Chapter Fifty-One: Encounter with Three Bandits on the Road

In the spiritual realm, one mid-grade spirit stone was equivalent to a hundred low-grade spirit stones. Likewise, a single high-grade spirit stone was worth a hundred mid-grade ones. Yet, no one would willingly exchange high-grade stones for mid-grade ones. While this was the accepted conversion, the purity of spiritual energy within a high-grade stone far surpassed that of a mid-grade stone. The purer the energy, the faster cultivation would progress—this principle applied equally when exchanging mid-grade for low-grade stones.

“If there are no more bids, then this high-grade spiritual artifact goes to Young Master Tan. Congratulations, Young Master Tan, on successfully acquiring the artifact for two thousand five hundred mid-grade spirit stones,” Qing Ying announced with a smile, clearly satisfied with the final price.

Meanwhile, Lin Yanghao wore a dazed expression, his mind reeling with shock. “That’s a full two hundred fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones! How can a high-grade spiritual artifact be so expensive? The path of cultivation truly is impassable without wealth!” he thought, heart pounding.

“Brother Lin, let’s hurry and leave before any complications arise,” Tan Zhuo urged, seeing Lin Yanghao still stunned.

Snapping back to his senses, Lin Yanghao quickly followed Tan Zhuo, and in moments, the pair had vanished from the auction house.

Their departure did not go unnoticed. Many others, eyes gleaming with intent, silently trailed after Lin Yanghao and Tan Zhuo.

“Young Master, Tan Zhuo has left, but plenty of people share our intentions,” Meng Ke’s attendant reported.

“Hmph! Let’s go as well. We’ll see whose skills prevail in the end!” Meng Ke snorted coldly, racing off in the direction the two had gone.

...

“Brother Tan, we have quite a few tails behind us. What are we to do? The two of us surely can’t face them all,” Lin Yanghao said, concern in his voice.

“Follow me, Brother Lin. There’s a little-known path ahead. Not far from here, members of my family are waiting to meet us. Even if they catch up, it will be too late,” Tan Zhuo assured him.

“Where have they gone? Did they sprout wings and fly away?”

...

“Damn it!”

After pursuing them, these people found not a trace of Lin Yanghao or Tan Zhuo and erupted in curses.

“Damn it! That brat got away! What now? If my father finds out, he’ll kill me!” Meng Ke arrived soon after, only to discover Tan Zhuo had long fled. His fury erupted in a low, angry growl.

“What are you standing around for? Move!” With no other choice, Meng Ke turned and left as well.

...

“Hahaha! Brother Lin, we’ve shaken off our pursuers! Let’s part ways here—until we meet again. Please don’t take offense; I’m carrying a precious treasure and can’t afford to linger. Otherwise, I’d gladly spend a few days in your company,” Tan Zhuo said apologetically.

Before Lin Yanghao could reply, a mocking, sinister voice rang out: “Why don’t you hand over the artifact and I might spare your lives. Otherwise—hmph!”

Startled, Lin Yanghao and Tan Zhuo spun around to find that three towering figures had appeared behind them without their notice. Lin Yanghao realized that escape seemed impossible now.

“Brother Lin, take this! Follow this path straight ahead and you’ll meet my family’s reinforcements. I’ll hold them off—bring help! Here, take this Swiftstride Talisman and go!” Tan Zhuo, seeing the danger, made a snap decision. After all, their three assailants had two at the early Foundation Establishment stage and one at the peak of Qi Condensation. He chose to hold them off so Lin Yanghao could escape with the artifact and seek aid.

“Hang in there!” Accepting the Blazing Sword, Lin Yanghao dared not waste another moment. He quickly formed a hand seal, activated the talisman, and dashed away at full speed.

Lin Yanghao knew talismans were crafted by talisman masters, who, like alchemists, were divided into lower, middle, and upper ranks. Talismans were even harder to make than pills, so talisman masters were even rarer than alchemists. High-grade talisman masters were exceedingly scarce; as far as Lin Yanghao knew, there were only two in the entire spiritual realm. This made talismans extremely expensive—a single low-grade talisman could cost several hundred low-grade spirit stones. The one Tan Zhuo had given him was a simple, low-grade talisman.

...

Lin Yanghao marveled at his speed, now five times faster thanks to the talisman. “No wonder talismans are so renowned—just a simple one can boost my speed so much!”

After some time, a group bearing the Tan family’s banner appeared in the distance, filling Lin Yanghao with joy. He hurried toward them.

“Are you with the Tan family?” Lin Yanghao asked without preamble.

“We are. What business do you have, young man?” the leader replied.

“Come quickly! Tan Zhuo and I successfully won the high-grade spiritual artifact at the auction—here it is.” Lin Yanghao produced the artifact that Tan Zhuo had entrusted to him.

“It truly is a high-grade artifact! Tell me quickly, what has happened to Tan Zhuo?” The leader, having guessed part of the truth, grew anxious and grasped Lin Yanghao’s hand tightly.

“We suspected others would covet the artifact. Sure enough, we were followed after leaving the auction. Tan Zhuo led us down a secret path and we escaped, but there we were ambushed by robbers. To let me escape with the artifact, Tan Zhuo stayed behind to fight three of them alone. He’s likely been captured already—we must hurry to rescue him!” Lin Yanghao explained.

“What are we waiting for? Lead the way!” the leader barked, then hoisted Lin Yanghao onto his shoulder and soared off on his sword.

Lin Yanghao’s mouth hung open in shock. He never imagined the man was a powerful cultivator at the Core Formation stage. This was the first time Lin Yanghao had ever witnessed, let alone experienced, the legendary art of sword flight.