"Big Brother, are Bull Devil King Tang Jie and Tang Tianhao really inside this temple?"
Without making a sound, two men in black appeared behind the hunter. One of them, a fierce-looking man with a hooked nose, asked the question.
"There's no mistake. Some time ago, travelers passing by Qingshan Temple saw them here. The two are wanted criminals, so it's only natural they'd hide in these desolate mountains."
The hunter smiled faintly. A hint of ferocity appeared on his slightly aged face. He removed the felt hat from his head, revealing a completely bald skull. There was a scar on his head, as though a section of his scalp had once been forcibly torn away.
"I heard that although Tang Jie is still young, he's already reached the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm of Refining Qi into Gang. Even if the three of us are all top-tier martial artists, we may not be able to defeat him!" The other burly man, who had a knife scar at the corner of his eye, frowned slightly as he spoke.
"Hahahaha, don't worry. If Tang Jie took the Reverse Blood Powder in the water, he'll be skinned alive even if he doesn't die. Besides, we hired some vicious bandits from nearby to test him out. If that doesn't work, we can take the Hua Gang Pill, which can temporarily raise our power to the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm of Refining Qi into Gang. Three against one—even if Tang Jie is stronger, he'll still die with regrets. It's not as though the Du Tang Three Fiends have never taken the life of a Martial Arts Grandmaster!"
The fierce, hooked-nosed man who had spoken earlier burst into loud laughter.
The three of them were brothers, known as the Du Tang Three Fiends. Every one of them had reached the realm of a top-tier martial artist, and they had once killed a grandmaster in his sixties or seventies—a man with profound power who had reached the realm of Refining Qi into Gang—though the means they used had been far from honorable.
And now, they were going to use the same trick again!
The man who had disguised himself as a hunter was the eldest of the Three Fiends, Du Meng. He had pretended to be a hunter to deliberately lure Du Jue over, when in reality, he had used the opportunity to poison the water bucket.
The other burly man with the scarred face was the second of the Du Tang Three Fiends, Du Li. The vicious man with the hooked nose was the youngest of the three, Du Ying!
"We committed a grave crime in the past, killing an entire family of more than a dozen people, including an official of the government. We became wanted criminals and could no longer live beneath the sun. If we can capture Tang Tianhao and Tang Jie, father and son, we'll be able to atone for our former crimes and have the warrant revoked. This is a fine opportunity."
Du Meng spoke slowly.
The three brothers had been born into a martial arts lineage and had practiced martial arts from a young age. Their skills were formidable, yet they had become wanted criminals several years ago. They were sick to death of living like rats, scurrying from place to place. They wanted to marry, have children, carry on the family line, and live beneath the sun.
A little over a year ago, Tang Jie and Tang Tianhao had become wanted criminals. The reward for capturing them could clear the warrants hanging over the three brothers!
After learning that Tang Jie and Tang Tianhao were hiding in Qingshan Temple, the three immediately made thorough preparations. They intended to capture the two, dead or alive!
For the sake of safety, the three had also prepared several backup plans.
"It's about time to make our move. Notify those cannon fodder and have them test the waters!"
At that moment, Du Meng saw smoke rising above Qingshan Temple in the distance. He licked his lips as he spoke.
Inside Qingshan Temple, Tang Jie began cultivating after breakfast as usual. His Boyhood Art and Golden Bell Shield had both reached the realm of Refining Qi into Gang, but after learning that there were even higher realms, Tang Jie continued cultivating diligently, determined to train his Boyhood Art to the level of the Golden Body Art!
"The blood in my body is flowing backward? I've been poisoned?"
Tang Jie suddenly jolted while cultivating. He sensed his blood beginning to flow backward, which immediately put him on guard. He had been poisoned!
Although he did not know how he had been poisoned, Tang Jie did not hesitate. The two streams of gang qi within his body circulated and merged, instantly spreading through every meridian in his body. A searing force began to burn, rapidly clearing the poison from his body.
Whether it was the Boyhood Art or the Golden Bell Shield, both possessed extremely strong resistance to poison. With the two streams of gang qi merging, the unknown toxin inside him was rapidly vaporized until not a trace remained, like ice and snow melting away.
"Father and Martial Uncle must have been poisoned too!"
Three minutes later, Tang Jie successfully expelled the poison and hurried outside the room.
In the courtyard, Tang Tianhao and Du Jue were both sitting cross-legged on the ground, circulating their power to dispel the poison. Clearly, they had been poisoned as well!
Du Jue was in better shape. Having cultivated the Golden Bell Shield to the ninth stage, his internal power was profound enough to withstand it for the time being. Tang Tianhao, however, had weaker power. At this moment, the blood vessels all over his body bulged beneath his skin as though they were about to burst, a horrifying sight.
