In this place and at this moment, there wasn't much else to say.
They simply wanted to retrieve the treasure that Shi Chun had stolen from them.
They hadn't seen what the treasure looked like; they had only heard about it from the overseer in the mines.
A lost treasure regained—it was a great surprise and made them rather happy.
Shen Youkun, who had run back, was equally excited, wearing a menacing grin.
He was eager to say something nasty to Shi Chun, but his uncle gave him a fierce glare, stopping him in his tracks.
Qi Ziru guessed what his nephew wanted to say.
He wasn’t trying to stop Shen Youkun’s rant but didn’t want him to speak carelessly before they had the treasure back.
The reasoning was simple.
They couldn’t be sure if the Big Boss really had the treasure.
If it was hidden somewhere, and if Shen Youkun's words prompted him to take a desperate risk, it could ruin everything.
The family had entrusted Qi Ziru to handle the situation, which was a sign of their trust in his abilities.
He would not allow himself to make such basic mistakes.
The masked man who had received the orders nodded and turned to Shi Chun.
With a leap, he reached out, aiming to place a restriction on Shi Chun to control him first, before removing the Immobilization Talisman.
Wu Jinliang, standing behind Shi Chun, watched the scene unfold with a heart full of dread.
He knew that he and his brother were in deep trouble this time; they were really doomed.
Despite having repeatedly advised an earlier departure, Shi Chun was adamant about venturing here, and now they were facing the consequences.
While his heart was filled with sorrow, his eyes suddenly lit up.
He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him because the immobilized Shi Chun seemed to move.
The masked man stretching his hand also thought he was seeing things—how could the immobilized person move?
He didn’t have time to ponder as shock turned to terror.
The immobilized person really moved, turned his head, and stared at him, shifting the direction of his blade.
His expression was terrifying.
Serenely lounging on the recliner, Qi Ziru thought he was seeing things too.
The traces of a smile on his face froze into a look of astonishment.
Shen Youkun, overwhelmed with excitement, was stunned.
His mouth was left ajar, his eyes wide open in disbelief.
It wasn’t an illusion.
Shi Chun indeed moved.
The joy of breaking free transformed into fierceness as the blade in his hand quivered, and he swung it at the leaping masked man.
The masked man, unable to dodge mid-air, twisted desperately to avoid a fatal wound.
His head escaped, but the blade cut diagonally from his shoulder to his neck.
Without warning, a head and a shoulder with an arm flew off, spilling blood.
Shi Chun, with a kick, propelled off the leaping body, using the force to fly backward toward Wu Jinliang, who was immobilized.
He knew that he must rescue his brother before the opponent noticed.
An immobilized person was a sitting duck without any chance of defense—even a tossed stone could be lethal.
Extending his body in mid-air, he first tore away the talisman from his own chest, then reached out to remove the talisman from Wu Jinliang’s chest.
In his one peculiar eye, he clearly saw the removal of the talisman as if pulling out glowing threads, creating a lasting impression during that short moment.
These glowing threads, lying between illusion and reality, could be manipulated just like real objects through this particular talisman paper.
The moment the talisman was removed, Wu Jinliang felt immediately freed from restraints.
As he landed, he swung his arm up to support Shi Chun, who pivoted and landed with a kick, signaling for him to follow up.
Without verbal communication, the coordination between the two was seamless.
Shi Chun’s foot pressed on the blade, and with Wu Jinliang’s push, he flew straight at the two armed sedan chair bearers.
Though unable to fly, the sequence of actions—killing, rescuing, and launching an attack—was performed smoothly in the air.
The masked man, who met a swift end, couldn’t even scream before his head separated from body, blood spraying in the air.
Qi Ziru’s expression changed drastically.
He stood up, shocked beyond belief.
He wanted to question how it was possible.
The grade of the talismans he brought was not low, strong enough to easily subdue an ordinary Advanced Martial Realm expert—how could it not subdue a mere unranked cultivator?
By rights, the talisman should maintain its effect for at least a half-hour before dissipating.
Could it be that they encountered some defective talisman?
The sound of rustling brought his attention back to Shen Youkun, who fled in panic from shocking fear, stumbling down the hill in desperation.
While aware of the Big Boss's prowess in Eastern Nine Plains, he never imagined this level of strength—rendering even the Immobilization Talisman useless.
It was too terrifying, draining the color from his face with only one thought left: fleeing, regretting ever coming back for the spectacle.
Morning glance at his nephew’s fleeing figure, Qi Ziru had no mind to care more, urgently retrieved two sheets of talismans from his sleeves.
In this place, possessing such talismans for emergencies was essential.
Yet, despite carrying a few, he was left with only two after handing some to the masked man—enough for contingencies.
