"Has the mastermind behind the marketplace attack been found?" the Sect Master of Yuanming Sect asked with a composed expression.
It wasn't that he wasn't angry about the incident, but several days had passed since that night, and much of the fury in his heart had dissipated.
"No, we can't find any other clues." The clues that could be found all pointed to Demon Cultivators, which made people feel uneasy, as if the Demon Cultivators were being frad.
Although Demon Cultivators act on whims, that is just the surface; in reality, they value benefits greatly and seldom take unprovoked action unless there are sufficient benefits involved.
Despite Yunqing Marketplace's prosperity and bustle, it is only significant within the bounds of Yunping State; within ten thousand li, the marketplace doesn't rank at all!
Moreover, the most valuable Spiritual Object received by the marketplace in recent tis was a tier-three Blood Essence Stone.
Objects of such level are not without value, but they aren't worth a Demon Cultivator traveling across a state to Yunqing Marketplace.
What's most important is, if a Demon Cultivator had indeed been behind the attack, the corpses littering the marketplace, the rivers of blood—they wouldn't exist, because to a Demon Cultivator, these are all excellent resources for cultivation or materials for crafting demonic artifacts.
"We still need to focus our suspicions on our old adversaries," the Sect Master murmured softly and asked, "Has there been any news from the Green Sword Sect?"
The black-clad cultivator below shook his head and said, "The news we've received does not indicate any unusual activities from the Green Sword Sect recently."
"Is that so?" The Sect Master's eyebrows knitted slightly. Could it really not be the handiwork of the Green Sword Sect? A sudden thought struck him, "Has Zhang Yun sent back any ssages?"
Zhang Yun was the only Foundation Establishnt disciple that Yuanming Sect had sent to infiltrate the Green Sword Sect, and he would only make contact for matters of great importance.
This ti was no exception.
But it wasn't that the matter wasn't significant, rather Zhang Yun had died and therefore could no longer send ssages to Yuanming Sect!
And because of the uniqueness of the Life Token, Yuanming Sect was still unaware that Zhang Yun's identity had been exposed and that he had been killed by the Green Sword Sect.
"This matter requires further investigation from you all; I always feel that there's more to it." Ever since the marketplace attack, he had an ominous premonition that sothing worse was about to happen.
"Yes!" The black-clad cultivator responded and imdiately blended into the shadows, vanishing from sight.
With a faint sigh, the great hall once again fell into silence.
----
After spending three entire days cleaning up Yunqing Marketplace, about twenty to thirty mbers of the Li family returned to Da Rong Island, exhausted.
"Are you all right?" Li Shiqing asked with deep concern.
After Li Shiren returned from Jiang Tianming, Li Shiqing had arranged for a family mber to go back to the clan with a report, including the situation at the marketplace, the punishnt they received, and a request for a few clan mbers to co and help.
Most importantly, he instructed Li Shiqing to ensure Da Rong Island was well defended to prevent anyone from taking advantage.
In fact, before Li Shiren's ssage had arrived, so Loose Cultivators had indeed joined forces to attack Da Rong Island, and their fate, as one might expect, was to beco corpses.
It was from these Loose Cultivators that Li Shiqing and others learned about the marketplace incident. Just as they were about to send aid, the family mbers from the marketplace returned.
After getting a clear understanding of the situation, Li Shiqing finally breathed a sigh of relief and had Li Shilian lead the family mbers to help, while he and Li Shiting remained to oversee the clan.
Now seeing that all the family mbers had returned, Li Shiqing truly felt at ease.
"We're okay, all the family mbers are safe." Except for Li Zhirui.
That night's battle left Li Zhirui extrely injured, as he forcefully refined the Spirit-Replenishing Pills without considering the endurance of his ridians, resulting in their damage; a re three days was not enough for him to fully recover.
"You all go back and rest first, we can talk about everything later," Li Shiqing initially wanted to ask Li Shiren for more details, but seeing the profound fatigue in his eyes, he had to let go of his previous intention.
Not to ntion Li Zhirui standing next to him, pale-faced. Li Shiqing worried he might faint at any mont.
Cleaning up the marketplace didn't seem like a tough job, but the everywhere presence of bloodstains and corpses, along with the nurous collapsed shops, made the task far from simple.
Furthermore, Jiang Tianming only gave them three days. To complete the task, everyone had to relentlessly use their spells day and night, until they were all utterly exhausted.
Li Zhirui walked slowly back to his small courtyard and fell heavily asleep on his bed.
The next day, when Li Zhirui opened his eyes, it was almost noon.
However, after sleeping, he felt much better. It was as if his damaged ridians were sowhat healed.
"This trip outside really was too unlucky!" Now thinking back, Li Zhirui felt utterly dejected. He had rely gone to the marketplace to buy so Spirit Seeds but ended up involved in a major assault on the marketplace—and what's worse, he had also been injured!
The experience truly frightened him. If Li Shiren had returned even a mont later, the Formation would have been broken!
Even though several of his uncles desperately helped him block those frenzied Loose Cultivators, given Li Zhirui's physical condition at the ti, he would likely have not survived long in that chaotic marketplace.
"I definitely won't leave Da Rong Island until I've broken through to Foundation Establishnt!" Li Zhirui declared resolutely.
Though breaking through to Foundation Establishnt wouldn't necessarily guarantee complete safety, at least if a similar incident occurred, Li Zhirui would possess the strength needed to respond more effectively.
Chirp!
Da Qing, sitting beside him, seed to pick up on Li Zhirui's thoughts and quickly voiced agreent, nodding earnestly. Even though several days had passed, the mory still frightened him imnsely.
"You," Li Zhirui shook his head and chuckled. But that was just Da Qing's nature—he didn't want to change him, nor was there a need to. For fighting, having him was enough.
Moreover, after breaking through to Foundation Establishnt, he would be able to contract a second Spirit Beast!
Concerned about insufficient resources? With the space at hand and his Alchemy on the right track, Li Zhirui wasn't too worried about that aspect.
...
In the Li family's main hall, Li Shilian and the other Elders gathered together to listen as Li Shiren detailed the situation at Yunqing Marketplace.
"Judging by the clues we have, the attackers are likely Demon Cultivators. They incited the Loose Cultivators, not only attacking the marketplace but also killing the Yuanming Sect's stationed Cultivators and looting the storeroom," Li Shile couldn't help but say.
Li Shiren nodded; he had the sa thought, but he hadn't shared his guess earlier to avoid influencing others.
"Demon Cultivators?" Li Shiqing's expression turned grave. Demon Cultivators were no trifling matter, and their various strange and unpredictable thods were virtually impossible to fully guard against.
Li Shiqing sighed inwardly; even if they knew that this was the work of Demon Cultivators, what could the Li family do?
If Demon Cultivators indeed wished to move against the Li family, with their strength, they wouldn't be able to fend them off.
"Be extra cautious in the coming days. Shiren, for the next few days, take the family mbers who have contracted flying Spirit Beasts and patrol the nearby seas. If you notice anything unusual, report back to imdiately," Li Shiqing instructed, then decided to leave the matter at that. As he had said before, if they truly faced them, the Li family wouldn't stand a chance.
"When can the two shops in the marketplace reopen?" Li Shiqing asked another matter, one of great importance to the Li family's developnt.
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