Since that incident, almost no one dares to trust the escort agency anymore.
Even if one rushes out alone, there might still be a slim chance of survival,
but if colluded from inside and outside by the escort agency and bandit cultivators, then death is certain.
However, the Inverted Mountain is like a besieged city.
People inside want to escape due to the thin Spiritual Qi and instability in the city.
People outside want to come in because there's no rent, no taxes, and free Spiritual Qi to enjoy.
So the coming and going never ceases.
To meet the needs of coming and going, this industry has always existed, though very few choose the escort agency anymore.
Many choose to form their own teams to go out together.
But these are just for show, appearing united, but when encountering bandit cultivators, internal chaos is inevitable.
In times of crisis, everyone flies their separate ways.
Moreover, bandit cultivators blend into team formations, collusions from inside and outside still occur from time to time, causing this method to gradually become only viable for those who are familiar and know each other's background to accompany each other.
"There are risks in everything!" Li Jizhou circled around; all available paths have significant risks.
Seeing no hope of leaving the Inverted Mountain for now, Li Jizhou was not discouraged,
and decided to continue improving himself!
"Hmm?" Just as he was about to return home to cultivate, his Spiritual Sense suddenly responded.
Although he was still at the complete stage of Qi Cultivation First Level, his Spiritual Sense rivaled that of someone at Qi Cultivation Sixth Level. On the way, many who spied on him were detected, though most were dismissed without concern.
However, at this moment, he sensed two familiar Spiritual Senses probing.
These two Spiritual Senses had spied on him no less than three times.
Had he not kept his Spiritual Sense fully open and sensed carefully, he might not have discovered them.
The first time should have been when he first entered the outer city market today.
Then they probed again at the entrance of the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion shop in the market.
After he entered the inner city, he no longer felt them and assumed it was over.
Now, just as he was about to return to the eastern district slums, the two Spiritual Senses reappeared.
The two Spiritual Senses were weak, one at the Qi Cultivation Third Level, slightly stronger, probably just entering Qi Cultivation Fourth Level.
"No wonder they target even a small fry like me at Qi Cultivation First Level!" Li Jizhou, with two tails behind him, circled the market a few more times, eventually confirming that there were only two of them, one at Qi Cultivation Third Level and one at Fourth Level, dressed very shabbily.
Most likely, they were driven mad by poverty.
Just happened to see a newcomer who seemed easy to handle, and coincidentally saw the newcomer entering the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion.
So they immediately had ideas.
Carefully observing the situation of the two behind him, ensuring there wasn't a third person, Li Jizhou didn't want to waste any more time.
He swiftly darted into the narrow alleys of the eastern district.
No sooner had his figure disappeared, a man and a woman showed up at the entrance of the alley.
The woman glanced at the man, looking slightly reluctant, and transmitted her voice: "Yan Lang, that guy is only at Qi Cultivation First Level and lives in the slums, does he really have Spirit Stones?"
The man's eyes remained fixed deep into the alley: "He went into the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion, he must have gone there to sell some Talismans, and besides, however small a mosquito is, it's still meat."
"I hope we aren't wasting our efforts!" The woman rolled her eyes.
"What effort could it take? That guy, I only need a breath to deal with him." The man said, then his body shifted and followed into the alley.
In the slums of the eastern district, the deeper you go, the narrower and more chaotic the alleyways, resembling a labyrinth.
The man and woman, relying on their Spiritual Sense, tightly followed behind Li Jizhou.
"Why can he keep circling around like this?" Halfway through an hour, they had already begun losing their sense of direction in the alleys.
"Act quickly!" The woman grew anxious.
The two immediately quickened their pace.
"Huh~" Suddenly, they arrived at a dead end but couldn't sense Li Jizhou's presence.
"He actually learned a Concealing Skill?" The man sneered disdainfully, glanced at the woman, and began gathering Fireball Skill in his palm.
"Kid, stop hiding, sis knows you're here!" The woman playfully announced as she took out a bronze mirror from her storage bag.
The bronze mirror was a lower-grade Magical Artifact, specifically targeting Concealing Skills.
"Under broad daylight, sis is chasing so tight, could it be you've taken a liking to me? Or perhaps your companion is lacking or you have some special quirks?"
Li Jizhou's teasing voice suddenly rose, his voice drifting, echoing within the dead end.
