The door cracked open a sliver, and a faint light from talismans pulsed inside the room—the binding array was already active.

  This talisman wasn’t designed for killing, but rather to link with the earth's energy through its patterns, weaving a net of restraint.

  Once triggered, spirit threads would spread from the ground and corners, trapping the intruder within a confined space.

  The trapped person would find their spiritual energy flow obstructed, their movement techniques difficult to execute.

  Forcing a breakout would only invite a backlash.

  Lu Chi had earlier placed two mid?grade Binding Talismans in the room, positioned to resonate and form a small array.

  With two talismans overlapping, the power was considerable—enough to trap a middle?stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

  Against someone of higher cultivation, it might not hold for long, but it would buy enough time for a momentary delay.

  Now, pale yellow spirit threads crisscrossed like a net or shackles, firmly binding a figure.

  The person was slender, their features blurred as if veiled by a faint mist of spiritual energy, making them indistinct.

  Fifth layer of Qi Refinement—so it was indeed a disguise?adept thief cultivator!

  The thief sensed someone entering and jerked their head up, a flicker of panic flashing in their eyes before they forced composure and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist, wait—let's talk this over…"

  Before the words finished, a glint of spiritual light flashed within the array, and a hidden weapon shot silently from their sleeve.

  A needle, fine as an ant, aimed straight for the center of Lu Chi's brow.

  Lu Chi had been on guard. He shifted slightly, his fingertip already activating the Ice Arrow Talisman.

  A streak of cold light shot through the air.

  The temperature in the room plummeted, frost spreading through the air.

  The needle never reached its target, arrested mid?flight by the intense cold, clattering to the floor.

  In the next instant, the ice arrow pierced into the array.

  The thief cultivator hurriedly circulated their spiritual energy. A faint gray protective barrier shimmered over their body—they were also at the middle stage of Qi Refinement.

  But bound by the restraint array, their movement techniques were useless. The hastily erected barrier cracked and splintered.

  The cold light passed straight through them.

  A muffled grunt.

  The thief's body convulsed violently. Frost flowers spread across their chest, their spiritual energy scattering. The talisman light flickered, but the binding threads only tightened further, locking them in place.

  Fear finally showed in their eyes, their voice trembling: "Fellow Daoist, spare me… I was only after wealth…"

  Lu Chi stepped closer, his expression calm. "After wealth? Coming for me means seeking death."

  As the words fell, a second ice arrow had already taken shape.

  The cold intensified.

  This time, it struck the throat.

  Frost sealed the throat in an instant. The thief's pupils dilated, the unfinished sound in their throat turning into white mist as their body slowly collapsed.

  The talisman light dimmed accordingly.

  The room returned to silence, only the lingering cold remaining.

  Lu Chi stood in place, his breathing not yet steady.

  A superior?grade Ice Arrow Talisman—originally a life?saving trump card. Using it against a middle?stage Qi Refinement cultivator already trapped in an array seemed somewhat extravagant.

  The thought flashed through his mind.

  But he felt no regret.

  When a lion hunts a rabbit, it still uses its full strength. In a midnight struggle to the death, there was no room for half?measures.

  If he held back to save resources and allowed the other to break free and counterattack, the consequences would be far harder to manage.

  It was just a matter of drawing another talisman, after all. Qin Suniang had provided plenty of talisman materials anyway.

  Lu Chi slowly exhaled, suppressing the chaotic spiritual energy within him.

  Only after confirming the other's life force was completely extinguished did he step forward to search the corpse.

  The disguise technique dissipated, revealing an unfamiliar face.

  The recent spate of thefts in the market district… probably connected to this person…

  Should he report this to the market overseers? The thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed it.

  Destroy the evidence and be done with it. No need to invite further complications.

  Lu Chi took out a Fire Talisman and incinerated the body. Then, using a Cleansing Talisman, he wiped away all traces left in the array.

  The chill was gradually dissipating, and the room returned to its original state.

  After completing all of this, he slowly let out a breath.

  He raised his eyes to look at the three spirit plants in the courtyard—their branches and leaves were silent, and the distant pagoda tree was soundless, as if the murmurs from moments ago had never occurred.

  The tension in Lu Chi’s heart slowly eased.

  A thought crossed his mind, and he paused for a moment.

  That person just now had clearly been at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, while he was only at the fourth layer—yet he had slain someone beyond his realm.

  At this realization, a faint tremor passed through his heart, but it soon settled again, without any self?congratulation.

  His opponent had been trapped by the Binding Talisman Array, unable to move freely, and had been forced to react in haste.

  He had used a supreme?grade Ice Arrow Talisman.

