Thirty: He Was Being Watched

The stall owner looked troubled when he heard the price.

It was worlds apart from the price he had in mind.

The stall owner shook his head and replied, "Little brother, your offer is far too low."

"How about this? One thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones?"

After saying that, the stall owner stared intently at Yang Lingtian.

"What, one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones? Are you joking?" Yang Lingtian exclaimed in feigned surprise.

At the same time, he wore an expression of utter disbelief, and he placed heavy emphasis on the words "one thousand," as if it were an astronomical figure.

The stall owner's face flushed slightly. From Yang Lingtian's expression, he could tell that there was no way he would be able to sell it for one thousand Spirit Stones.

"Well, then why don't you name another price?" the stall owner said bitterly.

Yang Lingtian hesitated, and after a long while, he said, "The most I can offer is one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

The stall owner deliberately put on a troubled expression and said in a low voice, "Little brother, can you add a little more?"

Yang Lingtian shook his head and replied, "I can't offer any more."

"I know you've been trying to sell this black stone for a long time without success."

"I happen to like collecting strange and unusual objects, so I was willing to take a look."

"I can only offer one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. You can decide whether you want to sell it."

"But let me remind you: once you miss this village, there won't be another shop like it. By then, it'll be difficult for you to find anyone willing to buy it."

Seeing that Yang Lingtian refused to raise his offer, a trace of disappointment appeared in the stall owner's eyes. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and nod.

"All right, then. One hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

In the end, Yang Lingtian bought the strange black stone for one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

He knew that anything capable of exciting the Chaos Bead so much could not possibly be ordinary.

Perhaps its true value might even reach tens of millions of Low-grade Spirit Stones. Buying it for one hundred was an incredible bargain.

After taking the black stone, Yang Lingtian went to a corner.

Then, unable to wait any longer, he circulated the Chaos Divine Art. Suddenly, the black stone in his hand vanished.

It transformed into a stream of black energy that shot directly into his dantian through his mouth, all of it vanishing into the Chaos Bead.

The damaged Chaos Bead seemed to have fewer cracks on it, as though it had been repaired a little.

After that, the Chaos Bead sank into silence once more, making no further movement.

Once he was done, Yang Lingtian returned to the bustling street, hoping he might encounter another black stone like this.

However, after wandering around for half a day, he found nothing.

It seemed that treasures capable of repairing the Chaos Bead truly could only be encountered by chance!

At that moment, he discovered that someone was following him. A cold smile curled at the corners of his lips.

He deliberately entered a quiet, deserted alley and then stopped.

In an indifferent tone, he said, "You've followed me for so long. Aren't you going to come out and meet me?"

As soon as his voice fell, more than a dozen people suddenly emerged from around the corner of the previously quiet, deserted alley.

Yang Lingtian calmly looked at the dozen or so people opposite him and continued,

"May I ask why you've followed me for so long?"

With his powerful perception, Yang Lingtian knew that these dozen or so people were only at the Qi Refining Stage.

They had not released their auras, so he could not determine their exact levels of Qi Refining.

But regardless of which level of Qi Refining they were at, they were all utterly helpless before his Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Since Yang Lingtian's cultivation was higher than theirs, they could not sense his cultivation level.

The man at the very front stared intently at Yang Lingtian.

Then he shouted in a deep voice, "Kid, you're from out of town, aren't you?"

"Hand over all the Spirit Stones and treasures on you, and we can spare your life."

"Otherwise, prepare to lie here forever!"

"If you want what's on me, you'll have to see whether you have the ability to take it." Yang Lingtian sneered.

"Hmph, you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Everyone, get him!" The man waved his hand.

The dozen or so people then charged at Yang Lingtian with their weapons drawn.

Yang Lingtian smiled faintly. Then his body sprang lightly into the air, rising like a swallow gliding through the sky.

His body was nimble, and his speed was astonishing.

The long sword in his hand shot out fiercely as he weaved through the dozen or so people.

They could only see a blurred afterimage sweep past them. Then, one after another, they stood frozen in place.

Yet their faces were filled with disbelief.

Once Yang Lingtian landed and sheathed his sword, the dozen or so people suddenly collapsed one after another, blood gushing continuously from their throats.

In just a few seconds, all the heedless underlings had died. Every one of them had been killed with a single sword through the throat.

Yang Lingtian knew that these people were nothing more than a band of robbers.

By killing them, he had done the people a service!

Not long after Yang Lingtian left, the accomplice standing guard outside saw that there was no movement inside and went in to check.

The sight of more than a dozen corpses lying on the ground gave that accomplice quite a fright. He hurriedly ran back to inform their leader.

After resting in Liuyun City for half a day, Yang Lingtian left the city.

After leaving the city, Yang Lingtian was once again targeted by a group of people.

"Is that him?" a bearded middle-aged man asked one of his subordinates.

"That's right, it's him. After we surrounded him in the alley, I went in to take a look and found that all our people were dead."

"He must have killed them." The subordinate spoke excitedly.

"Hmph, he dared to kill members of the Sky Tiger Gang. I'll make sure he pays today."