He hadn’t expected them to see use so soon.
However, the unexpectedness of the situation and Shi Chun's swift sequence of actions caught him off guard.
It was evident this was a veteran skilled in combat, executing a fluid sequence of killing, rescuing, and counterattacking, depriving opponents of any breathing room.
Thus, he hadn’t had the chance to pass a talisman to the two attendant bearers.
The moment he tried, the attendants were already moving forward to block Shi Chun.
Since his cultivation had been crippled, leaving him without any magic power, he couldn't activate the talismans.
Quickly responding, he moved to protect himself, avoiding becoming a burden, and swiftly descended the slope while waving a talisman, shouting for one of them to come.
He meant one should handle the opponent while the other retrieved the Immobilization Talisman.
Yet, the two attendants couldn't pull back.
Thrusting their swords in unison towards Shi Chun, who was advancing on them.
Mid-flight, Shi Chun switched his moves.
Holding the blade upright at his brow level, he appeared undaunted by the swords aiming for his face, seemingly about to collide with them directly.
This surprised even the attacking attendants, but they knew tricks were involved.
Indeed, in a flash, Shi Chun's blade maneuvered like Tai Chi, disrupting their combined strike.
Abandoning the blade, his other palm pressed forth, striking the back of the blade, advancing toward the crossing point of weapons.
Clawing at three entwined weapons, intending to seize them forcefully, showing intense momentum.
Those chosen by Qi Ziru to accompany him weren’t novices.
Instantly, they activated techniques to exert force jointly, attempting to clasp Shi Chun between their blades.
Shi Chun, momentarily held aloft by double swords, faced a fleeting confinement.
Yet, realizing the attendants matched his skill, he switched tactics swiftly, deploying his free hand upwards before hitting down swiftly on the entwined swords, striking them skywards, while leveraging the opening to propel toward his opponents.
In a moment, Wu Jinliang springed by Shi Chun’s side, the two perfectly syncing actions without a word.
With Shi Chun's foot exploiting Wu Jinliang's blade as leverage, he blurred through the air, straight at the stunned sedan bearers.
They weren’t able to fly, but their series of actions such as killing, saving, and striking were executed seamlessly while off the ground.
The masked man quickly lost his life, leaving no time to scream as his head burst away, drenched in his own blood.
Qi Ziru's face veiled in incredulity, he jolted upright, bewildered by the impossibility of the situation.
He questions how such a thing can be possible? The talismans he used were not weak; they had enough power to easily suppress a normal Advanced Martial Realm cultivator, so how could they fail to subdue someone at the unranked stage?
Under normal circumstances, the talismans should last for at least half an hour before wearing off.
Had they been given subpar talismans?
Suddenly, a noise startled him and Shen Youkun fled in panic as he stumbled down the hillside.
Even though he knew of the formidable strength of the Eastern Nine Plains' Big Boss, he didn't expect him to be this powerful, even shrugging off an Immobilization Talisman.
This changed the game entirely.
Now, terrified and with no traces of blood left on his face, he could only think of escaping, regretting having come back to watch the commotion.
A quick glance toward his fleeing nephew, Qi Ziru ignored everything else, hurriedly pulling out two talismans from his sleeve.
He kept these talismans handy for emergencies; lending out to others wasn’t his wish.
Besides the pair he had given to the masked man, he carried another pair for contingencies.
He never thought they’d find use so unexpectedly; yet, the sequence of rapid events and Shi Chun’s swift and lively response painted a clear picture of a seasoned combatant, skillfully executing successive actions such as killing and saving in one flowing movement that left no space for retaliation or pause.
As a result, he hadn’t had the chance to distribute the talismans to the bearers.
When he attempted to do so, the bearers already moved to block Shi Chun’s assault and he himself, with his cultivation crippled and devoid of power, couldn’t even activate a talisman.
The only course was what he had hoped to avoid to carry out in self-defense or to ward off becoming a burden obstructing any actions, he quickly left the chair and scurried down the slope, all while waving a talisman, shouting for someone to come pick it up.
While intending for one person to stall the adversary and the other to take the Immobilization Talisman, the bearers couldn’t back off.
Cross-checking and stabbing toward the surging Shi Chun, shoulder to shoulder in unity.
Shi Chun abruptly altered his approach in mid-flight.
Holding his blade closely aligned to his eyebrows, as if unafraid of the coming attacks, directly running into their sword tips.
Their surprise was momentary but they weren’t naïve, understanding there’s something behind such deeds.
Indeed, his blade reversed its course like Tai Chi, disrupting their united barrage, abandoning it and thrusting his palm at the spine of the blade, forcing it past the sword clash point, cunningly capturing the junction of three mingled weapons, attempting forcible seizure under aggressive momentum.
