Cultivation is just so scientific!

Ge Tianqing's figure flashed, appearing beside Zheng, and he brought down his Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact with a heavy blow.

Zheng's heart panicked, at which point she realized her mistake in coordinating with Senior Brother Zhao. If she had advanced and retreated with Senior Brother Zhao, she wouldn't have given Ge Tianqing any opportunities.

She wanted to recall her Low Grade Hairpin Magical Artifact, and also thought about taking out an intermediate defense talisman from her storage bag, while planning to infuse more Spiritual Energy into her Low Grade Defense Shield. Overwhelmed by panic and attempting to do all these at once, she became flustered.

This wasn't her fault; she had barely experienced any battles at her sect. Even when she went out on missions, she had the help of fellow disciples, which was the reason she had been able to save enough Spirit Stones to purchase a Gathering Spirit Plate.

But insufficient strength shows its dire consequences in real battles, and her panic meant that her Low Grade Defense Shield barely managed to block the Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact.

However, this was a Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact wielded by a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator. With a single blow, it shattered her Low Grade Defense Shield, and the hammer struck heavily upon her body.

Zheng's body trembled as the Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact, carrying late-stage Qi Refining Spiritual Energy, instantly extinguished the vitality within her.

"Sister!" Senior Brother Zhao roared in anger.

He no longer held back and slapped his waist, producing a medium-level attack talisman in his hand.

He activated the medium-level attack talisman with his Spiritual Energy, sending a streak of fire toward Ge Tianqing.

Ge Tianqing grabbed Zheng's storage bag and then noticed Senior Brother Zhao's attack. Without hesitation, he threw his Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact towards the flames ignited by the medium-level attack talisman.

He then took out a red talisman and spat a mouthful of blood from the bottom of his heart onto the talisman. The red talisman turned into a streak of blood light, whisking him away into the distance.

After activating the medium-level attack talisman, Senior Brother Zhao's figure chased forward, his body merging with the shadow of his Mid-grade Long Sword Artifact, seeking to close in on Ge Tianqing for battle.

As a Cultivator from a sect, he had numerous tricks at his disposal that hadn't yet been used.

If he could just hold Ge Tianqing off, then there was no doubt he'd be able to capture him.

But he clearly had not anticipated the decisiveness of the Loose Cultivator who detonated his main Magic Artifact and activated a special blood-drawing talisman to escape.

Senior Brother Zhao's figure surged forward, directly encountering the exploding Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact.

The blast from the Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact, a weapon long nourished by a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator, was terrifyingly powerful.

Even Ge Tianqing probably didn't expect the explosion of the Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact to produce such an effect; he had long since escaped and did not witness the outcome of the battle.

Senior Brother Zhao's intermediate defense talisman had already been broken by one of Ge Tianqing's low-level talismans, and even his Mid Grade Turtle Shell Magical Artifact took a hit.

The explosion shattered the Mid Grade Turtle Shell Magical Artifact in an instant.

Fortunately, most of the blast was absorbed by the Mid Grade Turtle Shell Magical Artifact, and with the assistance of the Mid-grade Long Sword Artifact in his hand, he was spared instant death.

Senior Brother Zhao's body was tossed out like a rag doll, slamming heavily onto the street below.

Enduring the pain, he retrieved an Elixir Pill from his storage bag and swallowed it, then leapt to his feet. He first put Zheng's body into his storage bag, then summoned a small Flying Boat.

This small Flying Boat did not belong to him; it was borrowed for the mission from his sect.

He leapt into the small Flying Boat, inserting several Spirit Stones into its Array, and the small boat soared into the air, flying towards the sky.

Only after the small Flying Boat had stabilized in flight did he let his guard down, spurting out a mouthful of blood containing internal organ tissue. His complexion turned deathly pale.

The reason he fled immediately was because he sustained severe injuries from the close-range self-explosion of a Lower Grade Iron Hammer Magical Artifact.

He worried that if the Loose Cultivator returned, by then he would have no strength to counterattack and could only be at the mercy of his opponent.

The Cultivators from both sides left, leaving behind only the ruined scene. The buildings on both sides of the street were battered, and fragments of rocks and wood torn apart by Spiritual Power were everywhere.

Aside from the groans of the injured inside the buildings, the rest of the people had been scared by the noises outside and dared not make a sound.

It was only when the light of torches and footsteps of a large group of people approached that anyone dared to come out to investigate the situation.

Li WenYuan was awakened from his sleep by his servant, and quickly rushed to the scene.

Li Shiming was still attempting to sense the Spiritual Energy and had not fallen asleep; he also heard the clamor outside.

"Moyan, what has happened?" Li Shiming got dressed and came out, asking his approaching servant, Moyan.

He was quite satisfied with the servant Moyan, who would always come to inform him at the first sign of any incident.

"A fight broke out on Temple Street, and the message we received said the destruction seems like what happened in the garden!" Moyan replied, somewhat frightened.

The explosion that had occurred in the garden had terrified the household servants; unexpectedly, before the city could regain peace, another such incident had happened.

Li Shiming surely knew that what happened on Temple Street and in the garden were not the same; in this world, there wasn't another person capable of concocting nitroglycerin, impossible to create such an explosion.

He thought of the two Cultivators, as only a battle between Cultivators could result in such destruction.

"Moyan, send two nannies to the guesthouse to check if our two guests are still there," he instructed solemnly.

The nannies in the house were all shrewd and knew how to investigate without offending anyone. Instead of sending Moyan, it would make Li Shiming worry that the matter wouldn't be handled properly.

"Yes, Young Master!" Moyan, not knowing the reason, still bowed and responded.

Li Shiming couldn't sleep anymore either and went to the government office area to wait in the living room where Li WenYuan worked.

The news from Moyan came first; the two guests were not in the guesthouse.

By now, he was one hundred percent sure that the incident in the city was related to the two Immortal Cultivators.

"Father!" Li WenYuan entered with heavy steps, and Li Shiming hurried forward to support him and said with concern,

"I'm old, when I was young I wouldn't feel tired even after three days and nights on the river embankment!" Li WenYuan said helplessly as he sat on a chair and gently patted his legs.

Li Shiming ordered the servants to bring in ginseng soup, which he had instructed the kitchen to prepare in advance.

"Father, I sent someone to investigate the guesthouse where the two Immortal Cultivators were staying, and they were both gone!" Li Shiming spoke.

"Actually, there's no need to investigate further. An audacious witness at the scene saw the fight; the female fairy from yesterday died, and the male immortal and their enemies all fled!" Li WenYuan said in a grave voice.

"Father, this year's evaluation by the Ministry of Revenue might be problematic!" Li Shiming expressed his concerns.

The Ministry of Revenue's evaluation is a rating of an official's work for the year and is a critical basis for an official's promotion or transfer.

"Don't worry about the evaluation. I never had the intention of going back to Central Capital anyway!" Li WenYuan said, smiling and shaking his head.