  A single flash of cold light, its force already approaching late?stage Qi Refinement—an ordinary mid?stage Qi Refinement cultivator would find it difficult to withstand such a talisman head?on.

  If it had been someone like Cao Zhen, who cultivated body?refining arts alongside Qi Refinement, with dense qi and blood and strong sinews and bones, the ice arrow might not have delivered a fatal blow. In that case, the outcome would have been hard to predict.

  Lu Chi’s emotions gradually steadied.

  He first bent down to pick up the thin needle that had fallen to the floor earlier.

  The needle was pitch?black, no longer than an inch.

  Its tip gleamed faintly, and it felt extremely light to the touch.

  There were no talisman patterns visible on it, nor any flow of spiritual energy—it was simply coated with a trace of poison, thrown with spiritual power to catch someone off guard.

  It was nothing more than a common concealed weapon, not a magical artifact.

  Lu Chi put away the thin needle.

  Only then did he sit down at the table and place the storage pouch of the bandit cultivator in front of him.

  Time to loot.

  This time, he had not only consumed two Binding Talismans but had also expended two Ice Arrow Talismans.

  If he didn’t gain some decent spoils, it would be too much of a loss.

  He extended his spiritual sense inside.

  The space inside the pouch was sizable, filled with various odds and ends.

  Nearly a hundred low?grade spirit stones were piled in one corner.

  There were also several bottles of Qi?Nourishing Pills and Healing Powder—their grade wasn’t high, but the quantity was considerable.

  A few low?grade magical artifacts lay scattered among them, all common items, likely obtained from different cultivators.

  Lu Chi’s gaze sharpened.

  Continuing to probe deeper into the pouch, he slowly retrieved an old booklet and a jade token.

  The booklet’s cover was darkened, its corners worn, but the pages were extremely thin, making almost no sound when turned.

  On the cover, five characters were written in faint ink: The Shadow?Morphing Record.

  The script was in semi?cursive calligraphy, the strokes relaxed and free—it didn’t resemble the methods of a proper sect but carried a somewhat untamed, reclusive air of a mountain?dwelling rogue cultivator.

  Lu Chi flipped through a few pages.

  What was recorded inside were entirely techniques for concealing one’s aura and altering one’s form.

  Some taught how to restrain one’s energy, storing spiritual power deep within the meridians to make it difficult for outsiders to detect; others described bone?shifting and face?changing methods, using subtle spiritual power to adjust facial skin, muscles, and bones, even allowing one’s voice to be slightly disguised.

  Several key points clearly matched the techniques that bandit cultivator had just used.

  Lu Chi’s expression remained unchanged as he closed the booklet.

  “If used appropriately, this method could be beneficial for moving through marketplaces or escaping danger. I can practice it secretly for a while.

  But I must never show it lightly to others, lest I be mistaken for a bandit cultivator or a thief and invite unnecessary trouble.”

  He set the booklet aside for the moment and picked up the jade token.

  The jade was warm and smooth, pale green in color, about half the size of a palm.

  The front was carved with intricate wave patterns, like rising and falling tides, layer upon layer.

  At the center was embedded an extremely small black stone, like the eye of a night tide.

  The back was blank, with only a ring of fine talisman lines carved along the edge, faintly visible.

  What is this?

  Lu Chi examined it for a while but couldn’t recognize its origin.

  It was neither a sect token nor an item used by market overseers.

  The water?ripple pattern was quite distinctive, resembling some kind of secret code, yet he had never seen it within Azure Sparrow Mountain.

  He turned the jade token over a few times but still couldn't make sense of it, so he tucked it into his robe.

  Tonight's gains far exceeded expectations, but the more he obtained, the more cautious he became.

  He slowly closed the storage pouch and let his gaze sweep around the room.

  This small courtyard was located on the outskirts of the market district, where spiritual energy was thin, the walls were low, and foot traffic was mixed.

  In the past, as a mere talisman?mender with little to his name, living here had been suitable enough.

  But now, with more spirit stones on hand, talismans at his disposal, and the secrets of spirit plants and spiritual liquid, staying in this place was becoming far too conspicuous.

  If not for the Warning Talisman and Restraint Formation Talisman set up in advance tonight, his place might have been turned upside down.

  The thief?cultivator was only the first concern.

  Luo Wenshan's intentions were hard to gauge, and the undercurrents from Nethergloom Vale had not yet settled.

  If those parties truly intended to investigate, this outer area of the market district had lax security and could hardly ward off prying eyes. Even if they sent someone of modest cultivation, it would be enough to probe his circumstances.

  Lu Chi lowered his gaze for a moment, his mind already made up.

  Relocation!