The duo favored by Qi Ziru wasn’t ordinary, rapidly invoking energy, intending to exert joint control over Shi Chun, holding him between a sword array.
Momentarily suspended, akin to being wedged between a pair of swords, Shi Chun realized the attendants equaled his power and quickly acknowledged threats arising from attempts to seize.
Thus, immediately altering his tactic, the other hand inverted for an upward strike, hitting the crux forcibly, rebounding the intersecting weapons skyward as he hastily closed in on them.
Upon sensing the danger, Wu Jinliang propelled himself, standing by Shi Chun’s side.
Collaborating seamlessly, they eloquently executed their actions without verbal exchange.
Shi Chun levered atop Wu Jinliang’s slanted sword and flew onward, bearing down on the equally surprised sedan bearers.
Though unable to fly they completed a series of wounding, rescuing, and assaulting actions smoothly aloft.
Rendered instantly helpless, the masked man couldn't even emit a scream before he found himself decapitated, splashing blood upwards.
Qi Ziru's expression morphed.
He rocketed up, overwhelmed with disbelief, wondering how this was conceivable.
He assumed his talismans’ potency wasn’t feeble, adequately potent for confronting an average Advanced Martial Realm practitioner, yet here they didn’t suffice against a non-distinguished cultivator.
Logically, the talismans’ efficacy should endure half an hour before decay.
Could their acquisition include some defective symbols?
Now, clamoring came forth, Shen Youkun once again scampered wildly out of terror, sluggishly tumbling down the hillside.
Informed about the mightiness of Eastern Nine Plains’ master, he never envisaged his capacity to withstand a talisman seemingly untroubled.
The enormity was daunting, resulting in a blanching visage, with sheer survival instincts to flee, remorseful over choosing to spectate the manifold.
Simultaneously being largely aware that his frightened nephew, Qi Ziru, left him unattended, swiftly hurriedly grabbing two talismans out of his sleeves.
He retained certain talismans to assist with unexpected situations; giving them out was not his preference.
Even as he handed the initial pair to the masked man, he retained another brace for urgent use.
Unexpected had accelerated the need, whereby Shi Chun’s spontaneously wavering and continuous body posturing reflected expert martial performance, delivering a fluid landscape involving killing, returning the favor, and repelling without granting room.
Subsequently, he couldn’t hand out talismans to the guardsmen.
Calibrations of attack, as Shi Chun, ever-adjusting himself once more.
Maintaining the sword close to his brow level, the fearless demeanor of embracing impending attacks signaled it.
A gritty show, charging under the sharp verge of being caught unprepared.
Consequently, amidst the surprise, reality dawned an understanding of concealed intentions.
Shi Chun, quickly switched moves, stagger shifts to intercept their sword barrage using Tai Chi, letting the sword go and shoving forth with his open palm at the sword’s spine, accelerating past the blade junction, cleverly seizing the meeting point across three intertwined weapons; striving to retrieve the pair’s tools through sheer, resolute energy.
Those converged by Qi Ziru weren’t pushovers, instantly harnessing artful energy suppression, intending their joint measures repress onslaughting Shi Chun.
Momentarily, appearing entrenched between burgeoning swords, Shi Chun discerned their cultivation not secondary to him, recognizing dire outcomes arising from the envisaged seizure, abandoning immediately, the opposing hand resorting skyward for a thunderous maneuver, falling heavily upon the weapons’ conjunction and remitting them skyward, maneuvering within amid his aggressors.
Synchronicity evolved, as Wu Jinliang sprang next to Shi Chun, performing with unmatched concord without verbal directives.
With Wu Jinliang enabling leverage over his angled longsword, Shi Chun propelled onward, closing in on aghast sedan bearers.
Unchartered heights remained unaided, their utterance of killing, recovering, and countering actions seamlessly exchanged within the mid-air.
The masked man’s head scattered swiftly, voice void of bemoaning, meriting a clean airborne separation, expelling soulless blood.
Qi Ziru's countenance shifted dramatically.
He sprang into standing, overflowing with bafflement, reasoning such impossibility.
Wherein his talismans, if assigned with might of suppressive value towards average Advanced Martial Realm experts, couldn't suffice against unqualified practitioners.
The rightful usage of talismans, typically implored for a prolonged period nearing half an hour prior to dispersing, it begged the verification of supplied defects among symbols?
In amidst, surging clamor heralded, Shen Youkun away again, battling slowly tumbling the hillside under nightmarish fright.
Though aware of Eastern Nine Plains’ patriarch prospective threat, oblivion claimed his dominance unforeseen avert a commanded talisman.
Astonishment stormed his soul, as remembrance of spectating choice cavalried rites.