary people, how could the sect continue to exist?

The appearance of such non-sect cultivators within their territory meant that sect disciples had to investigate, and most importantly, eliminating these cultivators not only yielded their left-behind possessions but also rewards from the sect.

Ge Tianqing was a Loose Cultivator, passing through Great Xia on this occasion.

Passing through lands protected by the sect, in the secular world, was a most ordinary affair.

As long as he did not demonstrate cultivator methods, there would be no trouble at all.

However, if he wanted to avoid Great Xia's territory and the secular lands protected by the sect, the journey would take several times longer.

Thus, he chose the more direct route. As dusk approached, he saw Nanling City, a good place to resupply his food.

Legends spoke of immortal cultivators who needed no mortal nourishment, but this was irrelevant to Qi Refining cultivators; like ordinary people, they needed food to replenish what they expended.

And Ge Tianqing, not being a sect disciple, did not have access to precious spiritual energy food.

It was quite late, and the city gates of Nanling City were already closed.

He decided to climb over the city wall, and when casting the Light Body Technique, he did not conceal it, believing that there were no cultivators in Nanling City.

Little did he know that to detect cultivators, Master Zhao's array was activated with the capability to sense fluctuations of spiritual power.

As soon as Ge Tianqing cast the Light Body Technique, he was detected by the array.

Walking on the street, planning to find an inn to stay in, he was startled and looked toward a direction suddenly.

Senior Brother Zhao and Zheng moved swiftly, drawing near to a distance where they could sense each other.

"Junior Sister Zheng, be careful, it's a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator!" Senior Brother Zhao's expression changed slightly as he transmitted a message to Zheng.

By now, he had concluded that Ge Tianqing was indeed the cultivator they were looking for, the one who caused the explosion in the backyard of the official residence; his strength matched, and he was discovered at this time.

In a place like Nanling Prefecture, it was rare to see a cultivator even once in several decades; how could this be a coincidence?

Hearing that it was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, Zheng slapped her storage bag, and a small shield appeared in her hand, which she placed in front of her.

Senior Brother Zhao was also quick, a longsword now in his hand, and a Turtle Shell shaped shield circulating around him.

As Ge Tianqing was about to speak, seeing the two approaching cultivators draw out their magic artifacts, it was already too late for words.

He stepped back, a black iron hammer appearing in his hand.

Seeing him with the iron hammer magic artifact, Senior Brother Zhao sighed with relief.

"It's a Loose Cultivator, get ready for a tough kill!" he transmitted his voice to Zheng, his junior sister disciple.

The reason he judged the opponent as a Loose Cultivator was because of Ge Tianqing's poverty.

In a situation where a Cultivator was preparing for battle, Ge Tianqing only took out a Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact.

Perhaps the power of a Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact wasn't weak, but for a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator to use a lower grade magical artifact, one could infer their background.

Senior Brother Zhao was extremely confident he could take down Ge Tianqing in one fell swoop. He and Zheng, his junior sister disciple, had already fortified themselves with multiple talismans, while Ge Tianqing wasn't emitting any talisman light.

The difference between Sect-born Cultivators and Loose Cultivators was immense, which was why Cultivators strove hard to join a Sect. Only in situations where they couldn't enter did they reluctantly become Loose Cultivators.

The battle of Cultivators unfolded on the streets, not a fight that should belong to Nanling City, yet it was extremely fierce from the beginning.

Senior Brother Zhao's Mid-grade Long Sword Artifact flew out, slashing towards Ge Tianqing.

Ge Tianqing's equipment was not on par with Senior Brother Zhao's, but as a Loose Cultivator, his combat experience was incredibly rich, and he struck the Mid-grade Long Sword Artifact with his Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact.

When the Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact clashed with the Mid-grade Long Sword Artifact, a shockwave produced by spiritual power spread in all directions.

The terrifying shockwave shattered the stone slabs of the street, sending fragments flying, hitting the doors and windows of nearby buildings.

The immense noise came first, followed by the sounds of countless doors and windows shattering and then the cries of alarm from within the houses.

Whether it was Ge Tianqing, Senior Brother Zhao, or Zheng, his junior sister disciple, none of them cared about the impact their fight was causing.

Zheng's attack also arrived, a Low Grade Hairpin Magical Artifact. Although the power of the Low Grade Hairpin Magical Artifact wasn't that great, it was extremely covert.

After Ge Tianqing blocked Senior Brother Zhao's attack, the Low Grade Hairpin Magical Artifact stabbed towards his shoulder from the side.

Zheng's Low Grade Hairpin Magical Artifact was launched while she held a Basic Attack Talisman. Ge Tianqing didn't expect her attack would be so tricky and only paid attention to the talisman.

By the time the Low Grade Hairpin Magical Artifact reached Ge Tianqing's shoulder, he sensed its presence and swiftly ducked, yet he still ended up with a cut on his shoulder.

Blood flowed from the wound, coupled with spiritual power from Zheng.

Although Ge Tianqing was much stronger, expelling the spiritual power from the wound wasn't difficult. The problem was that during combat, diverting attention to expel the spiritual power could affect the fight.

"You should die!" Ge Tianqing shouted, his face twisted in rage.

Being suddenly attacked by two Sect disciples—with an intent to kill no less—how could he not be filled with fury?

The ruthlessness distinctive of Loose Cultivators was fully revealed when faced with a threat to their life. Loose Cultivators weren't completely without opportunities.

He knew if he didn't fight back with all his might, he might very well die there that day.

His hand brushed over his storage bag, and he produced a handful of low-level talismans without any hesitation. He threw all of them at Senior Brother Zhao.

Flames, ice, Wind Blades, and various other attacks made of spiritual energy surged towards Senior Brother Zhao at once, prompting him to quickly activate an Intermediate Defense Talisman from his storage bag.

Fearing the Intermediate Defense Talisman might not hold up, Senior Brother Zhao retreated, retracting his Mid-grade Long Sword Artifact and channeling even more spiritual power into his Mid Grade Turtle Shell Magical Artifact nearby.

Being born in a Sect, he was like gold, while Ge Tianqing was like rubble; there was no way he would engage in a life-or-death struggle with Ge Tianqing.

As he retreated, he left Zheng, his junior sister disciple, exposed alone in front of Ge Tianqing.