The withered old man's cloudy eyes stared intently at Fang Xuan.
Fang Xuan’s expression remained unchanged as he stepped forward to enter.
Just as his body brushed past the old man and half of his form entered the shadows of the passage—
Bang!
The old man didn’t even see how Fang Xuan moved. He only felt a numbness at the back of his neck followed by a sudden darkness, and his body went limp, collapsing to the ground in a dead faint.
.......
Stepping over the old man's body, Fang Xuan walked into the passage.
The passage was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through.
Beneath his feet were crude stone steps winding downward.
After walking for about several hundred meters, the space suddenly opened up.
It was a courtyard hidden behind the mountain, truly a world of its own.
Reaching the middle room, Fang Xuan kicked the door open.
Inside were about seven or eight people. The one with the highest cultivation was at the late-stage Foundation Establishment, while the rest were at the early-stage Foundation Establishment.
Fang Xuan didn't even bother to draw his sword.
Against such trash, there was no need for the blade to leave its sheath.
"Who is it?!" The people inside were startled and barked out a sharp question.
Fang Xuan's mid-stage Void Core Realm spiritual power, mixed with that cold and fierce sword momentum, crashed down upon them.
Thud! Thud!
The few early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators bore the brunt of it. Before the thought of resistance could even form, they were pressed directly to the ground, blood leaking from their noses and mouths as they fell unconscious.
Only the leader at the late-stage Foundation Establishment reacted slightly faster. With a furious roar, a flash of bloody light surged around his body, and he forcibly broke free from a portion of the pressure.
Reaching behind him, he pulled out a crimson long saber. The blade was thick with baleful energy, clearly having tasted much blood.
"You're looking for death!"
With a distorted, hideous face, he swung the saber down toward Fang Xuan’s head.
But the crimson long saber stopped three inches in front of Fang Xuan, as if it had struck profound iron, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch.
The violent baleful energy collided with the spiritual power, yet it couldn't even flutter Fang Xuan’s sleeves.
Fang Xuan simply gripped the middle of his scabbard and swung it casually.
Boom—!
The high-quality crimson long saber was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks.
The aftermath of the violent force transmitted through the blade. The leader felt as if he had been struck by a massive weight and let out a muffled groan.
His entire body flew backward like a broken sack, slamming into the stone wall behind him with a thud before sliding to the floor.
He spat out a large mouthful of blood, and the crimson long saber in his hand shattered completely into several pieces.
Only then did Fang Xuan slowly pull back his scabbard, his gaze calmly sweeping over the room.
The overbearing aura of the mid-stage Void Core Realm was fully released at this moment.
The remaining two cultivators in the room were already pale with fright, their bodies shaking like sieves.
Forget about taking action; they could barely even stand.
"Senior... Senior, have mercy!"
One of them finally couldn't take the pressure anymore and fell to his knees with a thud.
The other person also hurried to kneel, tears and snot flowing freely.
Ignoring them, Fang Xuan walked over to the leader.
The leader struggled to crawl up.
He was originally a notorious demonic cultivator leader in the surrounding area who had been secretly recruited by Shen Chen to handle matters that couldn't see the light of day.
He thought he had found a great patron to rely on, but he never expected to kick such a thick iron plate today.
Fang Xuan leaned over, pulled out the black wooden token representing his status under Shen Chen's command from the man's robes, and tossed it casually onto the ground.
"One of our own," Fang Xuan said, his tone flat.
The leader and the two kneeling demonic cultivators looked at the wooden token on the ground, their brains failing to process the situation for a moment.
Dammit...
The leader coughed up blood, cursing Shen Chen to high heaven in his heart.
One of our own? One of our own hits this hard? He nearly killed him!
But... the wooden token and the secret signal were correct. This young man's cultivation was also terrifyingly high. Could he be a new arrangement by the peak lord, an insider with an even greater background?
Was he here to test them? Or... was there another mission?
"Who is the boss?" Fang Xuan asked.
The two kneeling demonic cultivators subconsciously looked at the leader spitting blood on the ground.
The leader tried to speak, but another mouthful of blood surged up. His vision went black, and he passed out.
Fang Xuan frowned and said to one of the kneeling demonic cultivators nearby, "Wake him up."
"Ah? Me?" The demonic cultivator trembled in fear.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Fang Xuan glanced at him.
"No, no, no! This small one will do it right away! Right away!"
That demonic cultivator scrambled over and, looking at his leader's relatively intact face, cautiously... patted it.
"Boss? Boss, wake up?"
Fang Xuan added, "Use force."
The demonic cultivator gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and delivered a sharp slap.
The leader felt the pain and let out a muffled groan, finally regaining some consciousness.
He glared venomously at his subordinate before looking at Fang Xuan with terror.
Fang Xuan didn't feel like wasting any more words with them. He found a relatively intact chair and sat down, his gaze landing on the leader.
"Originally, because you dared to strike at me, I was prepared to finish you off."
The leader's whole body trembled, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.
"But..."
Fang Xuan changed his tune. "I've changed my mind. Leaving you with your miserable life might still be of some use."
A sliver of hope immediately rose in the leader's heart, and he struggled to a half-kneeling position. "Senior... what are your orders? This small one... this small one will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Fang Xuan stared at him and spoke slowly. "The spirit blood on the target—I want it. As for Shen Qingqing, just kill her."
The leader's heart skipped a beat.
As expected! He was also after this!
Shen Qingqing had always insisted on obtaining Ning Xian's spirit blood and ensuring it was perfectly preserved.
He knew that this blood was related to another treasure within her body—the spirit bone!
His mind raced, but his face showed a troubled expression.
"Senior, please understand! That Shen Qingqing is Peak Lord Shen's... she is Peak Lord Shen's person. To move against her... this small one really doesn't dare! And that spirit blood..."
Fang Xuan interrupted him, speaking playfully.
"What I want is the spirit blood. As for Shen Qingqing... she is nothing more than a favored dog under Shen Chen."
"Kill her, frame Ning Xian for it, and then clean up the body. Who will know where the spirit blood went? Even if Shen Chen suspects something, without evidence, what can he do? Besides..."
He paused, lowering his voice even further. "Do you really think Shen Chen treats you as his own? Once the deed is done, what do you think will happen to a group of demonic cultivators like you who know the internal secrets, just to cover up the tracks?"
The leader and the two demonic cultivators next to him turned pale instantly.
These words struck the deepest fear in their hearts.
Doing the dirty work for powerful figures only to be silenced in the end was the standard procedure of the cultivation world!
Fang Xuan looked indifferently at their terrified expressions, knowing the timing was right.
He intentionally revealed that he only knew about the spirit blood and not the more important spirit bone. This was to make the other party misjudge his goals and lower their guard.
At the same time, it gave the other party the illusion of being able to perform a service and save their lives.
"Help me get the spirit blood. Afterward, I naturally have a way to let you all escape safely."
"What Shen Chen can give, I may not necessarily be unable to provide. And collaborating with me means you at least don't have to fear being purged afterward."
The struggle in the leader's eyes grew more intense.
He was indeed fed up with living his days as Shen Chen's blade, constantly on edge.
And the young man before him possessed terrifying strength and a mysterious background.
It seemed like an opportunity... more importantly, if he didn't agree, he might die right now!
Rate on N.U.
