At the same time, the cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement who had come along reacted as well. He drew a long sword, unleashing several sword beams that swept toward Joe Di.
Joe Di was even more dissatisfied with the long sword in his hand. If he hadn't been wielding a sword, his earlier sneak attack would have cost Shawn Qi half his life. As long as Shawn Qi was subdued, killing the rest would be effortless.
Unfortunately, the long sword couldn't unleash the power of the Windblade Saber, leaving Joe Di passive even after his sneak attack.
Joe Di didn't pay attention to the person attacking him from behind. If he didn't take out Shawn Qi immediately, he would be doomed. As for the one attacking from the rear, Joe Di was willing to risk injury.
Having made up his mind, Joe Di simply dodged the vital spots and then filled his back with true essence. After forming a shield of true essence behind him, the long sword in his hand once again whipped up swirling saber beams toward Shawn Qi.
Just as Joe Di’s sneak attack on Shawn Qi succeeded, Shawn Qi summoned his giant axe, and the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator attacked Joe Di. At that moment, something moved like tree roots.
Its hands swept out two thick vines, which unceremoniously wrapped around Shawn Qi, who was about to attack Joe Di. Shawn Qi had just drawn his giant axe, but before he could use it, he was entangled by the tree roots and vines.
The only one who didn't react was Garrett. Not only was his cultivation low, but this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. While everyone else moved, he just stood there foolishly.
“Well done!” Joe Di called out joyfully, then unleashed his swirling saber beams at Shawn Qi’s head without holding back. As long as Sprout could restrain Shawn Qi for a moment, that was enough.
The moment Sprout’s roots bound Shawn Qi, Shawn Qi knew things were bad. He let go of his giant axe, which turned into two sharp blades that tore at the roots wrapped around his body.
"Puff, puff!" The tree roots snapped instantly, and Sprout immediately wilted.
But that moment was enough for Joe Di. His Whirlwind Blade slammed directly into Shawn Qi’s head, which burst open like a watermelon split by a blade.
"Crack!" Several more bones broke, and two blood mists exploded behind Joe Di. His back was torn open by the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, and his bones were clearly visible.
Joe Di thought to himself that it was fortunate he had avoided the vital spots and filled his back with true essence. Otherwise, that sword strike would have cut him in half.
Garrett finally reacted and was about to rush at the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator who had ambushed Joe Di. But Joe Di turned and unleashed a Whirlwind Blade, effortlessly killing the cultivator.
Joe Di grabbed the Verdant Vitality from his Quantum Vault Ring, took a bite, and then unleashed dozens of Gale Edges.
Two of the attendants who tried to rush forward were shredded by the Gale Edges. The rest hurriedly hid on the ground, not daring to move.
Someone actually dared to rob the Qi Trading House. To them, this was a shocking event.
Joe Di didn’t care about any of that. After taking the rings from Shawn Qi and the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, he rushed forward, sweeping up everything with both hands. Whether it was items on the shelves or those locked in jade cabinets, he swept them all into his own ring.
From the first floor to the second, Joe Di spent less than two minutes in total.
"Let's go!" After gathering everything, Joe Di called out to Garrett and Sprout, then rushed out of Swampsea Town.
Someone actually dared to rob the Qi Trading House. Even if there were cultivators stronger than Joe Di present, none stepped forward to stop him.
Joe Di had seized a lot of loot, including a tree spirit coveted by all. But everyone in Swampsea Town knew that even if they stopped Joe Di, it wouldn't benefit them.
Because if they took these things, they'd still have to hand them over to the Qi Trading House. If anything went missing, they'd be in trouble no matter what. In fact, the more the Qi Trading House was robbed, the happier they were.
Nearly half the business in Swampsea Town was controlled by the Qi Trading House; the rest could only grumble in secret. Once Joe Di and his companions escaped, they could secretly catch up and kill him.
As soon as he left the flight restriction zone of Swampsea Town, Joe Di summoned his airship and pushed it to its maximum speed.
There had been no one to stop Joe Di from robbing the Qi Trading House in Swampsea Town, but he didn’t believe that no one would follow him once he left.
After summoning the airship, Joe Di sensed that more than one person had followed him out of Swampsea Town. He wasn’t worried about being caught; his flying artifact was a top-grade airship, and his spiritual sense was far stronger than that of ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators. Unless someone’s cultivation far surpassed his, they wouldn’t catch up easily.
