Jason Reed: "Daoist, that little thief from before—we should be about to surround him."

The young Daoist swept his gaze around, took out a talisman, and handed it to Jason Reed: "You take them and keep chasing the smaller one from earlier. I'll go back and block the bigger one."

A few Daoist acolytes were tempted and moved closer, wanting to go back with the young Daoist to catch the big fish.

"What Daoist Luo said isn't without reason. The situation is unclear, so Senior Gao and all fellow disciples, please be careful..." Before Jason Reed could finish, the young Daoist had already turned and set off decisively.

Jason Reed calmly turned back and looked at the few acolytes left by his side: "Let's continue. We've chased this far; we can't just let the original thief escape."

The talisman the young Daoist gave him was a Thunderstrike Talisman, with extraordinary power.

Even a cultivator who had already built their foundation would have to be careful if they encountered it.

The thieving acolyte was only at the first level of Qi Refining, and naturally couldn't withstand it.

When the young Daoist gave Jason Reed the talisman, he hesitated for a moment—not out of stinginess, but for fear that if the Thunderstrike Talisman was used, both the thief and the stolen goods would be obliterated.

Being a true disciple is great—able to make talismans oneself... Jason Reed put away the talisman and led the acolytes to continue searching the mountain.

"Everyone, expand the search area, but don't get too far from each other. Stay in contact at all times." With that, Jason Reed took the lead into the mountains.

Halfway through the search, suddenly the ground shook violently in the distance!

The intensity rivaled the great commotion when Elder Du's altar exploded earlier.

But it wasn't coming from the direction of the Daoist acolyte courtyard at the foot of the mountain.

Instead, it seemed to come from up the mountain.

The young acolytes searching the mountain all had their attention drawn by the violent tremor.

At that moment, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the forest, rushing straight behind the cliff.

Jason Reed noticed immediately, and as he called out, he chased after it at once.

Unfortunately, the mountain was in turmoil, drowning out Jason Reed's shout.

Still, Jason Reed quickly caught up with the black shadow.

The other person was dressed in the same gray robe as him, in the guise of a Daoist acolyte, but at this moment his face was pale, his whole body covered in wounds, looking extremely battered.

Jason Reed: "We're fellow disciples—I don't want us to turn on each other."

The thief sneered, "Cut the crap, get out of my way!"

Before he finished speaking, he lashed out with a kick, aiming straight for Jason Reed's throat.

Jason Reed remained calm. Even before he spoke, the eight Qi Seas in his body had already resonated together, true qi surging like a great river.

He didn't dodge or evade, simply raised his hand to block.

The opponent's leg was not only deflected, but his whole body was sent flying backward, losing balance in midair.

Jason Reed then stepped forward and reached directly for the thief's chest and abdomen.

Unexpectedly, a faint light suddenly flashed at the other's chest and abdomen.

A piece of jet-black armor, resembling a scale, appeared, blocking Jason Reed's palm like a heart-protecting mirror.

Centered on the black scale, its radiance quickly formed a large shield like a door panel, helping the thief fend off the attack.

But the thief's face grew even paler, ashen as paper, extremely weak.

Jason Reed didn't hesitate for a moment. With his other hand, he raised the yellow talisman held between his index and middle fingers:

"By the urgent decree of the law..."

Thunder rumbled overhead, lightning flashing and thundering.

Jason Reed waved the Thunderstrike Talisman in front of him:

"Heavenly thunder, aid me!"

"Boom!"

A bolt of thunder crashed down instantly!

Lightning struck, enveloping the thief. The black scale on his chest generated a light shield to resist the thunder.

The defensive power of this black scale was truly astonishing—the lightning couldn't break through.

But the treasure consumed the thief's strength tremendously.

The thief wasn't hurt by the lightning, but he himself looked utterly spent, blood streaming from his facial orifices as he fell backward.

In that moment of distraction, the light around the black scale dimmed, the shield dissipated, and only the scale itself, out of control, fell to the ground.

Jason Reed reached out and caught the scale in his hand.

The thief stood rigidly in place, glaring at Jason Reed, shouting harshly:

"You and I are the same kind! You aren't surnamed Li either, yet you risk your life for the Li family—the position of Celestial Master will never go to you!"

Jason Reed: "Whether I'm surnamed Li or not, with your first-level cultivation getting involved in this, you'll only be used as cannon fodder."

The other glared furiously, but his energy was spent, and he died on the spot.

Chapter 7: The Li Surname and Outsiders

The thief was left as nothing but a withered corpse, stubbornly standing in place.

The lightning that had been deflected by the shield earlier now crackled in all directions, shattering and tilting the mountain rocks.

This cliff broke apart, and the thief's corpse slid down with the rubble, rolling into the stream below the rocks.

Jason Reed raised his hand, but in the end did not step forward to stop it, only watching as the corpse drifted away with the current.

He put away the jet-black scale, left the broken cliff, and followed the river downstream at a leisurely pace.

Halfway along, Jason Reed encountered other fellow disciples.

"I met him upstream," Jason Reed said, "and attacked with the Thunderstrike Talisman bestowed by Senior Gao, but he fell into the river and escaped."

"Downstream, we've recovered the traitor's corpse," said a Daoist in yellow robes coming toward him. "The alchemy furnace was also found on him."

The stolen item the thief had taken earlier was an alchemy furnace from the Daoist acolyte branch courtyard.