At first, transferring his consciousness into this paper effigy felt strange for Li Changshou.
It was as if he were—
Thin.
Light.
Fragile.
Helpless.
Lacking any real defense, completely devoid of any sense of security…
But after moving around for a bit, he gradually adapted.
Leaving the marketplace town, he quickly confirmed that he was being tailed. Li Changshou pretended not to notice and flew along on his cloud toward his predetermined location.
Because the area around Linhai Town was set up with an anti-Five Elements formation, restricting teleportation spells, he needed to gain some distance before he could use Earth Escape to leave.
The “suspicious men” following him had already sent two people ahead. They were currently hiding in the dense forest, setting up minor formation traps.
“They must’ve targeted me after I took out the high-grade spirit stones,” Li Changshou thought, feeling a bit helpless.
Spirit stones were the primary currency in both the East Victory Divine Continent and the Central Divine Continent due to their widespread utility. All Qi Refiners needed them, and their production was relatively stable.
High-grade spirit stones, however, could only be found at the core of spiritual veins. They were rare, precious, and far more valuable than ordinary spirit stones.
About three hundred feet ahead, in the dense forest—
That was likely where the ambush would take place.
That spot was right at the edge of the anti-Five Elements formation, the precise boundary where he could use Earth Escape to flee.
His pursuers had planned this carefully.
His paper effigy’s combat ability was questionable at best, and its defenses were essentially nonexistent—only about as strong as a Return to Void stage Qi Refiner.
But the immortal power it carried had been infused by his true body, allowing it to cast powerful spells directly.
This place was close to the town. Though secluded, any significant surge of spiritual energy would attract the attention of nearby Qi Refiners.
And if his paper effigy consumed too much immortal power, it would “run out of fuel” and fail to return home.
After all, this paper body carried one-third of his total assets.
He still had Paper Effigy No. 2 and No. 3 as backups, but avoiding losses was always preferable.
He needed to finish this quickly—without letting them touch him.
As he neared the enemy’s trap, the feeling of being watched grew more intense.
Since his true body wasn’t present, he had no natural sense of danger.
Instead, he glanced down at the diamond-shaped gemstone hanging from his waist—his second-favorite creation in artifact refinement, the Sensory Stone.
(His first favorite was the Soul Capturing Pearl.)
Over the past six years, aside from upgrading his paper effigies with “spiritual tethering” and “immortal power stabilization” enchantments, this was the only new gadget he had crafted.
Right now, the gemstone glowed a deep violet-red—meaning at least three different immortal senses had locked onto him.
In the forest ahead, two figures hid behind trees, their eyes filled with vigilance.
Another figure lingered in the clouds above, pretending to be a mere passerby—yet matching Li Changshou’s flight speed and direction exactly…
So blatant?
Then again, the marketplace town was chaotic, filled with rogue cultivators of all kinds. Once outside its borders, there were no rules.
One hundred feet to the trap…
Fifty feet…
Ten feet…
Suddenly, Li Changshou halted his cloud and muttered, “Ah, I forgot to buy something.”
With that, he turned as if heading back to town.
At that moment—
A beam of radiant treasure light shot down from above.
From both ahead and behind, two figures each emerged and lunged at him, their hands flashing with magical auras!
Li Changshou’s mouth twitched slightly, but he quickly put on a look of shock, plummeting toward the forest below.
“You—! Who are you?!”
With a deafening crash, a three-foot-tall square seal plummeted like a thunderbolt, narrowly missing his face!
The powerful gust of wind sent his paper effigy’s long hair flying wildly.
As soon as he landed, five figures closed in from all sides.
Li Changshou took two quick steps back, gripping the hilt of the sword on his shoulder. He shouted:
“Wait!
I’m willing to hand over some of my treasures!”
The five men did not hesitate.
Two of them activated spells. Two others hurled magic artifacts at him.
Li Changshou’s eyes flashed coldly. The sword at his back slid out three inches, releasing a fine, colorless powder into the air, guided by his immortal power toward the five attackers.
He sidestepped with expert footwork, narrowly avoiding the incoming attacks. His movements looked desperate—but precise.
Above, the strongest of the attackers, a middle-aged man at the True Immortal stage, raised his left hand toward Li Changshou—
Ripples of mystical energy surged around him, slowing his movements!
The massive square seal came crashing down again!
In that instant, Li Changshou released his true aura, revealing the power of a Golden Immortal. The surrounding energy ripples shattered, and he narrowly evaded the incoming attack!
His eyes burned with anger as he let out a low growl.
“Don’t force me to draw my sword!”
The True Immortal in the sky sneered, retrieving the seal—only to hurl it at Li Changshou’s forehead again.
Meanwhile, the four attackers on the ground unleashed another wave of spells, sealing off his escape routes.
(Using bricks as weapons… A classic tactic in this world.)
Suddenly—
The weakest of the five attackers trembled and cried out, “W-wait—!”
But before the others could react, their vision blurred.
The True Immortal in the air went pale, turned to flee—
And inexplicably stumbled, plummeting from the sky.
The four men on the ground collapsed instantly, their bodies sprawled across the forest floor.
Li Changshou lifted his left hand.
The Luo Tian Umbrella shot into the sky, forming a barrier to isolate the battlefield.
Then, he finally “drew” his long… sword?
No, this was no sword.
Its hilt was attached to half a broken blade. Instead of a proper edge, seven enchanted ropes extended from its tip!
With a flick of his wrist, the ropes shot forward, instantly elongating and ensnaring all five attackers, dragging them toward him.
At the same time—
Three paper effigies tumbled out of his sleeve, transforming mid-air into cold-faced old Taoists.
Paper Effigy No. 1 pulled out a Suppressing Evil Wooden Fish.
Paper Effigy No. 2 held a Soul-Summoning Bell and two jars of Burning Immortal Powder.
Paper Effigy No. 3 pounced like a hungry tiger.
The five men crashed to the ground in a tangled heap.
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1