“Break!”
Wang Changxiong let out a furious shout, his voice thundering, shattering the piercing whistle. “Xiongfeng Escort Agency is passing through. Which immortals are here?”
“Hee hee!”
“Ho ho!”
“Ha ha!”
Three distinct laughs echoed, and three figures rapidly approached from a distance.
One was a burly man in a tiger-skin coat, another a thin man in black, and the third a middle-aged man in a Taoist robe, sporting short hair and a beard.
Wang Changxiong’s face darkened, but he rode forward, cupping his hands. “Xiongfeng Escort Agency is passing through. We didn’t know this place was claimed. Please forgive…”
The burly man cut him off with a cold laugh. “No time for your nonsense. We’re not interested in your carts or horses. Hand over the secret escort item and that water-repelling pearl, and we’ll leave.”
The thin man grinned, adding, “Yes, the water-repelling pearl too.”
Wang Changxiong’s eye twitched, but he quickly regained composure, scanning the three coldly. “So, no room for negotiation?”
The Taoist-robed man smiled faintly. “There was never any. You have two choices: leave the secret item and the pearl, or all of you die.”
“I…”
“Enough talk! This place isn’t remote. Move fast, kill them all!” The burly man spat, then lunged at Wang Changxiong.
“Bring it!” Wang Changxiong roared, leaping from his horse. His palms, one forward, one back, stirred a gale, his blood qi surging as he shot toward the burly man like a sword.
*Bang!*
Their palms clashed, energy scattering. Both grunted, retreating. The burly man grimaced, while Wang Changxiong’s face shifted, the exchange ending in a draw.
“Chief!” the escort team cried out. Several men drew their blades, ready to charge, but Huang Qing waved them back. “Guard the carts! You’re no match for them!”
Huang Qing dismounted, slithering like a snake. He drew a soft sword from his waist, thrusting at the burly man.
All three opponents were formidable. Huang Qing aimed to exploit their arrogance, teaming with Wang Changxiong to take one down quickly, or they’d have no chance.
But…
Three feet from the burly man, Huang Qing’s eyes flashed with horror. His sword danced left and right, and instead of advancing, he flipped backward, retreating three zhang.
“Not bad, quick dodge,” the thin man said, gloating.
“Poison insect! You’re a gu master!” Huang Qing stared at the ground nearby, pale with fear, then shouted to Wang Changxiong, “Chief, beware! There’s a gu master!”
Wang Changxiong’s face changed, but locked in combat with the burly man, he had no time to watch for gu insects. He could only channel his blood qi to shield himself.
This, however…
A savage grin crossed the burly man’s face. They were evenly matched, but with Wang Changxiong diverting energy to defence, he’d be overwhelmed in moments.
Huang Qing gritted his teeth, charging again with his sword. The thin man met him, wielding a soft whip that gleamed with dark poison.
On the back of his whip hand sat a palm-sized scorpion.
The thin man alone held off Huang Qing while pressuring Wang Changxiong.
“Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate!”
The Taoist-robed man appeared before Lu Zheng.
“I thought I’d just watch and cheer, but it seems I get to fight,” the man said, his small moustache twitching. “I hear you’re a lay disciple of some Taoist temple? What a coincidence, I’m a Taoist outcast. Let’s have a go.”
“You’d kill me too?” Lu Zheng asked, surprised.
The man sneered. “Never heard of silencing witnesses?”
“I have,” Lu Zheng nodded. “Just didn’t expect it to apply to me.”
“Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate!”
Another chant, and Lu Zheng felt a mental force surge into his mind, purple light flashing as if a deity sat above the clouds, gazing down, urging him to kneel in awe.
“Evil tricks, break!” Lu Zheng’s eyes sharpened, his will surging like clouds, crashing into the purple light.
*Pfft!*
The Taoist-robed man spat blood, his eyes wide with shock. “Your cultivation!?”
Lu Zheng looked like a refined twenty-something, a lay disciple at that.
To the Taoist, having a bit of qi sense would be impressive. Five years of cultivation, enough to banish a few ghosts or cast basic spells, would be something to boast about among peers. What real skill could he have?
Yet, his thirty-plus years of mental attack were effortlessly shattered, and Lu Zheng’s counterattack struck him hard.
“With your measly cultivation, you dare talk of silencing me?” Lu Zheng said, astonished. “And to my face?”
The Taoist finally understood Lu Zheng’s earlier surprise. It wasn’t ignorance of the term but shock that they dared try it on him.
A small fry trying to silence a big boss—naturally, the boss was stunned.
“Time to run!” the Taoist shouted, turning to flee.
“Freeze!”
With a soft command, the Taoist froze in place.
“Fixation Curse! Fixation Curse! He knows the Fixation Curse!” the Taoist screamed in his mind, but his body was locked, only his thoughts and eyes free.
Lu Zheng nodded. This was how a Fixation Curse should work, immobilising completely, not like with the Night King, lasting a mere breath.
Passing the terrified, pleading Taoist, Lu Zheng lightly pressed a palm to his chest.
Force surged, shattering heart and courage.
*Buzz!*
The jade seal in his mind trembled, forty-nine strands of fortune’s light gained.
“Hm? Something’s off!”
Lu Zheng’s gaze sharpened, turning to the fallen Taoist.
Given his age, status, and cultivation, his growth potential was limited. Ten strands of fortune would be generous. Forty-nine? That suggested major future growth and an opportunity already secured.
Like the completion of the Peach Blossom Shrine, or Hu Zhou’s early martial success.
Or the Night King—if he’d claimed the Nether Heart and gained incense power, killing him then might’ve yielded over three hundred strands, not just a hundred.
Since this ex-Taoist yielded so much, Lu Zheng’s eyes gleamed, turning to the others.
…
Lu Zheng and the Taoist were some distance from the main fight, but the others kept an eye on them. In a single exchange, before anyone could follow, the Taoist spat blood, shouted, and tried to flee, only to freeze and be killed by Lu Zheng’s palm.
The scene was bizarre, but the Taoist’s death was undeniable.
The thin man turned and fled. The burly man shoved Wang Changxiong back three steps, then leapt away without a word.
Lu Zheng’s eyes still glowed. He shook his head, chuckling. “Think you can escape?”