Joe Di was right. Two hours later, after his airship sped into Swampsea Woods, there were no more pursuers within his spiritual sense.
"Brother Joe, I was useless and let you get hurt..." Garrett had been feeling guilty ever since they left Swampsea Town.
Both Brother Joe and Sprout had fought with all their strength, while he had just stood there like a fool. If he had been a bit smarter, maybe he could have held off the attacker who struck Joe Di from behind.
Joe Di’s back looked terribly wounded, but in reality, his injuries were healing rapidly. Even without the Verdant Vitality, he would recover quickly; with it, he healed even faster.
Sprout, however, was still listless after taking an axe blow from Shawn Qi.
"It's not your fault. You'll understand once you've fought a few more battles. Shawn Qi’s axe looks pretty good—refine it and use it. Once we reach Swampsea Woods, fighting will be a regular occurrence." Joe Di offered some casual comfort.
Right now, they couldn’t return to their sect, nor could they resupply in Swampsea Town like other cultivators. As for how long they’d have to stay in Swampsea Woods, Joe Di himself didn’t know.
Joe Di and Garrett entered Swampsea Woods, while all of Swampsea Town was thrown into chaos. The Qi Trading House had been robbed, and its true master, Shawn Qi, was killed on the third floor...
Not just in little Swampsea Town—even across the entire Aurora Continent, the Qi Trading House had never faced anything like this.
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When Wan Leng, the Qi Trading House’s Golden Core Protector, arrived after receiving the news, he saw Shawn Qi’s corpse and the ruined Qi Trading House.
Staring at the chaotic scene, Wan Leng’s face turned pale. He felt as if something was strangling his neck, making it hard to breathe.
He wasn’t angry—he was afraid. As an outsider Protector, he had allowed the Qi Trading House to be robbed and its direct descendant to be killed, while he remained unharmed. He couldn’t bear such a disaster.
Wan Leng forced himself to calm down and shouted at several Foundation Establishment cultivators who hadn’t been present, "Go to Swampsea Woods immediately! Two Qi Refinement ants won’t get far in there."
No matter what his fate would be, Wan Leng knew he had to catch the culprits as quickly as possible. Maybe then, he’d have a slim chance at survival.
Being the Protector of the Qi Trading House had always been the best job—who would have thought it would go wrong under his watch?
"This is bad—we need to get down and walk. Airships can’t fly in Swampsea Woods…" After flying for most of the day, Joe Di finally took out the Swampsea Woods jade slip to check. As soon as he read it, he realized he’d made another foolish mistake: you can’t fly in Swampsea Woods.
Sprout, who was piloting the airship, said, "Big Brother, I know. But I have an innate sense—I can tell where danger is, and where..."
"Crack!" Before Sprout could finish, a twisted force shattered the tail of the airship.
Joe Di didn’t have time to speak. He grabbed Garrett and Sprout, leaping down from the airship. Fortunately, the airship wasn’t flying very high, and with Joe Di’s true essence protecting him, even though he hadn’t mastered Gale Edge, they landed safely.
"What happened, Big Brother?" Sprout was flustered too. He saw that the airship they’d been flying in had completely vanished.
Joe Di said with lingering fear, "We were lucky. You can’t fly above Swampsea Woods at all, yet we managed to fly for most of the day before something happened. The skies above Swampsea Woods are filled with Voidblades, Spatial Abysses, and strange fiend beasts..."
Any encounter with one of those could mean instant annihilation.
"What’s a Spatial Abyss?" Garrett asked, gripping the giant axe. He hadn’t refined it yet.
"I don’t know either. I only know that if you get trapped in a Spatial Abyss, you’ll be shredded by spatial forces," Joe Di said. He had learned all this from the jade slip just now.
Sprout said a little sheepishly, "I thought my intuition would keep us safe. Luckily, Big Brother acted in time."
Joe Di said, "The fact that we flew for most of the day without incident is probably thanks to your intuition. What we just encountered was likely a Voidblade. Luckily, it struck from the rear side and let us escape. We’re probably deep in Swampsea Woods now, but it’s not enough—Sprout, you lead the way, and we’ll keep going."