"Quick... dispel the poison from your father. I can still hold on!" When Du Jue saw Tang Jie arrive, he hurriedly called out.
"Okay!"
Tang Jie did not know why the three of them had been poisoned, but he knew this was not the time to think about it. He immediately pressed one hand against Tang Tianhao's shoulder and injected the gang qi of the Red Sun Art and Golden Bell Shield into his body, forcing out the poison.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Before long, Tang Tianhao let out a violent cough and hacked up a mouthful of pitch-black blood.
"How... how did we get poisoned?" After the poisonous blood was forced out, Tang Tianhao's condition improved considerably. He asked the question while panting.
Tang Jie was just about to answer when his ears twitched. Hearing footsteps outside the temple, he immediately said, "Father, Martial Uncle, I'll go take a look outside!"
"Good..."
Du Jue gritted his teeth and helped Tang Tianhao to his feet. The two supported each other as they sat down beside the table in the courtyard, realizing that they had fallen victim to an unknown enemy's ambush.
Fury blazed in Tang Jie's eyes. He knew that someone had likely poisoned them, intending to take their lives!
"This is the place. Just kill everyone inside when you see them."
Outside Qingshan Temple, a group of more than a dozen men wielding cleavers and long swords surrounded the temple.
All of them wore coarse-cloth clothing, and every one of them exuded a bandit's air.
"Creak!"
At that moment, the temple gates were pushed open. Tang Jie walked out of the courtyard gate, a trace of coldness in his eyes as he swept his gaze over the numerous mountain bandits standing at the entrance. Every one of them had the air of a brigand. They were clearly no good.
"Who are you? Why did you poison us?"
Tang Jie asked coldly.
"Heh heh, we're the ones here to take your life!"
Among the mountain bandits, a burly man who looked like their leader let out a sinister chuckle. A flash of cold light flickered in his eyes as he raised his cleaver without hesitation and hacked it down at Tang Jie's head.
The mountain bandits had no idea who was inside the temple. Someone had hired them, and the purpose of hiring them was to kill everyone inside!
Yet the burly man and the others clearly had no idea that they were merely cannon fodder sent to test the waters!
"Pfft!"
The burly man had only just raised the blade in his hand when he saw a streak of cold light flash before his eyes.
"Why... does my head feel so heavy?"
Then the burly man was bewildered. A sensation of lightness in his limbs and heaviness in his head swept over him. His head slipped from his neck and slowly fell to the ground, his eyes still filled with confusion and incomprehension. He had no idea how he had died.
The other mountain bandits watched the burly man's head fall away and were shocked and enraged. Not one of them had seen clearly how Tang Jie had drawn his blade.
"He killed the Great Chieftain! Everyone, attack together! Chop him to pieces!"
Nearly ten mountain bandits swung their blades and swords and charged at Tang Jie. Two fists could not withstand four hands. An ordinary person—even a first-rate martial artist—would choose to avoid the enemy's edge for the moment. Tang Jie, however, struck as fast as lightning!
"Shing!"
The Iron Cutting Saber at Tang Jie's waist tore free of its sheath. A thread of icy light seemed to become a fine strand as it swept through the air.
Silently, the nearly ten bandits halted in the middle of their swings. They had barely managed to raise their weapons and had not yet brought them down when a line of blood appeared across their necks. Just like the burly man before them, their bodies separated from their heads. Even the bandit three meters away from Tang Jie met the same fate. Their heads hit the ground!
Tang Jie usually showed mercy when fighting others. But faced with people who had come to take their lives and had resorted to the despicable method of poisoning them, Tang Jie struck ruthlessly, showing no mercy!
After slaughtering all the mountain bandits, blood spread across the ground. Tang Jie raised his expressionless face and looked into the distance. Three extremely tall men in black stood among the trees, watching him. They were none other than the three brothers of the Du Tang Three Fiends.
"This boy... is indeed as terrifying as the rumors say!" The Du Tang Three Fiends had witnessed Tang Jie slaughter more than a dozen bandits, and all three drew a sharp breath. With a single slash, every bandit within three or four meters had lost his head. That miraculous saber technique was enough to make one's heart tremble and face change color at the sight of it!
"But... that's exactly what makes it interesting!" The eldest of the Three Fiends, Du Meng, licked his scarlet lips, excitement rising in his heart. As a martial artist, when one encountered such a powerful opponent, the sense of accomplishment after cutting him down would be at its greatest.
Just like when the three brothers had killed that old grandmaster back then, today would be no different!
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