Enemy Attack

Wang Hong threw another thousand spirit stones into the Mysterious Space. The area of the Mysterious Space increased by a tenth of its original size. It seemed that increasing the area by one fen would require ten thousand spirit stones.

In the following days, Wang Hong focused on his cultivation. His five teams were able to earn him a considerable amount of spirit stones every day.

Originally, selling at the stalls didn't yield much profit. After deducting costs, each stall had to pay two spirit stones a day to the management office as a stall fee.

However, Wang Hong had many subordinates and many stalls. Selling spirit herbs from the Mysterious Space incurred no other costs.

Of course, Wang Hong was not stingy with his subordinates. He gave each person two spirit stones per month, and five Dragon Tiger Elixirs, with team leaders receiving double.

This was already several times better than the treatment ordinary people received in Qingxu Immortal City. Not to mention the Dragon Tiger Elixirs, which could increase one's cultivation.

At dusk, Xu Lun and Zhang Chunfeng led sixteen people, walking back from Qingxu City. Quite a few people lived outside the city, and they often encountered other pedestrians on the road.

"Brother Zhang, have you broken through to the Xiantian Realm martial artist stage?" Xu Lun asked.

"Yes, I broke through a few days ago. It was all thanks to the elixirs the general bestowed upon me. You should be close too, right?" Zhang Chunfeng replied with a hint of pride.

"I'm close too. I should be able to break through after consuming two or three more elixirs. I wonder if we have spiritual roots. I want to save up some spirit stones to test for them. I heard several places can test for spiritual roots, it just costs a bit of spirit stones." His eyes lit up as he said this.

"Whether we have spiritual roots or not, let's focus on improving our martial arts first."

"That's true. There are too few people with spiritual roots. It's better not to get our hopes up too high, only to be disappointed."

As the two chatted, they were completely unaware that a thin and a stout cultivator were following them from a distance. These two were notorious thugs in Qingxu City.

Their cultivation was not high, both only at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining. They roamed all over Qingxu City, often robbing people outside the city to make a living.

Because there were too many people with higher cultivation than them, they never provoked them. They also never provoked anyone with a background.

So they set their sights on those with even lower cultivation than them, or ordinary mortals. Thus, the two had been living quite comfortably up to this point.

"These mortals are definitely fat sheep. I've been watching them for several days. Their daily turnover is over a hundred spirit stones," the thin one said excitedly.

"Hmph! A mere few mortals, and they dare to possess so many spirit stones? After this job, it will be enough for us brothers to live comfortably for a long time. Let's be quick and efficient this time, don't waste any time," the stout one said. He knew this guy always liked to slowly torture people to death, seeming to enjoy the pleasure of tormenting others.

The thin one licked his lips with his tongue. "Brother Pang, I've already investigated these mortals. They only came to Qingxu City three months ago and have no backing here. Even if someone finds out, no one will stand up for them."

"Just try to be quick. It's better if fewer people know about it."

In the tent, Xu Lun and Zhang Chunfeng were reporting the accounts to Wang Hong and handing over spirit stones and spirit herbs.

Suddenly, Wang Hong's expression changed. His palm emitted a pale white light, and he struck Xu Lun and Zhang Chunfeng with his palm.

The two did not resist, allowing the palm strike to hit them.

With a "bang," the two were sent flying out of the tent. They landed and scrambled to their feet, seemingly unharmed.

They only heard the sound of metal clashing from where Wang Hong had been standing. When they looked back, they saw Wang Hong holding his steel spear, weighing five hundred pounds, facing off against a stout and a thin Daoist priest. The two Daoist priests each held a black short sword, pointing at Wang Hong.

Xu Lun and Zhang Chunfeng shouted loudly.

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

The thin Daoist priest spoke, "A mere Qi Refining first layer cultivator dares to resist? I advise you to hand over everything obediently and kowtow to this master a few times, and perhaps I'll spare your life."

A Qi Refining first layer cultivator had meager spiritual power and almost no combat experience. He had killed so many that it was no more fun than killing an ant. Therefore, he always liked to slowly torment his opponents, adding a bit of excitement to his monotonous cultivation life.

However, Wang Hong's response was a spear thrust to the chest. Spiritual power was infused into the spear, and the spear tip emitted a faint green glow. The thin Daoist priest hurriedly raised his sword to block.

With a "clang," the thin Daoist priest felt a surge of immense force from the spear, making his fingers tingle. He wondered inwardly, does this kid have innate divine strength? He felt his dignity challenged by this brat daring to fight back with such meager skills. He raised his sword and slashed at Wang Hong.

Generally, cultivators primarily cultivated their primordial spirit. The physical strength of a Qi Refining stage cultivator was not much stronger than that of an ordinary mortal.