The bearded middle-aged man's face turned fierce as he looked toward Yang Lingtian in the distance.

When Yang Lingtian reached a small grove, the group sprang out and surrounded him completely.

"May I ask what you all want?" Yang Lingtian's expression shifted slightly as he looked at the group.

"What do we want? You killed more than a dozen of my men. How do you plan to settle that debt?" the bearded middle-aged man said.

"Oh, so those dozen or so blind little trash were your men?" Yang Lingtian said disdainfully.

He did not take this group seriously. His powerful perception told him that, aside from the bearded man, whose strength was somewhat greater,

the others were merely Qi Refining cultivators.

That bearded middle-aged man was very likely a Foundation Establishment expert.

When the difference in realms was not enormous, their auras would remain restrained before they made a move.

Thus, it was generally impossible to determine their exact cultivation unless they deliberately released their aura.

The bearded middle-aged man was likewise uncertain of Yang Lingtian's exact cultivation. However, seeing how young he was, he assumed that his cultivation could not be very high.

"Kid, you're on the verge of death, yet you still refuse to stop running your mouth."

"Our boss is a Foundation Establishment expert. Hurry up and kneel to beg for mercy," one of the underlings said arrogantly.

"Is that all you've got? Stop wasting words. Are you coming one by one or all at once?"

Yang Lingtian spoke coldly, completely ignoring them.

"Arrogant! Brothers, all of you, get him!" the bearded middle-aged man roared.

At that moment, the dozens of people behind him charged toward Yang Lingtian with murderous momentum, while the so-called leader simply watched from where he stood.

He had sent those people forward only to test Yang Lingtian's strength.

Yang Lingtian stood where he was, his cold gaze sweeping over them.

Then he said mockingly, "You're nothing but a pack of dogs bullying others through sheer numbers. Do you think having more people lets you do whatever you want?"

His figure moved. He drew his long sword and shot into the crowd like lightning.

Sword light danced, blade light flashed, and every one of Yang Lingtian's strikes was fatal.

He still did not use his cultivation power, relying solely on his physical strength to drive the sword in his hand and unleash one powerful strike after another.

Before long, more than a dozen people had fallen to the ground, while the rest no longer dared to advance.

His strength left them stunned!

The middle-aged man watching from a distance began to look grave.

Although he still could not determine Yang Lingtian's exact cultivation, being able to kill more than a dozen Qi Refining cultivators in less than a minute without using cultivation power meant that

his strength was at least close to that of an expert in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

Thus, he judged that even if Yang Lingtian was not a Foundation Establishment expert, he was at least an extremely powerful peak Qi Refining cultivator.

"You're no match for him. All of you, stand down!" the bearded middle-aged man shouted.

At his words, his subordinates retreated one after another, while he slowly walked toward Yang Lingtian.

"Kid, your strength is pretty good. I'll give you two choices."

"Either follow me and work for me, or leave your life here." The middle-aged man threatened him.

"Enough. I don't have time to waste spouting nonsense with you here. I'll give you two choices as well."

"Either you voluntarily hand over all the Spirit Stones and treasures on you, and I'll spare your lives."

"Or I'll kill you first, then take the Spirit Stones and treasures from your bodies." Yang Lingtian refused to back down.

"Arrogant! Do you think having a little strength means you can no longer tell heaven from earth?"

"Let me teach you a proper lesson!" The middle-aged man had clearly been enraged by Yang Lingtian's words.

Then a powerful aura erupted from his body, forcing the underlings behind him to retreat even farther.

"That kid's finished. The boss is angry!"

Huh, Foundation Establishment Early Stage?

Sensing the aura of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, Yang Lingtian gave a cold laugh and revealed a look of disdain.

Seeing Yang Lingtian's contemptuous expression, the middle-aged man's fury burned even hotter.

Then he stomped both feet and lunged fiercely at Yang Lingtian, raising the great saber in his hand at the same time.

Facing the middle-aged man's attack, Yang Lingtian's expression remained unchanged, his gaze firm and profound.

He held his long sword in hand. Just as the middle-aged man's attack was about to arrive,

his figure suddenly moved and vanished from where he stood like a phantom, leaving behind only an afterimage.

"What?" The middle-aged man looked ahead in astonishment, then realized that Yang Lingtian had already appeared behind him.

He spun around instantly, raised the great saber in his hand, and brought it crashing down at Yang Lingtian.

Yang Lingtian smiled contemptuously. His body swiftly shifted to the right, once again dodging the attack.

Immediately afterward, the long sword in his hand shot out, its tip aimed straight at the middle-aged man's throat.

The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically. He quickly leaped backward and dodged the sword.

Yang Lingtian's figure moved like the wind as he launched attack after attack at the middle-aged man.

His sword was as fast as lightning, making it impossible to see clearly.

All that could be heard was the sound of the sword edge cleaving through the air and the clang of the middle-aged man's great saber striking the sword.

The middle-aged man's face was grim. Suppressed by Yang Lingtian's swordsmanship, he kept retreating.

Yet this was merely the basic sword technique Yang Lingtian was using. He had not even employed the Hundred Shadow Cold Sword.