Their faces instantly changed dramatically, standing back-to-back on guard.
"Whish~"
Suddenly a flash of light.
"Be careful!" The man urgently released a Mana Shield.
After a flash of light, a gust of cold air suddenly enveloped them both there.
"A Cold Wind Talisman? Hmph, you little thief, daring to waste my Talisman!" The man didn't care about the faint cold force, only distressed that the Talisman was wasted like this, instantly furious.
He never expected that a newcomer at Qi Cultivation First Level like Li Jizhou would have Talismans.
That meant the Talismans hadn't been sold at the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion just now.
If not wasted, it would have been his spoils.
"Little brother, stop struggling, a trifling Cold Wind Talisman can't stop us. Had you obediently given the Cold Wind Talisman to us just now without wasting it, kind sis sparing your life could have been an option." The woman felt a chill in her heart as well.
"Whish~" His response was another Cold Wind Talisman.
"Little thief, another waste of my Talisman!" The man roared, feeling heartbroken.
The woman's face instantly looked bad; the Cold Wind Talisman's area spell effect has a certain slowdown effect on Early Stage of Qi Cultivation.
But one Cold Wind Talisman doesn't have much effect on the man who stepped into the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation.
But now with the stacking of two Cold Wind Talismans, there was already some effect.
"Little thief, I advise you not to be ignorant of what's good, a Cold Wind Talisman lasts at most three breaths, I can hold out until then..." The man continued resisting the Cold Wind Talisman's invasion with his Magical Power, even more furious.
"Whish~" Another Cold Wind Talisman flew out.
"I'll cut you into pieces!" The man was completely enraged.
Three Cold Wind Talismans, worth half a Spirit Stone.
"Watch out!" A blood light suddenly shot out.
"Bang!" The man's protective Magical Power burst into glaring sparks.
"Blood Dart Talisman! Little thief, where did you get so many Talismans?" The man was shocked.
But fortunately, his Qi Cultivation Fourth Level Mana Shield could withstand one hit.
The next moment, his pupils rapidly enlarged.
Three more Blood Dart Talismans shot out.
His Qi Cultivation Fourth Level protective Magical Power could withstand one hit, but absolutely couldn't withstand simultaneous attacks from three.
He wanted to escape, but the chilling force from three stacked Cold Wind Talismans already made it hard for him to move.
"Bang bang bang~"
Three continuous explosions later, the man fell dead, eyes wide open in disbelief, lying in a pool of blood.
"Spare me, fellow Daoist, it's my fault for not recognizing, this little lady is willing to..." The woman was completely terrified, immediately kneeling and pleading in all directions.
"Whish~"
"Bang~"
Another Blood Dart Talisman shot, piercing the woman's brow. She died not knowing where the little brother was hiding!
At this moment, Li Jizhou's figure emerged from behind an ancient locust tree nearby.
The complete Evergreen Skill has the intrinsic ability, when he closely attaches to a tree, the Eternal Spring Magical Power merges his Qi with the tree, making it indistinguishable unless one's Divine Sense is far superior to his.
He quickly picked up the two storage bags, ignited a Flame Talisman, and instantly burned both remains to ash.
The Eternal Spring Magical Power surged once more, and in an instant, the ashes scattered into the sky.
Having completed the task, he brushed off his robe and vanished into the labyrinth-like alleys.
Returning to his room, Li Jizhou activated the Array and began inspecting his spoils.
"As expected, very poor!"
The two had a total of three Spirit Stones and forty-eight taels of Spiritual Sand.
Only the lower-grade artifact bronze mirror was barely noteworthy, capable of detecting and stabilizing, but it was only effective against early-stage cultivators, estimated to be worth a dozen Spirit Stones.
Besides that, there was a jade slip containing a Dual Cultivation Secret Technique.
"Three Cold Wind Talismans, five Blood Dart Talismans were not in vain!" Li Jizhou was neither joyful nor sorrowful after inventory.
He was already accustomed to such plundering behavior in the cultivation world from his past life.
This life, to live long, he emphasized his mindset more.
No matter what happens, maintaining peace of mind was crucial.
He sought not to have emotional fluctuations due to grievances or vendettas, as it was just a matter of karma.
Once there is cause, there must be effect.
Just when to settle this effect depends on his own strength and opportunities. Anyway, on the long road to immortality, Li Jizhou in this life has plenty of time, not vying for overnight success.