The two quickly engaged in a clanging battle. In this short time, all the soldiers had arrived and surrounded the stout Daoist priest in a combat formation.

The battle formation had no fancy techniques, just thrusting the spear straight forward. Over a dozen spears simultaneously emitted a misty white glow, thrusting at the stout Daoist priest from all directions without any blind spots.

The stout Daoist priest patted a small cloth bag at his waist. A yellow piece of paper flew out, with light waves flowing on it. He formed a hand seal, and the yellow paper quickly fell onto him, forming a golden light barrier.

"A mere few mortals dare to waste a Golden Light Talisman on this Daoist? Killing you all wouldn't be worth it," the stout Daoist priest thought angrily. A Golden Light Talisman was worth over ten spirit stones, yet he was forced to use it by mere mortals.

In the past, the mortals they robbed would obediently hand over their belongings and kowtow like pounding garlic. These damned mortals actually dared to resist.

Over a dozen spears struck the light barrier, only creating deep pits in it. As the spears were withdrawn, they quickly sprang back to their original shape. However, the color of the light barrier had dimmed considerably.

As the first wave of attacks ended, the second wave of over a dozen spears arrived, further dimming the light barrier. After the second wave of attacks ended, a third wave would immediately appear. They were divided into three echelons, continuous like a tide. The army had used this tactic on the battlefield to trap and kill many peerless experts.

The stout Daoist priest swung the sword in his hand to hack at the incoming spears. Although the sword in his hand was a low-grade magic artifact, it was considered razor-sharp against ordinary iron.

Although the spears had internal energy infused into them, the spiritual power of a Qi Refining fourth layer cultivator was still far inferior to that of a Houtian Realm martial artist. Instantly, several spears had their tips severed.

On the other side, the thin Daoist priest was no match for Wang Hong in close combat. Wang Hong had been fighting on the battlefield for years, unlike the rookies who had just begun cultivating. The thin Daoist priest tried several times to retrieve talismans from his waist storage pouch, but Wang Hong's ferocious attacks interrupted him.

The thin Daoist priest was extremely frustrated. He was a Qi Refining third layer cultivator, yet he was being suppressed by a Qi Refining first layer cultivator using mortal martial arts. If this were to spread, people would laugh their heads off.

He still had many means, but he hadn't had a chance to use them. Whether it was using spells or talismans, it all took time. But the person in front of him didn't give him any chance to breathe.

Wang Hong pressed forward relentlessly, forcing the thin Daoist priest to retreat repeatedly. Suddenly, he thrust his spear at the opponent's face more than ten times, causing the thin Daoist priest to panic. With one thrust, he pierced the opponent's chest cavity, and with another sweep, he cut him into two pieces.

The stout Daoist priest wasn't too worried when he was being surrounded. He still had his Fireball Talisman, but the enemy was too close. If the Fireball Talisman detonated at close range, he would inevitably be affected. Moreover, a Fireball Talisman could at most kill a few people, and it was not worth wasting on these ants. His spirit stones didn't fall from the sky; they were all painstakingly plundered.

He believed that his companion would kill the young man in a moment, and then they would join forces to eliminate these ants.

However, at that moment, he heard the thin Daoist priest's scream. He turned his head and saw that the thin Daoist priest had been cut into two pieces. The upper half of his body was not dead yet and was struggling to crawl towards his lower half. The young man lunged forward and, with a swing of his spear, severed the thin Daoist priest's head.

The stout Daoist's face contorted in fear as he reached for his storage bag again. Everyone knew this man was likely about to unleash another of those strange cultivation techniques.

"Form up!" a thunderous roar echoed. The first wave of soldiers crouched, their spears thrusting upwards from below towards the man's waist and abdomen. The second wave simultaneously thrust their spears forward, targeting his chest and back. The third wave leaped into the air, their spears all pointed at his head and face.

The original staggered attack formation instantly transformed into a multi-directional assault. Forty-five steel spears simultaneously lunged towards the stout Daoist's vital points.

With a soft "pop," the golden light barrier was finally pierced. However, at the very same moment, another yellow talisman flew out, hovering above everyone and emitting a red glow, exuding waves of heat.

Just as it was about to erupt, a bolt of lightning shot out, striking the talisman and carrying it several yards away before it exploded with a "boom" into a one-foot-wide fireball, burning fiercely.

It was Wang Hong, seeing the dire situation, who had hurled his steel spear, deflecting the talisman twenty feet off course.

As the stout Daoist activated the talisman, his body was simultaneously pierced by dozens of spears. He died with a look of unwillingness, staring at the deflected fireball.